PILOT : Practical Privacy-Preserving Indoor Localization Using OuTsourcing

In the last decade, we observed a constantly growing number of Location-Based Services (LBSs) used in indoor environments, such as for targeted advertising in shopping malls or finding nearby friends. Although privacy-preserving LBSs were addressed in the literature, there was a lack of attention to the problem of enhancing privacy of indoor localization, i.e., the process of obtaining the users' locations indoors and, thus, a prerequisite for any indoor LBS. In this work we present PILOT, the first practically efficient solution for Privacy-Preserving Indoor Localization (PPIL) that was obtained by a synergy of the research areas indoor localization and applied cryptography. We design, implement, and evaluate protocols for Wi-Fi fingerprint-based PPIL that rely on 4 different distance metrics. To save energy and network bandwidth for the mobile end devices in PPIL, we securely outsource the computations to two non-colluding semi-honest parties. Our solution mixes different secure two-party computation protocols and we design size-and depth-optimized circuits for PPIL. We construct efficient circuit building blocks that are of independent interest: Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) capable oblivious access to an array with low circuit depth and selection of the k-Nearest Neighbors with small circuit size. Additionally, we reduce Received Signal Strength (RSS) values from 8 bits to 4 bits without any significant accuracy reduction. Our most efficient PPIL protocol is 553x faster than that of Li et al. (INFOCOM'14) and 500× faster than that of Ziegeldorf et al. (WiSec'14). Our implementation on commodity hardware has practical run-times of less than 1 second even for the most accurate distance metrics that we consider, and it can process more than half a million PPIL queries per day.Peer reviewe

Robustness, Security and Privacy in Location-Based Services for Future IoT : A Survey

Internet of Things (IoT) connects sensing devices to the Internet for the purpose of exchanging information. Location information is one of the most crucial pieces of information required to achieve intelligent and context-aware IoT systems. Recently, positioning and localization functions have been realized in a large amount of IoT systems. However, security and privacy threats related to positioning in IoT have not been sufficiently addressed so far. In this paper, we survey solutions for improving the robustness, security, and privacy of location-based services in IoT systems. First, we provide an in-depth evaluation of the threats and solutions related to both global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and non-GNSS-based solutions. Second, we describe certain cryptographic solutions for security and privacy of positioning and location-based services in IoT. Finally, we discuss the state-of-the-art of policy regulations regarding security of positioning solutions and legal instruments to location data privacy in detail. This survey paper addresses a broad range of security and privacy aspects in IoT-based positioning and localization from both technical and legal points of view and aims to give insight and recommendations for future IoT systems providing more robust, secure, and privacy-preserving location-based services.Peer reviewe

Status of Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea

The brackish Baltic Sea hosts species of various origins and environmental tolerances. These immigrated to the sea 10,000 to 15,000 years ago or have been introduced to the area over the relatively recent history of the system. The Baltic Sea has only one known endemic species. While information on some abiotic parameters extends back as long as five centuries and first quantitative snapshot data on biota (on exploited fish populations) originate generally from the same time, international coordination of research began in the early twentieth century. Continuous, annual Baltic Sea-wide long-term datasets on several organism groups (plankton, benthos, fish) are generally available since the mid-1950s. Based on a variety of available data sources (published papers, reports, grey literature, unpublished data), the Baltic Sea, incl. Kattegat, hosts altogether at least 6,065 species, including at least 1,700 phytoplankton, 442 phytobenthos, at least 1,199 zooplankton, at least 569 meiozoobenthos, 1,476 macrozoobenthos, at least 380 vertebrate parasites, about 200 fish, 3 seal, and 83 bird species. In general, but not in all organism groups, high sub-regional total species richness is associated with elevated salinity. Although in comparison with fully marine areas the Baltic Sea supports fewer species, several facets of the system's diversity remain underexplored to this day, such as micro-organisms, foraminiferans, meiobenthos and parasites. In the future, climate change and its interactions with multiple anthropogenic forcings are likely to have major impacts on the Baltic biodiversity

Polychaete invader enhances resource utilization in a species-poor system

Ecosystem consequences of biodiversity change are often studied from a species loss perspective, while the effects of invasive species on ecosystem functions are rarely quantified. In this experimental study, we used isotope tracers to measure the incorporation and burial of carbon and nitrogen from a simulated spring phytoplankton bloom by communities of one to four species of deposit-feeding macrofauna found in the species-poor Baltic Sea. The recently invading polychaete Marenzelleriaarctia, which has spread throughout the Baltic Sea, grows more rapidly than the native species Monoporeia affinis, Pontoporeia femorata (both amphipods) and Macoma balthica (a bivalve), resulting in higher biomass increase (biomass production) in treatments including the polychaete. Marenzelleria incorporated and buried bloom material at rates similar to the native species. Multi-species treatments generally had higher isotope incorporation, indicative of utilization of bloom material, than expected from monoculture yields of the respective species. The mechanism behind this observed over-yielding was mainly niche complementarity in utilization of the bloom input, and was more evident in communities including the invader. In contrast, multi-species treatments had generally lower biomass increase than expected. This contrasting pattern suggests that there is little overlap in resource use of freshly deposited bloom material between Marenzelleria and the native species but it is likely that interference competition acts to dampen resulting community biomass. In conclusion, an invasive species can enhance incorporation and burial of organic matter from settled phytoplankton blooms, two processes fundamental for marine productivity

How Do They Do It? – Understanding the Success of Marine Invasive Species

From the depths of the oceans to the shallow estuaries and wetlands of our coasts, organisms of the marine environment are teeming with unique adaptations to cope with a multitude of varying environmental conditions. With millions of years and a vast volume of water to call their home, they have become quite adept at developing specialized and unique techniques for survival and – given increasing human mediated transport – biological invasions. A growing world human population and a global economy drives the transportation of goods across the oceans and with them invasive species via ballast water and attached to ship hulls. In any given 24-hour period, there are about 10,000 species being transported across different biogeographic regions. If any of them manage to take hold and establish a range in an exotic habitat, the implications for local ecosystems can be costly. This review on marine invasions highlights trends among successful non-indigenous species (NIS), from vectors of transport to ecological and physiological plasticity. Apart from summarizing patterns of successful invasions, it discusses the implications of how successfully established NIS impact the local environment, economy and human health. Finally, it looks to the future and discusses what questions need to be addressed and what models can tell us about what the outlook on future marine invasions is

RAIM and complementary Kalman filtering for GNSS reliability enhancement

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Biochar from Willow Grown on Marginal Lands in Finland

Willow biochar can help to sequestrate carbon. However, biomasses should not be grown on arable lands, as it would increase competition with food production and lead to sustainability issues such as increased food prices and decreased food security. The purpose of this study is to calculate the carbon footprint (CF) of willow biochar in Finland and assess the greenhouse gas compensation potential of marginal lands if they are utilized for willow biochar production. The CF of willow biochar is inadequately assessed together with marginal lands in the literature. A cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of willow biochar was conducted. The results were then applied to assess the total CF of marginal lands. It was found that the CF of willow biochar is −1875 kgCO2eq t−1 of dry biochar. Grown on marginal lands in Finland, willow biochar could compensate 7.7% of yearly agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. On buffer zones, willow biochar could also compensate some of the emissions depending on the zone size. The results of the study support current findings of biochar as a carbon negative product. The study also indicates that willow biochar produced in marginal lands can be used to compensate agricultural greenhouse gas emissions to some extent