Information Security Researchers Research Articles

Human-centric cyber security: Applying protection motivation theory to analyse micro business owners’ security behaviours

Purpose The current advancements in technologies and the internet industry provide users with many innovative digital devices for entertainment, communication and trade. However, simultaneous development and the rising sophistication of cybercrimes bring new challenges. Micro businesses use technology like how people use it at home, but face higher cyber risks during riskier transactions, with human error playing a significant role. Moreover, information security researchers have often studied individuals’ adherence to compliance behaviour in response to cyber threats. The study aims to examine the protection motivation theory (PMT)-based model to understand individuals’ tendency to adopt secure behaviours. Design/methodology/approach The study focuses on Australian micro businesses since they are more susceptible to cyberattacks due to the least security measures in place. Out of 877 questionnaires distributed online to Australian micro business owners through survey panel provider “Dynata,” 502 (N = 502) complete responses were included. Structural equational modelling was used to analyse the relationships among the variables. Findings The results indicate that all constructs of the protection motivation, except threat susceptibility, successfully predict the user protective behaviours. Also, increased cybersecurity costs negatively impact users’ safe cyber practices. Originality/value The study has critical implications for understanding micro business owners’ cyber security behaviours. The study contributes to the current knowledge of cyber security in micro businesses through the lens of PMT.

Improving fraud detection with semi-supervised topic modeling and keyword integration.

Fraud detection through auditors' manual review of accounting and financial records has traditionally relied on human experience and intuition. However, replicating this task using technological tools has represented a challenge for information security researchers. Natural language processing techniques, such as topic modeling, have been explored to extract information and categorize large sets of documents. Topic modeling, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) or non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), has recently gained popularity for discovering thematic structures in text collections. However, unsupervised topic modeling may not always produce the best results for specific tasks, such as fraud detection. Therefore, in the present work, we propose to use semi-supervised topic modeling, which allows the incorporation of specific knowledge of the study domain through the use of keywords to learn latent topics related to fraud. By leveraging relevant keywords, our proposed approach aims to identify patterns related to the vertices of the fraud triangle theory, providing more consistent and interpretable results for fraud detection. The model's performance was evaluated by training with several datasets and testing it with another one that did not intervene in its training. The results showed efficient performance averages with a 7% increase in performance compared to a previous job. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of deepening the analysis of fraud behaviors and proposing strategies to identify them proactively.

Quantum Computers and Algorithms: A Threat to Classical Cryptographic Systems

Contemporary cryptographic algorithms are resistant to the strongest threats to cybersecurity and high-profile cyber-attacks. In recent times, information security scientists and researchers had developed various cryptographic schemes that defeated attacks using the most sophisticated (in terms of processor speed) classical computer. However, this resistance will soon erode with the arrival of quantum computers. In this paper, we profiled quantum computers and quantum algorithms based on their widely believed threat against currently secure cryptographic primitives. We found that Grover’s and Shor’s quantum-based algorithms actually pose a threat to the continued security of symmetric cryptosystems (e.g. 128-bit AES) and asymmetric (public key) cryptosystems (e.g. RSA, Elgamal, elliptic curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH), etc.) respectively.We discovered that the source of the algorithms’ cryptanalytic power against the current systems, stems from the fact that they (Grover and Shor) both equipped their respective algorithms with a quantum circuit component that can execute the oracle in parallel by applying a single circuit to all possible states of an n-qubit input. With this exponential level of processing characteristic of quantum computers and quantum-based algorithms, it is easy for the current cryptosystems to be broken since the algorithms can existentially solve the underlying mathematical problems such as integer factorization, discrete logarithm problem and elliptic curve problem, which formed the basis of the security of the affected cryptosystems. Based on this realization and as part of our readiness for a post quantum era, we explored other mathematical structures (lattices, hashes, codes, isogenies, high entropy-based symmetric key resistance, and multivariate quadratic problems) whose hardness could surpass the cryptanalytic nightmare posed by quantum computers and quantum-based algorithms. Our contribution is that, based on the findings of this research work, we can confidently assert that all hope is not lost for organizations heavily relying on protocols and applications like HTTPS, TLS, PGP, Bitcoin, etc., which derived their security from the endangered cryptosystems.

