On the complexity of collaborative cyber crime investigations

This article considers the challenges faced by digital evidence specialists when collaborating with other specialists and agencies in other jurisdictions when investigating cyber crime. The opportunities, operational environment and modus operandi of a cyber criminal are considered, with a view to developing the skills and procedural support that investigators might usefully consider in order to respond more effectively to the investigation of cyber crimes across State boundaries

HOW IMPORTANT ARE DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENTS TO ACHIEVING THE MDGS?

Food Security and Poverty,

Public ICT Procurement - Maximising Quality Whilst Minimising Risk

The authors have liaised with the UK Government over time to highlight the risks associated with the procurement of ICT systems in the public sector and how they should best be addressed, given its unfortunate history of failed projects and the current systems security agenda. Their focus has been the integral issue of the assurance of software quality. This resulted in their being invited to submit independent “Third Party Guidance” which covers both the available procurement process options and the technical issues and opportunities (drawing on lessons from Industry). The guidance was submitted in February 2013, and after due consideration, it has now been circulated to Government teams that have an interest in this area, including the Government Procurement Service itself. There were two main components to the guidance: Technical aspects and Procurement processes. Technical aspects: There are industrial standards to ensure process quality for both hardware and software. The software component of any system is usually the most problematic, in part because there are a number of different, existing standards. These vary from the largely arbitrary and advisory (e.g. Carnegie Mellon Software Institute’s Capability Maturity Model, Level Five (CMM5)) to the prescriptive (e.g. Avionics’ DO-178b). In addition, the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association (MISRA) has a range of programming standards, which are adopted worldwide. CMM5 has been used in the procurement of public sector systems, but this falls short of what is required, and so greater emphasis should be placed on the level of criticality involved in systems. There are many causes for problems. Some of these are perceived (e.g. avaricious ICT suppliers fool the naïve civil servants and Government ministers), some are root causes (e.g. changing requirements impacting on bolt-on protective and corrective actions) and some are faulty assumptions (e.g. using tried and trusted systems as the basis for new systems will lead to more reliability). There are potential solutions to the problems facing Government Acquired Software, which have different merits. They include: contractual mechanisms; requirements freeze; wrappers; and agile techniques. Lessons should be learned from industries with consistent, successful records of implementing software systems: Nuclear, Avionics and Telecommunications. Specific ways in which the risks inherent in public sector software-based systems can be reduced were then recommended. Procurement processes: Whilst public procurement processes usually place responsibility for the efficacy of software squarely with the providers, failures still occur. A basic premise in the purchase of any artefact is the balance between price and quality, with the general rule (assumed) that the higher the quality the higher the price. Yet the particular problem for information systems is that there is usually no discernable quality assessment visible to either the purchaser or even the provider. Three options were presented for improving procurement processes to minimise the risks associated with poor-quality software: Accreditation Approach; Consortia Approach; and, Contract Requirement. The latter was recommended as the most practical way forward, which can be quickly acted upon. The ongoing collection and collation of results from related audits can then strengthen Government intelligence

‘A Proper Night Out':Alcohol and risk among young people in deprived areas in North West England

Young people’s very visible and public performances of drunkenness have become a matter of popular and political concern. English alcohol policy, frames this type of harmful alcohol consumption as a problem of individual behaviour, which is underpinned by conceptualisations of risk and rationality. Thus positioning the individual as a rational, risk adverse, decision maker. Consequently, interventions focus on risk factors and individual harm reduction models, despite there being little evidence to suggest that these type of interventions are effective. This thesis moves away from this focus by using a social practice theoretical framework, to explore the contemporary drinking practices of young people from socio-economically deprived areas and to reconceptualise risk in relation to these practices. This study draws on data from three mixed gender friendship groups of twenty-three young people from deprived communities in the North West of England during a 14-month period. This study focuses on the alcohol consumption of young people from deprived communities in northern England because they are the group whose drinking has frequently been the most problematised in English alcohol policy. In addition, people living in disadvantaged communities have been shown to suffer from more alcohol attributable harms than those living in more affluent communities. During the study period, data was collected from three to four in-depth group interviews with each group and from the social media content of each young person. The study draws on the theoretical frame of the three element model of social practice together with ‘doing gender’ and conceptualisations of Bourdieu’s capital, to undertake an empirical enquiry of alcohol consumption, that explores the unequal and varying performance(s) of the practice. This study illustrates how a specific material arrangement of alcohol, the corporeal, spaces, finance and mobile phones; combines and interconnects with social and symbolic meanings of social recognition, sociability, caring and group belonging and with competences relating to the consumption of alcohol and staying safe. By doing so, a recognizable practice-as-entity is identified, which is framed as a proper night out. The study re-conceptualises risk as routine, ordinary and normalised within young people’s intoxicated drinking practices. Thus, risk is viewed as being complex, multi-layered and fluid and knowledge about moderating and navigating hazards and uncertainties is part of the (un)conscious, embodied know-how of the practice

Cyber-Crime Investigations: Complex Collaborative Decision Making

This paper reports on the challenges computer forensic investigators face in relation to collaborative decision making, communication and coordination. The opportunities, operational environment and modus operandi of a cyber criminal are considered and used to develop the requirements in terms of both skill sets and procedural support a forensics investigator should have in order to respond to the respective threat vectors. As such, we show how a published framework for systemic thinking can be fit fir purpose for supporting the collaborative enquiry and decision making process

Site-specific and geographical segmental social, environmental and ethical disclosures by the Ghanaian mining sector

Purpose: This paper explores the extent of site-specific and geographic segmental social, environmental and ethical reporting by mining companies operating in Ghana. We aim to: (i) establish a picture of corporate transparency relating to geographic segmentation of social, environmental and ethical reporting which is specific to operating sites and country of operation, and; (ii) gauge the impact of the introduction of integrated reporting on site-specific social, environmental and ethical reporting. Methodology/Approach: We conducted an interpretive content analysis of the annual/integrated reports of mining companies for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 in order to extract site-specific social, environmental and ethical information relating to the companies’ mining operations in Ghana. Findings and Implications: We found that site-specific social, environmental and ethical reporting is extremely patchy and inconsistent between the companies’ reports studied. We also found that there was no information relating to certain sites, which were in operation, according to the Ghana Minerals Commission. This could simply be because operations were not in progress. Alternatively it could be that decisions are made concerning which site-specific information is reported according to a certain benchmark. One policy implication arising from this research is that IFRS should require geographic segmental reporting of material social, environmental and ethical information in order to bring IFRS into line with global developments in integrated reporting. Originality: Although there is a wealth of sustainability reporting research and an emergent literature on integrated reporting, there is currently no academic research exploring site-specific social, environmental and ethical reportin

Functional reconstruction of a eukaryotic-like E1/E2/(RING) E3 ubiquitylation cascade from an uncultured archaeon.

The covalent modification of protein substrates by ubiquitin regulates a diverse range of critical biological functions. Although it has been established that ubiquitin-like modifiers evolved from prokaryotic sulphur transfer proteins it is less clear how complex eukaryotic ubiquitylation system arose and diversified from these prokaryotic antecedents. The discovery of ubiquitin, E1-like, E2-like and small-RING finger (srfp) protein components in the Aigarchaeota and the Asgard archaea superphyla has provided a substantive step toward addressing this evolutionary question. Encoded in operons, these components are likely representative of the progenitor apparatus that founded the modern eukaryotic ubiquitin modification systems. Here we report that these proteins from the archaeon Candidatus 'Caldiarchaeum subterraneum' operate together as a bona fide ubiquitin modification system, mediating a sequential ubiquitylation cascade reminiscent of the eukaryotic process. Our observations support the hypothesis that complex eukaryotic ubiquitylation signalling pathways have developed from compact systems originally inherited from an archaeal ancestor

The quality assessment of commercial Lycium berries using LC-ESI-MS/MS and chemometrics

Lycium (also known as Goji berry) is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with claimed benefits, including eye and liver protection, immune system fortification and blood glucose control. The commercially available product comes from either the L. barbarum or L. chinense species, with the former dominating the marketplace due to its better taste profile. The main objective of this study was to develop a validated LC-ESI-MS/MS method to quantify multiple key bio-active analytes in commercially available Lycium berries and to qualitatively assess these samples using a principal component analysis (PCA). A LC-ESI-MS/MS method for the quantitation of seven analytes selected using the Herbal Chemical Marker Ranking System (Herb MaRS) was developed. The Herb MaRS ranking system considered bioavailability, bioactivity and physiological action of each target analyte, its intended use and the commercial availability of an analytical standard. After method optimization combining high resolving power with selective detection, seven analytes were quantified and the Lycium samples were quantitatively profiled. Chromatographic spectra were also obtained using longer run-time LC-UV and GC-MS methods in order to qualitatively assess the samples using a principal component analysis (PCA). The result of the method validation procedure was a 15.5 min LC-ESI-MS/MS method developed for the quantification of seven analytes in commercial Lycium samples. Wide variation in analyte concentration was observed with the following results (analyte range in mg/g): rutin, 16.1–49.2; narcissin, 0.37–1.65; nictoflorin, 0.26–0.78; coumaric acid, 6.84–12.2; scopoletin, 0.33–2.61; caffeic acid, 0.08–0.32; chlorogenic acid, 1.1–9.12. The quantitative results for the L. barbarum and L. chinense species samples indicate that they cannot be di_erentiated based on the bio-actives tested. A qualitative assessment using PCA generated from un-targeted LC-UV and GC-MS phytochemical spectra led to the same conclusion. The un-targeted quantitative and qualitative phytochemical profiling indicates that commercial L. barbarum and L. chinense cannot be distinguished using chemical analytical methods. Genetic fingerprinting and pharmacological testing may be needed to ensure the efficacy of commercial Lycium in order to validate label claims