Samrat Mondal

Bio: Samrat Mondal is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Patna. The author has contributed to research in topics: Password & Computer science. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 76 publications receiving 453 citations. Previous affiliations of Samrat Mondal include Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology & National Semiconductor.

Role Based Access Control with Spatiotemporal Context for Mobile Applications

Abstract: Role based access control (RBAC) is an established paradigm in resource protection. However, with the proliferation of mobile computing, it is being frequently observed that the RBAC access decision is directly influenced by the spatiotemporal context of both the subjects and the objects in the system. Currently, there are only a few models (STRBAC, GSTRBAC) in place which specify spatiotemporal security policy on top of the classical RBAC. In this paper we propose a complete RBAC model in spatiotemporal domain based on the idea of spatiotemporal extent. The concept of spatiotemporal role extent and spatiotemporal permission extent introduced here enables our model to specify granular spatiotemporal access control policies not specifiable in the existing approaches. Our model is also powerful enough to incorporate classical role hierarchy and other useful RBAC policies including Role based Separation of Duty and Permission based Separation of Duty in spatiotemporal domain. Healthcare is an area in which information security is of utmost importance. The risk of personal medical data leakage is especially high in mobile healthcare applications. As a proof of concept, we have implemented the proposed spatiotemporal access control method in a mobile telemedicine system.

On designing a modified-UI based honeyword generation approach for overcoming the existing limitations

Abstract: Inverting hashed passwords by performing brute force computation is one of the latest security threats on password based authentication technique. New technologies are being developed for reducing complexity of brute force computation and these increase the success rate of inversion attack. Honeyword base authentication protocol can successfully mitigate this threat by making password cracking detectable. However, existing honeyword based methods have several limitations likeMultiple System Vulnerability, Weak DoS Resistivity, Storage Overhead, etc. In this paper, we have proposed a new modified-UI based honeyword generation approach, identified as Paired Distance Protocol (PDP), which overcomes most of the drawbacks of previously proposed honeyword generation approaches. The comprehensive analysis shows that PDP not only attains a high detection rate of 97.23%, but also reduces the storage overhead to a great extent.

Towards formal security analysis of GTRBAC using timed automata

Abstract: An access control system is often viewed as a state transition system Given a set of access control policies, a general safety requirement in such a system is to determine whether a desirable property is satisfied in all the reachable states Such an analysis calls for formal verification While formal analysis on traditional RBAC has been done to some extent, the extensions of RBAC lack such an analysis In this paper, we propose a formal technique to perform security analysis on the Generalized Temporal RBAC (GTRBAC) model which can be used to express a wide range of temporal constraints on different RBAC components like role, user and permission In the proposed approach, at first the GTRBAC system is mapped to a state transition system built using timed automata Characteristics of each role, user and permission are captured with the help of timed automata A single global clock is used to express the various temporal constraints supported in a GTRBAC model Next, a set of safety and liveness properties is specified using computation tree logic (CTL) Model checking based formal verification is then done to verify the properties against the model to determine if the system is secure with respect to a given set of access control policies Both time and space analysis has been done for studying the performance of the approach under different configurations

Security Analysis of Temporal-RBAC Using Timed Automata

Abstract: Role Based Access Control (RBAC) is arguably the most common access control mechanism today due to its applicability at various levels of authorization in a system. Time varying nature of access control in RBAC administered systems is often implemented through Temporal-RBAC - an extension of RBAC in the temporal domain. In this paper, we propose an initial approach towards verification of security properties of a Temporal-RBAC system. Each role is mapped to a timed automaton. A controller automaton is used to activate and deactivate various roles. Security properties are specified using Computation Tree Logic (CTL) and are verified with the help of a model checking tool named Uppaal. We have specifically considered reachability, safety and liveness properties to show the usefulness of our approach.

Intelligent charge scheduling and eco-routing mechanism for electric vehicles: A multi-objective heuristic approach

Abstract: Due to the rising pollution and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil fuel-based transportation systems, researchers and policymakers are pushing for Electric Vehicle (EV) that is envisaged as an efficient, eco-friendly alternative. However, due to their limited range and battery capacity, EVs need frequent charging, which is time-consuming and available at specific locations. Therefore, proper charge scheduling and route management of EVs is essential and significant. This paper addresses this problem by proposing an intelligent heuristic mechanism that ensures that the EVs are always routed through a path that minimizes the energy consumption and the total time to travel. We formulate it as a multi-objective optimization problem considering real-world specifications and constraints and propose a graph-based multi-objective heuristic algorithm (MoHA) to obtain the desired solutions quickly. Further, multiple variants of the proposed algorithm are proposed, and comparative analysis is performed on practical datasets. The proposed algorithm is evaluated based on some of the well-known performance metrics for multi-objective approaches. The results obtained show that the energy-aware-MoHA variant produced 32.39% better results in minimizing energy consumption, and time-aware-MoHA performed better in optimizing average time requirements by 24.32%. Moreover, the initial ordering of the EVs has significant importance on the proposed algorithm's overall performance.

