Hybrid metal halide family with color-time-dual-resolved phosphorescence for multiplexed information security applications.

Luminescent materials with engineered optical properties play an important role in anti-counterfeiting and information security technology. However, conventional luminescent coding is limited by fluorescence color or intensity, and high-level multi-dimensional luminescent encryption technology remains a critically challenging goal in different scenarios. To improve the encoding capacity, we present an optical multiplexing concept by synchronously manipulating the emission color and decay lifetimes of room-temperature phosphorescence materials at molecular level. Herein, we devise a family of zero-dimensional (0D) hybrid metal halides by combining organic phosphonium cations and metal halide tetrahedral anions as independent luminescent centers, which display blue phosphorescence and green persistent afterglow with the highest quantum yields of 39.9 % and 57.3 %, respectively. Significantly, the luminescence lifetime can be fine-tuned in the range of 0.0968-0.5046 µs and 33.46-125.61 ms as temporary time coding through precisely controlling the heavy atomic effect and inter-molecular interactions. As a consequence, synchronous blue phosphorescence and green afterglow are integrated into one 0D halide platform with adjustable emission lifetime acting as color- and time-resolved dual RTP materials, which realize the multiple applications in high-level anti-counterfeiting and information storage. The color-lifetime-dual-resolved encoding ability greatly broadens the scope of luminescent halide materials for optical multiplexing applications.

A systematic mapping study on gamification within information security awareness programs.

Information security awareness (ISA) has become a vital issue for organizations, as security breaches are usually attributed to human errors. ISP programs are effective ways to educate employees and enhance their information security knowledge. Gamification is a new concept in the area of ISA programs and it has been proven to be one of the most effective and proper ISA methods in both the private and public sectors. Despite a growing interest in employing gamification as an ISP program in recent years, there is a lack of study to provide a comprehensive overview of gamification within ISA programs and identify trends, patterns, and research gaps in this area in order to direct future research. To bridge this gap, a systematic mapping study is adopted as a research methodology. A total of 69 papers were selected and classified by document type, year of publication, research type, research contribution, gamification type, gamification in terms of adaptivity based on the target group, and gamification in terms of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to make it user-tailored. The mapping study revealed that the published papers in this area were split between journals and conference papers with a higher proportion published in conference proceedings. Regarding the publication trend, from 2015 to 2022, gamification within ISA programs has come across to researchers' attention. The identified two main research types were evaluation research and validation research and the vast majority of the contribution type was tools. Moreover, content gamification has been used more commonly in ISA programs than structural gamification. Furthermore, the finding indicated that there were clear gaps in employing adaptive gamification, dynamic adaptive gamification and AI-based adaptive gamification, which makes these areas significant for future research.

Non-volatile and Secure Optical Storage Medium with Multilevel Information Encryption.

Non-volatile photomemory based on photomodulated luminescent materials offers unique advantages over voltage-driven memory, including low residual crosstalk and high storage speed. However, conventional materials have thus far been volatile and insecure for data storage because of low trap depth and single-level storage channels. Therefore, the development of a novel non-volatile multilevel storage medium for data encryption remains a challenge. Herein, a robust, non-volatile, multilevel optical storage medium is reported, based on a photomodulated Ba3MgSi2O8:Eu3+, which combined the merits of light-induced valence (Eu3+ → Eu2+) and photochromic phenomena using optical stimulation effects, accompanied by larger luminescent and color contrasts (>90%). These two unique features provided dual-level storage channels in a single host, significantly improving the data storage security. Notably, dual-level optical signals could be written and erased simultaneously by alternating 265 and 365 nm light stimuli. Theoretical calculations indicated that robust color centers induced by intrinsic interstitial Mg and vacancy defects with suitable trap depths enable excellent reversibility and long-term storage capability. By relying on different luminescent readout mechanisms, the encrypted dual-level information can be accurately decrypted by separately probing the Eu2+ and Eu3+ signals, thus ensuring information security. This study proposes a novel approach for constructing multilevel information storage channels for information security.

A robust audio steganography technique based on image encryption using different chaotic maps.

