Automating the Generation of Cyber Range Virtual Scenarios with VSDL

A cyber range is an environment used for training security experts and testing attack and defence tools and procedures. Usually, a cyber range simulates one or more critical infrastructures that attacking (red) and defending (blue) teams must compromise and protect, respectively. The infrastructure can be physically assembled, but much more convenient is to rely on the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) paradigm. Although some modern technologies support the IaaS, the design and deployment of scenarios of interest is mostly a manual operation. As a consequence, it is a common practice to have a cyber range hosting few (sometimes only one), consolidated scenarios. However, reusing the same scenario may significantly reduce the effectiveness of the training and testing sessions. In this paper, we propose a framework for automating the definition and deployment of arbitrarily complex cyber range scenarios. The framework relies on the virtual scenario description language (VSDL), i.e., a domain-specific language for defining high-level features of the desired infrastructure while hiding low-level details. The semantics of VSDL is given in terms of constraints that must be satisfied by the virtual infrastructure. These constraints are then submitted to an SMT solver for checking the satisfiability of the specification. If satisfiable, the specification gives rise to a model that is automatically converted to a set of deployment scripts to be submitted to the IaaS provider

Short Supply Chain of Waste Flows: Designing Local Networks for Landscape Regeneration

Creating a circular economy poses multiple challenges yet has social opportunity. It represents a key approach to implement the management of more sustainable waste flows to achieve win-win solutions consistent with the EU environment goals, and with the social-economic expectations. As part of the comprehensive outcomes of the EU funded research project REPAIR, the paper presents the results for new technological soils, designed with the aim of implementing the number of products coming from the recycling of both C&D waste and organic waste. The paper discusses the technical issues of this solution in the framework of the specific characteristic of its supply chain. The research aim is focused on the design approach, working on the new products and process at once. Further, the project highlights the importance of dedicated local networks for sharing knowledge in between different stakeholders and experts, and for promoting innovation at local scales

SOURCE: a semi-automatic tool for spring-monitoring data analysis and aquifer characterisation

It has become increasingly necessary to optimise mountain groundwater resource management and comprehend resourcerecharging systems from a hydrogeological perspective to formulate adequate resource protection strategies. Analysing mountain spring behaviour and aquifer characteristics can be time-consuming, so new automated techniques and software tools are needed to estimate hydrogeological parameters and understand the exhaustion dynamics of groundwater resources. This paper introduces SOURCE, a new semi-automatic tool that automates the hydrogeological characterisation of water springs and provides proper estimations of the vulnerability index, as well as autocorrelation and cross-correlation statistical coefficients. SOURCE rapidly processed input data from the Mascognaz 1 spring (Aosta Valley) water probes and meteorological station to provide graphical outputs and values for the main hydrodynamic parameters. Having a single software package that contains all the main methods of water spring analysis could potentially reduce analysis times from a few days to a few hours

ZenHackAdemy: Ethical Hacking @ DIBRIS

Cybersecurity attacks are on the rise, and the current response is not effective enough. The need for a competent workforce, able to face attackers, is increasing. At the moment, the gap between academia and real-world skills is huge and academia cannot provide students with skills that match those of an attacker. To pass on these skills, teachers have to train students in scenarios as close as possible to real-world ones. Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are a great tool to achieve this goal, since they encourage students to think as an attacker does, thus creating more awareness on the modalities and consequences of an attack. We describe our experience in running an educational activity on ethical hacking, which we proposed to computer science and computer engineering students. We organized seminars, outside formal classes, and provided online support on the hands-on part of the training. We delivered different types of exercises and held a final CTF competition. These activities resulted in growing a community of students and researchers interested in cybersecurity, and some of them have formed ZenHack, an official CTF team

Loss of the candidate tumor suppressor ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) in Sézary syndrome

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a group of incurable extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas that develop from the skin-homing CD4+ T cell. Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are the most common histological subtypes. Although next-generation sequencing data provided significant advances in the comprehension of the genetic basis of this lymphoma, there is not uniform consensus on the identity and prevalence of putative driver genes for this heterogeneous group of tumors. Additional studies may increase the knowledge about the complex genetic etiology characterizing this lymphoma. We used SNP6 arrays and GISTIC algorithm to prioritize a list of focal somatic copy-number alterations in a dataset of multiple sequential samples from 21 Sézary syndrome patients. Our results confirmed a prevalence of significant focal deletions over amplifications: single well-known tumor suppressors, such as TP53, PTEN, and RB1, are targeted by these aberrations. In our cohort, ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) spans a deletion having the highest level of significance. In a larger group of 43 patients, we found that ZEB1 is affected by deletions and somatic inactivating mutations in 46.5% of cases; also, we found potentially relevant ZEB1 germline variants. The survival analysis shows a worse clinical course for patients with ZEB1 biallelic inactivation. Multiple abnormal expression signatures were found associated with ZEB1 depletion in Sézary patients we verified that ZEB1 exerts a role in oxidative response of Sézary cells. Our data confirm the importance of deletions in the pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The characterization of ZEB1 abnormalities in Sézary syndrome fulfils the criteria of a canonical tumor suppressor gene. Although additional confirmations are needed, our findings suggest, for the first time, that ZEB1 germline variants might contribute to the risk of developing this disease. Also, we provide evidence that ZEB1 activity in Sézary cells, influencing the reactive oxygen species production, affects cell viability and apoptosis

Aosta Valley Mountain Springs: A Preliminary Analysis for Understanding Variations in Water Resource Availability under Climate Change

The availability of freshwater resources in mountain areas has been affected by climate change impacts on groundwater storage mechanisms. As a web of complex interactions characterizes climate systems, understanding how water storage conditions have changed in response to climatedriven factors in different Italian contexts is becoming increasingly crucial. In order to comprehend the relationship between changes in weather conditions and water availability in the Aosta Valley region and how their trends have changed over the last decade, a 7-year discharge series of different Aosta Valley springs (Promise, Alpe Perrot, Promiod, Cheserod) and precipitation data are analysed. Precipitation and flow rate trends using the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope trend detection tests were also performed. Not all of the Aosta Valley mountain springs detected seem to respond to the climate variation with a decrease in their stored water resources. Unlike Promiod, Alpe Perrot, Cheserod, and Promise springs have experienced an increase in water discharged amount during the detected 7-year period. This behavior occurs despite the available precipitation data for the associated Sant Vincent, Aymaville-Viayes, La Thuile-Villaret, Champdepraz meteorological stations revealing an overall decreasing trend in annual rainfall (mm), with a slight increase in intensity (mm/day) as a result of the reduction in rainfall events (number of rainy days)

Eco-Innovative Solutions for Wasted Landscapes

The paper focuses on the impact generated by the un-efficient management of waste flows, on both natural environment, and urbanization process, and on the opportunity to invert it by regenerating Wasted Landscapes, i.e. underused, polluted and abandoned sites, especially located in peri-urban areas. This is one of the aims of the REPAiR project, funded in 2016 by the European Commission within the Horizon 2020 framework, developed by University of Naples with TU Delft as Lead Partner. The implementation of multi-scaling/multi-disciplinary approach, for testing out collaborative decision-making, has seen so far the research of a scientific based definition of peri-urban area in the context of the Metropolitan Area of Naples. The selection of the peri-urban areas has also been tested through Living Labs, aimed at designing eco-innovative solutions towards circularity