Mean-Field-Type Games in Engineering

A mean-field-type game is a game in which the instantaneous payoffs and/or the state dynamics functions involve not only the state and the action profile but also the joint distributions of state-action pairs. This article presents some engineering applications of mean-field-type games including road traffic networks, multi-level building evacuation, millimeter wave wireless communications, distributed power networks, virus spread over networks, virtual machine resource management in cloud networks, synchronization of oscillators, energy-efficient buildings, online meeting and mobile crowdsensing.Comment: 84 pages, 24 figures, 183 references. to appear in AIMS 201

Queuing Based Model for Malicious Packets Detection and Removal in Networks Using Packet Correlation Analysis

DDoS presents a genuine risk to the Internet since its beginning, where loads of controlled hosts surge the casualty webpage with monstrous bundles. Besides, in Distributed Reflection DoS aggressors trick pure servers (reflectors) into flushing parcels to the nodes. Be that as it may, a large portion of current DDoS location systems are related with particular conventions and can't be utilized for obscure conventions. It is discovered that as a result of being empowered by the same assaulting stream, the responsive streams from reflectors have innate relations: the parcel rate of one merged responsive stream may have straight associations with another. In view of this perception, the Correlation based Detection (RCD) calculation is proposed. The preparatory reproductions demonstrate that RCD can separate reflection streams from authentic ones proficiently and viably, subsequently can be utilized as a useable marker for DDoS

Organic fruit production: Review of current practice and knowledge (OF0150)

This is the final report of Defra project OF0150 REASONS FOR STUDY AND KEY OBJECTIVES. There is a strong demand for organic fruit in the UK but the majority of this is met by imports. The main constraint on home production is a shortage of growers with sufficient acreage to supply wholesalers and supermarkets. The Organic Fruit Focus Group identified lack of technical information and research as a major barrier to growers considering conversion. The main aim of the present study was to gather technical information on organic growing techniques from growers, advisors and researchers from both the UK and abroad. Research priorities were also identified. Crops reviewed were apples, pears, strawberries, currants, gooseberries and raspberries. MAIN FINDINGS. • Research review. The most information was found on organic apple and strawberry production. Much of it was obtained by contacting researchers and advisors and is unrefereed literature e.g. conference proceedings, annual reports, advisory booklets and press articles. Relevant research from conventional systems was also reviewed. • Advisory literature from abroad. The most useful literature was from FiBL in Switzerland, LBI in the Netherlands and The Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre. • Research and development programmes abroad are producing relevant information of immediate use to UK growers. • Drafts of two booklets have been written during the review by combining several sources of information, i.e. 'Organic apples - pest and disease management' and 'Organic strawberry production - a growers guide' (see appendix 2 & 3) • Apples and pears. Technical problems are numerous but organic apple production can be profitable mainly because there is a market for organic class II fruit. However the conversion period is a major financial and technical barrier. Research priorities were identified, these included a) variety trials, b) scab control, c) studies on weed control/water/nutrients e.g. management of the orchard alleyways and the tree strip to encourage beneficial insects, manipulate nutrient supply and provide orchard access d) pest control e.g. optimising the use of floral strips to prevent pest epidemics and specific control methods for numerous major pests. • Strawberries. These are considered easier to grow. Suitable systems for weed control have been developed. The main problems and research priorities are a) Botrytis, b) powdery mildew, c) soil borne diseases (Verticillium and Phytophthora), d) encouraging beneficials for pest control e) optimising nutrient supply. • Raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries. Few growers with reasonable acreage were identified making it difficult to draw comprehensive conclusions. However, weed control is a major problem. Research priorities include management of the crop pathways and optimising the use of mulches. An important pest is raspberry beetle. Various other pests could become a problem if acreage is increased. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. Four possible avenues of dissemination were identified. • Collaboration with FiBL in Switzerland to produce adapted translations of grower booklets • Production of booklets through the Soil Association's Technical Guides for Organic Food Production • More immediate dissemination of 'less glossy' leaflets through the Organic Fruit Focus Group • Seminar/workshop/farm walk collaborative events between HDRA, Soil Association, Elm Farm Research Centre, Organic Fruit Focus Group and East Malling Research Association. Two events are already planned. ISSUES RELATED TO POLICY, ORGANIC STANDARDS AND PESTICIDE REGISTRATION a)The three year conversion period, in both top fruit and cane and bush fruit, is a major financial barrier. b) The unpredictable nature of fruit production may mean that financial support after conversion could be required to increase grower confidence. c) Diversification of business enterprise for top fruit could be encouraged. d) Long term and achievable standards of fruit quality should be agreed between supermarkets and growers. e) Products which could be important for organic fruit production were identified for consideration by PSD and/or UKROFS. f) Strategies for the propagation of organic plants for all fruit crops need to be developed; this could be done within a European context for some crops where there are no licensed propagators in the UK. g) Some tentative evidence suggests that the measures used to encourage beneficial fauna for pest control in organic orchards and the absence of soil sterilants in organic soft fruit production are resulting in species diversification; this needs to be explored further

Study of Peer-to-Peer Network Based Cybercrime Investigation: Application on Botnet Technologies

The scalable, low overhead attributes of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Internet protocols and networks lend themselves well to being exploited by criminals to execute a large range of cybercrimes. The types of crimes aided by P2P technology include copyright infringement, sharing of illicit images of children, fraud, hacking/cracking, denial of service attacks and virus/malware propagation through the use of a variety of worms, botnets, malware, viruses and P2P file sharing. This project is focused on study of active P2P nodes along with the analysis of the undocumented communication methods employed in many of these large unstructured networks. This is achieved through the design and implementation of an efficient P2P monitoring and crawling toolset. The requirement for investigating P2P based systems is not limited to the more obvious cybercrimes listed above, as many legitimate P2P based applications may also be pertinent to a digital forensic investigation, e.g, voice over IP, instant messaging, etc. Investigating these networks has become increasingly difficult due to the broad range of network topologies and the ever increasing and evolving range of P2P based applications. In this work we introduce the Universal P2P Network Investigation Framework (UP2PNIF), a framework which enables significantly faster and less labour intensive investigation of newly discovered P2P networks through the exploitation of the commonalities in P2P network functionality. In combination with a reference database of known network characteristics, it is envisioned that any known P2P network can be instantly investigated using the framework, which can intelligently determine the best investigation methodology and greatly expedite the evidence gathering process. A proof of concept tool was developed for conducting investigations on the BitTorrent network.Comment: This is a thesis submitted in fulfilment of a PhD in Digital Forensics and Cybercrime Investigation in the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin in October 201

Command & Control: Understanding, Denying and Detecting - A review of malware C2 techniques, detection and defences

In this survey, we first briefly review the current state of cyber attacks, highlighting significant recent changes in how and why such attacks are performed. We then investigate the mechanics of malware command and control (C2) establishment: we provide a comprehensive review of the techniques used by attackers to set up such a channel and to hide its presence from the attacked parties and the security tools they use. We then switch to the defensive side of the problem, and review approaches that have been proposed for the detection and disruption of C2 channels. We also map such techniques to widely-adopted security controls, emphasizing gaps or limitations (and success stories) in current best practices.Comment: Work commissioned by CPNI, available at c2report.org. 38 pages. Listing abstract compressed from version appearing in repor