The development of innovative methods for concealing critical data in multimedia files has exploded in information security in recent years. Cryptography and steganography cannot be used alone to protect data; rather, they can be combined and used in a single system. Audio steganography is among the most important information security techniques. It involves the concealment of information within audio signals to achieve covert communication. This paper introduces a comprehensive technique that integrates chaos Henon, Baker, and Arnold maps for image encryption with audio steganography to create a robust and secure audio steganography technique. First, the target image is encrypted using chaotic maps. Then, it is embeded within the high frequencies of the cover audio signal based on the Inverse Short Time Fourier Transform (ISTFT) to be transmitted to the destination through the channel. By integrating both encryption and concealment techniques, the cover audio signal quality can be preserved. Moreover, the hidden image security and robustness are improved, making the technique resistant to many types of attacks. The simulation results confirm that the suggested technique is robust in the presence of attacks. It achieves a distinct perceptual quality with an appreciated peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 91.2 dB and a Mean Square Error (MSE) of 7.5 × 10-10. The randomness of the resulting encrypted image has successfully passed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) statistical test suite.

Optimal Computational Modeling and Simulation of QCA Reversible Gates for Information Reliability in Nano-Quantum Circuits.

As the relationship between energy and information loss and reversible gates was revealed, much interest in reversible gate design arose, and as quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) gained attention as a next-generation nano circuit design technology, various reversible gates based on QCA emerged. The proposed study optimizes the performance and design costs of existing QCA-based reversible gates including TR, RUG, PQR, and URG. According to most indicators, the proposed circuits showed significant improvement rates and outperformed existing studies. In particular, the proposed optimal TR, RUG, PQR, and URG showed performance improvements of 266%, 265%, 300%, and 144% in CostAD, respectively, compared with the best existing circuit. This shows outstanding improvement and superiority in terms of area and delay, which are the most important factors in the performance of nano-scale circuits that are becoming extremely miniaturized. Additionally, the exceptionally high-output polarization of the proposed circuits is an important indicator of the circuit's expansion and connection and increases the circuit's reliability.

A Mellin transform based video steganography with improved resistance to deep learning steganalysis for next generation networks.

In the era of 5 G network advancements, the potential for extremely robust, less-latency, and huge-capacity communication opens up new perspective for multimedia. Steganography enables embedding of sensitive data within multimedia files, making it unreadable to unauthorized third parties. Notably, when using videos as cover, the capacity for data embedding is substantially increased. Recent developments in steganography have largely revolved around modified versions of transform domain techniques. Due to this repetitiveness, it becomes easier for steganalytic tools in detecting concealed data. Addressing this issue, our paper introduces an innovative data embedding approach MARVIS based on the Mellin transform. The superiority of the proposed approach is exhibited using the metrics, MSE, PSNR, and SSIM. MARVIS has achieved PSNR of 50-60 dB and SSIM of 0.9998 for embedding 4 bits of secret data, outperforming other methods that achieve 40 dB for 1 bit. By quadrupling stego capacity, we can embed more secret data per pixel without compromising the integrity of the cover object.•MARVIS utilizes phase modulation for data embedding, offering advantages beyond traditional frequency domain techniques which use frequency domain for data embedding.•The effectiveness of the proposed data embedding approach is validated through Y-Net, a deep learning-based steganalysis tool.

Data protection and information security in biomedical research: A sequential explanatory mixed study.

PURPOSE: Biomedical research is a pillar of every medical student's career. When collecting data, several regulations are established to ensure the protection of individuals. Most medical students are not compliant with the guidelines, and this is probably due to a lack of knowledge. The aim of our research is to evaluate the knowledge and behavior of medical students regarding these rules, then attempt to explain the results obtained. METHODS: This is a sequential explanatory mixed study including an initial quantitative section followed by an explanatory qualitative section. For the quantitative part, we administered a questionnaire based on the information security regulation and the GDPR to third- and fourth-year medical students. We evaluated their knowledge and behaviors and their correlation. For the qualitative part, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight students followed by thematic analysis to explain the results. RESULTS: Most students have a lack of knowledge. A correlation was found between the non-compliant behavior of keeping the laptop unattended in a public place and a low level of knowledge. For the qualitative section, the thematic analysis represents three groups to explain non-compliant behavior: lack of knowledge, work overload, and consideration of the hospital as a safe place. CONCLUSION: Data collection and information security rules are rarely followed by medical students. This is mainly due to lack of knowledge, work overload and assuming the hospital as a safe place. Future awareness interventions would be necessary to improve non-compliant behavior and subsequently ensure a more secure environment during medical research.

A Deniable Encryption Method for Modulation-Based DNA Storage.

