Robert Bird

Investigating vulnerabilities in GSM security

The telecommunications industry uses a combination of 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) systems to access communication worldwide. Concurrent with a recent rise in cyber-attacks, the requirement for a secure infrastructure is increasingly crucial. However, while each new standard offers better protection to the mobile users, currently 84% of households in the UK have access to 3G signal from the four leading providers. Users are expected to be aware of the possible security threats, however auditing of the existing systems is responsibility of administrators. This paper highlights weaknesses and issues in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) standard, and presents an informed approach to help audit GSM networks for vulnerabilities.

An investigation into the forensic implications of the Windows 10 operating system: recoverable artefacts and significant changes from Windows 8.1

With the release of Microsofts latest operating system, Windows 10, forensic investigators must examine it in order to determine the changes implemented from Windows 8.1 and the addition of new artefacts. This study is an analysis of Windows 10 and its new features in order to distinguish these artefacts. The tools used include: VMware Fusion, FTK Imager, Process Monitor, Process Explorer, ESEDatabase View and Registry Explorer. The paper also determines if artefacts have changed in Windows 10 in comparison to the previous version of Windows, Windows 8.1. When comparing the two it was found that many of the pre-existing artefacts found within Windows 8.1 are still present in Windows 10. Slight differences are noted in the way prefetch files are compressed and also the thumbnail databases. Significant artefacts related to the new features in Windows 10 are also reported.

Exploring proxy detection methodology

Under most circumstances, cyber criminals will commit fraudulent transactions using proxy services which hide their real IP address and physical location. This is done in an effort to avoid being tracked and prosecuted by law enforcement agencies. This paper presents the investigation of a proxy detection methodology and efforts to implement such technology into a business solution with the sole purpose of eliminating the majority of fraudulent transaction attempts. The approach, described in this paper identifies multiple proxy connectivity methods, and implements a multi-tiered detection technique. The result of the experiments demonstrates that the proxy methodology improves business security by identifying users who are utilizing proxies and to collect data that prevents potentially fraudulent activities.

A Comparison of Information Retrieval Models

The personalization process can either be focused on individuals and their interaction with documents, or on the identification of shared patterns of behavior and the segmentation of the user population into groups of common interests. One issue in the personalization and the filtering processes is the selection of an appropriate model for the efficient representation and manipulation of user profiles and documents. It should be capable of facilitating the determination of relevant documents in terms of similarity between users and documents. The aim of this paper is to introduce three models for representing documents and profiles in the search process, and to examine their computational processes. The volume of document databases, the large number of users and their different interests creates the need for precise and efficient filtering techniques. This paper investigates different information retrieval models, which can be used to determine the similarity between documents and user profiles.