Book review: Applied cryptography: Protocols, algorithms, and source code in C

The home energy management system (HEMS) based on advanced internet of things (IoT) technology has attracted the special attention of engineers in the field of smart grid (SG), which has the task of the demand side management (DSM) and helps to control the equality between demand and electricity supply. The main performance of HEMS is based on the optimal scheduling of home appliances because it manages power consumption by automatically controlling the loads and transferring them from peak hours to off-peak hours. This paper presents a multi-objective version of a newly introduced metaheuristic, called Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (AOA) to discover optimal scheduling of the home appliances, which is called Multi-Objective Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (MOAOA). Furthermore, the HEMS architecture has been programmed based on the Raspberry Pi minicomputer with Node-RED and NodeMCU modules. HEMS uses the MOAOA algorithm to find the optimal schedule pattern to reduce daily electricity costs, reduce the peak to average ratio (PAR), and increase user comfort (UC). Real-time pricing (RTP) and critical peak pricing (CPP) signals are presumed as energy tariffs. Simulations are performed in two different scenarios: (I) appliance scheduling scheme and (II) appliance scheduling scheme with the integration of renewable energy sources (RES). The results of MOAOA are compared with Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO), Multi-Objective Gray Wolf Optimizer (MOGWO), and Multi-Objective Antlion optimization (MOALO) algorithms. The results demonstrate that the use of the presented scheme remarkably reduces the cost of electricity consumption as well as PAR, in addition to the integration of MOAOA with RES, which greatly increases user comfort. 

Multi-objective scheduling of IoT-enabled smart homes for energy management based on Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm: A Node-RED and NodeMCU module-based technique

In this paper we research code-based electronic digital signature schemes, which ware submitted to the contest of post-quantum crypto algorithms NIST PQC. There are explored general characteristics of the algorithms and basic properties and parameters estimated. Also we carried out comparative analysis of the electronic digital signature schemes and public-key cryptosystems according to the criteria of speed and length of the main cryptographic parameters.

Code-based cryptosystems from NIST PQC

The code-based key encapsulation mechanisms for post-quantum standardization, which were presented on the NIST PQC competition, are investigated. The results of the primary comparative analysis of the cryptographic properties and the performance of the key encapsulation schemes are presented.

Code-based key encapsulation mechanisms for post-quantum standardization

As a containment strategy for the dreaded Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID 19) which is spreading rapidly and causing severe damage to life and economy of nations, places of public gathering like schools, places of religious worship, open physical markets, offices as well as venues for social meetings (such as clubs) are been closed down, to promote social distancing in most nations across the globe. Therefore, most public/private organizations, and even individuals have resorted to the use of diverse Information Technologies (IT) for connecting themselves and other life essentials. Educational, agricultural, religious and even health institutions now deliver their services to users/clients and receive payments via online platforms, students study from home, even employees of most organizations now work remotely (maybe from their homes). Moreover, there is a sharp growth in demand for food deliveries and online grocery. The massive adoption of IT by almost all aspects of human life especially during this epidemic has also led to increased cyber security concerns. Cybercriminals and other individuals with malicious intent now take COVID-19 as an opportunity to perpetrate cybercrimes, especially for monetary gains. Domestic violence seems to be on the rise perhaps due to the lockdown, contact tracing approaches are massively been developed and used, healthcare systems are being attacked with ransom ware and resources such as patient records confidentiality, and integrity are being compromised. Individuals are falling victim to phishing attacks through COVID-19 related content. This paper presents an extensive study of major cyber security concerns that are and could take place during the COVID 19 pandemic as well as strategies for mitigating them.

Cyber security in the age of COVID-19

Crystography is the combination of Cryptography and Steganography for enhancing the security of communications over enterprise networks. Most existing Crystographic systems are based on Public key Cryptographic schemes like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), whose security depends on the difficulty of solving Integer Factorisation Problem (IFP) and Discrete Logarithm problem (DLP) respectively. However, techniques for solving IFP and DLP problems, improves continually. Therefore, the existence of Quantum Computers in the range of 1000 bits would be a real world threat to systems based on those problems. This paper thus propose a new Crystographic System that combines Post Quantum Cryptography with Steganography to ensure that security of communication is maintained both in Classical Computing era as well as Post-Quantum Computing era.

Post-Quantum Crystography: A combination of Post-Quantum Cryptography and Steganography

Abstract Security (privacy, confidentiality and integrity) of pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral phases of the electioneering process is fundamental to the success of Electronic Voting (E-Voting) Systems. Crystography, which is the combination of cryptography and steganography could be a fitting ‘tool kit’ for enhancing the security of sensitive election-related information transmitted over public networks, thereby also ensuring free, fair and credible election/voting. Most of the existing secure e-voting systems are based on public key cryptographic schemes like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), whose security depends on the difficulty of solving Integer Factorization Problem (IFP) and Discrete Logarithm problem (DLP) respectively. However, techniques for solving IFP and DLP problems, improves continually. One of such is the quantum algorithm discovered by Peter Shor in 1994, which can solve both IFP and DLP problems in polynomial time. Consequently, the existence of quantum computers in the range of 1000 bits would spell doom to systems based on those problems. This paper presents the development of a new crystographic system that combines Post Quantum Cryptography with steganography to ensure that the security of e-voting is maintained both in classical computing era as well as post-quantum computing era. Our experiments’ results shows that our proposed system performed better than existing ones.

/pdf/post-quantum-crystography-system-for-secure-electronic-4mf3d88zwo.pdf

Post-Quantum Crystography System for Secure Electronic Voting

Long Term Evolution (LTE) network is a wireless network developed for fast and effective communication among internet users for resource accessing and sharing. Several scheduling algorithms have been proposed in attempts by researchers to solve the problem of scarcity of radio resources available to network users. Determining the best scheduling algorithm based on chosen metrics is an interesting issue of research. In this paper thus, we present a comparative analysis of these scheduling algorithms for resource management in Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The algorithms; [Proportional Fair (PF), Exaggerated Earliest Deadline First (E2DF), Modified-Largest Weighted Delay First (M-LWDF) and Exponential Proportional Fair (EXP-PF)], were simulated, then compared using standard metrics such as; Block Error Rate (BLER), Spectral Efficiency, Throughput and Fairness with the aim of determining the best performing scheduling algorithm with respect to each of the metrics.Keywords: Wireless Network, Long Time Evolution Network, Scheduling, Computer Network.

Arome Junior Gabriel

Papers

Cyber security in the age of COVID-19

Post-Quantum Crystography: A combination of Post-Quantum Cryptography and Steganography

Post-Quantum Crystography System for Secure Electronic Voting

Analysis of algorithms in long term evolution (LTE) network

Privacy and Trust Models for Cloud-Based EHRs Using Multilevel Cryptography and Artificial Intelligence