Unveiling the Potential of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for Enhanced Cybersecurity Posture

Never before has it been more important to increase internal cybersecurity posture to prevent malicious activity, and organizations are forced to mobilize their resources to prepare for tomorrow's threats. Throughout the past few years, the usage of open-source intelligence (OSINT) has made its way from the military landscape into public, private, and commercial organizations. Using OSINT, organizations can tailor their countermeasures to the tactical, operational, and strategic procedures of potential cyber threat actors by benefiting from the knowledge within openly available sources. Leveraging the enormous information sharing on online platforms using OSINT also requires organizations to navigate the increasing information overload. Nevertheless, many are using ad hoc and unstructured approaches, contradicting the systematic fundamentals of the intelligence profession. Therefore, this study investigated how organizations can implement and use OSINT to improve cybersecurity posture using OSINT's advantages. A semi-systematic literature review (SSLR) highlighted a scant focus on organizational aspects of OSINT, whereas the focus has primarily relied on technical considerations. Interviews with nine representatives of different private, public, and commercial organizations helped understanding how each applied OSINT to extract as much value as possible from the CTI capability. During data collection and analysis, this thesis adopts the intelligence cycle, a well-known cyclic representation of the intelligence acquisition process. The thesis extends the theory by integrating several intelligence cycle theories and offers a more dynamic and comprehensive representation of the intelligence process. Through an inductive conceptual framework (ICF), the thesis highlights how OSINT can become a valuable tool to ensure organizations encounter the cyber threat landscape by considering relevant information about threat actors. The study emphasizes the significance of establishing an understandable definition of OSINT within one's organization and identifying intelligence requirements aligned with available resources. Determining the organization's motivation, prioritizing dialogue and feedback, and continuously evaluating the intelligence requirements are essential to leveraging OSINT's advantages. This new framework is one of the main contributions of this thesis, visualizing how the research findings all contribute to a coherent utilization of OSINT as a cybersecurity-enhancing tool. By guiding organizations through the entire intelligence cycle, they will likely experience a greater understanding of their own capabilities and potential cyber attackers

Variations in EMG Activity in Lower Leg Musculature with Use of the Biomechanical Ankle Platform System (BAPS)

Ankle sprains account for 17% to 20% of all injuries in most sports. Other ankle conditions such as posterior tibialis tendon disorder and Achilles tendinosis are quite common in the nonathletic population and require many of the same interventions. Some of these interventions include range of motion, stretching, strengthening and proprioception. Many studies have shown that strength and proprioceptive training are the intervention of choice for those with lateral ankle instability. Many of these studies have supported the use of BAPS in improving proprioception among individuals with lateral ankle instability, however there is only one study examining the use of BAPS for strengthening of the ankle musculature. The purpose of this study was to determine the activity level of lower leg musculature when using the BAPS with and without weights positioned on each quadrant of the board. This study focused on inversion and eversion motions, due to the frequency seen clinically of lateral instability resulting from ankle sprains. Twenty healthy female and ten healthy male volunteers from the community, faculty, staff, and student population at the University of North Dakota participated in the study. Electrodes were placed over the four muscles of interest (gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis anterior, and peroneus longus) on the dominant lower extremity of each subject. Following practice repetitions, each subject performed trials of exercises on the BAPS, with and without weights positioned on each quadrant of the board as determined by random selection, in an eversion/inversion direction, while EMG recordings were made from the four muscles of interest. Results showed no significant difference in the EMG activity of the gastrocnemius, soleus, or anterior tibialis muscles among the 5 different weight placement conditions. A significant difference in EMG activity was found for peroneus longus when comparing all positions except for no weight vs anterolateral, no weight vs anteromedial, and anterolateral vs anteromedial. The difference in EMG activity of peroneus longus was the greatest with weight in the posterolateral position of the BAPS board. The results indicate an increase in EMG activity of peroneus longus with straight plane exercises. These findings further support the use of straight plane BAPS exercises for strengthening of the PL following an inversion ankle sprain

Forvalting av tre i byar og tettstader - Offentlege styresmakter sine planar og strategiar