Recent advancements in synthesis and sequencing techniques have made deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) a promising alternative for next-generation digital storage. As it approaches practical application, ensuring the security of DNA-stored information has become a critical problem. Deniable encryption allows the decryption of different information from the same ciphertext, ensuring that the "plausible" fake information can be provided when users are coerced to reveal the real information. In this paper, we propose a deniable encryption method that uniquely leverages DNA noise channels. Specifically, true and fake messages are encrypted by two similar modulation carriers and subsequently obfuscated by inherent errors. Experiment results demonstrate that our method not only can conceal true information among fake ones indistinguishably, but also allow both the coercive adversary and the legitimate receiver to decrypt the intended information accurately. Further security analysis validates the resistance of our method against various typical attacks. Compared with conventional DNA cryptography methods based on complex biological operations, our method offers superior practicality and reliability, positioning it as an ideal solution for data encryption in future large-scale DNA storage applications.

Construction framework of smart tourism big data mining model driven by blockchain technology.

In the era of sharing economy, the tourism market is increasingly characterized by personalized demand, mobile consumption and product segmentation. This paper aims to apply big data mining technology in the field of smart tourism. Firstly, it focuses on image summary selection and collaborative filtering technology based on big data mining. It then demonstrates the integration of blockchain in smart tourism, emphasizing the use of decentralized structures and smart contracts to achieve data security and transparency, and describes the testing process of smart tourism platforms, including data preparation and platform operational efficiency testing. Finally, the research results of this paper are summarized, and the development potential and practical application value of smart tourism are demonstrated. The results show that in the smart tourism big data mining model, the minimum support for the data set is 10 % and 20 %, respectively. Moreover, with the increase of the number of nodes in the same data set, the running time decreases gradually. It can be seen that smart tourism big data mining has strong scalability.

Landscape design of urban culture transmission based on the regional information security of Internet of Things.

In the context of the rapid development of Internet of Things technology, urban cultural communication and information security have become a new focus in the field of landscape design. This paper innovatively discusses the landscape design of urban cultural communication based on Internet of Things regional information security, aiming at building a safe and culturally rich urban landscape environment. Taking the unique regional culture of Zhangjiajie as an example, this study evaluated the cultural communication effect of landscape design under information security guarantee through in-depth case analysis and field investigation, combined with Internet of Things information security technology. The results show that the cluster head node strategy has significant advantages in resisting physical capture attacks, especially when the number of sensor nodes captured is less than 2000, the information loss rate is less than 0.1. This discovery not only improves the level of information security in the Internet of Things environment, but also provides technical support for the effective dissemination of urban culture. In addition, through the detailed analysis and evaluation of landscape, this study further reveals the important role of landscape design in regional cultural inheritance. To sum up, this study not only provides a new perspective for urban landscape design, but also provides practical guidance for the protection and dissemination of urban culture in the era of Internet of Things.

Programmable Optical Encryption Based on Electrical-Field-Controlled Exciton-Trion Transitions in Monolayer WS2.

Optical encryption is receiving much attention with the rapid growth of information technology. Conventional optical encryption usually relies on specific configurations, such as metasurface-based holograms and structure colors, not meeting the requirements of increasing dynamic and programmable encryption. Here, we report a programmable optical encryption approach using WS2/SiO2/Au metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices, which is based on the electrical-field-controlled exciton-trion transitions in monolayer WS2. The modulation depth of the MOS device reflection amplitude up to 25% related to the excitons ensures the fidelity of information, and the decryption based on the near excitonic resonance assures security. With such devices, we successfully demonstrate their applications in real-time encryption of ASCII codes and visual images. For the latter, it can be implemented at the pixel level. The strategy shows significant potential for low-cost, low-energy-consumption, easily integrated, and high-security programmable optical encryptions.

[Chinese expert consensus on the technical and clinical practice specifications of artificial intelligence assisted morphology examination of blood cells (2024)].

Blood cell morphological examination is a crucial method for the diagnosis of blood diseases, but traditional manual microscopy is characterized by low efficiency and susceptibility to subjective biases. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has improved the efficiency and quality of blood cell examinations and facilitated the standardization of test results. Currently, a variety of AI devices are either in clinical use or under research, with diverse technical requirements and configurations. The Experimental Diagnostic Study Group of the Hematology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association has organized a panel of experts to formulate this consensus. The consensus covers term definitions, scope of application, technical requirements, clinical application, data management, and information security. It emphasizes the importance of specimen preparation, image acquisition, image segmentation algorithms, and cell feature extraction and classification, and sets forth basic requirements for the cell recognition spectrum. Moreover, it provides detailed explanations regarding the fine classification of pathological cells, requirements for cell training and testing, quality control standards, and assistance in issuing diagnostic reports by humans. Additionally, the consensus underscores the significance of data management and information security to ensure the safety of patient information and the accuracy of data.

Refinements and Extensions of Ziv's Model of Perfect Secrecy for Individual Sequences.

We refine and extend Ziv's model and results regarding perfectly secure encryption of individual sequences. According to this model, the encrypter and the legitimate decrypter share a common secret key that is not shared with the unauthorized eavesdropper. The eavesdropper is aware of the encryption scheme and has some prior knowledge concerning the individual plaintext source sequence. This prior knowledge, combined with the cryptogram, is harnessed by the eavesdropper, who implements a finite-state machine as a mechanism for accepting or rejecting attempted guesses of the plaintext source. The encryption is considered perfectly secure if the cryptogram does not provide any new information to the eavesdropper that may enhance their knowledge concerning the plaintext beyond their prior knowledge. Ziv has shown that the key rate needed for perfect secrecy is essentially lower bounded by the finite-state compressibility of the plaintext sequence, a bound that is clearly asymptotically attained through Lempel-Ziv compression followed by one-time pad encryption. In this work, we consider some more general classes of finite-state eavesdroppers and derive the respective lower bounds on the key rates needed for perfect secrecy. These bounds are tighter and more refined than Ziv's bound, and they are attained using encryption schemes that are based on different universal lossless compression schemes. We also extend our findings to the case where side information is available to the eavesdropper and the legitimate decrypter but may or may not be available to the encrypter.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Information Security Attitude Questionnaire for nurses.

AIM: Nurses play a crucial role within medical institutions, maintaining direct interaction with patient data. Despite this, there is a scarcity of tools for evaluating nurses' perspectives on patient information security. This study aimed to translate the Information Security Attitude Questionnaire into Chinese and validate its reliability and validity among clinical nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design. METHODS: A total of 728 clinical nurses from three hospitals in China participated in this study. The Information Security Attitude Questionnaire (ISA-Q) was translated into Chinese utilizing the Brislin two-way translation method. The reliability was assessed through internal consistency coefficient and test-retest reliability. The validity was determined through the Delphi expert consultation method and factor analysis. RESULTS: The Chinese version of ISA-Q consists of 30 items. Cronbach's α coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.930, and Cronbach's α coefficient of the six dimensions ranged from 0.781 to 0.938. The split-half reliability and test-retest reliability were 0.797 and 0.848, respectively. The content validity index (S-CVI) was 0.962. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 6-factor structure supported by eigenvalues, total variance interpretation, and scree plots, accounting for a cumulative variance contribution rate of 69.436%. Confirmatory factor analysis further validated the 6-factor structure, demonstrating an appropriate model fit. CONCLUSION: The robust reliability and validity exhibited by the Chinese version of ISA-Q establish it as a dependable tool for evaluating the information security attitudes of clinical nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The Chinese iteration of the ISA-Q questionnaire offers a profound insight into the information security attitudes held by clinical nurses. This understanding serves as a foundation for nursing managers to develop targeted intervention strategies aimed at fortifying nurses' information security attitudes, thereby enhancing patient safety.

Toward the European Health Data Space: The IMPaCT-Data secure infrastructure for EHR-based precision medicine research.

BACKGROUND: Art. 50 of the proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) states that "health data access bodies shall provide access to electronic health data only through a secure processing environment, with technical and organizational measures and security and interoperability requirements". OBJECTIVE: To identify specific security measures that nodes participating in health data spaces shall implement based on the results of the IMPaCT-Data project, whose goal is to facilitate the exchange of electronic health records (EHR) between public entities based in Spain and the secondary use of this information for precision medicine research in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). DATA AND METHODS: This article presents an analysis of 24 out of a list of 72 security measures identified in the Spanish National Security Scheme (ENS) and adopted by members of the federated data infrastructure developed during the IMPaCT-Data project. RESULTS: The IMPaCT-Data case helps clarify roles and responsibilities of entities willing to participate in the EHDS by reconciling technical system notions with the legal terminology. Most relevant security measures for Data Space Gatekeepers, Enablers and Prosumers are identified and explained. CONCLUSION: The EHDS can only be viable as long as the fiduciary duty of care of public health authorities is preserved; this implies that the secondary use of personal data shall contribute to the public interest and/or to protect the vital interests of the data subjects. This condition can only be met if all nodes participating in a health data space adopt the appropriate organizational and technical security measures necessary to fulfill their role.

