Learning Enterprise Malware Triage from Automatic Dynamic Analysis

Adversaries employ malware against victims of cyber espionage with the intent of gaining unauthorized access to information. To that end, malware authors intentionally attempt to evade defensive countermeasures based on static methods. This thesis analyzes a dynamic analysis methodology for malware triage that applies at the enterprise scale. This study captures behavior reports from 64,987 samples of malware randomly selected from a large collection and 25,591 clean executable files from operating system install media. Function call information in sequences of behavior generate feature vectors from behavior reports from the les. The results of 64 experiment combinations indicate that using more informed behavior features yields better performing models with this data set. The decision tree classifier attained a max performance of 0.999 area under the ROC curve and 99.4% accuracy using argument information with function sequence lengths from 11-14. This methodology contributes to strategic cyber situation awareness by fusion with fast malware detection methods, such as static analysis, to change the game of malware triage in favor of cyber defense. This method of triage reduces the number of false alarms from automatic analysis that allows a 97% workload reduction over using a static method alone

Mode mixing in asymmetric double trench photonic crystal waveguides

e investigate both experimentally and theoretically the waveguiding properties of a novel double trench waveguide where a conventional single-mode strip waveguide is embedded in a two dimensional photonic crystal (PhC) slab formed in silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers. We demonstrate that the bandwidth for relatively low-loss (50dB/cm) waveguiding is significantly expanded to 250nm covering almost all the photonic band gap owing to nearly linear dispersion of the TE-like waveguiding mode. The flat transmission spectrum however is interrupted by numerous narrow stop bands. We found that these stop bands can be attributed to anti-crossing between TE-like (positive parity) and TM-like (negative parity) modes. This effect is a direct result of the strong asymmetry of the waveguides that have an upper cladding of air and lower cladding of oxide. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of the effects of cladding asymmetry on the transmission characteristics of the PhC slab waveguides.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Count three for wear able computers

This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the IEE Eurowearable 2003 Conference, and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at the IET Digital Library. A revised version of this paper was also published in Electronics Systems and Software, also subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is also available at the IET Digital Library.A description of 'ubiquitous computer' is presented. Ubiquitous computers imply portable computers embedded into everyday objects, which would replace personal computers. Ubiquitous computers can be mapped into a three-tier scheme, differentiated by processor performance and flexibility of function. The power consumption of mobile devices is one of the most important design considerations. The size of a wearable system is often a design limitation

Updating State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans, an Application of Geographic Information Systems and Census Data

Abstract Modeling supply and demand data is useful for regional outdoor recreation planning. At the statewide level, State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans (SCORPs) are prepared to satisfy the requirements of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). In Massachusetts, the most recent SCORP was prepared in 2006. Two of the primary tasks were updating the recreation resource inventory statewide and developing an extensive GIS data base. For the demand side, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts utilized data collected in 1995 that focused on recreation site usage patterns, assessed satisfaction with outdoor recreation areas, and evaluated unmet needs. This paper presents an example of updating SCORPs using current demographic data (US Census) and geographic supply data (MassGIS)

Ground-penetrating radar stratigraphy and dynamics of megaflood gravel dunes

Ground-penetrating radar was used to elucidate the stratigraphy of late Pleistocene gravel dunes in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia that formed when a lake emptied as a result of ice-dam failure. Survey-lines across dunes had a resolution of decimetres, with depth penetration of 20 m. The reflections identify bounding surfaces and radar facies. Two classes of unconformities are identified: (1) an erosional unconformity at the base of the dunes; (2) steeply inclined unconformities that truncate underlying inclined reflections and are downlapped by overlying inclined reflections within the dunes. Unconformities define six radar facies (RF): RF 1, basal subhorizontal discordant reflections; RF 2, poorly defined discordant reflections; RF 3, planar inclined reflections; RF 4, sigmoidal inclined reflections; RF 5, trough fills; RF 6, low-angle inclined reflections. The basal unconformity represents the flood-cut surface, across which the dunes migrated. The inclined unconformities may be interpreted in two ways: (1) erosional surfaces induced by unsteady flow within one flood, or (2) erosional surfaces developed by a series of floods reactivating dunes left stranded by previous floods. The evidence favours the latter model, which is consistent with the occurrence of several dune-forming events within the basin. The broader implications of the study are considered with respect to investigations of megaflood bedforms worldwide

Two successful pregnancies following fertility preservation in a patient with anaplastic astrocytoma: a case report

Abstract Background Astrocytomas are the most common malignant glial tumors. With improved prognosis, it is possible for patients to pursue pregnancy post-treatment. However, with potential gonadotoxicity of oncology treatments, fertility preservation prior to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy should be considered. This requires close collaboration between the oncologist and reproductive endocrinologist. To our knowledge this is the first report of successful pregnancies following fertility preservation for AA. Case presentation 33-year-old nulligravid woman with newly diagnosed anaplastic astrocytoma (AA; WHO grade III, IDH1-negative) sought fertility preservation. Prior to chemotherapy and radiation for AA, the patient underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) for fertility preservation, resulting in 8 vitrified embryos. Following chemo-radiation, the patient underwent two rounds of frozen embryo transfers (FET), each resulting in a successful singleton pregnancy. Conclusion This case illustrates the realistic possibility, in carefully selected patients with brain tumors, of oocyte or embryo cryo-preservation prior to chemo-radiation and subsequent pregnancies