Cryptographic Key Distribution In Wireless Sensor Networks Using Bilinear Pairings

It is envisaged that the use of cheap and tiny wireless sensors will soon bring a third wave of evolution in computing systems. Billions of wireless senor nodes will provide a bridge between information systems and the physical world. Wireless nodes deployed around the globe will monitor the surrounding environment as well as gather information about the people therein. It is clear that this revolution will put security solutions to a great test. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a challenging environment for applying security services. They differ in many aspects from traditional fixed networks, and standard cryptographic solutions cannot be used in this application space. Despite many research efforts, key distribution in WSNs still remains an open problem. Many of the proposed schemes suffer from high communication overhead and storage costs, low scalability and poor resilience against different types of attacks. The exclusive usage of simple and energy efficient symmetric cryptography primitives does not solve the security problem. On the other hand a full public key infrastructure which uses asymmetric techniques, digital signatures and certificate authorities seems to be far too complex for a constrained WSN environment. This thesis investigates a new approach to WSN security which addresses many of the shortcomings of existing mechanisms. It presents a detailed description on how to provide practical Public Key Cryptography solutions for wireless sensor networks. The contributions to the state-of-the-art are added on all levels of development beginning with the basic arithmetic operations and finishing with complete security protocols. This work includes a survey of different key distribution protocols that have been developed for WSNs, with an evaluation of their limitations. It also proposes Identity- Based Cryptography (IBC) as an ideal technique for key distribution in sensor networks. It presents the first in-depth study of the application and implementation of Pairing- Based Cryptography (PBC) to WSNs. This is followed by a presentation of the state of the art on the software implementation of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) on typical WSNplatforms. New optimized algorithms for performing multiprecision multiplication on a broad range of low-end CPUs are introduced as well. Three novel protocols for key distribution are proposed in this thesis. Two of these are intended for non-interactive key exchange in flat and clustered networks respectively. A third key distribution protocol uses Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) to secure communication within a heterogeneous sensor network. This thesis includes also a comprehensive security evaluation that shows that proposed schemes are resistant to various attacks that are specific to WSNs. This work shows that by using the newest achievements in cryptography like pairings and IBC it is possible to deliver affordable public-key cryptographic solutions and to apply a sufficient level of security for the most demanding WSN applications

Air Force Institute of Technology Contributions to Air Force Research and Development, Calendar Year 1987

From the introduction:The primary mission of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is education, but research and consulting are essential integral elements in the process. This report highlights AFIT\u27s contributions to Air Force research and development activities [in 1987]

Nation and Compilation in England, 1270-1500

Scholarship has frequently explored how people in medieval England engaged the concept of nation. Scholarship has also investigated the manners in which book production participated in and enacted cultural phenomena. Hitherto, there has been limited consideration of these two concerns together. This is problematic because the manuscripts which carry medieval texts to modern scholars offer the best evidence of contemporary reception of these texts. This dissertation fills this void. It unites questions of compilation and nation in the study of medieval England from 1270 to 1500. It explores the manner in which the collection of works in one manuscript—the manuscript matrix—engages, shapes, denies, or ignores the discourses of the English nation. The dissertation opens with consideration of the textual network of those manuscripts containing one or two tales of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It further argues that such study reveals a political interpretation at the heart of the Clerk's Tale. This dissertation's attention to the manuscript matrix also challenges longstanding proto-nationalist readings of Layamon's Brut and Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur and replaces these with more complicated interpretations of their engagement with nation. Ultimately, the manuscript matrix proves a powerful tool for demonstrating the pluralistic and paradoxical engagements with concepts of nation within late medieval England

Earth resources: A continuing bibliography, issue 46

This bibliography lists 467 reports, articles and other documents introdcued into the NASA scientific and technical information system between April 1 and June 30, 1985. Emphasis is placed on the use of remote sensing and geophysical instrumentation in spacecraft and aircraft to survey and inventory natural resources and urban areas. Subject matter is grouped according to agriculture and forestry, environmental cultural resources geodesy and cartography, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water management, data processing and distribution systems, instrumentation and sensors, and economical analysis

Human-brown hyaena relationships and the role of mountainous environments as refuges in a postcolonial landscape

Humans and brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) frequently interact within a shifting landscape of conflict and cohabitation, yet the social and biological dimensions of these relationships, particularly in montane environments, are rarely studied. This interdisciplinary thesis investigates how attitudes and perceptions towards brown hyaenas vary between different socio-economic groups within a postcolonial framework, and how these perceptions relate to brown hyaena occupancy, density, spatial ecology, and diet. This study, which is based in and around the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa, uses interviews, participant observation, camera traps, GPS telemetry, and scat analysis. Members of three socio-economic groups ascribe acceptable behavioural and geographic expectations to predators. Violation of these expectations by predators strip power from people and reduce acceptance levels towards them. Regaining power and mimicking concepts of colonial domination over land are key themes in human-predator relationships. Although the brown hyaena’s elusive nature and people’s strong abhorrence towards leopards (Panthera pardus) partially protects hyaenas from attracting attention as a problem animal, anthropogenic threats still abound. The most important factor determining brown hyaena occupancy is avoiding high human activity. Despite anthropogenic risks and due to their large home ranges (95.04 km2 – 169.79 km2) and dietary adaptability, brown hyaenas occupy 79% of the area surveyed. Brown hyaenas have a varied diet, which includes 48 different species. All signs suggest food acquisition through scavenging. This finding is corroborated by a high overlap with leopard diet. With lower human activity and plentiful scavenging opportunities, mountains provide a safe haven for brown hyaenas. A robust brown hyaena density between 2.56 – 3.63 per 100 km2 occurs in the Soutpansberg Mountains. Recommendations to promote coexistence with hyaenas include greater education about brown hyaena ecology and their ecosystem services, non-lethal conflict mitigation, and the inclusion of people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in conservation

Bowdoin Orient v.133, no.1-24 (2003-2004)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-2000s/1004/thumbnail.jp

Fish behavior and its use in the capture and culture of fishes

Fishery management, Behaviour, Food fish, Fish culture, Conferences

Twelfth Annual Conference on Manual Control

Main topics discussed cover multi-task decision making, attention allocation and workload measurement, displays and controls, nonvisual displays, tracking and other psychomotor tasks, automobile driving, handling qualities and pilot ratings, remote manipulation, system identification, control models, and motion and visual cues. Sixty-five papers are included with presentations on results of analytical studies to develop and evaluate human operator models for a range of control task, vehicle dynamics and display situations; results of tests of physiological control systems and applications to medical problems; and on results of simulator and flight tests to determine display, control and dynamics effects on operator performance and workload for aircraft, automobile, and remote control systems