Towards an In-depth Understanding of Deep Packet Inspection Using a Suite of Industrial Control Systems Protocol Packets

Industrial control systems (ICS) are increasingly at risk and vulnerable to internal and external threats. These systems are integral part of our nation’s critical infrastructures. Consequently, a successful cyberattack on one of these could present disastrous consequences to human life and property as well. It is imperative that cybersecurity professionals gain a good understanding of these systems particularly in the area of communication protocols. Traditional Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) are made to encapsulate some of these ICS protocols which may enable malicious payload to get through the network firewall and thus, gain entry into the network. This paper describes technical details on various ICS protocols and a suite of ICS protocol packets for the purpose of providing digital forensic materials for laboratory exercises toward a better understanding of the inner workings of ICS communications. Further, these artifacts can be useful in devising deep packet inspection (DPI) strategies that can be implemented in network firewalls, in expanding challenge materials for cyber competitions, and in attribution, vulnerability assessment, and penetration testing research in ICS security. We also present software tools that are available for free download on the Internet that could be used to generate simulated ICS and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) communication packets for research and pedagogical purposes. Finally, we conclude the paper by presenting possible research avenues that can be pursued as extensions to this seminal work on ICS security. Prominent among these possible extensions is the expansion of the ICS packet suite to include those protocols in the wireless domain such as Wi-Fi (802.11), Bluetooth, Zigbee, and other protocols that utilizes proprietary Radio Frequency

Tensor gauge fields in arbitrary representations of GL(D,R): II. Quadratic actions

Quadratic, second-order, non-local actions for tensor gauge fields transforming in arbitrary irreducible representations of the general linear group in D-dimensional Minkowski space are explicitly written in a compact form by making use of Levi-Civita tensors. The field equations derived from these actions ensure the propagation of the correct massless physical degrees of freedom and are shown to be equivalent to non-Lagrangian local field equations proposed previously. Moreover, these actions allow a frame-like reformulation a la MacDowell-Mansouri, without any trace constraint in the tangent indices.Comment: LaTeX, 53 pages, no figure. Accepted for publication in Communications in Mathematical Physics. Local Fierz-Pauli programme achieved by completing the analysis of Labastid

Madera enigmática y primera evidencia de tetrápodos en Formación Yaguarí (Pérmico medio-superior), Uruguay

This article describes an intriguing fossil material recently found in the fine-grained sandstone levels from the upper section of the Yaguarí Formation of Uruguay. The nature of this specimen and its relationships were, initially, not easy to determine with confidence although it was subjected to several analyses, such as morphological and comparative examination complemented with preparation of thin sections and microanatomical and chemical studies under SEM. However, the anatomical structure shown in the performed transversal thin sections allowed solving the issue on the different animal or plant interpretations of the fossil specimen, which was finally discerned in favor of the latter. Therefore, after a detailed comparative study of the thin sections, we concluded that the specimen is a wood fragment related to the Dadoxylon-Araucarioxylon complex. Moreover, in order to provide a better biostratigraphic calibration for these deposits until now devoid of fossils, we include a preliminary description of recently found fossil footprints, which represent the first evidence of the presence of tetrapods in levels of the Yaguarí Formation (sensu Elizalde et al., 1970), below the conglomerates that have yielded the Colonia Orozco Fauna. The footprints were preliminary assigned to the ichnotaxa cf. Karoopes isp, cf. Capitosauroides isp., and cf. Pachypes isp., suggesting the presence of gorgonopsids and therocephalian therapsids and pareiasauromorphs, respectively. The Middle-Late Permian age recently suggested for the Yaguarí Formation based on paleomagnetic and radioisotopic studies is here supported by the described fossils, which thus constitute preliminary but nonetheless relevant discoveries for deposits whose fossiliferous potential has yet to be explored.Este artículo describe un intrigante fósil recientemente descubierto en niveles de areniscas finas a medias de la sección superior de la Formación Yaguarí de Uruguay. La naturaleza y las afinidades de este espécimen no fueron inicialmente fáciles de determinar, a pesar de ser sometido a numerosos estudios, incluido un análisis anatómico-comparativo complementado con la preparación de secciones delgadas y análisis de su microestructura bajo Microscopio Electrónico de Barrido. La microestructura mostrada por las láminas delgadas en corte transversal permitió finalmente resolver el problema sobre discernir entre una naturaleza animal o vegetal del espécimen, siendo la última la aceptada. El detallado estudio comparativo de las secciones delgadas reveló que el espécimen es un fragmento de madera relacionado al complejo Dadoxylon-Araucarioxylon. Asimismo, para proveer una mejor calibración temporal de los depósitos de la sección superior de la Formación Yaguarí (Miembro Villa Viñoles), también se incluye en este trabajo una descripción preliminar de huellas de tetrápodos recientemente halladas en esta unidad, las cuales representan la primera evidencia de la presencia de tetrápodos en niveles de la Formación Yaguarí (sensu Elizalde et al., 1970) subyacentes a los conglomerados portadores de la Fauna de Colonia Orozco. Las huellas fueron asignadas a los icnotaxa cf. Karoopes isp., cf. Capitosauroides isp. y cf. Pachypes isp., sugiriendo la presencia de terápsidos gorgonópsidos y therocefalidos y de pareiasauromorfos, respectivamente. La edad Pérmico Medio a Tardío recientemente sugerida para la Formación Yaguarí, basado en estudios de paleomagnetismo sustentados por dataciones radioisotópicas, es congruente con la aportada por los fósiles aquí descriptos, que, aunque fragmentarios, constituyen descubrimientos preliminarmente relevantes para depósitos cuyo potencial fosilífero no ha sido aún explorado.CSIC: I+D 2016_24

Higher spin interactions with scalar matter on constant curvature spacetimes: conserved current and cubic coupling generating functions

Cubic couplings between a complex scalar field and a tower of symmetric tensor gauge fields of all ranks are investigated on any constant curvature spacetime of dimension d>2. Following Noether's method, the gauge fields interact with the scalar field via minimal coupling to the conserved currents. A symmetric conserved current, bilinear in the scalar field and containing up to r derivatives, is obtained for any rank r from its flat spacetime counterpart in dimension d+1, via a radial dimensional reduction valid precisely for the mass-square domain of unitarity in (anti) de Sitter spacetime of dimension d. The infinite collection of conserved currents and cubic vertices are summarized in a compact form by making use of generating functions and of the Weyl/Wigner quantization on constant curvature spaces.Comment: 35+1 pages, v2: two references added, typos corrected, enlarged discussions in Subsection 5.2 and in Conclusion, to appear in JHE

Dynamics of Higher Spin Fields and Tensorial Space

The structure and the dynamics of massless higher spin fields in various dimensions are reviewed with an emphasis on conformally invariant higher spin fields. We show that in D=3,4,6 and 10 dimensional space-time the conformal higher spin fields constitute the quantum spectrum of a twistor-like particle propagating in tensorial spaces of corresponding dimensions. We give a detailed analysis of the field equations of the model and establish their relation with known formulations of free higher spin field theory.Comment: JHEP3 style, 40 pages; v2 typos corrected, comments and references added; v3 published versio

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707