Benchmarking a many-core neuromorphic platform with an MPI-based DNA sequence matching algorithm

SpiNNaker is a neuromorphic globally asynchronous locally synchronous (GALS)multi-core architecture designed for simulating a spiking neural network (SNN) in real-time. Several studies have shown that neuromorphic platforms allow flexible and efficient simulations of SNN by exploiting the efficient communication infrastructure optimised for transmitting small packets across the many cores of the platform. However, the effectiveness of neuromorphic platforms in executing massively parallel general-purpose algorithms, while promising, is still to be explored. In this paper, we present an implementation of a parallel DNA sequence matching algorithm implemented by using the MPI programming paradigm ported to the SpiNNaker platform. In our implementation, all cores available in the board are configured for executing in parallel an optimised version of the Boyer-Moore (BM) algorithm. Exploiting this application, we benchmarked the SpiNNaker platform in terms of scalability and synchronisation latency. Experimental results indicate that the SpiNNaker parallel architecture allows a linear performance increase with the number of used cores and shows better scalability compared to a general-purpose multi-core computing platform

Security risk modeling in smart grid critical infrastructures in the era of big data and artificial intelligence

Smart grids (SG) emerged as a response to the need to modernize the electricity grid. The current security tools are almost perfect when it comes to identifying and preventing known attacks in the smart grid. Still, unfortunately, they do not quite meet the requirements of advanced cybersecurity. Adequate protection against cyber threats requires a whole set of processes and tools. Therefore, a more flexible mechanism is needed to examine data sets holistically and detect otherwise unknown threats. This is possible with big modern data analyses based on deep learning, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Machine learning, which can rely on adaptive baseline behavior models, effectively detects new, unknown attacks. Combined known and unknown data sets based on predictive analytics and machine intelligence will decisively change the security landscape. This paper identifies the trends, problems, and challenges of cybersecurity in smart grid critical infrastructures in big data and artificial intelligence. We present an overview of the SG with its architectures and functionalities and confirm how technology has configured the modern electricity grid. A qualitative risk assessment method is presented. The most significant contributions to the reliability, safety, and efficiency of the electrical network are described. We expose levels while proposing suitable security countermeasures. Finally, the smart grid’s cybersecurity risk assessment methods for supervisory control and data acquisition are presented

Artificial intelligence in the cyber domain: Offense and defense

Artificial intelligence techniques have grown rapidly in recent years, and their applications in practice can be seen in many fields, ranging from facial recognition to image analysis. In the cybersecurity domain, AI-based techniques can provide better cyber defense tools and help adversaries improve methods of attack. However, malicious actors are aware of the new prospects too and will probably attempt to use them for nefarious purposes. This survey paper aims at providing an overview of how artificial intelligence can be used in the context of cybersecurity in both offense and defense.Web of Science123art. no. 41

RF Jamming Classification Using Relative Speed Estimation in Vehicular Wireless Networks

Wireless communications are vulnerable against radio frequency (RF) interference which might be caused either intentionally or unintentionally. A particular subset of wireless networks, Vehicular Ad-hoc NETworks (VANET), which incorporate a series of safety-critical applications, may be a potential target of RF jamming with detrimental safety effects. To ensure secure communications between entities and in order to make the network robust against this type of attacks, an accurate detection scheme must be adopted. In this paper, we introduce a detection scheme that is based on supervised learning. e k-nearest neighbors (KNN) and random forest (RaFo) methods are used, including features, among which one is the metric of the variations of relative speed (VRS) between the jammer and the receiver. VRS is estimated from the combined value of the useful and the jamming signal at the receiver. e KNN-VRS and RaFo-VRS classification algorithms are able to detect various cases of denial-of-service (DoS) RF jamming attacks and differentiate those attacks from cases of interference with very high accuracy

Towards Secure Fog Computing: A Survey on Trust Management, Privacy, Authentication, Threats and Access Control

Fog computing is an emerging computing paradigm that has come into consideration for the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications amongst researchers and technology industries over the last few years. Fog is highly distributed and consists of a wide number of autonomous end devices, which contribute to the processing. However, the variety of devices offered across different users are not audited. Hence, the security of Fog devices is a major concern that should come into consideration. Therefore, to provide the necessary security for Fog devices, there is a need to understand what the security concerns are with regards to Fog. All aspects of Fog security, which have not been covered by other literature works, need to be identified and aggregated. On the other hand, privacy preservation for user’s data in Fog devices and application data processed in Fog devices is another concern. To provide the appropriate level of trust and privacy, there is a need to focus on authentication, threats and access control mechanisms as well as privacy protection techniques in Fog computing. In this paper, a survey along with a taxonomy is proposed, which presents an overview of existing security concerns in the context of the Fog computing paradigm. Moreover, the Blockchain-based solutions towards a secure Fog computing environment is presented and various research challenges and directions for future research are discussed

FEHCA: A Fault-Tolerant Energy-Efficient Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Technological advancements have led to increased confidence in the design of large-scale wireless networks that comprise small energy constraint devices. Despite the boost in technological advancements, energy dissipation and fault tolerance are amongst the key deciding factors while designing and deploying wireless sensor networks. This paper proposes a Fault-tolerant Energy-efficient Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm (FEHCA) for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which demonstrates energy-efficient clustering and fault-tolerant operation of cluster heads (CHs). It treats CHs as no special node but equally prone to faults as normal sensing nodes of the cluster. The proposed scheme addresses some of the limitations of prominent hierarchical clustering algorithms, such as the randomized election of the cluster heads after each round, which results in significant energy dissipation; non-consideration of the residual energy of the sensing nodes while selecting cluster heads, etc. It utilizes the capability of vector quantization to partition the deployed sensors into an optimal number of clusters and ensures that almost the entire area to be monitored is alive for most of the network’s lifetime. This supports better decision-making compared to decisions made on the basis of limited area sensing data after a few rounds of communication. The scheme is implemented for both friendly as well as hostile deployments. The simulation results are encouraging and validate the proposed algorithm.articl

A Joining Procedure and Synchronization for TSCH-RPL Wireless Sensor Networks

[EN] Wireless Sensor Networks have become a key enabler for Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications; however, to adapt to the derived robust communication requirements, deterministic and scheduled medium access should be used, along with other features, such as channel hopping and frequency diversity. Implementing these mechanisms requires a correct synchronization of all devices in the network, a stage in deployment that can lead to non-operational networks. The present article presents an analysis of such situations and possible solutions, including the common current approaches and recommendations, and proposes a new beacon advertising method based on a specific Trickle Timer for the Medium Access Control (MAC) Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) layer, decoupling from the timers in the network and routing layers. With this solution, improvements in connection success, time to join, and energy consumption can be obtained for the widely extended IEEE802.15.4e standard.This work has been supported by the SCOTT Project (Secure Connected Trustable Things), (www.scottproject.eu), which has received funding from the Electronic Component Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 737422. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and from Austria, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway.Vera-Pérez, J.; Todoli Ferrandis, D.; Santonja Climent, S.; Silvestre-Blanes, J.; Sempere Paya, VM. (2018). A Joining Procedure and Synchronization for TSCH-RPL Wireless Sensor Networks. Sensors. 18(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/s18103556S181