Network Slicing Security Controls and Assurance for Verticals

This paper focuses on the security challenges of network slice implementation in 5G networks. We propose that network slice controllers support security by enabling security controls at different network layers. The slice controller orchestrates multilevel domains with resources at a very high level but needs to understand how to define the resources at lower levels. In this context, the main outstanding security challenge is the compromise of several resources in the presence of an attack due to weak resource isolation at different levels. We analysed the current standards and trends directed to mitigate the vulnerabilities mentioned above, and we propose security controls and classify them by efficiency and applicability (easiness to develop). Security controls are a common way to secure networks, but they enforce security policies only in respective areas. Therefore, the security domains allow for structuring the orchestration principles by considering the necessary security controls to be applied. This approach is common for both vendor-neutral and vendor-dependent security solutions. In our classification, we considered the controls in the following fields: (i) fair resource allocation with dynamic security assurance, (ii) isolation in a multilayer architecture and (iii) response to DDoS attacks without service and security degradation.

Multilayer Architecture for Fault Diagnosis of Embedded Systems

This work presents a multilayer architecture for fault diagnosis in embedded systems based on formal modeling of Discrete Event Systems (DES). Most works on diagnosis of DES focus in faults of actuators, which are the devices subject to intensive wear in industry. However, embedded systems are commonly subject to cost reduction, which may increase the probability of faults in the electronic hardware. Further, software faults are hard to track and fix, and the common solution is to replace the whole electronic board. We propose a modeling approach which includes the isolation of the source of the fault in the model, regarding three layers of embedded systems: software, hardware, and sensors & actuators. The proposed method is applied to a home appliance refrigerator and after exhaustive practical tests with forced fault occurrences, all faults were diagnosed, precisely identifying the layer and the faulty component. The solution was then incorporated into the product manufactured in industrial scale.

The Effect of Multilayer Architecture and Ta Alloying on the Mechanical Performance of Ti-Al-N Coatings under Scratching and Uniaxial Tension

The present work is focused on a comparative study of the effect of Ti-Al interlayers and Ta alloying on the mechanical behavior of Ti1−xAlxN coatings under normal contact pressure and in-plane straining. The contact loading of the samples was carried out by scratch testing, while the in-plane tensile straining was performed by uniaxial tension of the coated steel substrates. The Ti0.45Al0.55N and Ti0.43Al0.45Ta0.12N monolithic coatings as well as the Ti0.45Al0.55N/Ti0.45Al0.55 multilayer coatings with different number and thickness of the layers were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering. It was found that the introduction of the ductile Ti0.45Al0.55 layers into the Ti0.45Al0.55N coating and alloying with Ta led to their significant toughening. The improved toughness of the Ti0.43Al0.45Ta0.12N coating coupled with high residual compressive stress and high hardness resulted in its strongest resistance to cracking under scratching and tensile straining among the coatings studied. The multilayer coating with the thickest metal layers exhibited the improved resistance to delamination under in-plane straining.

Unveiling the nature of interaction between semantics and phonology in lexical access based on multilayer networks

An essential aspect of human communication is the ability to access and retrieve information from ones’ ‘mental lexicon’. This lexical access activates phonological and semantic components of concepts, yet the question whether and how these two components relate to each other remains widely debated. We harness tools from network science to construct a large-scale linguistic multilayer network comprising of phonological and semantic layers. We find that the links in the two layers are highly similar to each other and that adding information from one layer to the other increases efficiency by decreasing the network overall distances, but specifically affecting shorter distances. Finally, we show how a multilayer architecture demonstrates the highest efficiency, and how this efficiency relates to weak semantic relations between cue words in the network. Thus, investigating the interaction between the layers and the unique benefit of a linguistic multilayer architecture allows us to quantify theoretical cognitive models of lexical access.