Comparación de resultados de modelación de sombras empleando Qgis y ShadeMotion en un potrero arbolado

La modelación de sistemas de producción es una herramienta de gran utilidad tanto para la sistematización de los conocimientos existentes acerca de los mismos, así como para fundamentar la toma de decisiones con respecto a situaciones de incertidumbre y variabilidad espacial. Tales situaciones, pueden presentarse por la cantidad de variables de orden traumático, social, económico, político y ecológico, que inciden sobre las dinámicas y los resultados generados por dichos sistemas de producción. Este documento presenta una evaluación preliminar y somera de los resultados obtenidos al desarrollar la simulación de sombras de un potrero con árboles dispersos en un predio rural del municipio de Piedras, departamento del Tolima. Las salidas gráficas obtenidas se comparan de manera visual con los resultados obtenidos empleando el software especializado ShadeMotion 3.0. Los resultados alcanzados generan optimismo frente al potencial uso de sistemas de información geográfico y en particular del software Qgis para estos fines

WeaselBoard : zero-day exploit detection for programmable logic controllers.

Critical infrastructures, such as electrical power plants and oil refineries, rely on programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to control essential processes. State of the art security cannot detect attacks on PLCs at the hardware or firmware level. This renders critical infrastructure control systems vulnerable to costly and dangerous attacks. WeaselBoard is a PLC backplane analysis system that connects directly to the PLC backplane to capture backplane communications between modules. WeaselBoard forwards inter-module traffic to an external analysis system that detects changes to process control settings, sensor values, module configuration information, firmware updates, and process control program (logic) updates. WeaselBoard provides zero-day exploit detection for PLCs by detecting changes in the PLC and the process. This approach to PLC monitoring is protected under U.S. Patent Application 13/947,887

Modeling and simulation for cyber-physical system security research, development and applications.

This paper describes a new hybrid modeling and simulation architecture developed at Sandia for understanding and developing protections against and mitigations for cyber threats upon control systems. It first outlines the challenges to PCS security that can be addressed using these technologies. The paper then describes Virtual Control System Environments (VCSE) that use this approach and briefly discusses security research that Sandia has performed using VCSE. It closes with recommendations to the control systems security community for applying this valuable technology

An analysis of Linux RAM forensics

During a forensic investigation of a computer system, the ability to retrieve volatile information can be of critical importance. The contents of RAM could reveal malicious code running on the system that has been deleted from the hard drive or, better yet, that was never resident on the hard drive at all. RAM can also provide the programs most recently run and files most recently opened in the system. However, due to the nature of modern operating systems, these programs and files are not typically stored contiguously-which makes most retrieval efforts of files larger than one page size futile. To date, analysis of RAM images has been largely restricted to searching for ASCII string content, which typically only yields text information such as document fragments, passwords or scripts. This thesis explores the memory management structures in a SUSE Linux system (kernel version 2.6.13-15) to make sense out of the chaos in RAM and facilitate the retrieval of files/programs larger than one page size. The analysis includes methods for incorporating swap space information for files that may not reside completely within physical memory. The results of this thesis will become the basis of later research efforts in RAM forensics. This includes the creation of tools that will provide forensic analysts with a clear map of what is resident in the volatile memory of a system.http://archive.org/details/annalysisoflinux109452933Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Authenticating cache

The aim of the Authenticating Cache architecture is to ensure that machine instructions in a Read Only Memory (ROM) are legitimate from the time the ROM image is signed (immediately after compilation) to the time they are placed in the cache for the processor to consume. The proposed architecture allows the detection of ROM image modifications during distribution or when it is loaded into memory. It also ensures that modified instructions will not execute in the processor-as the cache will not be loaded with a page that fails an integrity check. The authenticity of the instruction stream can also be verified in this architecture. The combination of integrity and authenticity assurance greatly improves the security profile of a system

Transparency in Crowdfunding for Emergency Management

Online crowdfunding has emerged as a powerful tool to raise funds for emergency response. Crowdfunding campaigns can use two transparency tools to attract donors: updates and certification. Updates are additional messages that the organizer issues after launching the campaign and are a form of operational transparency when they communicate the campaign's work to donors. Alternatively, certification is a form of conventional transparency that ensures the campaign truly benefits a charitable purpose. Using an econometric analysis, we investigate the effects of transparency on donations. We study the direction of causality and mechanisms behind work-related updates by conducting experiments. Results from the econometric analysis using over 100,000 campaigns benefiting victims of emergencies reveal that both updates and certification have positive effects on donations. Each additional work-related word in an update (operational transparency) increases donations on average by 65 dollars per month, while certification (conventional transparency) raises funds on average by 22 dollars per month

