Design requirements for a cloud-based automated red team in a cyber range for security operations training

Competitions for students, novices, and professionals to practice hacking and cyber defense skills (Conklin 2005; White et al. 2010). In cyber defense competitions teams design, implement, manage, and defend a network of computers and services (Schepens and James 2003). Cyber defense competitions are great learning opportunities for students and professionals. Typically, as in the case of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (https://www.nationalccdc.org/), the competitions consist of multiple blue teams of contestants and multiple red teams that attacks the services and systems that blue team is trying to counteract. An automated attack system needs to be intelligent, have low overhead, be realistic, and be modular (Miller et al. 2018). The components of automated attack systems vary. A patent for a very high-level design of an automated penetration system uses simulators (virtual machines or software that mimics the behavior of computers or networks), an exploit database, storage for scenarios, configuration files, and a penetration testing framework (Futoransky et al. 2013). Other systems can simulate network and user traffic (Rossey et al. 2002). We have so far identified four high-level design requirements: 1) ability to perform many types of attacks, 2) ability to follow a good process, 3) possession of a high-level situational understanding of the scenario, and 4) ease of sanitation and reuse of the simulation. Our continued work will identify more design requirements and areas of research that are needed to further the technological abilities and efficiency of automated red team design

Remote Vibration Estimation Using Displaced-Phase-Center Antenna SAR for Strong Clutter Environments

It has been previously demonstrated that it is possible to perform remote vibrometry using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in conjunction with the discrete fractional Fourier transform (DFrFT). Specifically, the DFrFT estimates the chirp parameters (related to the instantaneous acceleration of a vibrating object) of a slow-time signal associated with the SAR image. However, ground clutter surrounding a vibrating object introduces uncertainties in the estimate of the chirp parameter retrieved via the DFrFT method. To overcome this shortcoming, various techniques based on subspace decomposition of the SAR slow-time signal have been developed. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of these techniques is limited to values of signal-to-clutter ratio ≥5 dB. In this paper, a new vibrometry technique based on displaced-phase-center antenna (DPCA) SAR is proposed. The main characteristic of a DPCA-SAR is that the clutter signal can be canceled, ideally, while retaining information on the instantaneous position and velocity of a target. In this paper, a novel method based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is introduced for performing vibrometry using the slow-time signal of a DPCA-SAR. The DPCA-SAR signal model for a vibrating target, the mathematical characterization of the EKF technique, and vibration estimation results for various types of vibration dynamics are presented

Outcomes of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment with Early Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Co-Infected Patients in Lesotho

Background: Although the importance of concurrent treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV co-infection has been increasingly recognized, there have been few studies reporting outcomes of MDR-TB and HIV co-treatment. We report final outcomes of comprehensive, integrated MDR-TB and HIV treatment in Lesotho and examine factors associated with death or treatment failure. Methods: We reviewed clinical charts of all adult patients who initiated MDR-TB treatment in Lesotho between January 2008 and September 2009. We calculated hazard ratios (HR) and used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to identify predictors of poor outcomes. Results: Of 134 confirmed MDR-TB patients, 83 (62%) were cured or completed treatment, 46 (34%) died, 3 (2%) transferred, 1 (1%) defaulted, and 1 (1%) failed treatment. Treatment outcomes did not differ significantly by HIV status. Among the 94 (70%) patients with HIV co-infection, 53% were already on antiretroviral therapy (ART) before MDR-TB treatment initiation, and 43% started ART a median of 16 days after the start of the MDR-TB regimen. Among HIV co-infected patients who died, those who had not started ART before MDR-TB treatment had a shorter median time to death (80 days vs. 138 days, p = 0.065). In multivariable analysis, predictors of increased hazard of failure or death were low and severely low body mass index (HR 2.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–5.93; HR 5.50, 95% CI 2.38–12.69), and a history of working in South Africa (HR 2.37, 95% CI 1.24–4.52). Conclusions: Favorable outcomes can be achieved in co-infected patients using a community-based treatment model when both MDR-TB and HIV disease are treated concurrently and treatment is initiated promptly

Sentinel-based Surveillance of Coyotes to Detect Bovine Tuberculosis, Michigan

Coyotes could be used as sentinels to detect Mycobacterium bovis in the wild

Sentinel-based Surveillance of Coyotes to Detect Bovine Tuberculosis, Michigan

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the northeastern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Bovine TB in deer and cattle has created immense fi nancial consequences for the livestock industry and hunting public. Surveillance identified coyotes (Canis latrans) as potential bio-accumulators of Mycobacterium bovis, a finding that generated interest in their potential to serve as sentinels for monitoring disease risk. We sampled 175 coyotes in the bovine TB–endemic area. Fifty-eight tested positive, and infection prevalence by county ranged from 19% to 52% (statistical mean 33%, SE 0.07). By contrast, prevalence in deer (n = 3,817) was lower (i.e., 1.49%; Mann-Whitney U4,4 = 14, pM. bovis by 40%. As a result of reduced sampling intensity, sentinel coyote surveys have the potential to be practical indicators of M. bovis presence in wildlife and livestock

Hot spots and hot moments in seagrass 'blue carbon' science

When seagrass meadows are destroyed, what happens to the 'blue carbon' stored within their sediments; does it stay in the ground, or is it released into the atmosphere? Is it possible to manage seagrass ecosystems so that they sequester more blue carbon? With seagrasses now recognised as globally-significant carbon sinks, the answers to these questions have important consequences for nature-based climate change mitigation and adaptation (i.e. 'biosequestration'). We make the case that microbes fundamentally control the fate of sequestered blue carbon within seagrass, and, therefore, management efforts aimed at bolstering blue carbon opportunities within seagrass ecosystems need to target processes that influence (directly or indirectly) microbial remineralisation of blue carbon. New data will be presented showing that blue carbon occurs in hotspots and changes in the geochemistry of seagrass sediments - such as those caused by disturbance - can create hot moments, whereby organic carbon within sediments undergoes rapid and substantial microbial remineralisation. In order to better manage seagrass ecosystems for blue carbon benefits, we outline three recommendations: reducing anthropogenic nutrient inputs, reinstating top-down control of bioturbator populations, and restoring hydrology. These processes are amenable to management control, they promote microbial dormancy and limit microbial priming, and offer ecosystem benefits beyond carbon sequestration

Site-Specific Metal Chelation Facilitates the Unveiling of Hidden Coordination Sites in an Fe II/Fe III -Seamed Pyrogallol[4]arene Nanocapsule

Under suitable conditions, C-alkylpyrogallol­[4]­arenes (PgCs) arrange into spherical metal–organic nanocapsules (MONCs) upon coordination to appropriate metal ions. Herein we present the synthesis and structural characterization of a novel FeII/FeIII-seamed MONC, as well as studies related to its electrochemical and magnetic behaviors. Unlike other MONCs that are assembled through 24 metal ions, this nanocapsule comprises 32 Fe ions, uncovering 8 additional coordination sites situated between the constituent PgC subunits. The FeII ions are likely formed by the reducing ability of DMF used in the synthesis, representing a novel synthetic route toward polynuclear mixed-valence MONCs

Migrating Thermal Tides in the Martian Atmosphere During Aphelion Season Observed by EMM/EMIRS

Funding Information: Funding for development of the EMM mission was provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government, and to co‐authors outside of the UAE by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). RMBY acknowledges funding from UAE University grants G00003322 and G00003407.Peer reviewe

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, L.C. Reye

Rapid SNP Discovery and Genetic Mapping Using Sequenced RAD Markers

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery and genotyping are essential to genetic mapping. There remains a need for a simple, inexpensive platform that allows high-density SNP discovery and genotyping in large populations. Here we describe the sequencing of restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) tags, which identified more than 13,000 SNPs, and mapped three traits in two model organisms, using less than half the capacity of one Illumina sequencing run. We demonstrated that different marker densities can be attained by choice of restriction enzyme. Furthermore, we developed a barcoding system for sample multiplexing and fine mapped the genetic basis of lateral plate armor loss in threespine stickleback by identifying recombinant breakpoints in F2 individuals. Barcoding also facilitated mapping of a second trait, a reduction of pelvic structure, by in silico re-sorting of individuals. To further demonstrate the ease of the RAD sequencing approach we identified polymorphic markers and mapped an induced mutation in Neurospora crassa. Sequencing of RAD markers is an integrated platform for SNP discovery and genotyping. This approach should be widely applicable to genetic mapping in a variety of organisms