Listening to botnet communication channels to protect information systems

Botnets are a weapon of choice for people who wish to exploit information systems for economic advantage. A large percentage of high value commercial targets such as banking transaction systems and human customers are web connected so that access is gained through Internet services. A Botnet is designed to maximise the possibility of an economic success through the low cost of attacks and the high number that may be attempted in any small time unit. In this paper we report exploratory research into the communications of Botnets. The research question was: How do Botnets talk with the command and control channels? The research method is to catch binaries in a low interaction honey pot and then to provide a secure test bed in which the binaries can demonstrate the actions of malicious activity. One of the actions performed by a binary is communication with the Bot master and this action is the focus of our study. We also provide a feedback loop in which suggestions are made to protect an Information System and the users

Four-Wave Mixing in Weyl Semimetals

Weyl semimetals (WSMs) have unusual optical responses originating from unique topological properties of their bulk and surface electron states. Their third-order optical nonlinearity is expected to be very strong, especially at long wavelengths, due to linear dispersion and high Fermi velocity of three-dimensional Weyl fermions. Here we derive the third-order nonlinear optical conductivity of WSMs in the long-wavelength limit and calculate the intensity of the nonlinear four-wave mixing signal as it is transmitted through the WSM film or propagates away from the surface of the material in the reflection geometry. All results are analytic and show the scaling of the signal intensity with variation of all relevant parameters. The nonlinear generation efficiency turns out to be surprisingly high for a lossy material, of the order of several mW per W³ of the incident pump power. Optimal conditions for maximizing the nonlinear signal are realized in the vicinity of bulk plasma resonance. This indicates that ultrathin WSM films of the order of skin depth in thickness could find applications in compact optoelectronic devices

Men’s health in industries: Plastic plant pollution and prevalence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Plastic production is prominently increasing and its pollution is an emerging environmental global health concern. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among nonsmoking plastic industry workers. Three hundred and forty volunteers male plastic industry workers were interviewed after medical history and examination; finally, 278 nonsmoking plastic industry workers were selected. The mean age for the participants was 38.03 ± 10.86 years and body mass index was 25.52 ± 3.15 (kg/m)2. The plastic industry workers had been exposed to plastic plant pollution for 8 hr daily, 6 days in a week. Subjects with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) less than 5.7% were considered non-diabetics; HbA1c 5.7%-6.4% were pre-diabetics; and subjects with HbA1c greater than 6.4% were considered diabetics. In plastic industry workers, the prevalence of pre-diabetes was 176 (63.30%) and T2DM was 66 (23.74%); however, 36 (12.95%) plastic plant workers were normal. The prevalence of pre-diabetes and T2DM among plastic industry workers was significantly increased with duration of working exposure in plastic industry ( p = .0001). Exposure to plastic plant pollution is associated with the prevalence of pre-diabetes and T2DM among plastic industry workers. The prevalence was associated with the duration of working exposure in plastic industry. The occupational and environmental health executives must take priority steps to minimize the plastic plant pollution from plastic industries to reduce the occurrence of pre-diabetes and T2DM among the plastic industrial workers and save the men\u27s health in industries

Recent advances in passive UHF-RFID tag antenna design for improved read range in product packaging applications: a comprehensive review

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a rapidly developing technology, and RFID sensors have become important components in many common technology applications. The passive ultra-high frequency (UHF) tags used in RFID sensors have a higher data transfer rate and longer read range and usually come in unique small and portable application designs. However, these tags suffer from significant frequency interference when mounted on metallic materials or placed near liquid surfaces. This paper presents the recent advancements made in passive UHF-RFID tag designs proposed to resolve the interference problems. We focus on those designs that are intended to improve antenna read range as well as scalability designs for miniaturized application

Modal response of hybrid raster orientation on material extrusion printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyethylene terephthalate glycol under thermo-mechanical loads

In this paper we look at Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG), chosen for their low cost, high strength and temperature resistance. This study evaluates the bending fatigue performance of Material extrusion (MEX) ABS and PETG cantilever beams and compares their properties while varying a printing parameter under thermal loads. The study, using custom building orientation angles of 90o, 45o and 60o between the layers, tested the beams at different temperatures from 30o to 50 °C. The results show the effects of the building orientations and the effects of temperature on the sample. The printing orientation, which is the same as loading, also slows the crack growth