Between quantum logic and concurrency

We start from two closure operators defined on the elements of a special kind of partially ordered sets, called causal nets. Causal nets are used to model histories of concurrent processes, recording occurrences of local states and of events. If every maximal chain (line) of such a partially ordered set meets every maximal antichain (cut), then the two closure operators coincide, and generate a complete orthomodular lattice. In this paper we recall that, for any closed set in this lattice, every line meets either it or its orthocomplement in the lattice, and show that to any line, a two-valued state on the lattice can be associated. Starting from this result, we delineate a logical language whose formulas are interpreted over closed sets of a causal net, where every line induces an assignment of truth values to formulas. The resulting logic is non-classical; we show that maximal antichains in a causal net are associated to Boolean (hence "classical") substructures of the overall quantum logic.Comment: In Proceedings QPL 2012, arXiv:1407.842

A Taxonomy for Incidents in Communication Systems

This report deals with the construction of a taxonomy of incidents in communication systems and is organised as follows: the first section concerns a survey of existing taxonomies, glossaries or controlled languages for computer security incidents. It starts with a definition of the terms used in this report and a discussion on the use of taxonomies as measurement tools. The survey aims at clarifying the importance of the definition of a common language for exchanging and gathering information on computer security. The second section presents the original ideas for the taxonomy proposed with this report. The main assumption is in the definition of the main functions a communication system should perform and in defining a disruption as the lack of one of these functions. The third section is the actual presentation of the taxonomy. Some examples of classification in this taxonomy of known computer security incidents are added. While the overall aim of this work is at the construction of complete taxonomy for communication systems --- including the telecommunication services --- the examples provided in this section will mainly deal with disruptions occurring in the Internet domain. The fourth section presents the future work to be done for continuing the development of the taxonomy proposed here.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Requirements of a Quantum Key Distribution Reference Platform. JRC Project 867 Quantum Cryptography Study

The concept of a quantum key distribution reference platform is defined and the background against which the requirements for such a platform have been identified is explained. Availability of products, forthcoming QKD networks, standards, and the character of the market are explained. The requirements themselves are listed, with a brief explanation of the rationale for each. The main applications of interest are described.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Design of a Controlled Language for Critical Infrastructures Protection

We describe a project for the construction of controlled language for critical infrastructures protection (CIP). This project originates from the need to coordinate and categorize the communications on CIP at the European level. These communications can be physically represented by official documents, reports on incidents, informal communications and plain e-mail. We explore the application of traditional library science tools for the construction of controlled languages in order to achieve our goal. Our starting point is an analogous work done during the sixties in the field of nuclear science known as the Euratom Thesaurus.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

A model of distributed key generation for industrial control systems

11th International Workshop on Discrete Event Systems, WODES 2012; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Mexico; 3 October 2012 through 5 October 2012The cyber-security of industrial control systems (ICS) is gaining high relevance due to the impact of industrial system failures on the citizen life. There is an urgent need for the consideration of security in their design, and for the analysis of the related vulnerabilities and potential threats. The high exposure of industrial critical infrastructure to cyber-threats is mainly due to the intrinsic weakness of the communication protocols used to control the process network. The peculiarities of the industrial protocols (low computational power, large geographical distribution, near to real-time constraints) make hard the effective use of traditional cryptographic schemes and in particular the implementation of an effective key management infrastructure supporting a cryptographic layer. In this paper, we describe a "model of distributed key generation for industrial control systems" we have recently implemented. The model is based on a known Distributed Key Generator protocol we have adapted to an industrial control system environment and to the related communication protocol (Modbus). To validate in a formal way selected security properties of the model, we introduced a Petri Nets representation. This representation allows for modeling attacks against the protocol and understanding some potential weaknesses of its implementation in the industrial control system environment

The Impact of quantum technologies on the EU's Future Policies: Part 3 Perspectives for Quantum Computing

This report describes a survey of opinions in relevant technology communities regarding the best options for research and development of quantum computing, the likely impact on various sectors, and the expected timescales. The survey is intended to contribute to the preparatory discussions for the quantum technology Future and Emerging Technology (FET) Flagship, planned for 2020-30. The overall view of the participants on the technological perspectives for quantum computing is positive and it is seen as likely to be benign.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Role of thesauri in a scientific organisation

We aim to describe the mediation language between users and indexers in a document retrieval system for a big scientific community intimately related to European Union policies. We assume that this mediation is played by thesauri: sets of indexes apparently coordinating the possible searches by means of term-to-term relations like NT, RT and so on. While persons-to-terms relations are consequent to the use of thesauri for indexing and retrieval, person-to-person relations are embodied into a thesaurus via the implicit repre- sentation of the organisation it serves. In this way, thesauri constitute a network of mediation having historical, social and - because of the scien- tific community served - scientific and technological perspectives. These three perspectives are embedded in time, since changes in organisation change the person-to-person relations, change in retrieval and indexing needs change the person-to-term relations and changes in document type and science change term-to-term relations. In particular, we want to analyse the network originally proposed by the EURATOM thesaurus (1st ed.; European Atomic Energy Community. Information and Documentation Center, Brussels, 1964) and the network of relations - in the three perspectives above - it assumed. Subsequently, we compare the results of this analysis with a more recent thesaurus designed for a community very close to the one originating the EURATOM thesaurus. In doing this, we designed a system that aims the user to browse a path built through the relations. Its in- terface is based on different concepts: Focus+Context and Elastic Grid, which led to the creation of a flexible graphical structure characterised by hierarchically-arranged and scalable information visualisation

An application of the Communication Disciplines of C. A. Petri to the analysis and design of a communication system

We consider the Communication Disciplines, introduced by Carl Adam Petri in the seventies, as a powerful tool for the analysis and design of communication processes. The general context in which we aim at applying them is decision-making in the European Union. Decision-making can be the output of very different communication and coordination processes: from regulated and loosely regulated processes like co- and self-regulation as defined by the European legislation to tight ordering of parliamentary debate in one direction to completely free information exchange in small groups of interest in the opposite direction. We present briefly the Communication Disciplines and use them as a tool for the analysis and design of a communication system for a specific process of information exchange in the field of critical infrastructure protection.JRC.DG.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Design of a Platform for Information Exchange on Protection of Critical Infrastructures

In order to face risk in critical infrastructures, coordination and communication are fundamental factors. The fragmentation of the management of infrastructures and the delegation of part of the management of risk to private bodies asks for effective electronic communications. These communications should integrate or substitute traditional face to face communications and protocols and should involve all relevant European actors and regulatory bodies. The technology on which these communications are exchanged should contribute to the creation of mutual trust among the involved actors. The design of an effective information exchange system on critical infrastructures is a huge enterprise since the electronic communication technology is apparently still immature in this respect. Consequently, some theoretical work has still to be done and accurate design is needed before proceeding with the engineering phase.JRC.G.6-Sensors, radar technologies and cybersecurit