LADRI: LeArning-based Dynamic Risk Indicator in Automated Driving System

As the horizon of intelligent transportation expands with the evolution of Automated Driving Systems (ADS), ensuring paramount safety becomes more imperative than ever. Traditional risk assessment methodologies, primarily crafted for human-driven vehicles, grapple to adequately adapt to the multifaceted, evolving environments of ADS. This paper introduces a framework for real-time Dynamic Risk Assessment (DRA) in ADS, harnessing the potency of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Our proposed solution transcends these limitations, drawing upon ANNs, a cornerstone of deep learning, to meticulously analyze and categorize risk dimensions using real-time On-board Sensor (OBS) data. This learning-centric approach not only elevates the ADS's situational awareness but also enriches its understanding of immediate operational contexts. By dissecting OBS data, the system is empowered to pinpoint its current risk profile, thereby enhancing safety prospects for onboard passengers and the broader traffic ecosystem. Through this framework, we chart a direction in risk assessment, bridging the conventional voids and enhancing the proficiency of ADS. By utilizing ANNs, our methodology offers a perspective, allowing ADS to adeptly navigate and react to potential risk factors, ensuring safer and more informed autonomous journeys.Comment: 2023 IEEE International Test Conference, 8th Edition of Automotive, Reliability, Test & Safety Workshop in Disneyland, Anaheim, C

Security Risk Assessments: Modeling and Risk Level Propagation

Security risk assessment is an important task in systems engineering. It is used to derive security requirements for a secure system design and to evaluate design alternatives as well as vulnerabilities. Security risk assessment is also a complex and interdisciplinary task, where experts from the application domain and the security domain have to collaborate and understand each other. Automated and tool-supported approaches are desired to help manage the complexity. However, the models used for system engineering usually focus on functional behavior and lack security-related aspects. Therefore, we present our modeling approach that alleviates communication between the involved experts and features steps of computer-aided modeling to achieve consistency and avoid omission errors. We demonstrate our approach with an example. We also describe how to model impact rating and attack feasibility estimation in a modular fashion, along with the propagation and aggregation of these estimations through the model. As a result, experts can make local decisions or changes in the model, which in turn provides the impact of these decisions or changes on the overall risk profile. Finally, we discuss the advantages of our model-based method

Outdoor Mosquito Control Using Odour-Baited Devices: Development and Evaluation of a Potential New Strategy to Complement Indoor Malaria Prevention Methods

A considerable effort is currently underway to develop a malaria vaccine based on live Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites. The first requisite of a sporozoite vaccine is the guarantee of parasite arrest prior to the onset of the pathogenic blood stage. Immunisation with genetically attenuated parasites (GAP) that arrest in the liver forms a promising approach. Work in this thesis describes the development and characterisation of a P. berghei Δb9Δslarp GAP that fully arrests in the liver. Immunisation of multiple mouse strains with low numbers of Δb9Δslarp GAP resulted in sterile protection. The Δb9Δslarp GAP is there- fore the leading GAP vaccine candidate. Work in this the- sis further describes the effect of varying the parameters of sporozoite inoculation on parasite liver load. These findings provide a rationale for the design of clinical trials aimed at the administration of live attenuated P. falciparum sporozoites

Investigating the potential of renewable energy in community-based disaster risk reduction and development

In recent years, there has been growing interest in community hazard resilience and sustainable development at the local level. Initiatives that accord with the principles of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction increasingly frame community resilience research and programming. However, there has been little research to date exploring energy and water hazard management within remote communities. Such research is an important element in progressing sustainable development at the local level - understanding community views, priority needs and solutions that are feasible and sustainable in their context. Humanitarian engineering is an appropriate vehicle for translating these views into proposed solutions and offers substantial benefits to interventions for sustainable development and disaster resilience. Community-centered initiatives for off-grid renewable energy generation and flood response at the local level have the potential to support community hazard management and socio-economic growth. To do so effectively, they must support genuine community engagement and stakeholder synergies. The current study examined energy and flood response needs in riparian communities in Nepal and Greece and identified specific options which could be co-developed and sustained in these contexts. Paper I presents evidence-informed technical criteria for the development of off-grid renewable energy and early warning hybrid systems, and more specifically, small-scale hydropower generators combined with flood warning systems. Paper II is a scoping review of the literature examining riparian communities in low and lower middle-income countries, and their use of off-grid renewable energy and flood warning systems. Paper III presents a review of the extant literature regarding best practice community engagement for localised renewable energy systems and flood early warning systems. Paper IV details an exploratory investigation of community vulnerability and capability mapping that identifies communities with high water-based disaster risk and their associated needs. Paper V presents a mixed method approach for humanitarian and development research engagement that allows the collection of information from both professionals and non-experts remotely. Paper VI is informed by the previous studies (Papers I – V) and presents findings from our research on flood response and energy needs of two riparian communities in Nepal and Greece. The findings indicate combined functions are favoured and that the co-development of a hybrid unit for hydropower generation and flood warning is preferred compared to single-use market available options. The remote research approach (detailed in Paper V) supported effective participant engagement and data collection despite pandemic restrictions

Integrated Attack Tree in Residual Risk Management Framework

Safety-critical cyber-physical systems (CPSs), such as high-tech cars having cyber capabilities, are highly interconnected. Automotive manufacturers are concerned about cyber attacks on vehicles that can lead to catastrophic consequences. There is a need for a new risk management approach to address and investigate cybersecurity risks. Risk management in the automotive domain is challenging due to technological improvements and advances every year. The current standard for automotive security is ISO/SAE 21434, which discusses a framework that includes threats, associated risks, and risk treatment options such as risk reduction by applying appropriate defences. This paper presents a residual cybersecurity risk management framework aligned with the framework presented in ISO/SAE 21434. A methodology is proposed to develop an integrated attack tree that considers multiple sub-systems within the CPS. Integrating attack trees in this way will help the analyst to take a broad perspective of system security. Our previous approach utilises a flow graph to calculate the residual risk to a system before and after applying defences. This paper is an extension of our initial work. It defines the steps for applying the proposed framework and using adaptive cruise control (ACC) and adaptive light control (ALC) to illustrate the applicability of our work. This work is evaluated by comparing it with the requirements of the risk management framework discussed in the literature. Currently, our methodology satisfies more than 75% of their requirements

Building and Integrating an Information Security Trustworthiness Framework for Aviation Systems

The aviation infrastructure is broadly composed of aircraft, air traffic control systems, airports and public airfields. Much attention has been given to physical security along the years this industry has been expanding; and now, in the new age of interconnection devices, a growing concern about cybersecurity has risen. The never-ending improvement of new digital technology has given birth to a new generation of electronic-enabled (e-enabled) aircraft that implement a remarkable amount of new technologies such as IP-enabled networks, COTS (commercial off-the- shelf) components, wireless connectivity, and global positioning systems (GPSs). For example, aircraft manufacturers are building wireless systems to reduce the amount of wiring within an aircraft. The general purpose of this is the reduction in weight that helps an aircraft achieve lower fuel consumption, but it can result into a security issue since these wireless systems are vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Therefore, since the aviation infrastructure has taken advantages of the era of technology and is providing unprecedented global connectivity, there is a need for an in-depth study of the measures being taken to mitigate the security vulnerabilities that these e-enabled aircraft technologies introduce that may have not been considered in the traditional aircraft design