20,483 research outputs found

    The Viability and Potential Consequences of IoT-Based Ransomware

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    With the increased threat of ransomware and the substantial growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) market, there is significant motivation for attackers to carry out IoT-based ransomware campaigns. In this thesis, the viability of such malware is tested. As part of this work, various techniques that could be used by ransomware developers to attack commercial IoT devices were explored. First, methods that attackers could use to communicate with the victim were examined, such that a ransom note was able to be reliably sent to a victim. Next, the viability of using "bricking" as a method of ransom was evaluated, such that devices could be remotely disabled unless the victim makes a payment to the attacker. Research was then performed to ascertain whether it was possible to remotely gain persistence on IoT devices, which would improve the efficacy of existing ransomware methods, and provide opportunities for more advanced ransomware to be created. Finally, after successfully identifying a number of persistence techniques, the viability of privacy-invasion based ransomware was analysed. For each assessed technique, proofs of concept were developed. A range of devices -- with various intended purposes, such as routers, cameras and phones -- were used to test the viability of these proofs of concept. To test communication hijacking, devices' "channels of communication" -- such as web services and embedded screens -- were identified, then hijacked to display custom ransom notes. During the analysis of bricking-based ransomware, a working proof of concept was created, which was then able to remotely brick five IoT devices. After analysing the storage design of an assortment of IoT devices, six different persistence techniques were identified, which were then successfully tested on four devices, such that malicious filesystem modifications would be retained after the device was rebooted. When researching privacy-invasion based ransomware, several methods were created to extract information from data sources that can be commonly found on IoT devices, such as nearby WiFi signals, images from cameras, or audio from microphones. These were successfully implemented in a test environment such that ransomable data could be extracted, processed, and stored for later use to blackmail the victim. Overall, IoT-based ransomware has not only been shown to be viable but also highly damaging to both IoT devices and their users. While the use of IoT-ransomware is still very uncommon "in the wild", the techniques demonstrated within this work highlight an urgent need to improve the security of IoT devices to avoid the risk of IoT-based ransomware causing havoc in our society. Finally, during the development of these proofs of concept, a number of potential countermeasures were identified, which can be used to limit the effectiveness of the attacking techniques discovered in this PhD research

    Exploring the Training Factors that Influence the Role of Teaching Assistants to Teach to Students With SEND in a Mainstream Classroom in England

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    With the implementation of inclusive education having become increasingly valued over the years, the training of Teaching Assistants (TAs) is now more important than ever, given that they work alongside pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (hereinafter SEND) in mainstream education classrooms. The current study explored the training factors that influence the role of TAs when it comes to teaching SEND students in mainstream classrooms in England during their one-year training period. This work aimed to increase understanding of how the training of TAs is seen to influence the development of their personal knowledge and professional skills. The study has significance for our comprehension of the connection between the TAs’ training and the quality of education in the classroom. In addition, this work investigated whether there existed a correlation between the teaching experience of TAs and their background information, such as their gender, age, grade level taught, years of teaching experience, and qualification level. A critical realist theoretical approach was adopted for this two-phased study, which involved the mixing of adaptive and grounded theories respectively. The multi-method project featured 13 case studies, each of which involved a trainee TA, his/her college tutor, and the classroom teacher who was supervising the trainee TA. The analysis was based on using semi-structured interviews, various questionnaires, and non-participant observation methods for each of these case studies during the TA’s one-year training period. The primary analysis of the research was completed by comparing the various kinds of data collected from the participants in the first and second data collection stages of each case. Further analysis involved cross-case analysis using a grounded theory approach, which made it possible to draw conclusions and put forth several core propositions. Compared with previous research, the findings of the current study reveal many implications for the training and deployment conditions of TAs, while they also challenge the prevailing approaches in many aspects, in addition to offering more diversified, enriched, and comprehensive explanations of the critical pedagogical issues

    BRAMAC: Compute-in-BRAM Architectures for Multiply-Accumulate on FPGAs

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    Deep neural network (DNN) inference using reduced integer precision has been shown to achieve significant improvements in memory utilization and compute throughput with little or no accuracy loss compared to full-precision floating-point. Modern FPGA-based DNN inference relies heavily on the on-chip block RAM (BRAM) for model storage and the digital signal processing (DSP) unit for implementing the multiply-accumulate (MAC) operation, a fundamental DNN primitive. In this paper, we enhance the existing BRAM to also compute MAC by proposing BRAMAC (Compute-in-BR\underline{\text{BR}}AM A\underline{\text{A}}rchitectures for M\underline{\text{M}}ultiply-Ac\underline{\text{Ac}}cumulate). BRAMAC supports 2's complement 2- to 8-bit MAC in a small dummy BRAM array using a hybrid bit-serial & bit-parallel data flow. Unlike previous compute-in-BRAM architectures, BRAMAC allows read/write access to the main BRAM array while computing in the dummy BRAM array, enabling both persistent and tiling-based DNN inference. We explore two BRAMAC variants: BRAMAC-2SA (with 2 synchronous dummy arrays) and BRAMAC-1DA (with 1 double-pumped dummy array). BRAMAC-2SA/BRAMAC-1DA can boost the peak MAC throughput of a large Arria-10 FPGA by 2.6×\times/2.1×\times, 2.3×\times/2.0×\times, and 1.9×\times/1.7×\times for 2-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit precisions, respectively at the cost of 6.8%/3.4% increase in the FPGA core area. By adding BRAMAC-2SA/BRAMAC-1DA to a state-of-the-art tiling-based DNN accelerator, an average speedup of 2.05×\times/1.7×\times and 1.33×\times/1.52×\times can be achieved for AlexNet and ResNet-34, respectively across different model precisions.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, FCCM conference 202

