Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Attack Investigation'
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Fang, Pengcheng. "REPTRACKER:TOWARDS AUTOMATIC ATTACK INVESTIGATION." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1550696995596089.
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Van, Heerden Renier Pelser. "A formalised ontology for network attack classification." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011603.
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One of the most popular attack vectors against computers are their network connections. Attacks on computers through their networks are commonplace and have various levels of complexity. This research formally describes network-based computer attacks in the form of a story, formally and within an ontology. The ontology categorises network attacks where attack scenarios are the focal class. This class consists of: Denial-of- Service, Industrial Espionage, Web Defacement, Unauthorised Data Access, Financial Theft, Industrial Sabotage, Cyber-Warfare, Resource Theft, System Compromise, and Runaway Malware. This ontology was developed by building a taxonomy and a temporal network attack model. Network attack instances (also know as individuals) are classified according to their respective attack scenarios, with the use of an automated reasoner within the ontology. The automated reasoner deductions are verified formally; and via the automated reasoner, a relaxed set of scenarios is determined, which is relevant in a near real-time environment. A prototype system (called Aeneas) was developed to classify network-based attacks. Aeneas integrates the sensors into a detection system that can classify network attacks in a near real-time environment. To verify the ontology and the prototype Aeneas, a virtual test bed was developed in which network-based attacks were generated to verify the detection system. Aeneas was able to detect incoming attacks and classify them according to their scenario. The novel part of this research is the attack scenarios that are described in the form of a story, as well as formally and in an ontology. The ontology is used in a novel way to determine to which class attack instances belong and how the network attack ontology is affected in a near real-time environment.
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Mathre, John Mark. "Computational investigation of incompressible airfoil flows at high angles of attack." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/22965.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimitedCebeci's viscous/inviscid interaction program was applied to the analysis of steady, two dimensional, incompressible flow past four airfoils, the NACA 66₃-018, 0010 (Modified), 4412 and the Wortmann FX 63-137. Detailed comparisons with the available experimental results show that the essential features are correctly modelled, but that significant discrepancies are found in regions of flow separations.
http://archive.org/details/computationalinv00math
Lieutenant, United States Navy
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Tait, Sean William. "An investigation of fore-body aerodynamics during the velocity vector roll." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.265929.
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Chan, Yik-Kwan Eric, and 陳奕鈞. "Investigation of a router-based approach to defense against Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B30173309.
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Jhangiani, Rajiv Sunil. "Processing terror : an investigation into the immediate and short-term psychological effects of a terrorist attack." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2780.
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In the years since the 9/11 attacks the incidence of terrorism has been on the rise. At the same time, news media coverage of major terrorist attacks has reached epic proportions, greatly expanding the number of individuals psychologically affected by terrorism. The goal of this dissertation is to better understand how individuals cope with terrorism experienced at a distance. Specifically, this investigation focuses on the impact of stress on integrative complexity (IC; a measure of cognitive processing; Suedfeld, Tetlock, & Streufert, 1992) during and shortly after a major terrorist event. Taken together, the findings from the three studies reported in this dissertation provide several insights into this process. Study 1 replicates and extends results from an earlier study of television newscasters reporting live on 9/11 (Jhangiani & Suedfeld, 2005), in the context of the 2005 London bombings and the medium of radio. In doing so, it provides the first empirical evidence outside of the research laboratory for the curvilinear relationship between stress and IC. Specifically, during the early stages of reports concerning the London bombings, a positive relationship is found between negative emotion and IC. However, once the nature and extent of the event become clearer, increases in negative emotion are related to decreases in IC (the disruptive stress hypothesis). Study 2 replicates this curvilinear relationship in the short-term reactions of two prominent political leaders to 9/11 and the 2005 London bombings. For one of these political leaders, the magnitude of his psychological reaction is moderated by the psychological distance between him and the victims of the attacks. Finally, Study 3 finds that two key personality variables, neuroticism and empathy, play important roles in determining the magnitude of the short-term psychological reactions to 9/11 of more than 250 students from Canada and the United States. This finding is particularly true for those students who were psychologically closer to the victims of the attacks. Implications, strengths and limitations of this research, and possible future directions are discussed.
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Brueckner, Rene. "Accelerating the thaumasite form of sulfate attack and an investigation of its effects on skin friction." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2008. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/176/.
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The objective of the research was to accelerate the thaumasite form of sulfate attack (TSA) under laboratory conditions in order to identify its effects on skin friction at the soil/concrete interface. The experimental programme was organised into five series which investigated the formation of TSA under unrestrained and restrained conditions whereby the acceleration of TSA was observed at unrestrained conditions depending on water-cement ratio, cement content, casting face and aggressive solution. Restrained conditions simulated soil/concrete interface interactions and were applied to identify changes of the skin friction affected by the formation of thaumasite. TSA was successfully accelerated and a linear deterioration progress was monitored using a developed needle test method. Using clay-restrained conditions thaumasite formed attached to the concrete and favoured a more severe deterioration culminating in thaumasite layers of up to 25mm depending on interface pH and applied pressure. Thaumasite at the interface did not decrease the shear strength including skin friction and cohesion. Therefore it was concluded that TSA occurring at piles or foundation bases does not affect the stability of the superstructure regarding loss of friction and settlements, however, continuous loss of concrete can increase the slenderness and cause premature corrosion.
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Hovmark, Olle, and Emma Schüldt. "Towards Extending Probabilistic Attack Graphs with Forensic Evidence : An investigation of property list files in macOS." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-280102.
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Cyber-attacks against all types of systems is a growing problem in society. Since the Mac operating systems are becoming more common, so are the attacks against them. Probabilistic attack graphs are a way to model cyber- attacks. The Meta Attack Language is a language that can be used to create domain-specific languages that in turn can be used to model an attack on the specific domain with a probabilistic attack graph. This report investigates how the Meta Attack Language can be extended so that it could be used for creating attack graphs with forensic evidence, by focusing on attacks on Mac operating systems that has left evidence in the form of property list files. The MITRE ATT&CK matrix is a knowledge base with information about cyber- attacks. A study of the matrix was made to examine what evidence has been found from attacks on a Mac operating system and also to motivate why this report focuses on evidence in the form of property list files. A study on grey literature was then made to investigate different types of attacks that has left evidence in the form of property list files. The studies showed that there are a multitude of evidence that could be left from an attack on a Mac operating system and that most evidence in the form of property list files was used by the adversary as persistence mechanisms. They also showed that the property list files often were placed at root level in the file system. The studies also showed that the adversary often tried to hide the files by giving them names that are common in a Mac operating system. After the studies were conducted a list of requirements for extending the Meta Attack Language was created. This list was based on the results from the studies and included requirements that says there must be a way of expressing the name and location of the files, detection evasion methods, connections between different types of evidence or between evidence and attack steps, and more.Cyberattacker mot alla typer av system är ett växande problem i samhället. Eftersom Mac-operativsystemen blir allt vanligare, blir attackerna mot dem också vanligare. Probabilistiska attackgrafer är ett sätt att modellera och visualisera cyberattacker. Meta Attack Language är ett språk som kan användas för att skapa domänspecifika språk som i sin tur kan användas för att modellera en cyberattack på den specifika domänen med en probabilistisk attackgraf. Denna rapport undersöker hur Meta Attack Language kan utvidgas så att det kan användas för att skapa attackgrafer som innehåller digitala forensiska bevis, genom att undersöka attacker mot Mac- operativsystem där bevis i form av property-list-filer har lämnats. MITRE ATT&CK-matrisen är en kunskapsbas med information om cyberattacker. En studie av denna matris gjordes för att ta reda på vilka olika typer av bevis som har hittats efter attacker på ett Mac-operativsystem samt för att motivera varför denna rapport fokuserar på bevis i form av property-list-filer. En studie av grå litteratur gjordes sedan för att undersöka olika typer av attacker som har lämnat bevis i form av property-list-filer. Studierna visade att det finns en mängd bevis som kan lämnas från ett angrepp på ett Mac-operativsystem och att de flesta bevis i form av property-list-filer användes av attackeraren för att göra attacken tålig mot sådant som omstart av systemet. De visade också att property-list-filerna ofta placerades i rotkatalogen i filsystemet. Studierna visade också att motståndaren ofta försökte dölja filerna genom att ge dem namn som vanligtvis används på ett Mac-operativsystem. Efter studierna genomförts skapades en lista med krav som måste uppfyllas av en utvidgning av Meta Attack. Denna lista baserades på resultaten från studierna och inkluderade krav som säger att det till exempel måste finnas sätt att uttrycka namnet och platsen för en fil, metoder som angriparen använder för att undvika upptäckt, samband mellan olika typer av bevis och samband mellan bevis och attacksteg.
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Waring, Howard Linton. "An investigation into the nature and response to treatment of panic attack symptoms in general practice attenders." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.277490.
