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Pilot spoofing attack (PSA) is an active eavesdropping attack in massive multiple‐input multiple‐output systems, where the eavesdroppers transmit the same pilot sequence as the legitimate user does to the base station to confuse the normal channel estimation during the uplink channel training phase. With the contaminated channel estimations, more information will be leaked to eavesdroppers in the downlink transmission phase. However, it is a challenging issue to detect the PSA attack due to the similarity of the received signals and the variations of the wireless channels. Here, a new PSA detection scheme by using the difference of two different estimators is presented, that is, the least square estimator and the minimum mean square error estimator, without requiring any priori of eavesdroppers. Following that, a new data‐aided channel estimation scheme is proposed to eliminate the PSA effect. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSA detection scheme outperforms the conventional energy detector, and more accurate legitimate channel estimation and higher sum secrecy rates can be obtained with the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For secure network coding to prevent eavesdropping attacks, a general design is used that puts restrictions on the eavesdropping channel set or encryption technology is embedded, which can cause problems in practical applications. Based on random linear network coding technology, in this paper, a transmission strategy to prevent eavesdropping attacks is proposed for single-source multicast networks, without either precondition of restricting the eavesdropping channel set or embedding encryption technology. The data transmission process is divided into three phases, and the global encoding vectors are separated from the encoded data on the channel. The proposed strategy can enable the sink to decode successfully, making it very difficult for eavesdroppers to meet the conditions for successful decoding by randomly selecting the eavesdropping channel set without obtaining network topology knowledge. The feasibility of the proposed method is strictly demonstrated using layered network technology, and its security is analyzed. The simulation results confirm the validity of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) in storage centers aims to enhance storage performance. However, this integration also introduces new concerns, particularly the potential eavesdropping attacks that pose a substantial risk to data privacy. By issuing flow tables (e.g., via compromised SDN switches), attackers can conveniently collect target traffic and extract confidential information with session reassembly methods. To proactively mitigate such attacks by preventing session reassembly, various moving target defense methods, such as end hopping, have been proposed. However, this study uncovers several deficiencies within existing end hopping methods. To address these deficiencies, we propose a novel linkage-field-based self-synchronizing end hopping method, which obfuscates end information (e.g., IP, Port) and linkage fields (e.g., sequence number and ID number) without third-party assistance. Furthermore, to counter the potential invalidation of end hopping methods resulting from brute-force reassembly of a small number of sessions, we propose a fake segment injection method. Extensive experiments have been conducted both in simulation and real-world environment to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed methods. The results demonstrate that our proposed methods can effectively defend against eavesdropping attacks with acceptable performance overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large predators are known to shape the behavior and ecology of sympatric predators via conflict and competition, with mesopredators thought to avoid large predators, while dogs suppress predator activity and act as guardians of human property. However, interspecific communication between predators has not been well‐explored and this assumption of avoidance may oversimplify the responses of the species involved. We explored the acoustic activity of three closely related sympatric canids: wolves Canis lupus, coyotes Canis latrans, and dogs Canis familiaris. These species have an unbalanced triangle of risk: coyotes, as mesopredators, are at risk from both apex‐predator wolves and human‐associated dogs, while wolves fear dogs, and dogs may fear wolves as apex predators or challenge them as intruders into human‐allied spaces. We predicted that risk perception would dictate vocal response with wolves and dogs silencing coyotes as well as dogs silencing wolves. Dogs, in their protective role of guarding human property, would respond to both. Eleven passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed across 13 nights in central Wisconsin, and we measured the responses of each species to naturally occurring heterospecific vocalizations. Against our expectation, silencing did not occur. Instead, coyotes were not silenced by either species: when hearing wolves, coyotes responded at greater than chance rates and when hearing dogs, coyotes did not produce fewer calls than chance rates. Similarly, wolves responded at above chance rates to coyotes and at chance rates when hearing dogs. Only the dogs followed our prediction and responded at above chance rates in response to both coyotes and wolves. Thus, instead of silencing their competitors, canid vocalizations elicit responses from them suggesting the existence of a complex heterospecific communication network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the inherent broadcasting nature and openness of wireless transmission channels, wireless communication systems are vulnerable to the eavesdropping of malicious attackers and usually encounter undesirable situations of information leakage. The problem may be more serious when a passive eavesdropping device is directly connected to the transmitter of a single-input single-output (SISO) system. To deal with this urgent situation, a novel IRS-assisted physical-layer secure transmission scheme based on joint transmitter perturbation and IRS reflection (JPR) is proposed, such that the secrecy of wireless SISO systems can be comprehensively guaranteed regardless of whether the reflection-based jamming from the IRS to the eavesdropper is blocked or not. Moreover, to develop a trade-off between the achievable performance and implementation complexity, we propose both element-wise and group-wise reflected perturbation alignment (ERPA/GRPA)-based IRS reflection strategies, respectively. In order to evaluate the achievable performance, we analyze the ergodic secrecy rate (ESR) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) of the SISO secure systems with the ERPA/GRPA-based JPRs, respectively. Finally, by characterizing the simulated and numerical ESR and SOP performance results, our proposed scheme is compared with the benchmark scheme of random phase-based reflection, which strongly demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless hierarchical federated learning (WHFL) is an implementation of wireless federated Learning (WFL) on a cloud–edge–client hierarchical architecture that accelerates model training and achieves more favorable trade-offs between communication and computation. However, due to the broadcast nature of wireless communication, the WHFL is susceptible to eavesdropping during the training process. Apart from this, recently ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) has received much attention since it serves as a critical communication service in current 5G and upcoming 6G, and this motivates us to study the URLLC-WHFL in the presence of physical layer security (PLS) issue. In this paper, we propose a secure finite block-length (FBL) approach for the multi-antenna