An examination of the Asus WL-HDD 2.5 as a nepenthes malware collector

The Linksys WRT54g has been used as a host for network forensics tools for instance Snort for a long period of time. Whilst large corporations are already utilising network forensic tools, this paper demonstrates that it is quite feasible for a non-security specialist to track and capture malicious network traffic. This paper introduces the Asus Wireless Hard disk as a replacement for the popular Linksys WRT54g. Firstly, the Linksys router will be introduced detailing some of the research that was undertaken on the device over the years amongst the security community. It then briefly discusses malicious software and the impact this may have for a home user. The paper then outlines the trivial steps in setting up Nepenthes 0.1.7 (a malware collector) for the Asus WL-HDD 2.5 according to the Nepenthes and tests the feasibility of running the malware collector on the selected device. The paper then concludes on discussing the limitations of the device when attempting to execute Nepenthes

Utilizing blockchain technology for clinical trial optimization

Clinical trials are the cornerstone of treatment discovery because they provide comprehensive scientific evidence on the safety, efficacy, and optimal use of therapeutics. However, current clinical trials are facing multiple challenges such as patient recruitment, data capture, and overall management. There are various causes of patient recruitment challenges such as inefficient advertising models, complex protocols, and distant trial sites. Data inconsistency is the main challenge of the data capture process. Source data verification, a standard method used for data monitoring, is resource-intensive that can cost up to 25 percent of the total budget. The current clinical trial management system market is fragmented and lacks thorough designs with all desired features so that nearly all respondents to management systems from the annual global survey reported dissatisfaction with the current management system. Based on these challenges, disruptive technologies such as blockchain may provide feasible solutions by utilizing its unique features. Blockchain is an open-source distributed ledger technology that was first applied in the financial sector. Its features such as public audibility, data security, immutability, anonymity, and smart contracts are a good fit for the needs of many healthcare applications. However, there are several common challenges of blockchain technology so that most blockchain designs for healthcare applications are still in the early stage of implementation. This dissertation aims at optimizing clinical trials by developing multiple applications using blockchain technology to provide feasible solutions to the current challenges. We will use real-world data to conduct large-scale simulations to evaluate the feasibility and performance of proposed blockchain models for clinical trial applications

High resolution palaeoclimatology of the Holocene Sub Polar North Atlantic

A high resolution multiproxy investigation of two marine cores from the Gardar Drift in the Sub Polar North Atlantic, cores MD99-2251 and MD99-2252 has been undertaken to examine the extent of Holocene climate variability reflected by changes in diatom floral abundances and ice rafted debris flux. The results from this study provide both an overview of climate variability for the entire Holocene as recorded in the Sub Polar North Atlantic and a detailed high resolution study focussed around the 8.2kyr event. Sea surface temperature (SST) estimates are derived using a weighted average partial least squares (WAPLS) transfer function and a new regionally based diatom transfer function developed as part of this study. Principal component analysis and K-means cluster analysis were undertaken on core MD99-2251 to identify floral groupings within the diatom taxa. The changing composition of diatom assemblages and SST records indicate a highly unstable early Holocene from 11.5 to 9.5kyr with switches in the dominance of cool Sub Arctic floras and warmer North Atlantic floras. The presence of high productivity events in the diatom floras during this interval suggests that the core locations were, at times, in close proximity of the Sub Arctic Front. A broad SST cooling from 9.5 to 7kyr is identified followed by a pronounced warming for 7 to 5kyr and more stable but cooler temperatures during the Late Holocene. Changes in sea surface hydrography, especially the relative strength of the warm Irminger Current, is considered to have had the greatest influence on the composition of diatom floral assemblages. The 8.2kyr event is not recognised as a discrete climate perturbation in either the diatom assemblage data or the IRD record, but is contained within the broad cooling event from 9.5-7kyr. Analysis of sea-ice and cold water flora however does indicate some increase in these species for the interval 8.8 to 7.8kyr

Détermination des coefficients de transport turbulent et analyse des cycles magnétiques produits dans un modèle dynamo en champ moyen avec et sans rétroaction magnétique