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A study was carried out to investigate the nature and response to treatment of panic attack symptoms in general practice attenders. Patients attending a health centre in Aberdeenshire were screened and a sample interviewed. Panic attacks were found to be present in approximately 5% of attenders. Patients experiencing such attacks were found to be more anxious and depressed. A close association was found between panic attacks and agoraphobic symptoms. A treatment trial was conducted comparing drug and behavioural treatment. The drug treatment proved initially the most effective but differences at 12 months between the two treatments were not significant. A significant proportion of the behaviourally treated patients withdrew, indicating that this treatment method may not always be appropriate for this type of symptom. It is probable that this may be a reflection of the varied precipitating factors inducing the presentation of this type of symptom.
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Sommers, John Douglas. "An experimental investigation of support strut interference on a three-percent fighter model at high angles of attack." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/25926.
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De, Oliveira Neto Pedro Jose. "An Investigation of Unsteady Aerodynamic Multi-axis State-Space Formulations as a Tool for Wing Rock Representation." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29600.
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The objective of the present research is to investigate unsteady aerodynamic models with state equation representations that are valid up to the high angle of attack regime with the purpose of evaluating them as computationally affordable models that can be used in conjunction with the equations of motion to simulate wing rock. The unsteady aerodynamic models with state equation representations investigated are functional approaches to modeling aerodynamic phenomena, not directly derived from the physical principles of the problem. They are thought to have advantages with respect to the physical modeling methods mainly because of the lower computational cost involved in the calculations. The unsteady aerodynamic multi-axis models with state equation representations investigated in this report assume the decomposition of the airplane into lifting surfaces or panels that have their particular aerodynamic force coefficients modeled as dynamic state-space models. These coefficients are summed up to find the total aircraft force coefficients. The products of the panel force coefficients and their moment arms with reference to a given axis are summed up to find the global aircraft moment coefficients. Two proposed variations of the state space representation of the basic unsteady aerodynamic model are identified using experimental aerodynamic data available in the open literature for slender delta wings, and tested in order to investigate their ability to represent the wing rock phenomenon. The identifications for the second proposed formulation are found to match the experimental data well. The simulations revealed that even though it was constructed with scarce data, the model presented the expected qualitative behavior and that the concept is able to simulate wing rock.Ph. D.
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Salemi, Leonardo da Costa, and Leonardo da Costa Salemi. "Numerical Investigation of Hypersonic Conical Boundary-Layer Stability Including High-Enthalpy and Three-Dimensional Effects." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/621854.
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The spatial stability of hypersonic conical boundary layers is investigated utilizing different numerical techniques. First, the development and verification of a Linearized Compressible Navier-Stokes solver (LinCS) is presented, followed by an investigation of different effects that affect the stability of the flow in free-flight/ground tests, such as: high-enthalpy effects, wall-temperature ratio, and three-dimensionality (i.e. angle-of-attack). A temporally/spatially high-order of accuracy parallelized Linearized Compressible Navier-Stokes solver in disturbance formulation was developed, verified and employed in stability investigations. Herein, the solver was applied and verified against LST, PSE and DNS, for different hypersonic boundary-layer flows over several geometries (e.g. flat plate - M=5.35 & 10; straight cone - M=5.32, 6 & 7.95; flared cone - M=6; straight cone at AoA = 6 deg - M=6). The stability of a high-enthalpy flow was investigated utilizing LST, LinCS and DNS of the experiments performed for a 5 deg sharp cone in the T5 tunnel at Caltech. The results from axisymmetric and 3D wave-packet investigations in the linear, weakly, and strongly nonlinear regimes using DNS are presented. High-order spectral analysis was employed in order to elucidate the presence of nonlinear couplings, and the fundamental breakdown of second mode waves was investigated using parametric studies. The three-dimensionality of the flow over the Purdue 7 deg sharp cone at M=6 and AoA =6 deg was also investigated. The development of the crossflow instability was investigated utilizing suction/blowing at the wall in the LinCS/DNS framework. Results show good agreement with previous computational investigations, and that the proper basic flow computation/formation of the vortices is very sensitive to grid resolution.
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Öberg, Fredrik. "Investigation on how presentation attack detection can be used to increase security for face recognition as biometric identification : Improvements on traditional locking system." Thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Institutionen för informationssystem och –teknologi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-42294.
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Biometric identification has already been applied to society today, as today’s mobile phones use fingerprints and other methods like iris and the face itself. With growth for technologies like computer vision, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, The use of face recognition as a biometric identification on ordinary doors has become increasingly common. This thesis studies is looking into the possibility of replacing regular door locks with face recognition or supplement the locks to increase security by using a pre-trained state-of-the-art face recognition method based on a convolution neural network. A subsequent investigation concluded that a networks based face recognition are is highly vulnerable to attacks in the form of presentation attacks. This study investigates protection mechanisms against these forms of attack by developing a presentation attack detection and analyzing its performance. The obtained results from the proof of concept showed that local binary patterns histograms as a presentation attack detection could help the state of art face recognition to avoid attacks up to 88\% of the attacks the convolution neural network approved without the presentation attack detection. However, to replace traditional locks, more work must be done to detect more attacks in form of both higher percentage of attacks blocked by the system and the types of attack that can be done. Nevertheless, as a supplement face recognition represents a promising technology to supplement traditional door locks, enchaining their security by complementing the authorization with biometric authentication. So the main contributions is that by using simple older methods LBPH can help modern state of the art face regognition to detect presentation attacks according to the results of the tests. This study also worked to adapt this PAD to be suitable for low end edge devices to be able to adapt in an environment where modern solutions are used, which LBPH have.
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Hornschuh, Veronica. "A victimological investigation of farm attacks with specific reference to farmers' perceptions of their susceptibility, the consequences of attacks for farmers and the coping strategies applied by them after victimisation." Diss., Pretoria : [s.n.], 2007. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-07282008-094048.
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Drozd, Mary R. "Campylobacter jejuni Survival Strategies and Counter-Attack: An investigation of Campylobacter phosphate mediated biofilms and the design of a high-throughput small-molecule screen for TAT inhibition." The Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1344351339.
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Thurieau, Nicolas. "Sur la modélisation du tissu cardiaque comme un milieu à microdilatation : une investigation numérique." Thesis, Université de Lorraine, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014LORR0018/document.
