Survey on remnant data research: the artefacts recovered and the implications in a cyber security conscious world

The prevalence of remnant data in second hand storage media is well documented. Since 2004 there have been ten separate papers released through Edith Cowan University alone. Despite numerous government agencies providing advice on securing personal and corporate information, and news articles highlighting the need for data security, the availability of personal and confidential data on second hand storage devices is continuing, indicating a systemic laissez faire attitude to data security, even in our supposedly cyber security conscious world. The research continues, but there seems to be a lack of correlation of these studies to identify trends or common themes amongst the results. The fact that this type of research continues to be conducted highlights the deficiencies in the methods used to advertise warnings publicised by Government departments and industry experts. Major media organisations seem reluctant to broadcast these warnings, unless there is a bigger story behind the issue. This paper highlights the ongoing issues and provides insight to the factors contributing to this growing trend

The Proceedings of 14th Australian Digital Forensics Conference, 5-6 December 2016, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia

Conference Foreword This is the fifth year that the Australian Digital Forensics Conference has been held under the banner of the Security Research Institute, which is in part due to the success of the security conference program at ECU. As with previous years, the conference continues to see a quality papers with a number from local and international authors. 11 papers were submitted and following a double blind peer review process, 8 were accepted for final presentation and publication. Conferences such as these are simply not possible without willing volunteers who follow through with the commitment they have initially made, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the conference committee for their tireless efforts in this regard. These efforts have included but not been limited to the reviewing and editing of the conference papers, and helping with the planning, organisation and execution of the conference. Particular thanks go to those international reviewers who took the time to review papers for the conference, irrespective of the fact that they are unable to attend this year. To our sponsors and supporters a vote of thanks for both the financial and moral support provided to the conference. Finally, to the student volunteers and staff of the ECU Security Research Institute, your efforts as always are appreciated and invaluable. Yours sincerely, Conference Chair Professor Craig Valli Director, Security Research Institut

An Analysis of Computer Systems for the Secure Creation and Verification of User Instructions

The ongoing digitisation of previously analogue systems through the Fourth Industrial Revolution transforms modern societies. Almost every citizen and businesses operating in most parts of the economy are increasingly dependent on the ability of computer systems to accurately execute people's command. This requires efficient data processing capabilities and effective data input methods that can accurately capture and process instructions given by a user. This thesis is concerned with the analysis of state-of-the-art technologies for reliable data input through three case studies. In the first case study, we analyse the UI of Windows 10 and macOS 10.14 for their ability to capture accurate input from users intending to erase data. We find several shortcomings in how both OS support users in identifying and selecting operations that match their intentions and propose several improvements. The second study investigates the use of transaction authentication technology in online banking to preserve the integrity of transaction data in the presence of financial malware. We find a complex interplay of personal and sociotechnical factors that affect whether people successfully secure their transactions, derive representative personas, and propose a novel transaction authentication mechanism that ameliorates some of these factors. In the third study, we analyse the Security Code AutoFill feature in iOS and macOS and its interactions with security processes of remote servers that require users to handle security codes delivered via SMS. We find novel security risks arising from this feature's design and propose amendments, some of which were implemented by Apple. From these case studies, we derive general insights on latent failure as causes for human error that extend the Swiss Cheese model of human error to non-work environments. These findings consequently extend the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System and can be applied to human error incident investigations

The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Issue 17.2 (2013)

Unplanned Explosions | Asia and the Pacific | Underwater Clearanc

Tracing farmers' exploitation, alienation and agency through technology

Grain growers are caught in a system of production which is characterised by the privatisation of the farm services sector, global trade, machinery automation, and technologies. The commodity chain is structured so that costs are passed on to farmers through what they buy and sell. As a consequence of this structure, farmers are exploited and subject to the condition of alienation. Previous research has revealed the challenges of farm-scale efficiencies and the demise of rural areas due to farmer-exodus. Since Kautsky’s original publication of The Agrarian Question in 1899, there is still limited material offering a new sociological understanding of farming and the humanistic effects of farm trade. Therefore, this doctoral study is about farmer-exploitation, alienation, and agency, together with the role of political economy, and the function of the commodity chain. It draws upon historical works from labour theorists to seek a better understanding of the humanism of work and participation in commerce in reference to the relations and networks that exist through farming. To trace farmers and their operations, this research uses actor network theory by deploying some of the methods that sit within this approach. Reflexive photography creates a hybrid method with digital images supporting the findings. The photographs in this thesis help to transport the reader to the research setting that is family operated grain growing farms. The key findings are that agency is a property of farmers, land and their machinery. It was found that technology and science facilitated farmer-agency to re-arrange humans and non-humans to hold science stable on farm through strong networks. Technology is responsible for facilitating farmer-agency, which is used as a tool and then it becomes a force, to exert control over farm production. This thesis makes a significant contribution in understanding modern farmer exploitation and how farmers can work to overcome their vulnerability in socio-political economy. This research is place-specific in the dryland agricultural zone of the Wimmera Southern Mallee region of Victoria, but it contributes to a global understanding of what makes farmers act.Doctor of Philosoph

Artistic uses of cathode ray tube technology in the digital age

This practice-based PhD traces a lineage of historical and contemporary video art that uses cathode ray tube (CRT) technology, including my own practice. It proposes that the use of CRT devices in contemporary art acknowledges and disrupts everyday uses of television technology, while also being aware that such technology has become largely obsolete in the digital age. The use of an outmoded technology in my art promotes reflection on late capitalism’s relentless forces of production and consumption that make earlier technologies redundant, or useless to the market, with ever-greater velocity. The artworks produced for this project present CRT technology as imbued with previous histories of use in artistic and mainstream culture, both mourning and celebrating the CRT as obsolete device. The thesis analyses the scientific and technical origins of the CRT, its proliferation as part of television culture and its recent slide into obsolescence. It contextualises CRT technology use in art from the 1960s to the present, with specific reference to works by artists who explore the historicity and materiality of the device in nuanced ways. By drawing on theorists such as Raymond Williams, David Joselit, Marita Sturken and Joel Burges, the thesis examines how notions of technological obsolescence, flow, immediacy of transmission and technological developments of the digital age affect current conceptualisations of CRT technology in select examples of historical and contemporary art. The three video installations I have produced for this project are titled: Live Televisualisations (2016-2018), CRT Loneliness (2016-2018), and CRT Rhizome (2016-2018). These works simultaneously reference and update a history of CRT technology use in video art since the 1960s. Evoked are earlier artistic uses of CRT monitors and devices as sculptural forms and as assemblages that expose the apparatus behind visual and aural transmission. Also referenced are related practices that deliberately disrupt televisual communication, thus subtracting the medium from market imperatives or its role in perception management. While building on earlier artistic experiments, my artworks present now redundant CRT technology as a dysfunctional, melancholic, ghostly presence that transmits not messages but static, white noise, interference and a sense of emptiness