Compliance Based Penetration Testing as a Service

The current penetration testing method practiced in the information systems domain is insufficient to protect information systems. Penetration testing is part of the final acceptance criteria before the system is released into a production environment. Once the system is in production, the environment and configuration are bound to change for various reasons, especially in cloud environments. This change can create vulnerabilities, and hackers take advantage of them. In cloud service models like PaaS, security is a shared responsibility of tenant and provider, and it is challenging to perform penetration testing. This paper introduces a new method called Compliance Based Penetration Testing (CBPT). The CBPT method explicitly targets PaaS environments to identify critical issues in cloud-based environments. As the cloud is the way moving forward, this approach will be beneficial and save effort and cost for all cloud consumers

Host-guest and network structures of some tetraphenylmethane derivatives

Dinitro and tetracyano derivatives of tetraphenylmethane (TPM) are identified as new host materials that include THF, water and MeCN. The crystal structures of the host-guest complexes are reminiscent to those of the related host compound tetranitrotetraphenylmethane (TNTPM) studied by us previously. Guest loss has been measured quantitatively. The crystal structures are characterized by O-H…O, C-H…O, C-H…N and C-H…∏ interactions. It is interesting to note that while the unsubstituted TPM and some of its other derivatives form guest-free crystals, the nitro and cyano derivatives form more open structures

Multiple molecules in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. Self host-guest and doubly interpenetrated hydrogen bond networks in a pair of keto-bisphenols

The presence of two molecules in the crystallographic asymmetric unit in a pair of closely related keto-bisphenols that differ by a methyl substituent only, leads to open frameworks that fill space through self-inclusion in one case, and through interpenetration in the other

Improving the Effectiveness of Security Controls to Prevent APT Attacks

An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a prolonged, aimed attack on a specific target. Cyber attackers gain access to a system or network and remain there for an extended period without being detected. The goal of APT attackers is generally stealing data and intellectual property. Despite all the awareness, technological advancements, and massive investment, the fight against APTs is a losing battle. A false sense of security is a belief that the organization is safer than it is. We researched whether organizations have a false sense of security against APT attacks and what contributes to that belief. Our research indicated that employees were not confident about organizations’ cybersecurity posture. In this paper, we discuss one of our research contributions, which suggests remediation strategies that organizations can employ to increase the effectiveness of security controls against APT attacks

A False Sense of Security — Organizations Need a Paradigm Shift on Protecting Themselves against APTs

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are among the most complex cyberattacks and are generally executed by cyber-attackers linked to nation-states. An organization may have security strategies to prevent APTs. However, a false sense of security may exist when the focus is on implementing security strategies but not on the effectiveness of implemented security strategies. This research aims to find out 1) if organizations are in a false sense of security while preventing APT attacks, 2) what factors influence the false sense of security, and 3) whether organizational culture influence factors contributing to the false sense of security. A theoretical model is developed to evaluate the sense of security to answer the three research questions. The initial model includes seven independent variables, one moderator variable, and one dependent variable. We designed and conducted a survey among cybersecurity professionals to test 14 hypotheses on the sense of security. We further refined and finalized the model based on the data analysis from the survey data. This research confirms that employees are not confident about organizations‟ cybersecurity posture despite all the awareness training, technological advancements, and massive investment. We also identified key factors which influence the employee perception of cybersecurity posture. Based on the research findings, we provided recommendations that can be followed to improve the effectiveness of implemented security strategies

Multi – Fuzzy Ideals of Г - Near Ring

Multi – fuzzy set theory is an extension of fuzzy set theory. In this paper, we define the multi fuzzy ideals of Г - near ring. Also, the notion of anti multi fuzzy ideals of a Г - near ring is introduced and investigated some related properties. This concept of multi fuzzy ideals of a Г - near ring is a generalization of the concept of fuzzy ideals in Г - near rings. Also, we define the multi-level subsets and multi anti level subsets of a multi fuzzy sub Г - near ring of a Г- near ring. In this paper we define the multi level subset and multi anti level subset of AUB. The purpose of this study establishes the algebra of multi fuzzy Г- near ring

Chemical composition of volatile oil of Thymus vulgaris L. from Western Ghats of India

The aerial parts of Thymus vulgaris collected from Western Ghats of India were analysed foressential oil by Gas Chromatography. Forty eight compounds were detected among which36 compounds, which constituted 98.63% of the oil were identified, with thymol (61.6%),p-cymene (11.2%), ϒ-terpinene (7.4%), methyl thymol (3.9%), methyl carvacrol (3.3%) andβ-caryophyllene (2.3%) as major chemical constituents. &nbsp

Discovery of novel class of histone deacetylase inhibitors as potential anticancer agents

Selective inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs) is an important strategy in the field of anticancer drug discovery. However, lack of inhibitors that possess high selectivity toward certain HDACs isozymes is associated with adverse side effects that limits their clinical applications. We have initiated a collaborative initiatives between multi-institutions aimed at the discovery of novel and selective HDACs inhibitors. To this end, a phenotypic screening of an in-house pilot library of about 70 small molecules against various HDAC isozymes led to the discovery of five compounds that displayed varying degrees of HDAC isozyme selectivity. The anticancer activities of these molecules were validated using various biological assays including transcriptomic studies. Compounds 15, 14, and 19 possessed selective inhibitory activity against HDAC5, while 28 displayed selective inhibition of HDAC1 and HDAC2. Compound 22 was found to be a selective inhibitor for HDAC3 and HDAC9. Importantly, we discovered a none-hydroxamate based HDAC inhibitor, compound 28, representing a distinct chemical probe of HDAC inhibitors. It contains a trifluoromethyloxadiazolyl moiety (TFMO) as a non-chelating metal-binding group. The new compounds showed potent anti-proliferative activity when tested against MCF7 breast cancer cell line, as well as increased acetylation of histones and induce cells apoptosis. The new compounds apoptotic effects were validated through the upregulation of proapoptotic proteins caspases3 and 7 and downregulation of the antiapoptotic biomarkers C-MYC, BCL2, BCL3 and NFĸB genes. Furthermore, the new compounds arrested cell cycle at different phases, which was confirmed through downregulation of the CDK1, 2, 4, 6, E2F1 and RB1 proteins. Taken together, our findings provide the foundation for the development of new chemical probes as potential lead drug candidates for the treatment of cancer