Security Evaluation Research Articles

Cap like trajectories in 5D chaotic tangent hyperbolic memristive model: fractional calculus and encryption

This research aims to investigate the influence of model parameters and fractional order on a novel mathematical model with tangent hyperbolic memristor. This investigation conducted by applying Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation analysis. We utilize the Lyapunov exponent theory to understand and characterize these chaotic behaviors under fractional indices. The Lyapunov exponent, bifurcation, and phase diagrams have been depicted to explore the intricate dynamics of the chaotic system governed by the chaotic equation. A novel approach termed Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo (ABC) fractional derivative (FD) to generate phase portraits and gain insights into the system’s behavior. The random numbers generated by the chaotic system are employed to distort the image through an amalgamated image encryption (AIE) algorithm. Subsequently, the integrity of the scrambled image has been assessed using various image security evaluation methods to reinforce the notion that combining the chaotic system and image can constitute a valuable encryption key. Finally, the chaotic model circuit realization uses active and passive components, and the outcomes are compared with the numerical simulations.

Research on Fuzzy Evaluation of Land Environmental Security in Three Provinces of Northeast China

Among the world’s most important three chief black lands, China’s northeast region is a vital hub for the commercial extraction of grain, undertaking the task of grain reserves and special transfers. Utilizing the provincial data of the three northeastern provinces from 2010 to 2021, and using existing documents and records as essential elements, we structured a land security appraisal system with five criterion layers and 21 indicator layers of pressure, state, impact, response, and management. The three provinces in the northeast were evaluated for the security of their land resources using the entropy-dependent weight-TOPSIS pattern. The study findings indicate that: (1) In general, land resource security of the three northeastern provinces shows a pattern of decline followed by a gradual increase from 2012 to 2021, and there is a steady improvement in the level of land’s ecological stability; (2) There are differences in the ecological stability of the soil across cities and provinces, with Heilongjiang Province having the best land security status and Liaoning Province having the worst; (3) The amount of soil erosion in tiny watersheds is the indicator that has the biggest influence on land ecological stability in the three provinces in the northeast; (4) The response layer is the criterion layer that has the strongest correlation with land ecological safety.

Common criteria for security evaluation and malicious intrusion detection mechanism of dam supervisory control and data acquisition system

Common criteria for security evaluation and malicious intrusion detection mechanism of dam supervisory control and data acquisition system

The Security Evaluation of an Efficient Lightweight AES Accelerator

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is widely recognized as a robust cryptographic algorithm utilized to protect data integrity and confidentiality. When it comes to lightweight implementations of the algorithm, the literature mainly emphasizes area and power optimization, often overlooking considerations related to performance and security. This paper evaluates two of our previously proposed lightweight AES implementations using both profiled and non-profiled attacks. One is an unprotected implementation, and the other one is a protected version using Domain-Oriented Masking (DOM). The findings of this study indicate that the inclusion of DOM in the design enhances its resistance to attacks at the cost of doubling the area.

An image encryption scheme without additional key transmission based on an N-dimensional closed-loop coupled triangular wave model

Currently, many image encryption schemes either require additional secure channels for key transmission or employ a key that exhibits a lack of correlation with the plaintext, thereby reducing the security of the algorithm. This study proposes a novel image encryption scheme to address this issue. A new N-dimensional closed-loop coupled triangular wave model is developed to overcome the limitations of the sine function in chaotic systems while reducing the difficulty of the chaotic system design. Experimental analysis demonstrates that the generated chaotic systems exhibit complex chaotic behaviors and outperform other chaotic systems designed using the sine function. Specifically, we utilize difference extension technology to embed key information into the plaintext image and design a scrambling and diffusion algorithm based on Latin rectangles to encrypt the remaining pixel matrix without key information. Finally, the pixel matrix containing the key information is concealed to obtain the final ciphertext image. Simulation analysis and security evaluation demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the encryption performance and security of several advanced image encryption algorithms.

Synergistic Evaluation of Computer Network Security Using Attack Graphs and Security Event Processing

This study presents an intricate evaluation framework for enhancing computer network security through converging attack graph analysis and security event processing (SEP). The researchers construct a comprehensive methodology integrating these techniques to systematically identify vulnerabilities, visualize potential attack paths, and implement real-time threat monitoring. The findings demonstrate the efficacy of this integrated approach in fortifying network defenses and minimizing exposure to cyber threats.

Coastal ecological security assessment in Laizhou Bay, China: from the perspective of demographic-social-economic-natural complex ecosystem.

