Protection Scheme Research Articles

PQSF: post-quantum secure privacy-preserving federated learning

In federated learning, secret sharing is a key technology to maintain the privacy of participants’ local models. Moreover, with the rapid development of quantum computers, existing federated learning privacy protection schemes based on secret sharing will no longer be able to guarantee the data security of participants in the post-quantum era. In addition, existing privacy protection methods have the problem of high communication and computational overhead. Although the multi-stage secret sharing scheme proposed by Pilaram et al. is one of the effective solutions to the above problems, existing studies have proven the privacy leakage risk of this scheme. This paper firstly designs a new lattice-based multi-stage secret sharing scheme Improved-Pilaram to solve the security problem, which allows participants to use public vectors to reconstruct different secret values without changing the secret sharing. Based on Improved-Pilaram, this article proposes a post-quantum secure federated learning scheme PQSF. PQSF uses double masking technology to encrypt model parameters and achieves mask reconstruction through secret sharing. Since Improved-Pilaram is multi-stage, participants do not need to update their local secret shares frequently during training. Analysis and experimental results show that the PQSF proposed in this paper reduces the communication complexity between participants and reduces the computational overhead by about 20% compared with existing solutions.

Conservation of Yuan Dynasty Caisson Paintings in the Puzhao Temple, Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, China

Caisson paintings are an integral part of the unique interior decoration ceiling of traditional Chinese architecture. There are a large number of Yuan Dynasty caisson paintings in the Puzhao Temple, in Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, China. These caisson paintings have exquisite patterns and rich colors, which are rare artistic treasures of the Yuan Dynasty. In the history of nearly 700 years, due to various environmental and human factors, the caisson paintings have experienced various degradation; for example, the paper of the caisson paintings is acidified, the surface is polluted, the color is faded, mottled, and it is difficult to identify. Therefore, their protection is vital. In order to ensure the scientific and targeted development of the protection scheme, this study conducted a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the paper fibers, pigments, adhesives, wood supports, and pollutants of the caisson paintings and carried out a series of protection experiments in the field and laboratory, providing a step-by-step review of the protection treatment application for the caisson paintings. Mechanical and wet cleaning were used to remove the pollutants. The caisson painting was deacidified with a barium hydroxide ethanol solution, and the paper and pigments of the caisson painting were strengthened with water-based fluorine. Several conservation problems, such as the removal of pollutants, the deacidification of acidified paper, and the reinforcement of flaking paper and pigments, were solved. Meanwhile, good conservation and restoration results for caisson paintings were obtained. This research method of combining theory and practice has greatly improved the scientificity and success rate of conservation work. These research results provide valuable experience and reference for other caisson paintings in similar environments.

A protection scheme for the transmission line connecting large-scale centralized solar PV plant

A protection scheme for the transmission line connecting large-scale centralized solar PV plant

Social protection schemes for mother and children in Odisha: a matched-gap analysis

Social protection schemes for mother and children in Odisha: a matched-gap analysis

Flaws in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) – A Critical Study

The successful execution and overall impact of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), may face significant challenges due to various pressing issues. Among these are vague protocols surrounding private arrests, mixed terminology related to police custody, and unclear guidelines regarding community service as a penalty. Furthermore, the BNSS fails to provide clear directions for filing electronic FIRs, employing audio-visual techniques for witness examinations, and outlining the process for reimbursing witness costs. Concerns also arise from the absence of well-defined grounds for bail cancellation, inadequate enforcement of the Witness Protection Scheme, and procedural deficiencies in the collection of forensic evidence. Furthermore, the BNSS fails to address alternative dispute resolution methods and relies on insufficient resources, such as officers' personal mobile phones, for important tasks like video documentation during search and seizure operations. These flaws have the potential to undermine the intended objectives of the BNSS and pose significant operational challenges.

A network security protection scheme for tax system based on elliptic curve cryptography

With the rapid development of modern information technology and network technology, the construction of tax informatization plays an important role in improving the level of tax management and work efficiency. However, in the centralized data processing mode, the establishment of large data center and the efficient, stable, and secure connection of server bandwidth have become key challenges. Moreover, the openness and interconnectivity of the tax system network pose various network security threats, seriously threatening the integrity and security of data. For the above issues, this article proposes a tax system network security protection scheme based on elliptic curve cryptography. This scheme combines hash function and elliptic curve cryptography to achieve user anonymity and secure generation of session keys, effectively ensuring the secure transmission of confidential information. The security and effectiveness of the scheme are verified through informal and formal security analysis based on security proof, BAN logic and AVISPA tool. And a comprehensive evaluation of the scheme is conducted, and the results show that the scheme significantly reduced the costs while providing security features.

Flood management in the built environment: the micro-scale contribution to a distributed strategy

Abstract The built environment offers an opportunity to implement Flood Risk Management measures by spatially distributing them as a complementary alternative to large-scale protection schemes. Specifically, micro-scale solutions focus on buildings, open spaces, users, and small infrastructure, addressing various flood management strategies with different performance indicators. These measures encompass, for instance, private precautionary measures like floodproofing or elevation, and nature-based solutions. However, their adoption faces technology, economics, and social challenges. To effectively reduce flood risk and increase the built environment’s resilience to floods, a systemic approach is necessary, evaluating and jointly implementing diverse measures across the built environment. Drawing from a systematic literature review and expert interviews, this study explores micro-scale Flood Risk Management measures within the built environment, examining their barriers and drivers. Additionally, it introduces an atlas of multi-strategy measures, qualitatively comparing their performance. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for a holistic perspective on flood adaptation and highlights opportunities to enhance building-level adaptation actions through collaboration with various stakeholders.

L3P-DLI: A Lightweight Positioning-Privacy Protection Scheme With Double-Layer Incentives for Wireless Crowd Sensing Systems

L3P-DLI: A Lightweight Positioning-Privacy Protection Scheme With Double-Layer Incentives for Wireless Crowd Sensing Systems

On-site monitoring of expansive soil slope protected by soilbags based on the universal Beidou monitoring system

To explore an effective method for deformation monitoring and behavior prediction of expansive soil slope, field tests are conducted for a flexible slope protection scheme with soilbags that has been implemented in an expansive highway soil slope. A new monitoring system, i.e., the universal Beidou deformation monitoring system, is developed to overcome the limitations of traditional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software and hardware, simplify the hardware structure and realize the power sharing mode; furthermore, this system can create and upload a large amount of monitored data to a cloud platform to enable real-time calculation. Compared with traditional GNSS, the volume of equipment required is reduced by approximately 75%, and the cost is reduced by approximately 80%. Secondly, a multilevel safety early-warning evaluation system is constructed by integrating the monitoring results of the universal Beidou deformation monitoring system, bag damage states, rainfall conditions, and slope fissure development; additionally, a deformation early-warning mechanism of flexible support of soilbags was established. Finally, the deformation and collapse of flexible supports of soilbags can be successfully predicted in the field. This research on flexible support of soilbags provides new ideas and methods of deformation monitoring, safety evaluation, and early warning for expansive soil slopes.

Secret Sharing Schemes for Data Protection and Secure Communication: A Review

Secret sharing, also one of the significant concepts, plays a vital role in computer science for guaranteed data security and secure communication with advanced digital security demands. This paper focuses on theoretical aspects, historical development, and various schemes of secret sharing using Shamir's polynomial-based and Blakely's geometric methods. Indeed, this importance in modern security is difficult to underestimate. It is based on a comprehensive literature review and the effectiveness of schemes in access control, data storage, and secure communications. From the evaluation, it can be seen that secret sharing prevents unauthorized access and secures against single points of failure very effectively; therefore, it finds wide usage in various secure applications. From this study, it can be concluded that secret sharing is a very flexible and core tool in the field of information security with possibilities for improvement up to the challenge of developing technological threats. The nature of the problem being addressed is the increasing need for superior protection in safeguarding sensitive data in a growing digital world

Natural and anthropogenic factors that determine the activity of geological processes of the Abakan agglomeration

