CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-06-01DOI: 10.1186/s42400-023-00201-9
Yuantu Luo, Jun Tao, Yuehao Zhu, Yifan Xu
{"title":"HSS: enhancing IoT malicious traffic classification leveraging hybrid sampling strategy","authors":"Yuantu Luo, Jun Tao, Yuehao Zhu, Yifan Xu","doi":"10.1186/s42400-023-00201-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-023-00201-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Using deep learning models to deal with the classification tasks in network traffic offers a new approach to address the imbalanced Internet of Things malicious traffic classification problems. However, the employment difficulty of these models may be immense due to their high resource consumption and inadequate interpretability. Fortunately, the effectiveness of sampling methods based on the statistical principles in imbalance data distribution indicates the path. In this paper, we address these challenges by proposing a hybrid sampling method, termed HSS, which integrates undersampling and oversampling techniques. Our approach not only mitigates the imbalance in malicious traffic but also fine-tunes the sampling threshold to optimize performance, as substantiated through validation tests. Employed across three distinct classification tasks, this method furnishes simplified yet representative samples, enhancing the baseline models’ classification capabilities by a minimum of 6.02% and a maximum of 182.66%. Moreover, it notably reduces resource consumption, with sample numbers diminishing to a ratio of at least 83.53%. This investigation serves as a foundation, demonstrating the efficacy of HSS in bolstering security measures in IoT networks, potentially guiding the development of more adept and resource-efficient solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141190248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-05-30DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00231-x
Ruida Wang, Ziyi Li, Xianhui Lu, Zhenfei Zhang, Kunpeng Wang
{"title":"Key derivable signature and its application in blockchain stealth address","authors":"Ruida Wang, Ziyi Li, Xianhui Lu, Zhenfei Zhang, Kunpeng Wang","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00231-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00231-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Stealth address protocol (SAP) is widely used in blockchain to achieve anonymity. In this paper, we formalize a key derivable signature scheme (KDS) to capture the functionality and security requirements of SAP. We then propose a framework to construct key separation KDS, which follows the <i>key separation</i> principle as all existing SAP solutions to avoid the reuse of the master keys in the derivation and signature component. We also study the joint security in KDS and construct a key reusing KDS framework, which implies the first compact stealth address protocol using a single key pair. Finally, we provide instantiations based on the elliptic curve (widely used in cryptocurrencies) and on the lattice (with quantum resistance), respectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141190151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-05-04DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00229-5
Chen An, Mengjie Huang, Xianhui Lu, Lei Bi, Weijie Li
{"title":"Polar code-based secure transmission with higher message rate combining channel entropy and computational entropy","authors":"Chen An, Mengjie Huang, Xianhui Lu, Lei Bi, Weijie Li","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00229-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00229-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The existing physical layer security schemes, which are based on the key generation model and the wire-tap channel model, achieve security by utilizing channel reciprocity entropy and noise entropy, respectively. In contrast, we propose a novel secure transmission framework that combines noise entropy with reciprocity entropy, achieved by inserting reciprocity entropy into the frozen bits of polar codes. Note that in real-world scenarios, when eavesdroppers employ polynomial-time attacks, the bit error rate (BER) increases due to the introduction of computational entropy. To achieve indistinguishability security, we convert the practical physical layer security metric, BER, into the average min-entropy, a widely accepted concept in cryptography. The simulation results demonstrate that the eavesdropper’s BER can be significantly increased without compromising the communication performance of the legitimate receiver. Under concrete parameters we selected, when compared to the joint scheme of physical layer key generation and one time pad, the modular semantically-secure scheme based on the wire-tap channel model, and the simple channel entropy combination scheme, our scheme achieves a message rate approximately 1.2 times, 3.8 times, and 1.4 times better, respectively. Experimental testing validates the feasibility of our scheme.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140889277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-05-03DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00212-0
Chunwen Liu, Ru Tan, Yang Wu, Yun Feng, Ze Jin, Fangjiao Zhang, Yuling Liu, Qixu Liu
{"title":"Dissecting zero trust: research landscape and its implementation in IoT","authors":"Chunwen Liu, Ru Tan, Yang Wu, Yun Feng, Ze Jin, Fangjiao Zhang, Yuling Liu, Qixu Liu","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00212-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00212-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As a progressive security strategy, the zero trust model has attracted notable attention and importance within the realm of network security, especially in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). This paper aims to evaluate the current research regarding zero trust and to highlight its practical applications in the IoT sphere through extensive bibliometric analysis. We also delve into the vulnerabilities of IoT and explore the potential role of zero trust security in mitigating these risks via a thorough review of relevant security schemes. Nevertheless, the challenges associated with implementing zero trust security are acknowledged. We provide a summary of these issues and suggest possible pathways for future research aimed at overcoming these challenges. Ultimately, this study aims to serve as a strategic analysis of the zero trust model, intending to empower scholars in the field to pursue deeper and more focused research in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140889276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-05-02DOI: 10.1186/s42400-023-00200-w
Batoul Achaal, Mehdi Adda, Maxime Berger, Hussein Ibrahim, Ali Awde
{"title":"Study of smart grid cyber-security, examining architectures, communication networks, cyber-attacks, countermeasure techniques, and challenges","authors":"Batoul Achaal, Mehdi Adda, Maxime Berger, Hussein Ibrahim, Ali Awde","doi":"10.1186/s42400-023-00200-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-023-00200-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Smart Grid (SG) technology utilizes advanced network communication and monitoring technologies to manage and regulate electricity generation and transport. However, this increased reliance on technology and connectivity also introduces new vulnerabilities, making SG communication networks susceptible to large-scale attacks. While previous surveys have mainly provided high-level overviews of SG architecture, our analysis goes further by presenting a comprehensive architectural diagram encompassing key SG components and communication links. This holistic view enhances understanding of potential cyber threats and enables systematic cyber risk assessment for SGs. Additionally, we propose a taxonomy of various cyberattack types based on their targets and methods, offering detailed insights into vulnerabilities. Unlike other reviews focused narrowly on protection and detection, our proposed categorization covers all five functions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework. This delivers a broad perspective to help organizations implement balanced and robust security. Consequently, we have identified critical research gaps, especially regarding response and recovery mechanisms. This underscores the need for further investigation to bolster SG cybersecurity. These research needs, among others, are highlighted as open issues in our concluding section.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"2011 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140832691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-05-01DOI: 10.1186/s42400-023-00199-0
Mahdi Soltani, Khashayar Khajavi, Mahdi Jafari Siavoshani, Amir Hossein Jahangir
{"title":"A multi-agent adaptive deep learning framework for online intrusion detection","authors":"Mahdi Soltani, Khashayar Khajavi, Mahdi Jafari Siavoshani, Amir Hossein Jahangir","doi":"10.1186/s42400-023-00199-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-023-00199-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The network security analyzers use intrusion detection systems (IDSes) to distinguish malicious traffic from benign ones. The deep learning-based (DL-based) IDSes are proposed to auto-extract high-level features and eliminate the time-consuming and costly signature extraction process. However, this new generation of IDSes still needs to overcome a number of challenges to be employed in practical environments. One of the main issues of an applicable IDS is facing traffic concept drift, which manifests itself as new (i.e. , zero-day) attacks, in addition to the changing behavior of benign users/applications. Furthermore, a practical DL-based IDS needs to be conformed to a distributed (i.e. , multi-sensor) architecture in order to yield more accurate detections, create a collective attack knowledge based on the observations of different sensors, and also handle big data challenges for supporting high throughput networks. This paper proposes a novel multi-agent network intrusion detection framework to address the above shortcomings, considering a more practical scenario (i.e., online adaptable IDSes). This framework employs continual deep anomaly detectors for adapting each agent to the changing attack/benign patterns in its local traffic. In addition, a federated learning approach is proposed for sharing and exchanging local knowledge between different agents. Furthermore, the proposed framework implements sequential packet labeling for each flow, which provides an attack probability score for the flow by gradually observing each flow packet and updating its estimation. We evaluate the proposed framework by employing different deep models (including CNN-based and LSTM-based) over the CIC-IDS2017 and CSE-CIC-IDS2018 datasets. Through extensive evaluations and experiments, we show that the proposed distributed framework is well adapted to the traffic concept drift. More precisely, our results indicate that the CNN-based models are well suited for continually adapting to the traffic concept drift (i.e. , achieving an average detection rate of above 95% while needing just 128 new flows for the updating phase), and the LSTM-based models are a good candidate for sequential packet labeling in practical online IDSes (i.e. , detecting intrusions by just observing their first 15 packets).</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140833125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-04-05DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00227-7
Linwei Fang, Liming Wang, Hongjia Li
{"title":"Iterative and mixed-spaces image gradient inversion attack in federated learning","authors":"Linwei Fang, Liming Wang, Hongjia Li","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00227-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00227-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As a distributed learning paradigm, federated learning is supposed to protect data privacy without exchanging users’ local data. Even so, the <i>gradient inversion attack</i>, in which the adversary can reconstruct the original data from shared training gradients, has been widely deemed as a severe threat. Nevertheless, most existing researches are confined to impractical assumptions and narrow range of applications. To mitigate these shortcomings, we propose a comprehensive framework for gradient inversion attack, with well-designed algorithms for image and label reconstruction. For image reconstruction, we fully utilize the generative image prior, which derives from wide-used generative models, to improve the reconstructed results, by additional means of iterative optimization on mixed spaces and gradient-free optimizer. For label reconstruction, we design an adaptive recovery algorithm regarding real data distribution, which can adjust previous attacks to more complex scenarios. Moreover, we incorporate a gradient approximation method to efficiently fit our attack for FedAvg scenario. We empirically verify our attack framework using benchmark datasets and ablation studies, considering loose assumptions and complicated circumstances. We hope this work can greatly reveal the necessity of privacy protection in federated learning, while urge more effective and robust defense mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"100 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140592191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-04-04DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00225-9
Alex Shafarenko
{"title":"Winternitz stack protocols for embedded systems and IoT","authors":"Alex Shafarenko","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00225-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00225-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper proposes and evaluates a new bipartite post-quantum digital signature protocol based on Winternitz chains and an oracle. Mutually mistrustful Alice and Bob are able to agree and sign a series of documents in a way that makes it impossible (within the assumed security model) to repudiate their signatures. The number of signatures supported by a single public key is still limited, though by a large number. However, the security of the signature scheme is not diminished by repeated application, so when the capacity of a public key is exhausted the last transaction can be used to agree a new key. Some ramifications are discussed, security parameters evaluated and an application area delineated for the proposed concept.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140592187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-04-03DOI: 10.1186/s42400-024-00206-y
Chenxi Hu, Tao Wu, Chunsheng Liu, Chao Chang
{"title":"Joint contrastive learning and belief rule base for named entity recognition in cybersecurity","authors":"Chenxi Hu, Tao Wu, Chunsheng Liu, Chao Chang","doi":"10.1186/s42400-024-00206-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-024-00206-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Named Entity Recognition (NER) in cybersecurity is crucial for mining information during cybersecurity incidents. Current methods rely on pre-trained models for rich semantic text embeddings, but the challenge of anisotropy may affect subsequent encoding quality. Additionally, existing models may struggle with noise detection. To address these issues, we propose JCLB, a novel model that <u>J</u>oins <u>C</u>ontrastive <u>L</u>earning and <u>B</u>elief rule base for NER in cybersecurity. JCLB utilizes contrastive learning to enhance similarity in the vector space between token sequence representations of entities in the same category. A Belief Rule Base (BRB) is developed using regexes to ensure accurate entity identification, particularly for fixed-format phrases lacking semantics. Moreover, a Distributed Constraint Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (D-CMA-ES) algorithm is introduced for BRB parameter optimization. Experimental results demonstrate that JCLB, with the D-CMA-ES algorithm, significantly improves NER accuracy in cybersecurity.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"2018 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140592489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CybersecurityPub Date : 2024-04-02DOI: 10.1186/s42400-023-00197-2
{"title":"DTA: distribution transform-based attack for query-limited scenario","authors":"","doi":"10.1186/s42400-023-00197-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-023-00197-2","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>In generating adversarial examples, the conventional black-box attack methods rely on sufficient feedback from the to-be-attacked models by repeatedly querying until the attack is successful, which usually results in thousands of trials during an attack. This may be unacceptable in real applications since Machine Learning as a Service Platform (MLaaS) usually only returns the final result (i.e., hard-label) to the client and a system equipped with certain defense mechanisms could easily detect malicious queries. By contrast, a feasible way is a hard-label attack that simulates an attacked action being permitted to conduct a limited number of queries. To implement this idea, in this paper, we bypass the dependency on the to-be-attacked model and benefit from the characteristics of the distributions of adversarial examples to reformulate the attack problem in a distribution transform manner and propose a distribution transform-based attack (DTA). DTA builds a statistical mapping from the benign example to its adversarial counterparts by tackling the conditional likelihood under the hard-label black-box settings. In this way, it is no longer necessary to query the target model frequently. A well-trained DTA model can directly and efficiently generate a batch of adversarial examples for a certain input, which can be used to attack un-seen models based on the assumed transferability. Furthermore, we surprisingly find that the well-trained DTA model is not sensitive to the semantic spaces of the training dataset, meaning that the model yields acceptable attack performance on other datasets. Extensive experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed idea and the superiority of DTA over the state-of-the-art.</p>","PeriodicalId":36402,"journal":{"name":"Cybersecurity","volume":"298 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140592533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}