Avec les récents développements obtenus grâce aux modèles globaux magnétohydrodynamiques en trois dimensions de la convection solaire, il est désormais possible de simuler des champs magnétiques structurés à grande échelle et présentant des inversions de polarité bien synchronisées dans chaque hémisphère. Ces modèles qui n'incluent, pour la plupart, aucune modélisation de la surface du Soleil génèrent donc leur dynamo avec l'action de la force électromotrice turbulente (FEM) et de la rotation différentielle uniquement. À partir de cette FEM, différentes techniques peuvent être utilisées pour extraire les coefficients de transport turbulent. Notamment, différents auteurs ont obtenu un tenseur alpha (coefficient du premier ordre) dont les 9 composantes présentent des amplitudes du même ordre, remettant en doute l'approximation faite dans le cas des modèles dynamo de type alphaOmega qui ne tient en compte qu’une de composante du tenseur. À partir d'un code d'analyse par décomposition en valeurs singulières pour évaluer les coefficients du tenseur alpha, nous avons généralisé la procédure pour extraire 18 des composantes du tenseur de deuxième ordre (tenseur beta). Les tenseurs alpha et beta obtenus par cette nouvelle procédure tel qu'appliquée aux sorties du modèle global EULAG-MHD, sont similaires aux tenseurs alpha et beta équivalant obtenus en utilisant l'approximation « Second Order Correlation Approximation ». À l'aide des coefficients de transport turbulent du premier ordre introduit dans un modèle dynamo en champ moyen, nous avons ensuite étudié certaines solutions magnétiques présentant des doubles dynamos. Cette analyse avait pour but de comparer les résultats obtenus par ce modèle simplifié caractérisé par la FEM provenant de EULAG-MHD aux résultats de EULAG-MHD directement. Cette preuve de concept nous a permis de démontrer que l'oscillation observée dans le champ magnétique en surface de EULAG-MHD pouvait provenir de l'action inductive d'une seconde dynamo. Une oscillation biennale est également observée dans plusieurs indices d'activité solaire dont l'origine n'est toujours pas établie. Il est évident que les deux modèles décrits ci-haut et le Soleil opèrent dans des régimes physiques différents. Toutefois, malgré leurs différences, le fait qu'il soit relativement facile de produire une seconde dynamo dans EULAG-MHD et dans le modèle en champ moyen indique que l'action inductive de la FEM peut facilement générer deux dynamos. Finalement, dans le but d'étudier les périodes de grands minima, phénomène encore non reproduit par les modèles globaux, nous avons ajouté une rétroaction magnétique sur l'écoulement azimutal au modèle dynamo cinématique en champ moyen décrit ci-haut. En analysant les solutions de ce modèle dynamo de type alpha2Omega non cinématique, nous avons pu reproduire la tendance observée jusqu'ici uniquement dans les modèles de type alphaOmega selon laquelle le nombre de nombre de Prandtl magnétique contrôle le rapport des périodes générées. De plus, en analysant une solution sur 50 000 ans présentant des périodes de grands minima et maxima non périodiques, nous avons obtenu une distribution de temps de séparation des grands minima presque exponentielle, caractéristique observée dans les reconstructions de l'activité solaire. La rotation différentielle associée à ces périodes de grands minima présente un niveau de fluctuation de 1% par rapport au profil moyen. Ce niveau de fluctuation est d'ailleurs comparable avec les reconstructions historiques de la rotation différentielle en surface obtenues lors du grand minimum de Maunder.The recent developments achieved by tri-dimensionals magnetohydrodynamic (3D-MHD) global simulations of solar convection allow us to generate an organized large-scale magnetic fields with well-synchronized hemispheric polarity reversal. Because the vast majority of these simulations do not include a modelization of the Sun's surface layer, the generation of their dynamo is thus solely due to the action of the turbulent electromotive force (EMF) in conjunction with differential rotation. From this EMF, different methods can be used to extract the turbulent transport coefficients. In particular, various authors found a full 9 component alpha-tensor (first order coefficients) where all the components are of the same order of magnitude. This finding calls into question the alphaOmega approximation made by the vast majority of mean field dynamo models. We generalized a first order (alpha-tensor) singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis procedure to extract the 18 additional components of the second order tensor (beta-tensor). The alpha and beta tensors obtained by this new procedure as applied to the EULAG-MHD outputs, are similar to the equivalent alpha and beta tensors obtained using the second order correlation approximation (SOCA). By introducing the first order turbulent transport coefficients in a mean field dynamo model, we study the magnetic solutions where double dynamo modes were observed. This analysis allows us to compare the mean field dynamo solutions produced with the EMF, as extracted from EULAG-MHD, with the real magnetic output of EULAG-MHD. This proof of concept demonstrated that the quasi-biennal oscillation observed in the surface toroidal magnetic field in EULAG-MHD can be produced by the inductive action of a secondary dynamo. A similar quasi-biennal oscillation signal is also observed in multiple proxies of the solar activity whose origin is still not confirmed. Although the physical set of properties under which the two numerical models described above operate are different from the Sun, the fact that both models can reproduce a secondary dynamo shows us that the inductive action of the EMF can easily produce two dynamos. Finally, in order to study epochs of grand minima that still cannot be reproduced in global 3D-MHD simulations of convection, we added a magnetic feedback on the mean azimutal flow in our kinematic mean field model. This non-kinematic alpha2Omega model was able to reproduce the tendency of the Prandtl number (Pm) to control the ratio of the modulation period. More specifically, we found an inverse relation between Pm and the ratio of the main magnetic cycle period to the grand minima occurrence period. Moreover, by analyzing a simulation of a length of 50,000 years, where aperiodic periods of grand minima and maxima are observed, we found a waiting time distribution (WTD) of the grand minima close to an exponential, a characteristic also observed in the reconstruction of the solar activity. Finally, the level of fluctuation in the surface differential rotation associated with epochs of grand minima is ~1%. This level of fluctuation was also observed in historical reconstructions of the surface differential rotation during the Maunder minimum