I Noreg er det kommunane som har hovedansvaret for forvaltinga av tre. Studiar viser at det fins lite føringar for korleis kommunane skal arbeide med forvalting av tre, som igjen fører til stor variasjon i praksis frå kommune til kommune. Med det aukande fokuset på grøne verdiar, klimaendringar og naturkrisa er forvalting av tre eit viktig tema, både for å ivareta eksisterande tre og å sikra ei utvikling av trebestanden for å unngå at den vert forringa eller redusert. Denne oppgåva tek føre seg forvalting av tre i byar og tettstadar og korleis offentlege styresmakter legg til rette for dette gjennom sine planar, føringar og retningsliner. Oppgåva inneheld ein gjennomgang av lover og forskrifter som omhandlar tre. Ei dokumentanalyse av statlege, regionale og kommunale planar, retningsliner og føringar saman med semistrukturerte intervju av tilsette i dei to casekommunane Bergen og Stavanger, bidrog også til funna og diskusjonsgrunnlaget i oppgåva. Oppgåva viser at ein kan bruka både det operasjonelle, det taktiske og det strategiske nivået for å sikra tilstrekkeleg forvalting av tre. Den viser også at det er stor forskjell på korleis tre vert forvalta, og at det finst mange ulike verktøy som kan nyttast for å sikre at tre vert teke omsyn til både i planleggingsfasen, utbyggingsprosjekt og i driftsfasen. Ein kan sikre god forvalting både gjennom juridiske verkemiddel, samt politiske og administrative prioriteringar. Oppgåva er eit innspel til offentleg forvalting av tre, og eit diskusjonsgrunnlag for vidareutvikling av både statleg, regional og kommunal forvalting av tre.In Norway, the municipalities have the main responsibility for urban tree management. Studies show that there is a lack of guidelines for how municipalities should work with tree management, which in turn leads to big differences in practice from municipality to municipality (Fognar et al., 2019). With the increasing focus on green values, climate change and the nature crisis, the management of urban trees is a relevant topic, both to safeguard the existing tree population and to ensure the development of the urban forest to avoid it being degraded or reduced. This thesis will focus on urban tree management and how public authorities facilitate this through their policies, plans and guidelines. The thesis contains a review of laws and regulations regarding trees and nature reservation in Norway. In addition to this a document analysis of policies, plans and regulations on the governmental, regional and municipal level was conducted. To supplement this, semi-structured interviews of employees in the municipalities of Bergen and Stavanger contributed to the findings and formed the basis for discussion. The findings in the thesis shows that one can utilize both the operational, the tactical and the strategic level to ensure adequate management of the urban forest. There are differences in how trees are managed in the two municipalities and there is a range of different tools that the authorities can use to ensure that the trees are taken care of in both spatial planning, development of areas and in the daily operations of the urban forest. By using the various methods and tools that the public authorities have, the government can ensure a robust long-term management. This applies to both policies and political and administrative prioritization. The thesis is a contribution to the field of urban tree management, and a basis for discussion of further development of both governmental, regional and municipal tree management

WP1 - Temporary storage of black shales – a compilation of case studies, experiences and overall conclusions

As a part of the internal R&D project "Under Oslo" at NGI, several aspects of temporary storage of black shale has been investigated. Information from different experiments and cases of black shale storage from the Cambro-Ordovician stratigraphy in the Oslo area have been gathered. For the large scale, outdoor experiments with fresh black shale, minimum 14 months was necessary for acid rock drainage (ARD) to start. This is because the black shales have an inherent buffer capacity in the form of carbonates that buffers the acid and cannot be expected for already weathered shale where part of the buffer capacity may have been consumed. For small-scale column experiment at room temperature, the pH dropped after about 10 months. Two cases of self-heating in alum shale are described. In both cases, the time until significant self-heating was more than a year. Factors affecting this probability will likely be reactivity of the rock masses (e.g. content of sulphides and neutralizing material), size distribution and porosity of the rock masses, storage conditions including height of pile, moisture and air circulation in the pile. Covering masses with tarpaulin can both increase and reduce the risk of self-heating. One stage batch leaching tests are not appropriate for assessing the acid-producing properties of black shale, but may give information about the degree of weathering of the material. However, even by ongoing ARD, crushing the material can release carbonates resulting in neutral pH. Downstream water quality of three sites with neutral leaching from black shale is presented and are mainly within environmental guideline values. Some elevated uranium values were however observed. Tests with different basic materials for neutralizing ARD gives varying results, showing the need for testing materials before use. Based on the results of all these findings, a maximum of 6 months temporary storage before final disposal of acid producing black shales is recommended. This time period includes temporary storage at the disposal sites before the masses are properly covered.Norges forskningsrå

A validated disease specific prediction equation for resting metabolic rate in underweight patients with COPD

Malnutrition is a serious condition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Successful dietary intervention calls for calculations of resting metabolic rate (RMR). One disease-specific prediction equation for RMR exists based on mainly male patients. To construct a disease-specific equation for RMR based on measurements in underweight or weight-losing women and men with COPD, RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry in 30 women and 11 men with a diagnosis of COPD and body mass index <21 kg/m2. The following variables, possibly influencing RMR were measured: length, weight, middle upper arm circumference, triceps skinfold, body composition by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance, lung function, and markers of inflammation. Relations between RMR and measured variables were studied using univariate analysis according to Pearson. Gender and variables that were associated with RMR with a P value <0.15 were included in a forward multiple regression analysis. The best-fit multiple regression equation included only fat-free mass (FFM): RMR (kJ/day) = 1856 + 76.0 FFM (kg). To conclude, FFM is the dominating factor influencing RMR. The developed equation can be used for prediction of RMR in underweight COPD patients

Knowledge and practice among dietitians in four Western European countries regarding malnutrition, starvation, cachexia and sarcopenia

Adequate distinction between malnutrition, starvation, cachexia and sarcopenia is important in clinical care. Despite the overlap in physical characteristics, differences in etiology have therapeutical and prognostic implications. We aimed to determine whether dietitians in selected European countries have ‘proper knowledge’ of malnutrition, starvation, cachexia and sarcopenia, and use terminology accordingly

Utfordringer med svarte leirskifere; mellomlagring og naturlige blandmasser

Det er planlagt flere store byggeprosjekt i Oslo-regionen de neste årene. Dette vil resultere i utgraving av potensielt syredannende svart leirskifer i volumer som er større enn kapasiteten til godkjente deponier. NGI har et internt forskningsprosjekt «Under Oslo» som fokuserer på innovasjon, bærekraft og økonomi knyttet til underjordiske byggearbeider. Delprosjekt 1 omhandler svarte leirskifere. Svarte leirskifre er sedimentære bergarter med høyt innhold av sulfider, organisk materiale, tungmetaller og naturlig forekommende radionuklider. Riktig håndtering under prosjektgjennomføring og korrekt varig lagring av utgravde masser er avgjørende for å unngå forvitring og sur avrenning, som kan føre til skader på konstruksjoner og miljø. Mellomlagring kan være nødvendig for logistiske formål og for å gi mulighet for forsvarlig karakterisering av utgravde masser, mens langvarig midlertidig lagring kan gi negative effekter på miljøet. For å få bedre forståelse av tidsforløpet i forvitring og syredanning, er det samlet inn historiske data og startet opp utlekkingseksperimenter i konteinere. Tilgjengelige data fra storskala forsøk så langt indikerer at det går mer enn ett år før forvitring av frisk (uforvitret) skifer gir sur utlekking. Basert på disse dataene anbefales maksimum 6 måneder mellomlagring av uforvitret skifer – fordelt på byggeplass og deponi. Ved sprengning og utgraving kan det å skille svartskifer fra omkringliggende steinmasser være vanskelig, noe som resulterer i store mengder masser med en mindre andel svartskifer. De syredannende egenskapene til slike blandede masser er vanskelig å fastslå, og som følge av dette havner store mengder potensielt trygge masser på deponi. Konteiner- og kolonneforsøk med opptil 20 % innhold av alunskifer har etter 2 år ingen pH senkning, men det kan ikke utelukkes at dette vil komme på et senere tidspunkt. Ledningsevne og metallinnhold i avrenningen øker med økende skiferinnhold og tyder på høyere reaktivitet. Den aller beste håndteringen av svartskifer er å la den ligge uforstyrret i bakken. Kan man planlegge prosjekter slik at man tar ut minst mulig potensielt syredannende berg