X-ware: a proof of concept malware utilizing artificial intelligence

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic growth in utilizing computational intelligence techniques for various domains. Coherently, malicious actors are expected to utilize these techniques against current security solutions. Despite the importance of these new potential threats, there remains a paucity of evidence on leveraging these research literature techniques. This article investigates the possibility of combining artificial neural networks and swarm intelligence to generate a new type of malware. We successfully created a proof of concept malware named X-ware, which we tested against the Windows-based systems. Developing this proof of concept may allow us to identify this potential threat’s characteristics for developing mitigation methods in the future. Furthermore, a method for recording the virus’s behavior and propagation throughout a file system is presented. The proposed virus prototype acts as a swarm system with a neural network-integrated for operations. The virus’s behavioral data is recorded and shown under a complex network format to describe the behavior and communication of the swarm. This paper has demonstrated that malware strengthened with computational intelligence is a credible threat. We envisage that our study can be utilized to assist current and future security researchers to help in implementing more effective countermeasure

Global Value Chains and Production Networks: State-Business Relations and Complexity in Economic Crises

The proliferation of global value chains and production networks (GVCs/GPNs) has significantly altered the complexion and complexity of international trade. Much research fervor has been generated to examine the economic organization and spatial dispersion of transnational production, with particular emphasis on firms. However, politics and the role of the state in GVCs/GPNs are often neglected. This dissertation thus advances existing research by exploring the political economy of GVCs/GPNs with states as the focal point. In addition, I base my work largely on the regions of Northeast and Southeast Asia, given the regions’ strategic state-led developmentalism and meteoric rise as a global manufacturing hub. I first examine the Asian developmental state model and the evolution of state-business relations within these states as they move up the value chain using large-n statistical analysis. I then investigate the dynamics of state-business partnerships through a comparative case study analysis of eight Asian countries. Finally, I explore the propagation of shocks in production networks and the role of Asian developmental states during a global economic crisis, using network analysis and agent-based modeling. Overall, I find that Asian developmental states moving up the GVC tend to develop tighter linkages with businesses through strategic and aggressive industrial policies and innovation partnerships. Moreover, in times of crisis, Asian developmental states help to mitigate the impact of economic shocks through economic policies, strategy and political will. Consequently, rather than being static, Asian developmental states have been adaptive to changing global circumstances, tailoring policies to suit their local conditions.Doctor of Philosoph

Reading the news through its structure: new hybrid connectivity based approaches

In this thesis a solution for the problem of identifying the structure of news published by online newspapers is presented. This problem requires new approaches and algorithms that are capable of dealing with the massive number of online publications in existence (and that will grow in the future). The fact that news documents present a high degree of interconnection makes this an interesting and hard problem to solve. The identification of the structure of the news is accomplished both by descriptive methods that expose the dimensionality of the relations between different news, and by clustering the news into topic groups. To achieve this analysis this integrated whole was studied using different perspectives and approaches. In the identification of news clusters and structure, and after a preparatory data collection phase, where several online newspapers from different parts of the globe were collected, two newspapers were chosen in particular: the Portuguese daily newspaper Público and the British newspaper The Guardian. In the first case, it was shown how information theory (namely variation of information) combined with adaptive networks was able to identify topic clusters in the news published by the Portuguese online newspaper Público. In the second case, the structure of news published by the British newspaper The Guardian is revealed through the construction of time series of news clustered by a kmeans process. After this approach an unsupervised algorithm, that filters out irrelevant news published online by taking into consideration the connectivity of the news labels entered by the journalists, was developed. This novel hybrid technique is based on Qanalysis for the construction of the filtered network followed by a clustering technique to identify the topical clusters. Presently this work uses a modularity optimisation clustering technique but this step is general enough that other hybrid approaches can be used without losing generality. A novel second order swarm intelligence algorithm based on Ant Colony Systems was developed for the travelling salesman problem that is consistently better than the traditional benchmarks. This algorithm is used to construct Hamiltonian paths over the news published using the eccentricity of the different documents as a measure of distance. This approach allows for an easy navigation between published stories that is dependent on the connectivity of the underlying structure. The results presented in this work show the importance of taking topic detection in large corpora as a multitude of relations and connectivities that are not in a static state. They also influence the way of looking at multi-dimensional ensembles, by showing that the inclusion of the high dimension connectivities gives better results to solving a particular problem as was the case in the clustering problem of the news published online.Neste trabalho resolvemos o problema da identificação da estrutura das notícias publicadas em linha por jornais e agências noticiosas. Este problema requer novas abordagens e algoritmos que sejam capazes de lidar com o número crescente de publicações em linha (e que se espera continuam a crescer no futuro). Este facto, juntamente com o elevado grau de interconexão que as notícias apresentam tornam este problema num problema interessante e de difícil resolução. A identificação da estrutura do sistema de notícias foi conseguido quer através da utilização de métodos descritivos que expõem a dimensão das relações existentes entre as diferentes notícias, quer através de algoritmos de agrupamento das mesmas em tópicos. Para atingir este objetivo foi necessário proceder a ao estudo deste sistema complexo sob diferentes perspectivas e abordagens. Após uma fase preparatória do corpo de dados, onde foram recolhidos diversos jornais publicados online optou-se por dois jornais em particular: O Público e o The Guardian. A escolha de jornais em línguas diferentes deve-se à vontade de encontrar estratégias de análise que sejam independentes do conhecimento prévio que se tem sobre estes sistemas. Numa primeira análise é empregada uma abordagem baseada em redes adaptativas e teoria de informação (nomeadamente variação de informação) para identificar tópicos noticiosos que são publicados no jornal português Público. Numa segunda abordagem analisamos a estrutura das notícias publicadas pelo jornal Britânico The Guardian através da construção de séries temporais de notícias. Estas foram seguidamente agrupadas através de um processo de k-means. Para além disso desenvolveuse um algoritmo que permite filtrar de forma não supervisionada notícias irrelevantes que apresentam baixa conectividade às restantes notícias através da utilização de Q-analysis seguida de um processo de clustering. Presentemente este método utiliza otimização de modularidade, mas a técnica é suficientemente geral para que outras abordagens híbridas possam ser utilizadas sem perda de generalidade do método. Desenvolveu-se ainda um novo algoritmo baseado em sistemas de colónias de formigas para solução do problema do caixeiro viajante que consistentemente apresenta resultados melhores que os tradicionais bancos de testes. Este algoritmo foi aplicado na construção de caminhos Hamiltonianos das notícias publicadas utilizando a excentricidade obtida a partir da conectividade do sistema estudado como medida da distância entre notícias. Esta abordagem permitiu construir um sistema de navegação entre as notícias publicadas que é dependente da conectividade observada na estrutura de notícias encontrada. Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho mostram a importância de analisar sistemas complexos na sua multitude de relações e conectividades que não são estáticas e que influenciam a forma como tradicionalmente se olha para sistema multi-dimensionais. Mostra-se que a inclusão desta dimensões extra produzem melhores resultados na resolução do problema de identificar a estrutura subjacente a este problema da publicação de notícias em linha

EUSN 2021 Book of Abstracts, Fifth European Conference on Social Networks

Book of abstract of the fifth European conference on Social Networks EUSN 202

Writing Science Through Critical Thinking

Written and extensively class tested with NSF/NIH support, this timely and useful text addresses a crucial need which is acknowledged in most universities and colleges. It is the need for students to learn to write in the context of their field of study; in this case science. Although numerous how to writing books have been published, few, if any, address the central pedagogical issues underlying the process of learning to think and write scientifically. The direct connection between this writing skill and that of critical thinking is developed with engaging style by the author, an English professor. Moriarty\u27s book is an invaluable guide for both undergraduate and graduate science students. In the process of learning the specific requirements of organization demanded by scientific writing, students will develop strategies for thinking through their scientific research, well before they sit down to write. This instructive text will be useful to students who need to satisfy a science writing proficiency requirement in the context of a science course, a course in technical writing, advanced composition, or writing for the profession.https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/facbooks/1047/thumbnail.jp

The structure and dynamics of multilayer networks

In the past years, network theory has successfully characterized the interaction among the constituents of a variety of complex systems, ranging from biological to technological, and social systems. However, up until recently, attention was almost exclusively given to networks in which all components were treated on equivalent footing, while neglecting all the extra information about the temporal- or context-related properties of the interactions under study. Only in the last years, taking advantage of the enhanced resolution in real data sets, network scientists have directed their interest to the multiplex character of real-world systems, and explicitly considered the time-varying and multilayer nature of networks. We offer here a comprehensive review on both structural and dynamical organization of graphs made of diverse relationships (layers) between its constituents, and cover several relevant issues, from a full redefinition of the basic structural measures, to understanding how the multilayer nature of the network affects processes and dynamics.Comment: In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Physics Reports 201

