The Five Pillars of a Cognitive Risk Framework—Part II

The purpose of this study is to develop the first cognitive risk framework for cybersecurity to address two narrative arcs in cyber warfare: the rise of the “hacker” as an industry and the “cybersecurity paradox”, namely why billions spent on cybersecurity fail to address semantic cyberattacks. Semantic cyberattacks, also known as social engineering, manipulates human users’ perceptions and interpretation of computer-generated data to obtain non-public confidential data. The cyber battleground has shifted from an attack on hard assets to a much softer target: the human mind. If human behavior is the new and last “weakest link” in the cybersecurity armor, is it possible to build cognitive defenses at the intersection of human-machine interactions? The answer is yes, but the change that is needed requires a new way of thinking about security, data governance and strategy. The concepts referenced in the Cognitive Risk Framework for Cybersecurity (CRFC) are drawn from a large body of research in multidisciplinary topics. Cognitive risk management is a sister discipline of a parallel body of science called Cognitive Informatics Security or CogSec. It is also important to point out as the creator of the CRFC, the principles and practices prescribed herein are borrowed from cognitive informatics security, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and behavioral and cognitive science, among just a few that are still evolving. The Cognitive Risk Framework for Cybersecurity revolves around five pillars: Intentional Controls Design, Cognitive Informatics Security, Cognitive Risk Governance, Cybersecurity Intelligence and Active Defense Strategies and Legal “Best Efforts” considerations in Cyberspace. Complete text of “Cognitive Hack: The New Battleground in Cybersecurity … the Human Mind” is available here: https://www.crcpress.com/Cognitive-Hack-The-New-Battleground-in-Cybersecurity–the-Human-Mind/Bone/p/book/9781498749817     

Multi-camera video surveillance for real-time analysis and reconstruction of soccer games

Soccer analysis and reconstruction is one of the most interesting challenges for wide-area video surveillance applications. Techniques and system implementation for tracking the ball and players with multiple stationary cameras are discussed. With video data captured from a football stadium, the real-world, real-time positions of the ball and players can be generated. The whole system contains a two-stage workflow, i.e., single view and multi-view processing. The first stage includes categorizing of players and filtering of the ball after changing detection against an adaptive background and image-plane tracking. Occlusion reasoning and tracking-back is applied for robust ball filtering. In the multi-view stage, multiple observations from overlapped single views are fused to refine players’ positions and to estimate 3-D ball positions using geometric constraints. Experimental results on real data from long sequences are demonstrated.     

Software model checking without source code

We present a framework, called air, for verifying safety properties of assembly language programs via software model checking. air extends the applicability of predicate abstraction and counterexample guided abstraction refinement to the automated verification of low-level software. By working at the assembly level, air allows verification of programs for which source code is unavailable—such as legacy and COTS software—and programs that use features—such as pointers, structures, and object-orientation—that are problematic for source-level software verification tools. In addition, air makes no assumptions about the underlying compiler technology. We have implemented a prototype of air and present encouraging results on several non-trivial examples.     

Perceptions of News Credibility about the War in Iraq: Why War Opponents Perceived the Internet as the Most Credible Medium

This study investigated cross‐media credibility perception with respect to news coverage about the Iraq War. In an environment of political partisanship, perceptions of media credibility were likely affected by the audience’s political position on the war. Based on hostile media effect theory, a set of hypotheses was proposed to investigate whether the minority opinion group, war opponents, evaluated the Internet as a more credible medium than did neutrals or supporters. An online survey was conducted to which 481 people responded (71% war supporters, 19% opponents, 10% neutrals). Results showed that opponents of the war perceived the Internet as less aligned with a pro‐government position and as more credible than did neutrals or supporters. The opponent group also showed a strong negative correlation between perceived pro‐government alignment and perceptions of Internet credibility. For the minority partisan group, the diversity of information and views on the war was the main reason for the perception of high credibility of the Internet as a news channel.     

The effect of contact interface on dynamic characteristics of composite structures

In this project, nonlinear characteristics on the rolling interface of a linear guide were studied by the finite element analysis and experimental verification. Contact of the ball/surface rolling interface in the rolling guides was simulated as a three-dimensional membrane element without thickness. By introducing Hertzian contact theory and applying proper normal/shear stiffness to such contact elements in the overall finite element model, dynamic behaviors of linear guides affected by preload were thus investigated. In the finite element procedure, three contact models, 1D point-to-point, 2D point-to-point and 3D surface-to-surface, were sequentially introduced for purpose of verification with experiments. As a validation in this project, vibrational experiments on linear guides with different preloads were conducted and related frequency spectrums were derived. Both the finite element and the experimental results reveal that the natural frequency of a linear guide increases with the increment of the preload. In addition, the dynamic characteristics predicted by finite element analysis agree well with those measured from instrumental experiments. The proposal of current study may provide an alternate and reliable way for understanding of the dynamic characteristic of the rolling contact components in machine design field.     

Combining shared-coin algorithms

This paper shows that shared-coin algorithms can be combined to optimize several complexity measures, even in the presence of a strong adversary. By combining shared coins of Bracha and Rachman (1991) [10] and of Aspnes and Waarts (1996) [7], this yields a shared-coin algorithm, and hence, a randomized consensus algorithm, with O(nlog²n)$O\left(n{log}^{2}n\right)$ individual work and O(n²logn)$O(n^{2}logn)$ total work, using single-writer registers. This improves upon each of the above shared coins (where the former has a high cost for individual work, while the latter reduces it but pays in the total work), and is currently the best for this model.     