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Contexte : Le tissu biologique mou présente une organisation structurelle extrêmement complexe et est le siège de nombreux phénomènes d'échanges. De nombreuses applications s'étendant du diagnostic clinique à l'ingénierie tissulaire nécessitent la connaissance du comportement mécanique du tissu. A cette fin, de nombreuses approches plus ou moins satisfaisantes sont développées. Elles s'efforcent toutes de tenir compte de manière plus ou moins systématique de la microstructure du milieu. La considération du tissu biologique comme un milieu micromorphe donne des résultats probants dans sa particularisation au milieu micropolaire appliquée au tissu osseux. Il est donc fort probable que des résultats du genre soient obtenus pour d'autres tissus. Notre travail était orienté vers le tissu cardiaque et la problématique de l'infarctus ischémique. Dans ce contexte, il nous a semblé que la particularisation de comportement la mieux adaptée est celle d'un milieu à microdilatation. Travail réalisé : Le travail réalisé dans le cadre de cette thèse est essentiellement numérique. Il a pour objectif de mettre en lumière les particularités de la réponse à une sollicitation extérieure d'un échantillon de milieu à microdilatation. Cette étape est essentielle pour l'analyse future des résultats d'expériences qui seront menées. Il a également pour objectif d'étudier les potentialités du modèle vis-à-vis du tissu cardiaque en considérant l'infarctus ischémique et la perte associée de la capacité d'éjection de volume sanguin. Les outils numériques d'analyse de tels milieux sont en plein développement. Il nous a fallu développer notre propre outil basé sur la LPI-BEM (Local Point Interpolation - Boundary Element Method). Du fait de la similitude des équations de champs associées, la validité de la stratégie numérique mise en oeuvre est testée sur le cas d'un matériau piézoélectrique. Ce choix n'est pas innocent car, dans l'avenir la considération du milieu piézoélectrique à microdilatation permettra d'analyser le cas d'une sollicitation électrique du tissu. Les détails de cette stratégie numérique originale sont consignés dans le chapitre 2 du mémoire. Le chapitre 3 est consacré à l'analyse de la robustesse de la méthode et aux particularités de la réponse d'un milieu à microdilatation. Le quatrième chapitre est consacré à l'application au tissu cardiaque. En se limitant au cas de petites déformations, on montre que le modèle est bien adapté à la représentation du comportement du tissu cardiaque. En effet, assimilant le ventricule gauche à une structure tubulaire, la fraction d'éjection du ventricule gauche (critère clinique d'insuffisance cardiaque) est fortement diminuée en présence d'une zone infarcie. Cette dernière est modélisée comme une région à frontière diffuse où les points matériels ont perdu leur capacité de « respirer ». Ces résultats sont prometteurs. Ils encouragent à poursuivre dans cette voie en prenant en compte le caractère anisotrope du tissu et en se plaçant dans le cadre des grandes déformationsBackground: A soft biological tissue is subjected to numerous exchange phenomena and has an extremely complex structural organization. The knowledge of its mechanical behavior is required in many applications ranging from clinical diagnostic to tissue engineering. To achieve this goal, more or less satisfactory approaches are developed. They all seek to take into account in a more or less systematic manner the microstructure of the medium. Assuming that the biological tissue is a particular micromorphic medium (micropolar medium) leads to good results in the case bone tissue. It is therefore likely that the results of this kind will be obtained for other tissues. Our interest is on the heart tissue and the problem of ischemic heart attack. In this context, it seemed that the most appropriate behavior particularization is that of a microdilatation medium. Work done: The work presented in this thesis is essentially numerical. It aims to highlight the features of the response of microdilatation medium to an external mechanical load. This step is essential for the analysis of the experimental results to be conducted in the future. The work also aims to investigate the potentialities of the model with respect to the heart tissue regarding heart attack and the associated loss of the ability to eject sufficient blood volume. The numerical tools for the analysis of such media are in increasing development. We had to develop our own tool based on the LPI-BEM (Local Point Interpolation - Boundary Element Method). Because of the similarity of the associated field equations, the validity of the numerical strategy is assessed in the case of a piezoelectric material. This choice is not innocent because the piezoelectric medium with microdilatation will allow analyzing the case of an electrical solicitation of the tissue. The details of this original numerical approach are given in Chapter 2 of the thesis. Chapter 3 is devoted to the analysis of the robustness of the method and to the peculiarities of the response of a microdilatation medium. The fourth chapter is devoted to the application to the cardiac tissue. By limiting the study to the case of small strains, it is shown that the model is well suited to the representation of the behavior of cardiac tissue. Indeed, considering the left ventricle as a tubular structure, the left ventricle ejection fraction (clinical criterion of the heart failure) is greatly reduced in the presence of an infarcted area. The latter is modeled as a zone with diffuse boundary where the material points have lost their ability to "breath". These results are promising and encourage further investigations in this direction by taking into account the anisotropic nature of the tissue in a geometrically nonlinear context
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Abbasi, Saeed. "Investigation of open resolvers in DNS reflection DDoS attacks." Master's thesis, Université Laval, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/25802.
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Les serveurs du système de noms de domaine (DNS) représentent des éléments clés des réseaux Internet. Récemment, les attaquants ont profité de ce service pour lancer des attaques massives de déni de service distribué (DDoS) contre de nombreuses organisations [1, 2, 3]. Ceci est rendu possible grâce aux différentes vulnérabilités liées à la conception, implantation ou une mauvaise configuration du protocole DNS. Les attaques DDoS amplifiées par DNS sont des menaces dangereuses pour les utilisateurs d’Internet. L’objectif de cette étude est d’acquérir une meilleure compréhension des attaques DDoS amplifiées par DNS par l’investigation des résolveurs DNS ouverts à travers le monde. Dans ce contexte, il est nécessaire d’adopter une approche en phase précoce pour détecter les résolveurs DNS ouverts. Cela devient cruciale dans le processus d’enquête. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéresserons à l’utilisation de résolveurs DNS ouverts dans les attaques DDoS amplifiées par DNS. Plus précisément, la principale contribution de notre recherche est la suivante : (i) Nous profilons les résolveurs DNS ouverts, ce qui implique : détecter les résolveurs ouverts, les localiser, détecter leur système d’exploitation et le type de leur connectivité, et étudier le but de leur vivacité. (ii) Nous effectuons une évaluation de la sécurité des résolveurs DNS ouverts et leurs vulnérabilités. De plus, nous discutons les fonctions de sécurité des résolveurs DNS, qui fournissent, par inadvertence, les attaquants par la capacité d’effectuer des attaques DDoS amplifiées par DNS. (iii) Nous présentons une analyse pour démontrer l’association des résolveurs DNS ouverts avec les menaces de logiciels malveillants.Domain Name System (DNS) servers represent key components of Internet networks. Recently, attackers have taken advantage of this service to launch massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against numerous organizations [1, 2, 3]. This is made possible due to the various vulnerabilities linked to the design, implementation or misconfiguration of the DNS protocol. DNS reflection DDoS attacks are harmful threats for internet users. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of DNS reflection DDoS attacks through the investigation of DNS open resolvers around the world. In this context, there is a need for an early phase approach to detect and fingerprint DNS open resolvers. This becomes crucial in the process of investigation. In this thesis, we elaborate on the usage of DNS open resolvers in DNS reflection DDoS attacks. More precisely, the main contribution of our research is as follows : (i) We profile DNS open resolvers, which involves : detecting open resolvers, locating them, fingerprinting their operating system, fingerprinting the type of their connectivity, studying the purpose of their liveness. (ii) We conduct an assessment with respect to DNS open resolvers security and their vulnerabilities. Moreover, we discuss the security features that DNS open resolvers are equipped with, which inadvertently provide the capability to the attackers in order to carry out DNS reflection DDoS attacks. (iii) We present an analysis to demonstrate the association of DNS open resolvers with malware threats.
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Stephenson-Huxford, Michael. "Investigating the invisible cord : an analytical autoethnography of first panic attack." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2018. https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/b36a6cf8-c36f-4361-a3d1-1fe18ff3dab3.
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The phenomenon of panic is one of the most unedifying experiences to inflict the human condition. It is a globally-recognised problem regularly encountered in psychotherapeutic practice. Whilst it is thought that distressing psychological and social (‘psychosocial’) problems might help account for this experience, the precise role they play - particularly in first onset - remains difficult to fathom. For example, whilst there is evidence to suggest that stress related to an individual’s family and work life, marital circumstances, age and gender appear linked with initial episodes of panic, these and many associated stressors people endure remain largely under-researched. Following an inquiry aim that recognises the social construction of reality, this research offers an insight into my first experience of panic attack (my being both a panic sufferer and psychotherapist). The aim was to identify an ‘invisible cord’ (e.g. a series of causally linked stressful life events) related to my panic. These events are typically thought to be found in the twelve months prior to first onset and hold important clues to an individual’s recovery. Hence my research question was: ‘What sense can be made of the invisible cord of events leading to my first experience of panic attack’? Using analytical autoethnographic methods to guide this research, significant personal events were discovered and are presented here in the findings. The earliest events uncovered would stretch back far longer than twelve months; with a series of five scenarios plotted from childhood to my mid-forties. To ensure that this research remained an exercise in critical thinking, each event was then examined alongside broader psychosocial theory and frameworks; offering a connected analysis of this first attack and contingent factors. A summary follows, ‘pulling together’ aspects of this undertaking and offering implications for practice. For example, having only made visible elements of my stressful cord by means of the analytical methods at my disposal (including use of collage and timelines) I suggest that such tools might routinely help other panic sufferers in retracing their past. Equally, in learning that my (often confused) Christian faith was implicated in this panic, I advance that we, as therapists, must remain vigilant to matters of client spirituality: noting that traditional forms of religious guidance are receding in an increasingly sceptical UK society. The thesis concludes with a personal reflection that aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of my research journey.
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Nagy, Gábor, and Kitty Thai. "Investigating Traditional Software Testing Methods for use with the Meta Attack Language." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-280103.
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Threat modelling of systems is an emerging field within computer security. With the introduction of the Meta Attack Language (MAL) by KTH researchers, the need for being able to test and verify the correctness of such modelling techniques has once again become apparent. This paper investigates the use of symbolic execution as well as model verification tools in order to certify the correctness of the produced models and their behavior. With the help of language developers, as well as a literature study about the targeted testing methods, it has been concluded that the current design of MAL makes it very difficult to test it effectively, and it is recommended that modifications be made to address that issue.Hotmodellering av system är ett växande område inom datasäkerhet. Med introduktionen av Meta Attack Language (MAL) av KTH-forskare har behovet av att kunna testa och verifiera korrektheten av sådana modelleringstekniker återigen blivit uppenbart. Det här arbetet undersöker användningen av symbolisk exekvering samt verifieringsverktyg för programmodeller för att bekräfta korrektheten hos de producerade modellerna och deras beteende. Med hjälp av programspråkutvecklare, såväl som en litteraturstudie om de föreslagna test-metoderna, har man dragit slutsatsen att den nuvarande utformningen av MAL gör det svårt att testa det effektivt, och det rekommenderas att ändringar görs för att lösa problemet.