Umělá inteligence v kybernetické bezpečnosti

Artifcial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have grown rapidly in recent years, and their applications in practice can be seen in many felds, ranging from facial recognition to image analysis. Recent developments in Artificial intelligence have a vast transformative potential for both cybersecurity defenders and cybercriminals. Anti-malware solutions adopt intelligent techniques to detect and prevent threats to the digital space. In contrast, cybercriminals are aware of the new prospects too and likely to adapt AI techniques to their operations. This thesis presents advances made so far in the field of applying AI techniques in cybersecurity for combating against cyber threats, to demonstrate how this promising technology can be a useful tool for detection and prevention of cyberattacks. Furthermore, the research examines how transnational criminal organizations and cybercriminals may leverage developing AI technology to conduct more sophisticated criminal activities. Next, the research outlines the possible dynamic new kind of malware, called X-Ware and X-sWarm, which simulates the swarm system behaviour and integrates the neural network to operate more efficiently as a background for the forthcoming anti-malware solution. This research proposes how to record and visualize the behaviour of these type of malware when it propagates through the file system, computer network (virus process is known) or by observed data analysis (virus process is not known and we observe only the data from the system). Finally, a paradigm of an anti-malware solution, named Multi agent antivirus system has been proposed in the thesis that gives the insight to develop a more robust, adaptive and flexible defence system.Význam umělé inteligence (AI) a strojového učení (ML) v posledních letech rychle rostl a na jejich aplikacích lze vidět, že v mnoha oblastech, od rozpoznávání obličeje až po analýzu obrazu, byl učiněn velký pokrok. Poslední vývoj v oblasti umělé inteligence má obrovský potenciál jak pro obránce v oblasti kybernetické bezpečnosti, tak pro ůtočníky. AI se stává řešením v otázce obrany proti modernímu malware a hraje tak důležitou roli v detekci a prevenci hrozeb v digitálním prostoru. Naproti tomu kyberzločinci jsou si vědomi nových vyhlídek ve spojení s AI a pravděpodobně přizpůsobí tyto techniky novým generacím malware, vektorům útoku a celkově jejich operacím. Tato práce představuje dosavadní pokroky aplikace technik AI v oblasti kybernetické bezpečnosti. V této oblasti tzn. v boji proti kybernetickým hrozbám se ukázuje jako slibná technologie a užitečný nástroj pro detekci a prevenci kybernetických útoků. V práci si rovněž pokládme otázku, jak mohou nadnárodní zločinecké organizace a počítačoví zločinci využít vyvíjející se technologii umělé inteligence k provádění sofistikovanějších trestných činností. Konečně, výzkum nastíní možný nový druh malware, nazvaný X-Ware, který simuluje chování hejnového systému a integruje neuronovou síť tak, aby fungovala efektivněji a tak se celý X-Ware a X-sWarm dal použít nejen jako kybernetická zbraň na útok, ale i jako antivirové obranné řešení. Tento výzkum navrhuje, jak zaznamenat a vizualizovat chování X-Ware, když se šíří prostřednictvím systému souborů, sítí a to jak analýzou jeho dynamiky (proces je znám), tak analýzou dat (proces není znám, pozorujeme jen data). Nakonec bylo v disertační práci navrženo paradigma řešení proti malwaru, jež bylo nazváno „Multi agent antivirus system“. Tato práce tedy poskytuje pohled na vývoj robustnějšího, adaptivnějšího a flexibilnějšího obranného systému.460 - Katedra informatikyvyhově

Human Extinction and the Pandemic Imaginary

This book develops an examination and critique of human extinction as a result of the ‘next pandemic’ and turns attention towards the role of pandemic catastrophe in the renegotiation of what it means to be human. Nested in debates in anthropology, philosophy, social theory and global health, the book argues that fear of and fascination with the ‘next pandemic’ stem not so much from an anticipation of a biological extinction of the human species, as from an expectation of the loss of mastery over human/non-humanl relations. Christos Lynteris employs the notion of the ‘pandemic imaginary’ in order to understand the way in which pandemic-borne human extinction refashions our understanding of humanity and its place in the world. The book challenges us to think how cosmological, aesthetic, ontological and political aspects of pandemic catastrophe are intertwined. The chapters examine the vital entanglement of epidemiological studies, popular culture, modes of scientific visualisation, and pandemic preparedness campaigns. This volume will be relevant for scholars and advanced students of anthropology as well as global health, and for many others interested in catastrophe, the ‘end of the world’ and the (post)apocalyptic

Social informatics

5th International Conference, SocInfo 2013, Kyoto, Japan, November 25-27, 2013, Proceedings</p