Security analysis of Australian and E.U. e-passport implementation

This paper makes a formal security analysis of the current Australian e-passport implementation using model checking tools CASPER/CSP/FDR. We highlight security issues in the current implementation and identify new threats when an e-passport system is integrated with an automated processing system like SmartGate. The paper also provides a security analysis of the European Union (EU) proposal for Extended Access Control (EAC) that is intended to provide improved security in protecting biometric information of the e-passport bearer. The current e-passport specification fails to provide a list of adequate security goals that could be used for security evaluation. We fill this gap; we present a collection of security goals for evaluation of e-passport protocols. Our analysis confirms existing security weaknesses that were previously identified and shows that both the Australian e-passport implementation and the EU proposal fail to address many security and privacy aspects that are paramount in implementing a secure border control mechanism. ACM Classification C.2.2 (Communication/Networking and Information Technology – Network Protocols – Model Checking), D.2.4 (Software Engineering – Software/Program Verification – Formal Methods), D.4.6 (Operating Systems – Security and Privacy Protection – Authentication)

Introduction to the special issue on next generation network architectures, protocols, theory, systems and applications

This special issue of Networking Science focuses on Next Generation Network (NGN) that enables the deployment of access independent services over converged fixed and mobile networks. NGN is a packet-based network and uses the Internet protocol (IP) to transport the various types of traffic (voice, video, data and signalling). NGN facilitates easy adoption of distributed computing applications by providing high speed connectivity in a converged networked environment. It also makes end user devices and applications highly intelligent and efficient by empowering them with programmability and remote configuration options. However, there are a number of important challenges in provisioning next generation network technologies in a converged communication environment. Some preliminary challenges include those that relate to QoS, switching and routing, management and control, and security which must be addressed on an urgent or emergency basis. The consideration of architectural issues in the design and pro- vision of secure services for NGN deserves special attention and hence is the main theme of this special issue.

Google Glass as a technique of self and the revitalisation of the monad

As the boundaries between public and private, human and technology, digital and social, mediated and natural, online and offline become increasingly blurred in modern techno-social hybrid societies, sociology as a discipline needs to adapt and adopt new ways of accounting for these digital cultures. In this paper I use the social networking site Pinterest to demonstrate how people today are shaped by, and in turn shape, the digital tools they are assembled with. Digital sociology is emerging as a sociological subdiscipline that engages with the convergence of the digital and the social. However, there seems to be a focus on developing new methods for studying digital social life, yet a neglect of concrete explorations of its culture. I argue for the need for critical socio-cultural ‘thick description’ to account for the interrelations between humans and technologies in modern digitally mediated cultures.

Privacy by design for social networks

This research has established a new privacy framework, privacy model, and privacy architecture to create more transparent privacy for social networking users. The architecture is designed into three levels: Business, Data, and Technology, which is based on The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF®). This framework and architecture provides a novel platform for investigating privacy in Social Networks (SNs). This approach mitigates many current SN privacy issues, and leads to a more controlled form of privacy assessment. Ultimately, more privacy will encourage more connections between people across SN services.

ACE research vignette 032: Potentially valuable or acquired resources?

This series of research vignettes is aimed at sharing current and interesting research findings from our team of international Entrepreneurship researchers. In this vignette, Dr Martin Bliemel and his research team consider a trade-off entrepreneurs face when managing their network: should they form stronger relationships to acquire key resources, or should they reach out to more potential partners to access new resources?

The big data lottery

Big data is certainly the buzz term in executive networking circles at the moment. Heralded by management consultancies and research organisations alike as the next big thing in business efficiency, it is shooting up the Gartner hype cycle to the giddy heights of the peak of inflated expectations before it tumbles down in to the trough of disillusionment

Measuring and influencing physical activity with Smartphone technology : a systematic review