Análisis del mercado de gas natural para la generación eléctrica. Retos y perspectivas 2015-2018

The purpose of this research was to determine the challenges and prospects of natural gas for electricity generation from 2015 to 2018. To this end, the analysis of the regulatory proposal to amend the Reliability Charge develops, the results and effects of its implementation in the country are studied and the natural gas market in Colombia is analyzed. Thus, requirements are established in the field of natural gas for generation in the country and it is estimated that the draft resolution could generate negative impacts on revenue of about 42% of thermal plants which currently has the country, among which 30% generated from natural gas. However, opportunities are identified for the country to evaluate what is the optimal mix of technologies so as to find cost efficiency and a higher level of reliability.El propósito de esta investigación fue determinar los retos y perspectivas del gas natural para la generación eléctrica 2015-2018. Para tal fin, se desarrolla el análisis de la propuesta regulatoria que pretende modificar el Cargo por Confiabilidad, se estudian los resultados y efectos de su implementación en el país y se analiza el mercado de gas natural en Colombia. De esta manera, se establecen necesidades en el campo del gas natural para la generación en el país y se estima que el proyecto de resolución podría generar impactos negativos en los ingresos de cerca del 42% de las plantas térmicas con las que actualmente cuenta el país, entre las cuales el 30% genera a partir de gas natural. No obstante, se identifican oportunidades para que el país evalúe cual es la mezcla óptima de tecnologías de tal manera que encuentre eficiencia de costos y un mayor nivel de confiabilidad

Operational Transparency on Crowdfunding Platforms: Effect on Donations for Emergency Response

Online crowdfunding has emerged as a powerful tool to raise funds for emergency response. Crowdfunding campaigns can use two transparency tools to attract donors: updates and certication. Updates are additional messages that the organizer issues after launching the campaign and are a form of operational transparency when they communicate the campaign's work to donors. Alternatively, certication is a form of conventional transparency that ensures the campaign truly benets a charitable purpose. Using an econometric analysis, we investigate the eects of transparency on donations. We study the direction of causality and mechanisms behind work-related updates by conducting experiments. Results from the econometric analysis using over 100,000 campaigns beneting victims of emergencies reveal that both updates and certication have positive eects on donations. Each additional work-related word in an update (operational transparency) increases donations on average by 65 dollars per month, while certification (conventional transparency) raises funds on average by 22 dollars per month. Results from the experiments conrm the direction of causality; posting work- related updates in crowdfunding campaigns increases donations. Two mechanisms explain this eect: donors' enhanced perceptions of eort and perceptions of trust

Análisis del mercado de gas natural para la generación eléctrica. Retos y perspectivas 2015-2018

The purpose of this research was to determine the challenges and prospects of natural gas for electricity generation from 2015 to 2018. To this end, the analysis of the regulatory proposal to amend the Reliability Charge develops, the results and effects of its implementation in the country are studied and the natural gas market in Colombia is analyzed. Thus, requirements are established in the field of natural gas for generation in the country and it is estimated that the draft resolution could generate negative impacts on revenue of about 42% of thermal plants which currently has the country, among which 30% generated from natural gas. However, opportunities are identified for the country to evaluate what is the optimal mix of technologies so as to find cost efficiency and a higher level of reliability.El propósito de esta investigación fue determinar los retos y perspectivas del gas natural para la generación eléctrica 2015-2018. Para tal fin, se desarrolla el análisis de la propuesta regulatoria que pretende modificar el Cargo por Confiabilidad, se estudian los resultados y efectos de su implementación en el país y se analiza el mercado de gas natural en Colombia. De esta manera, se establecen necesidades en el campo del gas natural para la generación en el país y se estima que el proyecto de resolución podría generar impactos negativos en los ingresos de cerca del 42% de las plantas térmicas con las que actualmente cuenta el país, entre las cuales el 30% genera a partir de gas natural. No obstante, se identifican oportunidades para que el país evalúe cual es la mezcla óptima de tecnologías de tal manera que encuentre eficiencia de costos y un mayor nivel de confiabilidad