An Authenticated Privacy-Preserving Mobile Matchmaking Protocol Based on Social Connections with Friendship Ownership

The increase of mobile device use for social interaction drives the proliferation of online social applications. However, it prompts a series of security and existence problems. Some common problems are the authenticity of social contacts, the privacy of online communication, and the lack of physical interaction. This work presents mobile private matchmaking protocols that allow users to privately and immediately search the targets which match their planning purposes via mobile devices and wireless network. Based on social networks, the relationships of targets can be unlimited or limited to friends or friends of friends. It considers the privacy of users and the authenticity of friendships. The privacy means that no private information, except chosen targets, is leaked and the authenticity that signifies no forgery relationships can be successfully claimed. It applies to many applications such as searching for a person to talk to, to dine with, to play games with, or to see a movie with. The proposed scheme is demonstrated to be secure, effective, and efficient. The implementation of the proposed algorithms on Android system mobile devices allows users to securely find their target via mobile phones

Handling Human Hacking: Creating a Comprehensive Defensive Strategy Against Modern Social Engineering

Social engineering is one of the most devastating threats to any company or business. Rather than relying upon technical flaws in order to break into computer networks, social engineers utilize a suave personality in order to deceive individuals through clever conversation. These devious conversations frequently provide the attacker with sufficient information to compromise the company’s computer network. Unlike common technical attacks, social engineering attacks cannot be prevented by security tools and software. Instead of attacking a network directly, a social engineer exploits human psychology in order to coerce the victim to inadvertently divulge sensitive information. Further complicating the issue, the rise in popularity of social media has vastly increased the arsenal of information available to the social engineer to utilize when targeting individuals. Ultimately, this paper will describe the danger posed by social engineering attacks before detailing a comprehensive strategy to defend against the threat, accounting specifically for the dangers posed by social media and psychology

A Survey of Social Network Forensics

Social networks in any form, specifically online social networks (OSNs), are becoming a part of our everyday life in this new millennium especially with the advanced and simple communication technologies through easily accessible devices such as smartphones and tablets. The data generated through the use of these technologies need to be analyzed for forensic purposes when criminal and terrorist activities are involved. In order to deal with the forensic implications of social networks, current research on both digital forensics and social networks need to be incorporated and understood. This will help digital forensics investigators to predict, detect and even prevent any criminal activities in different forms. It will also help researchers to develop new models / techniques in the future. This paper provides literature review of the social network forensics methods, models, and techniques in order to provide an overview to the researchers for their future works as well as the law enforcement investigators for their investigations when crimes are committed in the cyber space. It also provides awareness and defense methods for OSN users in order to protect them against to social attacks

Santoso’s Jihadism, Deradicalization, and Humanization: A Preliminary Investigation on Indonesian Terrorism

Indonesia. The rise of acts of terrorism by Santoso at that time makes the public ask: How far is the deradicalization program? Why do the various community groups become more radical and brave against the apparatus/officers who promote the deradicalization program? Humanization leads to the prevention or overcoming of intensification of conflict and escalation of violence, covering the way for human rights violations or acts of genocide. Humanization refers to a strategy designed to reduce the dynamics of conflict that are destructive and face violence, especially terrorism, as the culmination of radicalism. Indonesia is still not free from inter-religious conflict. Religion, which should be eager to spread liberation and peace for our fellow human beings, is just often breached, even disturbing the integrity of Unity in Diversity. Deradicalization also include humanization because it takes the participation of sincere and serious attention

Human–Wildlife Conflict and Gender in Protected Area Borderlands: A Case Study of Costs, Perceptions, and Vulnerabilities from Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is a growing problem for communities located at the borders of protected areas. Such conflicts commonly take place as crop-raiding events and as attack by wild animals, among other forms. This paper uses a feminist political ecology approach to examine these two problems in an agricultural village located at the border of Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal), India. Specifically, it investigates the following three questions: What are the “visible” and “hidden” costs of such conflict with wildlife? To what extent are these costs differentially borne by men and women? How do villagers perceive any such differences? Survey and interview data were collected from over 100 individuals in the study site over a period of 9 months in 2003–2004. It was found that for participants in this study, costs of HWC included decreased food security, changes to workload, decreased physical and psychological wellbeing, economic hardship, and at times an increase in illegal or dangerous activities. The research also showed that although women in the study area bore a disproportionate burden of these effects, roughly half of survey respondents perceived that men and women were equally affected. A possible explanation for this gap considers the relationships between gendered uses of space, work, status, and identity. The findings illustrate the importance of addressing both visible and hidden costs of HWC for members of park communities and support a call for increased gender-sensitivity in HWC research

The NGO Sector in Community Development: Emerging roles, strategies and identities

This community engaged thesis will articulate some of the identities, patterns, and dominant practices of NGOs related to community development in the hope of uncovering emerging trends. The literature review of this thesis will have a slight focus on NGO’s working in direct conjunction with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, it will manifest the promise of social capital as necessary to an organization’s success. Civic participation remains critical in enabling an NGO to be politically active, to continue building networks, and instilling positive social attitudes. After expounding on these issues, this thesis will then propose a solution- more specifically, a model- that attempts to relate field research findings to current grassroot initiatives that have succeeded in achieving community development through youth empowerment and education in Rhode Island. The strategy of youth empowerment and civic engagement is an effective model for community development and positive social change. By sharing insights and identifying best practices, the NGO sector can enhance coordination and partnerships for effective country-level implementation of youth development initiatives. The author hopes that the findings of this thesis and her field research will be employed and utilized in the development of progressive community-based organizations dedicated to combating the HIV/AIDS virus in Africa

Post-Westgate SWAT : C4ISTAR Architectural Framework for Autonomous Network Integrated Multifaceted Warfighting Solutions Version 1.0 : A Peer-Reviewed Monograph

Police SWAT teams and Military Special Forces face mounting pressure and challenges from adversaries that can only be resolved by way of ever more sophisticated inputs into tactical operations. Lethal Autonomy provides constrained military/security forces with a viable option, but only if implementation has got proper empirically supported foundations. Autonomous weapon systems can be designed and developed to conduct ground, air and naval operations. This monograph offers some insights into the challenges of developing legal, reliable and ethical forms of autonomous weapons, that address the gap between Police or Law Enforcement and Military operations that is growing exponentially small. National adversaries are today in many instances hybrid threats, that manifest criminal and military traits, these often require deployment of hybrid-capability autonomous weapons imbued with the capability to taken on both Military and/or Security objectives. The Westgate Terrorist Attack of 21st September 2013 in the Westlands suburb of Nairobi, Kenya is a very clear manifestation of the hybrid combat scenario that required military response and police investigations against a fighting cell of the Somalia based globally networked Al Shabaab terrorist group.Comment: 52 pages, 6 Figures, over 40 references, reviewed by a reade