Chameleon: a Blind Double Trapdoor Hash Function for Securing AMI Data Aggregation

Data aggregation is an integral part of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployment that is implemented by the concentrator. Data aggregation reduces the number of transmissions, thereby reducing communication costs and increasing the bandwidth utilization of AMI. However, the concentrator poses a great risk of being tampered with, leading to erroneous bills and possible consumer disputes. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end integrity protocol using elliptic curve based chameleon hashing to provide data integrity and authenticity. The concentrator generates and sends a chameleon hash value of the aggregated readings to the Meter Data Management System (MDMS) for verification, while the smart meter with the trapdoor key computes and sends a commitment value to the MDMS so that the resulting chameleon hash value calculated by the MDMS is equivalent to the previous hash value sent by the concentrator. By comparing the two hash values, the MDMS can validate the integrity and authenticity of the data sent by the concentrator. Compared with the discrete logarithm implementation, the ECC implementation reduces the computational cost of MDMS, concentrator and smart meter by approximately 36.8%, 80%, and 99% respectively. We also demonstrate the security soundness of our protocol through informal security analysis

Erratum to: Comparative Studies of the Growth and Characterization of Germanium Epitaxial Film on Silicon (001) with 0° and 6° Offcut

In the original article we presented results that show that the strain in germanium (Ge) epitaxial films grown directly on a silicon (Si) (001) with 6° offcut has a tensile strain of 0.6%. This strain value is much higher than the typical tensile strain value of 0.2% reported for Ge/Si. This discrepancy is due unintentional omission of the Si offcut angle and azimuth angle (φ) of the sample during high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurement, and it has unfortunately resulted in a misleading result

Secondary Household Transmission of SARS, Singapore

Secondary household transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was studied in 114 households involving 417 contacts. The attack rate was low (6.2%). Occupation of the index case was the factor that most influenced household transmission (adjusted hazard ratio for healthcare workers 0.157; 95% confidence interval 0.042 to 0.588)

Recurrent Fusion Genes in Gastric Cancer: CLDN18-ARHGAP26 Induces Loss of Epithelial Integrity.

Genome rearrangements, a hallmark of cancer, can result in gene fusions with oncogenic properties. Using DNA paired-end-tag (DNA-PET) whole-genome sequencing, we analyzed 15 gastric cancers (GCs) from Southeast Asians. Rearrangements were enriched in open chromatin and shaped by chromatin structure. We identified seven rearrangement hot spots and 136 gene fusions. In three out of 100 GC cases, we found recurrent fusions between CLDN18, a tight junction gene, and ARHGAP26, a gene encoding a RHOA inhibitor. Epithelial cell lines expressing CLDN18-ARHGAP26 displayed a dramatic loss of epithelial phenotype and long protrusions indicative of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Fusion-positive cell lines showed impaired barrier properties, reduced cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, retarded wound healing, and inhibition of RHOA. Gain of invasion was seen in cancer cell lines expressing the fusion. Thus, CLDN18-ARHGAP26 mediates epithelial disintegration, possibly leading to stomach H(+) leakage, and the fusion might contribute to invasiveness once a cell is transformed. Cell Rep 2015 Jul 14; 12(2):272-285

Multiancestry Genome-Wide Association Study of Lipid Levels Incorporating Gene-Alcohol Interactions

A person's lipid profile is influenced by genetic variants and alcohol consumption, but the contribution of interactions between these exposures has not been studied. We therefore incorporated gene-alcohol interactions into a multiancestry genome-wide association study of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. We included 45 studies in stage 1 (genome-wide discovery) and 66 studies in stage 2 (focused follow-up), for a total of 394,584 individuals from 5 ancestry groups. Analyses covered the period July 2014-November 2017. Genetic main effects and interaction effects were jointly assessed by means of a 2-degrees-of-freedom (df) test, and a 1-df test was used to assess the interaction effects alone. Variants at 495 loci were at least suggestively associated (P <1 x 10(-6)) with lipid levels in stage 1 and were evaluated in stage 2, followed by combined analyses of stage 1 and stage 2. In the combined analysis of stages 1 and 2, a total of 147 independent loci were associated with lipid levels at P <5 x 10(-8) using 2-df tests, of which 18 were novel. No genome-wide-significant associations were found testing the interaction effect alone. The novel loci included several genes (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSK5), vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGFB), and apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide 1 (APOBEC1) complementation factor (A1CF)) that have a putative role in lipid metabolism on the basis of existing evidence from cellular and experimental models.Peer reviewe

Towards trusted and secure communications in a vehicular environment

Le routage et la gestion des clés sont les plus grands défis dans les réseaux de véhicules. Un comportement de routage inapproprié peut affecter l’efficacité des communications et affecter la livraison des applications liées à la sécurité. D’autre part, la gestion des clés, en particulier en raison de l’utilisation de la gestion des certificats PKI, peut entraîner une latence élevée, ce qui peut ne pas convenir à de nombreuses applications critiques. Pour cette raison, nous proposons deux modèles de confiance pour aider le protocole de routage à sélectionner un chemin de bout en bout sécurisé pour le transfert. Le premier modèle se concentre sur la détection de noeuds égoïstes, y compris les attaques basées sur la réputation, conçues pour compromettre la «vraie» réputation d’un noeud. Le second modèle est destiné à détecter les redirecteurs qui modifient le contenu d’un paquet avant la retransmission. Dans la gestion des clés, nous avons développé un système de gestion des clés d’authentification et de sécurité (SA-KMP) qui utilise une cryptographie symétrique pour protéger la communication, y compris l’élimination des certificats pendant la communication pour réduire les retards liés à l’infrastructure PKI.Routing and key management are the biggest challenges in vehicular networks. Inappropriate routing behaviour may affect the effectiveness of communications and affect the delivery of safety-related applications. On the other hand, key management, especially due to the use of PKI certificate management, can lead to high latency, which may not be suitable for many time-critical applications. For this reason, we propose two trust models to assist the routing protocol in selecting a secure end-to-end path for forwarding. The first model focusses on detecting selfish nodes, including reputation-based attacks, designed to compromise the “true” reputation of a node. The second model is intended to detect forwarders that modify the contents of a packet before retransmission. In key management, we have developed a Secure and Authentication Key Management Protocol (SA-KMP) scheme that uses symmetric cryptography to protect communication, including eliminating certificates during communication to reduce PKI-related delays

Design of differentially-driven chip antenna

In this thesis, a differentially driven microstrip antenna using an aperture coupled feed technique is proposed. A differential antenna is preferred because of lower noise; lower susceptibility to interference and is more suitable for high level integration or single chip solution of radio systems. Thus, the use of lossy balun which is often used to connect single-ended antenna to RF circuits can be eliminated. First, the design formulas for single ended microstrip antenna have been examined to design for differentially microstrip antenna using the aperture coupled feed techniques. It was found that the patch width of the differential antenna structure has to be widened to excite the fundamental mode〖 TM〗_01 and the patch length needs to be shortened to achieve the resonant frequency of 2GHz. The shift of the resonant frequency is due to the induced inductance caused by the slots in the ground plane. The research works presented in this thesis conclude that the excess reactance of the differentially driven aperture coupled antenna can be eliminated by tuning the stub length; The required resistance of the antenna structure can be adjusted by varying the aperture length; the occurrence of the resonance depends on the electrical separation which is defined as the ratio of the distance between the two driving points to the free space wavelength λ_0. When the driving points are located far from one another ξ/λ_0 >0.1 for an electrically thin substrate, resonance occurs. When the driving points are located near to each other ξ/λ_0 <0.1, there will be no resonance.Bachelor of Engineerin

Vers des communications de confiance et sécurisées dans un environnement véhiculaire

Routing and key management are the biggest challenges in vehicular networks. Inappropriate routing behaviour may affect the effectiveness of communications and affect the delivery of safety-related applications. On the other hand, key management, especially due to the use of PKI certificate management, can lead to high latency, which may not be suitable for many time-critical applications. For this reason, we propose two trust models to assist the routing protocol in selecting a secure end-to-end path for forwarding. The first model focusses on detecting selfish nodes, including reputation-based attacks, designed to compromise the “true” reputation of a node. The second model is intended to detect forwarders that modify the contents of a packet before retransmission. In key management, we have developed a Secure and Authentication Key Management Protocol (SA-KMP) scheme that uses symmetric cryptography to protect communication, including eliminating certificates during communication to reduce PKI-related delays.Le routage et la gestion des clés sont les plus grands défis dans les réseaux de véhicules. Un comportement de routage inapproprié peut affecter l’efficacité des communications et affecter la livraison des applications liées à la sécurité. D’autre part, la gestion des clés, en particulier en raison de l’utilisation de la gestion des certificats PKI, peut entraîner une latence élevée, ce qui peut ne pas convenir à de nombreuses applications critiques. Pour cette raison, nous proposons deux modèles de confiance pour aider le protocole de routage à sélectionner un chemin de bout en bout sécurisé pour le transfert. Le premier modèle se concentre sur la détection de noeuds égoïstes, y compris les attaques basées sur la réputation, conçues pour compromettre la «vraie» réputation d’un noeud. Le second modèle est destiné à détecter les redirecteurs qui modifient le contenu d’un paquet avant la retransmission. Dans la gestion des clés, nous avons développé un système de gestion des clés d’authentification et de sécurité (SA-KMP) qui utilise une cryptographie symétrique pour protéger la communication, y compris l’élimination des certificats pendant la communication pour réduire les retards liés à l’infrastructure PKI

Growth and characterization of germanium epitaxial film on silicon (001) using reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition

High quality germanium (Ge) epitaxial film is grown directly on silicon (001) substrate using a “three-step growth” approach in a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition system. The growth steps consist of sequential low temperature (LT) at 400 °C, intermediate temperature ramp (LT-HT) of ~ 6.5 °C/min and high temperature (HT) at 600 °C. This is followed by post-growth anneal in hydrogen at temperature ranging from 680 to 825 °C. Analytical characterizations have shown that the Ge epitaxial film of thickness ~ 1 μm experiences thermally induced tensile strain of 0.20% with a threading dislocation density of < 107 cm− 2 under optical microscope and root mean square roughness of ~ 0.9 nm. Further analysis has shown that the annealing time at high temperature has an impact on the surface morphology of the Ge epitaxial film. Further reduction in the RMS roughness can be achieved either through chemical mechanical polishing or to insert an annealing step between the LT–HT ramp and HT steps