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Kimak, Stefan. "An investigation into possible attacks on HTML5 IndexedDB and their prevention." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2016. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/30260/.
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This thesis presents an analysis of, and enhanced security model for IndexedDB, the persistent HTML5 browser-based data store. In versions of HTML prior to HTML5, web sites used cookies to track user preferences locally. Cookies are however limited both in file size and number, and must also be added to every HTTP request, which increases web traffic unnecessarily. Web functionality has however increased significantly since cookies were introduced by Netscape in 1994. Consequently, web developers require additional capabilities to keep up with the evolution of the World Wide Web and growth in eCommerce. The response to this requirement was the IndexedDB API, which became an official W3C recommendation in January 2015. The IndexedDB API includes an Object Store, indices, and cursors and so gives HTML5 - compliant browsers a transactional database capability. Furthermore, once downloaded, IndexedDB data stores do not require network connectivity. This permits mobile web- based applications to work without a data connection. Such IndexedDB data stores will be used to store customer data, they will inevitably become targets for attackers. This thesis firstly argues that the design of IndexedDB makes it unavoidably insecure. That is, every implementation is vulnerable to attacks such as Cross Site Scripting, and even data that has been deleted from databases may be stolen using appropriate software tools. This is demonstrated experimentally on both mobile and desktop browsers. IndexedDB is however capable of high performance even when compared to servers running optimized local databases. This is demonstrated through the development of a formal performance model. The performance predictions for IndexedDB were tested experimentally, and the results showed high conformance over a range of usage scenarios. This implies that IndexedDB is potentially a useful HTML5 API if the security issues can be addressed. In the final component of this thesis, we propose and implement enhancements that correct the security weaknesses identified in IndexedDB. The enhancements use multifactor authentication, and so are resistant to Cross Site Scripting attacks. This enhancement is then demonstrated experimentally, showing that HTML5 IndexedDB may be used securely both online and offline. This implies that secure, standards compliant browser based applications with persistent local data stores may both feasible and efficient.
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Harris, Cheryl A. "U.S. intelligence." [Norfolk, Va.] : Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, 2006. http://doclib.jfsc.ndu.edu/2006Harris.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy)--Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, 2006."April 14, 2006." Electronic version of original print document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-70).
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Kalogiannis, Konstantinos. "Investigating Attacks on Vehicular Platooning and Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-292951.
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Autonomous vehicles are a rising technology that aims to change the way people think about mobility in the future. A crucial step towards that goal is the assurance that malicious actors cannot instigate accidents that could lead to damages or loss of life. Currently, vehicle platoons, that is vehicles cooperating together to increase fuel saving and driver comfort, are used in limited environments and are the focus of research aimed to make them suitable for real-world wide usage. In that regard, guaranteeing that the vehicle is able to operate alongside other entities, autonomous or not, in the traditional sense is not adequate. The computer systems involved can be the target or the source of a malicious act without the knowledge of the operator in either case. In the context of platooning, these acts can have devastating effects and can originate either from other vehicles on the road or from within, from compromised vehicles that are part of the formation. In this thesis, the focus is centered around the latter. We investigate jamming and data falsification attacks that aim to either destabilize the platoon, thus, reducing its benefits or provoke an accident. These attacks are more difficult to discern and will range from simple falsification attacks to more complex ones that aim to bypass defensive mechanisms. In that sense, we direct our experiments against the platoon maneuvers that are a core functionality of platooning and are required for its nominal operation. The results of this analysis show that several attacks can lead to accidents with position falsification being the most productive. It is also demonstrated that a malicious leader can pose a serious threat to the viability of the platoon because of his unique capability of interacting with all the platoon members. Attacks during the platoon maneuvers are demonstrated to pose a threat, not only to the stability of the formation but also the nature of the platooning application itself. This is achieved by effectively isolating the platoon from potential joiners.Självkörande fordon är en framväxande teknologi med mål att ändra människors framtida inställning till mobilitet. Ett kritiskt steg mot målet är att försäkra sig om att aktörer med ont uppsåt inte kan orsaka olyckor som kan leda till skador eller dödsfall. För närvarande används fordonståg, alltså fordon som samarbetar för att minska bränsleförbrukning och öka körkomfort, i avgränsade miljöer med fokus på att anpassa dessa för verklig användning. Att garantera att fordonet kan köras tillsammans med andra enheter är då inte tillräckligt eftersom dessa system kan bli mål för externa och interna attacker som kan ha förödande konsekvenser. Denna uppsats fokuserar på det senare fallet och undersöker interna datafalsifierings- och frekvensstörningsattacker avsedda att destabilisera fordonståg i syfte att minska deras fördelar eller provocera fram en olycka. Dessa attacker är svåra att urskilja och inkluderar allt från enkla falsifikationsattacker till komplexa attacker som syftar till att kringgå specifika försvarsmekanismer. Med det i åtanke inriktar vi våra experiment mot de manövrar som är en del av fordonstågens grundfunktionalitet och krävs för deras nominella drift. Resultaten av arbetet visar att under fordonstågmanövrar så kan flertalet av de utvärderade attackerna orsaka olyckor och att attacker genom förfalskning av position var speciellt förödande. Vi har även påvisat att en fordonstågsledare med ont uppsåt utgör ett speciellt allvarligt hot mot fordonstågets funktionalitet på grund av dennes unika möjlighet att interagera med alla medlemmar. Attacker under manövrar har visats utgöra ett hot, inte bara mot stabiliteten av formationen, men även mot de grundläggande egenskaperna hos systemet själv såsom att isolera fordonståget från nya medlemmar.
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McDaniel, Larry T. III. "An Investigation of Differential Power Analysis Attacks on FPGA-based Encryption Systems." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33451.
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Hardware devices implementing cryptographic algorithms are finding their way into many applications. As this happens, the ability to keep the data being processed or stored on the device secure grows more important. Power analysis attacks involve cryptographic hardware leaking information during encryption because power consumption is correlated to the key used for encryption. Power analysis attacks have proven successful against public and private key cryptosystems in a variety of form factors. The majority of the countermeasures that have been proposed for this attack are intended for software implementations on a microcontroller. This project focuses on the development of a VHDL tool for investigating power analysis attacks on FPGAs and exploring countermeasures that might be used.
The tool developed here counted the transitions of CLB output signals to estimate power and was used to explore the impact of possible gate-level countermeasures to differential power analysis. Using this tool, it was found that only a few nodes in the circuit have a high correlation to bits of the key. This means that modifying only a small portion of the circuit could dramatically increase the difficulty of mounting a differential power analysis attack on the hardware. Further investigation of the correlation between CLB outputs and the key showed that a tradeoff exists between the amount of space required for decorrelation versus the amount of decorrelation that is desired, allowing a designer to determine the amount of correlation that can be removed for available space. Filtering of glitches on CLB output signals slightly reduced the amount of correlation each CLB had. Finally, a decorrelation circuit was proposed and shown capable of decorrelating flip-flop outputs of a CLB, which account for less than 10% of the CLB outputs signals.Master of Science
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da, Assuncao Gouveia Tuna Maria. "A population-based study of transient neurological attacks : incidence, clinical characteristics, investigation, aetiology and prognosis." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ad3b3af3-326d-49be-9839-84019b465cc9.
