Legal issues in clouds: towards a risk inventory.

Cloud computing technologies have reached a high level of development, yet a number of obstacles still exist that must be overcome before widespread commercial adoption can become a reality. In a cloud environment, end users requesting services and cloud providers negotiate service-level agreements (SLAs) that provide explicit statements of all expectations and obligations of the participants. If cloud computing is to experience widespread commercial adoption, then incorporating risk assessment techniques is essential during SLA negotiation and service operation. This article focuses on the legal issues surrounding risk assessment in cloud computing. Specifically, it analyses risk regarding data protection and security, and presents the requirements of an inherent risk inventory. The usefulness of such a risk inventory is described in the context of the OPTIMIS project

Electric Power System Anomaly Detection Using Neural Networks

Wellington, New Zealand, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligenc

Social and Cyber Factors Interacting over the Infrastructures: A MAS Framework for Security Analysis

Critical infrastructures are usually characterized by a network structure in which many technical devices interact on a physical layer, being monitored and controlled throughout a cyber network in charge of conveying commands/measurements from/to the decision making centers run by the human decision makers or automatic controllers at the top of this complex system. This chapter presents a general framework for the analysis of the security of critical infrastructures in terms of three different interacting layers: the physical layer, the cyber layer, and the decision-making layer. In this framework a multi-agent system is introduced to model the interaction of the various players, and the analysis of the security control against natural failures or malicious attacks is conceptually discussed with reference to the interconnected power systems. With each layer is associated a set of metrics able to characterize the layer with respect to its operation and security and that can account for the interactions among the various layers. In this chapter we will show a possible application for the quantitative assessment of the impact of information in system security, by comparing different information scenarios and then identifying and ranking the most critical information. The aim of the framework is to provide a comprehensive viewpoint of the system robustness or security which takes into account not only physical operation but also the cyber and social (organizational and human) factors to support better security analysis for critical infrastructure

Safety, efficacy and impact on frailty of mini-invasive radial balloon aortic valvuloplasty

Objective The study was designed to: (1) confirm safety and feasibility of mini-invasive radial balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV); (2) assess its impact in terms of quality of life and frailty; and (3) evaluate whether changes in frailty after BAV are associated with death in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Methods 330 patients undergoing BAV in 16 Italian centres were prospectively included. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major and minor Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 bleeding. Secondary endpoints were scales of quality of life, frailty, evaluated at baseline and 30 days, and their relationship with the occurrence of all-cause death. Results BAV was performed by radial access in 314 (95%) patients. No VARC-2 major and six (1.8%) VARC-2 minor bleedings occurred in the study population. Quality of life, as well as frailty status, significantly improved 30 days after BAV. At 1 year, patients undergoing TAVI with baseline essential frailty toolset (EFT) <3 or achieving an EFT <3 after BAV had a comparable occurrence of all-cause death (15% vs 19%, p=0.58). On the contrary, patients with EFT ≥3 at 30 days despite BAV showed the worst prognosis (all-cause death: 40% vs 15% and 19%, p=0.006 and p=0.05, respectively). Conclusions Mini-invasive radial BAV is safe, feasible and associated with a low rate of vascular complications. Patients improving EFT 30 days after BAV showed a favourable outcome after TAVI. Trial registration number NCT03087552

Dual antiplatelet therapy duration after coronary stenting in clinical practice: results of an EAPCI survey

Aims: Our aim was to report on a survey initiated by the EuropeanAssociation of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) concerning opinion on the evidence relating to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration after coronary stenting.Methods and results: Results from three randomised clinical trials were scheduled to be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2014 (ARIA 2014). A web-based survey was distributed to all individuals registered in the EuroIntervention mailing list (n=15,200) both before and after ARIA 2014. A total of 1,134 physicians responded to the first (i.e., before AHA 2014) and 542 to the second (i.e., after ARIA 2014) survey. The majority of respondents interpreted trial results consistent with a substantial equipoise regarding the benefits and risks of an extended versus a standard DAPT strategy. Two respondents out of ten believed extended DAFT should be implemented in selected patients. After ARIA 2014, 46.1% of participants expressed uncertainty about the available evidence on DAFT duration, and 40.0% the need for clinical guidance.Conclusions: This EAPCI survey highlights considerable uncertainty within the medical community with regard to the optimal duration of DAFT after coronary stenting in the light of recent reported trial results. Updated recommendations for practising physicians to guide treatment decisions in routine clinical practice should be provided by international societies