URLLC-WHFL, and characterize the relationship between privacy, utility, and PLS of the proposed scheme. Simulation results show that when the eavesdropper's CSI is perfectly known by the edge server, our proposed FBL approach not only almost achieves perfect secrecy but also does not affect learning performance, and further shows the robustness of our schemes against imperfect CSI of the eavesdropper's channel. This paper provides a new method for the URLLC-WHFL in the presence of PLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, for the sake of enhancing the security of wireless transmission, we proposed a novel system based on spatial and direction modulation (SDM) combined with generalized spatial modulation (GSM) which is aided by covert information mapping (CIM), termed as the CIM-GSDM system. In such a system, the legitimated user is equipped with distributed receivers so as to demodulate the conveyed signal by exploiting its indices while disturbing eavesdroppers for information security. More specifically, part of the information is modulated into the indices of the legitimated distributed receiver subsets with the aid of the mapped covert information and the interference matrix, while another part of the message is arranged by conventional amplitude-phase modulation. The proposed system can reap the benefits from both GSM and CIM to make eavesdropper suffer great mixture. Furthermore, the detection scheme and theoretical analysis of error performance are discussed as well. The simulation results exhibit that the bit error rate (BER) performance of legitimate user is much better than that of the eavesdropper while the proposed scheme improves the security compared to the original CIM-SDM system at the same spectral efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the confidentiality of a hybrid radio frequency (RF)/free-space optical (FSO) system with regard to physical layer security (PLS). In this system, signals are transmitted between the source and destination using RF and FSO links, with the destination employing the maximal-ratio combining (MRC) scheme. A non-cooperative target (NCT) is assumed to have eavesdropping capabilities for RF and FSO signals in both collusion and non-collusion strategies. The Nakagami-m distribution models fading RF links, while FSO links are characterized by the Málaga ( M ) distribution. Exact closed-form expressions for the system's secrecy outage probability (SOP) and effective secrecy throughput (EST) are derived based on the generalized Meijer G-function with two variables. Asymptotic expressions for the SOP are also obtained under high-signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regimes. These conclusions are validated through Monte Carlo simulations. The superiority of the hybrid RF/FSO system in improving the communication security of a single link is confirmed in its comparison with conventional means of RF communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article centers around the privacy‐preserving‐based secure H∞$$ {H}_{\infty } $$ filtering issue for interval type‐2 (IT‐2) fuzzy networked systems with false data injection (FDI) attacks. In order to achieve the goal of privacy preserving and significantly enhancing system security against potential eavesdropping threats, a novel encryption‐decryption mechanism (EDM) is adopted to safeguard the safety of signals across the network. The mechanism encrypts the transmitted signal by introducing artificial noise, secret key, and utilizing randomly selected nodes. This ensures that the actual transmitted data remains invisible to eavesdroppers while minimally the impact on the estimated performance of the proposed EDM. Given the network communication resources are becoming constrained due to the ever‐increasing network traffic, an adaptive event‐triggered mechanism (AETM) is employed to ease network congestion by an adaptively adjustable threshold. Then, various sufficient conditions have been outlined to ensure that the filtering error system meets the prescribed disturbance attenuation level. In the end, a numerical example is presented to evaluate both the precision and effectiveness of the developed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbivory is a major threat to virtually all plants, so adaptations to avoid herbivory will generally be selected. One potential adaptation is the ability to 'listen in' on the volatile cues emitted by plants that are experiencing herbivory and to then respond by ramping up defences. The nature of these volatile cues is poorly understood. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) plants that were exposed to cues of experimentally damaged neighbours experienced less herbivory; this induction was most effective if emitter and receiver plants had similar volatile emission profiles, termed chemotypes. Previously, we observed that sagebrush populations that were in locations with high herbivory exhibited little diversity of volatiles compared to populations with low herbivory. Several hypotheses could produce this correlation. High risk of herbivory could have selected for individuals that converged on a common 'alarm cue' that all individuals would respond to. In this case, individuals of locally rare chemotypes that were less able to eavesdrop would experience more damage than common chemotypes when herbivores were abundant. Alternatively, low chemotypic diversity could allow higher levels of damage to plants. In this case, rare chemotypes would experience less damage than common chemotypes. We examined the chemotypes of sagebrush individuals from multiple sites and found that rare chemotypes experienced more damage than common chemotypes when herbivores were abundant. This pattern was seen among sites and among years with different densities of herbivores. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that herbivory selects for individuals that are effective communicators and shapes the communication system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two novel bio-inspired particle swarm optimisation (PSO) variants, namely biased eavesdropping PSO (BEPSO) and altruistic heterogeneous PSO (AHPSO). These algorithms are inspired by types of group behaviour found in nature that have not previously been exploited in search algorithms. The primary search behaviour of the BEPSO algorithm is inspired by eavesdropping behaviour observed in nature coupled with a cognitive bias mechanism that enables particles to make decisions on cooperation. The second algorithm, AHPSO, conceptualises particles in the swarm as energy-driven agents with bio-inspired altruistic behaviour, which allows for the formation of lending–borrowing relationships. The mechanisms underlying these algorithms provide new approaches to maintaining swarm diversity, which contributes to the prevention of premature convergence. The new algorithms were tested on the 30, 50 and 100-dimensional CEC'13, CEC'14 and CEC'17 test suites and various constrained real-world optimisation problems, as well as against 13 well-known PSO variants, the CEC competition winner, differential evolution algorithm L-SHADE and the recent bio-inspired I-CPA metaheuristic. The experimental results show that both the BEPSO and AHPSO algorithms provide very competitive performance on the unconstrained test suites and the constrained real-world problems. On the CEC13 test suite, across all dimensions, both BEPSO and AHPSO performed statistically significantly better than 10 of the 15 comparator algorithms, while none of the remaining 5 algorithms performed significantly better than either BEPSO or AHPSO. On the CEC17 test suite, on the 50D and 100D problems, both BEPSO and AHPSO performed statistically significantly better than 11 of the 15 comparator algorithms, while none of the remaining 4 algorithms performed significantly better than either BEPSO or AHPSO. On the constrained problem set, in terms of mean rank across 30 runs on all problems, BEPSO was first, and AHPSO was third. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of wireless mobile networks into both the daily lives of individuals as well as into the widely developing market of connected devices, communication is an increasingly attractive target for attackers. As the complexity of mobile cellular systems grows and the respective countermeasures are implemented to secure data transmissions, the attacks have become increasingly sophisticated on the one hand, but at the same time the system complexity can open up expanded opportunities for security and privacy breaches. After an in-depth summary of possible entry points to attacks to mobile networks, this paper first briefly reviews the basic principles of the physical layer implementation of 4G/5G systems, then gives an overview of possible attacks from a physical layer perspective. It also provides an overview of the software frameworks and hardware tool-software defined radios currently in use for experimenting with 4G/5G mobile networks, and it discusses their basic capabilities. In the final part, the paper summarizes the currently most promising families of techniques to detect illegitimate base stations—the machine-learning-based, localization-based, and behavior-based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alarm signals have evolved to communicate imminent threats to conspecifics but animals may also perceive other species' alarm displays to obtain adaptive information. In birds, mixed‐species foraging flocks are often structured around a focal sentinel species, which produces reliable alarm calls that inform eavesdropping non‐sentinel heterospecifics about predation risk. Ongoing work has revealed that several species can recognize the alarm calls of certain sentinel species even without prior encounters, including when these are from distant biogeographic regions. Similar work has yet to examine whether naive subjects' responses to unfamiliar sentinel alarm calls differ from responses to non‐sentinel alarm calls. Here we played the alarm calls of three subtropical Asian bird species that participate in mixed species flocks, to temperate North American birds. Birds responded most to the alarm call of an allopatric core sentinel and a local sympatric sentinel control species, less so to an allopatric non‐core sentinel, and least so to an allopatric non‐sentinel and a negative control stimulus. These patterns provide evidence that broad phylogenetic and geographic recognition is a pertinent aspect of sentinel alarm calls in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, the prevalent environment is the Internet of things (IoT) since it can connect a large number of different gadgets in an increasingly wide range, and lead to the risk of information leakage. In addition, the field of cryptocurrency is a hot topic with many sophisticated thefts, so the progressive utilization of crypto-wallets should protect transactions from eavesdropping. Clearly, IoT could be a promising and challenging environment for quick and secure cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, there have been several works on user authentication schemes in this environment, and they were built from highly reliable formal analysis. However, we discovered that they have several limitations, such as replays and privileged insider attacks. In this paper, we propose an enhanced version an execution time of approximately 10 milliseconds and a communication cost of 448 bytes in the authentication phase. Furthermore, only 128 bytes of user storage is suitable for IoT crypto-wallet applications. Additionally, the security of our solution is guaranteed with formal models and popular simulation tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) offers a revolutionary approach to secure communication, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics to generate and distribute cryptographic keys that are immune to eavesdropping. As QKD systems become more widely adopted, the need for robust monitoring and management solutions has become increasingly crucial. The Cerberis3 QKD system from ID Quantique addresses this challenge by providing a comprehensive monitoring and visualization platform. The system's advanced features, including central configuration, SNMP integration, and the graphical visualization of key performance metrics, enable network administrators to ensure their QKD infrastructure's reliable and secure operation. Monitoring critical parameters such as Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER), secret key rate, and link visibility is essential for maintaining the integrity of the quantum channel and optimizing the system's performance. The Cerberis3 system's ability to interface with encryption vendors and support complex network topologies further enhances its versatility and integration capabilities. By addressing the unique challenges of quantum monitoring, the Cerberis3 system empowers organizations to leverage the power of QKD technology, ensuring the security of their data in the face of emerging quantum computing threats. This article explores the Cerberus3 system's features and its role in overcoming the monitoring challenges inherent to QKD deployments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mobility and connective capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more and more important in defense, commercial, and research domains. However, their open communication makes UAVs susceptible to undesirable passive attacks such as eavesdropping or jamming. Recently, the inefficiency of traditional cryptography-based techniques has led to the addition of Physical Layer Security (PLS). This study focuses on the advanced PLS method for passive eavesdropping in UAV-aided vehicular environments, proposing a solution to complement the conventional cryptography approach. Initially, we present a performance analysis of first-order secrecy metrics in 6G-enabled UAV systems, namely hybrid outage probability (HOP) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) over 2 × 2 Nakagami- m channels. Later, we propose a novel technique for mitigating passive eavesdropping, which considers first-order secrecy metrics as an optimization problem and determines their lower and upper bounds. Finally, we conduct an analysis of bounded HOP and SOP using the interactive Nakagami- m channel, considering the multiple-input-multiple-output configuration of the UAV system. The findings indicate that 2 × 2 Nakagami- m is a suitable fading model under constant velocity for trustworthy receivers and eavesdroppers. The results indicate that UAV mobility has some influence on an eavesdropper's intrusion during line-of-sight-enabled communication and can play an important role in improving security against passive eavesdroppers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing embryos have traditionally been viewed as passive agents in the evolution of family conflicts, with maternal substances within the uterus or eggs as main factors modulating later expression of offspring solicitation behaviors. Yet, parent-offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring might also rely on alternative cues to adjust demand in response to prenatal cues of parental capacity for resource provisioning. Here, we show how embryonic experience with vocalizations carried out by parents during nest-relief displays at incubation adaptively shapes avian offspring development, providing lasting benefits to offspring. Genetic siblings prenatally exposed to different levels of parent-parent communication showed differences in epigenetic patterns, adrenocortical responsiveness, development, and food solicitation behavior. The correspondence between prenatal acoustic experience and parental context positively influenced the nutritional