Cultural Influences on Information Security

Humans are by far the weakest link in the information security chain. Many in the information security industry advocate for a technical solution to this problem. Unfortunately, technology does not hold the answer to solving the human problem. Instead, it is important to better understand the problem and find new ways of training individuals, so they have a better security mindset and make better security minded decisions. The security challenges associated with human factors have been widely studied in previous literature and different research groups. Prior research has shown that both human behavioural factors and social media usage factors can be used to better assess a person’s susceptibility to cybercrime. We know that humans are multi-faceted beings who are swayed by many factors. In addition to behavioural factors and social media factors, humans are predisposed by cultural influences. This paper begins the process of understanding how culture influences a person's ability to make positive cybersecurity decisions in a world that is full of data being thrown at them. The end goal of this research is to use culture, along with behaviour and social media usage as new metrics in measuring a person’s susceptibility to cybercrime. This information can then be used by information security practitioners and researchers to better prepare individuals to defend themselves from cyber threats. This paper is the start of the research process into how culture impacts a person’s susceptibility to cybercrime. It shows the significance of identifying what specific aspects of culture impact how someone makes a decision. This can help mitigate social engineering attacks by better understanding the influencing factors which control an end user. The authors will continue their work on this project to develop new Information Awareness (IA) training programmes that work to modify an individual's behaviour, while taking into consideration their behaviours, social media usage and culture.

Research on the defense mechanism based on FDIA in smart grid

With the extensive application of communication and information technology in power grid, the physical fusion system of power information develops rapidly, which makes the realization of every link in smart power grid rely on the support of information network. Although smart grid information can greatly enhance the performance of the power system, it also brings new security risks to the power system. FDIA (False Data Injection Attacks), as one of the most harmful Attacks to the stability of the power system, has attracted the attention of information security researchers. Therefore, this paper aims at the defense mechanism of power grid FDIA to discuss the protection strategy of power grid information security.

Voluntary and instrumental information security policy compliance: an integrated view of prosocial motivation, self-regulation and deterrence

Understanding employees’ motivations and behaviors toward compliance with information security policies (ISPs) remains a theoretical and practical challenge. Although previous information security researchers have investigated different motivational factors related to ISP compliance, most have not recognized different forms of ISP compliance behaviors characterized by their levels of willingness and persistence, nor have they noted the importance of adopting an other-oriented lens to examine such behaviors. In this paper, we propose and test an integrated model that investigates how various motivational factors affect different ISP compliance behaviors. Specifically, the model anchors on the prosocial motivational perspective in addition to the instrumental and self-regulatory motivational perspectives and investigates two types of compliance behaviors (voluntary ISP compliance and instrumental ISP compliance). We tested our model using survey data collected from 407 employee respondents. Our results show that the three sets of motivational factors have different effects on the two types of ISP compliance behaviors. Prosocial motivation and self-regulatory motivation positively affect voluntary ISP compliance behavior. Deterrence as an instrumental control leads to instrumental ISP compliance behavior but undermines voluntary ISP compliance behavior. Our study highlights that, to foster employees’ voluntary ISP compliance, organizations need to take a more holistic approach by integrating the prosocial approach with the instrumental and self-regulatory approaches in managing voluntary compliance behaviors, while being mindful of the negative effects of instrumental controls (e.g., deterrence) on such behaviors.

Модель компьютерной атаки типа «phishing» на локальную компьютерную сеть

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to inform information security specialists and researchers of the identified analytical dependencies that take into account the parameters that characterize the process of conducting computer attacks of the “Phishing” type. New dependencies provide an increase in the reliability of the results of assessing the security of a local computer network that has access to the global information space from the specified threat. Research method: simulation of computer attacks of the “Phishing” type and determination of the analytical model based on the approximation of the simulation results. The result: a set of tools for engineering and technical personnel has been created to assess the security of a local computer network from a “Phishing” type of computer attack and, if the result is unsatisfactory, determine measures to protect the network.

