Quality of Service in Wireless Sensor Networks

The growing demand of usage of wireless sensors applications in different aspects makes the quality-of-service (QoS) to be one of paramount issues in wireless sensors applications. Quality of service guarantee in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is difficult and more challenging due to the fact that the resources available of sensors and the various applications running over these networks have different constraints in their nature and requirements. Traditionally quality of service was focused on network level with concern in metrics such as delay, throughput, jitter e.c.t. In this paper we present appropriate metrics of QoS for WSN which involve service, reliability and availability which ultimately facilitating in archiving qualitable service. We discuss the reverse look of QoS and hence present mathematically the three significant quality factors that should currently be taken into account in developing WSNs application quality services namely, availability, reliability and serviceability. We run experiments incorporating these three phenomenons (reliability, availability and serviceability—RAS) to demonstrate how to attain QoS which effectively improve reliability of the overall WSNs.

A Conceptual Framework for Threat Assessment Based on Organization’s Information Security Policy

The security breaches of sensitive information have remained difficult to solve due to increased malware programs and unauthorized access to data stored in critical assets. As risk appetite differ from one organization to another, it prompts the threat analysis tools be integrated with organization’s information security policy so as to ensure security controls at local settings. However, it has been noted that the current tools for threat assessment processes have not encompassed information security policy for effective security management (i.e.?confidentiality, integrity and availability) based on organization’s risk appetite and culture. The information security policy serves as a tool to provide guidance on how to manage and secure all business operations including critical assets, infrastructure and people in the organization. This guidance (e.g. usage and controls) facilitates the provisions for threat assessment and compliance based on local context. The lack of effective threat assessment frameworks at local context have promoted the exposure of critical assets such as database servers, mails servers, web servers and user smart-devices at the hand of attackers and thus increase risks and probability to compromise the assets. In this paper we have proposed a conceptual framework for security threat assessment based on organization’s information security policy. Furthermore, the study proposed the policy automation canvas for provision of a methodology to alert the security managers what possible threats found in their organizations for quick security mitigation without depending on security expertise.