Automatic Generation of Correlation Rules to Detect Complex Attack Scenarios

International audienceIn large distributed information systems, alert correlation systems are necessary to handle the huge amount of elementary security alerts and to identify complex multi-step attacks within the flow of low level events and alerts. In this paper, we show that, once a human expert has provided an action tree derived from an attack tree, a fully automated transformation process can generate exhaustive correlation rules that would be tedious and error prone to enumerate by hand. The transformation relies on a detailed description of various aspects of the real execution environment (topology of the system, deployed services, etc.). Consequently, the generated correlation rules are tightly linked to the characteristics of the monitored information system. The proposed transformation process has been implemented in a prototype that generates correlation rules expressed in an attack description language

Évaluation des risques que comporte l’exposition aux gras trans au Canada

Trans fats are undesirable because they raise LDL-cholesterol and lower HDL-cholesterol levels in the blood, which can lead to an increased risk of coronary heart disease. In the mid-1990\u27s, researchers estimated that Canadians had one of the highest average trans fat intakes in the world, estimated to be approximately 3.7% of energy. The World Health Organization recommends that average intakes of trans fats should be less than 1% of total energy. As such Canada has pursued a multi-faceted approach to decrease trans fat levels in Canadian foods. Initiatives undertaken include: mandatory nutrition labelling, the establishment of a multi-stakeholder Trans Fat Task Force to develop recommendations and strategies to eliminate trans fat in Canadian foods, and most recently the monitoring of industry\u27s efforts in reducing trans fats from their food products. Collectively, these initiatives have proven successful as average trans fat intakes have been reduced to 1.42% of overall energy. Further reductions in trans fat levels in the Canadian food supply are needed to meet the target of 1% of energy, the associated public health objectives, and the protection of vulnerable populations.Les gras trans sont indésirables, car ils augmentent la concentration sanguine en cholestérol à lipoprotéines de faible densité et abaissent celle en cholestérol à lipoprotéines de haute densité, ce qui peut mener à un risque accru de coronaropathie. Au milieu des années 1990, les chercheurs ont estimé quʹau sein de la population canadienne les apports en gras trans comptaient au nombre des plus élevés au monde en atteignant environ 3,7% de l’apport énergétique. Selon la recommandation de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, l’apport moyen en gras trans devrait être inférieur à 1% de l’apport énergétique total. Par conséquent, le Canada a adopté une démarche à volets multiples visant à diminuer la teneur en gras trans des aliments canadiens. Les initiatives entreprises sont les suivantes: l’étiquetage nutritionnel obligatoire, l’établissement dʹun groupe de travail multilatéral, soit le Groupe d’étude surles graisses trans, dans le but d’élaborer des recommandations et des stratégies ciblant l’élimination des gras trans dans l’approvisionnement alimentaire canadien et, plus récemment, la surveillance des efforts investis par l’industrie dans la diminution des gras trans contenus dans ses produits. De concert, ces initiatives ont été couronnées de succès alors que l’apport moyen en gras trans a atteint 1,42% de l’apport énergétique total. D’autres réductions de la teneur en gras trans de l’approvisionnement alimentaire au Canada sont essentielles pour atteindre pleinement la cible de 1% de l’apport énergétique ainsi que les objectifs afférents en matière de santé publique et de protection des populations vulnérables

The impact of four years of semiannual treatments with albendazole alone on lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections: A community-based study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization now recommends semiannual mass drug administration (MDA) of albendazole with integrated vector management as an option for eliminating lymphatic filariasis (LF) in areas of loiasis-endemic countries where it may not be safe to use diethylcarbamazine or ivermectin in MDA programs. However, the published evidence base to support this policy is thin, and uptake by national programs has been slow. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a community trial to assess the impact of semiannual MDA on lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections (STH) in two villages in the Bandundu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with moderately high prevalences for LF and hookworm infections. MDA with albendazole was provided every six months from June 2014 to December 2017 with treatment coverages of the eligible population (all ≥ 2 year of age) that ranged between 56% and 88%. No adverse effects were reported during the trial. Evaluation at 48 months, (i.e. 6 months after the 8th round of MDA), showed that W. bancrofti microfilaremia (Mf) prevalence in the study communities had decreased between 2014 to 2018 from 12% to 0.9% (p\u3c0.001). The prevalence of W. bancrofti antigenemia was also significantly reduced from 31.6% to 8.5% (p\u3c0.001). MDA with albendazole also reduced hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infection prevalences in the community from 58.6% to 21.2% (p\u3c0.001), from 14.0% to 1.6% and 4.1% to 2.9%, respectively. Hookworm and Ascaris infection intensities were reduced by 93% (p = 0.02) and 57% (p = 0.03), respectively. In contrast, Trichuris infection intensity was not significantly reduced by MDA (p = 0.61) over this time period. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These results provide strong evidence that semiannual MDA with albendazole alone is a safe and effective strategy for LF elimination in Central Africa. Community MDA also had a major impact on STH infections

Results from 2 cohort studies in central Africa show that clearance of Wuchereria bancrofti infection after repeated rounds of mass drug administration with albendazole alone is closely linked to individual adherence

BACKGROUND: Two community trials conducted from 2012 to 2018 in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrated the efficacy of semiannual mass drug administration (MDA) with albendazole (ALB) alone on lymphatic filariasis (LF). However, a high interindividual heterogeneity in the clearance of infection was observed. METHODS: We analyzed trial data to assess the effect of individual adherence to ALB MDA on clearance of circulating filarial antigenemia (CFA) and microfilaremia. Community residents were offered a single dose of ALB every 6 months and tested for LF with a rapid test for CFA at baseline and then annually. CFA test results were scored on a semiquantitative scale. At each round, microfilaremia was assessed in CFA-positive individuals. All CFA-positive individuals for whom at least 1 follow-up measure was available were included in the analyses. Parametric survival models were used to assess the influence of treatment adherence on LF infection indicators. RESULTS: Of 2658 individuals enrolled in the trials, 394 and 129 were eligible for analysis of CFA and microfilaremia clearance, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, and initial CFA score, the predicted mean time for clearing CFA was shorter in persons who had taken 2 doses of ALB per year (3.9 years) than in persons who had taken 1 or 0 dose (4.4 and 5.3 years; P \u3c .001 for both). A similar pattern was observed for microfilaremia clearance. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate a clear dose-response relationship for the effect of ALB on clearance of CFA and microfilaremia

Diabetes and COVID-19 in Congolese patients

Background: The global pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is reported to be potentially severe in patients with morbid conditions. One common reported comorbidities is diabetes. We aimed in this study to precise the clinical characteristics and outcomes in a series of congolese diabetic patients affected by COVID-19 infection. Patients and methods: We retrospectely studied from 256 COVID-19 patients, a cohort of 30 persons with previously known diabetes. The glycaemia controls have been obtained by plasma glucose assay. All patients have been tested positive to SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR method. Results: The COVID-19 diabetic patients represented 11,7% of all COVID-19 patients with confidence interval of 95% [7,77-15,65]. Older individuals and male sex were predominent. Dyspnea and sauration of oxygen < 90 were significatives and added risk factors were noted in 63.3% of patients, particulary hyperglycaemia with hypertension or obesity. The mortality rate at the percentage of 36.7% was more prevalent in patients with added comorbidities (30%) versus without comorbidities (6.7%). Conclusion: Congolese COVID-19 diabetic patients of male sex and older age exhibiting arterial hypertension and obesity are the most exposed to severe COVID-19 and increasead mortality rate

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino de tector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower-or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino detector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower- or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation