Linear and differential cryptanalysis of small-sized random (n, m)-S-boxes

S-boxes are used in cryptography in order to provide non-linearity in the design of cryptographic primitives such as block ciphers and hash functions. Some cryptographic primitives use bijective S-boxes as in the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and others use surjective S-boxes as in the Data Encryption Standard (DES). That is, S-boxes can have inputs and outputs of the same length as in the (8,8)-S-box of AES, or alternatively the input length can be larger than the output as in the (6, 4)-S-boxes of DES. In this paper, we perform a statistical study of linear and differential properties of randomly generated (n, m)-S-boxes, where m ≤ n. We show that certain S-boxes with well-behaved linear and differential properties can be feasibly obtained via random search. We show further that certain types of S-boxes with specific desirable linear and differential properties are improbable

DeltaPhish: Detecting Phishing Webpages in Compromised Websites

The large-scale deployment of modern phishing attacks relies on the automatic exploitation of vulnerable websites in the wild, to maximize profit while hindering attack traceability, detection and blacklisting. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that specifically leverages this adversarial behavior for detection purposes. We show that phishing webpages can be accurately detected by highlighting HTML code and visual differences with respect to other (legitimate) pages hosted within a compromised website. Our system, named DeltaPhish, can be installed as part of a web application firewall, to detect the presence of anomalous content on a website after compromise, and eventually prevent access to it. DeltaPhish is also robust against adversarial attempts in which the HTML code of the phishing page is carefully manipulated to evade detection. We empirically evaluate it on more than 5,500 webpages collected in the wild from compromised websites, showing that it is capable of detecting more than 99% of phishing webpages, while only misclassifying less than 1% of legitimate pages. We further show that the detection rate remains higher than 70% even under very sophisticated attacks carefully designed to evade our system.Comment: Preprint version of the work accepted at ESORICS 201

Comparison of fatty acid profile and mineral content of black mulberry (Morus nigra), white mulberry (Morus alba) and red mulberry (Morus rubra) grown in Bahrain

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: Data available within the article or its supplementary materials.Mulberries are a rich source of many nutrients and have various health-promoting benefits. Nevertheless, their growth conditions can influence their nutritional composition and thus their benefits. Thus, this study examines the fatty acid profile and mineral content of three mulberry varieties: black (Morus nigra L.), white (Morus alba L.), and red (Morus rubra L.) grown in Bahrain for the first time. Fatty acid analysis, using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID), revealed that linoleic acid (C18:2n6) and palmitic acid (C16:0) were the primary fatty acids present in mulberry fruits, while minor fatty acids varied among the cultivars. Black mulberries exhibited a composition of 33.08 % saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and 66.92 % unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), while red mulberries had 34.48 % SFAs and 66.52 % UFAs, and white mulberry had 27.15 % SFAs and 72.85 % UFAs. The mineral content analysis using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) revealed variations in the content of magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) among the mulberry varieties. Black mulberries displayed the highest levels of Mg (706.67 mg/100 g), Fe (31.33 mg/100 g), Na (1406 mg/100 g), K (4161.33 mg/100 g), and Ca (1008.67 mg/100 g). Mulberries reported moderate levels of Mg (442.33 mg/100 g), Fe (45.6 mg/100 g), Na (635.68 mg/100 g), K (3278 mg/100 g), and Ca (583.1 mg/100 g). These findings indicate that black mulberries exhibit a superior mineral content across all parameters, whereas red mulberry has lower levels among the three varieties

Analysis of the Antioxidant Activity, Lipid Profile, and Minerals of the Skin and Seed of Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.), Pistachios (Pistacia vera) and Almonds (Prunus dulcis) - A Comparative Analysis

