Differential Fault Attack on Ascon Cipher

This work investigates the security of the Ascon authenticated encryption scheme in the context of fault attacks, with a specific focus on Differential Fault Analysis (DFA). Motivated by the growing significance of lightweight cryptographic solutions, particularly Ascon, we explore potential vulnerabilities in its design using DFA. By employing a novel approach that combines faulty forgery in the decryption query under two distinct fault models, leveraging bit-flip faults in the first phase and bit-set faults in the second, we successfully recover the complete Ascon key. This study sheds light on the impact of key whitening in the final permutation call and discusses potential threats when this safeguard is absent. Additionally, we consider the implications of injecting multiple bit-flip faults at the S-box input, suggesting alternative strategies for compromising the state space. Our findings contribute valuable insights into the gray-box security landscape of Ascon, emphasizing the need for robust defenses to ensure the integrity and resilience of lightweight cryptographic primitives against diverse fault attacks

Validation of Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging as an Early-Stage Biomarker of Parkinson's Disease in Animal Models

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), which is a mathematical extension of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), assesses non-Gaussian water diffusion in the brain. DKI proved to be effective in supporting the diagnosis of different neurodegenerative disorders. Its sensitively detects microstructural changes in the brain induced by either protein accumulation, glial cell activation or neurodegeneration as observed in mouse models of Parkinson's disease. We applied two experimental models of Parkinson's disease to validate the diagnostic utility of DKI in early and late stage of disease pathology. We present two DKI analysis methods: (1) tract based spatial statistics (TBSS), which is a hypothesis independent data driven approach intended to evaluate white matter changes; and (2) region of interest (ROI) based analysis based on hypothesis of ROIs relevant for Parkinson's disease, which is specifically used for gray matter changes. The main aim of this chapter is to provide detailed information of how to perform the DKI imaging acquisition and analysis in the mouse brain, which can be, to some extent translated to humans

Revisiting RC4 Key Collision: Faster Search Algorithm and New 22-byte Colliding Key Pairs

If two different secret keys of a stream cipher yield the same internal state after the key scheduling algorithm (KSA) and hence generates the same sequence of keystream bits, they are called a colliding key pair. The number of possible internal states of RC4 stream cipher is very large (approximately $2^{1700}$), which makes finding key collision hard for practical key length (i.e., less than 30 bytes). Matsui [FSE 2009] for the first time reported a 24-byte colliding key pair and one 20-byte near-colliding key pair (i.e., for which the state arrays after the KSA differ in at most two positions) for RC4. Subsequently, Chen and Miyaji [ISC 2011] claimed to design a more efficient search algorithm using Matsui\u27s collision pattern and reported a 22-byte colliding key pair which remains the only shortest known colliding key pair so far. In this paper, we show some limitations of both the above approaches and propose a faster collision search algorithm that overcomes these limitations. Using our algorithm, we are able to find three additional 22-byte colliding key pairs that are different from the one reported by Chen and Miyaji [ISC 2011]. We additionally give 12 new 20-byte near-colliding key pairs different from Matsui\u27s [FSE 2009]. These results are significant, considering the argument by the experts [Biham and Dunkelman, 2007] that for shorter keys there might be no instances of collision at all

07061 Abstracts Collection -- Autonomous and Adaptive Web Services

From 4.2.2007 to 9.2.2007, the Dagstuhl Seminar 07061 ``Autonomous and Adaptive Web Services\u27\u27 was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

Analyzing The Efficacy Of Locally-Driven Food Initiatives In Enhancing Community Health

This research delves into the impact of community-driven food initiatives on promoting community health, aligning with the global emphasis on food security and overall well-being. As communities worldwide increasingly turn to grassroots solutions, this study adopts a diverse approach, combining quantitative data analysis with qualitative assessments. The goal is to thoroughly explore how locally-led food initiatives shape health outcomes. The study sets specific objectives, including assessing the impact of these initiatives, understanding the factors influencing their success, exploring the dynamics of community engagement, and investigating their potential for scalability. By providing insights into both successful models and challenges, this paper contributes to the existing knowledge base, offering valuable implications for policymakers and practitioners striving to address food security and health disparities at the local level

An Empirical Study on Investigating the Impact of a Balanced Diet on Biochemical and Physical Parameters in Disease Prevention and Management

This research paper presents the outcomes of an extensive empirical investigation aimed at exploring the influence of a well-rounded diet on biochemical and physical parameters for the purpose of preventing and managing diseases. Given the global rise in chronic illnesses, comprehending the impact of lifestyle elements, particularly dietary habits, is essential for effective health interventions. The study utilized a longitudinal design, monitoring participants over an extended period, and included a diverse sample encompassing individuals both with and without pre-existing health conditions. Biochemical parameters, such as blood glucose, cholesterol levels, and inflammatory markers, were evaluated alongside physical parameters like body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and physical fitness. The results indicated notable enhancements in both biochemical and physical parameters among participants who adhered to a balanced diet. Positive associations between dietary practices and health indicators suggest the potential efficacy of dietary interventions in averting and addressing chronic diseases. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for public health strategies and future research, underscoring the significance of advocating for balanced dietary habits as an integral facet of comprehensive health approaches

