2011 Strategic roadmap for Australian research infrastructure

The 2011 Roadmap articulates the priority research infrastructure areas of a national scale (capability areas) to further develop Australia’s research capacity and improve innovation and research outcomes over the next five to ten years. The capability areas have been identified through considered analysis of input provided by stakeholders, in conjunction with specialist advice from Expert Working Groups   It is intended the Strategic Framework will provide a high-level policy framework, which will include principles to guide the development of policy advice and the design of programs related to the funding of research infrastructure by the Australian Government. Roadmapping has been identified in the Strategic Framework Discussion Paper as the most appropriate prioritisation mechanism for national, collaborative research infrastructure. The strategic identification of Capability areas through a consultative roadmapping process was also validated in the report of the 2010 NCRIS Evaluation. The 2011 Roadmap is primarily concerned with medium to large-scale research infrastructure. However, any landmark infrastructure (typically involving an investment in excess of $100 million over five years from the Australian Government) requirements identified in this process will be noted. NRIC has also developed a ‘Process to identify and prioritise Australian Government landmark research infrastructure investments’ which is currently under consideration by the government as part of broader deliberations relating to research infrastructure. NRIC will have strategic oversight of the development of the 2011 Roadmap as part of its overall policy view of research infrastructure

The Development of Digital Forensics Workforce Competency on the Example of Estonian Defence League