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Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide and the commonest cause of dependency, creates a huge societal burden and is responsible for billions of pounds in health and social care costs. About 30% of strokes occur in individuals with a previous transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke. Effective prevention would minimise the consequences. However, the diagnosis of TIA is difficult, particularly by non-experts. About 50% of patients with a suspected TIA or minor stroke have atypical TIAs or a non-vascular diagnosis (TIA/minor stroke mimics). Although there is some evidence that non-specific Transient Neurological Attacks (TNAs) have an increased risk of acute vascular events, the evidence is still both thin and controversial. The aim of my thesis has been to evaluate the burden of TIA/minor stroke mimics, TNAs and all acute cerebrovascular events among all referrals from the general population to a TIA clinic; to determine the reliability of clinical diagnosis of TIA and non-specific TNA; to improve the classification of non-specific TNAs; and to predict the risk of stroke and other major vascular events after a non-specific TNA and TNA syndromes. I have collected and analysed data from a population-based study, the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC). OXVASC is an ongoing prospective, population-based incidence study of all vascular diseases in all territories in Oxfordshire, UK, which started in 2002. The study population comprises approximately 92,728 individuals registered with nine GP practices and uses multiple overlapping methods of "hot" and "cold" pursuit to identify patients with acute vascular events. The research described in this thesis has several clinically relevant findings which can contribute to improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients with suspected TIAs. First, I highlighted that TIA/minor stroke mimics (mimics) were responsible for one quarter of all suspected TIAs, had similar short- and long-term risk of acute cardiac events as did TIAs, and that the majority (70%) of mimics were complex neurological conditions. Second, I showed that TIA/minor ischaemic strokes are each more common than major ischaemic strokes and that TIA/minor ischaemic stroke patients together had two-thirds of all recurrent strokes and two-thirds of all myocardial infarctions and sudden cardiac deaths. Moreover, the 10 years' cumulative risk of stroke in patients with TIA, minor stroke and major stroke was very high and the risk of death among all cerebrovascular events was greater than 50%. Third, I found that the crude incidence rate of TNAs per 1000 people in OXVASC was slightly higher than the crude incidence rate of TIAs (0.73 versus 0.67) and increased with age. In addition, I reported that among TNA syndromes, transient isolated vertigo, unilateral sensory symptoms, migraine-aura like events and transient confusion had high incidence rates, whereas transient total paralysis and transient speech arrest had low incidence rates. Fourth, I showed that about one-third of TIAs seen in the first 10 years of OXVASC did not fulfil the classical criteria (NINDS-negative TIA) and had the same short- and long-term risk of stroke as NINDS-positive TIAs. Fifth, although the 90 days stroke risk after a TNA was lower than after a NINDS-positive TIA, in the post 90 days up to 10 years period the risk of recurrent stroke was not significantly different between the two groups. Sixth, the risks of stroke were higher than expected in the background population in all TNA categories (focal-TNA, non-focal TNA and focal plus non-focal TNA) and all TNA syndromes (isolated brainstem syndrome, migraine-like syndrome, isolated sensory syndromes, isolated visual disturbance, isolated speech disturbance, transient confusion and transient unresponsiveness) except transient amnesia. Moreover, non-focal TNAs and focal plus non-focal TNAs had a six times higher risk of stroke than expected and a similar risk to NINDS-positive TIAs. Finally, transient confusion and transient unresponsiveness had a relative risk of stroke nine times higher than expected and twice the risk of NINDS-positive TIAs.
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Alhussein, Nawras. "Investigation of the variables that govern user behaviors related to e-crime attacks." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för system- och rymdteknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-79293.
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The users´ behaviors play an important role in securing information systems. At the same time, the users´ bad behaviors end-up in making them victims to e-crime attacks. To emphasize the positive side of users´ behaviors, the reasons for the bad behaviors must be investigated. In this research, e-crimes on users in Sweden were studied using the protection motivation theory and the theory of planned behavior in order to understand what variables govern the user behaviors. The information retrieved from the literature review and the web survey were used to answer the research question about which variables within the two used theories affect the user behaviors in connection to e-crimes. It turned out that perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, and user-efficacy have significant effect on the selected user behavior. Besides, the analysis of the results showed that IT/IS-knowledge is a determinant factor that affects all the variables of the protection motivation theory.
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Kour, Jawdat, and Hasan Ahmed. "Email attacks : Investigation about the vulnerability of the Swedish organizations against email threats." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för datavetenskap och medieteknik (DM), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-97020.
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Email is an essential form of communication for organizations. Nevertheless, with so much popularity came many challenges. These emails usually carry sensitive data that might cause significant harm if they get compromised. Besides, spam and phishing emails that continually reach the employees’ inbox masquerading as a trusted entity due to the lack of authentication mechanisms are also considered a significant threat for organizations today. Such threats are phishing using email domain forgery attack, redirecting emails to a mail server that is under the attacker’s control, and connection eavesdropping. The research aimed to investigate the vulnerability of approximately 2000 organizations within Sweden against those attacks. Toward that end, the quantity and quality of the following email security mechanisms SPF, DKIM, DMARC, STARTTLS, DNSSEC, and DANE were examined through a case study. Also, the adoption of these mechanisms was investigated, whether it varies based on different factors such as organization size, sector, and location. The research findings indicated that the average adoption rate by the tested organizations was approximately 50%. Furthermore, the result demonstrated that there were no differences in the adopted mechanisms based on the studied factors that the results were quite similar among the tested groups. It concluded that there is a lack of protection mechanisms, which made the majority of the tested organizations vulnerable to different types of email attacks.
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Towner, Laurence. "Investigating the tumour promoting roles of complement membrane attack complex using global gene expression analysis." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2013. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/53361/.
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Activation of complement and its terminal pathway leads to the formation and insertion of the membrane attack complex (MAC) in the membranes of target cells. Complement is activated in tumours as is clear from the presence of complement activation products in cancer tissues. Over-expression of membrane bound complement regulators on tumour cells together with endogenous recovery mechanisms restricts complement activity and results in escape from lytic killing; nevertheless, sublytic MAC deposition is not without consequence. Sublytic MAC assembly on nucleated cells causes cell activation, secretion of extracellular matrix and pro-inflammatory cytokines and may cause protection from apoptosis. Signalling of these events is unclear. The global effects of sublytic MAC were addressed in the murine colon carcinoma cell line (CT26) through the use of microarray technology. Cells were exposed to sublytic complement attack using pooled normal human serum (pNHS) and compared to MAC-inhibited controls generated using pNHS containing the C5 inhibitor OmCI. Total RNA was extracted at 0, 1 and 12 hours post-exposure and subjected to microarray analysis using the Illumina platform. Top statistically significant changes were then identified and a list of genes upregulated at both time points was uploaded to MetaCore and a gene network generated. From this a number of co-regulated genes which converged on the EGFR were highlighted. These were cxcl1, amphiregulin and matrix metalloproteinases (Mmp) 3 and 13. Both the top statistically significant and network derived genes were validated using qPCR. Changes in protein levels were then tested using western blot analyses for Mmp3 and Areg. Inhibition of the MEK/ERK, and to a lesser extent PI3K/Akt, signalling suppressed the gene upregulation that occurred in response to MAC but inhibition of p38 and JNK had no effect, implicating a MEK/ERK- PI3K co-activation. MAC deposition and not C5a/C5aR axis signalling was shown to be responsible for the mmp3 gene upregulation response. Identification of MAC-mediated events and the signalling pathways involved may provide insight into the mechanisms by which complement activation influences tumour growth. In particular the data suggest that sublytic MAC deposition might promote a gene expression response which pushes the cells to a more aggressive phenotype by the upregulation of proliferative, survival, invasion and migratory signals. This in turn will inform strategies that seek to harness complement or complement regulation in tumour immunotherapy.
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Black, Richard Petrus. "Total reward offerings that attract : an investigation conducted in SMEs." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15466.
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Orientation : The current global scarcity of highly skilled employees has forced employers to better understand what attracts these kinds of employees, as they are vital to ensure organisational competitiveness and for the continued success of organisations. In the so- called war for talent, small companies believe they are at a disadvantage compared to large corporates in the battle to attract talented employees given limiting or constraining factors associated with being a smaller sized organisation. Research purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative importance of various reward elements or reward factors that Small or Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can manipulate in order to compile compelling job offers that are attractive to top talent. An ideal total rewards offering for the attraction of skilled employees that capitalises on the strengths that smaller companies possess, will be proposed. Motivation for the study : Retaining highly performing employees is one of the most important factors that contribute to organisational competitiveness. Companies need to understand how they can attract scarce human resources and specifically in the South African context, understand how to attract even scarcer employees from designated demographic groups in order to meet employment equity targets. Small companies find it difficult to compete with large corporations, for example when it comes to employer branding and so feel at a disadvantage when attempting to attract from the same group of employees that corporates also endeavour to attract. Research design : A quantitative research approach was adopted. Convenience and snowball sampling approaches were employed to gather data by means of three different questionnaires. Firstly, employees that recently moved from large corporate positions to positions within SMEs were asked what was offered to them in order for them to accept the job offer at a small company (n=11). These results were used to develop the second questionnaire (i.e. to develop the attributes and levels used in the conjoint tasks). The second and third questionnaires (the conjoint task and total reward questionnaires, respectively) were distributed to working adults in South Africa (n=105). Conjoint analysis was used to identify an ideal talent attraction mix and to assess how employer branding compares to traditional reward elements in talent attraction. Data from the third questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics and t-tests. Main findings : The results of the conjoint analysis revealed that respondents valued the possibility of career advancement most, specifically referring to promotion opportunities or overseas assignments. Significant differences in preference between demographic groups were found when considering performance and recognition, remuneration and benefits, and work culture. Work-life balance were ranked second last by all respondents, while employer brand was consistently viewed as the least attractive factor in talent attraction. Practical and/or managerial implications : Conjoint analysis enables the unique identification of both the combination and quantum of elements that make a job attractive for various demographic groups. Companies can utilise these findings when crafting job offers in order to attract different cohorts of candidates. Contribution and/ or value-add : Limited research exists in South Africa that can assist small companies in attracting top talent. The current study succeeded in identifying that small companies can attract top talent by capitalising on strengths they possess and furthermore assist SMEs to craft compelling job offers for different cohorts of candidates.