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The result-supporting data presented in this study are available in the main text. Additional data are available in the appendices section.Nuts are dry, single-seeded fruits with a combination of beneficial compounds that aid in disease prevention and treatment. The aims of this research are to evaluate the total antioxidant activity (AI) by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, fatty acids by acid-catalyzed esterification method, and minerals by inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometer in hazelnuts, pistachios, and almond seeds and skins. Considering total AI, the results demonstrated that the highest activity was found in hazelnut and pistachio skin. The results considering minerals demonstrated that manganese, zinc, and iron levels are high in almond and hazelnut skins, copper is dominant in pistachio skin and hazelnut seed, and selenium is high in pistachio and almond skins and seed. Finally, the results showed palmitic acid is present in almond skin and pistachio seed, palmitoleic acid is high in almond and pistachio skins, and stearic acid is present in almond and hazelnut skins. Oleic acid was found in hazelnut seeds and their skin, linoleic acid in almond skin and pistachio seeds, and α-linolenic acid in almond and pistachio skins. In conclusion, hazelnut, pistachio, and almond skins are a great source of antioxidants, minerals, and healthy fatty acids, making them useful for nutraceutical development

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021. Methods We estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined. Findings Globally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer. Interpretation As the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Sniff‐Phish: A novel framework for resource intensive computation in cloud to detect email scam

International audienceAbstract Today, the growing significance of digitization across the globe has made the cybersecurity as inevitable. There are many threats in existence to induce harm and to make illegal activities in a device or a network. Email scam or phishing is a technique that most of the hackers use as baits to infiltrate into a system. After a systematic analysis of the infiltration process, a Chrome extension application named Sniff‐Phish is developed, where the resource intensive computational tasks are performed in cloud with which we could be able to detect various categories of real‐time email scams or phishing attacks like zero‐day and spear phishing. This extension application is based upon analyzing some basic criterion of the malicious URL and duly presenting the legitimacy level of the link in the form of a report. The accuracy obtains for Sniff‐Phish is 98% and covers a wide range of phishing websites, resulting in the less false positive rate of 1.2%. Considering the zero‐day and spear phishing detection rate of Sniff‐Phish, the overall experimental results prove that the proposed system outperforms the conventional phishing detection methods

Axillary treatment for patients with early breast cancer and lymph node metastasis: systematic review protocol

Background: For patients with early breast cancer and lymph node metastasis, axillary treatment is widely recommended. This is either surgical removal of the axillary lymph nodes, or axillary radiotherapy. The rationale for axillary treatment is that it will reduce the risk of recurrence in the axilla, and may improve survival. However, both treatments are associated with adverse effects, such as lymphedema, pain and sensory loss, and are costly to the health services and to patients. With improvements in adjuvant therapy, routine axillary treatment may no longer offer any overall advantage. Objectives: To assess the short and long term benefits and adverse effects of routine axillary treatment (axillary lymph node clearance or axillary radiotherapy) for patients with lymph node positive early-stage breast cancer. Methods/Design: Criteria for potentially eligibility for the study will be that the participants are men and women with early breast cancer and lymph nodes with metastasis. The study compares either axillary treatment with no axillary treatment, or axillary node clearance with axillary radiotherapy, and the study is a randomized trial. Primary outcomes are axillary recurrence, disease-free and overall survival. Secondary outcomes include breast or chest wall recurrence, distant metastasis, time to axillary recurrence, axillary recurrence-free survival, arm morbidity, quality of life and health economic costs. The search strategy will include the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) search portal. Two independent reviewers will assess studies for inclusion in the review, assess study quality and extract data. Characteristics of included studies will be described. Meta-analysis will be conducted using ReVman software. Comment: This review addresses an important clinical question, and results will inform clinical practice and health care policy

TORPEDO: TOoltip-poweRed Phishing Email DetectiOn

Part 4: Phishing and Data SharingInternational audienceWe propose a concept called TORPEDO to improve phish detection by providing just-in-time and just-in-place trustworthy tooltips to help people judge links embedded in emails. TORPEDO’s tooltips contain the actual URL with the domain highlighted and delay link activation for a short period, giving the person time to inspect the URL before they click. Furthermore, TORPEDO consists of an information diagram to explain phish detection. We evaluated TORPEDO in particular with respect to its effectiveness: Compared to the worst case ‘status bar’. as used in Thunderbird and Web email clients. TORPEDO performed significantly better in detecting phishes and identifying legitimate emails (85.17 % versus 43.31 % correct answers for phish). A proof of concept implementation is available as a Thunderbird Add-On