On MILP-Based Automatic Search for Differential Trails Through Modular Additions with Application to Bel-T

Using modular addition as a source of nonlinearity is frequently used in many symmetric-key structures such as ARX and Lai--Massey schemes. At FSE\u2716, Fu \etal proposed a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP)-based method to handle the propagation of differential trails through modular additions assuming that the two inputs to the modular addition and the consecutive rounds are independent. However, this assumption does not necessarily hold. In this paper, we study the propagation of the XOR difference through the modular addition at the bit level and show the effect of the carry bit. Then, we propose a more accurate MILP model to describe the differential propagation through the modular addition taking into account the dependency between the consecutive modular additions. The proposed MILP model is utilized to launch a differential attack against Bel-T-256, which is a member of the Bel-T block cipher family that has been adopted recently as a national standard of the Republic of Belarus. In particular, we employ the concept of partial Differential Distribution Table to model the 8-bit S-Box of Bel-T using a MILP approach in order to automate finding a differential characteristic of the cipher. Then, we present a $4\frac{1}{7}$-round (out of 8) differential attack which utilizes a $3$-round differential characteristic that holds with probability $2^{-111}$. The data, time and memory complexities of the attack are $2^{114}$ chosen plaintexts, $2^{237.14}$ $4\frac{1}{7}$-round encryptions, and $2^{224}$ 128-bit blocks, respectively

Proposing an MILP-based method for the experimental verification of difference-based trails: application to SPECK, SIMECK

Under embargo until: 2022-07-08Searching for the right pairs of inputs in difference-based distinguishers is an important task for the experimental verification of the distinguishers in symmetric-key ciphers. In this paper, we develop an MILP-based approach to verify the possibility of difference-based distinguishers and extract the right pairs. We apply the proposed method to some published difference-based trails (Related-Key Differentials (RKD), Rotational-XOR (RX)) of block ciphers SIMECK, and SPECK. As a result, we show that some of the reported RX-trails of SIMECK and SPECK are incompatible, i.e. there are no right pairs that follow the expected propagation of the differences for the trail. Also, for compatible trails, the proposed approach can efficiently speed up the search process of finding the exact value of a weak key from the target weak key space. For example, in one of the reported 14-round RX trails of SPECK, the probability of a key pair to be a weak key is 2−94.91 when the whole key space is 296; our method can find a key pair for it in a comparatively short time. It is worth noting that it was impossible to find this key pair using a traditional search. As another result, we apply the proposed method to SPECK block cipher, to construct longer related-key differential trails of SPECK which we could reach 15, 16, 17, and 19 rounds for SPECK32/64, SPECK48/96, SPECK64/128, and SPECK128/256, respectively. It should be compared with the best previous results which are 12, 15, 15, and 20 rounds, respectively, that both attacks work for a certain weak key class. It should be also considered as an improvement over the reported result of rotational-XOR cryptanalysis on SPECK.acceptedVersio