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Wright, Joseph H. "An Investigation of a Minimal-Contact Bibliotherapy Approach to Relapse Prevention for Individuals Treated for Panic Attacks." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30686.
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The present study was designed to test the efficacy of a bibliotherapy-relapse prevention (BT-RP) program for panic attacks in which the active BT-RP condition was compared to a waiting-list control condition. Prior to the administration of the six-month BT-RP program, all participants completed an initial BT intervention (Febbraro, 1997) based on the book Coping with Panic (Clum, 1990). The BT-RP program was designed to: (a) review major components of the initial intervention; (b) increase practice of panic coping skills and therapeutic self-exposure; (c) enhance social support for panic recovery; (d) teach cognitive restructuring skills related to relapse prevention; (e) provide a protocol to follow in the event of a setback; and (f) reduce overall levels of stress. Brief monthly phone contacts were included in the BT-RP condition. Thirty-six participants, 17 in the BT-RP condition and 19 in the WL control condition, completed the study. A 2 (Treatment condition: BT-RP versus WL control) X 2 (Time: Pre-BT-RP assessment versus Post-BT-RP assessment) mixed-model research design was used to analyze the results. Results indicted significant reductions from pre- to post-treatment in the BT-RP condition for panic cognitions, anticipatory anxiety, agoraphobic avoidance, and depression, but not in the WL condition. When statistically controlling for initial levels of these variables via analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), significant post-treatment differences in the expected direction emerged for these four dependent measure and for state anxiety. In addition, the BT-RP group reported significantly fewer panic attacks during the six-month course of the treatment trial than the WL control group on a measure of retrospective recall of full-blown panic attacks. There was also a
statistically significant proportional between-group difference in terms of clinically significant improvement for full-blown panic attacks and agoraphobic avoidance in favor of the BT-RP group. However, no significant between-group differences emerged for the maintenance of initial treatment gains for panic frequency, panic symptoms, panic cognitions, anticipatory anxiety, or agoraphobic avoidance. Results of the present study are discussed in the framework of benefits of the present BT-RP program, limitations of the findings, recommendations for future research in this area, and implications for BT treatments in general.Ph. D.
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Lala, Darshan Magan. "An investigation into the prevalence and growth of phishing attacks against South African financial targets." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3157.
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Phishing in the electronic communications medium is the act of sending unsolicited email messages with the intention of masquerading as a reputed business. The objective is to deceive the recipient into divulging personal and sensitive information such as bank account details, credit card numbers and passwords. Attacks against financial services are the most common types of targets for scammers. Phishing attacks in South Africa have cost businesses and consumers substantial amounts of financial loss. This research investigated existing literature to understand the basic concepts of email, phishing, spam and how these fit together. The research also looks into the increasing growth of phishing worldwide and in particular against South African targets. A quantitative study is performed and reported on; this involves the study and analysis of phishing statistics in a data set provided by the South African Anti-Phishing Working Group. The data set contains phishing URL information, country code where the site has been hosted, targeted company name, IP address information and timestamp of the phishing site. The data set contains 161 different phishing targets. The research primarily focuses on the trend in phishing attacks against six South African based financial institutions, but also correlates this with the overall global trend using statistical analysis. The results from the study of the data set are compared to existing statistics and literature regarding the prevalence and growth of phishing in South Africa. The question that this research answers is whether or not the prevalence and growth of phishing in South Africa correlates with the global trend in phishing attacks. The findings indicate that certain correlations exist between some of the South African phishing targets and global phishing trends.
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Ferguson, Cody J. "Increasing Effectiveness of U.S. Counterintelligence: Domestic and International Micro-Restructuring Initiatives to Mitigate." Thesis, Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2012.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Cyberespionage is a prolific threat that undermines the power projection capacity of the United States through reduced economic prowess and a narrowing of the technical advantage employed by the American military. International attempts to limit hostile cyber activity through the development of institutions, normative patterns of behavior, or assimilation of existing laws do not provide the American national security decision maker with a timely or effective solution to address these threats. Unfortunately, the stove-piped, redundant and inefficient nature of the U.S. counterintelligence community does not deliver a viable alternative to mitigating cyberespionage in an effective manner. Instituting a domestic and international micro-restructuring approach within the Department of Defense (DoD) addresses the need for increased effectiveness within an environment of fiscal responsibility. Domestic restructuring places emphasis on developing a forcing mechanism that compels the DoD counterintelligence services to develop joint approaches for combating cyberespionage by directly addressing the needs of the Combatant Commands. International restructuring places an emphasis on expanding cybersecurity cooperation to like-minded nations and specifically explores the opportunity and challenges for increased cyber cooperation with Taiwan. This approach recognizes that Taiwan and the United States are both negatively affected from hostile cyber activity derived from within the People’s Republic of China.
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Charlebois, Patricia. "Investigating the viability of establishing detection programs for early detection and warning of an airborne biological weapons attack." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ62010.pdf.
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McClure, Adam Patrick. "Investigation of reactively structured Al/Ni multilayer foils and their applications in high temperature die attach." College Park, Md.: University of Maryland, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/8909.
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Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2008.Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Material Science and Engineering. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Helalat, Seyed Milad. "An Investigation of the Impact of the Slow HTTP DOS and DDOS attacks on the Cloud environment." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-14754.
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Cloud computing has brought many benefits to the IT industry, and could reduce the cost and facilitate the growth of businesses specially the startup companies which don’t have enough financial resources to build their own IT infrastructure. One of the main reason that companies hesitate to use cloud services is the security issues that the cloud computing technology has. This thesis at the beginning has an overview on the cloud computing concept and then reviews the cloud security vulnerabilities according to the cloud security alliance, then it describes the cloud denial of service and will focus on analyzing the Slow HTTP DOS attack and then will analyze the direct and indirect impact of these attacks on virtual machines. We decided to analyze the HTTP slow rate attacks because of the craftiness and covered characteristic also the catastrophic impact of the Slow HTTP attack whether it’s lunched on the cloud component or lunched from the cloud. There are some researches on the different way that a web server or web service can be protected against slow HTTP attacks, but there is a research gap about the impact of the attack on virtual environment or whether this attack has cross VM impact or not. This thesis investigates the impact of Slow HTTP attack on virtualization environment and will analyze the direct and indirect impact of these attack. For analyzing the Slow HTTP attacks, Slow headers, Slow body and Slow read are implemented using Slowhttptest and OWASP Switchblade software, and Wireshark is used to capture the traffic. For analyzing the impact of the attack, attacks are lunched on VirtualBox and the impact of the attack on the victim VM and neighbor VM is measured.
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Febbraro, Gregorio A. R. "An investigation of the differential effectiveness of bibliotherapy and self-regulatory treatments in individuals with panic attacks." Diss., This resource online, 1997. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10052007-143700/.
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Ryland, Nizaam. "Investigating organisational consequences for failing to retain and attract talented employees." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/18184.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study is firstly to determine what the main causes are for employee turnover and turnover intention. Secondly, the study is to investigate the consequences for organisations that are unable to retain or attract talented employees. The data was collected through exit interviews and through personal interviews from the organisation. The sample was taken from a diverse group of individuals consisting of people from all departments in the organisation. In total six departments were considered. The data was categorised into five areas, namely remuneration and benefits, work-life balance, organisational culture, job satisfaction and career development. The data will be presented graphically and then analysed. The literature review was conducted on the categories as categorised from the exit and personal interview data. This was done to compare the literature findings to the data analysis results as established from the exit and personal interview data. The findings suggested that organisational culture was the biggest contributor to employee turnover or turnover intention, followed by career development and job satisfaction. While remuneration and benefits are of some significance, it does not appear to be major contributors.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie is eerstens om die hoofoorsake van werknemer bedankings, sowel as die voorneme van werknemers om organisasies te verlaat, te bepaal. Tweedens, om ondersoek in te stel na die moontlike gevolge vir organisasies wat nie in staat is om werknemers te behou of nuwe talent te lok nie. Inligting vir die studie is deur middel van diensverlatings- en persoonlike onderhoude van die organisasie verkry. 'n Verskeidenheid individue uit ses verskillende departemente het aan die studie deel-geneem. Die inligting is in vyf katagorieë verdeel, naamlik vergoeding en voordele, balans tussen werk en persoonlike lewe, organisasiekultuur, werksbevredeging en loopbaanverbetering. Die data word grafies voorgestel en geanaliseer. Die literatuurstudie is saamgestel in dieselfde vyf katagorieë as die waarin inligting verkry is deur die verskillende onderhoude. Dit is gedoen ten einde die literatuurstudie-bevindings met die data- analise te vergelyk wat deur middel van diensverlatings- en persoonlike onderhoude verkry is. Die studie dui aan dat organisasiekultuur die grootste bydraende faktor is by werknemerbedankings, sowel as by werknemers wat beoog om die organisasies te verlaat. Bykomende bevindings dui op loopbaanverbetering en werksbevrediging. Terwyl vergoeding en voordele 'n faktor is, wys die studie dat dit nie 'n belangrike bydraende faktor is nie.
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Wong, Kit-mei, and 黃潔媚. "Investigating the effectiveness of direct instruction of guessing fromcontext for improving English as a second language primary students'word-attack skills." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3567703X.
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Lotrionte, Catherine B. "The missing piece why intelligence reform failed after 9/11 /." Connect to Electronic Thesis (ProQuest), 2008. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.library.lausys.georgetown.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3315459.
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Mushtaq, Wafaa. "Cybersecurity in the Technology Subject from the Swedish Perspective : Investigation, Analysis, and Evaluation Tool." Thesis, KTH, Lärande, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-283112.
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This thesis contains pioneer work in Sweden which contributes to the research on cybersecurity teaching within the Technology subject as formulated in the course and subject governing documents.The work goes in line with a bigger strategy of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the European Union (EU). A discourse analysis was performed on the interviews with four Swedish expertsfrom MSB, Internetstiftelsen, and #290CyberSecurity respectively where the interview questions were formulated around three axes; the first axis was the cybersecurity content and knowledge aimed at young individuals, the second axis was the experts’ views on teaching cybersecurity starting from lower secondary schools, and the third axis was regarding platforms or tools that could be used in cybersecurity teaching and what the experts’ perceptions on them are. The analysis resulted in six different codes and formulated the views of the experts. Content analysis was also performed on information from the experts’ organizations which were 14 security documents and reports in total that resulted in a content frame of ten cybersecurity areas. All the ten areas were found to be related to the keywords that appear in the governing documents of the Technology subjects in the course syllabus for grades 7-9 and the subject syllabus for Technology 1. Current cyber attacks and risks threatening young students were further analyzed under each area to narrow down the content frame tailoring it to young students. A new online evaluation tool was then developed to assess the cybersecurity sensibility of the young students. The formulation of the questions was inspired by the SANS cybersecurity awareness survey as well as based on both, the ten cybersecurity areas that are categorized in this thesis and the different scenarios of risks and cybersecurity attacks threatening young students. Domain SamplingTheory (DST) and scenario-based questions were considered to make the tool more fitting for the young and minimize the errors. The tool tested a random group of 250 students from 12 municipalities where110 were in the sixth grade and 140 in the ninth. The tool showed that despite students spending most of their time online using different devices and applications, they are not secure enough which puts them at risk. Moreover, most of the students were interested in getting cybersecurity education and very few received it in schools even though the cybersecurity requirements are stated in the governing documents of the Technology subject.Detta examensarbete innehåller banbrytande arbete i Sverige vilket bidrar till forskningen om cybersäkerhetsundervisning inom teknikämnet i svenska skolor. Arbetet går i linje med en större strategi från Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (MSB) och Europeiska unionen (EU). En diskursanalys utfördes på intervjuerna med fyra svenska experter från MSB, Internetstiftelsen och #290CyberSecurity där intervjufrågorna formulerades runt tre axlar; den första axeln var cybersäkerhetsinnehållet som är riktad mot unga individer, den andra axeln var experternas syn på undervisning i cybersäkerhet som börjar från grundskolorna, och den tredje axeln gällde de plattformar eller verktyg som kunde användas i cybersäkerhetundervisning samt vad experternas uppfattning om dem är. Analysen av intervjuer resulterade i sex olika koder vilket speglar experters åsikter. Innehållsanalys utfördes också på information från experternas organisationer. Det var totalt 14 säkerhetsdokument och rapporter som resulterade i en innehållsram med tio cybersäkerhetsområden. Alla de tio områdena är relaterade till nyckelorden som finns i styrdokumenten för teknikämnena i kursplanen för årskurs 7-9 och ämnesplanen för Teknik 1. Aktuella cyberattacker och risker som hotar unga elever analyserades vidare under varje område för att begränsa innehållsramen och anpassa den för unga elever. Ett nytt online utvärderingsverktyg utvecklades sedan för att bedöma cybersäkerhetsrespons och attityd hos de unga eleverna. Formuleringen av frågorna inspirerades av SANS cybersäkerhetsmedvetenhetsundersökning och var baserad på de tio cybersäkerhetsområdena som kategoriseras i detta examensarbete samt de olika scenarierna för risker och cybersäkerhetsattacker som hotar unga elever. Domain Sampling Theory (DST) och scenariobaserade frågor ansågs göra verktyget mer passande för de unga och minimera felen. Verktyget testade en slumpmässig grupp på 250 elever från 12 kommuner där 110 gick i 6:an och 140 i 9:an. Verktyget visade att trots att elever tillbringar större delen av sin tid online med olika enheter och applikationer är de inte tillräckligt säkra, vilket utgör en risk för dem. Dessutom var majoriteten av eleverna intresserade av att få utbildning i cybersäkerhet och väldigt få fick det i skolorna trots att det står i styrdokumenten för teknikämnet.
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Wong, Kit-mei. "Investigating the effectiveness of direct instruction of guessing from context for improving English as a second language primary students' word-attack skills." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3567703X.
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Milinic, Vasilije. "Investigating Security Issues in Industrial IoT: A Systematic Literature Review." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-54980.
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The use of Internet-of-Things (IoT) makes it possible to inter-connect Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) into a completely new system. This convergence is often known as Industrial IoT (IIoT). IIoT brings a lot of benefits to industrial assets, such as improved efficiency and productivity, reduced cost, and depletion of human error. However, the high inter-connectivity opens new possibilities for cyber incidents. These incidents can cause major damage like halting of production on the manufacturing line, or catastrophic havoc to companies, communities, and countries causing power outages, floods, and fuel shortages. Such incidents are important to be predicted, stopped, or alleviated at no cost. Moreover, these incidents are a great motive for researchers and practitioners to investigate known security problems and find potential moderation strategies. In this thesis work, we try to identify what types of IIoT systems have been investigated in the literature. We seek out to find if software-related issues can yield security problems. Also, we make an effort to perceive what are the proposed methods to mitigate the security threats.We employ the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology to collect this information. The results are gathered from papers published in the last five years and they show an increased interest in research in this domain. We find out software vulnerabilities are a concern for IIoT systems, mainly firmware vulnerabilities and buffer overflows, and there are a lot of likely attacks that can cause damage, mostly injection and DDoS attacks. There are a lot of different solutions which offer the possibility to stop the identified problems and we summarize them. Furthermore, the research gap considering the update process in these systems and devices, as well as a problem with the unsupervised software supply chain is identified.
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Garrity, Maura. "Investigating team collaboration in the fire department of New York using transcripts from September 11, 2001." Thesis, () SITE REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR DOWNLOADING, 2007. http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/07Jun%5FGarrity.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2007.Title from title page of source document (p. iii) (viewed on December 6, 2007). Includes Report documentation page (p. ii). Thesis Advisor(s): Susan G. Hutchins, Anthony Kendall. "June 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-176 ). Also available in print.
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Watson, Nichol. "Achieving '5 a day' : an exploratory mixed method investigation of consumers who attain the UK fruit and vegetable recommendation." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1718.
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Progress has been made in research identifying relationships between the food we eat, the lifestyles we lead, and the prevention of illness. We should each consume a minimum level of fruit and vegetables, 400g daily, to reduce incidence of ‘chronic lifestyle diseases’, with vast aggregate social and financial implications. Despite political intervention, however, and a focus upon ‘5 A Day: Just Eat More’, there persists a general under consumption, with the concept of ‘Food Choice’ at the explanatory forefront. Most research on fruit and vegetable consumers has focussed on those who do not meet the daily recommended levels, identifying ‘barriers’ that restrict choice. This research however places the investigative emphasis on those who do attain the 5 A Day target, described in this study as ‘High’ fruit and vegetable consumers, exploring the reasons for this success and the management of high levels of fruit and vegetables within the diet. A mixed method approach to investigate consumers in South East Northumberland was employed, using purposeful sampling and integrating research stages. Empirical and policy sources were investigated, and life course model implied as useful. Following discussions with health professionals and clinicians, in-depth exploratory interviews were conducted with mainly High (17/19) fruit and vegetable consumers. Results identified themes: general health, specific ill-health, spousal relationship with food, children, food history, seasonality, shopping, taste and flavour, time, and personal relationship with fruits and vegetables. These affected both quantity and type of vegetables and fruit consumed, and ‘how’ consumption was managed. A series of conceptual ‘reasons’ for high consumption were indicated though not all reasons experienced by all consumers to the same extent at the same time. The main constructs are; ‘Environment(s)’, ‘Information(s)’, ‘Motivation(s)’, ‘Aims & Goals’, ‘Triggers / Trigger Point(s)’, and ‘Strategies and Management’. A typology was also proposed to categorise consumers based on enthusiasm, and consciousness towards High consumption. A consumer survey, based on the identified themes, was completed by 239 respondents (148 High). It included a seven day food frequency questionnaire of nutritionally linked fruit and vegetable items. Factor Analysis was applied to both sections of the questionnaire, and subsequently Cluster Analysis. 34 factors were identified for attitude and behaviour. Of these, 16 exhibited significant mean difference between High and Low consumers. Six clusters were derived, with defining features between clusters being reasons for consumption, general enthusiasm and mood. 12 factors were derived as underlying the fruit and vegetable consumption itself. Both the qualitative and quantitative stages of the research identified distinct types of fruit and vegetable consumer, implying an importance, not only of specific drivers to fruit and vegetable consumption, but also fruit and vegetable “consciousness”, and levels of specific and general enthusiasm. Hence policy needs to recognise and target those influences and benefits specific to groups. It also needs to support both irregular and regular levels of High consumption, as well as the opportunity to target specific fruit and vegetable dietary patterns in relation to, for example, seasonality social consumption. Understanding how high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption is achieved and negotiated amidst other influences has been indicated as of real value to further research.
