A cyber-kill-chain based taxonomy of crypto-ransomware features

In spite of being just a few years old, ransomware is quickly becoming a serious threat to our digital infrastructures, data and services. Majority of ransomware families are requesting for a ransom payment to restore a custodian access or decrypt data which were encrypted by the ransomware earlier. Although the ransomware attack strategy seems to be simple, security specialists ranked ransomware as a sophisticated attack vector with many variations and families. Wide range of features which are available in different families and versions of ransomware further complicates their detection and analysis. Though the existing body of research provides significant discussions about ransomware details and capabilities, the all research body is fragmented. Therefore, a ransomware feature taxonomy would advance cyber defenders’ understanding of associated risks of ransomware. In this paper we provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first scientific taxonomy of ransomware features, aligned with Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain (CKC) model. CKC is a well-established model in industry that describes stages of cyber intrusion attempts. To ease the challenge of applying our taxonomy in real world, we also provide the corresponding ransomware defence taxonomy aligned with Courses of Action matrix (an intelligence-driven defence model). We believe that this research study is of high value for the cyber security research community, as it provides the researchers with a means of assessing the vulnerabilities and attack vectors towards the intended victims

MDSClone : multidimensional scaling aided clone detection in Internet of Things

Cloning is a very serious threat in the Internet of Things (IoT), owing to the simplicity for an attacker to gather configuration and authentication credentials from a non-tamper-proof node, and replicate it in the network. In this paper, we propose MDSClone, a novel clone detection method based on multidimensional scaling (MDS). MDSClone appears to be very well suited to IoT scenarios, as it (i) detects clones without the need to know the geographical positions of nodes, and (ii) unlike prior methods, it can be applied to hybrid networks that comprise both static and mobile nodes, for which no mobility pattern may be assumed a priori. Moreover, a further advantage of MDSClone is that (iii) the core part of the detection algorithm can be parallelized, resulting in an acceleration of the whole detection mechanism. Our thorough analytical and experimental evaluations demonstrate that MDSClone can achieve a 100% clone detection probability. Moreover, we propose several modifications to the original MDS calculation, which lead to over a 75% speed up in large scale scenarios. The demonstrated efficiency of MDSClone proves that it is a promising method towards a practical clone detection design in IoT

Time Profile of nNOS Expression in the Spinal Dorsal Horn After L₅ Spinal Root Transection in Rats

Using immunohistochemical analysis, we investigated the time profile of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the lumbar spinal cord up to day 28 after transection of the L₅ spinal root. On day 14 after injury, we also evaluated the effect of intrathecal application of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective nNOS inhibitor (8.15 µg in 5 µl), on thermal hyperalgesia. Our results indicated that nerve transection increased the intensity of nNOSimmunoreactivity in superficial and deep laminae of the dorsal horn within a late stage (days 7 to 28) of the neuropathy model used. Furthermore, 7-NI attenuated nerve injury-evoked thermal hypersensitivity on day 14 but did not reduce it between days 2 and 5 after transection. These data suggest that nNOS overexpression is more involved in the development than in the initiation of thermal hyperalgesia in L₅ -transected rats.Ми досліджували часовий профіль експресії нейронної NOсинтази (nNOS) у люмбальному відділі спинного мозку щурів протягом 28 діб після перерізання спінального корінця L₅ , використовуючи імуногістохімічну методику. Ми також оцінювали впливи інтратекальних аплікацій 7-нітроіндазолу (7-NI) – селективного інгібітора nNOS (8.15 мкг у 5 мкл) на термічну гіпералгезію через 14 діб після ушкодження. В результаті секції корінця кількість nNOS-імунореактивних клітин у поверхневих та глибоких пластинах дорсального рога зростала на відносно пізніх етапах (із сьомої по 28-му добу) використаної моделі нейропатії. Аплікації 7-NI зменшували термічну гіперсенситивність, викликану пошкодженням нервових волокон, на 14-ту добу, але не впливали на цей феномен протягом другої–п’ятої діб після індукції нейропатії. Подібні дані вказують на те, що після перетину корінця L₅ у щурів підвищена експресія nNOS більшою мірою залучена в процес розвитку, ніж в ініціацію термічної гіпералгезії

Ultra-soft 100 nm Thick Zero Poisson’s Ratio Film with 60% Reversible Compressibility

About a 100 nm thick multilayer film of nanoparticle monolayers and polymer layers is shown to behave like cellular-foam with a modulus below 100 KPa. The 1.25 cm radius film adhered to a rigid surface can be compressed reversibly to 60% strain. The more than four orders of magnitude lower modulus compared to its constituents is explained by considering local bending in the (nano)cellular structure, similar to cork and wings of beetles. As the rigidity of the polymer backbone is increased in just four monolayers the modulus of the composite increases by over 70%. Electro-optical map of the strain distribution over the area of compression and increase in modulus with thickness indicates the films have zero Poisson’s ratio

Epidermal neural crest stem cell transplantation as a promising therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke

Introduction: Cell-based therapy is considered as promising strategy to cure stroke. However, employing appropriate type of stem cell to fulfill many therapeutic needs of cerebral ischemia is still challenging. In this regard, the current study was designed to elucidate therapeutic potential of epidermal neural crest stem cells (EPI-NCSCs) compared to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in rat model of ischemic stroke. Methods: Ischemic stroke was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 45 minutes. Immediately after reperfusion, EPI-NCSCs or BM-MSCs were transplanted via intra-arterial or intravenous route. A test for neurological function was performed before ischemia and 1, 3, and 7 days after MCAO. Also, infarct volume ratio and relative expression of 15 selected target genes were evaluated 7 days after transplantation. Results: EPI-NCSCs transplantation (both intra-arterial and intravenous) and BM-MSCs transplantation (only intra-arterial) tended to result in a better functional outcome, compared to the MCAO group; however, this difference was not statistically significant. The infarct volume ratio significantly decreased in NCSC-intra-arterial, NCSC-intravenous and MSC-intra-arterial groups compared to the control. EPI-NCSCs interventions led to higher expression levels of Bdnf, nestin, Sox10, doublecortin, β-III tubulin, Gfap, and interleukin-6, whereas neurotrophin-3 and interleukin-10 were decreased. On the other hand, BM-MSCs therapy resulted in upregulation of Gdnf, β-III tubulin, and Gfap and down-regulation of neurotrophin-3, interleukin-1, and interleukin-10. Conclusion: These findings highlight the therapeutic effects of EPI-NCSCs transplantation, probably through simultaneous induction of neuronal and glial formation, as well as Bdnf over-expression in a rat model of ischemic strok

Incorporating pleiotropic quantitative trait loci in dissection of complex traits: seed yield in rapeseed as an example

© The Author(s) 2017 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Most agronomic traits of interest for crop improvement (including seed yield) are highly complex quantitative traits controlled by numerous genetic loci, which brings challenges for comprehensively capturing associated markers/ genes. We propose that multiple trait interactions underlie complex traits such as seed yield, and that considering these component traits and their interactions can dissect individual quantitative trait loci (QTL) effects more effectively and improve yield predictions. Using a segregating rapeseed (Brassica napus) population, we analyzed a large set of trait data generated in 19 independent experiments to investigate correlations between seed yield and other complex traits, and further identified QTL in this population with a SNP-based genetic bin map. A total of 1904 consensus QTL accounting for 22 traits, including 80 QTL directly affecting seed yield, were anchored to the B. napus reference sequence. Through trait association analysis and QTL meta-analysis, we identified a total of 525 indivisible QTL that either directly or indirectly contributed to seed yield, of which 295 QTL were detected across multiple environments. A majority (81.5%) of the 525 QTL were pleiotropic. By considering associations between traits, we identified 25 yield-related QTL previously ignored due to contrasting genetic effects, as well as 31 QTL with minor complementary effects. Implementation of the 525 QTL in genomic prediction models improved seed yield prediction accuracy. Dissecting the genetic and phenotypic interrelationships underlying complex quantitative traits using this method will provide valuable insights for genomics-based crop improvement.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio