Resurvey After 20 Years:Updating the Distribution,Population,and Potential Threats of the Chinting Alpine Toad

Considering the increased anthropogenic impacts,species with a limited range and low detectability often lack fundamental information and conservation actions,placing them at a high risk of endangerment.The Chinting alpine toad Scutiger chintingensis is a rare mountain amphibian endemic to the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in China.Within its whole distribution range,only three known populations(Wolong,Emei,and Wawu)exist and no recent population status report has been documented for this species over the past two decades.From 2020 to 2023,we investigated the species distribution,and assessed the risk factors for the main populations.We recorded this species in all distribution areas,and updated a new distribution site with a lower elevation limit.The relative population density was 0.024±0.012 ind./m^(2)on Mount Emei,whereas only 0.008±0.017 ind./m^(2)on Mount Wawu.No significant difference was observed in the number of individuals between the two populations;however,the relative population density was significantly different.Sewage and waste discharge resulting from the construction of scenic areas,as well as disturbances from tourism,were the primary anthropogenic factors that influenced the survival of this species.Our results provide the updated information on the distribution and population status of the Chinting alpine toad,and suggest that unrecorded populations,as well as a wider elevation range,may exist for this species.Our findings emphasise the importance of timely updates of species distribution and population information and offer a basis for the future conservation of endangered amphibians.

Tackling the Existential Threats from Quantum Computers and AI

Although AI and quantum computing (QC) are fast emerging as key enablers of the future Internet, experts believe they pose an existential threat to humanity. Responding to the frenzied release of ChatGPT/GPT-4, thousands of alarmed tech leaders recently signed an open letter to pause AI research to prepare for the catastrophic threats to humanity from uncontrolled AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Perceived as an “epistemological nightmare”, AGI is believed to be on the anvil with GPT-5. Two computing rules appear responsible for these risks. 1) Mandatory third-party permissions that allow computers to run applications at the expense of introducing vulnerabilities. 2) The Halting Problem of Turing-complete AI programming languages potentially renders AGI unstoppable. The double whammy of these inherent weaknesses remains invincible under the legacy systems. A recent cybersecurity breakthrough shows that banning all permissions reduces the computer attack surface to zero, delivering a new zero vulnerability computing (ZVC) paradigm. Deploying ZVC and blockchain, this paper formulates and supports a hypothesis: “Safe, secure, ethical, controllable AGI/QC is possible by conquering the two unassailable rules of computability.” Pursued by a European consortium, testing/proving the proposed hypothesis will have a groundbreaking impact on the future digital infrastructure when AGI/QC starts powering the 75 billion internet devices by 2025.

A Review of Hybrid Cyber Threats Modelling and Detection Using Artificial Intelligence in IIoT

The Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)has brought numerous benefits,such as improved efficiency,smart analytics,and increased automation.However,it also exposes connected devices,users,applications,and data generated to cyber security threats that need to be addressed.This work investigates hybrid cyber threats(HCTs),which are now working on an entirely new level with the increasingly adopted IIoT.This work focuses on emerging methods to model,detect,and defend against hybrid cyber attacks using machine learning(ML)techniques.Specifically,a novel ML-based HCT modelling and analysis framework was proposed,in which L1 regularisation and Random Forest were used to cluster features and analyse the importance and impact of each feature in both individual threats and HCTs.A grey relation analysis-based model was employed to construct the correlation between IIoT components and different threats.

Systematic Literature Review on Cloud Computing Security: Threats and Mitigation Strategies

Cloud computing plays a significant role in modern information technology, providing organizations with numerous benefits, including flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. However, it has become essential for organizations to ensure the security of their applications, data, and cloud-based networks to use cloud services effectively. This systematic literature review aims to determine the latest information regarding cloud computing security, with a specific emphasis on threats and mitigation strategies. Additionally, it highlights some common threats related to cloud computing security, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, account hijacking, malware attacks, and data breaches. This research also explores some mitigation strategies, including security awareness training, vulnerability management, security information and event management (SIEM), identity and access management (IAM), and encryption techniques. It discusses emerging trends in cloud security, such as integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), serverless computing, and containerization, as well as the effectiveness of the shared responsibility model and its related challenges. The importance of user awareness and the impact of emerging technologies on cloud security have also been discussed in detail to mitigate security risks. A literature review of previous research and scholarly articles has also been conducted to provide insights regarding cloud computing security. It shows the need for continuous research and innovation to address emerging threats and maintain a security-conscious culture in the company.