MILP-aided Cryptanalysis of Some Block Ciphers

Symmetric-key cryptographic primitives, such as block ciphers, play a pivotal role in achieving confidentiality, integrity, and authentication – which are the core services of information security. Since symmetric-key primitives do not rely on well-defined hard mathematical problems, unlike public-key primitives, there are no formal mathematical proofs for the security of symmetric-key primitives. Consequently, their security is guaranteed only by measuring their immunity against a set of predefined cryptanalysis techniques, e.g., differential, linear, impossible differential, and integral cryptanalysis. The attacks based on cryptanalysis techniques usually include searching in an exponential space of patterns, and for a long time, cryptanalysts have performed this task manually. As a result, it has been hard, time-consuming, and an error-prone task. Indeed, the need for automatic tools becomes more pressing. This thesis is dedicated to investigating the security of symmetric-key cryptographic primitives, precisely block ciphers. One of our main goals is to utilize Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) to automate the evaluation and the validation of block cipher security against a wide range of cryptanalysis techniques. Our contributions can be summarized as follows. First, we investigate the security of two recently proposed block ciphers, CRAFT and SPARX-128/256 against two variants of differential cryptanalysis. We utilize the simple key schedule of CRAFT to construct several repeatable 2-round related-key differential characteristics with the maximum differential probability. Consequently, we are able to mount a practical key recovery attack on full-round CRAFT in the related-key setting. In addition, we use impossible differential cryptanalysis to assess SPARX-128/256 that is provable secure against single-trail differential and linear cryptanalysis. As a result, we can attack 24 rounds similar to the internal attack presented by the designers. However, our attack is better than the integral attack regarding the time and memory complexities. Next, we tackle the limitation of the current Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to automate the search for differential distinguishers through modular additions. The current model assumes that the inputs to the modular addition and the consecutive rounds are independent. However, we show that this assumption does not necessarily hold and the current model might lead to invalid attacks. Accordingly, we propose a more accurate MILP model that takes into account the dependency between consecutive modular additions. As a proof of the validity and efficiency of our model, we use it to analyze the security of Bel-T cipher—the standard of the Republic of Belarus. Afterwards, we shift focus to another equally important cryptanalysis technique, i.e., integral cryptanalysis using the bit-based division property (BDP). We present MILP models to automate the search for the BDP through modular additions with a constant and modular subtractions. Consequently, we assess the security of Bel-T block cipher against the integral attacks. Next, we analyze the security of the tweakable block cipher T-TWINE. We present key recovery attacks on 27 and 28 rounds of T-TWINE-80 and T-TWINE-128, respectively. Finally, we address the limitation of the current MILP model for the propagation of the bit-based division property through large non-bit-permutation linear layers. The current models are either inaccurate, which might lead to missing some balanced bits, or inefficient in terms of the number of constraints. As a proof of the effectiveness of our approach, we improve the previous 3- and 4-round integral distinguishers of the Russian encryption standard—Kuznyechik, and the 4-round one of PHOTON’s internal permutation (P288). We also report a 4-round integral distinguisher for the Ukrainian standard Kalyna and a 5-round integral distinguisher for PHOTON’s internal permutation (P288)

Proposing an MILP-based Method for the Experimental Verification of Difference Trails

Search for the right pairs of inputs in difference-based distinguishers is an important task for the experimental verification of the distinguishers in symmetric-key ciphers. In this paper, we develop an MILP-based approach to verify the possibility of difference-based distinguishers and extract the right pairs. We apply the proposed method to some presented difference-based trails (Related-Key Differentials (RKD), Rotational-XOR (RX)) of block ciphers \texttt{SIMECK}, and \texttt{SPECK}. As a result, we show that some of the reported RX-trails of \texttt{SIMECK} and \texttt{SPECK} are incompatible, i.e. there are no right pairs that follow the expected propagation of the differences for the trail. Also, for compatible trails, the proposed approach can efficiently speed up the search process of finding the exact value of a weak-key from the target weak-key space. For example, in one of the reported 14-round RX trails of \texttt{SPECK}, the probability of a key pair to be a weak-key is $2^{-94.91}$ when the whole key space is $2^{96}$; our method can find a key pair for it in a comparatively short time. It is worth noting that it was impossible to find this key pair using a traditional search. As another result, we apply the proposed method %and consider a search strategy for the framework of to \texttt{SPECK} block cipher, to construct longer related-key differential trails of \texttt{SPECK} which we could reach 15, 16, 17, and 19 rounds for \texttt{SPECK32/64}, \texttt{SPECK48/96}, \texttt{SPECK64/128}, and \texttt{SPECK128/256}, respectively. It should be compared with the best previous results which are 12, 15, 15, and 20 rounds, respectively, that both attacks work for a certain weak key class. It should be also considered as an improvement over the reported result of rotational XOR cryptanalysis on \texttt{SPECK}

Automated Search for Block Cipher Differentials: A GPU-Accelerated Branch-and-Bound Algorithm

Differential cryptanalysis of block ciphers requires the identification of differential characteristics with high probability. For block ciphers with large block sizes and number of rounds, identifying these characteristics is computationally intensive. The branch-and-bound algorithm was proposed by Matsui to automate this task. Since then, numerous improvements were made to the branch-and-bound algorithm by bounding the number of active s-boxes, incorporating a meet-in-the-middle approach, and adapting it to various block cipher architectures. Although mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) has been widely used to evaluate the differential resistance of block ciphers, MILP is still inefficient for clustering singular differential characteristics to obtain differentials (also known as the differential effect). The branch-and-bound method is still better suited for the task of trail clustering. However, it requires enhancements before being feasible for block ciphers with large block sizes, especially for a large number of rounds. Motivated by the need for a more efficient branch-and-bound algorithm to search for block cipher differentials, we propose a GPU-accelerated branch-and-bound algorithm. The proposed approach substantially increases the performance of the differential cluster search. We were able to derive a branch enumeration and evaluation kernel that is 5.95 times faster than its CPU counterpart. To showcase its practicality, the proposed algorithm is applied on TRIFLE-BC, a 128-bit block cipher. By incorporating a meet-in-the-middle approach with the proposed GPU kernel, we were able to improve the search efficiency (on 20 rounds of TRIFLE-BC) by approximately 58 times as compared to the CPU-based approach. Differentials consisting of up to 50 million individual characteristics can be constructed for 20 rounds of TRIFLE, leading to slight improvements to the overall differential probabilities. Even for larger rounds (43 rounds), the proposed algorithm is still able to construct large clusters of over 500 thousand characteristics. This result depicts the practicality of the proposed algorithm in constructing large differentials even for a 128-bit block cipher, which could be used to improve cryptanalytic findings against other block ciphers in the future

Cryptanalysis of Some Block Cipher Constructions

When the public-key cryptography was introduced in the 1970s, symmetric-key cryptography was believed to soon become outdated. Nevertheless, we still heavily rely on symmetric-key primitives as they give high-speed performance. They are used to secure mobile communication, e-commerce transactions, communication through virtual private networks and sending electronic tax returns, among many other everyday activities. However, the security of symmetric-key primitives does not depend on a well-known hard mathematical problem such as the factoring problem, which is the basis of the RSA public-key cryptosystem. Instead, the security of symmetric-key primitives is evaluated against known cryptanalytic techniques. Accordingly, the topic of furthering the state-of-the-art of cryptanalysis of symmetric-key primitives is an ever-evolving topic. Therefore, this thesis is dedicated to the cryptanalysis of symmetric-key cryptographic primitives. Our focus is on block ciphers as well as hash functions that are built using block ciphers. Our contributions can be summarized as follows: First, we tackle the limitation of the current Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) approaches to represent the differential propagation through large S-boxes. Indeed, we present a novel approach that can efficiently model the Difference Distribution Table (DDT) of large S-boxes, i.e., 8-bit S-boxes. As a proof of the validity and efficiency of our approach, we apply it on two out of the seven AES-round based constructions that were recently proposed in FSE 2016. Using our approach, we improve the lower bound on the number of active S-boxes of one construction and the upper bound on the best differential characteristic of the other. Then, we propose meet-in-the-middle attacks using the idea of efficient differential enumeration against two Japanese block ciphers, i.e., Hierocrypt-L1 and Hierocrypt-3. Both block ciphers were submitted to the New European Schemes for Signatures, Integrity, and Encryption (NESSIE) project, selected as one of the Japanese e-Government recommended ciphers in 2003 and reselected in the candidate recommended ciphers list in 2013. We construct five S-box layer distinguishers that we use to recover the master keys of reduced 8 S-box layer versions of both block ciphers. In addition, we present another meet-in-the-middle attack on Hierocrypt-3 with slightly higher time and memory complexities but with much less data complexity. Afterwards, we shift focus to another equally important cryptanalytic attack, i.e., impossible differential attack. SPARX-64/128 is selected among the SPARX family that was recently proposed to provide ARX based block cipher whose security against differential and linear cryptanalysis can be proven. We assess the security of SPARX-64/128 against impossible differential attack and show that it can reach the same number of rounds the division-based integral attack, proposed by the designers, can reach. Then, we pick Kiasu-BC as an example of a tweakable block cipher and prove that, on contrary to its designers’ claim, the freedom in choosing the publicly known tweak decreases its security margin. Lastly, we study the impossible differential properties of the underlying block cipher of the Russian hash standard Streebog and point out the potential risk in using it as a MAC scheme in the secret-IV mode

Algorithmes quantiques pour la cryptanalyse et cryptographie symétrique post-quantique

