Cyber Attack Surface Mapping For Offensive Security Testing

Security testing consists of automated processes, like Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and Static Application Security Testing (SAST), as well as manual offensive security testing, like Penetration Testing and Red Teaming. This nonautomated testing is frequently time-constrained and difficult to scale. Previous literature suggests that most research is spent in support of improving fully automated processes or in finding specific vulnerabilities, with little time spent improving the interpretation of the scanned attack surface critical to nonautomated testing. In this work, agglomerative hierarchical clustering is used to compress the Internet-facing hosts of 13 representative companies as collected by the Shodan search engine, resulting in an average 89% reduction in attack surface complexity. The work is then extended to map network services and also analyze the characteristics of the Log4Shell security vulnerability and its impact on attack surface mapping. The results highlighted outliers indicative of possible anti-patterns as well as opportunities to improve how testers and tools map the web attack surface. Ultimately the work is extended to compress web attack surfaces based on security relevant features, demonstrating via accuracy measurements not only that this compression is feasible but can also be automated. In the process a framework is created which could be extended in future work to compress other attack surfaces, including physical structures/campuses for physical security testing and even humans for social engineering tests

Systolic blood pressure reactions to acute stress are associated with future hypertension status in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study

These analyses examined the association between blood pressure reactions to acute psychological stress and subsequent hypertension status in a substantial Dutch cohort. Blood pressure was recorded during a resting baseline and during three acute stress tasks, Stroop colour word, mirror tracing and speech. Five years later, diagnosed hypertension status was determined by questionnaire. Participants were 453 (237 women) members of the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort. In analysis adjusting for a number of potential confounders, systolic blood pressure reactivity was positively related to future hypertension. This was the case irrespective of whether reactivity was calculated as the peak or the average response to the stress tasks. The association was strongest for reactions to the speech and Stroop tasks. Diastolic blood pressure reactivity was not significantly associated with hypertension. The results provide support for the reactivity hypothesis. \ud \u

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: Spectral classification of galaxies at z~1

We present a Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-based spectral classification, eta, for the first 5600 galaxies observed in the DEEP2 Redshift Survey. This parameter provides a very pronounced separation between absorption and emission dominated galaxy spectra - corresponding to passively evolving and actively star-forming galaxies in the survey respectively. In addition it is shown that despite the high resolution of the observed spectra, this parameter alone can be used to quite accurately reconstruct any given galaxy spectrum, suggesting there are not many `degrees of freedom' in the observed spectra of this galaxy population. It is argued that this form of classification, eta, will be particularly valuable in making future comparisons between high and low-redshift galaxy surveys for which very large spectroscopic samples are now readily available, particularly when used in conjunction with high-resolution spectral synthesis models which will be made public in the near future. We also discuss the relative advantages of this approach to distant galaxy classification compared to other methods such as colors and morphologies. Finally, we compare the classification derived here with that adopted for the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and in so doing show that the two systems are very similar. This will be particularly useful in subsequent analyses when making comparisons between results from each of these surveys to study evolution in the galaxy populations and large-scale structure.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Authority after emergency rule

In the context of economic crisis, Europe has witnessed a spate of extraordinary political measures pressed by executive discretion. This article examines what emergency rule of this kind implies for the possibility of normal rule thereafter. Political decision-makers face the challenge of drawing a line under the crisis so that the unconventional measures used to handle it do not compromise the polity's norms in lasting fashion. Based on an analysis of the preconditions for plausibly making such an act of separation, I suggest the principal resources for doing so in the EU case are missing. Emergency rule will tend to blend in with normal rule, to the detriment of the political order's legitimate authority. A more dubiously grounded ‘descriptive’ authority may conversely be enhanced by emergency rule, as may compliance for instrumental motivations, producing a polity that is stable even if weakly legitimate

Military veteran mortality following a survived suicide attempt

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Suicide is a global public health problem. Recently in the U.S., much attention has been given to preventing suicide and other premature mortality in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A strong predictor of suicide is a past suicide attempt, and suicide attempters have multiple physical and mental comorbidities that put them at risk for additional causes of death. We examined mortality among U.S. military veterans after hospitalization for attempted suicide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective cohort study was conducted with all military veterans receiving inpatient treatment during 1993-1998 at United States Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities following a suicide attempt. Deaths occurring during 1993-2002, the most recent available year at the time, were identified through VA Beneficiary and Records Locator System data and National Death Index data. Mortality data for the general U.S. adult population were also obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. Comparisons within the veteran cohort, between genders, and against the U.S. population were conducted with descriptive statistics and standardized mortality ratios. The actuarial method was used estimate the proportion of veterans in the cohort we expect would have survived through 2002 had they experienced the same rate of death that occurred over the study period in the U.S. population having the age and sex characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During 1993-1998, 10,163 veterans were treated and discharged at a VA medical center after a suicide attempt (mean age = 44 years; 91% male). There was a high prevalence of diagnosed alcohol disorder or abuse (31.8%), drug dependence or abuse (21.8%), psychoses (21.2%), depression (18.5%), and hypertension (14.2%). A total of 1,836 (18.1%) veterans died during follow up (2,941.4/100,000 person years). The cumulative survival probability after 10 years was 78.0% (95% CI = 72.9, 83.1). Hence the 10-year cumulative mortality risk was 22.0%, which was 3.0 times greater than expected. The leading causes overall were heart disease (20.2%), suicide (13.1%), and unintentional injury (12.7%). Whereas suicide was the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. population overall (1.8%) during the study period, suicide was the leading and second leading cause among women (25.0%) and men (12.7%) in the cohort, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Veterans who have attempted suicide face elevated risks of all-cause mortality with suicide being prominent. This represents an important population for prevention activities.</p

