Millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave imaging for security and surveillance

Passive equipments operating in the 30-300 GHZ (millimeter wave) band are compared to those in the 300 GHz-3 THz (submillimeter band). Equipments operating in the submillimeter band can measure distance and also spectral information and have been used to address new opportunities in security. Solid state spectral information is available in the submillimeter region making it possible to identify materials, whereas in millimeter region bulk optical properties determine the image contrast. The optical properties in the region from 30 GHz to 3 THz are discussed for some typical inorganic and organic solids. in the millimeter-wave region of the spectrum, obscurants such as poor weather, dust, and smoke can be penetrated and useful imagery generated for surveillance. in the 30 GHZ-3 THZ region dielectrics such as plastic and cloth are also transparent and the detection of contraband hidden under clothing is possible. A passive millimeter-wave imaging concept based on a folded Schmidt camera has been developed and applied to poor weather navigation and security. The optical design uses a rotating mirror and is folded using polarization techniques. The design is very well corrected over a wide field of view making it ideal for surveillance, and security. This produces a relatively compact imager which minimizes the receiver count.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack Test-bed Investigating Cyber-security Vulnerabilities in Smart Grid SCADA Systems

The increased complexity and interconnectivity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems in the Smart Grid has exposed them to a wide range of cyber-security issues, and there are a multitude of potential access points for cyber attackers. This paper presents a SCADA-specific cyber-security test-bed which contains SCADA software and communication infrastructure. This test-bed is used to investigate an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) spoofing based man-in-the-middle attack. Finally, the paper proposes a future work plan which focuses on applying intrusion detection and prevention technology to address cyber-security issues in SCADA systems.

Impact of Cyber-Security Issues on Smart Grid

Greater complexity and interconnectivity across systems embracing Smart Grid technologies has meant that cyber-security issues have attracted significant attention. This paper describes pertinent cyber-security requirements, in particular cyber attacks and countermeasures which are critical for reliable Smart Grid operation. Relevant published literature is presented for critical aspects of Smart Grid cyber-security, such as vulnerability, interdependency, simulation, and standards. Furthermore, a preliminary study case is given which demonstrates the impact of a cyber attack which violates the integrity of data on the load management of real power system. Finally, the paper proposes future work plan which focuses on applying intrusion detection and prevention technology to address cyber-security issues. This paper also provides an overview of Smart Grid cyber-security with reference to related cross-disciplinary research topics.

Intrusion Detection System for Network Security in Synchrophasor Systems

Synchrophasor systems will play a crucial role in next generation Smart Grid monitoring, protection and control. However these systems also introduce a multitude of potential vulnerabilities from malicious and inadvertent attacks, which may render erroneous operation or severe damage. This paper proposes a Synchrophasor Specific Intrusion Detection System (SSIDS) for malicious cyber attack and unintended misuse. The SSIDS comprises a heterogeneous whitelist and behavior-based approach to detect known attack types and unknown and so-called ‘zero-day’ vulnerabilities and attacks. The paper describes reconnaissance, Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) and Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack types executed against a practical synchrophasor system which are used to validate the real-time effectiveness of the proposed SSIDS cyber detection method.

Women Speaking of National Security: The Case of Checkpoint Watch

The production of reports and the distribution of information have become integral to the operation of many non-governmental organizations. In this regard, the fact that the all-women organization of Checkpoint Watch publishes reports about the Israeli checkpoints in the occupied West Bank seems to comply with current trends. However, the reports—most of which are short repetitive descriptions of the banality and everydayness of the military checkpoints, counting the number of people and cars waiting, commenting on the manner in which the checks are performed and meticulously documenting what mostly amounts to minor incidents of humiliation and distress—do not seem to abide by any convention of reporting. This work analyzes the reporting praxis of the organization and claims that it should be understood as a form of activism in and of itself. Tracking the ways in which the reports address the Israeli public through the concept of parrhesia, the work suggests that this form of reporting enables the women activists to use their gendered marginality to make their way into the highly masculinized and militarized Israeli security discourse.

Youth in Contexts of Political Violence: A Developmental Approach to the Study of Youth Identity and Emotional Security in Their Communities

Going beyond the association between youth exposure to political violence and psychopathology, the current article examines within-person change in youth strength of identity with their ethno-political group and youth reports of the insecurity in their communities. Conceptually related but growing out of different paradigms, both group identity and emotional insecurity have been examined as key variables impacting youth responses to threats from other group members. The goal of the current study is to review previous studies examining these two key variables and to contribute new analyses, modeling within-person change in both variables and examining covariation in their growth. The current article uses data from 823 Belfast adolescents over 4 years. The results suggest youth are changing linearly over age in both constructs and that there are ethno-political group differences in how youth are changing. The results also indicate that change in insecurity is related to strength of identity at age 18, and strength of identity and emotional insecurity are related at age 18. Implications and directions for future work in the area of youth and political violence are discussed. © 2014 American Psychological Association.

Software as a Service: Analysing Security Issues

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a type of software service delivery model which encompasses a broad range of business opportunities and challenges. Users and service providers are reluctant to integrate their business into SaaS due to its security concerns while at the same time they are attracted by its benefits. This article highlights SaaS utility and applicability in different environments like cloud computing, mobile cloud computing, software defined networking and Internet of things. It then embarks on the analysis of SaaS security challenges spanning across data security, application security and SaaS deployment security. A detailed review of the existing mainstream solutions to tackle the respective security issues mapping into different SaaS security challenges is presented. Finally, possible solutions or techniques which can be applied in tandem are presented for a secure SaaS platform.

An Ambiguity Aversion Framework of Security Game under Ambiguities

Security is a critical concern around the world. Since resources for security are always limited, lots of interest have arisen in using game theory to handle security resource allocation problems. However, most of the existing work does not address adequately how a defender chooses his optimal strategy in a game with absent, inaccurate, uncertain, and even ambiguous strategy profiles' payoffs. To address this issue, we propose a general framework of security games under ambiguities based on Dempster-Shafer theory and the ambiguity aversion principle of minimax regret. Then, we reveal some properties of this framework. Also, we present two methods to reduce the influence of complete ignorance. Our investigation shows that this new framework is better in handling security resource allocation problems under ambiguities.

Status and security: how Russian media is spinning airstrikes in Syria

Even before the Russian air force launched its first strikes over Syria, there was already a Russian presence on the battleground. These were not the spetsnaz, Kremlin’s special forces, but war correspondents from the leading Russian media outlets. This was as clear a sign as any that the Russia’s priority has shifted from Ukraine, where these reporters spent most of the past 18 months, to Syria.

There is, however, no unanimity on Russia’s latest escalation in Syria. As Russian state TV stations report successes of Russia’s high-precision weapons projecting an image of a high-tech Russian military equal to the US, doubts persist about the latest adventure in the Middle East.

A Cyber-Physical Security Analysis of Synchronous-Islanded Microgrid Operation

Cyber-security research in the field of smart grids is often performed with a focus on either the power and control domain or the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) domain. The characteristics of the power equipment or ICT domain are commonly not collectively considered. This work provides an analysis of the physical effects of cyber-attacks on microgrids – a smart grid construct that allows continued power supply when disconnected from a main grid. Different types of microgrid operations are explained (connected, islanded and synchronous-islanding) and potential cyber-attacks and their physical effects are analyzed. A testbed that is based on physical power and ICT equipment is presented to validate the results in both the physical and ICT domain.