Stealthy Deception Attacks Against SCADA Systems

SCADA protocols for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are vulnerable to network attacks such as session hijacking. Hence, research focuses on network anomaly detection based on meta--data (message sizes, timing, command sequence), or on the state values of the physical process. In this work we present a class of semantic network-based attacks against SCADA systems that are undetectable by the above mentioned anomaly detection. After hijacking the communication channels between the Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), our attacks cause the HMI to present a fake view of the industrial process, deceiving the human operator into taking manual actions. Our most advanced attack also manipulates the messages generated by the operator's actions, reversing their semantic meaning while causing the HMI to present a view that is consistent with the attempted human actions. The attacks are totaly stealthy because the message sizes and timing, the command sequences, and the data values of the ICS's state all remain legitimate. We implemented and tested several attack scenarios in the test lab of our local electric company, against a real HMI and real PLCs, separated by a commercial-grade firewall. We developed a real-time security assessment tool, that can simultaneously manipulate the communication to multiple PLCs and cause the HMI to display a coherent system--wide fake view. Our tool is configured with message-manipulating rules written in an ICS Attack Markup Language (IAML) we designed, which may be of independent interest. Our semantic attacks all successfully fooled the operator and brought the system to states of blackout and possible equipment damage

Attacking the V:On the resiliency of adaptive-horizon MPC

Inspired by the emerging problem of CPS security, we introduce the concept of controller-attacker games. A controller-attacker game is a two-player stochastic game, where the two players, a controller and an attacker, have antagonistic objectives. A controller-attacker game is formulated in terms of a Markov Decision Process (MDP), with the controller and the attacker jointly determining the MDP’s transition probabilities. We also introduce the class of controller-attacker games we call V-formation games, where the goal of the controller is to maneuver the plant (a simple model of flocking dynamics) into a V-formation, and the goal of the attacker is to prevent the controller from doing so. Controllers in V-formation games utilize a new formulation of model-predictive control we have developed called Adaptive-Horizon MPC (AMPC), giving them extraordinary power: we prove that under certain controllability conditions, an AMPC controller can attain V-formation with probability 1. We evaluate AMPC’s performance on V-formation games using statistical model checking. Our experiments demonstrate that (a) as we increase the power of the attacker, the AMPC controller adapts by suitably increasing its horizon, and thus demonstrates resiliency to a variety of attacks; and (b) an intelligent attacker can significantly outperform its naive counterpart

Leopard-like retinopathy and severe early-onset portal hypertension expand the phenotype of KARS1-related syndrome: a case report

Background: Mutations in lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KARS1), an enzyme that charges tRNA with the amino acid lysine in both the cytoplasm and mitochondria, have been associated thus far with autosomal recessive Charcot–Marie–Tooth type CMTRIB, hearing loss type DFNB89, and mitochondrial encephalohepatopathy (MEH) featuring neurodevelopmental disorders with microcephaly, white matter changes, and cardiac and hepatic failure in less than 30 patients. Case presentation: We report the clinical, biochemical and molecular findings of a 14-month-old girl with severe MEH compatible clinical features, profound sensorineural hearing loss, leopard spot retinopathy, pancytopenia, and advanced liver disease with portal hypertension leading to death at the age of 30 months. Conclusions: Whole exome sequencing identified two rare variants in KARS1 gene. Our report expands the allelic and clinical features of tRNA synthase disorders. Moreover, with our report we confirm the usefulness of WES as first tier diagnostic method in infants with complex multisystem phenotypes

Inertial control of the mirror suspensions of the VIRGO interferometer for gravitational wave detection

In order to achieve full detection sensitivity at low frequencies, the mirrors of interferometric gravitational wave detectors must be isolated from seismic noise. The VIRGO vibration isolator, called 'superattenuator', is fully effective at frequencies above 4 Hz. Nevertheless, the residual motion of the mirror at the mechanical resonant frequencies of the system are too large for the interferometer locking system and must be damped. A multidimensional feedback system, using inertial sensors and digital processing, has been designed for this purpose. An experimental procedure for determining the feedback control of the system has been defined. In this paper a full description of the system is given and experimental results are presented.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on Review of Scientific Instrument