Relevance. As a result of the construction and operation of buildings and structures within the Abakan agglomeration, there is an activation of existing and the formation of new engineering and geological processes accompanied by accidental destruction of constructions. In order to minimize economic and socio-environmental damage, timely development of scientifically sound urban planning and architectural planning solutions is necessary. It would take into account the results of design studies of engineering protection of the territory from dangerous manifestations of engineering and geological processes. Generalization of the available survey results in order to typify the engineering and geological conditions of the urban area will optimize the construction development of urban areas, develop reliable schemes of engineering protection against the manifestations of dangerous engineering and geological processes. Aim. To establish natural and anthropogenic factors that determine the activity of dangerous geological processes in the territory of the Abakan agglomeration. Methods. Collection, systematization and analysis of available territorial geological, hydrological, hydrogeological, environmental information, results of engineering surveys. Results and conclusions. At a qualitatively new level, a set of maps has been compiled on the factors that determine the development of dangerous geological processes. The authors have carried out a GIS analysis of morphometric indicators of the relief of the agglomeration territory: maps of the steepness and exposure of the slopes were constructed. The analysis of the collected data made it possible to establish the regional characteristics of the components of the geological environment and propose a zoning scheme for the territory for its construction development and engineering protection. The authors identified four taxa during zoning: territories favorable for construction that do not require significant engineering training; territories conditionally favorable for construction, requiring preliminary engineering training; territories conditionally unfavorable for construction, requiring significant costs for engineering training; territories unfavorable for construction. The boundaries of the taxa are based on the analysis of the geomorphological features of the territory. The conducted research was performed for the agglomeration territory for the first time.

Assessing the Recreational Fishers and their Catches based on Social Media Platforms: Privacy and Ethical Data Analysis Considerations

Social Media (SM) can offer insights to track recreational Fishing (Rf); Many Limitations Hinder Its Practical Application. The proportion and characteristics of RFs that share their catches remain unidentified. The objective was to enhance the surveillance abilities of RF by utilizing SM information. This study focuses on the sharing economy information transmission, network optimization of SM platforms, and privacy protection issues during data transmission. The study starts with the data transmission characteristics in SM platforms, analyzes the data ethics in SM information transmission from the perspectives of natural and economic data attributes, and then focuses on the privacy protection principles in network information transmission. Then, a privacy protection scheme based on a locally sensitive hash algorithm is constructed, and finally, an information transmission scheme and method optimization based on a network optimization module are proposed. The research gathered data using physical (face-to-face) surveys and digital (email) surveys to define marine RF that post catches on online platforms (“sharers”), together with additional demographic and fishing data. A comparative analysis was conducted on the computational convergence and accuracy of different privacy protection methods, and the optimal rule framework for data privacy protection was discussed. The observation results show that the efficiency of information transmission using the Minhash-SSNR method is slightly inferior to that using the OSNR-SSNR method. Minhash technology is based on a similarity comparison of dimensionality-reduced data. This leads to data causing the initially highly similar two sets of lists to be misjudged as not having enough similarity, thereby reducing some potential information dissemination opportunities and affecting the efficacy of information transmission. It can be seen that the Minhash-SSNR strategy can effectively send information to nodes with high similarity, preventing excessive information duplication within the system. Although the Minhash-SSNR strategy has a certain degree of decline in information transmission efficiency, it accounts for only about 5% compared to the OSNR-SSNR strategy, ensuring the essential operational stability of SM opportunity networks without significant impact. With few learning and training times, the network information transmission optimization module proposed in this study quickly achieved a lower exponential error. As the number of training sessions gradually increases, the exponential error of the network information transmission optimization module in this study is small, and the prediction accuracy of the method is high. RFs who captured a prize, iconic, or symbolic species tended to discuss their catches more. This research signifies significant progress in incorporating SM information to oversee RFs.

Revisiting a decade of inequality in healthcare financial burden in Cambodia, 2009–19: trends, determinants and decomposition

