Thwarting attacks on cell phone mesh networks
No longer in denial -- tracing and blocking DDoS attacks on mobile ad hoc networks
2011-01-21
(Press-News.org) A Mobile Ad hoc NETwork (MANET) or cell phone mesh network uses software to transparently hook together numerous active cell phones in a location to provide greater bandwidth and better network connections by allowing users to share "spare" resources while they use their phones, making data transfers faster and smoother.
However, the usefulness of such ad hoc networks can be offset by vulnerabilities. Like any network, a MANET can be susceptible to attack from people with malicious intent. Illicit users might, for instance, hook up to such a network and impersonate a legitimate user in an effort to access data and logins to which they do not have approval, others may implant harmful software, malware. The most worrying form of attack, however, is the distributed denial of service (DDoS), which effectively swamps the network with random data requests until it is overwhelmed. This might simply be for the sake of causing disruption but it a DDoS attack might also be used to hook into security loopholes and quickly and transparently implant malware to harvest logins, bank details and other private information.
Now, Yinghua Guo of the Defence and Systems Institute, at the University of South Australia, in Mawson Lakes and Sylvie Perreau of the Institute for Telecommunications Research, in Mawson Lakes, have developed a computer algorithm that runs on the network and rapidly, within 10-22 seconds, identifies when a DDoS is initiated based on the new, unexpected pattern of data triggered by the attack. The false positive rate is very low and it allows the system to trace the illicit activity back to the main nodes from which it is originating and to deny them access to the network, so thwarting the attack very quickly.
The researchers say that their technique can halt 80% of the DDoS attack traffic and so allow users to continue using their devices almost as normal and to block the window of opportunity through malware might be implanted during such an attack. More importantly, from a computer science point of view is that the study provides a model framework on which better security systems might be built for MANETs and other networks.
INFORMATION:
"Detect DDoS flooding attacks in mobile ad hoc networks" in Int. J. Security and Networks, 2010, 5, 259-269
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-01-21
Research conducted at the University of Granada warns about the negative effects of the so-called "benevolent sexism", a term used for apparently "positive" ideas and attitudes of men towards women, which are based on the assumption that men must take care of and sacrifice themselves for women.
The research revealed that when individuals are told that a man has attitudes socially considered as "good" towards his wife –even although those attitudes are sexist– they tend to justify sexual violence within the couple and to exonerate the man (as they consider that he is entitled ...
2011-01-21
A new study reports on the success of growing human liver cells on resorbable scaffolds made from material similar to surgical sutures. Researchers suggest that this liver tissue could be used in place of donor organs during liver transplantation or during the bridge period until a suitable donor is available for patients with acute liver failure. Findings of this study appear in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
As of January 2011, more than 16,000 ...
2011-01-21
Women who have survived childhood cancer should be advised to breastfeed if they can, in order to offset some of the negative health effects of their earlier cancer treatment. According to Susan Ogg and colleagues from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, making women aware of the benefits of breastfeeding should be part of routine post-cancer diet and healthy lifestyle recommendations. Their work is published online in Springer's Journal of Cancer Survivorship.
It is estimated that one in every 640 young adults between the ages of 20 and 39 will ...
2011-01-21
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new device that represents a significant advance for computer memory, making large-scale "server farms" more energy efficient and allowing computers to start more quickly.
Traditionally, there are two types of computer memory devices. Slow memory devices are used in persistent data storage technologies such as flash drives. They allow us to save information for extended periods of time, and are therefore called nonvolatile devices. Fast memory devices allow our computers to operate quickly, but aren't able ...
2011-01-21
A curious contagious cancer, found in dogs, wolves and coyotes, can repair its own genetic mutations by adopting genes from its host animal, according to a new study in the journal Science.
Scientists at Imperial College London have uncovered an unusual process that helps the cancer survive by stealing tiny DNA-containing 'powerhouses' (known as mitochondria) from the cells of the infected animal, to incorporate as its own. They say this may be because genes in the tumour's own mitochondria have a tendency to mutate and degenerate. The results are surprising because mitochondria ...
2011-01-21
A small pool of stem cells replenishes the human body with about 200 billion new blood cells daily. But the elaborate circuitry that determines if a cell will develop into a T cell, red blood cell, or one of the nine or more other blood cell types remains largely unknown. A research team led by scientists from the Broad Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital has taken a systematic approach to help decipher this circuitry, compiling a comprehensive catalog of the factors that determine a blood cell's fate. Their work appears in the January 21 issue of Cell.
The researchers ...
2011-01-21
EAST LANSING, Mich. — It's easy for American society to label young killers as simply crazy. But new research suggests that a complex array of factors – from bullying to lack of parental support to ineffective mental health services – are potentially involved when a student turns to violence.
The study, co-authored by Michigan State University's Hyunkag Cho, examined the risk factors of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings by 23-year-old student Seung-Hui Cho that left 33 people, including the gunman, dead.
According to the study, which appears in the current issue of the ...
2011-01-21
Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) have more to worry about than breathing difficulties. According to a new study by researchers in Sweden, COPD patients on LTOT today face an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other non-respiratory ailments. The study's results suggest physicians need to carefully monitor for these conditions and treat them to help decrease the risk of mortality in these patients.
The findings were published online ahead of the print edition of the American ...
2011-01-21
A new study published in The American Journal on Addictions reveals that illicit use of HGH (human growth hormone) has become common among young American male weightlifters. Additionally, illicit HGH use in this population is often associated with polysubstance abuse involving both performance-enhancing and classical drugs.
HGH, once an expensive performance-enhancing drug used exclusively by elite athletes, has become cheaply available for illicit users on the street.
Researchers led by Brian P. Brennan, MD, MSc, of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, evaluated ...
2011-01-21
JILA researchers have developed a laser-based source of terahertz radiation that is unusually efficient and less prone to damage than similar systems. The technology might be useful in applications such as detecting trace gases or imaging weapons in security screening.
JILA is a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Terahertz radiation—which falls between the radio and optical bands of the electromagnetic spectrum—penetrates materials such as clothing and plastic but can be used to detect ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Thwarting attacks on cell phone mesh networks
No longer in denial -- tracing and blocking DDoS attacks on mobile ad hoc networks
