Ground-based and additional science support for SMILE

The joint European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission will explore global dynamics of the magnetosphere under varying solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions,and simultaneously monitor the auroral response of the Northern Hemisphere ionosphere.Combining these large-scale responses with medium and fine-scale measurements at a variety of cadences by additional ground-based and space-based instruments will enable a much greater scientific impact beyond the original goals of the SMILE mission.Here,we describe current community efforts to prepare for SMILE,and the benefits and context various experiments that have explicitly expressed support for SMILE can offer.A dedicated group of international scientists representing many different experiment types and geographical locations,the Ground-based and Additional Science Working Group,is facilitating these efforts.Preparations include constructing an online SMILE Data Fusion Facility,the discussion of particular or special modes for experiments such as coherent and incoherent scatter radar,and the consideration of particular observing strategies and spacecraft conjunctions.We anticipate growing interest and community engagement with the SMILE mission,and we welcome novel ideas and insights from the solar-terrestrial community.

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.

Improving Satellite-Retrieved Cloud Base Height with Ground-Based Cloud Radar Measurements

Cloud base height(CBH) is a crucial parameter for cloud radiative effect estimates, climate change simulations, and aviation guidance. However, due to the limited information on cloud vertical structures included in passive satellite radiometer observations, few operational satellite CBH products are currently available. This study presents a new method for retrieving CBH from satellite radiometers. The method first uses the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and ground-based cloud radars to develop a lookup table(LUT) of effective cloud water content(ECWC), representing the vertically varying cloud water content. This LUT allows for the conversion of cloud water path to cloud geometric thickness(CGT), enabling the estimation of CBH as the difference between cloud top height and CGT. Detailed comparative analysis of CBH estimates from the state-of-the-art ECWC LUT are conducted against four ground-based millimeter-wave cloud radar(MMCR) measurements, and results show that the mean bias(correlation coefficient) is0.18±1.79 km(0.73), which is lower(higher) than 0.23±2.11 km(0.67) as derived from the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and satellite radar-lidar(i.e., Cloud Sat and CALIPSO). Furthermore, the percentages of the CBH biases within 250 m increase by 5% to 10%, which varies by location. This indicates that the CBH estimates from our algorithm are more consistent with ground-based MMCR measurements. Therefore, this algorithm shows great potential for further improvement of the CBH retrievals as ground-based MMCR are being increasingly included in global surface meteorological observing networks, and the improved CBH retrievals will contribute to better cloud radiative effect estimates.

Survey on Video Security:Examining Threats,Challenges,and Future Trends

Videos represent the most prevailing form of digital media for communication,information dissemination,and monitoring.However,theirwidespread use has increased the risks of unauthorised access andmanipulation,posing significant challenges.In response,various protection approaches have been developed to secure,authenticate,and ensure the integrity of digital videos.This study provides a comprehensive survey of the challenges associated with maintaining the confidentiality,integrity,and availability of video content,and examining how it can be manipulated.It then investigates current developments in the field of video security by exploring two critical research questions.First,it examine the techniques used by adversaries to compromise video data and evaluate their impact.Understanding these attack methodologies is crucial for developing effective defense mechanisms.Second,it explores the various security approaches that can be employed to protect video data,enhancing its transparency,integrity,and trustworthiness.It compares the effectiveness of these approaches across different use cases,including surveillance,video on demand(VoD),and medical videos related to disease diagnostics.Finally,it identifies potential research opportunities to enhance video data protection in response to the evolving threat landscape.Through this investigation,this study aims to contribute to the ongoing efforts in securing video data,providing insights that are vital for researchers,practitioners,and policymakers dedicated to enhancing the safety and reliability of video content in our digital world.

Classification of Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities and Countermeasures in Database Systems

Database systems have consistently been prime targets for cyber-attacks and threats due to the critical nature of the data they store.Despite the increasing reliance on database management systems,this field continues to face numerous cyber-attacks.Database management systems serve as the foundation of any information system or application.Any cyber-attack can result in significant damage to the database system and loss of sensitive data.Consequently,cyber risk classifications and assessments play a crucial role in risk management and establish an essential framework for identifying and responding to cyber threats.Risk assessment aids in understanding the impact of cyber threats and developing appropriate security controls to mitigate risks.The primary objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of cyber risks in database management systems,including classifying threats,vulnerabilities,impacts,and countermeasures.This classification helps to identify suitable security controls to mitigate cyber risks for each type of threat.Additionally,this research aims to explore technical countermeasures to protect database systems from cyber threats.This study employs the content analysis method to collect,analyze,and classify data in terms of types of threats,vulnerabilities,and countermeasures.The results indicate that SQL injection attacks and Denial of Service(DoS)attacks were the most prevalent technical threats in database systems,each accounting for 9%of incidents.Vulnerable audit trails,intrusion attempts,and ransomware attacks were classified as the second level of technical threats in database systems,comprising 7%and 5%of incidents,respectively.Furthermore,the findings reveal that insider threats were the most common non-technical threats in database systems,accounting for 5%of incidents.Moreover,the results indicate that weak authentication,unpatched databases,weak audit trails,and multiple usage of an account were the most common technical vulnerabilities in database systems,each accounting for 9%of vulnerabilities.Additionally,software bugs,insecure coding practices,weak security controls,insecure networks,password misuse,weak encryption practices,and weak data masking were classified as the second level of security vulnerabilities in database systems,each accounting for 4%of vulnerabilities.The findings from this work can assist organizations in understanding the types of cyber threats and developing robust strategies against cyber-attacks.