status and growth rate of offspring reared by communicative parents. Offspring can thus retain strong control over their own development by gathering prenatal acoustic information about parental generosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real threat to the privacy of a plain document exchanged over insecure channels is content manipulation or eavesdropping by unauthorized parties. To protect a transferred document, the architecture proposed in this paper offers encryption, authentication, and scrambling GAN with shuffle confusion (EAGAN) comprehensively with a relatively rapid execution time average of 2s for each colored document. The EAGAN encrypts and signs the document content at the origin point (sender side) and then decrypts and verifies the cipher document at the receiver side, achieving two verification levels and three levels of confidentiality, reinforced with two keys of chaos and equal document content. Each document has a unique hash value (signature or identity) with a QR code watermark to detect forgery, even when the change is small (even by one bit), without depending on any third party. If case the intermediate encrypted document, the neural network model (Decoder-Key), the cipher document, or the initial values of the Chaos Key are leaked, an unauthorized person won't be able to retrieve the document. As proven by the experiments in this paper, EAGAN has characteristics that make it more resistant to security threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentional electromagnetic interference attacks (e.g., jamming) against wireless connected devices such as the Internet of Things (IoT) remain a serious challenge, especially as such attacks evolve in complexity. Similarly, eavesdropping on wireless communication channels persists as an inherent vulnerability that is often exploited by adversaries. This article investigates a novel approach to enhancing information security for IoT systems via collaborative strategies that can effectively mitigate attacks targeting availability via interference and confidentiality via eavesdropping. We examine the proposed approach for two use cases. First, we consider an IoT device that experiences an interference attack, causing wireless channel outages and hindering access to transmitted IoT data. A physical-layer-based security (PLS) transmission strategy is proposed in this article to maintain target levels of information availability for devices targeted by adversarial interference. In the proposed strategy, select IoT devices leverage a cooperative transmission approach to mitigate the IoT signal outages under active interference attacks. Second, we consider the case of information confidentiality for IoT devices as they communicate over wireless channels with possible eavesdroppers. In this case, we propose a collaborative transmission strategy where IoT devices create a signal outage for the eavesdropper, preventing it from decoding the signal of the targeted devices. The analytical and numerical results of this article illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed transmission strategy in achieving desired IoT security levels with respect to availability and confidentiality for both use cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a novel semi-quantum ring signature protocol (Quantum Inf. Process., 22(9), 337(2023)) was proposed. Although it has the properties of semi-quantum protocol, its verification process will fail when more than two users take part in the signature protocol. We show an example, in which four participants including the trusted third-party Trent are used, to prove the signature cannot be verified. Then, an improved semi-quantum ring signature protocol is proposed. In the new ring signature protocol, Trent generates the shared keys with each ring user. According to the shared keys, Trent encodes the GHZ state such that the identity of the true ring signatory can be traced by Trent. What is more, in our protocol, by measuring the received particles, all the ring users can create the same session key to generate a ring signature, which can guarantee the anonymity of the voter in the protocol. The improved ring signature protocol overcomes the drawback of the old one and can be secure against various eavesdropping attacks and forgery attack. Compared with the similar quantum ring signature protocols, ours has better practicability and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum computers have the potential to break the public-key cryptosystems widely used in key exchange and digital signature applications. To address this issue, quantum key distribution (QKD) offers a robust countermeasure against quantum computer attacks. Among various QKD schemes, BB84 is the most widely used and studied. However, BB84 implementations are inherently imperfect, resulting in quantum bit error rates (QBERs) even in the absence of eavesdroppers. Distinguishing between QBERs caused by eavesdropping and QBERs due to channel imperfections is fundamentally infeasible. In this context, this paper proposes and examines a practical method for detecting eavesdropping via partial intercept-and-resend attacks in the BB84 protocol. A key feature of the proposed method is its consideration of quantum system noise. The efficacy of this method is assessed by employing the Quantum Solver library in conjunction with backend simulators inspired by real quantum machines that model quantum system noise. The simulation outcomes demonstrate the method's capacity to accurately estimate the eavesdropper's interception density in the presence of system noise. Moreover, the results indicate that the estimation accuracy of the eavesdropper's interception density in the presence of system noise is dependent on both the actual interception density value and the key length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega events attract mega crowds, and many data exchange transactions are involved among organizers, stakeholders, and individuals, which increase the risk of covert eavesdropping. Data hiding is essential for safeguarding the security, confidentiality, and integrity of information during mega events. It plays a vital role in reducing cyber risks and ensuring the seamless execution of these extensive gatherings. In this paper, a steganographic approach suitable for mega events communication is proposed. The proposed method utilizes the characteristics of Arabic letters and invisible Unicode characters to hide secret data, where each Arabic letter can hide two secret bits. The secret messages hidden using the proposed technique can be exchanged via emails, text messages, and social media, as these are the main communication channels in mega events. The proposed technique demonstrated notable performance with a high-capacity ratio averaging 178% and a perfect imperceptibility ratio of 100%, outperforming most of the previous work. In addition, it proves a performance of security comparable to previous approaches, with an average ratio of 72%. Furthermore, it is better in robustness than all related work, with a robustness against 70% of the possible attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls is common in nature, and successful eavesdropping on heterospecific call information can provide benefits to animal survival. Previous studies have shown that free-ranging flocks of domestic chickens can respond to avian heterospecific alarm calls. However, there are limited studies on whether solitary active domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), especially hens with chicks eavesdrop on heterospecific alarm calls to detect different types of predators and adjust their response depending on whether the predators are a threat to themselves or their young. In the present study, we evaluated the behavioral responses of hens with chick activity to two alarm calls (test playback) and