SoK: Security Evaluation of SBox-Based Block Ciphers

Cryptanalysis of block ciphers is an active and important research area with an extensive volume of literature. For this work, we focus on SBox-based ciphers, as they are widely used and cover a large class of block ciphers. While there have been prior works that have consolidated attacks on block ciphers, they usually focus on describing and listing the attacks. Moreover, the methods for evaluating a cipher\u27s security are often ad hoc, differing from cipher to cipher, as attacks and evaluation techniques are developed along the way. As such, we aim to organise the attack literature, as well as the work on security evaluation. In this work, we present a systematization of cryptanalysis of SBox-based block ciphers focusing on three main areas: (1) Evaluation of block ciphers against standard cryptanalytic attacks; (2) Organisation and relationships between various attacks; (3) Comparison of the evaluation and attacks on existing ciphers

UK and Ireland Street Law Conference 2022 Review

The UK and Ireland Street Law Conference brings together academics, lawyers, students, and other Street Law enthusiasts to promote, support and celebrate public legal education (PLE) and the progress being made in this important field. Normally held annually, this was the first conference since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, taking place over the 7th and 8th April 2022 and hosted in Edinburgh by the Law Society of Scotland. The conference was centred around Street Law’s commitment and desire in helping the lay person to ‘understand their rights and responsibilities in a world full of increasingly complex and obtuse legal systems.’ The ethos of the conference was to provide a valuable resource within the PLE community for those who were present across the two-day conference and for future guidance. As students and Street Law initiators, it was gratifying to be a piece and player on the chessboard - to interact, connect and understand the multitude of approaches to teaching and learning in a Street Law context. In accordance with the principle of collaboration and to promote open education, this article aims to collate the insightful topics and discussions from the key-note sessions. This article will then move on to discuss the value of the conference from the perspective of students as well as wider stakeholders in PLE programmes. Further, we will explore how the conference could be improved moving forward with suggestions as to how students and future lawyers and/or professionals, can contribute to PLE in the future

Facilitando a mobilização de redes de conhecimento: as reformas políticas, parcerias e formação de professores

Educational researchers and policy-makers are now expected by funding agencies and their institutions to innovate the multidirectional ways in which our production of knowledge can impact the classrooms of teachers (practitioners), while also integrating their experiential knowledge into the landscape of our research. In this article, we draw on the curriculum implementation literature to complicate our understandings of knowledge mobilization (KMb). Policy implementation, we suggest, can be understood as one specific type of KMb. We draw on different models for KMb and curriculum implementation and develop a relational model for KMb. Utilizing our model we critically reflect on the specific successes and challenges encountered while establishing, building, and sustaining the capacity of our KMb network. Our findings suggest that faculties of education are uniquely positioned to act as secondary brokers for the implementation of policy reforms within public education systems. To this end, we discuss how a relational KMb network is a “best practice” for establishing and sustaining partnerships among policy makers, educational researchers, and public school practitioners.Los organismos de financiación y sus instituciones esperan que investigadores educativos y responsables de decisiones políticas en el área innoven  la forma multidireccional en la que la producción de conocimiento puede afectar a las aulas de los docentes, y al mismo tiempo integrar su conocimiento experiencial en el modelo de la investigación. En este artículo, nos basamos en la literatura la implementación del currículo de reflexionar sobre nuestro entendimiento de la movilización de los conocimientos (por su sigla en inglés KMB). La implementación de políticas, se sugiere, se puede entender como un tipo específico de KMB. Nos basamos en diferentes modelos para la aplicación KMB e implementación curricular y desarrollamos un modelo relacional para KMB. Utilizando nuestro modelo reflexionamos críticamente sobre los éxitos y desafíos específicos encontrados mientras se establece, la construcción y el mantenimiento de la capacidad de nuestra red de KMB. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que las facultades de educación están en una posición única para actuar como agentes secundarios en la implementación de reformas de política dentro de los sistemas de educación pública. Con este fin, se discute cómo una red KMB relacional es una "mejor práctica" para el establecimiento y mantenimiento de alianzas entre responsables políticos, los investigadores de la educación, y los profesionales de las escuelas públicas. Agências de fomento e instituições de ensino esperam que os pesquisadores em educação assim como os que decidem políticas na área inovem na forma multidirecional  que a produção de conhecimento na pode afetar o professor em sala de aula, e ao mesmo tempo integrar os conhecimentos experienciais no modelo de pesquisa. Neste artigo, nós confiamos na implementação do currículo literatura para refletir sobre a nossa compreensão da mobilização de conhecimentos (a sigla KMB). Implementação de políticas, sugere-se, pode ser entendida como um tipo específico de KMB. Contamos com diferentes modelos de candidatura e curriculum implementação KMB e desenvolver um modelo relacional para KMB. Usando nosso modelo, para refletir criticamente sobre os sucessos e desafios específicos encontrados ao estabelecer, construir e manter a capacidade de nossa rede de KMB. Nossos resultados sugerem que as escolas de educação estão em uma posição única para atuar como agentes secundários na aplicação de reformas políticas no seio das redes públicas de ensino. Para este fim, discutimos como uma rede relacional KMB é um "melhores práticas" para a criação e manutenção de parcerias entre os que decidem políticas, investigadores e profissionais de educação nas escolas públicas