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.

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.

Analysis on Opportunities and Threats for Agricultural Sustainable Development of Yunnan Province in the Context of the 13th Five-year Plan

The research studied opportunities and potential threats confronted by agricultural sustainable development, laying foundation for optimization of agricultural structure, transformation of agricultural development mode, and accomplishment of agricultural modernization. On basis of development target, development theory and route of the 13^th Five-year Plan, the research analysis the opportunities and potential threats of Yunnan agriculture and proposed policy suggestions on sustainable development of agriculture from the perspectives of ecological and competitive advantage, as well as sustainable development division in order to provide references for scientific formulation and decision-making of relevant regional planning.

The current status, threats and protection way of Sanjiang Plain wetland, Northeast China

The Sanjiang Plain is a vast area of alluvial floodplains and low hills in northeast Heilongjiang Province. It is the largest tract of wetlands in China and East Asia outside of Siberia. 28 wetland nature reserves exist on the Sanjiang Plain, and three of them have been listed as wetlands of international importance to water bird conservation by the Ramsar Convention Bureau. The wetlands of Sanjiang Plain are noteworthy for its rich biodiversity, but they continue to decline in area and deteriorate in quality currently. The main threats or constrains, immediate cause, root cause and required response are analyzed in this paper, and the four aspects opinion such as improvement of watershed management, enhancement of protection and restoration of habitats and biodiversity, alternative livelihoods of rural residents living in and near natural wetland reserve, and reinforcement of capacity building of natural reserves are brought forward as the effective measures for the Sanjiang Plain wetland protection.

Influence of assimilating ground-based microwave radiometer data into the WRF model on precipitation

Ground-based microwave radiometers profilers(MWRPs)have been used in numerical weather prediction(NWP)systems and show different impacts on forecasts.Currently,there are around hundreds of ground-based MWPRs used in weather stations over China;however,the application of MWPRs in NWP systems is rather limited.In this work,two MWRP retrieved profiles were assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model for a rainstorm event that occurred in Beijing,China.The quality of temperature and humidity profiles retrieved from the MWRP was evaluated against radiosonde observations and showed the reliability of the two MWRP products.Then,comparisons between the measurements of ground-based rain gauges and the corresponding forecasted precipitation in different periods of the rainstorm were investigated.The results showed that assimilating the two MWRPs affected the distribution and intensity of rainfall,especially in the early stage of the rainstorm.With the development of the rainstorm,adding MWRP data showed only a slight influence on the precipitation during the stable and mature period of the rainstorm,since the two MWRP observations were too limited to affect the large area of heavy rainfall.

Long-term gravity changes in Chinese mainland from GRACE and ground-based gravity measurements

A long-term （9 years） gravity change in Chinese mainland is obtained on the basis of observation of the ground-based national gravity network. The result shows several features that may be related to sore, large-scale groundwater pumping in North China, glacier-water flow and storage in Tianshan region, and pre seismic gravity changes of the 2008 MsS. 0 Wenchuan earthquake, which are spatially similar to co-seismi, changes but reversed in sign. These features are also shown in the result of the satellite-based GRACE obser vation, after a height effect is corrected with GPS data.

An approach to wide-field imaging of linear rail ground-based SAR in high squint multi-angle mode

Ground-based synthetic aperture radar(GB-SAR) has been successfully applied to the ground deformation monitoring.However, due to the short length of the GB-SAR platform, the scope of observation is largely limited. The practical applications drive us to make improvements on the conventional linear rail GB-SAR system in order to achieve larger field imaging. First, a turntable is utilized to support the rotational movement of the radar.Next, a series of high-squint scanning is performed with multiple squint angles. Further, the high squint modulation phase of the echo data is eliminated. Then, a new multi-angle imaging method is performed in the wave number domain to expand the field of view. Simulation and real experiments verify the effectiveness of this method.

0-10 KM TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY PROFILES RETRIEVAL FROM GROUND-BASED MICROWAVE RADIOMETER

Deviation exists between measured and simulated microwave radiometer sounding data. The bias results in low-accuracy atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles simulated by Back Propagation artificial neural network models. This paper evaluated a retrieving atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles method by adopting an input data adjustment-based Back Propagation artificial neural networks model. First, the sounding data acquired at a Nanjing meteorological site in June 2014 were inputted into the Mono RTM Radiative transfer model to simulate atmospheric downwelling radiance at the 22 spectral channels from 22.234 GHz to 58.8 GHz, and we performed a comparison and analysis of the real observed data; an adjustment model for the measured microwave radiometer sounding data was built. Second, we simulated the sounding data of the 22 channels using the sounding data acquired at the site from 2011 to 2013. Based on the simulated rightness temperature data and the sounding data, BP neural network-based models were trained for the retrieval of atmospheric temperature, water vapor density and relative humidity profiles. Finally, we applied the adjustment model to the microwave radiometer sounding data collected in July 2014, generating the corrected data. After that, we inputted the corrected data into the BP neural network regression model to predict the atmospheric temperature, vapor density and relative humidity profile at 58 high levels from 0 to 10 km. We evaluated our model's effect by comparing its output with the real measured data and the microwave radiometer's own second-level product. The experiments showed that the inversion model improves atmospheric temperature and humidity profile retrieval accuracy; the atmospheric temperature RMS error is between 1 K and 2.0 K; the water vapor density's RMS error is between 0.2 g/m^3 and 1.93 g/m3; and the relative humidity's RMS error is between 2.5% and 18.6%.

Ground-Based Atmospheric CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO Column Measurements at Golmud in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Comparisons with TROPOMI/S5P Satellite Observations

Measurements of carbon dioxide(CO_(2)),methane(CH_(4)),and carbon monoxide(CO)are of great importance in the Qinghai-Tibetan region,as it is the highest and largest plateau in the world affecting global weather and climate systems.In this study,for the first time,we present CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO column measurements carried out by a Bruker EM27/SUN Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR)at Golmud(36.42°E,94.91°N,2808 m)in August 2021.The mean and standard deviation of the column-average dry-air mixing ratio of CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO(XCO_(2),XCH_(4),and XCO)are 409.3±0.4 ppm,1905.5±19.4 ppb,and 103.1±7.7 ppb,respectively.The differences between the FTIR co-located TROPOMI/S5P satellite measurements at Golmud are 0.68±0.64%(13.1±12.2 ppb)for XCH_(4) and 9.81±3.48%(–10.7±3.8 ppb)for XCO,which are within their retrieval uncertainties.High correlations for both XCH_(4) and XCO are observed between the FTIR and S5P satellite measurements.Using the FLEXPART model and satellite measurements,we find that enhanced CH_(4) and CO columns in Golmud are affected by anthropogenic emissions transported from North India.This study provides an insight into the variations of the CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO columns in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

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.

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.

Seismic Noise Suppression for Ground-Based Investigation of an Inertial Sensor by Suspending the Electrode Cage

Performance test of a high precise accelerometer or an inertial sensor on the ground is inevitably limited by the seismic noise. A torsion pendulum has been used to investigate the performances of an electrostatic accelerometer, where the test mass is suspended by a fiber to compensate for its weight, and this scheme demonstrates an advantage, compared with the high-voltage levitation scheme, in which the effect of the seismic noise can be suppressed for a few orders of magnitude in low frequencies. In this work, the capacitive electrode cage is proposed to be suspended by another pendulum, and theoretical analysis shows that the effects of the seismic noise can be further suppressed for more than one order by suspending the electrode cage.

A Cyber Kill Chain Approach for Detecting Advanced Persistent Threats

The number of cybersecurity incidents is on the rise despite significant investment in security measures.The existing conventional security approaches have demonstrated limited success against some of the more complex cyber-attacks.This is primarily due to the sophistication of the attacks and the availability of powerful tools.Interconnected devices such as the Internet of Things(IoT)are also increasing attack exposures due to the increase in vulnerabilities.Over the last few years,we have seen a trend moving towards embracing edge technologies to harness the power of IoT devices and 5G networks.Edge technology brings processing power closer to the network and brings many advantages,including reduced latency,while it can also introduce vulnerabilities that could be exploited.Smart cities are also dependent on technologies where everything is interconnected.This interconnectivity makes them highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks,especially by the Advanced Persistent Threat(APT),as these vulnerabilities are amplified by the need to integrate new technologies with legacy systems.Cybercriminals behind APT attacks have recently been targeting the IoT ecosystems,prevalent in many of these cities.In this paper,we used a publicly available dataset on Advanced Persistent Threats(APT)and developed a data-driven approach for detecting APT stages using the Cyber Kill Chain.APTs are highly sophisticated and targeted forms of attacks that can evade intrusion detection systems,resulting in one of the greatest current challenges facing security professionals.In this experiment,we used multiple machine learning classifiers,such as Naïve Bayes,Bayes Net,KNN,Random Forest and Support Vector Machine(SVM).We used Weka performance metrics to show the numeric results.The best performance result of 91.1%was obtained with the Naïve Bayes classifier.We hope our proposed solution will help security professionals to deal with APTs in a timely and effective manner.