Metal-insulator transition and magnetism of SU(3) fermions in the square lattice

We study the SU(3) symmetric Fermi-Hubbard model (FHM) in the square lattice at $1/3$-filling using numerically exact determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) and numerical linked-cluster expansion (NLCE) techniques. We present the different regimes of the model in the $T-U$ plane, which are characterized by local and short-range correlations, and capture signatures of the metal-insulator transition and magnetic crossovers. These signatures are detected as the temperature scales characterizing the rise of the compressibility, and an interaction-dependent change in the sign of the diagonal spin-spin correlation function. The analysis of the compressibility estimates the location of the metal-insulator quantum critical point at $U_c/t \sim 6$, and provides a temperature scale for observing Mott physics at finite-$T$. Furthermore, from the analysis of the spin-spin correlation function we observe that for $U/t \gtrsim6$ and $T \sim J = 4t^2/U$ there is a development of a short-range two sublattice (2-SL) antiferromagnetic structure, as well as an emerging three sublattice (3-SL) antiferromagnetic structure as the temperature is lowered below $T/J \lesssim 0.57$. This crossover from 2-SL to 3-SL magnetic ordering agrees with Heisenberg limit predictions, and has observable effects on the density of on-site pairs. Finally, we describe how the features of the regimes in the $T$-$U$ plane can be explored with alkaline-earth-like atoms in optical lattices with currently-achieved experimental techniques and temperatures. The results discussed in this manuscript provide a starting point for the exploration of the SU(3) FHM upon doping

Radiomics-Based Inter-Lesion Relation Network to Describe [18F]FMCH PET/CT Imaging Phenotypes in Prostate Cancer

Advanced image analysis, specifically radiomics, has been recognized as a potential source of biomarkers for cancers. However, there are challenges to its application in the clinic, such as proper description of diseases where multiple lesions coexist. In this study, we aimed to characterize the intra-tumor heterogeneity of metastatic prostate cancer using an innovative approach. This approach consisted of a transformation method to build a radiomic profile of lesions extracted from [18F]FMCH PET/CT images, a qualitative assessment of intra-tumor heterogeneity of patients, and a quantitative representation of the intra-tumor heterogeneity of patients in terms of the relationship between their lesions’ profiles. We found that metastatic prostate cancer patients had lesions with different radiomic profiles that exhibited intra-tumor radiomic heterogeneity and that the presence of many radiomic profiles within the same patient impacted the outcome

Role of perfusion CT in the evaluation of metastatic nodal tumor response after radiochemotherapy in head and neck cancer: preliminary findings

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes of CT perfusion parameters (ΔPCTp) of cervical lymph node metastases from head and neck cancer (HNC) before and after radiochemotherapy (RT-CT) and their association with nodal tumor persistence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligibility criteria included HNC (Stage III-IV) candidates for RT-CT. Patients underwent perfusion CT (PCT) at baseline 3 weeks and 3 months after RT-CT. Blood volume (BV), blood flow (BF), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability surface (PS) were calculated. PET/CT examination was also performed at baseline and 3 months after treatment for metabolic assessment. RESULTS: Between July 2012 and May 2016, 27 patients were evaluated. Overall, only 3 patients (11%) experienced tumor persistence in the largest metastatic lymph node. A significant reduction of all PCTp values (p<0.0001), except MTT (from 6.3 to 5.7 s; p=0.089), was observed at 3 weeks post-RT-CT compared to baseline. All PCTp values including MTT were significantly lower at 3-month follow-up compared to baseline (p<0.05). Moreover, a statistical significant association was observed between nodal tumor persistence and high BF values (p=0.045) at 3 months after treatment that did not occur for the other parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary findings show that all PCTp except MTT are significantly reduced after RT-CT. High BF values at 3 months post-RTCT are predictive of nodal tumor persistence

Equation of State and Thermometry of the 2D SU(NN) Fermi-Hubbard Model

We characterize the equation of state (EoS) of the SU($N>2$) Fermi-Hubbard Model (FHM) in a two-dimensional single-layer square optical lattice. We probe the density and the site occupation probabilities as functions of interaction strength and temperature for $N = 3, 4$ and 6. Our measurements are used as a benchmark for state-of-the-art numerical methods including determinantal quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) and numerical linked cluster expansion (NLCE). By probing the density fluctuations, we compare temperatures determined in a model-independent way by fitting measurements to numerically calculated EoS results, making this a particularly interesting new step in the exploration and characterization of the SU($N$) FHM.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; Supplemental Materia