CloudAnchor Smart Contracts

The CloudAnchor platform allows the negotiation of IaaS Cloud resources for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), either as resource providers or consumers. This project entails the research, design, and implementation of a solution based on smart contracts, with the goal of permanently recording and managing the contracts on a blockchain network. The usage of smart contracts enables safe contract code execution and raises the level of trust, integrity, and traceability of the platform contracts by keeping the data stored in a decentralised manner. To do so, a method to coordinate and submit transactions to the blockchain network must be implemented. The tests carried out indicate that the solution has been successfully implemented, with contract registration saved in a decentralised and safe manner. As a result, there was an increase in the platform’s execution time, caused by the new transactions made to the blockchain.A plataforma CloudAnchor permite a negociação e contratualização de recursos Cloud do tipo IaaS a pequenas e médias empresas, sejam elas fornecedoras ou clientes. Este trabalho inclui o estudo, projeto e implementação de uma solução baseada em smart contracts, com o objetivo de administrar e registar de forma permanente os contratos celebrados numa rede blockchain. A utilização de smart contracts permite executar o respetivo código de forma segura e aumentar o nível de confiança, integridade e rastreabilidade dos contratos celebrados na plataforma, guardando-os de forma descentralizada. Para tal, é necessário implementar um mecanismo de coordenação e submissão de transações para a rede blockchain. Os testes realizados permitiram concluir que a implementação da solução foi bem sucedida, passando os contratos a ficar guardados de forma descentralizada e segura. Em consequência, verificou-se um aumento do tempo de execução da plataforma provocado pelas novas transações com a blockchain

Innovation in manufacturing through digital technologies and applications: Thoughts and Reflections on Industry 4.0

The rapid pace of developments in digital technologies offers many opportunities to increase the efficiency, flexibility and sophistication of manufacturing processes; including the potential for easier customisation, lower volumes and rapid changeover of products within the same manufacturing cell or line. A number of initiatives on this theme have been proposed around the world to support national industries under names such as Industry 4.0 (Industrie 4.0 in Germany, Made-in-China in China and Made Smarter in the UK). This book presents an overview of the state of art and upcoming developments in digital technologies pertaining to manufacturing. The starting point is an introduction on Industry 4.0 and its potential for enhancing the manufacturing process. Later on moving to the design of smart (that is digitally driven) business processes which are going to rely on sensing of all relevant parameters, gathering, storing and processing the data from these sensors, using computing power and intelligence at the most appropriate points in the digital workflow including application of edge computing and parallel processing. A key component of this workflow is the application of Artificial Intelligence and particularly techniques in Machine Learning to derive actionable information from this data; be it real-time automated responses such as actuating transducers or informing human operators to follow specified standard operating procedures or providing management data for operational and strategic planning. Further consideration also needs to be given to the properties and behaviours of particular machines that are controlled and materials that are transformed during the manufacturing process and this is sometimes referred to as Operational Technology (OT) as opposed to IT. The digital capture of these properties and behaviours can then be used to define so-called Cyber Physical Systems. Given the power of these digital technologies it is of paramount importance that they operate safely and are not vulnerable to malicious interference. Industry 4.0 brings unprecedented cybersecurity challenges to manufacturing and the overall industrial sector and the case is made here that new codes of practice are needed for the combined Information Technology and Operational Technology worlds, but with a framework that should be native to Industry 4.0. Current computing technologies are also able to go in other directions than supporting the digital ‘sense to action’ process described above. One of these is to use digital technologies to enhance the ability of the human operators who are still essential within the manufacturing process. One such technology, that has recently become accessible for widespread adoption, is Augmented Reality, providing operators with real-time additional information in situ with the machines that they interact with in their workspace in a hands-free mode. Finally, two linked chapters discuss the specific application of digital technologies to High Pressure Die Casting (HDPC) of Magnesium components. Optimizing the HPDC process is a key task for increasing productivity and reducing defective parts and the first chapter provides an overview of the HPDC process with attention to the most common defects and their sources. It does this by first looking at real-time process control mechanisms, understanding the various process variables and assessing their impact on the end product quality. This understanding drives the choice of sensing methods and the associated smart digital workflow to allow real-time control and mitigation of variation in the identified variables. Also, data from this workflow can be captured and used for the design of optimised dies and associated processes