03.07.2014 kehtestati Vabariigi Valitsuse määrus nr. 108, mis reguleerib Kaitseliidu kaasamise tingimusi ja korda küberjulgeoleku tagamisel. Seega võivad Kaitseliidu küberkaitse üksuse (KL KKÜ edaspidi KKÜ) kutsuda olukorda toetama erinevad asutused: näiteks Riigi Infosüsteemide amet (RIA), infosüsteemi järelevalveasutus või kaitseministeerium või selle valitsemisala ametiasutused oma ülesannete raames. KKÜ-d saab kaasata info- ja sidetehnoloogia infrastruktuuri järjepidevuse tagamisel, turvaintsidentide kontrollimisel ja lahendamisel, rakendades nii aktiivseid kui passiivseid meetmeid. KKÜ ülesannete kaardistamisel täheldati, et KKÜ partnerasutused / organisatsioonid ei ole kaardistanud oma spetsialistide olemasolevaid pädevusi ja sellele lisaks puudub ülevaade digitaalse ekspertiisi kogukonnas vajaolevatest pädevustest. Leitut arvesse võttes seati ülesandeks vajadustest ja piirangutest (võttes arvesse digitaalse ekspertiisi kogukonda kujundavaid standardeid) ülevaatliku pildi loomine, et töötada välja digitaalse ekspertiisi kompetentsipõhine raamistik, mis toetab KKÜ spetsialistide arendamist palkamisest pensionini. Selleks uurisime KKÜ ja nende olemasolevate koolitusprogrammide hetkeolukorda ning otsustasime milliseid omadusi peab edasise arengu tarbeks uurima ja kaaluma. Võrreldavate tulemuste saa-miseks ja eesmärgi täitmiseks pidi koostatav mudel olema suuteline lahendama 5-t järgnevat ülesannet: 1. Oskuste kaardistamine, 2. Eesmärkide seadmine ja ümberhindamine, 3. Koolituskava planeerimine, 4. Värbamisprotsessi kiirendamine ning 5. Spetsialistide kestva arengu soodustamine. Raamistiku väljatöötamiseks võeti aluseks National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework) pädevusraamistik mida parendati digitaalse ekspertiisi spetsialistide, ja käesoleval juhul ka KKÜ, vajadusi silmas pidades. Täiendusi lisati nii tasemete, spetsialiseerumise kui ka ülesannete kirjelduste kujul. Parenduste lisamisel võeti arvesse töös tutvustatud digitaalse ekspertiisi piiranguid ja standardeid, mille lõpptulemusena esitati KKÜ-le Digitaalse Ekspertiisi Pädevuse ontoloogia, KKÜ struktuuri muudatuse ettepanek, soovitatavad õpetamisstrateegiad digitaalse ekspertiisi kasutamiseks (muudetud Bloomi taksonoomia tasemetega), uus digitaalse ekspertiisi standardi alajaotus – Mehitamata Süsteemide ekspertiis ja Digitaalse Ekspertiisi Pädevuse Mudeli Raamistik. Ülesannete ja oskuste loetelu koostati rahvusvaheliselt tunnustatud sertifitseerimis-organisatsioonide ja erialast pädevust pakkuvate õppekavade abil. Kavandatava mudeli hindamiseks kasutati mini-Delphi ehk Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE) tehnikat. Esialgne prognoos vajaduste ja prioriteetidega anti KKÜ partnerasutustele saamaks tehtud töö kohta ekspertarvamusi. Kogu tagasisidet silmas pidades tehti mudelisse korrektuurid ja KKÜ-le sai vormistatud ettepanek ühes edasise tööplaaniga. Üldiselt kirjeldab väljapakutud pädevusraamistik KKÜ spetsialistilt ooda-tavat pädevuse ulatust KKÜ-s, et suurendada nende rolli kiirreageerimisrühmana. Raamistik aitab määratleda digitaalse ekspertiisi eeldatavaid pädevusi ja võimekusi praktikas ning juhendab eksperte spetsialiseerumise valikul. Kavandatud mudeli juures on arvestatud pikaajalise mõjuga (palkamisest pensionini). Tulenevalt mudeli komplekssusest, on raamistikul pikk rakendusfaas – organisatsiooni arengule maksimaalse mõju saavutamiseks on prognoositud ajakava maksimaalselt 5 aastat. Antud ettepanekud on käesolevaks hetkeks KKÜ poolt heaks kiidetud ning planeeritud kava rakendati esmakordselt 2019 aasta aprillikuus.In 03.07.2014 Regulation No. 108 was introduced which regulates the conditions and pro-cedure of the involvement of the Estonian Defence League (EDL) Cyber Defence Unit (CDU) in ensuring cyber security. This means that EDL can be brought in by the Information System Authority, Ministry of Defence or the authorities of its area of government within the scope of either of their tasks e.g. ensuring the continuity of information and communication technology infrastructure and in handling and solving cyber security incidents while applying both active and passive measures. In January 2018 EDL CDU’s Digi-tal Evidence Handling Group had to be re-organized and, thus, presented a proposal for internal curriculum in order to further instruct Digital Evidence specialists. While describing the CDU's tasks, it was noted that the CDU's partner institutions / organizations have not mapped out their specialists’ current competencies. With this in mind, we set out to create a comprehensive list of needs and constraints (taking into account the community standards of DF) to develop a DF-based competence framework that supports the devel-opment of CDU professionals. Hence, we studied the current situation of CDU, their existing training program, and contemplated which features we need to consider and ex-plore for further development. In order to assemble comparable results and to achieve the goal the model had to be able to solve the 5 following tasks: 1. Competency mapping, 2. Goal setting and reassessment, 3. Scheduling the training plan, 4. Accelerating the recruitment process, and 5. Promoting the continuous development of professionals. The frame-work was developed on the basis of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework), which was revised to meet the needs of DF specialists, including EDL CDU. Additions were supplemented in terms of levels, specialization, and job descriptions. The proposals included the DF limitations and standards introduced in the work, which ultimately resulted in a proposal for a Digital Forensics Competency ontology, EDL CDU structure change, Suggested Instruc-tional Strategies for Digital Forensics Use With Each Level of revised Bloom's Taxonomy, a new DF standard subdivision – Unmanned Systems Forensics, and Digital Forensic Competency Model Framework. The list of tasks and skills were compiled from international certification distribution organizations and curricula, and their focus on DF Special-ist Competencies. Mini-Delphi or Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE) techniques were applied to evaluate the proposed model. An initial estimation of competencies and priorities were given to the EDL CDU partner institutions for expert advice and evaluation. Considering the feedback, improvements were made to the model and a proposal was put forward to the CDU with a future work plan. In general, the proposed competence framework describes the expected scope of competence of an DF specialist in the EDL CDU to enhance their role as a rapid response team. The framework helps in defining the expected compe-tencies and capabilities of digital forensics in practice and offers guidance to the experts in the choice of specialization. The proposed model takes into account the long-term effect (hire-to-retire). Due to the complexity of the model, the framework has a long implementation phase — the maximum time frame for achieving the full effect for the organization is expected to be 5 years. These proposals were approved by EDL CDU and the proposed plan was first launched in April 2019