BackgroundOut-of-pocket healthcare expenditure (OOPHE) without adequate social protection often translates to inequitable financial burden and utilization of services. Recent publications highlighted Cambodia’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with reduced incidence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and improvements in its distribution. However, departing from standard CHE measurement methods suggests a different storyline on trends and inequality in the country.ObjectiveThis study revisits the distribution and impact of OOPHE and its financial burden from 2009–19, employing alternative socio-economic and economic shock metrics. It also identifies determinants of the financial burden and evaluates inequality-contributing and -mitigating factors from 2014–19, including coping mechanisms, free healthcare, and OOPHE financing sources.MethodsData from the Cambodian Socio-Economic Surveys of 2009, 2014, and 2019 were utilized. An alternative measure to CHE is proposed: Excessive financial burden (EFB). A household was considered under EFB when its OOPHE surpassed 10% or 25% of total consumption, excluding healthcare costs. A polychoric wealth index was used to rank households and measure EFB inequality using the Erreygers Concentration Index. Inequality shifts from 2014–19 were decomposed using the Recentered Influence Function regression followed by the Oaxaca-Blinder method. Determinants of financial burden levels were assessed through zero-inflated ordered logit regression.ResultsBetween 2009–19, EFB incidence increased from 10.95% to 17.92% at the 10% threshold, and from 4.41% to 7.29% at the 25% threshold. EFB was systematically concentrated among the poorest households, with inequality sharply rising over time, and nearly a quarter of the poorest households facing EFB at the 10% threshold. The main determinants of financial burden were geographic location, household size, age and education of household head, social health protection coverage, disease prevalence, hospitalization, and coping strategies. Urbanization, biased disease burdens, and preventive care were key in explaining the evolution of inequality.ConclusionMore efforts are needed to expand social protection, but monitoring those through standard measures such as CHE has masked inequality and the burden of the poor. The financial burden across the population has risen and become more unequal over the past decade despite expansion and improvements in social health protection schemes. Health Equity funds have, to some extent, mitigated inequality over time. However, their slow expansion and the reduced reliance on coping strategies to finance OOPHE could not outbalance inequality.

Enhanced Transformer Overcurrent Protection via Oil Temperature Acceleration

When a transformer is in a long-term heavy load operation state, the oil temperature reaches the alarm temperature; if a slight fault occurs inside the transformer, traditional inverse time current protection and other protections that react to phase current may not operate due to insufficient sensitivity or they may operate for too long. Based on this, this article proposes a new principle of accelerating inverse time overcurrent protection based on transformer oil temperature. The proposed method uses transformer oil temperature to accelerate the action time of traditional inverse-time overcurrent protection, then introduces the transformer oil temperature factor and acceleration index to optimize the inverse time characteristic curve, and establishes a mathematical model to optimize the adjustment for the complexity of adjustment of the protection action equation and the risk of mismatch of the protection after the acceleration of oil temperature. The existing theoretical analysis and simulation verification results show that the proposed new overcurrent protection scheme based on the transformer oil temperature acceleration inverse time can effectively improve the protection of the rapidity and sensitivity, providing a new research idea for the combination of non-electrical and electrical quantity protection.

Protection and Fault Isolation Scheme for DC Distribution Network Based on Active Current-Limiting Control

Protection and Fault Isolation Scheme for DC Distribution Network Based on Active Current-Limiting Control

Unemployment insurance for the self-employed: A conceptual way forward

In this contribution we give common guidelines on how unemployment schemes for the self-employed could be developed in practice. These guidelines have been derived from national descriptions contained in this special edition on unemployment protection for the self-employed, or in other recent comparative contributions on the matter. Our reference framework is the EU Council Recommendation (2019) on Access to Social Protection, and more in particular the overall objective that social protection should be designed in a labour status neutral manner and, where necessary, adapted to the specific work situation of the professional groups covered. Applied to unemployment, the design of the scheme should be as similar as possible to that of unemployment insurance for wage earners. However, it is crucial to adapt the rules as specifically as necessary to the nature of self-employed work, such as, for example, the fact that the self-employed do not work for an employer. Starting from this basis, we developed key rules with regard to unemployment schemes for the self-employed. We did so by addressing the essential components of unemployment schemes: the definition of the unemployment risk, financing, access and entitlement conditions, and re-eligibility in case of repeated claims for unemployment benefits. We also address recent evolutions in the labour market, such as coverage when multiple activities are performed (combining activities as an employee and as a self-employed person), and elaborate on situations involving temporary closure of the self-employed activity (e.g. due to Covid-19) and partial unemployment. In conclusion, we provide some reflections on the apparent ongoing evolution of the risk of unemployment towards a broader income protection scheme, which not only provides income replacement in case of a final loss of professional activity or self-employed business, but also gives structural income support if the person loses income partially due to external economic and/or social reasons.

