Predicting the Impact of Measures Against P2P Networks on the Transient Behaviors

The paper has two objectives. The first is to study rigorously the transient behavior of some P2P networks whenever information is replicated and disseminated according to epidemic-like dynamics. The second is to use the insight gained from the previous analysis in order to predict how efficient are measures taken against peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. We first introduce a stochastic model which extends a classical epidemic model and characterize the P2P swarm behavior in presence of free riding peers. We then study a second model in which a peer initiates a contact with another peer chosen randomly. In both cases the network is shown to exhibit a phase transition: a small change in the parameters causes a large change in the behavior of the network. We show, in particular, how the phase transition affects measures that content provider networks may take against P2P networks that distribute non-authorized music or books, and what is the efficiency of counter-measures.Comment: IEEE Infocom (2011

Knowledge Transfer with Citizen Science: Luft-Leipzig Case Study

Community-based participatory research initiatives such as “hackAir”, “luftdaten.info”, “senseBox”, “CAPTOR”, “CurieuzeNeuzen Vlaanderen”, “communityAQ”, and “Healthy Air, Healthier Children” campaign among many others for mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and improving air quality have reported progressive knowledge transfer results. These research initiatives provide the research community with the practical four-element state-of-the-art method for citizen science. For the preparation-, measurements-, data analysis-, and scientific support-elements that collectively present the novel knowledge transfer method, the Luft-Leipzig project results are presented. This research contributes to science by formulating a novel method for SLCP mitigation projects that employ citizen scientists. The Luft-Leipzig project results are presented to validate the four-element state-of-the-art method. The method is recommended for knowledge transfer purposes beyond the scope of mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and improving air quality

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows, August 2012 to May 2013

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows from August 2012 to May 2013

Disinformation in the New Media System – Characteristics, Forms, Reasons for its Dissemination and Potential Means of Tackling the Issue

This paper aims to explain the phenomenon of disinformation and its impact. Furthermore, it aims to point out the magnitude and seriousness of the problem, as well as the importance of joint action of all social structures in solving it. The design, production, and dissemination (mainly orally) of untrue and inaccurate information and news for various purposes have been recorded since ancient times. After the invention of the printing machine, their continuous reproduction and distribution began in written form, which also enabled them to have a stronger impact, longer duration, and greater reach. Thanks to the development of the media, especially the mass media such as newspapers, radio, and television, information and news spread faster, more easily and farther, but at the same time, disinformation began to appear in the public sphere more often. Due to the strong development of technology and the emergence of new digital media, primarily the Internet, social networks, and communication platforms, as global communication phenomena, this problem has reached worrying, and often dangerous, levels in the current digital age and the new media system. According to recent indicators and research, the situation is deteriorating. Although the number of papers and the amount of research on this topic has significantly increased in Europe and the world in recent years, it is a complex issue which is still not sufficiently addressed in the scientific discourse. Therefore, this paper attempts to provide a clear insight into the definitions and characteristics of disinformation, as a concept that was officially adopted at the European Union level, for the purpose of denoting the phenomenon, along with related and similar terms such as fake news, misinformation, malinformation, information disorder, information pollution, alternative facts and others. This is done by including the appropriate theoretical background and the results of a series of relevant previous research studies in order to briefly present the historical development and known cases of disinformation, as well as the causes, reasons, consequences, and the most sensitive spheres of their production and dissemination in modern society. The methods for recognizing, preventing, and combating disinformation established thus far are also presented. In addition, new measures for their suppression are also proposed

CISE as a Tool for Sharing Sensitive Cyber Information in Maritime Domain

The ECHO project aims at organizing and coordinating an approach to strengthen proactive cyber security in the European Union through effective and efficient multi-sector collaboration. One important tool for this aim is the ECHO Early Warning System (E-EWS). The development of the E-EWS will be rooted in a comprehensive review of information sharing and trust models from within the cyber domain, as well as models from other domains. In 2009, the Commission adopted a Communication Towards the integration of maritime surveillance in the EU: “A common information sharing environment for the EU maritime domain (CISE),” setting out guiding principles towards its establishment. The aim of the COM(2010)584 final was to generate a situational awareness of activities at sea and impact overall maritime safety and security. As a outcome of COM(2010)584 final, the EUCISE2020 project has developed a test-bed for maritime information sharing. This case study analyses information sharing models in the maritime domain, the EUCISE2020 test bed and the CISE itself as an alternative for cyber information sharing system. The maritime sector represents a suitable research case because it is already digitized in many aspects

