Malicious traffic analysis in wireless sensor networks using advanced signal processing techniques

The recent advances in micro-sensor hardware technologies, along with the invention of energy-efficient protocols, have enabled a world-wide spread in wireless sensor networks deployment. These networks are used for a large number of purposes, while having small maintenance and deployment costs. However, as these are usually unattended networks, several security threats have emerged. In this work, we show how an adversary can overhear the encrypted wireless transmissions, and detect the periodic components of the wireless traffic that can further reveal the application used in the sensor network. Traffic analysis is performed in a very energy-efficient way using the compressed sensing principles. Furthermore, the periodic components are detected using the Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique. © 2013 IEEE

The impact of interference on the performance of a multi-path metropolitan wireless mesh network

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have attracted much attention lately for providing efficiently wireless services with high quality of service (QoS). Metropolitan WMNs are a low-cost solution for providing broadband wireless internet access in large areas. One of the fundamental issues of wireless communications is interference. In WMNs interference can be caused by simultaneous transmissions at links internal to the mesh network or by external sources. In this work we perform extensive measurements in a multi-radio metropolitan WMN deployed in the city of Heraklion, Greece. The basic goal is to investigate the impact of interference on the performance of the multi-path WMN. Towards that goal, we perform measurements with FTP, video streaming and raw data traffic for two scenarios, one with an efficient channel assignment (CA) that accounts for interference and another with a random CA that results in high internal and external interference in the network. The results prove that interference creates severe performance degradation, with regards to high delay, high packet losses, low throughput and low signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR). As a result, the metropolitan WMN becomes unable to support multi-path flows and demanding applications with an acceptable QoS. © 2011 IEEE

Denial-of-service attacks in wireless networks using off-the-shelf hardware

Wireless network technologies offer ubiquitous broadband access to millions of users at an affordable cost. However, the broadband nature of the wireless medium make these networks vulnerable to a number of attacks. Malicious interference at the physical layer, and extended packet collisions at the medium access layer can cause significant DoS attacks. In this work, we show how off-the-shelf hardware can be used to create devastating DoS attacks in a IEEE 802.11 network. Moreover, we present two algorithms for attack detection that are based on the cumulative sum algorithm. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

Macroeconomic Scenarios for the Euro-Mediterranean Area Quantification based on the GEM-E3 Model. MEDPRO Report No. 7, July 2013

Four alternative macroeconomic scenarios for southern Mediterranean countries are quantified in this study with the use of GEM-E3, a general equilibrium model. These are i) the continuation of current policies (business-as-usual scenario), ii) southern Mediterranean–EU cooperation (Euro-Mediterranean Union scenario), iii) a global opening of the southern Mediterranean countries and cooperation with the rest of the Middle East and other developing countries like China (Euro-Mediterranean alliance scenario), and iv) a deterioration in the regional political climate and a failure of cooperation (Euro-Mediterranean under threat scenario). Explicit assumptions on trade integration, infrastructure upgrade, population and governance developments are adopted in each scenario. The simulation results indicate that an infrastructure upgrade and governance improvements in the context of southern Mediterranean–EU cooperation could benefit most of the countries under consideration. The analysis remains important in light of ongoing regional developments and the need to design the best policies to pursue in the aftermath of the Arab spring

Quantitative Reference Scenario for the MEDPRO Project. MEDPRO Report No. 6, May 2013

In general equilibrium models the reference scenario is important, as the evaluation of the alternative policies modelled is based on their deviation from the reference scenario. The reference scenario relates to the development of an economic outlook for each region and sector of the model. This means that assumptions are made about the main drivers of growth, e.g. population growth and technical progress. This report provides the main assumptions used for the development of the reference scenario in the MEDPRO project. The report also provides a brief country and sectoral overview for each of the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries covered by the MEDPRO project