Nonces are Noticed: AEAD Revisited

We draw attention to a gap between theory and usage of nonce-based symmetric encryption, under which the way the former treats nonces can result in violation of privacy in the latter. We bridge the gap with a new treatment of nonce-based symmetric encryption that modifies the syntax (decryption no longer takes a nonce), upgrades the security goal (asking that not just messages, but also nonces, be hidden) and gives simple, efficient schemes conforming to the new definitions. We investigate both basic security (holding when nonces are not reused) and advanced security (misuse resistance, providing best-possible guarantees when nonces are reused)

Improved Structured Encryption for SQL Databases via Hybrid Indexing

We introduce a new technique for indexing joins in encrypted SQL databases called partially precomputed joins which achieves lower leakage and bandwidth than those used in prior constructions. These techniques are incorporated into state-of-the-art structured encryption schemes for SQL data, yielding a hybrid indexing scheme with both partially and fully precomputed join indexes. We then introduce the idea of leakage-aware query planning by giving a heuristic that helps the client decide, at query time, which index to use so as to minimize leakage and stay below a given bandwidth budget. We conclude by simulating our constructions on real datasets, showing that our heuristic is accurate and that partially-precomputed joins perform well in practice

Structured Encryption for Indirect Addressing

The Structured Encryption (StE) framework can be used to capture the encryption and querying of complex data structures on an honest-but-curious server. In this work, we introduce a new type of StE called indirectly addressed multimap encryption (IA-MME). We propose two IA-MME schemes: the the layered multimaps approach which extends and generalizes the existing multimap chaining approach, and a novel technique called the single multimap approach which has comparable efficiency and strictly better security. We demonstrate that our formalisms simplify and modularize StE solutions for real-world use cases in searchable encryption and SQL databases, and provide simulations demonstrating that our IA-MME constructions lead to tangible efficiency and security gains on realistic data

Correlates of Omani adults' physical inactivity and sitting time

Objective: To inform public health approaches for chronic disease prevention, the present study identified sociodemographic, anthropometric and behavioural correlates of work, transport and leisure physical inactivity and sitting time among adults in Oman

Higher cognitive ability buffers stress-related depressive symptoms in adolescent girls

Stress has been shown to have a causal effect on risk for depression. We investigated the role of cognitive ability as a moderator of the effect of stressful life events on depressive symptoms and whether this varied by gender. Data were analyzed in two adolescent data sets: one representative community sample aged 11–12 years (n = 460) and one at increased familial risk of depression aged 9–17 years (n = 335). In both data sets, a three-way interaction was found whereby for girls, but not boys, higher cognitive ability buffered the association between stress and greater depressive symptoms. The interaction was replicated when the outcome was a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. This buffering effect in girls was not attributable to coping efficacy. However, a small proportion of the variance was accounted for by sensitivity to environmental stressors. Results suggest that this moderating effect of cognitive ability in girls is largely attributable to greater available resources for cognitive operations that offer protection against stress-induced reductions in cognitive processing and cognitive control which in turn reduces the likelihood of depressive symptomatology

Disease-Modifying Drugs for Multiple Sclerosis and Association With Survival

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between the disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) and survival in a multiregion population-based study. METHODS: We accessed multiple administrative health databases from 4 Canadian provinces. Persons with MS were identified and followed from the most recent of the first MS or demyelinating event or January 1, 1996 (index date), until death, emigration, or December 31, 2017. Association between the first-generation and second-generation DMDs and all-cause mortality was examined using stratified Cox proportional hazard models, reported as adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs). Timing of DMD initiation was explored, with findings reported at 2, 5, or 10 years postindex date, representing very early, early, or late initiation. RESULTS: We identified 35,894 persons with MS; 72% were female. The mean age at index date was 44.5 years (SD = 13.6). The total person-years of follow-up while DMD-exposed was 89,180, and total person-years while unexposed was 342,217. Compared with no exposure, exposure to any DMD or to any first-generation DMD was associated with a 26% lower hazard of mortality (both aHRs 0.74; 95% CI 0.56-0.98), while any second-generation DMD exposure was associated with a 33% lower hazard (aHR 0.67; 95% CI 0.46-0.98). Earlier DMD initiation (beta-interferon or glatiramer acetate vs no exposure) was associated with a significant mortality effect (p < 0.05), while later initiation was not (95% CIs included 1). However, the survival advantage with earlier initiation diminished over time, no longer reaching statistical significance at 15 years postindex date. DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates an association between the DMDs for MS and improved survival in the real-world setting