scholarly journals Cryptography: A Quantitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Various Password Storage Techniques

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohan Patra ◽  
Sandip Patra

Recently, there has been a rise in impactful data breaches releasing billions of people’s online accounts and financial data into the public domain. The result is an increased importance of effective cybersecurity measures, especially regarding the storage of user passwords. Strong password storage security means that an actor cannot use the passwords in vectors such as credential-stuffing attacks despite having access to breached data. It will also limit user exposure to threats such as unauthorized account charges or account takeovers. This research evaluates the effectiveness of different password storage techniques. The storage techniques to be tested are: BCRYPT Hashing, SHA-256 Hashing, SHA-256 with Salt, and SHA-256 with MD5 Chaining. Following the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines on password strength, both a weak and robust password will be passed through the stated techniques. Reversal of each of the results will be attempted using Rainbow Tables and dictionary attacks. The study results show that pairing a strong password that has not been exposed in a data breach with the BCRYPT hashing algorithm results in the most robust password security. However, SHA-256 hashing with a salt results in a very similar level of security while maintaining better performance. While plain SHA-256 hashing or chaining multiple hashing algorithms together is theoretically as secure, in practice, they are easily susceptible to simple attacks and thus should not be used in a production environment. Requiring strong password which have not been exposed in previous data breaches was also found to greatly increase security.

Author(s):  
Arielle Kaim ◽  
Maya Siman-Tov ◽  
Eli Jaffe ◽  
Bruria Adini

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of protective behavior is a continued challenge in the effort to contain the spread of the virus. A cross-sectional study via an internet questionnaire was utilized to elucidate changes in compliance to protective behavior among the Israeli population (n = 1120), after the beginning of the vaccination campaign. Comparison was made between individuals who were previously infected with the virus, those who received one dose of inoculation with the vaccine, and individuals that were neither infected or vaccinated. The study results indicate that those who were previously infected with the COVID-19 virus were less careful about mask wearing (18.8%) and social distancing (29.7%), as compared to the other examined groups (regarding mask wearing, 8.2% and 11.6% respectively, and with regard to social distancing 12.8% and 19.2%) and may require targeted risk communication campaigns to address this population. Furthermore, the study revealed that those that were non-Jewish (as compared to Jewish study counterparts) or that were older (19+) were more vigilant in their protective behavior (29.6% vs. 11.2% respectively for social distancing and 29.6% vs. 11.1% respectively for mask wearing). Despite a successful initial vaccination campaign in Israel, public health officials need to engage all members of the public to unremittingly observe compliance to directed health guidelines, to ensure that the results of previous governmental efforts in fighting the pandemic (such as lockdowns) will be effectively sustained, and the road to containment will be hastened.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3630
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdullah ◽  
Nazam Ali ◽  
Charitha Dias ◽  
Tiziana Campisi ◽  
Muhammad Ashraf Javid

Public transport use has drastically declined during the COVID-19 pandemic because the virus spreads through close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, especially in closed-environments. Evidence suggests that following the necessary safety guidelines can limit the spread of the virus, however, non-compliance to precautionary measures has been reported widely. Ignoring the precautionary measures may lead to quick transmission of the virus since public transport vehicles generally resemble closed-environments. This study explores people’s intentions to use public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic while adhering to precautionary measures. For this purpose, a total of 1516 useable responses were collected through a questionnaire survey conducted in Lahore, Pakistan. Regression models were developed to model the intentions to use public transport during the pandemic, to adhere to the precautionary measures while using public transport during the pandemic, and to use public transport while suffering from COVID-19 disease. The results of this study will help in understanding the intentions of the public transport users during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also provide insights for policymakers and public transport operators about further necessary actions to promote safe public transport use during the current and any possible future pandemics. As public transport use declined during the pandemic, policy implications for alternative mobility options such as demand-responsive-transport (DRT) are also presented. Considering the study results, a policy interventions framework is proposed to promote the safe use of various public transport modes, particularly in developing regions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-460
Author(s):  
Nan Hua

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach This study adapts and extends Hua et al. (2015) and O’Neill et al. (2008) by incorporating the specific measures of IT expenditures as proxies for the relevant IT capabilities to explore the impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness. Findings This study finds that expenditures on IT Labor, IT Systems and IT Websites exert different impacts on hotel competitiveness. In addition, IT capabilities exert both contemporary and lagged effects on hotel competitiveness. Originality/value This study is the first that uses financial data to capture direct measures of individual IT capabilities and tests the individual impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness from both contemporaneous and lagged perspectives. It uses a large same store sample of hotels in the USA from 2011 to 2017; as a result, the study results can be reasonably representative of the hotel population in the USA.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Oppi ◽  
Cristina Campanale ◽  
Lino Cinquini

