Sabih Ur Rehman

Jonathan Cook, Sabih ur Rehman, M. Arif Khan

SIMON and SPECK were among the first efficient encryption algorithms introduced for resource-constrained applications. SIMON is suitable for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and has rapidly attracted the attention of the research community to understand its structure and analyse its security. To analyse the security of an encryption algorithm, researchers often employ cryptanalysis techniques. However, cryptanalysis is a resource and time-intensive task. To improve cryptanalysis efficiency, state-of-the-art research has proposed implementing heuristic search and sampling methods. Despite recent advances, the cryptanalysis of the SIMON cypher remains inefficient. Contributing factors are the large size of the difference distribution tables utilised in cryptanalysis and the scarcity of differentials with a high transition probability. To address these limitations, we introduce an analysis of differential properties of the SIMON32 cypher, revealing differential characteristics that pave the way for future efficiency enhancements. Our analysis has further increased the number of targeted rounds by identifying high probability differentials within a partial difference distribution table of the SIMON cypher, exceeding existing state-of-the-art benchmarks. The code designed for this work is available at https://github.com/johncook1979/simon32-analysis.

Hadi Eskandari, Michael Bewong, Sabih ur Rehman

An ever-growing number of vulnerabilities are reported every day. Yet these vulnerabilities are not all the same; Some are more targeted than others. Correctly estimating the likelihood of a vulnerability being exploited is a critical task for system administrators. This aids the system administrators in prioritizing and patching the right vulnerabilities. Our work makes use of outlier detection techniques to predict vulnerabilities that are likely to be exploited in highly imbalanced and high-dimensional datasets such as the National Vulnerability Database. We propose a dimensionality reduction technique, OutCenTR, that enhances the baseline outlier detection models. We further demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of OutCenTR empirically with 4 benchmark and 12 synthetic datasets. The results of our experiments show on average a 5-fold improvement of F1 score in comparison with state-of-the-art dimensionality reduction techniques such as PCA and GRP.

Samrah Arif, Muhammad Arif Khan, Sabih Ur Rehman

In the rapidly growing development of the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, achieving reliable wireless communication is a challenge. IoT devices operate in diverse environments with common signal interference and fluctuating channel conditions. Accurate channel estimation helps adapt the transmission strategies to current conditions, ensuring reliable communication. Traditional methods, such as Least Squares (LS) and Minimum Mean Squared Error (MMSE) estimation techniques, often struggle to adapt to the diverse and complex environments typical of IoT networks. This research article delves into the potential of Deep Learning (DL) to enhance channel estimation, focusing on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) metric - a critical yet challenging aspect due to its susceptibility to noise and environmental factors. This paper presents two Fully Connected Neural Networks (FCNNs)-based Low Power (LP-IoT) channel estimation models, leveraging RSSI for accurate channel estimation in LP-IoT communication. Our Model A exhibits a remarkable 99.02% reduction in Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Model B demonstrates a notable 90.03% MSE reduction compared to the benchmarks set by current studies. Additionally, the comparative studies of our model A with other DL-based techniques show significant efficiency in our estimation models.

Samrah Arif, M. Arif Khan, Sabih Ur Rehman

In the expanding field of the Internet of Things (IoT), wireless channel estimation is a significant challenge. This is specifically true for low-power IoT (LP-IoT) communication, where efficiency and accuracy are extremely important. This research establishes two distinct LP-IoT wireless channel estimation models using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN): a Feature-based ANN model and a Sequence-based ANN model. Both models have been constructed to enhance LP-IoT communication by lowering the estimation error in the LP-IoT wireless channel. The Feature-based model aims to capture complex patterns of measured Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) data using environmental characteristics. The Sequence-based approach utilises predetermined categorisation techniques to estimate the RSSI sequence of specifically selected environment characteristics. The findings demonstrate that our suggested approaches attain remarkable precision in channel estimation, with an improvement in MSE of $88.29\%$ of the Feature-based model and $97.46\%$ of the Sequence-based model over existing research. Additionally, the comparative analysis of these techniques with traditional and other Deep Learning (DL)-based techniques also highlights the superior performance of our developed models and their potential in real-world IoT applications.

Jared Newell, Quazi Mamun, Sabih ur Rehman et al.

Precision, validity, reliability, timeliness, availability, and granularity are the desired characteristics for data and information systems. However due to the desired trait of data mutability, information systems have inherently lacked the ability to enforce data integrity without governance. A resolution to this challenge has emerged in the shape of blockchain architecture, which ensures immutability of stored information, whilst remaining in an online state. Blockchain technology achieves this through the serial attachment of set-sized parcels of data called blocks. Links (liken to a chain) between these blocks are implemented using a cryptographic seal created using mathematical functions on the data inside the blocks. Practical implementations of blockchain vary by different components, concepts, and terminologies. Researchers proposed various architectural models using different layers to implement blockchain technologies. In this paper, we investigated those layered architectures for different use cases. We identified essential layers and components for a generalised blockchain architecture. We present a novel three-tiered storage model for the purpose of logically defining and categorising blockchain as a storage technology. We envision that this generalised model will be used as a guide when referencing and building any blockchain storage solution.