This is my Body: the Uses and Effects of the Avatar in the Virtual World

Abstract The study focuse

Trust Management for Public Key Infrastructures: Implementing the X.509 Trust Broker

A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is considered one of the most important techniques used to propagate trust in authentication over the Internet. This technology is based on a trust model defined by the original X.509 (1988) standard and is composed of three entities: the Certification Authority (CA), the certificate holder (or subject) and the Relying Party (RP). The CA plays the role of a trusted third party between the certificate holder and the RP. In many use cases, this trust model has worked successfully. However on the Internet, PKI technology is currently facing many obstacles that slow down its global adoption. In this paper, we argue that most of these obstacles boil down to one problem, which is the trust issue, i.e. how can an RP trust an unknown CA over the Internet? We demonstrate that the original X.509 trust model is not appropriate for the Internet and must be extended to include a new entity, called the Trust Broker, which helps RPs make trust decisions about CAs. We present an approach to assess the quality of a certificate that is related to the quality of the CA’s policy and its commitment to it. The Trust Broker, which is proposed for inclusion in the 2016 edition of X.509, could follow this approach to give RPs trust information about CAs. Finally, we present a prototype Trust Broker that demonstrates how RPs can make informed decisions about certificates in the context of the Web, by using its services

Perceived influence of cybersecurity on the intention to use mobile banking applications

Banking institutions see the adoption and usage of mobile devices for banking namely mobile banking as an innovative financial service delivering strategy that bridges the gap between customers and banks. Mobile banking eliminates the need to visit bank branches for banking services and it eliminates the need to only perform banking services within fixed business hours. In mobile banking, mobile devices such as a cellphone, smartphone, or tablet’ are used to conduct non-financial and financial transactions such as checking account status, transferring money, making payments, or selling stocks. Mobile banking is suggested to take over the banking sector because it is economising and timesaving benefits. Despite these benefits, the adoption rate amongst consumers remains low, especially in developing countries where there is a knowledge gap in understanding why consumers do not engage in the frequent use of mobile banking applications. Apart from several factors identified in previous literature on mobile banking as influencers of limited usage and adoption of mobile banking, trust remains an important factor in the intention to adopt or use mobile banking applications. Also, because of the increasing prevalence of cyber threats in developing countries, the influence of cybersecurity is still questionable on their influences on the intention to adopt or use mobile baking applications. The increase in cyber threats and attacks has birthed the need for cybersecurity to be addressed. Given that most financial institutions see mobile banking as a strategy for their competitive advantage; it is important that they understand how best to address consumer’s fears brought about by cybersecurity threats. Literature has not covered more ground on the analysis of mobile banking applications (Uduimoh., Osho., Ismaila, & Shafi’i, 2019). The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived influence of cybersecurity on the user’s intentions to use mobile banking applications. The study identified seven salient cybersecurity factors that influence the intention to use mobile banking applications. These cybersecurity factors were grouped into two groups, namely intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors and resulted in the development of a conceptual model. With this model, hypothesises were developed and tested statistically using quantitative data from an online selfadministered Qualtrics survey questionnaire. Data collected from 90 participants was statistically analysed in Smart PLS 3 (a quantitative data analysis software). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Partial Least Squares path modelling approaches were adopted for data analysis. Hypothesis testing was performed on salient factors that influence the perception of cybersecurity on the intention to use mobile banking applications. The findings concluded that salient significant factors that influence the perception of mobile banking cybersecurity on the intention to use mobile banking applications were perceived data confidentiality and cybersecurity awareness. As a result, the study concluded that one’s perception on ability to avert cybersecurity threats and attacks, how they perceived the protection of their data from being modified by unauthorised users, how they perceive their data to be kept confidential and their knowledge of cybersecurity from legitimate sources influences their intention to use mobile banking applications. Finally, this study investigated the empirical evidence of the knowledge gap concerning the perceived influence of cybersecurity on the intention to use mobile banking applications

Modelling and Co-simulation of Multi-Energy Systems: Distributed Software Methods and Platforms

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen