Threat modeling for communication security of IoT-enabled digital logistics

The modernization of logistics through the use of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Internet of Things (IoT) devices promises great efficiencies. Sensor devices can provide real-time or near real-time condition monitoring and location tracking of assets during the shipping process, helping to detect delays, prevent loss, and stop fraud. However, the integration of low-cost WSN/IoT systems into a pre-existing industry should first consider security within the context of the application environment. In the case of logistics, the sensors are mobile, unreachable during the deployment, and accessible in potentially uncontrolled environments. The risks to the sensors include physical damage, either malicious/intentional or unintentional due to accident or the environment, or physical attack on a sensor, or remote communication attack. The easiest attack against any sensor is against its communication. The use of IoT sensors for logistics involves the deployment conditions of mobility, inaccesibility, and uncontrolled environments. Any threat analysis needs to take these factors into consideration. This paper presents a threat model focused on an IoT-enabled asset tracking/monitoring system for smart logistics. A review of the current literature shows that no current IoT threat model highlights logistics-specific IoT security threats for the shipping of critical assets. A general tracking/monitoring system architecture is presented that describes the roles of the components. A logistics-specific threat model that considers the operational challenges of sensors used in logistics, both malicious and non-malicious threats, is then given. The threat model categorizes each threat and suggests a potential countermeasure

Radio frequency identification and time-driven activity based costing: RFID-TDABC

This thesis extends the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) data for accounting of warehouse costs and services. Time Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) methodology is enhanced with the real-time collected RFID data about duration of warehouse activities. This allows warehouse managers to have an accurate and instant calculations of costs. The RFID enhanced TDABC (RFID-TDABC) is proposed as a novel application of the RFID technology. Application of RFID-TDABC in a warehouse is implemented on warehouse processes of a case study company. Implementation covers receiving, put-away, order picking, and despatching. RFID technology is commonly used for the identification and tracking items. The use of the RFID generated information with the TDABC can be successfully extended to the area of costing. This RFID-TDABC costing model will benefit warehouse managers with accurate and instant calculations of costs. Although the study is limited in the scope to applying presented RFIDTDABC model only to warehouse operations of a SME company, RFIDTDABC concept will be of value to both academics and practitioners by showing how warehouse costs can be accurately measured by using this approach. Providing better understanding of incurred costs may result in a further optimisation of warehousing operations, lowering costs of activities, and thus provide competitive pricing to customers

Reference Model for Management of RFID System Implementations

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is adopted in supply chain as it possesses high potential for optimization. However, the adoption is constrained with management and technological issues for certain domains. Applicability and profitability of the technology and implementation approaches as well as maturity of the technology and data integration are few of the concerns in this regard. Therefore, many enterprises are still skeptical about investment in RFID technology. Rightly, for instance, there are no appropriate approaches for management of the RFID system implementations at present that consider specific concerns of preparation of the food manufacturing enterprises. This research suggests a reference model for the purpose. The model is a result of extensive literature reviews and practice-oriented research aiming practical solutions to the problems of the respective domain. The model, which involves planning, organization and realization of RFID system implementation activities, considers multiple facets of RFID system implementations in order to increase understanding of RFID technology (i.e. knowledge development), ease decision making of an RFID implementation (i.e. willingness), and reduce cost and complexity of RFID system implementations (i.e. effectiveness and efficiency). It is an artifact of design-oriented information system research and includes a frame of reference, a process model, input and output templates, and tools and techniques. The model is applied in ‘real life context’ in order to achieve objectives of the involved enterprises. Similarly, the model aims effectiveness and efficiency in the future use, for example, by providing free of cost acquisition and appropriateness for manufacturing industries of food businesses of Saxony-Anhalt. However, adaptation efforts (e.g. by instantiation or specialization) may vary depending on the skills of users of individual enterprises. The reference model provides flexibility in terms of independence from specific vendors, openness by complying with available standards (e.g. PMBOK), and relationship to RFID system development artifacts during technical work realization

Resource efficient processing and communication in sensor/actuator environments

The future of computer systems will not be dominated by personal computer like hardware platforms but by embedded and cyber-physical systems assisting humans in a hidden but omnipresent manner. These pervasive computing devices can, for example, be utilized in the home automation sector to create sensor/ actuator networks supporting the inhabitants of a house in everyday life. The efficient usage of resources is an important topic at design time and operation time of mobile embedded and cyber-physical systems. Therefore, this thesis presents methods which allow an efficient use of energy and processing resources in sensor/actuator networks. These networks comprise different nodes cooperating for a “smart” joint control function. Sensor/actuator nodes are typical cyber-physical systems comprising sensors/actuators and processing and communication components. Processing components of today’s sensor nodes can comprise many-core chips. This thesis introduces new methods for optimizing the code and the application mapping of the aforementioned systems and presents novel results with regard to design space explorations for energy-efficient and embedded many-core systems. The considered many-core systems are graphics processing units. The application code for these graphics processing units is optimized for a particular platform variant with the objectives of minimal energy consumption and/or of minimal runtime. These two objectives are targeted with the utilization of multi-objective optimization techniques. The mapping optimizations are realized by means of multi-objective design space explorations. Furthermore, this thesis introduces new techniques and functions for a resource-efficient middleware design employing service-oriented architectures. Therefore, a service-oriented architecture based middleware framework is presented which comprises a lightweight service orchestration. In addition to that, a flexible resource management mechanism will be introduced. This resource management adapts resource utilization and services to an environmental context and provides methods to reduce the energy consumption of sensor nodes

Exploratory research into supply chain voids within Welsh priority business sectors