Modern cryptography relies on the notion of computational security. The level of security given by a cryptosystem is expressed as an amount of computational resources required to break it. The goal of cryptanalysis is to find attacks, that is, algorithms with lower complexities than the conjectural bounds.With the advent of quantum computing devices, these levels of security have to be updated to take a whole new notion of algorithms into account. At the same time, cryptography is becoming widely used in small devices (smart cards, sensors), with new cost constraints.In this thesis, we study the security of secret-key cryptosystems against quantum adversaries.We first build new quantum algorithms for k-list (k-XOR or k-SUM) problems, by composing exhaustive search procedures. Next, we present dedicated cryptanalysis results, starting with a new quantum cryptanalysis tool, the offline Simon's algorithm. We describe new attacks against the lightweight algorithms Spook and Gimli and we perform the first quantum security analysis of the standard cipher AES.Finally, we specify Saturnin, a family of lightweight cryptosystems oriented towards post-quantum security. Thanks to a very similar structure, its security relies largely on the analysis of AES.La cryptographie moderne est fondée sur la notion de sécurité computationnelle. Les niveaux de sécurité attendus des cryptosystèmes sont exprimés en nombre d'opérations ; une attaque est un algorithme d'une complexité inférieure à la borne attendue. Mais ces niveaux de sécurité doivent aujourd'hui prendre en compte une nouvelle notion d'algorithme : le paradigme du calcul quantique. Dans le même temps,la délégation grandissante du chiffrement à des puces RFID, objets connectés ou matériels embarqués pose de nouvelles contraintes de coût.Dans cette thèse, nous étudions la sécurité des cryptosystèmes à clé secrète face à un adversaire quantique.Nous introduisons tout d'abord de nouveaux algorithmes quantiques pour les problèmes génériques de k-listes (k-XOR ou k-SUM), construits en composant des procédures de recherche exhaustive.Nous présentons ensuite des résultats de cryptanalyse dédiée, en commençant par un nouvel outil de cryptanalyse quantique, l'algorithme de Simon hors-ligne. Nous décrivons de nouvelles attaques contre les algorithmes Spook et Gimli et nous effectuons la première étude de sécurité quantique du chiffrement AES. Dans un troisième temps, nous spécifions Saturnin, une famille de cryptosystèmes à bas coût orientés vers la sécurité post-quantique. La structure de Saturnin est proche de celle de l'AES et sa sécurité en tire largement parti

Human Practice. Digital Ecologies. Our Future. : 14. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2019) : Tagungsband