A Survey on Smart Grid CommunicationInfrastructures: Motivations, Requirements andChallenges

Abstract: A communication infrastructure is an essential part to the success of the emerging smart grid. A scalable and pervasive communication infrastructure is crucial in both construction and operation of a smart grid. In this paper, we present the background and motivation of communication infrastructures in smart grid systems. We also summarize major requirements that smart grid communications must meet. From the experience of several industrial trials on smart grid with communication infrastructures, we expect that the traditional carbon fuel based power plants can cooperate with emerging distributed renewable energy such as wind, solar, etc, to reduce the carbon fuel consumption and consequent green house gas such as carbon dioxide emission. The consumers can minimize their expense on energy by adjusting their intelligent home appliance operations to avoid the peak hours and utilize the renewable energy instead. We further explore the challenges for a communication infrastructure as the part of a complex smart grid system. Since a smart grid system might have over millions of consumers and devices, the demand of its reliability and security is extremely critical. Through a communication infrastructure, a smart grid can improve power reliability and quality to eliminate electricity blackout. Security is a challenging issue since the on-going smart grid systems facing increasing vulnerabilities as more and more automation, remote monitoring/controlling and supervision entities are interconnected.

Information retrieval

Abstract: The major change in the second edition of this book is the addition of a new chapter on probabilistic retrieval. This chapter has been included because I think this is one of the most interesting and active areas of research in information retrieval. There are still many problems to be solved so I hope that this particular chapter will be of some help to those who want to advance the state of knowledge in this area. All the other chapters have been updated by including some of the more recent work on the topics covered. In preparing this new edition I have benefited from discussions with Bruce Croft, The material of this book is aimed at advanced undergraduate information (or computer) science students, postgraduate library science students, and research workers in the field of IR. Some of the chapters, particularly Chapter 6 * , make simple use of a little advanced mathematics. However, the necessary mathematical tools can be easily mastered from numerous mathematical texts that now exist and, in any case, references have been given where the mathematics occur. I had to face the problem of balancing clarity of exposition with density of references. I was tempted to give large numbers of references but was afraid they would have destroyed the continuity of the text. I have tried to steer a middle course and not compete with the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. Normally one is encouraged to cite only works that have been published in some readily accessible form, such as a book or periodical. Unfortunately, much of the interesting work in IR is contained in technical reports and Ph.D. theses. For example, most the work done on the SMART system at Cornell is available only in reports. Luckily many of these are now available through the National Technical Information Service (U.S.) and University Microfilms (U.K.). I have not avoided using these sources although if the same material is accessible more readily in some other form I have given it preference. I should like to acknowledge my considerable debt to many people and institutions that have helped me. Let me say first that they are responsible for many of the ideas in this book but that only I wish to be held responsible. My greatest debt is to Karen Sparck Jones who taught me to research information retrieval as an experimental science. Nick Jardine and Robin …

A review of strategies for building energy management system: Model predictive control, demand side management, optimization, and fault detect & diagnosis

Abstract: Building energy use is expected to grow by more than 40% in the next 20 years. Electricity remains the largest energy source consumed by buildings, and that demand is growing. To mitigate the impact of the growing demand, strategies are needed to improve buildings' energy efficiency. In residential buildings home appliances, water, and space heating are answerable for the increase of energy use, while space heating and other miscellaneous equipment are behind the increase of energy utilization in non-residential buildings. Building energy management systems support building managers and proprietors to increase energy efficiency in modern and existing buildings, non-residential and residential buildings can benefit from building energy management system to decrease energy use. Base on the type of building, different management strategies can be used to achieve energy savings. This paper presents a review of management strategies for building energy management systems for improving energy efficiency. Different management strategies are investigated in non-residential and residential buildings. Following this, the reviewed researches are discussed in terms of the type of buildings, building systems, and management strategies. Lastly, the paper discusses future challenges for the increase of energy efficiency in building energy management system.