territorial calls (control playback) of wild Japanese tits (Parus minor). The results showed that hens were more vigilant toward the alarm calls than territorial calls and that anti-predator behavior differed significantly between the two alarm calls as predicted: they engage in self-preservation behaviors when the call informs about aerial predators, and in protective behaviors of their chicks when the calls inform about ground predators. In the later case, the number of chicks also has an impact on the behavior of hens (dilution effect). This suggests that hens can eavesdrop on the alarm call of Japanese tits, identify predator information in the alarm call, and adjust the anti-predation strategy based on the type of alarm and the number of chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantum conference key agreement (QCKA) protocol based on differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution is presented, which provides a common secret key for secure communication between more than two parties. In the proposed protocol, one party simultaneously broadcasts a weak coherent pulse train with {0, π} phases to multiple parties that measure the phase differences between adjacent pulses using a delay interferometer followed by photon detectors, and the transmitter and receivers share secret key bits from the coincident counts in the receivers. The system setup and operation are simpler than those of conventional QCKA schemes that use a multipartite quantum entanglement state. The key creation performance is evaluated by considering the eavesdropping probability. The results indicate that the proposed scheme offers better performance than the conventional entanglement-based QCKA system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 5G, users can easily enjoy services by accessing the edge devices (EDs) deployed around the base stations. Generally, due to the uneven distribution and mobility of users, one ED is required to serve multiple users simultaneously, that results in the ED overload, seriously affecting the quality of experience (QoE) of the users. By responding to users' requests, service migration realizes the cross edge device migrations, that dynamically provides services for mobile users, which effectively improves the resource utilization rate of edge servers and the QoE of users. However, during the service migrations, malicious users may deploy pseudo base stations, gateways and other devices to illegally eavesdrop or tamper with user service data, that causes user information loss or disclosure. To prevent these security issues, a fountain-coding based cooperative jamming strategy is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the fountain coding technology is introduced to construct a three-node transmission model, including an original node, a target node and a malicious node, to realize the secure data transmission process in service migration. Besides, a group of relay nodes are employed to carry out cooperative jamming, that deteriorate the illegal eavesdropping quality of malicious nodes on service data. Then secrecy rate and outage probability are utilized to evaluate the security and reliability of the whole service migration. Finally, the theoretical analysis is shown by simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring network security is of utmost importance, especially in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where the confidentiality of data is at risk due to eavesdropping. This paper introduces an artificial‐noise‐aided secure communication scheme for WSNs. This scheme comprises numerous sensor nodes, the sink, a friendly jammer, and an eavesdropper. The primary aim is to enhance the secrecy rate of the network by optimizing the jamming power. The friendly jammer plays a crucial role in degrading the wiretap channel between the sensor nodes and the eavesdropper. The optimization process revolves around maximizing the secrecy rate, while carefully managing the jamming power to prevent any negative impact on the main transmission link between the sink node and the sensor nodes. Due to the nonconvexity of the secrecy rate problem, the convex approximation‐based algorithm is recommened to get a safe convex approximation of the original solution. To address this optimization problem, an iterative algorithm based on quadratic transformation is proposed. Afterwards, the optimum jamming power to achieve high security is obtained. The simulation outcomes underscore the dual impact of the jammer in WSNs. The jammer diminishes the eavesdropper channel. Unfortunately, it introduces interference that consequently affects the security enhancement. In response, we concentrate on the optimization of jamming power. The proposed scheme consistently elevates secrecy rates across a spectrum of eavesdropper positions, adeptly addressing worst‐case scenarios. Notably, the algorithm showcases resilience across diverse node distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is revolutionizing transportation systems by enabling seamless communication and collaboration among vehicles, roadside units (RSUs), and cloud servers. However, the dynamic and diverse nature of IoV environments raises significant concerns regarding security vulnerabilities and operational efficiency. In response to these challenges, this study proposes an innovative approach that integrates collaborative cryptographic techniques with intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS). Our approach leverages advanced encryption methods, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), to ensure secure data transmission, while intelligent reflecting surfaces dynamically adjust their reflective properties to enhance signal propagation and reception. We present a comprehensive network model and algorithmic framework for implementing our proposed strategy, with a specific emphasis on cryptographic protocols and the role of intelligent reflecting surfaces in enhancing both communication security and efficiency. Through theoretical analysis and discussion, we highlight the potential advantages of integrating intelligent reflecting surfaces into secure physical layer (PL), IoV networks, including expanded network coverage, reduced communication overhead, and enhanced energy efficiency. Moreover, we address security threats and vulnerabilities in IoV environments, including potential attacks such as eavesdropping, data tampering, and denial of service. We discuss strategies for mitigating these security risks through the combined use of cryptographic techniques and intelligent reflecting surfaces, thereby bolstering the resilience and robustness of IoV systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs; drones) offer mobile platforms for ecological investigation, but can be impractical in some environments and the resulting noise can disturb wildlife.We developed a mobile alternative using a bird‐borne platform to record the behaviour of other animals in the field. This unit consists of a lightweight audio and video sensor that is carried by a trained Harris's hawk Parabuteo unicinctus.We tested the hypothesis that our bird‐borne platform is a viable option for collecting behavioural data from mobile animals. We recorded acoustic and video data as the hawk flew through a dense group of Brazilian free‐tailed bats Tadarida brasiliensis emerging from a cave, with a test case of investigating how echolocation calls change depending on spatial position in the bat group.The HawkEar platform is an alternative for collecting behavioural data when a mobile platform that is less noisy and restrictive than traditional UAVs is needed. The design and software are open source and can be modified to accommodate additional sensor needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arrival of the nuclear age highlighted the inadequacy of U.S. and allied information