Background Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in physical activity research, although little is known regarding their effectiveness as measurement and intervention tools. Objective This study systematically reviewed evidence on smartphones and their viability for measuring and influencing physical activity. Data Sources Research articles were identified in September 2013 by literature searches in Web of Knowledge, PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect. Study Selection The search was restricted using the terms (physical activity OR exercise OR fitness) AND (smartphone* OR mobile phone* OR cell phone*) AND (measurement OR intervention). Reviewed articles were required to be published in international academic peer-reviewed journals, or in full text from international scientific conferences, and focused on measuring physical activity through smartphone processing data and influencing people to be more active through smartphone applications. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods Two reviewers independently performed the selection of articles and examined titles and abstracts to exclude those out of scope. Data on study characteristics, technologies used to objectively measure physical activity, strategies applied to influence activity; and the main study findings were extracted and reported. Results A total of 26 articles (with the first published in 2007) met inclusion criteria. All studies were conducted in highly economically advantaged countries; 12 articles focused on special populations (e.g. obese patients). Studies measured physical activity using native mobile features, and/or an external device linked to an application. Measurement accuracy ranged from 52 to 100 % (n = 10 studies). A total of 17 articles implemented and evaluated an intervention. Smartphone strategies to influence physical activity tended to be ad hoc, rather than theory-based approaches; physical activity profiles, goal setting, real-time feedback, social support networking, and online expert consultation were identified as the most useful strategies to encourage physical activity change. Only five studies assessed physical activity intervention effects; all used step counts as the outcome measure. Four studies (three pre–post and one comparative) reported physical activity increases (12–42 participants, 800–1,104 steps/day, 2 weeks–6 months), and one case-control study reported physical activity maintenance (n = 200 participants; >10,000 steps/day) over 3 months. Limitations Smartphone use is a relatively new field of study in physical activity research, and consequently the evidence base is emerging. Conclusions Few studies identified in this review considered the validity of phone-based assessment of physical activity. Those that did report on measurement properties found average-to-excellent levels of accuracy for different behaviors. The range of novel and engaging intervention strategies used by smartphones, and user perceptions on their usefulness and viability, highlights the potential such technology has for physical activity promotion. However, intervention effects reported in the extant literature are modest at best, and future studies need to utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better explore the physical activity measurement and intervention capabilities of smartphones.

Educational paradox : the hidden obstacles to the integration of mobile phones in the language classroom

This paper reports on the findings of an international telecollaboration study using Facebook, in which teachers studying in M. Ed programs in Australia and Greece, discussed the use of mobile phones in language classrooms. Results suggest that invisible barriers exist in the use of mobile phones in the classroom, including bans on use in schools, lack of familiarity with educational uses for mobile phones, and negative perceptions about mobile phones specifically in terms of classroom management.

The culture of the digital : Pinterest and digital sociology

As the boundaries between public and private, human and technology, digital and social, mediated and natural, online and offline become increasingly blurred in modern techno-social hybrid societies, sociology as a discipline needs to adapt and adopt new ways of accounting for these digital cultures. In this paper I use the social networking site Pinterest to demonstrate how people today are shaped by, and in turn shape, the digital tools they are assembled with. Digital sociology is emerging as a sociological subdiscipline that engages with the convergence of the digital and the social. However, there seems to be a focus on developing new methods for studying digital social life, yet a neglect of concrete explorations of its culture. I argue for the need for critical socio-cultural ‘thick description’ to account for the interrelations between humans and technologies in modern digitally mediated cultures.

Development of an inter-vehicle communications & positioning platform for transport safety applications

This project is a breakthrough in developing new scientific approaches for the design, development and evaluation of inter-vehicle communications, networking and positioning systems as part of Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems ensuring the safety of both roads and rail networks. This research focused on the elicitation, specification, analysis and validation of requirements for Vehicle-to-Vehicle communications and networking, and Vehicle-to-Vehicle positioning, which are accomplished with the research platform developed for this study. A number of mathematical models for communications, networking and positioning were developed from which simulations and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the overall performance of the platform. The outcomes of this research significantly contribute to improving the performance of the communications and positioning components of Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Social media as online information grounds : a preliminary conceptual framework

Researchers are increasingly grappling with ways of theorizing social media and its use. This review essay proposes that the theory of Information Grounds (IG) may provide a valuable lens for understanding how social media fosters collaboration and social engagement among information professionals. The paper presents literature that helps us understand how social media can be seen as IG, and maps the characteristics of social media to the seven propositions of IG theory. This work is part of a wider study investigating the ways in which Information Technology (IT) professionals experience social media.