Assessment of Meteorological Threats to the Coordinated Search and Rescue of Unmanned/Manned Aircraft

The architecture and working principle of coordinated search and rescue system of unmanned/manned aircraft,which is composed of manned/unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft,were first introduced,and they can cooperate with each other to complete a search and rescue task.Secondly,a threat assessment method based on meteorological data was proposed,and potential meteorological threats,such as storms and rainfall,can be predicted by collecting and analyzing meteorological data.Finally,an experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method in different scenarios.The experimental results show that the coordinated search and rescue system of unmanned/manned aircraft can be used to effectively assess meteorological threats and provide accurate search and rescue guidance.

Blockchain Security Threats and Collaborative Defense:A Literature Review

As a distributed database,the system security of the blockchain is of great significance to prevent tampering,protect privacy,prevent double spending,and improve credibility.Due to the decentralized and trustless nature of blockchain,the security defense of the blockchain system has become one of the most important measures.This paper comprehensively reviews the research progress of blockchain security threats and collaborative defense,and we first introduce the overview,classification,and threat assessment process of blockchain security threats.Then,we investigate the research status of single-node defense technology and multi-node collaborative defense technology and summarize the blockchain security evaluation indicators and evaluation methods.Finally,we discuss the challenges of blockchain security and future research directions,such as parallel detection and federated learning.This paper aims to stimulate further research and discussion on blockchain security,providing more reliable security guarantees for the use and development of blockchain technology to face changing threats and challenges through continuous updating and improvement of defense technologies.

Multiclass Classification for Cyber Threats Detection on Twitter

The advances in technology increase the number of internet systems usage.As a result,cybersecurity issues have become more common.Cyber threats are one of the main problems in the area of cybersecurity.However,detecting cybersecurity threats is not a trivial task and thus is the center of focus for many researchers due to its importance.This study aims to analyze Twitter data to detect cyber threats using a multiclass classification approach.The data is passed through different tasks to prepare it for the analysis.Term Frequency and Inverse Document Frequency(TFIDF)features are extracted to vectorize the cleaned data and several machine learning algorithms are used to classify the Twitter posts into multiple classes of cyber threats.The results are evaluated using different metrics including precision,recall,F-score,and accuracy.This work contributes to the cyber security research area.The experiments revealed the promised results of the analysis using the Random Forest(RF)algorithm with(F-score=81%).This result outperformed the existing studies in the field of cyber threat detection and showed the importance of detecting cyber threats in social media posts.There is a need for more investigation in the field of multiclass classification to achieve more accurate results.In the future,this study suggests applying different data representations for the feature extraction other than TF-IDF such as Word2Vec,and adding a new phase for feature selection to select the optimum features subset to achieve higher accuracy of the detection process.

Developing an Abstraction Framework for Managing and Controlling Saudi Banks’ Cybersecurity Threats Based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO/IEC 27001

Saudi Arabian banks are deeply concerned about how to effectively monitor and control security threats. In recent years, the country has taken several steps towards restructuring its organizational security and, consequently, protecting financial institutions and their clients. However, there are still several challenges left to be addressed. Accordingly, this article aims to address this problem by proposing an abstract framework based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC 27001). The framework proposed in this paper considers the following factors involved in the security policy of Saudi banks: safety, Saudi information bank, operations and security of Saudi banks, Saudi banks’ supplier relationships, risk assessment, risk mitigation, monitoring and detection, incident response, Saudi banks’ business continuity, compliance, education, and awareness about all factors contributing to the framework implementation. This way, the proposed framework provides a comprehensive, unified approach to managing bank security threats. Not only does the proposed framework provide effective guidance on how to identify, assess, and mitigate security threats, but it also instructs how to develop policy and procedure documents relating to security issues.