Assessment of ecological security is essential for understanding the status of bay ecosystem and developing appropriate management strategy. Based on the driving force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model, the demographic, economic, social, and ecological data of Laizhou Bay and its three neighboring counties were selected for the period from 2015 to 2021. An ecological security evaluation index system of Laizhou Bay containing 26 indicators was established, and the weights of each indicator were determined by the methods of AHP and EWM, and a comprehensive evaluation of the ecological security of Laizhou Bay was carried out by ESI. Correlations between indicators were analyzed by the Spearman's rank coefficient of correlation. The results showed that there were significant correlations between marine conditions and indicators such as population size in the surrounding area, mariculture area, industrial and domestic wastewater discharge, and treatment rate. Overall, from 2015 to 2021, the ecological security of Laizhou Bay showed a favorable trend, from a relatively unsafe level to a generally safe level, and then to a relatively safe level. Through the comprehensive evaluation of the ecological security of Laizhou Bay, we can recognize the utilization of marine resources and ecological carrying capacity, guide the rational development and utilization of marine resources, and promote the sustainable development of the marine economy.

Detection of Integrity Attacks on Permissions of Android-Based Mobile Apps: Security Evaluation on PayPal

Detection of Integrity Attacks on Permissions of Android-Based Mobile Apps: Security Evaluation on PayPal

Evaluation of System Access Security in The Implementation of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in Educational Institutions

Information systems in educational institutions have the potential to be targeted by various parties, especially unauthorized parties, so they require a higher layer of security to protect sensitive data and secure user access. One solution that can be implemented is the implementation of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), a security approach that utilizes more than one authentication method to secure access to the system. MFA is a security method that requires more than one way to verify a user's identity when accessing a system, application, or service that aims to increase security by adding an additional layer of protection beyond using a single passphrase or password. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of implementing MFA in the context of system access security in educational environments. The research methodology involves surveying system users, statistical analysis, and monitoring access activity to assess the extent to which MFA is successful in reducing security risks and protecting sensitive information. The research results show that the use of MFA in educational institutions can significantly increase system access security. Several obstacles that arise become challenges in solving problems regarding the use of MFA. Therefore, this article also examines recommendations for increasing the implementation of MFA in educational institutions. It is hoped that this research can contribute to the positive impact of MFA in improving system access security in the context of educational institutions by optimizing information technology in protecting data integrity and user access security.

PDHL-MARCOS method based on cumulative prospect theory for MAGDM and its application in network security evaluation

The increasingly large and complex network brings convenience to our life and production, but it also brings potential dangers. Any minor vulnerability may lead to failure of application software configuration, software maintenance, user management and system management. Eventually, our network is interrupted, and even life and production data are leaked. Therefore, establishing a scientific and effective network security evaluation model is an effective way to supervise, manage and improve network security; It is also an effective measure to reduce the loss of life and production. Therefore, we first selected six factors closely related to network security to form a complete network security evaluation index system. Then, the utility function in the traditional measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS) method is improved by using the value function in cumulative prospect theory (CPT), and a PDHL-MARCOS evaluation model that can reflect the decision-makers’ (DMs’) attitudes towards gains and losses is obtained in the probabilistic double hierarchy linguistic term set (PDHLTS). In addition, the relative entropy (RE) method is also used to obtain expert weights. The combination weights of attributes are obtained using the correlation coefficient and the standard deviation (CCSD) method and the weight function in CPT.

Modeling security evaluation framework for IoHT-driven systems using integrated decision-making methodology

The intensification of the Internet of Health Things devices created security concerns due to the limitations of these devices and the nature of the healthcare data. While dealing with the security challenges, several authentication schemes, protocols, processes, and standards have been adopted. Consequently, making the right decision regarding the installation of a secure authentication solution or procedure becomes tricky and challenging due to the large number of security protocols, complexity, and lack of understanding. The major objective of this study is to propose an IoHT-based assessment framework for evaluating and prioritizing authentication schemes in the healthcare domain. Initially, in the proposed work, the security issues related to authentication are collected from the literature and consulting experts’ groups. In the second step, features of various authentication schemes are collected under the supervision of an Internet of Things security expert using the Delphi approach. The collected features are used to design suitable criteria for assessment and then Graph Theory and Matrix approach applies for the evaluation of authentication alternatives. Finally, the proposed framework is tested and validated to ensure the results are consistent and accurate by using other multi-criteria decision-making methods. The framework produces promising results such as 93%, 94%, and 95% for precision, accuracy, and recall, respectively in comparison to the existing approaches in this area. The proposed framework can be picked as a guideline by healthcare security experts and stakeholders for the evaluation and decision-making related to authentication issues in IoHT systems

Research on safety condition assessment methodology for single tower steel box girder suspension bridges over the sea based on improved AHP-fuzzy comprehensive evaluation

In order to propose a reliable method for assessing the safety condition for single-tower steel box girder Suspension bridges over the sea, a condition monitoring system is established by installing sensors on the bridge structure. The system is capable of gathering monitoring data that influence the safety status of the bridge. These include cable tension, load on the main tower and pylon, bearing displacement, wind direction, wind speed, and ambient temperature and humidity. Furthermore, an improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) algorithm is developed by integrating a hybrid triangular fuzzy number logic structure. This improvement, coupled with comprehensive fuzzy evaluation methods, improves the consistency, weight determination, and security evaluation capabilities of the AHP algorithm. Finally, taking the No.2 Channel Bridge as an example and based on the data collected by the health monitoring system, the application of the safety assessment method proposed in this paper provides favorable results in evaluating the overall safety status of the bridge in practical engineering applications. This provides a basis for management decisions by bridge maintenance departments. This project confirms that the research results can provide a reliable method for assessing the security status of relevant areas.

