Estimation of ransomware payments in Bitcoin ecosystem

Ransomware is one of the malicious software that is designed to prevent access to computer system until a sum of money is paid by the victim to the attacker. During the infection, the computer will either be locked, or the data will be encrypted. Ransoms are often demanded in Bitcoin, a largely anonymous Cryptocurrency. All transactions are recorded in the blockchain and verified by peer-to-peer networks. This paper investigation collects ten recent ransomware families, which use bitcoin as a payment for their ransom. In conjunction, we identified, collected and analysed Bitcoin addresses of users combining information from a clustering model and the blockchain. We used a heuristic clustering algorithm to reveal the hidden node's payment of ransomware. Finally, we demonstrated the characteristics of ransomware encryption mechanisms that include a view of the infected process and its execution, and the distinctive demands of ransom

WBSN in IoT health-based application: toward delay and energy consumption minimizing

The wireless body sensor network (WBSN) technologies are one of the essential technologies of the Internet of things (IoT) growths of the healthcare paradigm, where every patient is monitored through a group of small-powered and lightweight sensor nodes. Thus, energy consumption is a major issue in WBSN. The major causes of energy wastage in WBSN are collisions and retransmission process. However, the major cause of the collision happened when two sensors are attempting to transmit data at exactly the same time and same frequency, and the major cause of the retransmission process happened when the collision takes place or data does not received properly due to channel fading. In this paper, we proposed a cognitive cooperative communication with two master nodes, namely, as two cognitive master nodes (TCMN), which can eliminate the collision and reduce the retransmission process. First, a complete study of a scheme is investigated in terms of network architecture. Second, a mathematical model of the link and outage probability of the proposed protocol are derived. Third, the end-to-end delay, throughput, and energy consumption are analyzed and investigated. The simulation and numerical results show that the TCMN can do system performance under general conditions with respect to direct transmission mode (DTM) and existing work

Energy harvesting Internet of Things health-based paradigm: toward outage probability reduction through inter-wireless body area network cooperation

In today’s healthcare environment, the Internet of Things technology provides suitability among physicians and patients, as it is valuable in numerous medicinal fields. Wireless body sensor network technologies are essential technologies in the growth of Internet of Things healthcare paradigm, where every patient is monitored utilising small-powered and lightweight sensor nodes. A dual-hop, inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation and an incremental inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation with energy harvesting in the Internet of Things health-based paradigm have been investigated and designed in this work. The three protocols have been named and abbreviated as follows: energy harvesting–based dual-hop cooperation, energy harvesting–based inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation and energy harvesting–based incremental inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation. Outage probabilities for the three designed protocols were investigated and inspected, and mathematical expressions of the outage probabilities were derived. The simulation and numerical results showed that the energy harvesting–based incremental inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation provided superior performance over the energy harvesting–based inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation and energy harvesting–based dual-hop cooperation by 1.38 times and 5.72 times, respectively; while energy harvesting–based inter–wireless body sensor network cooperation achieved better performance over energy harvesting–based dual-hop cooperation by 1.87 times

Distributed remote antenna unit with selection-based of (RoF-IoT) paradigm: Performance improvement

Data availability statement: All data are available within manuscript.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Mixing the wireless medium with fiber optics can form a new communication system called a radio-over-fiber (RoF) network; it is a promising solution that can provide high bandwidth and a reliable connection between numerous sensors in wireless sensor networks (WSN) and the central office (base station) within a particular area. This paper first design and discusses new paradigms of fire detection in the IoT environment using RoF technology. Second, this paper covers the distribution of remote antenna unit (DRAU) architecture within RoF-IoT. Finally, best remote antennas unit selection (BRAUS) of distributed RAUs architecture protocols utilizing new selection metrics is proposed. Two important metrics have been analysed and mathematically modelled, outage probability and bandwidth efficiency, respectively. Both metrics have been analysed as a function of the distance, number of RAUs, fiber optic attenuation, and path loss factor. Based on the simulation and numerical analysis, the outage probability of proposed protocols is reduced by 65% compared to recent work; in addition, the bandwidth efficiency of the proposed protocol is increased by 34% compared to recent work.Brunel University London. Grant Number: J066

Enhancement of the duty cycle cooperative medium access control for wireless body area networks

This paper presents a novel energy-efficient and reliable connection to enhance the transmission of data over a shared medium for wireless body area networks (WBAN). We propose a novel protocol of two master nodes-based cooperative protocol. In the proposed protocol, two master nodes were considered, that is, the belt master node and the outer body master node. The master nodes work cooperatively to avoid the retransmission process by sensors due to fading and collision, reducing the bit error rate (BER), which results in a reduction of the duty cycle and average transmission power. In addition, we have also presented a mathematical model of the duty cycle with the proposed protocol for the WBAN. The results show that the proposed cooperative protocol reduced the BER by a factor of 4. The average transmission power is reduced by a factor of 0.21 and this shows the potential of the proposed technique to be used in future wearable wireless sensors and systems

Anti-Disturbance Compensation-Based Nonlinear Control for a Class of MIMO Uncertain Nonlinear Systems

Multi-Inputs-Multi-Outputs (MIMO) systems are recognized mainly in industrial applications with both input and state couplings, and uncertainties. The essential principle to deal with such difficulties is to eliminate the input couplings, then estimate the remaining issues in real-time, followed by an elimination process from the input channels. These difficulties are resolved in this research paper, where a decentralized control scheme is suggested using an Improved Active Disturbance Rejection Control (IADRC) configuration. A theoretical analysis using a state-space eigenvalue test followed by numerical simulations on a general uncertain nonlinear highly coupled MIMO system validated the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme in controlling such MIMO systems. Time-domain comparisons with the Conventional Active Disturbance Rejection Control (CADRC)-based decentralizing control scheme are also included

Non-Cooperative Game Theory Approach for Cognitive Cooperative Communication in WBAN

To increase the Quality of Service (QoS) of wireless body area network, we need an effective data-rate delivering method, which capably forwarding the data over several path. For this reason, we proposed a non-cooperative game approach, based on utilizing a pricing-based spectrum leasing mechanism to transmit the data over several path based on non-cooperative game theory. The parameter price c is together determined by WBAN sensor and D2D users. Then, all selected D2D users used optimized powers that can fulfil the need of the WBSN users. Numerical results show the proposed approach improves the utility of WBSN users and their throughput

Impact of Substitute Portland Cement with CKD on the Mechanical and Durability Characteristics of Cement Mortar

Cement mortar is a binding material that is made of cement, sand and water. In general, mixes of mortar are made of raw materials. However, using raw materials in producing mortar leads to many environmental and economic issues. One of the most common solutions to reduce these issues is replacing raw materials by waste and/or by-product materials; especially replacing cement. The aim of this research is to explore the characteristics of mortar mixes after partially replacing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) at three percentages (10%, 20% and 30%) in terms of initial and final setting time, compressive strength and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV). The control mortar specimen (mortar containing OPC only) results were adopted for comparison with results of mortar mixes that incorporated CKD. Results showed that increment in CKD replacement percentages led to a decrement in the compressive strength and UPV and an increment in the setting time

Impact of high volume GGBS replacement and steel bar length on flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete beams

The Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is one of the major ingredient utilized for the manufacture of concrete. The manufacturing of cement includes the release of huge amounts of CO2 gas as a main contributor for greenhouse influence and global warming. Several researchers have investigated the characteristics of OPC concrete utilizing cementitious materials like fly ash, silica fume, and Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) as replacement materials. The article aims to investigate experimentally the flexural behavior of concrete beams with GGBS. The experimental work was divided into three stages, the first one consists of six reinforced concrete beam specimens with (0%, 40% and 60%) of GGBS. During this stage, the used steel bars were 8 mm diameter and 500 mm in length. In the second stage, the length of the steel bars was reduced to 400 mm with the best mixture of (GGBS+OPC) that obtained from stage 1. In the third stage, the best length of steel bars was used with the best (GGBS+OPC) ratio to be tested at 7, 14 and 28 days from the date of casting. Consequences of this exploration suggests that replacement of OPC with 40 percent GGBS with 500 mm steel bar length can be used in reinforced concrete specimens as it shows comparable results relative to control mixtures (0% GGBS)

Lessons learned from COVID-19 Lockdown: An ASPED/MENA Study on Lifestyle Changes and Quality of Life during Ramadan Fasting in Children and Adolescents living with Type 1 Diabetes

Background: Lockdown was a unique experience that affected many aspects of life, particularly during the challenge of Ramadan fasting (RF). Studying this can increase understanding of the effects of lifestyle changes on quality of life (QoL) for children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) during RF. Methods: A cross-sectional study that assessed the effect of lockdown on lifestyle and QoL on fasting children living with T1D during Ramadan in the Middle East and North Africa region (2020-2021). We compared the child (self) and parent (proxy) reports using PEDQoL v3.0 disease specific questionnaire during lockdown and non-lockdown periods, and assessed correlations with lifestyle changes using regression and gap analyses. Results: A total of 998 reports from 499 children with T1D aged 8-18 years (study=276, control=223), and their parents during RF in lockdown and non-lockdown periods. Fathers were more involved in their children’s care during lockdown (p=0.019). Patients had better compliance with treatment (p= 0.002), a reversed sleep pattern (p= 0.033), increased food intake (p=<0.001) and less exercise (p<0.001). Children and parents perceived better QoL during lockdown (p=<0.001) with no differences between their reports in “Diabetes Symptoms”, “Treatment Adherence” and “Communication” domains. Self and proxy reports were different in all domains during non-lockdown (p-values <0.001- 0.009). In gap analysis, although not statistically significant, the gap was approximated between children’s and parents’ perceptions in all domains during lockdown. Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdown had a positive impact on QoL of children living with T1D during RF, possibly due to lifestyle changes and superior psychosocial family dynamics