Erschienen bei: universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen. - ISBN: 978-3-96182-063-4Aus dem Inhalt: Track 1: Produktion & Cyber-Physische Systeme Requirements and a Meta Model for Exchanging Additive Manufacturing Capacities Service Systems, Smart Service Systems and Cyber- Physical Systems—What’s the difference? Towards a Unified Terminology Developing an Industrial IoT Platform – Trade-off between Horizontal and Vertical Approaches Machine Learning und Complex Event Processing: Effiziente Echtzeitauswertung am Beispiel Smart Factory Sensor retrofit for a coffee machine as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance use case Stakeholder-Analyse zum Einsatz IIoT-basierter Frischeinformationen in der Lebensmittelindustrie Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering - A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis Development of a matching platform for the requirement-oriented selection of cyber physical systems for SMEs Track 2: Logistic Analytics An Empirical Study of Customers’ Behavioral Intention to Use Ridepooling Services – An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model Modeling Delay Propagation and Transmission in Railway Networks What is the impact of company specific adjustments on the acceptance and diffusion of logistic standards? Robust Route Planning in Intermodal Urban Traffic Track 3: Unternehmensmodellierung & Informationssystemgestaltung (Enterprise Modelling & Information Systems Design) Work System Modeling Method with Different Levels of Specificity and Rigor for Different Stakeholder Purposes Resolving Inconsistencies in Declarative Process Models based on Culpability Measurement Strategic Analysis in the Realm of Enterprise Modeling – On the Example of Blockchain-Based Initiatives for the Electricity Sector Zwischenbetriebliche Integration in der Möbelbranche: Konfigurationen und Einflussfaktoren Novices’ Quality Perceptions and the Acceptance of Process Modeling Grammars Entwicklung einer Definition für Social Business Objects (SBO) zur Modellierung von Unternehmensinformationen Designing a Reference Model for Digital Product Configurators Terminology for Evolving Design Artifacts Business Role-Object Specification: A Language for Behavior-aware Structural Modeling of Business Objects Generating Smart Glasses-based Information Systems with BPMN4SGA: A BPMN Extension for Smart Glasses Applications Using Blockchain in Peer-to-Peer Carsharing to Build Trust in the Sharing Economy Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications Track 4: Lern- und Wissensmanagement (e-Learning and Knowledge Management) eGovernment Competences revisited – A Literature Review on necessary Competences in a Digitalized Public Sector Say Hello to Your New Automated Tutor – A Structured Literature Review on Pedagogical Conversational Agents Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education Conceptualizing Immersion for Individual Learning in Virtual Reality Designing a Flipped Classroom Course – a Process Model The Influence of Risk-Taking on Knowledge Exchange and Combination Gamified Feedback durch Avatare im Mobile Learning Alexa, Can You Help Me Solve That Problem? - Understanding the Value of Smart Personal Assistants as Tutors for Complex Problem Tasks Track 5: Data Science & Business Analytics Matching with Bundle Preferences: Tradeoff between Fairness and Truthfulness Applied image recognition: guidelines for using deep learning models in practice Yield Prognosis for the Agrarian Management of Vineyards using Deep Learning for Object Counting Reading Between the Lines of Qualitative Data – How to Detect Hidden Structure Based on Codes Online Auctions with Dual-Threshold Algorithms: An Experimental Study and Practical Evaluation Design Features of Non-Financial Reward Programs for Online Reviews: Evaluation based on Google Maps Data Topic Embeddings – A New Approach to Classify Very Short Documents Based on Predefined Topics Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement Decision Support for Real Estate Investors: Improving Real Estate Valuation with 3D City Models and Points of Interest Knowledge Discovery from CVs: A Topic Modeling Procedure Online Product Descriptions – Boost for your Sales? Entscheidungsunterstützung durch historienbasierte Dienstreihenfolgeplanung mit Pattern A Semi-Automated Approach for Generating Online Review Templates Machine Learning goes Measure Management: Leveraging Anomaly Detection and Parts Search to Improve Product-Cost Optimization Bedeutung von Predictive Analytics für den theoretischen Erkenntnisgewinn in der IS-Forschung Track 6: Digitale Transformation und Dienstleistungen Heuristic Theorizing in Software Development: Deriving Design Principles for Smart Glasses-based Systems Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective Value of Star Players in the Digital Age Local Shopping Platforms – Harnessing Locational Advantages for the Digital Transformation of Local Retail Outlets: A Content Analysis A Socio-Technical Approach to Manage Analytics-as-a-Service – Results of an Action Design Research Project Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units Expectations vs. Reality – Benefits of Smart Services in the Field of Tension between Industry and Science Innovation Networks and Digital Innovation: How Organizations Use Innovation Networks in a Digitized Environment Characterising Social Reading Platforms— A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Structure the Field Less Complex than Expected – What Really Drives IT Consulting Value Modularity Canvas – A Framework for Visualizing Potentials of Service Modularity Towards a Conceptualization of Capabilities for Innovating Business Models in the Industrial Internet of Things A Taxonomy of Barriers to Digital Transformation Ambidexterity in Service Innovation Research: A Systematic Literature Review Design and success factors of an online solution for cross-pillar pension information Track 7: IT-Management und -Strategie A Frugal Support Structure for New Software Implementations in SMEs How to Structure a Company-wide Adoption of Big Data Analytics The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age Bewertung des Kundennutzens von Chatbots für den Einsatz im Servicedesk Understanding the Benefits of Agile Software Development in Regulated Environments Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies Agile and Attached: The Impact of Agile Practices on Agile Team Members’ Affective Organisational Commitment The Complexity Trap – Limits of IT Flexibility for Supporting Organizational Agility in Decentralized Organizations Platform Openness: A Systematic Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research Competence, Fashion and the Case of Blockchain The Digital Platform Otto.de: A Case Study of Growth, Complexity, and Generativity Track 8: eHealth & alternde Gesellschaft Security and Privacy of Personal Health Records in Cloud Computing Environments – An Experimental Exploration of the Impact of Storage Solutions and Data Breaches Patientenintegration durch Pfadsysteme Digitalisierung in der Stressprävention – eine qualitative Interviewstudie zu Nutzenpotenzialen User Dynamics in Mental Health Forums – A Sentiment Analysis Perspective Intent and the Use of Wearables in the Workplace – A Model Development Understanding Patient Pathways in the Context of Integrated Health Care Services - Implications from a Scoping Review Understanding the Habitual Use of Wearable Activity Trackers On the Fit in Fitness Apps: Studying the Interaction of Motivational Affordances and Users’ Goal Orientations in Affecting the Benefits Gained Gamification in Health Behavior Change Support Systems - A Synthesis of Unintended Side Effects Investigating the Influence of Information Incongruity on Trust-Relations within Trilateral Healthcare Settings Track 9: Krisen- und Kontinuitätsmanagement Potentiale von IKT beim Ausfall kritischer Infrastrukturen: Erwartungen, Informationsgewinnung und Mediennutzung der Zivilbevölkerung in Deutschland Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of People’s Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation Analyzing the Potential of Graphical Building Information for Fire Emergency Responses: Findings from a Controlled Experiment Track 10: Human-Computer Interaction Towards a Taxonomy of Platforms for Conversational Agent Design Measuring Service Encounter Satisfaction with Customer Service Chatbots using Sentiment Analysis Self-Tracking and Gamification: Analyzing the Interplay of Motivations, Usage and Motivation Fulfillment Erfolgsfaktoren von Augmented-Reality-Applikationen: Analyse von Nutzerrezensionen mit dem Review-Mining-Verfahren Designing Dynamic Decision Support for Electronic Requirements Negotiations Who is Stressed by Using ICTs? A Qualitative Comparison Analysis with the Big Five Personality Traits to Understand Technostress Walking the Middle Path: How Medium Trade-Off Exposure Leads to Higher Consumer Satisfaction in Recommender Agents Theory-Based Affordances of Utilitarian, Hedonic and Dual-Purposed Technologies: A Literature Review Eliciting Customer Preferences for Shopping Companion Apps: A Service Quality Approach The Role of Early User Participation in Discovering Software – A Case Study from the Context of Smart Glasses The Fluidity of the Self-Concept as a Framework to Explain the Motivation to Play Video Games Heart over Heels? An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Emotions and Review Helpfulness for Experience and Credence Goods Track 11: Information Security and Information Privacy Unfolding Concerns about Augmented Reality Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis of User Perceptions To (Psychologically) Own Data is to Protect Data: How Psychological Ownership Determines Protective Behavior in a Work and Private Context Understanding Data Protection Regulations from a Data Management Perspective: A Capability-Based Approach to EU-GDPR On the Difficulties of Incentivizing Online Privacy through Transparency: A Qualitative Survey of the German Health Insurance Market What is Your Selfie Worth? A Field Study on Individuals’ Valuation of Personal Data Justification of Mass Surveillance: A Quantitative Study An Exploratory Study of Risk Perception for Data Disclosure to a Network of Firms Track 12: Umweltinformatik und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften Kommunikationsfäden im Nadelöhr – Fachliche Prozessmodellierung der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation am Kapitalmarkt Potentiale und Herausforderungen der Materialflusskostenrechnung Computing Incentives for User-Based Relocation in Carsharing Sustainability’s Coming Home: Preliminary Design Principles for the Sustainable Smart District Substitution of hazardous chemical substances using Deep Learning and t-SNE A Hierarchy of DSMLs in Support of Product Life-Cycle Assessment A Survey of Smart Energy Services for Private Households Door-to-Door Mobility Integrators as Keystone Organizations of Smart Ecosystems: Resources and Value Co-Creation – A Literature Review Ein Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem zur ökonomischen Bewertung von Mieterstrom auf Basis der Clusteranalyse Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy Digitale Rückverfolgbarkeit von Lebensmitteln: Eine verbraucherinformatische Studie Umweltbewusstsein durch audiovisuelles Content Marketing? Eine experimentelle Untersuchung zur Konsumentenbewertung nachhaltiger Smartphones Towards Predictive Energy Management in Information