A Proxy Re-Encryption Approach to Secure Data Sharing in the Internet of Things Based on Blockchain

The Internet of Things has seen data sharing as one of its most useful applications in cloud computing. As eye-catching as this technology has been, data security remains one of the obstacles it faces since the wrongful use of data leads to several damages. In this article, we propose a proxy re-encryption approach to secure data sharing in cloud environments. Data owners can outsource their encrypted data to the cloud using identity-based encryption, while proxy re-encryption construction will grant legitimate users access to the data. With the Internet of Things devices being resource-constrained, an edge device acts as a proxy server to handle intensive computations. Also, we make use of the features of information-centric networking to deliver cached content in the proxy effectively, thus improving the quality of service and making good use of the network bandwidth. Further, our system model is based on blockchain, a disruptive technology that enables decentralization in data sharing. It mitigates the bottlenecks in centralized systems and achieves fine-grained access control to data. The security analysis and evaluation of our scheme show the promise of our approach in ensuring data confidentiality, integrity, and security

Automated Differential-Linear Cryptanalysis for AND-RX Ciphers

Differential and linear cryptanalysis are two important methods to evaluate the security of block ciphers. Building on these two methods, differential-linear (DL) cryptanalysis was introduced by Langford and Hellman in 1994. This cryptanalytic method has been not only extensively researched but also proven to be effective. In this paper, a security evaluation framework for AND-RX ciphers against DL cryptanalysis is proposed, which is denoted as K6. In addition to modeling the structure of all the possible differential trails and linear trails at the bit level, we introduce a method to calculate this structure round by round. Based on this approach, an automatic algorithm is proposed to construct the DL distinguisher. Unlike previous methods, K6 uses a truncated differential and a linear hull instead of a differential characteristic and a linear approximation, which brings the bias of the DL distinguisher close to the experimental value. To validate the effectiveness of the framework, K6 is applied to Simon and Simeck, which are two typical AND-RX ciphers. With the automatic algorithm, we discover an 11-round DL distinguisher of Simon32 with bias 2−14.89 and a 12-round DL distinguisher of Simeck32 with bias 2−14.89. Moreover, the 14-round DL distinguisher of Simon48 with bias 2−22.30 is longer than the longest DL distinguisher currently known. In addition, the framework K6 shows advantages when analyzing ciphers with large block sizes. As far as we know, for Simon64/96/128 and Simeck48/64, the first DL distinguishers are obtained with our framework. The DL distinguishers are 16, 23, 32, 17, and 22 rounds of Simon64/96/128 and Simeck48/64 with bias 2−24.31, 2−47.57, 2−60.75, 2−22.54, and 2−31.41, respectively. To prove the correctness of distinguishers, experiments on Simon32 and Simeck32 have been performed. The experimental bias are 2−13.76 and 2−14.82, respectively. Comparisons of the theoretical and experimental results show good agreement.

A secure and transparent communication mechanism based on blockchain and fuzzy evaluation matrix in metaverse industry 4.0

ABSTRACT Recently, Metaverse is gaining prominence within the field of radiology due to its potential to revolutionize image visualization. Radiologists can harness its capabilities to access dynamic, highly detailed results, thereby enhancing diagnostic precision. Digital twins, at the core of the Metaverse, are digital replicas of real-world objects and entities. They serve as the foundational building blocks, enabling the creation of virtual counterparts for everything within the Metaverse. To ensure the reliability of these digital twins, blockchain technology offers a multi-dimensional data storage solution, reinforcing data integrity and trustworthiness. It is used to ensure a transparent and 3D visualization of each communication and interaction for further looking up any criticality if present in the network. With the rapid increase in value and volume of data, the evolution of the metaverse faces a number of privacy and security concerns. Furthermore, the metaverse in Industry 4.0 is a trending topic that further needs to focus on its security challenges at its initial stage. Fortunately, blockchain is considered as one of the significant solutions. The aim of this paper is to propose a secure and efficient fuzzy evaluation matrix by computing the trust values along with integrating with blockchain mechanism in industry 4.0 enabling metaverse environment. The proposed mechanism is validated against various security concerns such as broken authentication, eavesdropping, personal information leakage, data injection, and unauthorized access. The proposed mechanism showed the validation rate against existing schemes with an improvement of 94% in comparison of several security metrics.

Enhancing Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Decision Making through Intelligent Task Planning and Behavior Tree Optimization

The expansion of underwater scenarios and missions highlights the crucial need for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to make informed decisions. Therefore, developing an efficient decision-making framework is vital to enhance productivity in executing complex tasks within tight time constraints. This paper delves into task planning and reconstruction within the AUV control decision system to enable intelligent completion of intricate underwater tasks. Behavior trees (BTs) offer a structured approach to organizing the switching structure of a hybrid dynamical system (HDS), originally introduced in the computer game programming community. In this research, an intelligent search algorithm, MCTS-QPSO (Monte Carlo tree search and quantum particle swarm optimization), is proposed to bolster the AUV’s capacity in planning complex task decision control systems. This algorithm tackles the issue of the time-consuming manual design of control systems by effectively integrating BTs. By assessing a predefined set of subtasks and actions in tandem with the complex task scenario, a reward function is formulated for MCTS to pinpoint the optimal subtree set. The QPSO algorithm is then leveraged for subtree integration, treating it as an optimal path search problem from the root node to the leaf node. This process optimizes the search subtree, thereby enhancing the robustness and security of the control architecture. To expedite search speed and algorithm convergence, this paper recommends reducing the search space by pre-grouping conditions and states within the behavior tree. The efficacy and superiority of the proposed algorithm are validated through security and timeliness evaluations of the BT, along with comparisons with other algorithms for automatic AUV decision control behavior tree design. Ultimately, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm are corroborated through simulations on a multi-AUV complex task platform, showcasing its practical applicability and efficiency in real-world underwater scenarios.

Cryptanalysis and security evaluation of optimized algorithms for image encryption in deep optimal network

Cryptanalysis and security evaluation of optimized algorithms for image encryption in deep optimal network

Security Evaluation of State Space Obfuscation of Hardware IP through a Red Team-Blue Team Practice

Due to the inclination towards a fab-less model of integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, several untrusted entities get white-box access to the proprietary intellectual property (IP) blocks from diverse vendors. To this end, the untrusted entities pose security-breach threats in the form of piracy, cloning, and reverse-engineering, sometimes threatening national security. Hardware obfuscation is a prominent countermeasure against such issues. Obfuscation allows for preventing the usage of the IP blocks without authorization from the IP owners. Due to finite state machine (FSM) transformation-based hardware obfuscation, the design’s FSM gets transformed to make it difficult for an attacker to reverse-engineer the design. A secret key needs to be applied to make the FSM functional, thus preventing the usage of the IP for unintended purposes. Although several hardware obfuscation techniques have been proposed, due to the inability to analyze the techniques from the attackers’ standpoint, numerous vulnerabilities inherent to the obfuscation methods go undetected unless a true adversary discovers them. In this article, we present a collaborative approach between two entities—one acting as an attacker or red team and another as a defender or blue team , the first systematic approach to replicate the real attacker-defender scenario in the hardware security domain, which in return strengthens the FSM transformation-based obfuscation technique. The blue team transforms the underlying FSM of a gate-level netlist using state space obfuscation. The red team plays the role of an adversary or evaluator and tries to unlock the design by extracting the unlocking key or recovering the obfuscation circuitries. As the key outcome of this red team–blue team effort, a robust state space obfuscation methodology is evolved showing security promises.

Evaluation of Sustainable Maintenance and Security of Green Spaces in Public Housing Schemes in Lagos State, Nigeria

Security of lives and property in housing environments is one of the basic necessity in the provision of public housing. The nature of maintenance given to green spaces in public housing environment can affect the level of security of lives and property. However, due to the antecedents of public housing, its unique population and the problems it creates for law enforcement agencies on security issues, there is need to evaluate how sustainable maintenance of green spaces within public housing could affect the level of security of lives and property. The public housing constructed by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) in Lagos State, Nigeria was used for this study. Primary data was collected from 1036 housing units in 12 different estates of the LSDPC in Lagos State, using the research tools of the questionnaire and structured observation schedule. Descriptive statistics and categorical regression analyses were carried out on the data. The results showed that the green spaces around each housing units were sustainably maintained, than jointly owned green spaces by all residents of the housing estates and this has implications to the level of security of lives and property in the housing estates. It is recommended that public housing estate’s green spaces be designed to allow for sustainability in maintenance by each housing units, which would lead to a general sustainable maintenance view of all green spaces available in the public housing environment.

A Delphi study to assess the effect of changes in language between the first and second editions of the WHO’s Joint External Evaluation

IntroductionCountries use the WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool—part of the WHO International Health Regulations (2005) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework—for voluntary evaluation of global health security (GHS) capacities. After releasing...