Cyber Attacks Mitigation: Detecting Malicious Activities in Network Traffic – A Review of Literature

Cyber-attacks are becoming more common and over the last decade, many attacks have made top news, targeting manufacturing firms and governmental organisations. Such attacks have triggered substantial financial damage and they've been trying to obstruct key public sector operations. Furthermore, as the Internet of Things (IoT) has arisen, the number of Internetconnected devices is increasingly growing and being an easy target of cyber-attacks. To counter cyber-attacks, information security researchers rely extensively on intrusion detection systems (IDSs) that can identify suspicious activities by comparing patterns of documented attacks or detecting anomaly-based activities. This survey aims to tackle Trust, Protection, identification and activity on wide scale networks and Internet of Things. The proposed research aims at developing a practically deployable cyber security solution to one or more of the cyber-attacks. Multi-Stage Attacks (MSAs), APT, DoS attacks, wireless injection attacks, botnets or other malicious activities will be investigated. In this literature survey, we are highlighting the work Performed throughout the area of cyber security by various researchers, various types of cyber-attacks and its stages, various approaches to prevent cyber-attacks, different challenges faced by a preventer, and some gaps in the research. This literature review is carried out by using the secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journals and other sources on the web. This review aims to explain Detecting Malicious Activities in Network Traffic.

New insights into the existing image encryption algorithms based on DNA coding.

Because a DNA nucleotide sequence has the characteristics of large storage capacity, high parallelism, and low energy consumption, DNA cryptography is favored by information security researchers. Image encryption algorithms based on DNA coding have become a research hotspot in the field of image encryption and security. In this study, based on a comprehensive review of the existing studies and their results, we present new insights into the existing image encryption algorithms based on DNA coding. First, the existing algorithms were summarized and classified into five types, depending on the type of DNA coding: DNA fixed coding, DNA dynamic coding, different types of base complement operation, different DNA sequence algebraic operations, and combinations of multiple DNA operations. Second, we analyzed and studied each classification algorithm using simulation and obtained their advantages and disadvantages. Third, the DNA coding mechanisms, DNA algebraic operations, and DNA algebraic combination operations were compared and discussed. Then, a new scheme was proposed by combining the optimal coding mechanism with the optimal DNA coding operation. Finally, we revealed the shortcomings of the existing studies and the future direction for improving image encryption methods based on DNA coding.

Cyber Attacks Mitigation: Detecting Malicious Activities in Network Traffic – A Review of Literature

Cyber attacks are becoming more common and over the last decade, many attacks have made top news, targeting manufacturing firms and governmental organisations. Such attacks have triggered substantial financial damage and they've been trying to obstruct key public sector operations. Furthermore, as the Internet of Things (IoT) has arisen, the number of Internet-connected devices is increasingly growing and being easy target of cyber attacks. To counter cyber attacks, information security researchers rely extensively on intrusion detection systems (IDSs) that can identify suspicious activities by comparing patterns of documented attacks or detecting anomaly-based activities. This survey aims to tackle Trust, Protection, identification and activity on a wide scale networks and Internet of Things. The proposed research aims at developing a practically deployable cyber security solution to one or more of the cyber attacks. Multi-Stage Attacks (MSAs), APT, DoS attacks, wireless injection attacks, botnets or other malicious activities will be investigated. In this literature survey we are highlighting the work Performed throughout the area of cyber security by various researchers, various types of cyber attacks and its stages, various approaches to prevent cyber attacks, different challenges faced by a preventer, and some gaps in the research. This literature review is carried out by using the secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journals and other sources on the web. This review aims to explain Detecting Malicious Activities in Network Traffic.

A systematic literature review of the factors affecting smartphone user threat avoidance behaviour