networks for transmitting vital messages across the globe. Submarine cables could be cut and radio easily jammed. U.S. and allied officials looked to emerging space technologies to compensate for the inadequacies of radio and submarine cables and to reduce their dependence on terrestrial telecommunications hardware. But satellites were also vulnerable and insufficient for meeting all communications requirements. Consequently, creating layered telecommunications networks that stretched from under the sea, across the land, and into space emerged as the optimal strategy for strengthening information security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new methodology is developed for modeling and analyzing a full-duplex UAV-assisted relay system to facilitate solving the problems of UAV energy constraints and the vulnerability of UAVs to eavesdropping in the air. Combining simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) technology, we model the downlink UAV eavesdropping channel and propose a secure transmission protocol for a full-duplex UAV-assisted relay system. Using this transmission protocol, we analyze and derive the connectivity and security of the entire communication link, including connection probability and lower bounds on secrecy outage probability. A key intermediate step in our analysis is to derive the signal-to-digital noise ratio of the destination and eavesdropping nodes of the full-duplex UAV relay link. The analyses show that the power allocation factor λ is a trade-off between system connectivity and security, while greater eavesdropping interference needs to be sacrificed for an equal magnitude of security performance improvement under high security demand conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change effects are a warning of the planetary crises threatening our collective future. This is a topic largely considered in the context of the environmental crisis, but we are now aware that climate change represents an increasingly alarming threat also in terms of the conservation of cultural heritage sites. Cultural heritage preservation should aim to an active environmental and societal strategy built on a renewed ethics of responsibility on long-term effects. This work provides a review of the current state of the art on the damage functions used for assessing the impacts of climate change on stone heritage surfaces. Within this framework, it introduces new concepts such as (i) the Loss of Details (LoD), in terms of the readability reduction of decorative elements and, subsequently, (ii) the Future Cultural Value (FCV), as the capacity of a cultural heritage to transmit its cultural message in its future appearance. The valorization of the historical legacy is a win–win solution to fix new planning tools and to achieve multiple goals oriented to a sustainable development for future generations. From this point of view, plaster cast galleries and museums play a crucial role in preserving cultural identity since they report a careful documentation of the original artifacts and monuments over the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a practical scenario of multicasting through heterogeneous cellular network has been considered. The macro base station of macro cell transmits confidential information to its intended multicast macro users and multiple eavesdroppers try to decode this information and pico base station of pico cell transmits confidential information to its intended multicast pico users. Authors are interested to develop a mathematical model consists of the closed-form analytical expression for the secrecy multicast capacity (SMC) to protect that confidential information from eavesdropping. The results show that the simultaneous effects of double scatterer and correlation significantly reduce the security in multicasting but these reduction in the security can be compensated by antenna diversity at the multicast users. The results also show the effect of double scatterer on different correlation scenario (Constant Correlation and Jakes Correlation) in terms of the correlation figures of transmit, receive and scatterer correlation matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals join mixed‐species groups to gain benefits such as improved foraging and predator detection. Birds in the family Paridae often drive mixed‐species flocking in North America, and these species can act as community informants for forest‐wide eavesdropping networks. Although we know a great deal about how this communication functions in anti‐predator contexts, less is known about how the vocalizations of members of these flocks may affect the foraging behavior of potential flockmates. In this study, we presented naturally occurring mixed‐species flocks of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches with one of four playback conditions: chickadee‐only calls, nuthatch‐only calls, calls of both species, and a silent control. We hypothesized that the flocks would be most responsive to playbacks that contained calls from more than one species. We also tested an alternative hypothesis that predicted that birds would be most responsive to the nuclear species within the flock (chickadees). We found that birds were more likely to arrive, and arrived more quickly, for the playbacks with calls from both species compared to playbacks of nuthatches alone or the silent control. Playbacks of chickadee calls alone attracted an intermediate number of birds, which did not differ significantly from the mixed‐species flock condition, or the nuthatch call alone condition. Our hypotheses were not supported due to the lack of significant difference between the mixed‐species playbacks and the chickadee playbacks. However, our findings do indicate that different species in these flocks can react differently to the calls of members of these flocks and that future studies may continue to find asymmetries in attraction to these different social signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bee louse Braula spp. had until recently a distribution coincident with its host the honey bee. The adult fly usually attaches to a worker honey bee and steals food from its mouth. However, not all worker bees carry Braula spp. and the mechanism used by Braula spp. to select hosts is not well understood. Using choice remounting bioassays and chemical analyses, we determined host selection and the cues used by B. coeca, a species associated with the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata. Braula coeca successfully remounted bees from which they were initially removed and preferred their mandibular gland pheromones (MDG) over those of bees not carrying them. The bee lice did not show any preference for the cuticular hydrocarbons of both types of workers. Chemical analyses of the MDG extracts, revealed quantitative differences between the two categories of workers, with workers carrying B. coeca having more of the queen substance (9-oxo-2(E)-decenoic acid) and worker substance (10-hydroxy-2(E)-decenoic). Braula coeca showed a dose response to the queen substance, indicating its ability to use host derived kairomones as cues that allowed it to benefit from trophallactic dominance by individuals that have a higher probability of being fed by other workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) face significant challenges in maintaining connectivity and security due to their dynamic and decentralized nature. Passive attacks, such as eavesdropping and traffic analysis, pose a critical threat to MANET. This study proposes a novel algorithm, Radial ResNet, tailored for the classification of passive attacks in MANETs. The algorithm integrates radial basis function networks with residual networks (ResNet) to enhance classification accuracy and efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of Radial ResNet, achieving an average classification