The paper reports the findings resulting from the initial stages of an exploratory investigation into Supply Chain Voids (SCV) in Wales. The research forms the foundations of a PhD thesis which is framed within the sectors designated as important by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and indicates local supplier capability voids within their supply chains. This paper covers the stages of initial data gathering, analysis and results identified between June 2006 and April 2007, whilst addressing the first of four research questions. Finally, the approach to address future research is identified in order to explain how the PhD is to progress

Demystifying Internet of Things Security

Break down the misconceptions of the Internet of Things by examining the different security building blocks available in Intel Architecture (IA) based IoT platforms. This open access book reviews the threat pyramid, secure boot, chain of trust, and the SW stack leading up to defense-in-depth. The IoT presents unique challenges in implementing security and Intel has both CPU and Isolated Security Engine capabilities to simplify it. This book explores the challenges to secure these devices to make them immune to different threats originating from within and outside the network. The requirements and robustness rules to protect the assets vary greatly and there is no single blanket solution approach to implement security. Demystifying Internet of Things Security provides clarity to industry professionals and provides and overview of different security solutions What You'll Learn Secure devices, immunizing them against different threats originating from inside and outside the network Gather an overview of the different security building blocks available in Intel Architecture (IA) based IoT platforms Understand the threat pyramid, secure boot, chain of trust, and the software stack leading up to defense-in-depth Who This Book Is For Strategists, developers, architects, and managers in the embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) space trying to understand and implement the security in the IoT devices/platforms

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen

Housing quality and lost (public) space in Croatia

IN ENGLISH: In the post-socialist period and within the current social transition context, urban and rural Croatia has, just like other transition countries, experienced many changes in the social structure and space. One example is the housing quality which is a replica of the situation in the Croatian society and has also undergone some major changes. Socially oriented housing construction co-financed by the state and the cities is in an unfavourable position compared to private housing construction. In the last twenty years the amount of the social housing construction has been only a minor part of the total contruction work in the country. For instance, out of nine newly planned residential housing developments in Zagreb, the capital city, only three have been completed and the work on the rest of them has stopped and is unlikely to continue. Private construction work prevails especially on the edge of the city and is characterised by high density housing. This type of housing construction doesn't benefit the majority of citizens in search of accommodation (price per square meter is too high, low-quality building). There is also a big problem of the community facilities (primary and secondary infrastructure, schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, green areas, sidewalks, public transport etc.). The existing globalisation-transition circumstances of the Croatian society corroborate the fact which experts of various profiles often point out: ignoring the process of (urban) planning will irreparably damage the space. The city transformation shows the absence of comprehensive urban planning which results in an ever increasing number of random buildings which do not fit in the surroundings. This leads up to yet another important issue – the shrinking and, in some cases, disappearance of public space which becomes the “lost space“. In recent years there has been a lot of building in the city core and on the edge which does not quite fit in the existing urban structure, image or the skyline of the city. The current situation in the process of planning can be characterized as a conflict and imbalance between the powerful actors (mostly political and economic) and less powerful actors (mostly professional and civil). The actors who have the political power and influence and the ones who possess the capital are forming an “alliance” between two important layers of the social structure. The lack of civil and professional actors, “lost spatial actors”, and therefore of civic aggregation is also present and that is also the cause of public space “disappearance” and undermined process of public participation. --------------- IN CROATIAN: U postsocijalističkom razdoblju i trenutnom tranzicijskom kontekstu urbana i ruralna Hrvatska su, kao i ostale tranzicijske zemlje, doživjele mnoge promjene u društvenoj strukturi i samom prostoru. Na primjeru kvalitete stanovanja kao replike stanja u hrvatskom društvu mogu se vidjeti značajne promjene. Društveno usmjerena stambena izgradnja sufinancirana od strane države i gradova je stoga rjeđa i u nepovoljnijoj je situaciji prema privatnoj stanogradnji. Zadnjih dvadeset godina udjel socijalne stambene gradnje je zanemariv u ukupnoj izgradnji na razini zemlje. Primjerice, od devet planiranih stambenih naselja izgrađenih po modelu POS-a u Zagrebu samo su tri i završena. Na ostalima je proces gradnje zastao i ne čini se da će se privesti kraju. Privatna je gradnje prisutnija, posebno na rubovima grada, a obilježava je visoka gustoća gradnje. Ovakav tip gradnje ne odgovara većini stanovnika koji su u procesu potražnje stambene nekretnine (visoka cijena kvadratnog metra, a slaba kvaliteta gradnje). Postoji također i problem nedostatne opremljenosti susjedstva (primarna i sekundarna infrastruktura, škole, vrtići, igrališta, zelene površine, pješačke staze, javni transport itd.). Navedene globalizacijsko-tranzicijske okolnosti hrvatskog društva potvrđuju ono što eksperti različitih profila ističu, a to je da će ignoriranje procesa (urbanog) planiranja nepovratno uništiti prostor gradova. Ovakve transformacije pokazuju nedostatak sustavnog urbanog planiranja što rezultira sve većim brojem zgrada koje se ne uklapaju u neposrednu okolinu. To nadalje dovodi do drugog važnog aspekta – smanjivanja i u nekim slučajevima, nestanka javnog prostora koji postaje „izgubljeni prostor“. Posljednjih je godina izgrađen velik broj zgrada, i u središtu i na rubovima grada, koje se ne uklapaju u postojeću urbanu strukturu, izgled ili vizuru grada. Ovakvu situaciju obilježavaju sukob i neravnoteža između moćnijih društvenih aktera (većinom političkih i ekonomskih) i onih manje moćnih (većinom profesionalnih i civilnih). Politički i ekonomski akteri se često povezuju u „savez“ dvaju najjačih u društvenoj strukturi. S druge strane nedostatak utjecaja civilnih i profesionalnih aktera kao „izgubljenih prostornih aktera“ dovodi do „nestanka“ javnih prostora te smanjenja važnosti procesa participacije (sudjelovanja javnosti)