Organizational Interaction Mechanisms Affecting Strategic Decision-Making During Cybercrime Investigations

Antud lõputöö eesmärk on mõista ja selgitada organisatsioonide vahelist suhtlust õiguskorra tagamisel otsuste langetamise valdkondades kui nähtust, mis hõlmab koostöö ja teabe jagamise kontseptsioone ning viise, mis mõjutavad küberkuritegevuse uurimise protsesse. Uurimisobjekti probleem tuleneb ebapiisavast interdistsiplinaarsest tööst ja teoreetilistest sotsiaalteaduste arengutest tehnika vallas ning täpsemalt kavandatud lahenduste puudumisest, mis võiks suunata küberkuritegevuse uurimisega seotud juhtimisfunktsioone. Selle tulemusena seisavad õiguskaitsebürood (ÕKBd) silmitsi üha kasvavate raskustega, mis puudutavad nii protsesse, kommunikatsiooni kui koostööd, mis tulenevad keerulise teabe jagamise vajadusest. Eelkõige tekitavad raskusi küsimusi õigeaegne teabevahetus ja usaldamatus. Lõputöös on liigitatud takistused, mis võivad pidurdada uurimisprotsesse ja mõju strateegiliste otsuste langetamisel. Samuti püüab lõputöö sõnastada tingimused, mis on vajalikud optimaalse ja koostööl põhineva teabevahetuskeskkonna loomiseks, et võidelda küberkuritegevuse vastu.\n\rMetoodiline lähenemine hõlmab kvalitatiivset sisuanalüüsi, uuringud, juhtumikirjeldust ja teiseste andmete kasutamist. Esiteks, määratleb töö terminid ja eristab mõisted tõlgenduste kaudu, et aidata luua täpne olukorra kaardistus küberkuritegevuse ökosüsteemis. Antud kaardistus hõlmab ökosüsteemi sidusrühmade vaatepunktist ja määratleb nende koostoime mehhanismid. Seejärel määratletakse lõputöös põhilised takistused ja vajadused, mille uuriv protsess paljastab, ja tehakse ettepanek uue optimeeritud küberkuritegevuse uurimise analüüsi mudeliks. See analüütiline tööriist saab teavitada ja raporteerida protsessi etappidest, mis vajaks suuremat uurimist. Viimasena uuritakse Kolumbia politsei küberkuritegevuskeskuse (KKT) juhtumit, et näitlikustada, kuidas uuritud perspektiive saaks rakendada. \n\rTöö tulemused soovitavad, et funktsionaalseid aspekte saaks parandada, kui lisada juhtimise elemente uurimisprotsessi ettevalmistavasse järku. Ühtlasi saab hõlbustada kriminaalmenetluse uurimisel ka suhtlust sidusrühmadega ja teabe varustamisega. Veelgi enam, läbi haldusmenetlusprotsesside saab parandada nii usaldussuhteid kui teabe liikumise mustreid ja lõpuks suurendada organisatsioonide tõhusust võitluses küberkuritegevusega.\n\rSee lõputöö panustab teoreetilise baasi arendamisse, selgitab põhimõisted, mis tulenevad interdistsiplinaarsest kontseptsioonide ja teooriate integratsioonist. Samuti esitleb lõputöö praktilisi vahendeid, mida saab kohaldada juhtimisorganisatsioonide koostoimemehhanismidele küberkuritegevuse uurimisel. Töös esitletakse vajaduste analüüsi tulemusi, parimate praktikate rakendamise suuniseid ning ettepanekut optimeeritud uurimismudeli ellurakendamiseks, mis lähtub organisatsiooni suhtluse vajadustest. Eelnimetatud moodustavad tööriistkasti praktilistest vahenditest, mida rakendada juhtimistehnikates, et suurendada tõhusust ja toetada otsuste tegemist võitluses küberkuritegevusega.The aim of this thesis is to understand and explain organizational interaction in law enforcement decision-making spheres, as a phenomenon that involves the concepts of collaboration, cooperation and information sharing, and the way that these affect cybercrime investigation processes. The problem research steams from the insufficient interdisciplinary work and theoretical developments of social sciences within technical fields and more specifically the lack of conceptualizations that could guide managerial functions related to cyber crime investigations. As a result, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) face increasing difficulties concerning processes, communication, and collaboration derived from complex information sharing needs, and in particular, issues of timely delivery and mistrust. The thesis is concerned with a classification of impediments that may obstruct investigation processes and impact strategic decision-making, and with the formulation of the necessary conditions to generate an optimal and collaborative information-sharing environment for fighting against cybercrime. \n\r\n\rThe methodological approach includes qualitative content analysis, surveys, a case study and the use of secondary data. First, the work defines terms and differentiates concepts via interpretation, to help to establish an accurate mapping of the current situation within a cybercrime ecosystem from the stakeholders’ point of view and determine their interaction mechanisms. Then, it progresses onto the identification of the main obstacles and needs that the investigative process reveals, and proposes a new optimized model of cybercrime investigations analysis. This analytical tool can inform and report on the stages of the process that would require greater intervention. Last, the case of the Police Cybercrime Center (CCP) of Colombia is studied; to illustrate how these perspectives may apply.\n\r\n\rThe results of this work suggest that by including management elements at the preparatory stage of the investigative process, functional aspects could be improved, and the interaction with stakeholders and the provision of information to support the criminal investigation can be facilitated. Furthermore, that via administrative procedures, trust relationships can be improved as well as information flow patterns and ultimately increase organizational efficiency in the fight against cybercrime. \n\r\n\rThis thesis contributes with theoretical development, clarification of key terms resulting from the interdisciplinary integration of concepts and theories, and practical instruments applicable to guide managerial organizational interaction mechanisms in cybercrime investigations. Other contributions of meaningful implications are the results of the analysis of needs, the guidelines for the implementation of best practices, and the proposal of implementation of an optimized model of investigation based on the need of organizational interaction. Those conform a toolbox of practical instruments for the implementation of managerial techniques to enhance effectiveness and support decision-making in combating cybercrime