Systems: A Research Proposal A Web Browser-Based Application for Processing and Analyzing Material Flow Models using the MFCA Methodology Track 13: Digital Work - Social, mobile, smart On Conversational Agents in Information Systems Research: Analyzing the Past to Guide Future Work The Potential of Augmented Reality for Improving Occupational First Aid Prevent a Vicious Circle! The Role of Organizational IT-Capability in Attracting IT-affine Applicants Good, Bad, or Both? Conceptualization and Measurement of Ambivalent User Attitudes Towards AI A Case Study on Cross-Hierarchical Communication in Digital Work Environments ‘Show Me Your People Skills’ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media A Multiorganisational Study of the Drivers and Barriers of Enterprise Collaboration Systems-Enabled Change The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects The Impact of Anthropomorphic and Functional Chatbot Design Features in Enterprise Collaboration Systems on User Acceptance Digital Feedback for Digital Work? Affordances and Constraints of a Feedback App at InsurCorp The Effect of Marker-less Augmented Reality on Task and Learning Performance Antecedents for Cyberloafing – A Literature Review Internal Crowd Work as a Source of Empowerment - An Empirical Analysis of the Perception of Employees in a Crowdtesting Project Track 14: Geschäftsmodelle und digitales Unternehmertum Dividing the ICO Jungle: Extracting and Evaluating Design Archetypes Capturing Value from Data: Exploring Factors Influencing Revenue Model Design for Data-Driven Services Understanding the Role of Data for Innovating Business Models: A System Dynamics Perspective Business Model Innovation and Stakeholder: Exploring Mechanisms and Outcomes of Value Creation and Destruction Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes Revitalizing established Industrial Companies: State of the Art and Success Principles of Digital Corporate Incubators When 1+1 is Greater than 2: Concurrence of Additional Digital and Established Business Models within Companies Special Track 1: Student Track Investigating Personalized Price Discrimination of Textile-, Electronics- and General Stores in German Online Retail From Facets to a Universal Definition – An Analysis of IoT Usage in Retail Is the Technostress Creators Inventory Still an Up-To-Date Measurement Instrument? Results of a Large-Scale Interview Study Application of Media Synchronicity Theory to Creative Tasks in Virtual Teams Using the Example of Design Thinking TrustyTweet: An Indicator-based Browser-Plugin to Assist Users in Dealing with Fake News on Twitter Application of Process Mining Techniques to Support Maintenance-Related Objectives How Voice Can Change Customer Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between E-Commerce and Voice Commerce Business Process Compliance and Blockchain: How Does the Ethereum Blockchain Address Challenges of Business Process Compliance? Improving Business Model Configuration through a Question-based Approach The Influence of Situational Factors and Gamification on Intrinsic Motivation and Learning Evaluation von ITSM-Tools für Integration und Management von Cloud-Diensten am Beispiel von ServiceNow How Software Promotes the Integration of Sustainability in Business Process Management Criteria Catalog for Industrial IoT Platforms from the Perspective of the Machine Tool Industry Special Track 3: Demos & Prototyping Privacy-friendly User Location Tracking with Smart Devices: The BeaT Prototype Application-oriented robotics in nursing homes Augmented Reality for Set-up Processe Mixed Reality for supporting Remote-Meetings Gamification zur Motivationssteigerung von Werkern bei der Betriebsdatenerfassung Automatically Extracting and Analyzing Customer Needs from Twitter: A “Needmining” Prototype GaNEsHA: Opportunities for Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities TUCANA: A platform for using local processing power of edge devices for building data-driven services Demonstrator zur Beschreibung und Visualisierung einer kritischen Infrastruktur Entwicklung einer alltagsnahen persuasiven App zur Bewegungsmotivation für ältere Nutzerinnen und Nutzer A browser-based modeling tool for studying the learning of conceptual modeling based on a multi-modal data collection approach Exergames & Dementia: An interactive System for People with Dementia and their Care-Network Workshops Workshop Ethics and Morality in Business Informatics (Workshop Ethik und Moral in der Wirtschaftsinformatik – EMoWI’19) Model-Based Compliance in Information Systems - Foundations, Case Description and Data Set of the MobIS-Challenge for Students and Doctoral Candidates Report of the Workshop on Concepts and Methods of Identifying Digital Potentials in Information Management Control of Systemic Risks in Global Networks - A Grand Challenge to Information Systems Research Die Mitarbeiter von morgen - Kompetenzen künftiger Mitarbeiter im Bereich Business Analytics Digitaler Konsum: Herausforderungen und Chancen der Verbraucherinformati

Exploratory research into supply chain voids within Welsh priority business sectors

The paper reports the findings resulting from the initial stages of an exploratory investigation into Supply Chain Voids (SCV) in Wales. The research forms the foundations of a PhD thesis which is framed within the sectors designated as important by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and indicates local supplier capability voids within their supply chains. This paper covers the stages of initial data gathering, analysis and results identified between June 2006 and April 2007, whilst addressing the first of four research questions. Finally, the approach to address future research is identified in order to explain how the PhD is to progress