Cyber Resilience through Real-Time Threat Analysis in Information Security

This paper examines how cybersecurity is developing and how it relates to more conventional information security. Although information security and cyber security are sometimes used synonymously, this study contends that they are not the same. The concept of cyber security is explored, which goes beyond protecting information resources to include a wider variety of assets, including people [1]. Protecting information assets is the main goal of traditional information security, with consideration to the human element and how people fit into the security process. On the other hand, cyber security adds a new level of complexity, as people might unintentionally contribute to or become targets of cyberattacks. This aspect presents moral questions since it is becoming more widely accepted that society has a duty to protect weaker members of society, including children [1]. The study emphasizes how important cyber security is on a larger scale, with many countries creating plans and laws to counteract cyberattacks. Nevertheless, a lot of these sources frequently neglect to define the differences or the relationship between information security and cyber security [1]. The paper focus on differentiating between cybersecurity and information security on a larger scale. The study also highlights other areas of cybersecurity which includes defending people, social norms, and vital infrastructure from threats that arise from online in addition to information and technology protection. It contends that ethical issues and the human factor are becoming more and more important in protecting assets in the digital age, and that cyber security is a paradigm shift in this regard [1].

A Novel IoT Architecture, Assessment of Threats and Their Classification withMachine Learning Solutions

The Internet of Things(IoT)will significantly impact our social and economic lives in the near future.Many Internet of Things(IoT)applications aim to automate multiple tasks so inactive physical objects can behave independently of others.IoT devices,however,are also vulnerable,mostly because they lack the essential built-in security to thwart attackers.It is essential to perform the necessary adjustments in the structure of the IoT systems in order to create an end-to-end secure IoT environment.As a result,the IoT designs that are now in use do not completely support all of the advancements that have been made to include sophisticated features in IoT,such as Cloud computing,machine learning techniques,and lightweight encryption techniques.This paper presents a detailed analysis of the security requirements,attack surfaces,and security solutions available for IoT networks and suggests an innovative IoT architecture.The Seven-Layer Architecture in IoT provides decent attack detection accuracy.According to the level of risk they pose,the security threats in each of these layers have been properly categorized,and the essential evaluation criteria have been developed to evaluate the various threats.Also,Machine Learning algorithms like Random Forest and Support Vector Machines,etc.,and Deep Learning algorithms like Artificial Neural Networks,Q Learning models,etc.,are implemented to overcome the most damaging threats posing security breaches to the different IoT architecture layers.

A Comprehensive Survey on Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Detection Techniques

The increase in number of people using the Internet leads to increased cyberattack opportunities.Advanced Persistent Threats,or APTs,are among the most dangerous targeted cyberattacks.APT attacks utilize various advanced tools and techniques for attacking targets with specific goals.Even countries with advanced technologies,like the US,Russia,the UK,and India,are susceptible to this targeted attack.APT is a sophisticated attack that involves multiple stages and specific strategies.Besides,TTP(Tools,Techniques,and Procedures)involved in the APT attack are commonly new and developed by an attacker to evade the security system.However,APTs are generally implemented in multiple stages.If one of the stages is detected,we may apply a defense mechanism for subsequent stages,leading to the entire APT attack failure.The detection at the early stage of APT and the prediction of the next step in the APT kill chain are ongoing challenges.This survey paper will provide knowledge about APT attacks and their essential steps.This follows the case study of known APT attacks,which will give clear information about the APT attack process—in later sections,highlighting the various detection methods defined by different researchers along with the limitations of the work.Data used in this article comes from the various annual reports published by security experts and blogs and information released by the enterprise networks targeted by the attack.

Ground threat prediction-based path planning of unmanned autonomous helicopter using hybrid enhanced artificial bee colony algorithm

Unmanned autonomous helicopter(UAH)path planning problem is an important component of the UAH mission planning system.Aiming to reduce the influence of non-complete ground threat information on UAH path planning,a ground threat prediction-based path planning method is proposed based on artificial bee colony(ABC)algorithm by collaborative thinking strategy.Firstly,a dynamic threat distribution probability model is developed based on the characteristics of typical ground threats.The dynamic no-fly zone of the UAH is simulated and established by calculating the distribution probability of ground threats in real time.Then,a dynamic path planning method for UAH is designed in complex environment based on the real-time prediction of ground threats.By adding the collision warning mechanism to the path planning model,the flight path could be dynamically adjusted according to changing no-fly zones.Furthermore,a hybrid enhanced ABC algorithm is proposed based on collaborative thinking strategy.The proposed algorithm applies the leader-member thinking mechanism to guide the direction of population evolution,and reduces the negative impact of local optimal solutions caused by collaborative learning update strategy,which makes the optimization performance of ABC algorithm more controllable and efficient.Finally,simulation results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed ground threat prediction path planning method.

Insider threat detection approach for tobacco industry based on heterogeneous graph embedding

In the tobacco industry,insider employee attack is a thorny problem that is difficult to detect.To solve this issue,this paper proposes an insider threat detection method based on heterogeneous graph embedding.First,the interrelationships between logs are fully considered,and log entries are converted into heterogeneous graphs based on these relationships.Second,the heterogeneous graph embedding is adopted and each log entry is represented as a low-dimensional feature vector.Then,normal logs and malicious logs are classified into different clusters by clustering algorithm to identify malicious logs.Finally,the effectiveness and superiority of the method is verified through experiments on the CERT dataset.The experimental results show that this method has better performance compared to some baseline methods.

A Comparative Analysis of Cybersecurity Threat Taxonomies for Healthcare Organizations

Information technology is critical in coordinating patient records, smart devices, operations, and critical infrastructure in healthcare organizations, and their constantly changing digital environment, including suppliers, doctors, insurance providers, and regulatory agencies. This dependence on interdependent systems makes this sector vulnerable to various information technology risks. Such threats include common cybersecurity risks such as data breaches and malware attacks, unique problems occurring in healthcare settings such as unauthorized access to patient records, disruptions in services provided at medical facilities, and potential harm caused to patients due to the compromise of medical devices. The threat taxonomies, such as the Open Threat Taxonomy, NIST, or ENISA, are foundational frameworks for grasping and categorizing IT threats. However, these taxonomies were not specifically designed to deal with the complexities of the healthcare industry. The problem arises from the gap between these taxonomies’ general nature and the industry-specific threats and vulnerabilities that affect healthcare organizations. As a result, many healthcare institutions fail to holistically address and eliminate the unique risks related to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of patients’ data as well as critical systems used in healthcare. This paper aims to narrow this gap by carefully assessing these taxonomies to determine the frame-work best suited for addressing the threat environment in the healthcare sector.

Aerial target threat assessment based on gated recurrent unit and self-attention mechanism

Aerial threat assessment is a crucial link in modern air combat, whose result counts a great deal for commanders to make decisions. With the consideration that the existing threat assessment methods have difficulties in dealing with high dimensional time series target data, a threat assessment method based on self-attention mechanism and gated recurrent unit(SAGRU) is proposed. Firstly, a threat feature system including air combat situations and capability features is established. Moreover, a data augmentation process based on fractional Fourier transform(FRFT) is applied to extract more valuable information from time series situation features. Furthermore, aiming to capture key characteristics of battlefield evolution, a bidirectional GRU and SA mechanisms are designed for enhanced features.Subsequently, after the concatenation of the processed air combat situation and capability features, the target threat level will be predicted by fully connected neural layers and the softmax classifier. Finally, in order to validate this model, an air combat dataset generated by a combat simulation system is introduced for model training and testing. The comparison experiments show the proposed model has structural rationality and can perform threat assessment faster and more accurately than the other existing models based on deep learning.

Handwriting Analysis Based on Belief of Targeted Individual Supporting Insider Threat Detection

The Unintentional Insider Threat (UIT) concept highlights that insider threats might not always stem from malicious intent and can occur across various domains. This research examines how individuals with medical or psychological issues might unintentionally become insider threats due to their perception of being targeted. Insights from the survey A Survey of Unintentional Medical Insider Threat Category indicate that such perceptions can be linked to underlying health conditions. The study Emotion Analysis Based on Belief of Targeted Individual Supporting Insider Threat Detection reveals that anger is a common emotion among these individuals. The findings suggest that UITs are often linked to medical or psychological issues, with anger being prevalent. To mitigate these risks, it is recommended that Insider Threat programs integrate expertise from medicine, psychology, and cybersecurity. Additionally, handwriting analysis is proposed as a potential tool for detecting insider threats, reflecting the evolving nature of threat assessment methodologies.

Beyond Defense: Proactive Approaches to Disaster Recovery and Threat Intelligence in Modern Enterprises

As cyber threats keep changing and business environments adapt, a comprehensive approach to disaster recovery involves more than just defensive measures. This research delves deep into the strategies required to respond to threats and anticipate and mitigate them proactively. Beginning with understanding the critical need for a layered defense and the intricacies of the attacker’s journey, the research offers insights into specialized defense techniques, emphasizing the importance of timely and strategic responses during incidents. Risk management is brought to the forefront, underscoring businesses’ need to adopt mature risk assessment practices and understand the potential risk impact areas. Additionally, the value of threat intelligence is explored, shedding light on the importance of active engagement within sharing communities and the vigilant observation of adversary motivations. “Beyond Defense: Proactive Approaches to Disaster Recovery and Threat Intelligence in Modern Enterprises” is a comprehensive guide for organizations aiming to fortify their cybersecurity posture, marrying best practices in proactive and reactive measures in the ever-challenging digital realm.

Analyzing Security Threats to Virtual Machines Monitor in Cloud Computing Environment

The data and applications in cloud computing reside in cyberspace, that allowing to users access data through any connection device, when you need to transfer information over the cloud, you will lose control of it. There are multi types of security challenge must be understood and countermeasures. One of the major security challenges is resources of the cloud computing infrastructures are provided as services over the Internet, and entire data in the cloud computing are reside over network resources, that enables the data to be access through VMs. In this work, we describe security techniques for securing a VCCI, VMMs such as Encryption and Key Management (EKM), Access Control Mechanisms (ACMs), Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), Virtual Firewall (VF), and Trusted Virtual Domains (TVDs). In this paper we focus on security of virtual resources in Virtualized Cloud Computing Infrastructure (VCCI), Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) by describing types of attacks on VCCI, and vulnerabilities of VMMs and we describe the techniques for securing a VCCI.

Superiority Effect in Detecting Phylogenetic Threats Under Unattentional Condition: A Visual Mismatch Negativity Study

Rapid and accurate perception of threat information is a critical ability and a prerequisite to survive natural selection for humans.To investigate whether threatening stimuli,especially phylogenetic and ontogenetic threats,are processed automatically,we analyzed the visual mismatch negativity(vMMN,an event-related potential component reflecting automatic processing)elicited by the threats with a cross-modal oddball paradigm,where participants were required to focus on the auditory stimuli and ignore the visual stimuli in each block.In this study,neutral(non-threatening)images served as standard stimuli(80%),and phylogenetic(10%)and ontogenetic(10%)threat stimuli served as deviant stimuli when testing a large sample(N=96)of healthy volunteers.Threat-related visual mismatch negativity(threat-vMMN)was obtained by subtracting the event-related potential(ERP)elicited by standard stimuli from that elicited by deviant stimuli.The results indicated that the vMMN can be elicited by threat information.More importantly,the phylogenetic threat information elicited larger threat-vMMN than ontogenetic threat information.These findings suggest that perception of threat information was automatic,providing an evidential basis for the attentional advantages of survival processing.That is,automatic perception of phylogenetic threats has a particular evolutionary origin.

The Overview of Database Security Threats’ Solutions: Traditional and Machine Learning

As an information-rich collective, there are always some people who choose to take risks for some ulterior purpose and others are committed to finding ways to deal with database security threats. The purpose of database security research is to prevent the database from being illegally used or destroyed. This paper introduces the main literature in the field of database security research in recent years. First of all, we classify these papers, the classification criteria are the influencing factors of database security. Compared with the traditional and machine learning (ML) methods, some explanations of concepts are interspersed to make these methods easier to understand. Secondly, we find that the related research has achieved some gratifying results, but there are also some shortcomings, such as weak generalization, deviation from reality. Then, possible future work in this research is proposed. Finally, we summarize the main contribution.