Tight Bounds for Adopt-Commit Objects

We give matching upper and lower bounds of \(\varTheta(\min(\frac{\log m}{\log \log m},\, n))\) for the individual step complexity of a wait-free m-valued adopt-commit object implemented using multi-writer registers for n anonymous processes. While the upper bound is deterministic, the lower bound holds for randomized adopt-commit objects as well. Our results are based on showing that adopt-commit objects are equivalent, up to small additive constants, to a simpler class of objects that we call conflict detectors. Our anonymous lower bound also applies to the individual step complexity of m-valued wait-free anonymous consensus, even for randomized algorithms with global coins against an oblivious adversary. The upper bound can be used to slightly improve the cost of randomized consensus against an oblivious adversary. For deterministic non-anonymous implementations of adopt-commit objects, we show a lower bound of \(\varOmega(\min(\frac{\log m}{\log \log m}, \frac{\sqrt{\log n}}{\log \log n}))\) and an upper bound of \(O(\min(\frac{\log m}{\log \log m},\, \log n))\) on the worst-case individual step complexity. For randomized non-anonymous implementations, we show that any execution contains at least one process whose steps exceed the deterministic lower bound.     

Collaborative Group Membership

In this paper we present a novel approach to fault-tolerant group membership for use predominantly in collaborative computing environments. As an exemplar, we use the Collaborative Computing Transport Layer which offers reliable atomic multicast capabilities for use in collaborative environments such as the Collaborative Computing Frameworks (CCF). Specific design goals of the approach are the elimination of processing overhead due to heartbeats, support for partial failures and extensibility. These goals are satisfied in an approach, termed Collaborative Group Membership (CGM), which uses a quiescent weak failure detector and two election based algorithms to form consensus on the membership of a failing group. Failure detection operates through a reliable multicast primitive and as such eliminates the need for explicit keep-alive packets; thus in a failure free environment, CGM imposes no overhead.     

Characterization of interaction effects between ductile tearing and intense fatigue cycling

The objective of this work was to develop an initial understanding of interaction effects which occur during complex loading in the elastic-plastic regime. A simple superposition model is presented for the accumulation of crack extension from ductile tearing and intense elastic-plastic cycling. Baseline cyclic data and baseline J based resistance curve data was developed for an HSLA steel using compact specimen geometries. Then a series of specimens were tested with alternate ductile tear and intense cyclic loadings.Conclusions from the analysis of these specimens were that the cyclic crack growth rate resulting from the intense cyclic intervals is only slightly elevated by the presence of ductile tearing load steps and is very constant over cyclic growth periods of 1 mm extent showing little acceleration or decceleration due to the ductile tearing step. Also demonstrated was that the ductile tearing resistance as measured by the J integral is almost unaffected by periods of intense cyclic loading if the R ratio is small and is inceased as the R ratio approaches 0.5. Both measured effects would lead to conservative results if the simple superposition model was used to predict the plastic cycling punctuated by occasional ductile tearing steps.

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Résumé Le but du travail était de développer une compréhension de base des effets d'interaction qui se produisent au cours d'une sollicitation complexe dans le régime élasto-plastique. On présente un modèle de superposition simple représentant l'accumulation de l'extension de la fissure à partir d'un arrachement ductile et d'alternances élasto-plastiques sévères. On développe les données cycliques minimales et les données minimales de la courbe de résistance basée sur J, dans le cas d'un acier à haute résistance faiblement allié, à l'aide d'éprouvettes de traction compactes. Une série d'éprouvettes est ensuite soumise à arrachement ductile alterné et à des sollicitations cycliques intenses.De l'analyse des éprouvettes, on conclut que la croissance cyclique de la fissure, résultant des intervales d'alternances sévères n'est que peu éprouvée par la présence de ressauts de la charge d'arrachement ductile, et est très uniforme sur des périodes de croissance cyclique de l'ordre de 1 mm d'étendue, ne faisant état que de peu d'accélération ou de décélération lors d'un ressaut d'arrachement ductile. On démontre également que la résistance à l'arrachement ductile mesurée par l'intégrale J n'est pas du tout affectée par des périodes de cyclage intense, si le rapport R est faible, et qu'elle croît lorsque R se rapproche de 0,5. Ces deux effects mesurés conduiraient à des résultats conservatifs si le modèle de superposition simple était utilisé pour prédire la croissance d'une fissure correspondant à une histoire de la mise en charge qui serait constituée par un cyclage élasto-plastique intense accompagné par des ressauts d'arrachement ductile occasionnels.

     

Stress-wave attenuation in thin structures by ultrasonic through-transmission

The steady-state amplitude of the output of an ultrasonic through-transmission measurement is analyzed and the result is given in closed form. Provided that the product of the input and output transduction ratios, the specimen-transducer reflection coefficient, the specimen-transducer phase-shift parameter, and the material phase velocity are known, this analysis gives a means for determining the through-thickness attenuation of an individual thin sample. Multiple stress-wave reflections are taken into account, and so signal echoes do not represent a difficulty. An example is presented for a graphite fiber epoxy composite (Hercules AS/3501-6). Thus, the technique provides a direct method for continuous or intermittent monitoring of through-thickness attenuation of plate structures which may be subject to service structural degradation.