accuracy of 95.2% across various passive attack scenarios. Moreover, the algorithm exhibits improved computational efficiency compared to traditional methods, reducing processing overhead by 30%. The proposed approach not only enhances security by accurately identifying passive attacks but also optimizes network performance by mitigating resource-intensive computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamic fashion has expanded considerably in the last five years and it has gained favour from people due to different branding communication strategies. One of the major strategies is commodifying Islamic teachings to make and sell female attire that appeals to Muslim women. To understand this phenomenon, this article examines five Malaysian Muslim women's fashion brands on Instagram, analysing the language and pictures used to represent Muslim women and communicate Islamic values. Using frameworks in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), this article investigates how local Muslim women's fashion brands represent Muslim women and how they use language and pictures to transmit Islamic messages related to Islamic fashion on Instagram. The analysis reveals that Muslim women's fashion brands on Instagram have successfully commodified Islamic principles by communicating them through fashion by portraying Malaysian Muslim women as modern, sophisticated and fashion-savvy individuals. These findings also indicate that local fashion brands have successfully commodified Islamic principles by communicating them through fashion, increasing societal awareness of Islamic practices in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive light-source side channel in quantum key distribution (QKD) provides additional information to an eavesdropper via various non-operational degrees of freedom of the optical signal. The currently known explicit eavesdropping strategies aimed at additional information gain from the passive light-source side channel were limited to the attack on the side channel and the operational degree of freedom separately. As a result, their efficiency is far from being optimal. Here we provide the joint eavesdropping strategy on both operational degree of freedom and the passive light-source side channel of the generic form, and develop a method to calculate the corresponding secret key rate. In particular, we use the optimal phase-covariant cloning of the signal photon state followed by a joint collective measurement of the side channel and the operational degree of freedom. To estimate security under the explicit attack strategy, we develop an "effective error" method and demonstrate it on the BB84 protocol with decoy states. Our work extends the practical analysis of QKD protocols with the light-source side channels and can be used as a tool for the analysis of realistic eavesdropping methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract System state plays an important role in cyber-physical systems (CPSs). Ensuring the security of the CPSs is a key issue that can be widely applied. The confidentiality of system state is a fundamental feature of the CPSs security. This paper studies the distributed fusion estimation problem in the presence of eavesdropper, where local sensors send their estimates to a remote fusion center (FC). To prevent eavesdropping, the event triggered scheduling strategy was adopted on each sensor. Some sufficient conditions on the triggers’ threshold were derived to make the eavesdropping expected covariance unbounded while the expected error covariance for the user remains bounded. Moreover, the distributed confidentiality fusion estimation algorithm is provided to achieve perfect expected secrecy. Finally, simulations of different trigger levels for two local systems are employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Molecular communication (MC) allows implantable devices to communicate using biological data-transmission principles (e.g., molecules as information carriers). However, MC faces significant challenges due to molecular noise, which leads to increased communication errors. Thus, error control techniques become critical for reliable intra-body networks. The noise management and error control in these networks must be based on the characterization of the environment dynamics, i.e., characteristics that increase noise, such as the stochastic behavior of the intercellular channels and the presence of pathologies that affect communication. This work proposes an adaptive error control technique for cell signaling--based MC channels (CELLECs). Using an information-theoretic approach, CELLEC mitigates errors in cellular channels with varying noise conditions. The characteristics of the cellular environment and different noise sources are modeled to evaluate the proposal. The additive white Gaussian tissue noise (AWGTN) produced by stochastic chemical reactions is theorized for healthy cells. The MC model also considers the noise of cells affected by one pathology that disrupts cells' molecular equilibrium and causes them to become reactive (i.e., Alzheimer's disease). Analyses show that reactive cells have a higher signal-to-noise ratio (21.4%) and path loss (33.05%) than healthy cells, highlighting the need for an adaptive technique to deal with cellular environment variability. Results show that CELLEC improves communication channel performance by lowering the bit error rate (18%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In predator–prey interactions, the prey faces extreme challenges from predation, which drives the evolution of defense or anti‐predator mechanisms. Compared with adult birds, nestlings are more vulnerable but not helpless. However, data on whether nestlings eavesdrop on the danger signals transmitted by other prey nestlings and the mechanisms of eavesdropping remain limited. In brood parasitism, common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) nestlings, raised by host adults who are not closely related, offer an instructive system for studying the transmission and recognition of danger signals among nestlings of different species that share special relationships. We played back the distress calls of common cuckoo nestlings to nestlings of three sympatric host species (the oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis, which is a primary host of the common cuckoo, the reed parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei, an occasional host, and the vinous‐throated parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana, which is not parasitized in the study area) to investigate whether the host nestlings reduced their begging behavior. We also quantified the degree of inhibition toward begging behavior for these nestlings. The results revealed that, in response to the distress calls, the three sympatric host species markedly suppressed their begging behavior. This response can likely be attributed to the innate response of host nestlings caused by the general characteristics of distress calls, rather than the acoustic similarity and phylogenetic relationship between host nestlings and cuckoo nestlings. Furthermore, we observed that upon hearing the distress calls of cuckoo nestlings, the oriental reed warbler nestlings exhibited the greatest reduction in the total number of calls compared to the other two host species, potentially owing to stronger predation and parasitic pressures. This study suggests that host nestlings can detect danger signals emitted by parasitic nestlings; however, further investigation is needed to determine whether they can respond to distress calls from unfamiliar nestlings in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing recognition of the importance of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, including functional or genetic diversity as well as species diversity, most conservation studies on ecosystem