Identifying infected energy systems in the wild

The 2016 Mirai outbreak established an entirely new mindset in the history of large-scale Internet attacks. A plethora of Mirai-like variants have emerged in the last two years that are capable to infiltrate any type of device. In this paper we provide a 7-month retrospective analysis of Internet-connected energy systems that are infected by Mirai-like malware variants. By utilizing network measurements from several Internet vantage points, we demonstrate that a number of energy systems on a global scale were infected during the period of our observation. While past works have studied vulnerabilities and patching practises of ICS and energy systems, little information has been available on actual exploits of such vulnerabilities. Hence, we provide evidence that energy systems relying on ICS networks are often compromised by vulnerabilities in non-ICS devices (routers, servers and IoT devices) which provide foothold for lateral network attacks. Our work offers a first look in compromised energy systems by malware infections, and offers insights on the lack of proper security practices for systems that are increasingly dependent on internet services and more recently the IoT. In addition, we indicate that such systems were infected for relatively large periods, thus potentially remaining undetected by their corresponding organizational units

Elm Farm Organic Research Centre Bulletin 83 April 2006

Regular bulleting with technical updates from Organic Advisory Service Issue contains: Testing for Tolerance - a pragmatic view GM Debate Vaccination nation - to jab or not to jab Future shape of OCIS Evolutionary wheat makes the grade? NIAB tracks health of organic cereal seed Stopping erosion of soil quality - the organic way Care needed to halt butterfly collapse Aspects of poultry behaviour: How free range is free range? On choosing an organic wheat A local education challenge New Wakelyns Science Building Organic vegetable market growt

Linking anthropogenic resources to wildlife-pathogen dynamics: a review and meta-analysis

Urbanisation and agriculture cause declines for many wildlife, but some species benefit from novelresources, especially food, provided in human-dominated habitats. Resulting shifts in wildlife ecol-ogy can alter infectious disease dynamics and create opportunities for cross-species transmission,yet predicting host–pathogen responses to resource provisioning is challenging. Factors enhancingtransmission, such as increased aggregation, could be offset by better host immunity due toimproved nutrition. Here, we conduct a review and meta-analysis to show that food provisioningresults in highly heterogeneous infection outcomes that depend on pathogen type and anthropo-genic food source. We also find empirical support for behavioural and immune mechanismsthrough which human-provided resources alter host exposure and tolerance to pathogens. Areview of recent theoretical models of resource provisioning and infection dynamics shows thatchanges in host contact rates and immunity produce strong non-linear responses in pathogen inva-sion and prevalence. By integrating results of our meta-analysis back into a theoretical frame-work, we find provisioning amplifies pathogen invasion under increased host aggregation andtolerance, but reduces transmission if provisioned food decreases dietary exposure to parasites.These results carry implications for wildlife disease management and highlight areas for futurework, such as how resource shifts might affect virulence evolution

USGS/NOAA Workshop on Mycobacteriosis in Striped Bass, May 7-10, 2006, Annapolis, Maryland

As a Federal trust species, the well-being of the striped bass (Morone saxatilis) population along the Eastern Seaboard is of major concern to resource users. Striped bass are an extremely valuable commercial and recreational resource. As a principal piscivore in Chesapeake Bay, striped bass directly or indirectly interact with multiple trophic levels within the ecosystem and are therefore very sensitive to biotic and abiotic ecosystem changes. For reasons that have yet to be defined, the species has a high intrinsic susceptibility to mycobacteriosis. This disease has been impacting Chesapeake Bay striped bass since at least the 1980s as indicated by archived tissue samples. However, it was not until heightened incidences of fish with skin lesions in the Pocomoke River and other tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay were reported in the summer and fall of 1996 and 1997 that a great deal of public and scientific interest was stimulated about concerns for fish disease in the Bay. (PDF contains 50 pages