Covid-19 infection; loss of taste, smell, and neurogenic respiratory failure

Neurological Signs and Symptoms in COVID-19: Like the rest of the world, Pakistan is been gripped by unprecedented and complex burden of COVID-19. While the diseases got upgraded to a pandemic, the preparedness of even the first world countries to combat COVID-19 is distressing, as there seems to be a lack of clear strategy to tackle the disease spread and treatment

Hidden in Plain Sight: Exploring Encrypted Channels in Android apps

As privacy features in Android operating system improve, privacy-invasive apps may gradually shift their focus to non-standard and covert channels for leaking private user/device information. Such leaks also remain largely undetected by state-of-the-art privacy analysis tools, which are very effective in uncovering privacy exposures via regular HTTP and HTTPS channels. In this study, we design and implement, ThirdEye, to significantly extend the visibility of current privacy analysis tools, in terms of the exposures that happen across various non-standard and covert channels, i.e., via any protocol over TCP/UDP (beyond HTTP/S), and using multi-layer custom encryption over HTTP/S and non-HTTP protocols. Besides network exposures, we also consider covert channels via storage media that also leverage custom encryption layers. Using ThirdEye, we analyzed 12,598 top-apps in various categories from Androidrank, and found that 2887/12,598 (22.92%) apps used custom encryption/decryption for network transmission and storing content in shared device storage, and 2465/2887 (85.38%) of those apps sent device information (e.g., advertising ID, list of installed apps) over the network that can fingerprint users. Besides, 299 apps transmitted insecure encrypted content over HTTP/non-HTTP protocols; 22 apps that used authentication tokens over HTTPS, happen to expose them over insecure (albeit custom encrypted) HTTP/non-HTTP channels. We found non-standard and covert channels with multiple levels of obfuscation (e.g., encrypted data over HTTPS, encryption at nested levels), and the use of vulnerable keys and cryptographic algorithms. Our findings can provide valuable insights into the evolving field of non-standard and covert channels, and help spur new countermeasures against such privacy leakage and security issues.Comment: Extended version of an ACM CCS 2022 pape

Bangunan bersejarah di kota Makassar

Buku Bangunan Bersejarah di Kota Makassar merupakan salah satu upaya publikasi pelestarian yang dilakukan oleh Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Makassar, dengan tujuan untuk mempublikasikan tinggalan kepurbakalaan khususnya bangunan bersejarah . Oleh karena itu, sasaran utama buku ini adalah untuk menyajikan kondisi kekinian bangunan terse but yang ada di Kota Makassar. Informasi ini disajikan, berdasarkan kelompok antara lain; fasilitas pemerintahan, layanan masyarakat dan pembangunan ekonomi, layanan/ pembangunan pendidikan, tempat ibadah dan sarana rekreasi/ istirahat/ rumah tinggal

Blindfold: Keeping Private Keys in PKIs and CDNs out of Sight

Public key infrastructure (PKI) is a certificate-based technology that helps in authenticating systems identities. HTTPS/TLS relies mainly on PKI to minimize fraud over the Internet. Nowadays, websites utilize CDNs to improve user experience, performance, and resilience against cyber attacks. However, combining HTTPS/TLS with CDNs has raised new security challenges. In any PKI system, keeping private keys private is of utmost importance. However, it has become the norm for CDN-powered websites to violate that fundamental assumption. Several solutions have been proposed to make HTTPS CDN-friendly. However, protection of private keys from the very instance of generation; and how they can be made secure against exposure by malicious (CDN) administrators and malware remain unexplored. We utilize trusted execution environments to protect private keys by never exposing them to human operators or untrusted software. We design Blindfold to protect private keys in HTTPS/TLS infrastructures, including CAs, website on-premise servers, and CDNs. We implemented a prototype to assess Blindfold's performance and performed several experiments on both the micro and macro levels. We found that Blindfold slightly outperforms SoftHSM in key generation by 1% while lagging by 0.01% for certificate issuance operations

Neurological manifestations of COVID-19

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) has turned out to be a formidable pandemic. Upcoming evidence from confirmed cases of COVID-19 suggests an anticipated incursion of patients with neurological manifestations in the weeks to come. An expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2), the cellular receptor for SARS-CoV-2 over the glial cells and neurons have made the brain a potential target. Neurotoxicity may occur as a result of direct, indirect and post-infectious complications. Attention to neurological deficits in COVID-19 is fundamental to ensure appropriate, timely, beneficial management of the affected patients. Most common neurological manifestations seen include dizziness, headache, impaired consciousness, acute cerebrovascular disease, ataxia, and seizures. Anosmia and ageusia have recently been hinted as significant early symptoms in COVID-19. As cases with neurological deficits in COVID-19 emerge, the overall prognosis is yet unknown

On Food and Nutrition Policy Activities in the USA, Australia, and Norway

Formulation and implementation of a national food and nutrition policy is important for ensuring good health and quality of life. This study examined the formulation and implementation of food and nutrition policies in the USA, Australia, and Norway. Library searches, MEDLINE and POPLINE searches, and personal communications were used for collecting information and data on nutrition activities and policy formulation and implementation in each country. These countries were selected because policy activities have been ongoing since the 1930s with a clear improvement in the nutritional status of the people. Multisectoral participation, conflicts of interest, strategies to alter diet, and attempts to deal with new problems have been highlighted and compared. Findings of the study may be useful to policy-makers in less-developed countries during future policy-making processes