GEM-E3 Model Documentation

The computable general equilibrium model GEM-E3 has been used in a large set of climate policy applications supporting Commission policy proposals during the last decade, as well as in other environmental and economic policy areas. It can be considered a multi-purpose macroeconomic model, designed to estimate the effects of sector-specific policies on the economy as a whole. The main purpose of this publication is to provide extensive documentation of the model's equations and its underlying databases, in order to offer to the broader audience an accurate description of the model characteristics.JRC.J.1-Economics of Climate Change, Energy and Transpor

A lightweight framework for secure life-logging in smart environments

As the world becomes an interconnected network where objects and humans interact with each other, new challenges and threats appear in the ecosystem. In this interconnected world, smart objects have an important role in giving users the chance for life-logging in smart environments. However, smart devices have several limitations with regards to memory, resources and computation power, hindering the opportunity to apply well-established security algorithms and techniques for secure life-logging on the Internet of Things (IoT) domain. The need for secure and trustworthy life-logging in smart environments is vital, thus, a lightweight approach has to be considered to overcome the constraints of smart objects. The purpose of this paper is to present in details the current topics of life-logging in smart environments, while describing interconnection issues, security threats and suggesting a lightweight framework for ensuring security, privacy and trustworthy life-logging. In order to investigate the efficiency of the lightweight framework and the impact of the security attacks on energy consumption, an experimental test-bed was developed including two interconnected users and one smart attacker, who attempts to intercept transmitted messages or interfere with the communication link. Several mitigation factors, such as power control, channel assignment and AES-128 encryption were pplied for secure life-logging. Finally, research into the degradation of the consumed energy regarding the described intrusions is presented

Design and performance evaluation of a lightweight wireless early warning intrusion detection prototype

The proliferation of wireless networks has been remarkable during the last decade. The license-free nature of the ISM band along with the rapid proliferation of the Wi-Fi-enabled devices, especially the smart phones, has substantially increased the demand for broadband wireless access. However, due to their open nature, wireless networks are susceptible to a number of attacks. In this work, we present anomaly-based intrusion detection algorithms for the detection of three types of attacks: (i) attacks performed on the same channel legitimate clients use for communication, (ii) attacks on neighbouring channels, and (iii) severe attacks that completely block network's operation. Our detection algorithms are based on the cumulative sum change-point technique and they execute on a real lightweight prototype based on a limited resource mini-ITX node. The performance evaluation shows that even with limited hardware resources, the prototype can detect attacks with high detection rates and a few false alarms. © 2012 Fragkiadakis et al

Limited emission reductions from fuel subsidy removal except in energy exporting regions

Hopes are high that removing fossil fuel subsidies could help to mitigate climate change by discouraging inefficient energy consumption and levelling the playing field for renewables1–3. In September 2016, the G20 countries re-affirmed their 2009 commitment (at the G20 Leaders’ Summit) to phase out fossil fuel subsidies4,5 and many national governments are using today’s low oil prices as an opportunity to do so6–9. In practical terms, this means abandoning policies that decrease the price of fossil fuels and electricity generated from fossil fuels to below normal market prices10,11. However, whether the removal of subsidies, even if implemented worldwide, would have a large impact on climate change mitigation has not been systematically explored. Here we show that fossil fuel subsidy removal would have a small impact on global energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions and would not increase renewable energy use by 2030. Subsidy removal would reduce the carbon price necessary to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration at 550 parts per million by only 2–12 per cent under low oil prices. Removing subsidies in most regions would deliver smaller emission reductions than the Paris Agreement (2015) climate pledges and in some regions global subsidy removal may actually lead to an increase in emissions, owing to either coal replacing subsidized oil and natural gas or natural-gas use shifting from subsidizing, energy-exporting regions to non-subsidizing, importing regions. Our results show that subsidy removal would result in the largest CO2 emission reductions in oil- and gas-exporting regions, where reductions would exceed their climate pledges and where subsidy removal would also affect fewer people below the poverty line than in lower-income regions