Development of Criteria for Mobile Device Cybersecurity Threat Classification and Communication Standards (CTC&CS)

The increasing use of mobile devices and the unfettered access to cyberspace has introduced new threats to users. Mobile device users are continually being targeted for cybersecurity threats via vectors such as public information sharing on social media, user surveillance (geolocation, camera, etc.), phishing, malware, spyware, trojans, and keyloggers. Users are often uninformed about the cybersecurity threats posed by mobile devices. Users are held responsible for the security of their device that includes taking precautions against cybersecurity threats. In recent years, financial institutions are passing the costs associated with fraud to the users because of the lack of security. The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and empirically test new criteria for a Cybersecurity Threats Classification and Communication Standard (CTC&CS) for mobile devices. The conceptual foundation is based on the philosophy behind the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) of Labels and Pictograms that is mainly focused on chemical substances. This study extended the HCS framework as a model to support new criteria for cybersecurity classification and communication standards. This study involved three phases. The first phase conducted two rounds of the Delphi technique and collected quantitative data from 26 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in round one and 22 SMEs in round two through an anonymous online survey. Results of Phase 1 emerged with six threats categories and 62 cybersecurity threats. Phase 2 operationalized the elicited and validated criteria into pictograms, labels, and safety data sheets. Using the results of phase one as a foundation, two to three pictograms, labels, and safety data sheets (SDSs) from each of the categories identified in phase one were developed, and quantitative data were collected in two rounds of the Delphi technique from 24 and 19 SMEs respectively through an online survey and analyzed. Phase 3, the main data collection phase, empirically evaluated the developed and validated pictograms, labels, and safety data sheets for their perceived effectiveness as well as performed an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with 208 non-IT professional mobile device users. The results of this study showed that pictograms were highly effective; this means the participants were satisfied with the characteristics of the pictograms such as color, shapes, visual complexity, and found these characteristics valuable. On the other hand, labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) did not show to be effective, meaning the participants were not satisfied or lacked to identify importance with the characteristics of labels and SDS. Furthermore, the ANCOVA results showed significant differences in perceived effectiveness with SDSs with education and a marginal significance level with labels when controlled for the number of years of mobile device use. Based on the results, future research implications can observe discrepancies of pictogram effectiveness between different educational levels and reading levels. Also, research should focus on identifying the most effective designs for pictograms within the cybersecurity context. Finally, longitudinal studies should be performed to understand the aspects that affect the effectiveness of pictograms

Reports Of Conferences, Institutes, And Seminars

This quarter\u27s column offers coverage of multiple sessions from the 2016 Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference, held April 3–6, 2016, in Austin, Texas. Topics in serials acquisitions dominate the column, including reports on altmetrics, cost per use, demand-driven acquisitions, and scholarly communications and the use of subscriptions agents; ERMS, access, and knowledgebases are also featured

Intranet of the future: functional study, comparison of products and practical implementation

Future intranet: functional study, comparison of products and practical implementation 1. Introduction The project has fulfilled three goals: 1) To perform a study of the functionalities which have to be covered in a modern intranet (web 2.0, unified communication, collaboration, etc) 2) To perform a comparison of tools of the market which can be used to implement intranets (commercial and open source products) 3) To test three of these tools (Oracle WebCenter, Liferay Portal and Microsoft SharePoint) and develop a prototype with Oracle WebCenter. In addition, it includes a research about the evolution of the Intranets among the time, as well as a work to discover the current state of this kind of platforms over the entire world. In this introductory research it is also convenient to include other topics which are not strictly technical involving the use of this Intranet. To be more concrete, there is an analysis of the importance of the human role and management of the Intranet, the process of deploying a new Intranet in an organization and methods to evaluate the performance of this new system.   2. Functional study The approach taken to fulfil this goal is to develop a theoretical model describing the relationship between the Intranet and its users, and a complete set of functionalities which could be covered in the Intranet of the future. These functionalities are categorized in groups. The project describes these groups and the functionalities included on them. 3. Comparison of products The project will describe and compare several technologies which can be used to develop an Intranet that we have previously modelled. The purpose here is to discover the strong points and weaknesses of each technology if it was used to develop the Intranet we desire. After having done such a review, the project focuses on three technologies and performs an extensive evaluation of them. Finally, an extensive comparison between these three technologies is done, highlighting where they offer better solutions and performance compared to the other possibilities. 4. Practical implementation The project focuses on three technologies: Oracle WebCenter, Liferay Portal and Microsoft SharePoint. Then, a prototype which covers a set of functionalities of the modelled Intranet has been built with Oracle WebCenter

CHORUS Deliverable 2.2: Second report - identification of multi-disciplinary key issues for gap analysis toward EU multimedia search engines roadmap

After addressing the state-of-the-art during the first year of Chorus and establishing the existing landscape in multimedia search engines, we have identified and analyzed gaps within European research effort during our second year. In this period we focused on three directions, notably technological issues, user-centred issues and use-cases and socio- economic and legal aspects. These were assessed by two central studies: firstly, a concerted vision of functional breakdown of generic multimedia search engine, and secondly, a representative use-cases descriptions with the related discussion on requirement for technological challenges. Both studies have been carried out in cooperation and consultation with the community at large through EC concertation meetings (multimedia search engines cluster), several meetings with our Think-Tank, presentations in international conferences, and surveys addressed to EU projects coordinators as well as National initiatives coordinators. Based on the obtained feedback we identified two types of gaps, namely core technological gaps that involve research challenges, and “enablers”, which are not necessarily technical research challenges, but have impact on innovation progress. New socio-economic trends are presented as well as emerging legal challenges

E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

The Impact of e-Democracy in Political Stability of Nigeria

The history of the Nigerian electoral process has been hitherto characterized by violence stemming from disputes in election outcomes. For instance, violence erupted across some states in Northern Nigeria when results indicated that a candidate who was popular in that part of the country was losing the election leading to avoidable loss of lives. Beside, this dispute in election outcome lingers for a long time in litigation at the electoral tribunals which distracts effective governance. However, the increasing penetrating use of ICTs in Nigeria is evident in the electoral processes with consequent shift in the behavior of actors in the democratic processes, thus changing the ways Nigerians react to election outcomes. This paper examines the trend in the use ICT in the Nigerian political system and its impact on the stability of the polity. It assesses the role of ICT in recent electoral processes and compares its impact on the outcome of the process in lieu of previous experiences in the Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper also examines the challenges and risks of implementing e-Democracy in Nigeria and its relationship to the economy in the light of the socio-economic situation of the country. The paper adopted qualitative approach in data gathering and analysis. From the findings, the paper observed that e-democracy is largely dependent on the level of ICT adoption, which is still at its lowest ebb in the country. It recognizes the challenges in the provision of ICT infrastructure and argues that appropriate low-cost infrastructure applicable to the Nigerian condition can be made available to implement e-democracy and thus arouse the interest of the populace in governance, increase the number of voters, and enhance transparency, probity and accountability, and participation in governance as well as help stabilize the nascent democrac

LEVERAGING PRIVATE DATA FOR PUBLIC GOOD: A Descriptive Analysis and Typology of Existing Practices

To address the challenges of our times, we need both new solutions and new ways to develop those solutions. Data will play a central role in this process. Yet, much of the most useful, timely and comprehensive data that could help transform the way we make decisions or solve public problems resides with the private sector in the form of call detail records, online purchases, sensor data, social media data, and other assets. If we truly want to harness the potential of data to improve people's lives, we need to understand and find ways to unlock and re-use this private data for public good.In what follows, we analyze the current practice of "data collaboratives," an emerging form of collaboration in which a private-sector entity's data is leveraged in partnership with other entities from the public sector, civil society or academia for public good. The GovLab coined the term "data collaborative" in 2015.The potential and realized contributions of data collaboratives stem from how the supply of and demand for data are widely dispersed—spread across government, the private sector, and civil society—and often poorly matched. While most commentary on the data era's shortcomings focuses on the potential misuse of data, one of the key challenges of our data age actually lies in a persistent failure to re-use data responsibly for public good. This failure results in tremendous inefficiencies and lost potential.Data collaboratives, when designed responsibly, are key to addressing this shortcoming. They draw together otherwise siloed data and a dispersed range of expertise, matching supply and demand and ensuring that relevant institutions and individuals are using and analyzing data in ways that maximize the possibility of new, innovative social solutions.While we have seen an uptake in normative discussions on how data should be shared, little analysis exists of the actual practice. Over the last few years, we have identified, curated and documented more than 150 data collaboratives deployed around the world to address societal challenges as varied as urban mobility, public health, and corruption. These cases are stored on our Data Collaboratives Explorer, the largest such repository on the topic.This paper seeks to answer the central question: What institutional arrangements and operational dynamics enable private-sector data holders to collaborate with external parties to create new public value

ACUTA Journal of Telecommunications in Higher Education

In This This The Strategic Accommodation of Change Good Advice: Clean Out Your Closets (and More) Making Decisions to Remove Legacy Cable ADVERTORIAL: Best Practices for lP Telephony lmplementation ADVERTORIAL: VolP Security: Myth or Reality? ln-Room Phones: Nice or Necessary? Voice and Network Department Convergence Making Communications Accessible lnstitutional Excellence Award: Sinclair Community College Interview President\u27s Message From the Executive Director Here\u27s My Advic