service‐providing insects focus on simple diversity measures such as species richness and abundance. In contrast, relatively little is known about the genetic diversity and resilience of pollinators or natural enemies of crop pests to population fragmentation and local extinction. The genetic diversity and demographic dynamics of remnant populations of beneficial insects in agricultural areas can be a useful indicator proving additional insights into their conservation status, but this is rarely evaluated. Although gene flow between agricultural and seminatural areas is key to maintaining genetic diversity, its extent and directionality remain largely unexplored. Here, we apply a pan‐European sampling protocol to quantify genetic diversity and structure and assess gene flow between agricultural and nearby seminatural landscapes in populations of two key ecosystem service‐providing insect species, the lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata, an important predator of aphids and other crop pests, and the bee pollinator Andrena flavipes. We show that A. flavipes populations are genetically structured at the European level, whereas populations of C. septempunctata experience widespread gene flow across the continent and lack any defined genetic structure. In both species, we found that there is high genetic connectivity between populations established in croplands and nearby seminatural areas and, as a consequence, they harbor similar levels of genetic diversity. Interestingly, demographic models for some regions support asymmetric gene flow from seminatural areas to nearby agricultural landscapes. Collectively, our study demonstrates how seminatural areas can serve as genetic reservoirs of both pollinators and natural enemies for nearby agricultural landscapes, acting as sources for recurrent recolonization and, potentially, contributing to enhancing ecosystem service and crop production resilience in the longer term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an entangled state controlled semi-quantum secret sharing CSQSS protocol for the first time. In this scheme, with the permission of a trusted classical user, B o b 1 , Alice, as a quantum user, can share a one-bit specific message with n classical users, and the secret can only be recovered by the cooperation of all classical users. Then, the protocol is extended where m-bit specific messages, K (k 1 , k 2 ,... , k m) , can be shared with n classical users. The security of the proposed protocol against common attacks is analysed in detail, which shows that the proposed protocol is theoretically secure. Compared with previous SQSS protocols, the proposed protocol can achieve a lower cost because it does not use returning qubits for producing the secret message, uses fewer returning qubits for eavesdropping check, and does not perform entangled state measurement. Moreover, the proposed protocol has the highest qubit efficiency among the previous SQSS schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text is an excerpt from the book Sur écoute : esthétique de l’espionnage (All Ears: The Aesthetics of Espionage) first published by Éditions de Minuit in 2007. Peter Szendy analyzes the relationship between eavesdropping in politics, eavesdropping in other contexts, and numerous derivative auditory practices resulting from the political and social applications of listening, as well as from the use of auditory prostheses and devices. Szendy simultaneously presents an alternative genealogy of modernity, distinct from the visual one, in which social mechanisms of control as described by Gilles Deleuze progressively replace surveillance techniques as seen in the works of Jeremy Bentham and later Michel Foucault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we consider the privacy‐preserving strategy of the distributed state estimator over wireless sensor networks. Aiming at an eavesdropper who can intercept the data transmitted on the communication channel, we design a simple preserving scheme to encode the transmitted data by using system dynamics and history estimates. To analyze the privacy‐preserving performance, we use the gap between the values deciphered by the eavesdropper and decoded by the sensor as the privacy index to evaluate the degree of robust privacy protection. Finally, we provide some simulations to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed preserving schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

System state plays an important role in cyber-physical systems (CPSs). Ensuring the security of the CPSs is a key issue that can be widely applied. The confidentiality of system state is a fundamental feature of the CPSs security. This paper studies the distributed fusion estimation problem in the presence of eavesdropper, where local sensors send their estimates to a remote fusion center (FC). To prevent eavesdropping, the event triggered scheduling strategy was adopted on each sensor. Some sufficient conditions on the triggers' threshold were derived to make the eavesdropping expected covariance unbounded while the expected error covariance for the user remains bounded. Moreover, the distributed confidentiality fusion estimation algorithm is provided to achieve perfect expected secrecy. Finally, simulations of different trigger levels for two local systems are employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest of media research in ethnic and racial issues, particularly audience studies, began in the 1990s. Since then, a vast conceptual framework, mostly informed by diaspora studies, has been incorporated into this field's research protocols, becoming fundamental to understanding several aspects crossed by transnational processes. With the aim of charting studies from the past decades that have proposed an empirical examination of audiences with a focus on migrant people and groups, this article seeks to understand how these works were developed and what their main characteristics and interests are. This text reports the results of a systematic literature review whose retrieved records comprise articles published in peer-reviewed journals and indexed in the Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO databases up to January 2023. Based on the information extracted from these databases and on the content analysis of the full texts, this review identifies the main characteristics of the included studies, such as publication dates, authors, journals, methodological options, objects, focus and reception approach, regional aspects, and the main references and phenomena analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of reproductive technologies to amphibian conservation breeding programs is gaining momentum and the field is poised to contribute significantly toward amphibian species recovery. We briefly discuss the opportunities for reproductive technologies to enhance conservation breeding outcomes, including their potential to enhance the genetic management, and in turn, the fitness of threatened species. Despite this potential, an important consideration that is not yet well understood is the degree to which specific reproductive technologies might influence (either enhance, or in some instances potentially decrease) individual fitness and lead to shifts in population viability. The development of a standardised approach to monitoring offspring throughout life-stages to detect changes to morphology, behaviour, physiology, survivorship, and developmental trajectories is essential. The primary focus of this review is to provide a 'best-practise' framework for quantifying key fitness determining traits expected to contribute to the fitness of individuals and long-term viability of populations, which will ultimately allow us to progress the field of amphibian reproductive technologies and assess the impact of protocol refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]