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Dutton, Susan. "An investigation into the factors that attract young students to the Open University and support their studies to module completion." Thesis, Open University, 2014. http://oro.open.ac.uk/49076/.
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The research investigates the reasons why students aged 18-24 come to the Open University and the factors that influence their decision. It also examines their learning experience and the key factors that lead to successful study. The research population comprised new Open University students with no previous higher education qualification, studying one of four introductory level modules in the Faculties of Arts, Social Sciences, Health and Social Care or Science. Data were compared by module and from students aged 18-20 (Group 1) and 21-24 (Group 2). An online survey was administered to 827 students and yielded 231 responses. In addition, 40 students volunteered to participate in semi-structured email interviews. The discussion of the data was focused on the three theoretical concepts of transitions, networks of intimacy and cultural capital. The findings indicate that students' decisions about higher education study were mainly influenced by family members and friends. They were studying principally to improve their job or career prospects although many were seeking to redress negative educational experiences in the past and to prove to themselves and others that they could study successfully at higher education level. They were attracted to the Open University by its flexibility, cost-effectiveness and open access policy. Respondents' study experience was largely very positive but students in Group 1 in particular missed face -to-face tutor contact and social integration with other students. The majority of respondents in both groups expressed confidence about their progress on the module although women in particular had underlying doubts about their academic ability. Successful students had developed a number of coping strategies for managing the conflicting demands of work, study and family.
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Alli, Tunde. "An investigation of the challenges faced by a religious charitable organisation in efforts to attain self-sustenance in non-religious secular Britain." Thesis, University of Bolton, 2017. http://ubir.bolton.ac.uk/1210/.
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Christianity is on a downward slope in the United Kingdom. A country which used to pride itself as a Christian nation, Britain sent out Christian missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries to almost every part of the world to do the work of evangelism. In the ‘dark continent’ of Africa for instance, missionaries from Britain not only brought religion, but along with it, education and health care, setting up not only churches, but also schools and hospitals. Fast forward to 21st century, Britain has become a ‘non-religious’ secular state. Church attendance is on a rapid decline, churches are closing their doors due to lack of funding, pubs and other businesses are taking over church buildings It is in this gloomy backdrop that RCCG HP Salford – a small Pentecostal church, is striving to achieve self-sustenance. Efforts in this direction have been a struggle. Sunday service attendance have stagnated for some years, and so is funding. The aim of this study therefore is to investigate and identify factors that have contributed to the said stagnancy and consequently proffer solutions that will aid the church’s self-sustaining effort. The author employed three key research methods to achieve set objectives – Data Line Analysis, Self-Completed Questionnaire, and Semi-Structured Interview. Analysis tools employed were varied – Excel and SPSS (for SCQ and DLA respectively) as well as manual analysis for SSI’s. The findings of the research were also varied. Factors such as location, and competition among churches did not have much impact on the subject matter. However, other factors such as church website, and search engine visibility which were unearthed in the course of the research, bore more relevance to the research topic. The research aim of enhancing the financial position of RCCG HP Salford were fully met by the recommendations proffered in chapter 6. Current funding streams for most churches have proved grossly inadequate, however, this study will help churches develop alternative options in their effort toward self-sustenance. The implications of this research, its limitations, and indication for future research are documented in chapters 7 and 5 respectively.
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Nguyen, Huynh Ngoc Bich. "“Anh Nam, the attach file is my report for trip to KL”: An investigation into the emergence of a new variety of English in written Vietnamese business communication." Thesis, Curtin University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1116.
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This study sought to examine whether distinct, localised features of English used in business communication are emerging in the Vietnamese socio-cultural context. Both content analysis and discourse analysis were applied to texts with regard to systemic functional characteristics. The findings of the study indicate that systematic features were exhibited across the data at lexico-grammatical level as well as contextual level, together demonstrating six major features and suggesting that many issues of World Englishes be revisited.
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Da, Silva Talita. "From Attract to Delight: A Qualitative Study Investigating the Relationship Between Inbound Strategies and Business Growth : A B2B Centric Approach." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för ekonomi, teknik och naturvetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38522.
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This thesis was written as part of a Master of Science Degree in Strategic Entrepreneurship for International Growth and International Marketing. Aligned with the nature of the degree, this study aims to share useful insights to managers and marketers whom are looking into innovating their business by adopting an inbound strategy. This thesis researches a modern topic within business: inbound marketing. It aims to comprehend how the implementation of an effective inbound strategy drives sales growth, by understanding the effects that inbound has over the B2B buying and selling process. The study considers the newly presented changes within the European general data protection regulation and emphasizes the relevance of an inbound strategy. An in-depth study of existing theories and exploratory primary data was conducted in order to attain these objectives. Due to restricted existence of scientific theories within the topic, this study developed an original cohesive relationship model integrating inbound marketing to the B2B buying and selling process. This model served as a theoretical framework for the conduction of this research. The exploratory research was characterized by interviewing a number of experts within the field. Those experts provided indispensable insights regarding the phenomenon in focus, which in combination with the theoretical framework allowed for the completion of this study’s analysis. The focus was to understand the impact that the implementation of an inbound strategy had over business and how such impact led to an increase in sales. The results indicate that when effectively implemented by suitable companies, an inbound marketing strategy is relevant in acquiring potential customers at the right stage of the buyer’s journey and therefore driving a noticeable increase in sales.
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Goodman, Brianne. "The strength of Muslim American couples in the face of heightened discrimination from September 11th and the Iraq War : a project based upon an independent investigation /." View online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10090/5950.
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Tannert, Swantje [Verfasser], Stefan R. [Gutachter] Schweinberger, Klaus [Gutachter] Rothermund, and Dirk [Gutachter] Wentura. "Do emotional faces attract attention?: an investigation of the boundary conditions of selection biases in favor of emotional facial stimuli / Swantje Tannert ; Gutachter: Stefan R. Schweinberger, Klaus Rothermund, Dirk Wentura." Jena : Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1222099993/34.
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Ruegg, Evonne Teresa Nicole. "Investigating the porphyrias through analysis of biochemical pathways." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Biochemistry, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10257.
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ABSTRACT
The porphyrias are a diverse group of metabolic disorders arising from diminished
activity of enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway. They can present with acute
neurovisceral symptoms, cutaneous symptoms, or both. The complexity of these
disorders is demonstrated by the fact that some acute porphyria patients with the
underlying genetic defect(s) are latent and asymptomatic while others present with
severe symptoms. This indicates that there is at least one other risk factor required in
addition to the genetic defect for symptom manifestation. A systematic review of the
heme biosynthetic pathway highlighted the involvement of a number of micronutrient
cofactors. An exhaustive review of the medical literature uncovered numerous reports
of micronutrient deficiencies in the porphyrias as well as successful case reports of
treatments with micronutrients. Many micronutrient deficiencies present with
symptoms similar to those in porphyria, in particular vitamin B6. It is hypothesized
that a vitamin B6 deficiency and related micronutrient deficiencies may play a major
role in the pathogenesis of the acute porphyrias. In order to further investigate the
porphyrias, a computational model of the heme biosynthetic pathway was developed
based on kinetic parameters derived from a careful analysis of the literature. This
model demonstrated aspects of normal heme biosynthesis and illustrated some of the
disordered biochemistry of acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). The testing of this
model highlighted the modifications necessary to develop a more comprehensive
model with the potential to investigated hypotheses of the disordered biochemistry of
the porphyrias as well as the discovery of new methods of treatment and symptom
control. It is concluded that vitamin B6 deficiency might be the risk factor necessary
in conjunction with the genetic defect to trigger porphyria symptoms.