PurposeThis paper presents a systematic literature review aiming at analysing how research has addressed performance measurement systems’ (PMSs) ambiguities in the public sector. This paper embraces the ambiguity perspective that PMSs in public sector coexist with and cope with existing ambiguities.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a literature review in Scopus and ScienceDirect, considering articles published since 1985, and the authors selected articles published in the journals included in the Association of Business Schools' Academic Journal Guide (Chartered ABS, 2018). Of the 1,278 abstracts that matched the study’s search criteria, the authors selected 131 articles for full reading and 37 articles for the final discussion.FindingsThe study's key findings concern the elements of ambiguity in PMSs discussed in the literature. The study’s results suggest that ambiguity is still a relevant problem in performance measurement, as a problem that is impossible to be solved and therefore needs to be better understood by researchers and public managers. The analysis allows us to summarize the antecedents and consequences of ambiguity in the public sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe key findings of the study concern the main sources of ambiguity in PMSs discussed in the literature, their antecedents and their consequences. The study results suggest that ambiguity exists in performance measurement and that is an issue to be handled with various strategies that can be implemented by managers and employees.Practical implicationsManagers and researchers may benefit from this research as it may represent a guideline to understand ambiguities in their organizations or in field research. Researchers may also benefit from a summary list of the key issues that have been analysed in the empirical cases provided by this research. Social implicationsThis research may provide insights to limit ambiguity and thus contribute to improve performance measurement in the public sector.Originality/valueThis research presents a comprehensive review on the topic. It provides insight that suggests what future research should attend to in helping to interpret ambiguity, considering also what should be done to influence ambiguity.


Author(s):  
Adhi Surya Perdana

Tourism is now seen as a sector popular in the national economy and the world,where one of the motor industry style of contemporary capable of providing social servicescommunity, especially in the village of Genito in providing natural attractions and agro, aswell as the opportunities of economic growth in terms of employment opportunities, income,the standard of living and to enable the local production sector. The purpose of this studywhich is to identify the factors driving and inhibiting natural attractions as well as therestructuring and agro tourism. Problems include the lack of accessibility of land and thedifficulty of the motor vehicle to the location of natural and agro. This is a qualitative study,which describes the study explanation about the state of the field findings and submit thequestionnaire contained structured questions addressed to the public ranging fromcommunity leaders, stakeholders of the village administration, the offender driving tourism,and tourists with the total respondents as many as 30 people, using the method of randomsampling incidental. The study results showed that the natural attractions and tourism in thevillage of Genito there are two attractions that nature tenure is owned by forestry andagricultural land supported rural communities that provide beauty agro tourism.Restructuring of natural attractions such as swimming pools, fish ponds and objects whoseexistence Selfie nestled in the woods with Sukorini name. Restructuring of the naturalattractions in the form of a pool is an innovation village government.


Author(s):  
Jene Greyce Souza de Oliveira ◽  
Grimar De Oliveira Paula ◽  
Thiago Santos de Araujo

ABSTRACTThe present study allowed describing the characteristics and identifying the aspects of permanence and migration after graduating of Medicine students from Federal University of Acre. Transversal study with a convenience sample of 89 graduates of the five already graduated classes until 2011. The data were collected through questionnaires submitted online, in the period of June to August 2012. The study results show that 71% of graduates are coming from other states of Brazil, 80% aged below 30 years, 61% male, 81.8% rated the medicine course of UFAC as good, 66.7 % reported being prepared for professional practice, with 64% approved on residency and / or internship specialty. The vast majority of doctors are residing and working in the capitals of Brazil (79%), working in the public sector (61.4%) satisfied with their chosen career (87.4%). About 58% stayed in Acre and pointed family (26%) the main cause of permanence. Of the 42% who migrated to another state, better job offers (29.7%) was the main cause of change. The present study demonstrates that in places like Amazon, the best working conditions and remuneration can be measures to be taken by the competent bodies for fixing physicians in areas with lack of professionals and should be prioritized.RESUMOO presente estudo permitiu descrever as características e identificar os aspectos relacionados à fixação ou migração dos egressos do curso de medicina da Universidade Federal do Acre após a graduação. Estudo transversal, com uma amostra de conveniência de 89 egressos das cinco turmas já graduadas até 2011. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionários encaminhados via eletrônica, no período de Junho a Agosto de 2012. Os resultados do estudo demonstraram que 71% dos egressos são procedentes de outros estados do Brasil, 80% com idade abaixo de 30 anos, 61% do sexo masculino, 81,8% avaliaram como bom o curso de medicina da UFAC, 66,7% referiram estarem preparados para o exercício profissional, com 64% aprovados em curso de residência médica e/ou estágio de especialidade. A grande maioria dos médicos está residindo e trabalhando nas capitais do Brasil (79%), em setor público (61,4%), satisfeitos com carreira que escolheram (87,4%). Aproximadamente 58% ficaram no Acre e apontaram os laços familiares (26%) como causas principais de permanência. Dos 42% que migraram para outro estado, as melhores propostas de trabalho (29,7%) foram as principais causas de mudança. O presente estudo demonstra que a em locais como a Amazônia, as melhores condições de trabalho e remuneração, podem ser medidas a serem adotadas pelos órgãos competentes para a fixação de médicos em áreas com poucos profissionais e devem ser priorizadas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-484
Author(s):  
Zulkifli Lubis