'They don't yet know that life is going to be hell': Tracing distress through the UK asylum process

As immigration has become a central and divisive topic in the political discourse of the UK and beyond, this thesis offers a timely portrayal of the lived experiences of those who are involved in the UK asylum process. This thesis draws on the growing literature of medical anthropology and of other disciplines on the mental health and experience of distress in asylum and refugee populations. Unlike much previous literature that focuses on one group of actors, this research offers a unique contribution to knowledge by drawing methodologically on Actor Network Theory. It is therefore concerned with the spread and circulation of mental distress among the various actors involved in the asylum process. Based on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Scottish city of Glasgow, this thesis carefully unpacks the affective experiences of asylum legislation and policy using structural violence as an analytical lens. It is organised around five themes utilised to explore distress: bureaucracy, paperwork, disclosure, emotional labour, and waiting. These interrelated themes illustrate how in certain contexts, distress spreads among actors yet in others it is impeded; how distress can be hidden in or drawn out of the materiality of paperwork that exists within the process; how the various conflicting idioms of distress that exist within the cultures that make up the asylum system come together in various spaces throughout the process; and how the political economy of asylum services demands certain coping strategies among its workers. Considering distress highlights the structural violence within the asylum process that is embodied through uncertainty, dependency, discourses of suspicion and deservingness, dehumanisation, stigma and shame. This thesis contends that there is a cumulative effect from seemingly minor everyday assaults on asylum applicants’ dignity, the pseudospeciation that operates in dealing with applicants, and the inequality regarding different actors’ ability to protect themselves from distress. The research illuminates the implicit violence written into government legislation, policies and funding decisions regarding asylum applicants. It concludes that attention needs to be given to the way that the asylum process is built on, creates and recreates structural violence of which asylum applicants are the primary victims