DEEPAND: In-Depth Modeling of Correlated AND Gates for NLFSR-based Lightweight Block Ciphers

Automated cryptanalysis has taken center stage in the arena of cryptanalysis since the pioneering work by Mouha et al. which showcased the power of Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) in solving cryptanalysis problems that otherwise, required significant effort. Since its inception, research in this area has moved in primarily two directions. One is to model more and more classical cryptanalysis tools as optimization problems to leverage the ease provided by state-of-the-art solvers. The other direction is to improve existing models to make them more efficient and/or accurate. The current work is an attempt to contribute to the latter. In this work, a general model referred to as DEEPAND has been devised to capture the correlation between AND gates in NLFSR-based lightweight block ciphers. DEEPAND builds upon and generalizes the idea of joint propagation of differences through AND gates captured using refined MILP modeling of TinyJAMBU by Saha et al. in FSE 2020. The proposed model has been applied to TinyJAMBU and KATAN and can detect correlations that were missed by earlier models. This leads to more accurate differential bounds for both ciphers. In particular, a 384-round (full-round as per earlier specification) Type-IV trail is found for TinyJAMBU with 14 active AND gates using the new model, while the refined model reported this figure to be 19. This also reaffirms the decision of the designers to increase the number of rounds from 384 to 640. Moreover, the model succeeds in searching a full round Type-IV trail of TinyJAMBU keyed permutation $\mathcal{P}_{1024}$ with probability $2^{-108} (\gg 2^{-128})$. This reveals the non-random properties of $\mathcal{P}_{1024}$ thereby showing it to be non-ideal. Hence it cannot be expected to provide the same security levels as robust block ciphers. Further, the provable security of the TinyJAMBU AEAD scheme should be carefully revisited. Similarly, for KATAN 32, DEEPAND modeling improves the 42-round trail with $2^{-11}$ probability to $2^{-7}$. Also, for KATAN 48 and KATAN 64, this model respectively improves the designer\u27s claimed 43-round and 37-round trail probabilities. Moreover, in the related key setting, the DEEPAND model can make a better 140-round boomerang distinguisher (for both the data and time complexity) compared to the previous boomerang attack by Isobe et al. in ACISP 2013. In summary, DEEPAND seems to capture the underlying correlation better when multiple AND gates are at play and can be adapted to other classes of ciphers as well

Differential Fault Analysis of NORX

In recent literature, there has been a particular interest in studying nonce based AE schemes in the light of fault based attacks as they seem to present an automatic protection against Differential Fault Attacks (DFA). In this work, we present the first DFA on nonce based CAESAR scheme NORX. We demonstrate a scenario when faults introduced in NORX in parallel mode can be used to collide the internal state to produce an \emph{all-zero} state. We later show how this can be used to replay NORX despite being instantiated by different nonces, messages. Once replayed, we show how the key of NORX can be recovered using secondary faults and using the faulty tags. We use different fault models to showcase the versatility of the attack strategy. A detailed theoretical analysis of the expected number of faults required under various models is also furnished. Under the random bit flip model, around 1384 faults are to be induced to reduce the key space from $2^{128}$ to $2^{32}$ while the random byte flip model requires 136 faults to uniquely identify the key. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fault attack that uses \emph{both internal} and \emph{classical differentials} to mount a DFA on a nonce based authenticated cipher which is otherwise believed to be immune to DFA

MAXIMIZATION OF WEAR RATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE CONFIGURATION OF STANDOFF DISTANCE AND HYDRAULIC PARAMETERS IN ULTRASONIC PULSATING WATERJET

A pulsating waterjet is a technological modification of a conventional waterjet that utilizes ultrasonic vibrations to generate a modulated jet, resulting in repetitive fatigue loading of the material. The erosion efficiency of the ultrasonic pulsating waterjet is majorly determined by the hydraulic factors and its interaction with standoff distance. However, the dependency of the wear rates on different hydraulic factors and formulation of an implicit prediction model for determining effective standoff distance is still not present to date. Therefore, in this study, the combined dependency of the supply pressure (20-40 MPa), nozzle diameter (0.3-1.0 mm), and standoff distance (1-121 mm) on wear rates of AW-6060 aluminum alloy are studied. Statistical analysis is used to determine the statistically significant factors and formulate regression equations to determine output responses within the experimental domain. The surface topography and sub-surface microhardness of the eroded grooves were studied. The results show that both the disintegration depth and the material removal increase with an increase in the nozzle diameter and supply pressure. However, the dependency of the output responses on nozzle diameter is statistically more evident than supply pressure and two-way interactions. Cross-sectional images of the grooves showed typical hydrodynamic erosion characteristics in erosion cavities, subsurface voids, and material upheaving. The results of microhardness analysis showed an approximately 15-20% increase in hardness values compared to the untreated samples