PurposeThere is a need for behavioural research within the smartphone context to better understand users’ behaviour, as it is one of the reasons for the proliferation of mobile threats. This study aims to identify the human factors that affect smartphone users’ threat avoidance behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA structured literature review (SLR) was applied to answer the research question. A total of 27 sources were analysed, from which 16 codes emerged. After synthesis, six themes transpired.FindingsSix factors were identified as drivers and/or challenges of smartphone users’ threat avoidance behaviour, namely, knowledge and awareness, misconceptions and trust, cost and benefit considerations, carelessness, perceived measure effectiveness and the user’s perceived skills and efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe results can encourage and provide a starting point for further research on human behaviour to improve smartphone user behaviour.Practical implicationsThe mobile industry should focus on eradicating common misconceptions and undue trust in mobile security that is prevalent among smartphone users and make cost effective and usable interventions available. Training and awareness programs should be updated to include the factors that were identified in this study to affect smartphone users’ threat avoidance behaviour. In addition to improving users’ declarative knowledge concerning available smartphone measures and tools, procedural knowledge should also be improved to ensure proper use of available protective measures. Users should realise the importance of staying updated with evolving smartphone technology and associated threats.Originality/valueThis study acknowledges and supports the notion that addressing human behaviour is crucial in the fight against mobile threats. It addresses the need for behavioural research to analyse the factors that drive smartphone user behaviour. Furthermore, it uses and documents the use of a SLR, a research technique often unfamiliar among information security researchers.

Cultivating cybersecurity learning: An integration of self-determination and flow

Because there is a critical shortage of cybersecurity talent, information security professionals and researchers should cultivate cybersecurity skills by encouraging individuals to pursue cybersecurity learning. However, some aspects of cybersecurity require substantial effort and perseverance for conceptual understanding to be gained. We propose motivation as the key to ensuring continuous engagement with and successful learning of such cybersecurity concepts. With a lab-based training program that taught participants about SQL injection attacks, we tested a research model that integrated flow theory and self-determination theory. Within the training program, we captured participants’ persistence in attempting and successfully completing the training exercises while also measuring their perceptions of motivation and flow. We found that flow facilitated motivation and its key antecedents. Flow and task significance had the strongest effects on motivation, while motivation fostered learning persistence and performance. We recommend training programs that maximize flow and task significance.

A Framework for Vietnamese Email Phishing Detection

Currently, the attacks on network information systems are increasing rapidly in number and level of danger. Phishing email distribution method is widely used by hackers today. This is an attacking technique that exploits human behaviors in the system. This type of attack, though it is not too complicated, becomes very effective for attackers if users are unaware of information security and unable to identify phishing emails. This attack is particularly more commonly effective in developing countries where the information security is still overlooked. As a result, email phishing detection problem has become a hot topic for information security researchers. There have been some published methods to detect phishing emails on given email attacking datasets. However, one of the important issues in email phishing detection relates to the language used in emails. Each particular language used in different emails may lead to a different phising detection approach. In this article, a Vietnamese email phishing detection system is investigated. The research includes a feature selection method and a combination of machine learning algorithms to improve the performance of phishing email detection in Vietnamese language. The proposed method is evaluated using two datasets. The first dataset includes phishing emails from Vietnamese collected from Vietnamese volunteers. The second dataset is the widely used English emails as introduced in [16,17]. The experimental results show that our method is applicable for real Vietnamese email phishing detection systems.

Guest Editorial: Information Security South Africa (ISSA) 2018

This special issue of the SAIEE Africa Research Journal is devoted to selected papers from the Information Security South Africa (ISSA) 2018 Conference which was held in Pretoria, South Africa from 15–16 August 2018. The aim of the annual ISSA conference is to afford information security practitioners and researchers, from all over the globe, an opportunity to share their knowledge and research results with their peers. The 2018 conference focused on a wide spectrum of aspects in the information security domain including the functional, business, managerial, human, theoretical and technological aspects of modern-day information security.

Stakeholder perceptions of information security policy: Analyzing personal constructs

Organizational stakeholders, such as employees and security managers, may understand security rules and policies differently. Extant literature suggests that stakeholder perceptions of security policies can contribute to the success or failure of policies. This paper draws on the Theory of Personal Constructs and the associated methodology, the Repertory Grid technique, to capture the convergence and divergence of stakeholder perceptions with regards to security policy. We collected data from the employees of an e-commerce company that had developed five information security sub-policies. Our study highlights the practical utility of the Repertory Grid analysis in helping information security researchers and managers pinpoint a) the aspects of a security policy that are well-received by stakeholders, as well as those that are not, and b) the variance in the perceptions of stakeholders. Organizations can, then, capitalize on the well-received aspects of the policy and take corrective action for the ill-received ones.