Anonymizing Speech: Evaluating and Designing Speaker Anonymization Techniques

The growing use of voice user interfaces has led to a surge in the collection and storage of speech data. While data collection allows for the development of efficient tools powering most speech services, it also poses serious privacy issues for users as centralized storage makes private personal speech data vulnerable to cyber threats. With the increasing use of voice-based digital assistants like Amazon's Alexa, Google's Home, and Apple's Siri, and with the increasing ease with which personal speech data can be collected, the risk of malicious use of voice-cloning and speaker/gender/pathological/etc. recognition has increased. This thesis proposes solutions for anonymizing speech and evaluating the degree of the anonymization. In this work, anonymization refers to making personal speech data unlinkable to an identity while maintaining the usefulness (utility) of the speech signal (e.g., access to linguistic content). We start by identifying several challenges that evaluation protocols need to consider to evaluate the degree of privacy protection properly. We clarify how anonymization systems must be configured for evaluation purposes and highlight that many practical deployment configurations do not permit privacy evaluation. Furthermore, we study and examine the most common voice conversion-based anonymization system and identify its weak points before suggesting new methods to overcome some limitations. We isolate all components of the anonymization system to evaluate the degree of speaker PPI associated with each of them. Then, we propose several transformation methods for each component to reduce as much as possible speaker PPI while maintaining utility. We promote anonymization algorithms based on quantization-based transformation as an alternative to the most-used and well-known noise-based approach. Finally, we endeavor a new attack method to invert anonymization.Comment: PhD Thesis Pierre Champion | Universit\'e de Lorraine - INRIA Nancy | for associated source code, see https://github.com/deep-privacy/SA-toolki

A probabilistic approach for the estimation of earthquake source parameters from spectral inversion

The characterization of the mechanisms of earthquake generation and propagation is a major challenge in understanding the Earth engine. Although the seismic rupture non-linearly combines several space and time scales, some macroscopic parameters can provide insights in its evolution, such as the earthquake size and the stress drop released during a seismic event. However, the estimation of these parameters is very uncertain (Cotton et al., 2013), owing to uncertainties in data and models and to the strong coupling between source effects and wave propagation up to the observation sites. The objective of this thesis is the characterization of the seismic source parameters using the amplitude spectrum of the displacement records and assuming that the earthquake behaves as a circular crack (Keilis-Borok, 1959). Several methods for the characterization of the source using a spectral analysis have been proposed in literature. Systematic comparison between different methodologies highlighted the dependence of the results on the fitting model, due to the high correlation between the parameters, especially comparing EGF and TGF based techniques (Ide et al. 2003; Oye et al., 2005). A probabilistic approach can allow to investigate such a correlation, defining a probability density function (PDF) in the parameter space and allowing for a consistent estimate of the uncertainties. Using the probabilistic framework developed by Tarantola (2005), and specifically the notion of conjunction of states of information, I developed a probabilistic approach to retrieve the source parameters seismic moment (through the low-frequency spectral level), the corner frequency (that is a proxy of the rupture length) and the high-frequency decay parameter. Information on the source of an earthquake requires the modeling of the wave propagation too; I choose to use in this work a theoretical Green’s function, adding one parameter to invert related to the propagation (a frequency-independent Q-factor) beyond the three source parameter that I want to retrieve. I model the observations with an operator, defined on these four parameters, which is non-linear; thus, a global exploration of the model space is required in order to find the best solution to describe the data. Additionally, the joint a-posteriori probability density function (PDF) is computed around the best model, to extract the correlation matrix of the parameters. This allows to obtain estimates and uncertainties from the PDF, that are taking into account the correlations. The global exploration relies on the building of a Markov chain in the parameter space and on the combination of a deterministic minimization with a random exploration of the space (Basin-Hopping method, Wales and Doye, 1997; Wales, 2003). The main advantages of this new methodology are the following : • A fully probabilistic approach associated with a global exploration method can provide a robust information about the “best-fit” model, with correct estimation of uncertainties and parameter correlation. • The shape of the estimated PDF can assess the quality of the solutions, allowing to rule out noisy data and thus enabling the use of the method for automatic processing of large datasets. I performed three applications of the method. In Chapter 4, I analyzed the Central Italy 2016-2017 sequence, characterizing the source of all the earthquakes with Ml > 4 (56 events); in Chapter 5 I characterized the source of more than 10000 LFEs occurred in the Nankai region (Japan) during the period 2012-2016; in Chapter 6 I analyzed the micro-seismicity (Ml between 0 and 4.5, 1061 events) occurred from 2016 to 2017 in the Northern Ibaraki region (Japan)