Security Services Research Articles

Multi-criteria decision-making for solving transport sustainability issues: an overview

With the recognition of the impact of the transport sector on climate change and human health, decision-makers are under the pressure to shape the transport sector in a more sustainable way, considering more sustainable options and technologies. Besides that, it is also important to ensure such aspects as affordability, security, reliability and convenience of transport services and the effective functioning of the whole system. Therefore, transport-related policy actions require not only an economic point of view, but also environmental and social actions. The article aims to overview the application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques for solving sustainability issues in the transport sector and to provide the main insights for methods and sustainability criteria selection. The Search, Appraisal, Synthesis and Analysis (SALSA) framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement were applied as the basis for the research. The detailed content analysis of studies is arranged according to the application areas and the methods applied. In order to increase the applicability of the performed analysis and to simplify the decision-making for further studies, the thematic areas for criteria selection are proposed, the most popular MCDM techniques alongside their advantages and disadvantages are briefly discussed.

Motif‐based resiliency assessment for cyber‐physical power systems under various hazards

AbstractCyber‐physical power systems (CPPS) are integral to meeting society's demand for secure, sustainable, affordable and resilient critical networks and services. Given the convergence of decarbonising, heating, cooling, and transportation networks onto cyber‐physical power systems (CPPS), this takes on increased significance. This paper introduces an innovative approach to the open challenge of how we evaluate CPPS resilience, presenting the use of network motifs and Monte Carlo simulations. We demonstrate how our methodology enables a comprehensive analysis of CPPS by capturing the interdependence between cyber and physical networks and by accounting for inherent uncertainties in cyber and physical components. Specifically, this method incorporates the dynamic interplay between the physical and cyber networks, presenting a time‐dependent motif‐based resilience metric. This metric evaluates CPPS performance in maintaining critical loads during and after diverse extreme events in cyber and/or physical layers. The resilience status of the system is determined using the prevalence of 4‐node motifs within the system's network, offering valuable redundant paths for critical load supply. The study models a variety of natural events, including earthquakes, windstorms, and tornadoes, along with cyber‐attacks while accounting for their inherent uncertainties using Monte Carlo simulation. The proposed approach is demonstrated through two test CPPS, specifically the IEEE 14‐bus and IEEE 30‐bus test systems, affirming its effectiveness in quantifying CPPS resilience. By comprehensively addressing system dynamics, interdependencies, and uncertainties, the proposed technique advances our understanding of CPPS and supports resilient system design.

Table of life for beneficiaries of the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE), Mexico 2021

Table of life for beneficiaries of the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE), Mexico 2021

Integrated management of lakes, reservoirs, and their basins is critical for a climate-resilient planet: an urgent wake-up call from collective amnesia

ABSTRACT Integrated management of lakes and reservoirs and their basins is vital for preserving their significant socioeconomic and ecological benefits, which are essential for climate resilience. Lakes and reservoirs store 88% of the Earth's fresh surface water, providing water, food, energy security, flood protection, drought mitigation, and ecosystem services. This article highlights the rapid depletion and deterioration of these Lentic (standing) waters and the consequent loss of valuable benefits, threatening the global water supply and exacerbating environmental and climate crises. It discusses the evolution of lake management practices and contrasts these with strategies for managing lotic (flowing) waters. It summarizes collaborative best practices for Lake Basin Governance developed through a multiagency partnership. It reviews recent global initiatives to sustainably manage lakes, integrate storage, address aging dams, and foster partnerships and cooperation. It highlights the widespread failures across international water and environmental policies and institutions. The article calls on the global water and environmental community to awaken from collective amnesia, act, and implement best practices for governing lakes, reservoirs, and basins. Our companion article examines the institutional inertia hindering integrated action and offers collaborative opportunities for integrating land and water management in lake and reservoir basins to enhance climate resilience.

Das volkspolnische Innenministerium und die Solidarność-Außenstellen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – zwischen halboperativen Aufklärung und politisch bedingten Pragmatismus. Einige Thesen und Fallbeispiele.