Multifunctional Antimonene-Silver Nanocomposites for Ultra-Multi-Mode and Multi-Analyte Sensing, Parallel and Batch Logic Computing, Long-Text Information Protection.

To simulate life's emergent functions, mining the multiple sensing capabilities of nanosystems, and digitizing networks of transduction signals and molecular interactions, is an ongoing endeavor. Here, multifunctional antimonene-silver nanocomposites (AM-Ag NCs) are synthesized facilely and fused for molecular sensing and digitization applications (including ultra-multi-mode and multi-analyte sensing, parallel and batch logic computing, long-text information protection). By mixing surfactant, AM, Ag+ and Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) at room temperature for 5 min, the resulting NCs are comprised of Ag nanoparticles scattered within AM nanosheets and protected by the surfactant. Interestingly, AM-Ag NCs exhibit ultra-multi-mode sensing ability for multiplex metal ions (Hg2+, Fe3+, or Al3+), which significantly improved selectivity (≈2 times) and sensitivity (≈400 times) when analyzing the combined channels. Moreover, multiple sensing capabilities of AM-Ag NCs enable diverse batch and parallel molecular logic computations (including advanced cascaded logic circuits). Ultra-multi-mode selective patterns of AM-Ag NCs to 18 kinds of metal ions can be converted into a series of binary strings by setting the thresholds, and realized high-density, long-text information protection for the first time. This study provides new ideas and paradigms for the preparation and multi-purpose application of 2D nanocomposites, but also offers new directions for the fusion of molecular sensing and informatization.

A lightweight framework for cyber risk management in Western Balkan higher education institutions.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a significant presence in cyberspace. Data breaches in academic institutions are becoming prevalent. Online platforms in HEIs are a new learning mode, particularly in the post-COVID era. Recent studies on information security indicate a substantial increase in cybersecurity attacks in HEIs, because of their decentralized e-learning structure and diversity of users. In Western Balkans, there is a notable absence of incident response plans in universities, colleges, and academic institutions. Moreover, e-learning management systems have been implemented without considering security. This study proposes a cybersecurity methodology called a lightweight framework with proactive controls to address these challenges. The framework aims to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities in learning management systems in Western Balkan countries and suggest proactive controls based on a penetration test approach.

What are developers talking about information security? A large-scale study using semantic analysis of Q&A posts.

Background: Digitalization and rapid technological improvement in the present day bring numerous benefits, but they also raise the complexity and diversity of cyber security risks, putting critical information security issues on the agenda. Growing issues and worries about information security endanger not only the security of individuals and organizations but also global social and economic stability. Methods: This study investigates the issues and challenges regarding information security by analyzing all the postings on ISSE (Information Security Stack Exchange), a Q&A website focused on information security. In order to identify the primary topics addressed in postings shared on the ISSE platform, we employed a probabilistic topic modeling method called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), which is generative in nature and relies on unsupervised machine learning processes. Results: Through this investigation, a total of 38 topics were identified, demonstrating the present state of information security issues and challenges. Considering these topics, a comprehensive taxonomy of seven categories was devised to address information security issues, taking into account their backgrounds and perspectives. Subsequently, we conducted an examination of the prevalence and complexity of the matters at hand. In addition, we have defined the prevailing technologies utilized in the realm of information security, including tasks, certifications, standards, methods, tools, threats, and defenses. We have provided a number of implications for different stakeholders, including academics, developers, educators, and practitioners, who are working towards advancing the field of information security.

Qualitative study on domestic social robot adoption and associated security concerns among older adults in Slovenia.

Introduction: Despite the increasing use of domestic social robots by older adults, there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding attitudes, concerns, and potential adoption behavior in this population. This study aims to categorize older adults into distinct technology adoption groups based on their attitudes toward domestic social robots and their behavior in using the existing technology. Methods: An exploratory qualitative research design was used, involving semi-structured interviews with 24 retired Slovenian older adults aged 65 years or older, conducted between 26 June and 14 September 2023. Results: Four distinct groups of older adults were identified: (1) Cautious Optimists, (2) Skeptical Traditionalists, (3) Positive Optimists, and (4) Technophiles based on eight characteristics. Discussion: These groups can be aligned with the categories of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Privacy and security concerns, influenced by varying levels of familiarity with the technology, pose barriers to adoption. Perceived utility and ease of use vary considerably between groups, highlighting the importance of taking into account the different older adults. The role of social influence in the adoption process is complex, with some groups being more receptive to external opinions, while others exhibit more autonomous decision-making.