Trust management schemes for peer-to-peer networks

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking enables users with similar interests to exchange, or obtain files. This network model has been proven popular to exchange music, pictures, or software applications. These files are saved, and most likely executed, at the downloading host. At the expense of this mechanism, worms, viruses, and malware find an open front door to the downloading host and gives them a convenient environment for successful proliferation throughout the network. Although virus detection software is currently available, this countermeasure works in a reactive fashion, and in most times, in an isolated manner. A trust management scheme is considered to contain the proliferation of viruses in P2P networks. Specifically, a cooperative and distributed trust management scheme based on a two-layer approach to bound the proliferation of viruses is proposed. The new scheme is called double-layer dynamic trust (DDT) management scheme. The results show that the proposed scheme bounds the proliferation of malware. With the proposed scheme, the number of infected hosts and the proliferation rate are limited to small values. In addition, it is shown that network activity is not discouraged by using the proposed scheme. Moreover, to improve the efficiency on the calculation of trust values of ratio based normalization models, a model is proposed for trust value calculation using a three-dimensional normalization to represent peer activity with more accuracy than that of a conventional ratio based normalization. Distributed network security is also considered, especially in P2P network security. For many P2P systems, including ad hoc networks and online markets, reputation systems have been considered as a solution for mitigating the affects of malicious peers. However, a sybil attack, wherein forging identities is performed to unfairly and arbitrarily influence the reputation of peers in a network or community. To defend against sybil attack, each reported transaction, which is used to calculate trust values, is verified. In this thesis, it is shown that peer reputation alone cannot bound network subversion of a sybil attack. Therefore, a new trust management framework, called Sybildefense, is introduced. This framework combines a trust management scheme with a cryptography mechanism to verify different transaction claims issue by peers, including those bogus claims of sybil peers. To improve the efficiency on the identification of honest peers from sybil peers, a k-means clustering mechanism is adopted. Moreover, to include a list of peer’s trustees in a warning messages is proposed to generate a local table for a peer that it is used to identify possible clusters of sybil peers. The defensive performance of these algorithms are compared under sybil attacks. The performance results show that the proposed framework (Sybildefense) can thwart sybil attacks efficiently

The communications satellite industry as an element in Nigeria’s attempt to modernise its economy and society

There is general consensus that Nigeria’s inordinate reliance on oil has not had a positive impact on its social and economic development – indeed, that Nigeria has suffered from the ‘resource curse’. In 2009, the National Planning Commission of Nigeria, the custodian of the Vision 20:2020 document as well as the 30-year National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), which stressed the need for Nigeria to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons, a crucial element in this goal is Information and Communications Technology. This paper examines the establishment of the communications satellite industry and its strategic role as critical ICT backbone infrastructure in driving Nigeria’s national ICT revolution beyond cities and urban areas to unserved and underserved areas and its growing value chain in key economic sectors of the Nigerian economy and society

Fighting COVID-19 in Freetown, Sierra Leone: the critical role of community organisations in a growing pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in Africa, attention is increasingly shifting to the potential and ongoing impact on informal settlements, which face considerable challenges around the implementation of conventional control measures of social distancing, hand washing and self-isolation. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, residents of informal settlements have relied on local community organisations and groups, and their resourcefulness to provide essential preparedness, response and on-going support to alleviate the public health and economic risks associated with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is also premised on lessons drawn from dealing with previous epidemics, notably the Ebola virus disease in 2014–2015. This paper will explain the nature and form of community organisation that can be galvanised and leveraged for COVID-19 preparedness and responses that are suited for informal settlements. Secondly, it highlights the critical contribution of community organisations in social protection measures that tackle deeply entrenched inequalities in rapidly urbanising contexts. Finally, the cases examined seek to provide evidence of the value of processes of continuous learning within community organisation that are essential for both humanitarian assistance and emergency management. Although situated in Freetown, the broad lessons drawn are relevant for urban-poor communities and informal settlements in many urban African centres