The main aim of the study was not only to provide a synthetic discussion of the basic activities of the interior ministry of the People’s Republic of Poland in relation to Solidarity representations in West Germany in the 1980s. Much more important was a critical polemic with two groups of witnesses to the point mentioned above, i.e. secret service officers and former democratic opposition activists, who presented extreme views on their own trade union work in the Federal Republic or pointed out the alleged operational capabilities of the Polish Security Service. The author of the text didn’t agree with the views of the two aforementioned groups.

Optimization algorithm of power system line loss management using big data analytics

As global energy demand continues to rise and renewable energy sources develop rapidly, the operational efficiency and stability of power systems have emerged as primary challenges in energy management. Line loss within these systems is a critical factor for both energy efficiency and economic performance. This study leverages an electric energy data management platform that facilitates the sharing of archival information, the development of line loss calculation models, and the automated computation of electricity and line loss formulas. This ensures accurate and real-time calculations of line losses in the power grid, supporting multi-time scale analyses and providing timely, comprehensive data for effective line loss management. The platform utilizes theoretical line loss values to identify anomalies, which are categorized into five types: topological relationships, archival information, data collection, electricity metering, and consumption behavior. In response to the abnormal monthly power imbalance rate of 220 kV and 110 KV stations, and the − 3.684% exceeding the − 1% assessment limit, the designed line loss management system service layer does not need to go deep into the bottom layer of the power system. It hides the complexity of the power grid through middleware and provides data, application, and security services.

Minimizing IoT Security Deployment Costs using the Dominating Set Approach

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has generated significant interest by enabling connectivity across various objects, ranging from the smallest devices to large-scale systems. Despite its benefits, IoT poses considerable security challenges due to the many interconnected devices that collect and transmit sensitive data across networks. Therefore, ensuring robust data protection and preventing unauthorized access or misuse are essential concerns. To address this issue, strategically placing security services within IoT networks is vital for safeguarding both devices and data. One promising strategy for optimizing this placement is the use of the dominating set concept derived from graph theory, which helps in the efficient allocation of security resources. This study presents an IoT network as a simple weighted graph, considering device capabilities while focusing on adopting the dominating set concept to enhance the placement of security services in IoT networks. To achieve this, an enhanced greedy heuristic is proposed for efficiently generating the dominating set. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach are evaluated through a comparative analysis combined with existing methods in the recent literature.

Evaluation of privacy protection methods of public service advertising visual design in the perspective of artificial intelligence internet of things.

With the widespread application of monitoring technology and network storage technology, there are some privacy issues in the process of public service advertising visual design and the process of pushing public service advertising visual design works. Researching the privacy protection method of public service advertising visual design is of great significance to protecting the privacy data security of public service advertising visual designers and the personal privacy of other citizens. This paper proposes a digital watermark privacy protection method and a public service advertising visual design work push privacy protection method, and conducts a privacy protection experiment study on public service advertising visual design. The digital watermark privacy protection method and the public service advertising work push privacy protection method are used to provide an innovative solution for public service advertising privacy protection. The study shows that the evaluation score of the digital watermark privacy protection method is 11.05% higher than that of the traditional passive privacy protection method; the average feasibility evaluation score and the average effectiveness evaluation score of the privacy protection method for the public service advertising visual design work push by experts are 86.8 and 90.66 respectively. Combining the perspectives of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, this paper proposes a digital watermark privacy protection method, emphasizing practicality, and providing new ideas for privacy protection of public service advertising visual design.

Application of Fintech Financial Technology in the Stock Market in Vietnam

Along with the strong development of science and technology, the application of modern technology in many activities in the financial market, including the stock market, has contributed to promoting and creating new steps. a major turning point in the development and integration of these markets. The application of modern technology has created technological leaps in the financial sector around the world, bringing incredible changes in the fields of securities, banking, and investment. Currently, Fintech is playing an important role in changing the way investors participate in the stock market.The profound impact of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution is and has been taking place strongly on most industries around the world in general and Vietnam in particular, so the stock market is no exception to that trend. Developing the stock market towards integrating modern information technology applications is an inevitable trend. Recognizing the importance of information technology application in the field of securities and stock market, the State Securities Commission has gradually modernized the technology platform to improve management and supervision capacity, operating and serving the development of the market.Regarding the development of securities products and services, since 2017, a number of securities companies have researched and deployed financial technology applications to increase customers' investment experience. Up to now, Fintech has helped new investors easily access stock investment channels with many convenient trading features, low costs, saving time and effort. However, Fintech applications in stock trading in our country are not really diverse, still at a simple level such as supporting buying and selling transactions, providing transaction information for investors. The article provides comments and assessments on the current status of Fintech applications in stock trading in Vietnam and some proposals to widely deploy these applications in the stock market in the near future.