    Paranormal Investigators: Exploring a Positive Social Construct Through Paranormal Belief and Investigations

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    This thesis is a case study providing a more detailed look into how a local paranormal investigation team forms a community that cultivates social benefits beyond proving the supernatural’s existence. Folklore provides a path to understanding supernatural beliefs and fears, furthering the understanding of paranormal communities and any advantages of being a part of or receiving help from paranormal investigators and investigations. The paranormal or the supernatural defies standard explanation. For example, ghosts and UFOs, at times, are not explained away with traditional scientific theories and hypotheses. Paranormal investigators, also called paranormal researchers, choose to study the paranormal phenomena considered unexplainable, often forming paranormal groups who discuss, investigate, and explore possible explanations of hauntings and other supernatural events. Paranormal investigators help create and add positive benefits for the paranormal communities they serve and are worthy of further exploration and discussion as investigators provide support, knowledge, advice, resources, contacts, and connections for their clients. I have analyzed how the paranormal investigator group The Other Realm(TOR), located in Cache Valley, Utah, functions as a paranormal folk group that benefits their paranormal community. TORs paranormal community consists of clients and guests of their public ghost hunting events and other nearby paranormal investigation groups. TOR’s goal is to help those who feel they are experiencing a haunting by opening a safe space to share their paranormal beliefs and experiences without fear of ridicule and disbelief. Their focus is on the ghosts or spirits part of the paranormal phenomenon. The paranormal community serves a particular purpose for those who need help with their paranormal experiences and furthering each investigator’s esoteric knowledge

    The Adirondack Chronology

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    The Adirondack Chronology is intended to be a useful resource for researchers and others interested in the Adirondacks and Adirondack history.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arlpublications/1000/thumbnail.jp

    Virtual Robotics in Hybrid Teaching and Learning

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    Traditional robotics instruction in face-to-face classrooms, after-school clubs, and independent competition environments align with expensive, physical robot kits shared by students. Students or parent groups often elect themselves because of previous experience, expertise, or perceived technical ability to dominate the physical robotic platforms’ planning, engineering, building, and subsequent programming. This self-elected grabbing of control leaves students who are not regarded as well-positioned to contribute sidelined to observe the self-appointed experts of the group. Virtual robotics platforms provide educators and coaches with the unique opportunity to give every student access to a robot. Each student learns programming, math, and scientific forces that impact robots through simulated physics algorithms. With their customizable virtual environments, virtual robotics platforms such as Vex VR and Robot Virtual Worlds level the playing field. All students can learn, practice, and subsequently contribute to robotics-centered group projects or competitive teams in meaningful ways. This book chapter delineates the strategies to implement virtual robotics in hybrid classroom environments supported by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. Additionally, this chapter reviews how computer-aided design and augmented reality platforms provide students with the opportunity to incorporate 3D objects into virtual worlds

    Development of a mobile automated air quality monitoring system for use in places of technogenic accidents on railway transport

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    A mobile air quality monitoring system (MAQMS) has been designed and implemented at railway infrastructure facilities. The system (or MAQMS) consists of two main parts: a single data processing server and information collection devices. The transmitter is based on the ATmega328 microcontroller. For component devices of MAQMS, the operation of which depends on Wi-Fi, a transmitter based on an ESP8266 microcontroller is used, which ensures stable communication according to the 802.11n standard. This standard is the main data transfer protocol between environmental data collection devices and the MQTT server. In the implemented MAQMS, the data processing server receives information via the MQTT protocol from all devices about the status of each sensor and the location of the device at the site of a railway accident accompanied by environmental pollution. All data with a certain periodicity is written to the database on the server in the appropriate format with timestamps. To access the stored data, a WEB interface is used, which allows you to administer the MAQMS from all devices that have a web browser

    PIRM: Processing In Racetrack Memories

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    The growth in data needs of modern applications has created significant challenges for modern systems leading a "memory wall." Spintronic Domain Wall Memory (DWM), related to Spin-Transfer Torque Memory (STT-MRAM), provides near-SRAM read/write performance, energy savings and nonvolatility, potential for extremely high storage density, and does not have significant endurance limitations. However, DWM's benefits cannot address data access latency and throughput limitations of memory bus bandwidth. We propose PIRM, a DWM-based in-memory computing solution that leverages the properties of DWM nanowires and allows them to serve as polymorphic gates. While normally DWM is accessed by applying spin polarized currents orthogonal to the nanowire at access points to read individual bits, transverse access along the DWM nanowire allows the differentiation of the aggregate resistance of multiple bits in the nanowire, akin to a multilevel cell. PIRM leverages this transverse reading to directly provide bulk-bitwise logic of multiple adjacent operands in the nanowire, simultaneously. Based on this in-memory logic, PIRM provides a technique to conduct multi-operand addition and two operand multiplication using transverse access. PIRM provides a 1.6x speedup compared to the leading DRAM PIM technique for query applications that leverage bulk bitwise operations. Compared to the leading PIM technique for DWM, PIRM improves performance by 6.9x, 2.3x and energy by 5.5x, 3.4x for 8-bit addition and multiplication, respectively. For arithmetic heavy benchmarks, PIRM reduces access latency by 2.1x, while decreasing energy consumption by 25.2x for a reasonable 10% area overhead versus non-PIM DWM.Comment: This paper is accepted to the IEEE/ACM Symposium on Microarchitecture, October 2022 under the title "CORUSCANT: Fast Efficient Processing-in-Racetrack Memories
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