ANCHOR: logically-centralized security for Software-Defined Networks

While the centralization of SDN brought advantages such as a faster pace of innovation, it also disrupted some of the natural defenses of traditional architectures against different threats. The literature on SDN has mostly been concerned with the functional side, despite some specific works concerning non-functional properties like 'security' or 'dependability'. Though addressing the latter in an ad-hoc, piecemeal way, may work, it will most likely lead to efficiency and effectiveness problems. We claim that the enforcement of non-functional properties as a pillar of SDN robustness calls for a systemic approach. As a general concept, we propose ANCHOR, a subsystem architecture that promotes the logical centralization of non-functional properties. To show the effectiveness of the concept, we focus on 'security' in this paper: we identify the current security gaps in SDNs and we populate the architecture middleware with the appropriate security mechanisms, in a global and consistent manner. Essential security mechanisms provided by anchor include reliable entropy and resilient pseudo-random generators, and protocols for secure registration and association of SDN devices. We claim and justify in the paper that centralizing such mechanisms is key for their effectiveness, by allowing us to: define and enforce global policies for those properties; reduce the complexity of controllers and forwarding devices; ensure higher levels of robustness for critical services; foster interoperability of the non-functional property enforcement mechanisms; and promote the security and resilience of the architecture itself. We discuss design and implementation aspects, and we prove and evaluate our algorithms and mechanisms, including the formalisation of the main protocols and the verification of their core security properties using the Tamarin prover.Comment: 42 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, 5 algorithms, 139 reference

The future of Cybersecurity in Italy: Strategic focus area

This volume has been created as a continuation of the previous one, with the aim of outlining a set of focus areas and actions that the Italian Nation research community considers essential. The book touches many aspects of cyber security, ranging from the definition of the infrastructure and controls needed to organize cyberdefence to the actions and technologies to be developed to be better protected, from the identification of the main technologies to be defended to the proposal of a set of horizontal actions for training, awareness raising, and risk management

NETWORK TRAFFIC CHARACTERIZATION AND INTRUSION DETECTION IN BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

The goal of this research was threefold: (1) to learn the operational trends and behaviors of a realworld building automation system (BAS) network for creating building device models to detect anomalous behaviors and attacks, (2) to design a framework for evaluating BA device security from both the device and network perspectives, and (3) to leverage new sources of building automation device documentation for developing robust network security rules for BAS intrusion detection systems (IDSs). These goals were achieved in three phases, first through the detailed longitudinal study and characterization of a real university campus building automation network (BAN) and with the application of machine learning techniques on field level traffic for anomaly detection. Next, through the systematization of literature in the BAS security domain to analyze cross protocol device vulnerabilities, attacks, and defenses for uncovering research gaps as the foundational basis of our proposed BA device security evaluation framework. Then, to evaluate our proposed framework the largest multiprotocol BAS testbed discussed in the literature was built and several side-channel vulnerabilities and software/firmware shortcomings were exposed. Finally, through the development of a semi-automated specification gathering, device documentation extracting, IDS rule generating framework that leveraged PICS files and BIM models.Ph.D

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY CONCERNS FOR UNIVERSITY WORKFORCE AND SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE DURING A PANDEMIC

Faculty and staff working from home during the COVID pandemic were presented with new challenges in adapting to emergency remote teaching, as well as new and expanded cyber security threats. Changes to course delivery, remote access from public locations, and the potential of faculty and staff storing confidential educational records on university-issued devices, and potentially personally owned devices, made faculty and staff prime targets of malicious attackers. Information technology departments were challenged to support and secure the remote workforce from new cyber threats to protect their faculty, staff, and students from cyber-attacks. The focus of this study was to identify faculty and staff perceptions of cyber security, assess their understanding of cybersecurity policies and procedures, and to also identify concerns they viewed that needed to be addressed to be prepared for the future. Using descriptive research methodology, an online survey containing 37 items was created and sent to faculty and staff at a midwestern university to answer three research questions. The study identified that the faculty and staff at the institution surveyed understood the role they and others have at the university to protect the university from cyber threats. It was also identified that they understood the policies and procedures of the university regarding cyber security. Faculty and staff also identified various forms of technology and accessibility issues they feel need to be addressed if they are required to perform emergency remote teaching and support to maintain university operations

Quality assessment technique for ubiquitous software and middleware

The new paradigm of computing or information systems is ubiquitous computing systems. The technology-oriented issues of ubiquitous computing systems have made researchers pay much attention to the feasibility study of the technologies rather than building quality assurance indices or guidelines. In this context, measuring quality is the key to developing high-quality ubiquitous computing products. For this reason, various quality models have been defined, adopted and enhanced over the years, for example, the need for one recognised standard quality model (ISO/IEC 9126) is the result of a consensus for a software quality model on three levels: characteristics, sub-characteristics, and metrics. However, it is very much unlikely that this scheme will be directly applicable to ubiquitous computing environments which are considerably different to conventional software, trailing a big concern which is being given to reformulate existing methods, and especially to elaborate new assessment techniques for ubiquitous computing environments. This paper selects appropriate quality characteristics for the ubiquitous computing environment, which can be used as the quality target for both ubiquitous computing product evaluation processes ad development processes. Further, each of the quality characteristics has been expanded with evaluation questions and metrics, in some cases with measures. In addition, this quality model has been applied to the industrial setting of the ubiquitous computing environment. These have revealed that while the approach was sound, there are some parts to be more developed in the future

Implementation of IS Security Standards on Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

This thesis addresses the issue of Information Systems (IS) security in pharmaceutical manufacturing which is closely related to the ISA 99 standard. The ISA 99 'Security for industrial Automation and Control Systems' standard is focused on the work for securing process automation systems from IS security threats. The main thought behind the ISA 99 standard is that a high level of IS security in computerized manufacturing environments cannot be achieved through just one project but needs long-term dedication. Therefore the ISA 99 standard suggests the implementation of an IS security program as the best way to reduce IS security risks to process automation systems and to sustain risk reduction over time. The overall objective of the study was to suggest an IS security program suitable for the pharmaceutical manufacturing at the AstraZeneca manufacturing and supply site in Södertälje, Sweden. The suggested IS security program can briefly be described as a long-term strategy for how to perform IS security activities in the manufacturing at the Södertälje site. The security program defines both technical and organizational requirements and recommendations. According to the ISA 99 standard, working with IS security in the process automation systems environment require both technical, cultural and organizational perspectives. The suggested security program therefore recommends the forming of a special group for working with IS security in the manufacturing within Sweden Operations. This group includes employees from different departments such as IS security, IS/IT, process automation systems managers, engineering, operators and managers in production areas as well as quality assurance personnel. The purpose with the group is to make the IS security work more effective through reducing bureaucracy, increasing communication and sharing of knowledge and business perspectives. The security program also presents IS security policies for the production at the Södertälje site. A security policy is a written document or directive that defines how the organization defines and operates IS security in the process automation systems environment. The security policy ensures both management support and understanding of roles and responsibilities for IS security in the process automation systems environment