The QUT innovation space : a trans-disciplinary learning environment for entrepreneurship education : final report

In the current climate of global economic volatility, there are increasing calls for training in enterprising skills and entrepreneurship to underpin the systemic innovation required for even medium-term business sustainability. The skills long-recognised as the essential for entrepreneurship now appear on the list of employability skills demanded by industry. The QUT Innovation Space (QIS) was an experiment aimed at delivering entrepreneurship education (EE), as an extra-curricular platform across the university, to the undergraduate students of an Australian higher education institute. It was an ambitious project that built on overseas models of EE studied during an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellowship (Collet, 2011) and implemented those approaches across an institute. Such EE approaches have not been attempted in an Australian university. The project tested resonance not only with the student population, from the perspective of what worked and what didn’t work, but also with every level of university operations. Such information is needed to inform the development of EE in the Australian university landscape. The QIS comprised a physical co-working space, virtual sites (web, Twitter and Facebook) and a network of entrepreneurial mentors, colleagues, and students. All facets of the QIS enabled connection between like-minded individuals that underpins the momentum needed for a project of this nature. The QIS became an innovation community within QUT. This report serves two purposes. First, as an account of the QIS project and its evolution, the report serves to identify the student demand for skills and training as well as barriers and facilitators of the activities that promote EE in an Australian university context. Second, the report serves as a how-to manual, in the tradition of many tomes on EE, outlining the QIS activities that worked as well as those that failed. The activities represent one measure of QIS outcomes and are described herein to facilitate implementation in other institutes. The QIS initially aimed to adopt an incubation model for training in EE. The ‘learning by doing’ model for new venture creation is a highly successful and high profile training approach commonly found in overseas contexts. However, the greatest demand of the QUT student population was not for incubation and progression of a developed entrepreneurial intent, but rather for training that instilled enterprising skills in the individual. These two scenarios require different training approaches (Fayolle and Gailly, 2008). The activities of the QIS evolved to meet that student demand. In addressing enterprising skills, the QIS developed the antecedents of entrepreneurialism (i.e., entrepreneurial attitudes, motivation and behaviours) including high-level skills around risk-taking, effective communication, opportunity recognition and action-orientation. In focusing on the would-be entrepreneur and not on the (initial) idea per se, the QIS also fostered entrepreneurial outcomes that would never have gained entry to the rigid stage-gated incubation model proposed for the original QIS framework. Important lessons learned from the project for development of an innovation community include the need to: 1. Evaluate the context of the type of EE program to be delivered and the student demand for the skills training (as noted above). 2. Create a community that builds on three dimensions: a physical space, a virtual environment and a network of mentors and partners. 3. Supplement the community with external partnerships that aid in delivery of skills training materials. 4. Ensure discovery of the community through the use of external IT services to deliver advertising and networking outlets. 5. Manage unrealistic student expectations of billion dollar products. 6. Continuously renew and rebuild simple activities to maintain student engagement. 7. Accommodate the non-university end-user group within the community. 8. Recognise and address the skills bottlenecks that serve as barriers to concept progression; in this case, externally provided IT and programming skills. 9. Use available on-line and published resources rather than engage in constructing project-specific resources that quickly become obsolete. 10. Avoid perceptions of faculty ownership and operate in an increasingly competitive environment. 11. Recognise that the continuum between creativity/innovation and entrepreneurship is complex, non-linear and requires different training regimes during the different phases of the pipeline. One small entity, such as the QIS, cannot address them all. The QIS successfully designed, implemented and delivered activities that included events, workshops, seminars and services to QUT students in the extra-curricular space. That the QIS project can be considered successful derives directly from the outcomes. First, the QIS project changed the lives of emerging QUT student entrepreneurs. Also, the QIS activities developed enterprising skills in students who did not necessarily have a business proposition, at the time. Second, successful outcomes of the QIS project are evidenced as the embedding of most, perhaps all, of the QIS activities in a new Chancellery-sponsored initiative: the Leadership Development and Innovation Program hosted by QUT Student Support Services. During the course of the QIS project, the Brisbane-based innovation ecosystem underwent substantial change. From a dearth of opportunities for the entrepreneurially inclined, there is now a plethora of entities that cater for a diversity of innovation-related activities. While the QIS evolved with the landscape, the demand endpoint of the QIS activities still highlights a gap in the local and national innovation ecosystems. The freedom to experiment and to fail is not catered for by the many new entities seeking to build viable businesses on the back of the innovation push. The onus of teaching the enterprising skills, which are the employability skills now demanded by industry, remains the domain of the higher education sector.

Entrepreneurship education in non-business schools : best practice for Australian contexts of knowledge and innovation communities (Final Report)

In the current era of global economic instability, business and industry have already identified a widening gap between graduate skills and employability. An important element of this is the lack of entrepreneurial skills in graduates. This Teaching Fellowship investigated two sides of a story about entrepreneurial skills and their teaching. Senior players in the innovation commercialisation industry, a high profile entrepreneurial sector, were surveyed to gauge their needs and experiences of graduates they employ. International contexts of entrepreneurship education were investigated to explore how their teaching programs impart the skills of entrepreneurship. Such knowledge is an essential for the design of education programs that can deliver the entrepreneurial skills deemed important by industry for future sustainability. Two programs of entrepreneurship education are being implemented at QUT that draw on the best practice exemplars investigated during this Fellowship. The QUT Innovation Space (QIS) focuses on capturing the innovation and creativity of students, staff and others. The QIS is a physical and virtual meeting and networking space; a connected community enhancing the engagement of participants. The Q_Hatchery is still embryonic; but it is intended to be an innovation community that brings together nascent entrepreneurial businesses to collaborate, train and support each other. There is a niche between concept product and business incubator where an experiential learning environment for otherwise isolated ‘garage-at-home’ businesses could improve success rates. The QIS and the Q_Hatchery serve as living research laboratories to trial the concepts emerging from the skills survey. The survey of skills requirements of the innovation commercialisation industry has produced a large and high quality data set still being explored. Work experience as an employability factor has already emerged as an industry requirement that provides employee maturity. Exploratory factor analysis of the skills topics surveyed has led to a process-based conceptual model for teaching and learning higher-order entrepreneurial skills. Two foundational skills domains (Knowledge, Awareness) are proposed as prerequisites which allow individuals with a suite of early stage entrepreneurial and behavioural skills (Pre-leadership) to further leverage their careers into a leadership role in industry with development of skills around higher order elements of entrepreneurship, management in new business ventures and progressing winning technologies to market. The next stage of the analysis is to test the proposed model through structured equation modelling. Another factor that emerged quickly from the survey analysis broadens the generic concept of team skills currently voiced in Australian policy documents discussing the employability agenda. While there was recognition of the role of sharing, creating and using knowledge in a team-based interdisciplinary context, the adoption and adaptation of behaviours and attitudes of other team members of different disciplinary backgrounds (interprofessionalism) featured as an issue. Most undergraduates are taught and undertake teamwork in silos and, thus, seldom experience a true real-world interdisciplinary environment. Enhancing the entrepreneurial capacity of Australian industry is essential for the economic health of the country and can only be achieved by addressing the lack of entrepreneurial skills in graduates from the higher education system. This Fellowship has attempted to address this deficiency by identifying the skills requirements and providing frameworks for their teaching.

Authenticating Multicast Streams in Lossy Channels Using Threshold Techniques

We first classify the state-of-the-art stream authentication problem in the multicast environment and group them into Signing and MAC approaches. A new approach for authenticating digital streams using Threshold Techniques is introduced. The new approach main advantages are in tolerating packet loss, up to a threshold number, and having a minimum space overhead. It is most suitable for multicast applications running over lossy, unreliable communication channels while, in same time, are pertain the security requirements. We use linear equations based on Lagrange polynomial interpolation and Combinatorial Design methods.

Precise relative clock synchronization for distributed control using TSC registers

Precise clock synchronization is essential in emerging time-critical distributed control systems operating over computer networks where the clock synchronization requirements are mostly focused on relative clock synchronization and high synchronization precision. Existing clock synchronization techniques such as the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and the IEEE 1588 standard can be difficult to apply to such systems because of the highly precise hardware clocks required, due to network congestion caused by a high frequency of synchronization message transmissions, and high overheads. In response, we present a Time Stamp Counter based precise Relative Clock Synchronization Protocol (TSC-RCSP) for distributed control applications operating over local-area networks (LANs). In our protocol a software clock based on the TSC register, counting CPU cycles, is adopted in the time clients and server. TSC-based clocks offer clients a precise, stable and low-cost clock synchronization solution. Experimental results show that clock precision in the order of 10~microseconds can be achieved in small-scale LAN systems. Such clock precision is much higher than that of a processor's Time-Of-Day clock, and is easily sufficient for most distributed real-time control applications over LANs.