Marine pelagic ecosystems: the West Antarctic Peninsula

The marine ecosystem of the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) extends from the Bellingshausen Sea to the northern tip of the peninsula and from the mostly glaciated coast across the continental shelf to the shelf break in the west. The glacially sculpted coastline along the peninsula is highly convoluted and characterized by deep embayments that are often interconnected by channels that facilitate transport of heat and nutrients into the shelf domain. The ecosystem is divided into three subregions, the continental slope, shelf and coastal regions, each with unique ocean dynamics, water mass and biological distributions. The WAP shelf lies within the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone (SIZ) and like other SIZs, the WAP system is very productive, supporting large stocks of marine mammals, birds and the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Ecosystem dynamics is dominated by the seasonal and interannual variation in sea ice extent and retreat. The Antarctic Peninsula is one among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, having experienced a 28C increase in the annual mean temperature and a 68C rise in the mean winter temperature since 1950. Delivery of heat from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has increased significantly in the past decade, sufficient to drive to a 0.68C warming of the upper 300 m of shelf water. In the past 50 years and continuing in the twenty-first century, the warm, moist maritime climate of the northern WAP has been migrating south, displacing the once dominant cold, dry continental Antarctic climate and causing multi-level responses in the marine ecosystem. Ecosystem responses to the regional warming include increased heat transport, decreased sea ice extent and duration, local declines in icedependent Ade´lie penguins, increase in ice-tolerant gentoo and chinstrap penguins, alterations in phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition and changes in krill recruitment, abundance and availability to predators. The climate/ecological gradients extending along theWAPand the presence of monitoring systems, field stations and long-term research programmes make the region an invaluable observatory of climate change and marine ecosystem response

ESTUDO FITOQUÍMICO E POTENCIAL ANTIBACTERIANO DO LÁTEX DE Himatanthus drasticus (MART.) PLUMEL

Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel, popularly known as janaguba, is a latex medicinal plant widely used in the region of Cariri (CE) and used as an alternative source for the treatment of numerous diseases. The objective of the present work was to test the antibacterial and modulatory potential of the latex in natura (LIHD) and ethyl acetate extract of H. drasticus latex (EAEHD) alone and in combination with aminoglycoside antibiotics (amikacin and gentamicin) against standard and multiresistant strains, following the method of microdilution in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth. In the evaluation of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results were obtained ≥ 1024 μg / mL against the standard strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae for both LIHD and EAEHD. The natural products presented synergism in the activity of the aminoglycosides to strains of multiresistant bacteria Escherichia coli (EC 27), Staphylococcus aureus (SA 358) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP 10031), however they presented antagonism to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA 03). In the quantification of phenols, LIHD had 62.6 mg / g and EAEHD 51.8 mg / g gallic acid / g extract, and for total flavonoids, LIHD had 16.5 and EAEHD had 13.4 mg / g of flavonoids. Further research is needed for a possible use of these natural products combined with antimicrobials tested (aminoglycosides) against pathogenic strains. Through the results it was concluded that the natural products represent promising sources in the fight against bacterial resistance.Keywords: Aminoglycosides; Antimicrobian activity; Inhibitory Minimum Concentration; Himatanthus drasticus.Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel, conhecida popularmente como janaguba, é uma espécie medicinal produtora de látex bastante utilizado na região do Cariri (CE) e empregada como fonte alternativa para o tratamento de inúmeras enfermidades. O presente trabalho teve como principal objetivo testar o potencial antibacteriano e modulador do látex in natura (LIHD) e do extrato acetato de etila do látex de H. drasticus (EAEHD) isoladamente e em associação com antibióticos aminoglicosideos (amicacina e gentamicina), frente às cepas bacterianas padrão e multirresistentes, seguindo o método de microdiluição em caldo Brain Heart Infusion (BHI). Na avaliação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) foram obtidos resultados ≥ 1024µg/mL frente às cepas padrão de Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Klebsiella pneumoniae tanto para LIHD, quanto para o EAEHD. Os produtos naturais apresentaram sinergismo na atividade dos aminoglicosídeos perante cepas de bactérias multirresistentes Escherichia coli (EC 27), Staphylococcus aureus (SA 358) e Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP 10031), entretanto apresentaram antagonismo perante Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA 03). Na quantificação de fenóis o LIHD possui 62,6 mg/g e o EAEHD 51,8 mg/g de ácido gálico/g de extrato, e para flavanóides totais o LIHD apresentou 16,5 e o EAEHD 13,4 mg/g de flavanóides. Mais pesquisas são necessárias para uma possível utilização desses produtos naturais combinados aos antimicrobianos testados (aminoglicosídeos) frente às linhagens patogênicas. Através dos resultados concluiu-se que os produtos naturais representam fontes promissoras no combate à resistência bacteriana.Palavras chave: Aminoglicosídeos, Atividade antimicrobiana, Concentração Inibitória Mínima, Himatanthus drasticus

Empirical Legal Studies Before 1940: A Bibliographic Essay

The modern empirical legal studies movement has well-known antecedents in the law and society and law and economics traditions of the latter half of the 20th century. Less well known is the body of empirical research on legal phenomena from the period prior to World War II. This paper is an extensive bibliographic essay that surveys the English language empirical legal research from approximately 1940 and earlier. The essay is arranged around the themes in the research: criminal justice, civil justice (general studies of civil litigation, auto accident litigation and compensation, divorce, small claims, jurisdiction and procedure, civil juries), debt and bankruptcy, banking, appellate courts, legal needs, legal profession (including legal education), and judicial staffing and selection. Accompanying the essay is an extensive bibliography of research articles, books, and reports