Sharing Computer Network Logs for Security and Privacy: A Motivation for New Methodologies of Anonymization

Logs are one of the most fundamental resources to any security professional. It is widely recognized by the government and industry that it is both beneficial and desirable to share logs for the purpose of security research. However, the sharing is not happening or not to the degree or magnitude that is desired. Organizations are reluctant to share logs because of the risk of exposing sensitive information to potential attackers. We believe this reluctance remains high because current anonymization techniques are weak and one-size-fits-all--or better put, one size tries to fit all. We must develop standards and make anonymization available at varying levels, striking a balance between privacy and utility. Organizations have different needs and trust other organizations to different degrees. They must be able to map multiple anonymization levels with defined risks to the trust levels they share with (would-be) receivers. It is not until there are industry standards for multiple levels of anonymization that we will be able to move forward and achieve the goal of widespread sharing of logs for security researchers.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Monochromatic Gamma Rays from Dark Matter Annihilation to Leptons

We investigate the relation between the annihilation of dark matter (DM) particles into lepton pairs and into 2-body final states including one or two photons. We parametrize the DM interactions with leptons in terms of contact interactions, and calculate the loop-level annihilation into monochromatic gamma rays, specifically computing the ratio of the DM annihilation cross sections into two gamma rays versus lepton pairs. While the loop-level processes are generically suppressed in comparison with the tree-level annihilation into leptons, we find that some choices for the mediator spin and coupling structure lead to large branching fractions into gamma-ray lines. This result has implications for a dark matter contribution to the AMS-02 positron excess. We also explore the possibility of mediators which are charged under a dark symmetry and find that, for these loop-level processes, an effective field theory description is accurate for DM masses up to about half the mediator mass.Comment: 21 pages plus appendices, 7 figures. v2: added experimental constraints from CMB and Fermi, expanded and reorganized discussion throughout. Accepted by JHE

Automated acoustic intensity measurements and the effect of gear tooth profile on noise

Acoustic intensity measurements were made at NASA Lewis Research Center on a spur gear test apparatus. The measurements were obtained with the Robotic Acoustic Intensity Measurement System developed by Cleveland State University. This system provided dense spatial positioning, and was calibrated against a high quality acoustic intensity system. The measured gear noise compared gearsets having two different tooth profiles. The tests evaluated the sound field of the different gears for two speeds and three loads. The experimental results showed that gear tooth profile had a major effect on measured noise. Load and speed were found to have an effect on noise also