A Framework for Teaching Security Design Analysis Using Case Studies and the Hybrid Flipped Classroom

With ever-greater reliance of the developed world on information and communication technologies, constructing secure software has become a top priority. To produce secure software, security activities need to be integrated throughout the software development lifecycle. One such activity is security design analysis (SDA), which identifies security requirements as early as the software design phase. While considered an important step in software development, the general opinion of information security subject matter experts and researchers is that SDA is challenging to learn and teach. Experimental evidence provided in literature confirms this claim. To help solve this, we have developed a framework for teaching SDA by utilizing case study analysis and the hybrid flipped classroom approach. We evaluate our framework by performing a comparative analysis between a group of students who attended labs generated using our framework and a group that participated in traditional labs. Our results show that labs created using our framework achieve better learning outcomes for SDA, as opposed to the traditional labs. Secondary contributions of our article include teaching materials, such as lab descriptions and a case study of a hospital information system to be used for SDA. We outline instructions for using our framework in different contexts, including university courses and corporate training programs. By using our proposed teaching framework, with our or any other case study, we believe that both students and employees can learn the craft of SDA more effectively.

From Healthcare to Warfare and Reverse: How Should We Regulate Dual-Use Neurotechnology?

Recent advances in military-funded neurotechnology and novel opportunities for misusing neurodevices show that the problem of dual use is inherent to neuroscience. This paper discusses how the neuroscience community should respond to these dilemmas and delineates a neuroscience-specific biosecurity framework. This neurosecurity framework involves calibrated regulation, (neuro)ethical guidelines, and awareness-raising activities within the scientific community.

User Motivations in Protecting Information Security: Protection Motivation Theory Versus Self-Determination Theory

Managers desiring to protect information systems must understand how to most effectively motivate users to engage in secure behaviors. Information security researchers have frequently studied individuals’ performance of secure behaviors in response to threats. Protection motivation theory (PMT) has been used to explain individuals’ propensity to engage in voluntary secure behaviors, but the adaptation of this theory has yielded inconsistent results. Motivation as a measurable construct, as derived from self-determination theory (SDT), has never been included in or compared against PMT. In this study, we construct security messages that appeal to individuals’ intrinsic motivation, rather than fear, as a way to elicit secure responses. Using three sets of respondents, we integrated the SDT and PMT models and compared the native models in the context of security behaviors. We demonstrate that by using data- and individual-focused appeals and providing choices for users, managers may observe greater intention to engage in secure behavior among employees.

Academic Information Security Researchers: Hackers or Specialists?

In this opinion piece, we present a synopsis of our findings from the last 2years concerning cyber-attacks on web-based academia. We also present some of problems that we have faced and try to resolve any misunderstandings about our work. We are academic information security specialists, not hackers. Finally, we present a brief overview of our methods for detecting cyber fraud in an attempt to present general guidelines for researchers who would like to continue our work. We believe that our work is necessary for protecting the integrity of scholarly publishing against emerging cybercrime.

MouseIdentity: Modeling Mouse-Interaction Behavior for a User Verification System

Analysis of mouse-interaction behaviors for identifying individual computer users has experienced growing interest from information security and biometric researchers. This paper presents a simple and efficient user verification system by modeling mouse-interaction behavior, which is accurate and competent for future deployment. For each mouse-operation sample, holistic attributes of mouse trajectories are first analyzed using a power transformation method, to derive a schematic representation of behavior eigenspace. Then, a propagation-based segmentation method is developed to model the detailed dynamic process of mouse movements by performing adaptive behavior segmentation and then characterizing each obtained segment using fine-grained procedural motion metrics. Both schematic and procedural cues from mouse-interaction behaviors may be used independently for verification, being fused at the decision level using combination rules. Analyses are conducted using data from 106 subjects with 21 200 mouse-operation samples. The verification system achieves a 1.96% false-rejection rate and a 1.18% false-acceptance rate with a short verification time (about 6 s) and lightweight system overload. Additional experiments on the effect of sample length and subject pool further examine the applicability of our verification system. We also compare the proposed approach with the state-of-the-art approaches for the data collected. Our findings suggest that mouse-interaction behaviors can enhance traditional authentication systems.