Cybersecurity Explained: An Analysis of the Influence of a Security-Focused Seminar Series

The cybersecurity field has grown exponentially in recent history with little to no general understanding of the requirements for professionals in the field. Our research question is: how can the perception of the cybersecurity field be improved through a seminar designed to teach first-year engineering students the importance, opportunities within, and purpose of the field? We test and evaluate the benefits of an intervention through the implementation of a three- or four-part seminar series. The effectiveness of this intervention is determined by student reported perception of cybersecurity and interest in a cybersecurity minor as evaluated through surveys. The result of this seminar series is an increase in student confidence regarding their perception of the profession and increased self-reported interest in the cybersecurity minor. Our implementation was limited by participation but demonstrates the basic trends expected with exposure to the seminar series. The implementation of this series clarifies questions and uncertainties students have regarding cybersecurity. Future implementations of this series should be conducted on large, diverse, populations of first year students to demystify the profession of cybersecurity for all students due to its interdisciplinary nature. Additionally, the public release of the seminar materials benefits the cybersecurity community by providing insight into the effectiveness of current event-focused seminars to increase interest in the field

Ethical hacking assessment as a vehicle for undergraduate cyber-security education.

The need for cyber security professionals in the UK is growing, motivating the need to introduce cybersecurity at an earlier stage of an undergraduate's education. However, despite on-going interest in cybersecurity pedagogy, there has been comparatively little work exploring the role of assessment in educating future cybersecurity practitioners. This paper presents a case study on the re-design and critical evaluation of an undergraduate ethical hacking coursework assignment. The study describes how recent work in ethical hacking pedagogy informed an assignment re-design, and the revised assignment was critically analysed based on constructive alignment, student engagement, and plagiarism

Governance of Dual-Use Technologies: Theory and Practice

The term dual-use characterizes technologies that can have both military and civilian applications. What is the state of current efforts to control the spread of these powerful technologies—nuclear, biological, cyber—that can simultaneously advance social and economic well-being and also be harnessed for hostile purposes? What have previous efforts to govern, for example, nuclear and biological weapons taught us about the potential for the control of these dual-use technologies? What are the implications for governance when the range of actors who could cause harm with these technologies include not just national governments but also non-state actors like terrorists? These are some of the questions addressed by Governance of Dual-Use Technologies: Theory and Practice, the new publication released today by the Global Nuclear Future Initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The publication's editor is Elisa D. Harris, Senior Research Scholar, Center for International Security Studies, University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. Governance of Dual-Use Technologies examines the similarities and differences between the strategies used for the control of nuclear technologies and those proposed for biotechnology and information technology. The publication makes clear the challenges concomitant with dual-use governance. For example, general agreement exists internationally on the need to restrict access to technologies enabling the development of nuclear weapons. However, no similar consensus exists in the bio and information technology domains. The publication also explores the limitations of military measures like deterrence, defense, and reprisal in preventing globally available biological and information technologies from being misused. Some of the other questions explored by the publication include: What types of governance measures for these dual-use technologies have already been adopted? What objectives have those measures sought to achieve? How have the technical characteristics of the technology affected governance prospects? What have been the primary obstacles to effective governance, and what gaps exist in the current governance regime? Are further governance measures feasible? In addition to a preface from Global Nuclear Future Initiative Co-Director Robert Rosner (University of Chicago) and an introduction and conclusion from Elisa Harris, Governance of Dual-Use Technologiesincludes:On the Regulation of Dual-Use Nuclear Technology by James M. Acton (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)Dual-Use Threats: The Case of Biotechnology by Elisa D. Harris (University of Maryland)Governance of Information Technology and Cyber Weapons by Herbert Lin (Stanford University

DRONE DELIVERY OF CBNRECy – DEW WEAPONS Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD)

Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD) is our sixth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs and UUVs. Our textbook takes on a whole new purview for UAS / CUAS/ UUV (drones) – how they can be used to deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction and Deception against CBRNE and civilian targets of opportunity. We are concerned with the future use of these inexpensive devices and their availability to maleficent actors. Our work suggests that UASs in air and underwater UUVs will be the future of military and civilian terrorist operations. UAS / UUVs can deliver a huge punch for a low investment and minimize human casualties.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1046/thumbnail.jp

Improving the Cybersecurity of Cyber-Physical Systems Through Behavioral Game Theory and Model Checking in Practice and in Education

This dissertation presents automated methods based on behavioral game theory and model checking to improve the cybersecurity of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and advocates teaching certain foundational principles of these methods to cybersecurity students. First, it encodes behavioral game theory\u27s concept of level-k reasoning into an integer linear program that models a newly defined security Colonel Blotto game. This approach is designed to achieve an efficient allocation of scarce protection resources by anticipating attack allocations. A human subjects experiment based on a CPS infrastructure demonstrates its effectiveness. Next, it rigorously defines the term adversarial thinking, one of cybersecurity educations most important and elusive learning objectives, but for which no proper definition exists. It spells out what it means to think like a hacker by examining the characteristic thought processes of hackers through the lens of Sternberg\u27s triarchic theory of intelligence. Next, a classroom experiment demonstrates that teaching basic game theory concepts to cybersecurity students significantly improves their strategic reasoning abilities. Finally, this dissertation applies the SPIN model checker to an electric power protection system and demonstrates a straightforward and effective technique for rigorously characterizing the degree of fault tolerance of complex CPSs, a key step in improving their defensive posture

Thinking about intrusion kill chains as mechanisms

We integrate two established modeling methods from disparate fields: mechanisms from the philosophy of science literature and intrusion kill chain modeling from the computer security literature. The result demonstrates that model accuracy can be improved by incorporating methods from philosophy of science. Modeling security accurately is a key function in the science of security. Mechanistic modeling of computer security incidents clarifies the existing model and points toward areas for substantive improvement for computer security professionals. Additional models of computer security incidents are translated mechanistically to compare results and to demonstrate such modeling can be applied in multiple situations. This integration of philosophy of science and computer security is sensible only by integrating new adaptations to mechanistic modeling, specifically conceived to enable better modeling of engineered systems such as computers. The results indicate continued integration of the fields of philosophy of science and information security will be fruitful

The Diffusion of Cyber Forces: Military Innovation and the Dynamic Implementation of Cyber Force Structure

What explains the variation in implementation dynamics for cyber forces across militaries? In other words, as cyber forces emerge in states across the international system, why do some militaries undertake wide-ranging implementation efforts with few alterations to cyber force structure, while implementation in other militaries is characterized by a drawn-out, incremental process entailing several changes in cyber force structure? Militaries have been building cyber capabilities since the late 1980s; however, formalized military cyber organizations for these capabilities have only recently emerged. These cyber forces—active-duty military organizations that possess the capability and authority to direct and control computer network operations (CNOs) for strategic ends—have received little attention from scholars. Despite the potential impacts cyber forces might hold for international security dynamics, there exists no comprehensive overview of cyber forces and no analysis on the various ways they have been implemented across militaries. Moreover, current explanations drawn from the diffusion of military innovations remain incomplete in explaining the ways in which cyber force structure change over the course of the implementation process. In this dissertation, I examine the diffusion and implementation of cyber forces and advance a theory of organizational size to account for the varying implementation dynamics across militaries. My dissertation makes two important contributions to the growing literature on cyber conflict. First, I offer a novel typology for categorizing cyber forces and the respective force structures. By classifying cyber forces according to organizational model and scale of command, I identify nine distinct cyber force structures: Subordinated Branch, Subordinated Service, Subordinated Joint, Sub-Unified Branch, Sub-Unified Service, Sub-Unified Joint, Unified Branch, Unified Service, and Unified Joint. The second contribution is empirical: I create the first comprehensive database to catalogue the diffusion of cyber forces and evolution of cyber force structures across state—the Dataset on Cyber Force Structures. This dissertation also makes three broader contributions to the study of the diffusion of military innovations. First, I show how organizational characteristics mitigate diffusion pressures by constraining or enabling innovation and implementation. This dissertation moves past debates that portray militaries as either change-resistant or innovation-seeking organizations by providing a more nuanced claim: organizational characteristics—such as size—can predispose militaries to pursue certain types of changes while creating resistance to others. As such, this dissertation sheds important light on the ways in which the military organizational factors can shape the agency and decisions of those implementing an innovation principle. Second, I advance a stage-based conception of implementation for diffusion frameworks comprised of five stages: pre-adoption, introduction, modification, expansion, and full implementation. This framework can account for both partial and full adoption and provides a way to assess intermediate changes to an innovation prior to its full institutionalization. As a result, I use this framework to showcase the value of stage-based theorizing. Third, this dissertation introduces new methodological tools for testing stage-based hypotheses about adoption and implementation. In conjunction with qualitative analysis, this dissertation utilizes multistate survival modeling to assess variable effects at each stage of the implementation process. Traditional modeling techniques in the military diffusion literature—such as logistic regressions and basic survival modeling—prove both cumbersome and inadequate for assessing stage-based processes. In using multistate survival modeling, I emphasize the importance of matching methods to conceptual and theoretical assumptions

The Fault Is Not in Our Stars: Avoiding an Arms Race in Outer Space

The world is on the precipice of a new arms race in outer space, as China, Russia, the United States, and others undertake dramatic new initiatives in anti-satellite weaponry. These accelerated competitive efforts at space control are highly destabilizing because developed societies have come to depend so heavily upon satellite services to support the entire civilian economy and the modern military apparatus; any significant threat or disruption in the availability of space assets would be massively, and possibly permanently, disruptive. International law regarding outer space developed with remarkable rapidity in the early years of the Space Age, but the process of formulating additional treaties and norms for space has broken down over the past several decades; no additional legal instruments have emerged that could cope with today’s rising threats. This Article therefore proposes three initiatives. Although none of them can suffice to solve the emerging problems, they could, perhaps, provide additional diplomacy, reinvigorating the prospects for rapprochement in space. Importantly, each of these three ideas has deep roots in other sectors of arms control, where they have served both to restore a measure of stability and to catalyze even more ambitious agreements in the longer term. The first proposal is for a declaratory regime of “no first use” of specified space weapons; this would do little to directly alter states’ capabilities for space warfare, but could serve as a “confidence-building measure,” to temper their most provocative rhetoric and practices. The second concept is a “limited test ban,” to interdict the most dangerous debris-creating developmental tests of new space weapons. Third is a suggestion for shared “space situational awareness,” which would create an international apparatus enabling all participants to enjoy the benefits of greater transparency, reducing the possibilities for secret malign or negligent behavior. In each instance, the Article describes the proposal and its variations, assesses its possible contributions to space security, and displays the key precedents from other arms-control successes. The Article concludes by calling for additional, further-reaching space diplomacy, in the hope that these relatively modest initial measures could provoke more robust subsequent negotiations