The biggest threat that results in the project not being successful is failure to build a stakeholder project. Based on research on construction projects in developing countries, the lack of communication among workers due to cultural uniformity and the uniqueness of their respective regions can become work constraints that can affect implementation performance and productivity, namely, there is a 69.61% decrease in time performance. The main objective of this research is to analyze the role of communication management in improving the performance of construction project managers in developing countries, particularly the role of construction managers in implementing a construction project. This research uses a qualitative approach and a case study method. Sampling using purposive sampling. Forum Group Discussion to see how the opinions of construction project managers in Indonesia view the importance of communication management in the success of construction projects. The study results explain that the need for Public Relations Infrastructure management plays a role in ensuring various policies and communication to the public. This is a reflection of the effective function of public relations in the implementation of infrastructure development. In carrying out the construction, the construction project manager must pay attention to communication dynamics to support the success of infrastructure development projects. Contractors and other parties involved in infrastructure development must raise awareness of the essence of effective communication in fostering trust in the public concerned with infrastructure development.


Author(s):  
Şirin Özkan ◽  
Mert Uydacı

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to examine the requirement and distribution of nurse workforce based on workload in public hospitals. METHODS: The number of nurses required in intensive care unit, all inpatient services, emergency room, operating room and dialysis units of the hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Kocaeli was calculated based on the workload by applying the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method. RESULTS: When the nurses were compared based on the inter-hospital workload ratio in the province, it was found that the number of nurses in the hospitals A, B, C, D, G, H and I was inadequate, the average workload was 0.73 and the number of nurses should be increased by 27% throughout the province. It was determined that the nurses having the highest workload ratio were inpatient service nurses in hospital with A rate of 0.49 and hospital in C with 0.53 rate. In addition, although the total number of nurses in E and F hospitals is sufficient, the units within the hospital are unevenly distributed according to the workload of the nurse workforce. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was determined that the number of nurses in the hospitals was insufficient and the workload distribution between the hospitals and within the hospital was unbalanced. The unbalanced distribution of nurse workforce throughout the province causes labour inefficiency, decreases the quality of patient care and causes health inequalities. The study results could set an example of practice that would provide support for health and nursing managers in planning and managing healthcare human resources more effectively.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-9
Author(s):  
Ewelina Krzyszkowska ◽  
Bartosz Wanot

Introduction: Every member of the society should possess first aid skills and knowledge thereof. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine public awareness of first aid, sudden cardiac arrest and the Automated External Defibrillator. Material and Methods: The study was conducted using an anonymous and voluntary on-line survey. The study population comprised of 250 subjects. The results were analysed using the t-Student test, F Test and Chi2 test. Results: The analysis of the study results showed that 164 respondents, who gave 9 to 11 correct answers, had a good level of knowledge. 80 respondents had the average level of knowledge, as shown by 6 to 8 correct answers. 6 respondents had insufficient level of knowledge, as they gave less than 6 correct answers to questions included in the survey. Conclusions: The principles and techniques on first aid are known to the public, as indicated by the fact that more than half of the respondents have a good level of knowledge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyungjun Seo ◽  
Seunghwan Myeong

Nowadays, the Government as a Platform (GaaP) based on cloud computing and network, has come to be considered a new structure to manage efficiently data-driven administration in the public sector. When the GaaP concept was first introduced, the ICT infrastructures that could underpin GaaP were not sufficiently developed. However, the recent digital transformation has transformed the previous electronic government, which was system- and architecture-oriented. As part of the next generation of government models, GaaP may reinvent the government at a lower cost but with better performance, similar to the case of electronic government two decades ago. This study attempted to determine the priority of factors of GaaP by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology. Because of the GaaP characteristics, we drew the main components for building GaaP from previous studies and a group interview with experts. The study results show that experts tend to prefer publicness in terms of building GaaP. Most of the factors that the experts weighed with the highest importance are related to the public sector, which revealed that governments should focus on their primary duty, regardless of the origin and characteristics of the platform in GaaP. However, since GaaP allows governments to be more horizontal and innovative, the platform approach can fundamentally shift the existing processes and culture of the public sector. The enhanced activity of citizens with ICT can also accelerate the introduction of GaaP. Finally, the study showed that a data-driven GaaP is necessary to efficiently handle big data, contract services, and multiple levels of on-line and off-line channels. In this public platform, government, citizens, and private sector organizations can work cooperatively as partners to seamlessly govern the hyper-connected society.


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