Modeling inertia causatives:validating in the password manager adoption context

Cyber criminals are benefiting from the fact that people do not take the required precautions to protect their devices and communications. It is the equivalent of leaving their home’s front door unlocked and unguarded, something no one would do. Many efforts are made by governments and other bodies to raise awareness, but this often seems to fall on deaf ears. People seem to resist changing their existing cyber security practices: they demonstrate inertia. Here, we propose a model and instrument for investigating the factors that contribute towards this phenomenon

A descriptive review and classification of organizational information security awareness research

Information security awareness (ISA) is a vital component of information security in organizations. The purpose of this research is to descriptively review and classify the current body of knowledge on ISA. A sample of 59 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, which were published over the last decade from 2008 to 2018, were analyzed. Articles were classified using coding techniques from the grounded theory literature-review method. The results show that ISA research is evolving with behavioral research studies still being explored. Quantitative empirical research is the dominant methodology and the top three theories used are general deterrence theory, theory of planned behavior, and protection motivation theory. Future research could focus on qualitative approaches to provide greater depth of ISA understanding

Comparison of Clustering Methods for Time Course Genomic Data: Applications to Aging Effects

Time course microarray data provide insight about dynamic biological processes. While several clustering methods have been proposed for the analysis of these data structures, comparison and selection of appropriate clustering methods are seldom discussed. We compared $3$ probabilistic based clustering methods and $3$ distance based clustering methods for time course microarray data. Among probabilistic methods, we considered: smoothing spline clustering also known as model based functional data analysis (MFDA), functional clustering models for sparsely sampled data (FCM) and model-based clustering (MCLUST). Among distance based methods, we considered: weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), clustering with dynamic time warping distance (DTW) and clustering with autocorrelation based distance (ACF). We studied these algorithms in both simulated settings and case study data. Our investigations showed that FCM performed very well when gene curves were short and sparse. DTW and WGCNA performed well when gene curves were medium or long ($>=10$ observations). SSC performed very well when there were clusters of gene curves similar to one another. Overall, ACF performed poorly in these applications. In terms of computation time, FCM, SSC and DTW were considerably slower than MCLUST and WGCNA. WGCNA outperformed MCLUST by generating more accurate and biological meaningful clustering results. WGCNA and MCLUST are the best methods among the 6 methods compared, when performance and computation time are both taken into account. WGCNA outperforms MCLUST, but MCLUST provides model based inference and uncertainty measure of clustering results

A genome-wide survey of segmental duplications that mediate common human genetic variation of chromosomal architecture.

Recent studies have identified a small number of genomic rearrangements that occur frequently in the general population. Bioinformatics tools are now available for systematic genome-wide surveys of higher-order structures predisposing to such common variations in genomic architecture. Segmental duplications (SDs) constitute up to 5 per cent of the genome and play an important role in generating additional rearrangements and in disease aetiology. We conducted a genome-wide database search for a form of SD, palindromic segmental duplications (PSDs), which consist of paired, inverted duplications, and which predispose to inversions, duplications and deletions. The survey was complemented by a search for SDs in tandem orientation (TSDs) that can mediate duplications and deletions but not inversions. We found more than 230 distinct loci with higher-order genomic structure that can mediate genomic variation, of these about 180 contained a PSD. A number of these sites were previously identified as harbouring common inversions or as being associated with specific genomic diseases characterised by duplication, deletions or inversions. Most of the regions, however, were previously unidentified; their characterisation should identify further common rearrangements and may indicate localisations for additional genomic disorders. The widespread distribution of complex chromosomal architecture suggests a potentially high degree of plasticity of the human genome and could uncover another level of genetic variation within human populations

University Campus LEED Building Energy Consumption Analysis: A Case Study in Predicted Verses Actual Energy Consumption

Iowa State University Facilities, Planning, and Management is concerned with new LEED buildings on campus consuming more energy than originally predicted from the building energy models created as part of LEED certification requirements. The objective of this research project is to compare the actual and predicted energy consumption of the Biorenewables Research Laboratory (BRL), a 2011 LEED Gold building, to determine the magnitude and cause(s) of this discrepancy. This will lead to re-evaluation of energy model assumptions to improve future models of campus buildings. This objective will be accomplished through analysis of energy model and utility billing data, using historical weather data to weather-normalize energy use. The preliminary results of this research project conclude, when weather normalized, BRL is consuming roughly 4% less energy, but spending 25% more on utility bills than the model originally predicted. Utility rates have been much higher than those used to calculate costs in the energy model. As utility costs are not exclusively influenced by energy consumption alone, future energy models should improve how utility rates are incorporated. Further investigation into the actual operation of the building systems is needed to determine specific system energy consumption discrepancies

Factors influencing the intention to adopt NFC mobile payments – A South African perspective

Near-field communication (NFC) is an emerging technology that is receiving global attention. NFC mobile payments are being deployed by many hardware vendors, technology companies and financial institutions. Their aim is to facilitate the use of mobile phones as a contactless payment device. A problem is the uncertainty around consumer adoption of this emerging technology. In this study we examined several factors from prior mobile payment studies, as antecedents of the intention to adopt NFC mobile payments. We present results from an online survey of 331 respondents, testing our proposed research model. Using the PLS approach to structural equation modeling (SEM) we find that security and trust concerns play a significant role in influencing perceived risk. Social influence and ease of use have a significant positive effect on perceived value. We find that perceived value is the only significant factor influencing the intention to adopt. Our findings support previous studies in the mobile payments domain. Our model can be of practical value in deciding where to invest resources in the marketing and deployment of such technologies

Investigating customer-facing security features on South African e-commerce websites

E-commerce websites often store sensitive customer information and there is the impression that customers are not as concerned about protecting their data as they should be. Instead they often choose convenience over security. There are those who argue that e-vendors do not provide the necessary environment to adequately protect their customers’ data by utilizing multi-factor authentication and by providing customer support that educates and encourages customers to follow security best practices. This study develops criteria to evaluate website security and goes on to investigate how the top 20 South African e-commerce websites perform against this. The results show that multi-factor authentication is underutilized and security in the form of password-based authentication can be improved. Furthermore, despite many customer support channels and resources, there is little emphasis placed on educating and encouraging customers to follow security best practices. The results suggest areas for security improvement in order to build trust in e-commerce websites.</p

Aspects of Digital Forensics in South Africa

This paper explores the issues facing digital forensics in South Africa. It examines particular cyber threats and cyber threat levels for South Africa and the challenges in addressing the cybercrimes in the country through digital forensics. The paper paints a picture of the cy-bercrime threats facing South Africa and argues for the need to develop a skill base in digi-tal forensics in order to counter the threats through detection of cybercrime, by analyzing cybercrime reports, consideration of current legislation, and an analysis of computer foren-sics course provision in South African universities. The paper argues that there is a need to develop digital forensics skills in South Africa through university programs, in addition to associated training courses. The intention in this paper is to promote debate and discussion in order to identify the cyber threats to South Africa and to encourage the development of a framework to counter the threats – through legislation, high tech law enforcement structures and protocols, digital forensics education, digital forensics skills development, and a public and business awareness of cybercrime threats