Cyber-Human Systems, Space Technologies, and Threats

CYBER-HUMAN SYSTEMS, SPACE TECHNOLOGIES, AND THREATS is our eighth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs / CUAS/ UUVs / SPACE. Other textbooks in our series are Space Systems Emerging Technologies and Operations; Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD); Disruptive Technologies with applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries; Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land; Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations; Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition; and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Cyber Domain Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 1st edition. Our previous seven titles have received considerable global recognition in the field. (Nichols & Carter, 2022) (Nichols, et al., 2021) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2019) (Nichols R. K., 2018) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2022)https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1052/thumbnail.jp

Space Systems: Emerging Technologies and Operations

SPACE SYSTEMS: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND OPERATIONS is our seventh textbook in a series covering the world of UASs / CUAS/ UUVs. Other textbooks in our series are Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD); Disruptive Technologies with applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries; Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land; Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations; Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition; and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Cyber Domain Protecting USA\u27s Advanced Air Assets, 1st edition. Our previous six titles have received considerable global recognition in the field. (Nichols & Carter, 2022) (Nichols et al., 2021) (Nichols R. K. et al., 2020) (Nichols R. et al., 2020) (Nichols R. et al., 2019) (Nichols R. K., 2018) Our seventh title takes on a new purview of Space. Let\u27s think of Space as divided into four regions. These are Planets, solar systems, the great dark void (which fall into the purview of astronomers and astrophysics), and the Dreamer Region. The earth, from a measurement standpoint, is the baseline of Space. It is the purview of geographers, engineers, scientists, politicians, and romantics. Flying high above the earth are Satellites. Military and commercial organizations govern their purview. The lowest altitude at which air resistance is low enough to permit a single complete, unpowered orbit is approximately 80 miles (125 km) above the earth\u27s surface. Normal Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite launches range between 99 miles (160 km) to 155 miles (250 km). Satellites in higher orbits experience less drag and can remain in Space longer in service. Geosynchronous orbit is around 22,000 miles (35,000 km). However, orbits can be even higher. UASs (Drones) have a maximum altitude of about 33,000 ft (10 km) because rotating rotors become physically limiting. (Nichols R. et al., 2019) Recreational drones fly at or below 400 ft in controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, E) and are permitted with prior authorization by using a LAANC or DroneZone. Recreational drones are permitted to fly at or below 400 ft in Class G (uncontrolled) airspace. (FAA, 2022) However, between 400 ft and 33,000 ft is in the purview of DREAMERS. In the DREAMERS region, Space has its most interesting technological emergence. We see emerging technologies and operations that may have profound effects on humanity. This is the mission our book addresses. We look at the Dreamer Region from three perspectives:1) a Military view where intelligence, jamming, spoofing, advanced materials, and hypersonics are in play; 2) the Operational Dreamer Region; whichincludes Space-based platform vulnerabilities, trash, disaster recovery management, A.I., manufacturing, and extended reality; and 3) the Humanitarian Use of Space technologies; which includes precision agriculture wildlife tracking, fire risk zone identification, and improving the global food supply and cattle management. Here’s our book’s breakdown: SECTION 1 C4ISR and Emerging Space Technologies. C4ISR stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Four chapters address the military: Current State of Space Operations; Satellite Killers and Hypersonic Drones; Space Electronic Warfare, Jamming, Spoofing, and ECD; and the challenges of Manufacturing in Space. SECTION 2: Space Challenges and Operations covers in five chapters a wide purview of challenges that result from operations in Space, such as Exploration of Key Infrastructure Vulnerabilities from Space-Based Platforms; Trash Collection and Tracking in Space; Leveraging Space for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Bio-threats to Agriculture and Solutions From Space; and rounding out the lineup is a chapter on Modelling, Simulation, and Extended Reality. SECTION 3: Humanitarian Use of Space Technologies is our DREAMERS section. It introduces effective use of Drones and Precision Agriculture; and Civilian Use of Space for Environmental, Wildlife Tracking, and Fire Risk Zone Identification. SECTION 3 is our Hope for Humanity and Positive Global Change. Just think if the technologies we discuss, when put into responsible hands, could increase food production by 1-2%. How many more millions of families could have food on their tables? State-of-the-Art research by a team of fifteen SMEs is incorporated into our book. We trust you will enjoy reading it as much as we have in its writing. There is hope for the future.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1047/thumbnail.jp