Privacy Protection in Mobile Big Data: Challenges and Solutions

The pervasive use of mobile big data has profoundly altered daily life, providing unprecedented convenience and efficiency. However, with the proliferation of mobile devices and the explosive growth of data volume, the issue of user privacy protection has become increasingly severe. Location information and semantic information, as the two core components of mobile big data, can directly reflect users’ behavioral trajectories and thought dynamics, underscoring the importance of privacy protection. Although existing technologies can protect user data to a certain extent, traditional methods struggle to address increasingly sophisticated attack techniques in the face of evolving privacy threats. A comprehensive privacy protection scheme for mobile big data was proposed in this study, with a focus on two main areas: the privacy protection of location-based and semantic-based mobile big data. For location information protection, an uncertain graph model was employed to effectively resist combined attacks by jointly protecting the user layer and the location layer. For semantic information protection, a hypergraph clustering method was used to structurally protect the user layer and the semantic layer, enhancing the privacy security of semantic information. This study not only addresses existing gaps but also provides new solutions for mobile big data privacy protection, offering significant theoretical and practical value.

Performance Evaluation of Distance Relay Operation in Distribution Systems with Integrated Distributed Energy Resources

This article presents the evaluation of the performance of the distance relay (ANSI function 21) when integrating Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in a Local Distribution System (LDS). The aim is to understand the impacts of and the necessary modifications required in the operation of distance relays, considering different levels of DER aggregation, and identifying any threshold levels before issues arise. To achieve this, first, a comprehensive review was carried out to analyze the impacts generated in the protection systems. Second, by using the DigSilent Power Factory software, the implementation of the distance relay using a IEEE 13 Node Test Feeder was validated. The aggregation of the three fundamental types of DG, synchronous machines, solar panels, and wind turbines, was evaluated. The threshold at which distributed generation power injection begins to compromise distance protection performance was identified. This study compares the outcomes of using mho and quadrilateral protection schemes.

DRPChain: A new blockchain-based trusted DRM scheme for image content protection

The unauthorized replication and distribution of digital images pose significant challenges to copyright protection. While existing solutions incorporate blockchain-based techniques such as perceptual hashing and digital watermarking, they lack large-scale experimental validation and a dedicated blockchain consensus protocol for image copyright management. This paper introduces DRPChain, a novel digital image copyright management system that addresses these issues. DRPChain employs an efficient cropping-resistant robust image hashing algorithm to defend against 14 common image attacks, demonstrating an 85% success rate in watermark extraction, 10% higher than the original scheme. Moreover, the paper designs the K-Raft consensus algorithm tailored for image copyright protection. Comparative experiments with Raft and benchmarking against PoW and PBFT algorithms show that K-Raft reduces block error rates by 2%, improves efficiency by 300ms compared to Raft, and exhibits superior efficiency,decentralization, and throughput compared to PoW and PBFT. These advantages make K-Raft more suitable for digital image copyright protection. This research contributes valuable insights into using blockchain technology for digital copyright protection, providing a solid foundation for future exploration.

Effect of DG penetration on hybrid relay coordination using user-defined dual-setting directional overcurrent relays and distance relays

ABSTRACT The efficient coordination of the distance and directional overcurrent relays (DOCRs) is jeopardized by the massive deployment of renewable distributed generation (DG) into electrical power networks. The two key aspects influencing the relay coordination are the bidirectional flow of current and increased short-circuit currents due to DG integration. This study investigates the consequences of variable DG penetration on the distance and dual-setting DOCRs (DS-DOCRs) coordination. As a result, common optimal relay settings have been obtained that can be utilized for variable DG penetration levels in modified IEEE-14 bus test system. For the distance relays (DRs), a fixed zone 1 and variable zone 2 operation have been considered. The proposed combined protection scheme is tested on a modified IEEE-14 bus test system using DS-DOCRs and DRs. The relay coordination problem is formulated as a constrained non-linear optimization problem and solved by genetic algorithm (GA) and gray wolf optimization (GWO). In this paper, DS-DOCRs with user-defined relay characteristics have demonstrated superior performance in line protection compared to conventional DOCRs with normal inverse (NI) characteristics. In addition, a comprehensive comparative analysis of optimization algorithms has been performed between GA and GWO algorithms.