Security Posture: A Systematic Review of Cyber Threats and Proactive Security

In the last decade, several high-profile cyber threats have occurred with global impact and devastating consequences. The tools, techniques, and procedures used to prevent cyber threats from occurring fall under the category of proactive security. Proactive security methodologies, however, vary among professionals where differing tactics have proved situationally effective. To determine the most effective tactics for preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities, the author examines the attack vector of three incidents from the last five years in a systematic review format: the WannaCry incident, the 2020 SolarWinds SUNBURST exploit, and the recently discovered Log4j vulnerability. From the three cases and existing literature, the author determined that inventory management, auditing, and patching are essential proactive security measures which may have prevented the incidents altogether. Then, the author discusses obstacles inherent to these solutions, such as time, talent, and resource restrictions, and proposes the use of user-friendly, open-source tools as a solution. The author intends through this research to improve the security posture of the Internet by encouraging further research into proactive cyber threat intelligence measures and motivating business executives to prioritize cybersecurity

E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

Project results presentation (deliverable D18)

This document is a report which collects together the CYCLOPS project results for dissemination to different interested audiences such as Grid communities and Civil Protection agencies. It also reports on national and international initiatives and projects, SMEs, training activities and related projects. The structure of this document shows the approach used in the project. Following an introduction, it describes a set of related projects, namely grid- based technologies/EGEE, risk management, and GMEs-based services. It then presents the business of Civil Protection and the use cases selected. These highlight the grid requirements for Grid-based CP applications. The research strategies and enhancements needed for the EGEE infra-structure are identified, based on the use cases. Dissemination of training and knowledge to different communities are also key points of the project.FP