Psychological problems and related factors among primary healthcare staff in major cities in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to explore psychological problems and related factors among frontline primary healthcare workers who belongs to community health service centers and directly provides medical security services to community residents during the COVID-19 in Shanghai. We used a cross-sectional data analysis design to investigate the anxiety and depression levels of 929 frontline healthcare staff (primary healthcare providers, nurses, village doctors, and public health workers) during the Shanghai epidemic.The prevalence of depression among frontline primary healthcare workers was 39.7% (369 cases) and that of anxiety was 30%(279 cases). There was a significant correlation between the depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms. And factors associated with depression were being female, advanced education, expecting psychological interventions, expecting vacations as a reward, and expecting financial rewards. Factors strongly associated with anxiety were being female, expecting psychological interventions, and expecting vacations as a reward. Psychological problems among frontline primary healthcare workers merit more attention during the COVID-19 outbreak, especially those who are vulnerable (e.g., females and those with an advanced education).

Legal obstacles jeopardise research in personalised medicine - experiences from a Nordic collaboration within rheumatology.

Personalised medicine in chronic complex diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is within reach but requires international multi-stakeholder collaboration. We exemplify how national implementations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have introduced administrative delays and created disincentives for data sharing and collaborative research. Our Danish/Swedish/Norwegian research collaboration (the 3-year NordForsk-funded "NORA" project) aims to develop a personalised medicine approach for the management of RA, built on the exploitation of unique existing data sources: longitudinal data from clinical rheumatology registries, research cohorts, nationwide health care registries, and biobank material from >20 sample collections. Data and results are shared and accessed remotely by collaborators at secure servers. New biomarker assays and patient-centric implementations of the results are to be explored, validated, and disseminated to patients and health care via the development of digital tools. Following the advice of legal experts at the involved academic or public institutions and private companies, GDPR compliance resulted in >20 legal documents to govern the collaboration (consortium-, joint controller-, research collaboration-, data sharing-, and a series of unique two-way data processing-, and material transfer agreements). Lack of agreed-upon templates, policies, procedures, and a shortage of legal resources have caused considerable delays. Thus, our research consortium has spent more time ensuring GDPR compliance than on actual research activities. The current interpretation and implementation of the legal premises (rather than the GDPR per se) for research collaborations caused unnecessary barriers and delays. Our experiences call for Nordic trust-based code-of-conduct-like framework agreements, and for harmonisation of procedures and templates, lest the Nordic advantage in research be lost.

Quality management - effective tool for the development of a modern innovative company

Introducing the quality management system in the company leads to: continuous frequent improvement, increased competition, increased efficiency and profitability, clear procedures, minimization of errors, reduction of production time, greater motivation, better communication and information, optimization of image, security and trust in products or services. The problem we will address is the use of quality tools and techniques to observe the factor sthatinfluence the final quality of product sand services. Manufacturers or researchers are more product-oriented, where quality is described by specific measurable indicators and characteristics of the product. However, consumers, sellers and economists describe quality as a combination of consumer want sand needs, which includes product characteristics, shelflife, permanent supply, food safety and ethical aspects.

A hierarchical and secure approach for automotive firmware upgrades

With the development of intelligent and connected vehicles, the expansion of software necessitates an increased significance and frequency of automotive firmware upgrades. The abundance of potential attack vectors and valuable data renders these upgrades enticing targets for attackers. However, the prevailing security services used for automotive firmware upgrades are no longer sufficient to meet security requirements. Hence, this paper proposes a Secure Automotive Firmware Upgrade Approach (SAFUA), aimed at enhancing authentication and communication security during automotive firmware upgrades. To address the heterogeneous performance of in-vehicle nodes and diverse application contexts, this approach introduces multiple authentication modes tailored to various upgrade scenarios. Moreover, hierarchical authentication and secure communication strategies are designed to achieve a balance between security and efficiency requirements. Consolidating these methodologies, a standardized automotive firmware upgrade process is delineated. Formal and informal verification of the proposed approach is conducted to attest its security efficacy. Furthermore, a simulated vehicular environment is constructed to evaluate the temporal and spatial efficiency of the approach across diverse bus and device configurations. The results confirm the adaptability of the secure upgrade approach outlined herein to the automotive firmware upgrade landscape, offering robust security alongside enhanced upgrade efficiency.

Chinese migrant workers’ integration into cities and land transfer amid urban–rural population mobility

Following the economic reforms and opening up, the Chinese government has implemented policies aimed at promoting land transfer, yet the rate of rural land transfer continues to be relatively low, resulting in inefficient land use in rural regions. The movement of people from rural to urban areas is a key driver of land transfer, and the level of integration of migrant workers in urban settings is closely tied to their decisions to transfer land. We analyzed survey data from 1,533 migrant worker households using a binary logistic regression model and conducted an endogeneity test with a two-stage least squares model. The findings indicate that economic, social, psychological, and identity integration, as well as overall urban integration, have a significant positive impact on the likelihood of land transfer, the involvement of non-relatives in transfers, and the length of time land is transferred.Economic integration significantly influences the decision of migrant workers to transfer land, social integration plays a substantial role in transfers involving non-relatives, and psychological and identity integration significantly affects the duration of land transfers. In summary, the analysis recommends that policymakers prioritize fostering a more inclusive urban environment for migrant workers, enhance employment opportunities and social security services for this group, and facilitate the participation of migrant workers in the land transfer market to maximize the value of their land assets.

Development of a Voice Information Presentation Guidance System (VIPGS) Using Coanda‐Drone‐V2

AbstractIn this study, an aerial tour guide drone was developed based on the existing Coanda‐drone. The research integrated a Voice Information Presentation System with ROS2 using the open‐source PX4 flight control system to update the drone's control module. This system can recognize and read QR codes on displayed items and convert the text information from QR codes into speech for playback. It also utilizes left and right laser sensors for obstacle avoidance. Furthermore, the study conducted both simulation experiments and actual flight tests to validate the feasibility of equipping the Coanda‐drone with the voice information presentation system and to assess the flight capabilities of the Coanda‐drone. This system offers a novel solution for guidance and obstacle avoidance, demonstrating the potential of drones as flexible, highly secure, and efficient mobile service robots in the future. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

The Warsaw coordination centre – international radio counterintelligence cooperation of the former European socialist countries

ABSTRACT This article looks back to the Cold War years in describing the international radio counterintelligence cooperation of the internal state security services of the formerly socialist European countries. The technical equipment for collecting and transmitting information from other countries was valorised in a context in which borders played a divisive role, especially in the first half of the Cold War period. Western secret service ‘agents’ in Eastern Bloc territory received information from their intelligence centres via secret radio devices, and often sent back information via encrypted radio transmissions. By the 1950s, the socialist countries had developed their own state security organizations and radio interception capabilities. From 1955 on, this was performed in cooperation with the other socialist countries under the coordination of the so-called Warsaw Coordination Centre. The aim of this article is to describe, based on Hungarian archival sources, the little-known inter-state security cooperation that existed from 1955 to the end of the Cold War, and to contribute to the historical understanding of the Eastern Bloc Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) activities.

Penerapan Honeypot Sebagai Sistem Keamanan Server Berbasis Linux

The application of honeypot as a linux-based server security system can help secure servers, can help detect attacks that occur on computer networks, and display the results of attacks that occur in logs stored on cowrie honeypots. With the existence of a honeypot, it can be used as a distraction from the attacker and is able to take information about the attack that occurred and the information of the attacker. Honeypot is implemented into a system that becomes a dummy system with the aim of attracting attention, detecting, and examining attacks that occur and are carried out by attackers. Based on the tests that have been carried out, it can be concluded that the application of honeypot in the linux-based server security system at SMK Negeri 3 Bengkulu is able to manipulate ports such as ports 22 and 23, so that it can avoid and secure ports from attacks such as ping of death which was tested using the LOIC, SSH, Telnet applications, port scanners which were tested using the advanced port scanner application, which is stored in the Cowrie Honeypot logs.

The “KGB Wanted List” and the Evolving Soviet Pursuit of Defectors

Abstract The 1969 edition of a document known as the “KGB Wanted List” was smuggled to the West in 1972 by a Soviet State Security Committee (KGB) officer who defected. The KGB periodically compiled the list to target people around the world whom the Soviet government accused of violating Soviet law, especially through defection. More than four decades after the 1969 list became available in the West, the Security Service of Ukraine—the main counterintelligence agency in independent Ukraine—declassified a later edition of the KGB list, dated 1979. This article compares these two editions of the list, analyzing the individuals included (and excluded) in each, the judicial sentences passed against subjects, and the KGB organizations responsible for handling their cases. The article shows that the Soviet view of defectors evolved throughout the Cold War and that the KGB was far from omnipotent even on Soviet territory. It further shows that post-Soviet Russia's pursuit of defectors bears many similarities to practices of the Soviet era, with equivalents of the KGB Wanted List reported in Russia today.

Critical infrastructure of Ukraine as a subject of scientific knowledge: theoretical aspect

The article is devoted to the study of theoretical aspects of critical infrastructure as a subject of scientific knowledge. The importance of critical infrastructure facilities for ensuring Ukraine’s national security, the stability of its economy and the state’s defense capability is determined. Legislative regulation in this area is analyzed, in particular, the Law of Ukraine «On Critical Infrastructure», «On National Security of Ukraine», the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the National Security Strategy of Ukraine, etc. normative legal acts that contain definitions of terms. Attention is drawn to the fact that the violation of the functioning of the specified objects in the conditions of martial law may cause socially dangerous consequences for society and the state. According to the result of the comparison with foreign experience (USA, EU, Great Britain, China, Japan), it is proved that Ukraine takes into account international approaches to the protection of critical infrastructure, but has its own unique features caused by national threats and challenges. In the US, for example, critical infrastructure is defined as systems and assets so important that their failure to function or damage would have a devastating impact on security, the national economy, and public health. The European Union approaches this issue through the European Critical Infrastructures Directive, focusing on interconnection and coordination between member states. The UK takes care of cyber security, while China and Japan emphasize national control and resilience of facilities. Based on the analysis, recommendations were made for improving the legislative policy of Ukraine in the field of critical infrastructure. A conclusion was made about the relevance of the task of the Security Service of Ukraine to combat criminal offenses at critical infrastructure facilities, and practical recommendations for further improvement of this area were provided. It has been determined that the perspective areas of scientific research are the analysis of the experience of the countries of the European Union in terms of legal protection against criminal offenses at critical infrastructure facilities.

The genesis of methods and tools of counterintelligence activities of a national special service: historical experience and prospects

The article provides a historical analysis of the methods and tools of intelligence and counterintelligence activities exploited by the national intelligence service in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in the period of the Cossacks and the formation of the Ukrainian Cossack-Hetman State. The priority goal is to establish dialectical connection between the effective tools of countering the aggressor of that period and nowadays. The relevance of the article lies in the study of the counterintelligence activities of the national intelligence service of that period, the transformation of the relevant units and their powers from the Cossack period to nowadays, as it was set up in the context of the national liberation war in confrontation with external enemies. The author highlights the historical aspects of counterintelligence activities of the period under study, in particular, the methods and tools that are used in conducting naval campaigns. The article is allocated to the study of the formation and evoluation of counterintelligence activities in historical aspects, the fundamental tactics of warfare of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries during successful naval operations in the context of retrospective changes in national special services, as well as the opportunity to use the Cossacks’ experience in the modernisation and transformation of counterintelligence tools in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war of the twenty-first century. The researchers have introduced a historical parallel between the powerful Cossack «Gull» boats and the «SeaBaby» unmanned surface vehicles and «Mamai» high-speed maritime drones that are used by the Security Service of Ukraine in the Black Sea to repel the aggressor. The aspects of the genesis of counterintelligence methods and tools have been outlined in the study. They depict overt and covert methods and techniques of intelligence and counterintelligence, that have been used in the fight against the enemy in various forms since ancient times and have undergone long changes. It has been mentioned that the results of studying the history of the formation and functioning of national special services are of empirical impact. They can be used to improve and enhance the activities of the Security Service of Ukraine in modern realities, to conduct effective counterintelligence activities and special operations in the context of war with the aggressor and to adjust the national security strategy.