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Sustained Internet of Things (IoT) deployment and functioning are heavily reliant on the use of effective data communication protocols. In the IoT landscape, the publish/subscribe-based Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol is popular. Cyber security threats against the MQTT protocol are anticipated to increase at par with its increasing use by IoT manufacturers. In particular, IoT is vulnerable to protocol-based Application layer Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, which have been known to cause widespread service disruption in legacy systems. In this paper, we propose an Application layer DoS attack detection framework for the MQTT protocol and test the scheme on legitimate and protocol compliant DoS attack scenarios. To protect the MQTT message brokers from such attacks, we propose a machine learning-based detection framework developed for the MQTT protocol. Through experiments, we demonstrate the impact of such attacks on various MQTT brokers and evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed framework to detect these malicious attacks. The results obtained indicate that the attackers can overwhelm the server resources even when legitimate access was denied to MQTT brokers and resources have been restricted. In addition, the MQTT features we have identified showed high attack detection accuracy. The field size and length-based features drastically reduced the false-positive rates and are suitable in detecting IoT based attacks.

The production of activated carbon (AC) from biomass holds substantial environmental potential, but its impact varies widely depending on the synthesis methods employed. However, unreliable experimental data results in inconsistent life cycle assessments (LCA), often dependent on generic or highly localized information. Most available data focuses solely on production metrics, neglecting crucial performance-based indicators. This study conducts LCA for a conceptual AC production facility designed to produce 1 kg of AC per batch of coconut shell (CS), particularly examining potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) activation routes. Environmental impacts (EIs) are evaluated using two functional units—mass-based and adsorption-based—and span eighteen metrics, including six key ones: net energy, climate change (CC), ozone depletion, fine particulate matter formation, marine eutrophication, and metal depletion. CC (kg CO₂ eq.) for 1 kg of AC production is 1.255 for KOH and 1.209 for NaOH, while energy requirements (in MJ) are 28.314 for KOH and 27.063 for NaOH. Notably, the pyrolysis step emerges as the most energy-intensive and significant contributor to carbon emissions. Per the adsorption-based unit, the KOH-led pathway shows a higher adsorption capacity of 729 g/kg versus 662 g/kg for NaOH, requiring less AC per kg of dye adsorbed. Consequently, the KOH pathway achieves 5% greater energy efficiency and 6% lower carbon emissions than the NaOH pathway. Synthesized ACs outperform commercial AC in all metrics, especially in energy use and carbon emissions. The study proposes improvements, such as alternative drying methods, to mitigate EIs and emphasizes the need to consider both production efficiency and functional performance to guide sustainable AC production and application.

Drones are increasingly adopted to serve a smart city through their ability to render quick and adaptive services. They are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and are deployed to conduct area surveillance, monitor road networks for traffic, deliver goods and observe environmental phenomena. Cyber threats posed through compromised drones contribute to sabotage in a smart city’s airspace, can prove to be catastrophic to its operations, and can also cause fatalities. In this contribution, we propose a machine learning-based approach for detecting hijacking, GPS signal jamming and denial of service (DoS) attacks that can be carried out against a drone. A detailed machine learning-based classification of drone datasets for the DJI Phantom 4 model, compromising both normal and malicious signatures, is conducted, and results obtained yield advisory to foster futuristic opportunities to safeguard a drone system against such cyber threats.

Bluetooth technology started off as a wireless, short-range cable replacement technology but it has undergone significant developments over the last two decades. Bluetooth radios are currently embedded in almost all computing devices including personal computers, smart phones, smart watches, and even micro-controllers. For many of us, Bluetooth is an essential technology that we use every day. We provide an insight into the history of Bluetooth and its significant design developments over the last 25 years. We also discuss related issues (including security) and Bluetooth as a driving technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). Finally, we also present recent research results obtained with Bluetooth technology in various application areas.

Plastic waste is an underutilized resource that has the potential to be transformed into value-added materials. However, its chemical diversity leads to cost-intensive sorting techniques, limiting recycling and upcycling opportunities. Herein, we report an open-loop recycling method to produce graded feedstock from mixed polyolefins waste, which makes up 60% of total plastic waste. The method uses heat flow scanning to quantify the composition of plastic waste and resolves its compatibility through controlled dissolution. The resulting feedstock is then used to synthesize blended pellets, porous sorbents, and superhydrophobic coatings via thermally induced phase separation and spin-casting. The hybrid approach broadens the opportunities for reusing plastic waste, which is a step towards creating a more circular economy and better waste management practices. [Display omitted] •Plastic waste valorization to high quality materials.•Mixed polyolefins waste as feedstock.•Superhydrophobic coatings and porous sorbents prepared via thermally induced phase separation and spin-casting.

HTTP/2 is the second major version of the HTTP protocol published by the internet engineering steering group. The protocol is designed to improve reliability and performance Such enhancements have thus delineated the protocol as being more vulnerable to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks when compared to its predecessor. Recent phenomenon showed that legitimate traffic or flash crowds could have high-traffic flow characteristics as seen in DDoS attacks. In this paper, we demonstrate that legitimate HTTP/2 flash crowd traffic can be launched to cause denial of service. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has been conducted to analyse the effect of both DDoS as well as flash crowd traffic against HTTP/2 services. Results obtained prove the effect of such attacks when tested under four varying protocol-dependant attack scenarios.

Sorbent pads and films have been commonly used for environmental remediation purposes, but designing their internal structure to optimize access to the entire volume while ensuring cost-effectiveness, ease of fabrication, sufficient strength, and reusability remains challenging. Herein, we report a trimodal sorbent film from recycled polypropylene (PP) with micropores, macro-voids, and sponge-like 3D cavities, developed through selective dissolution, thermally induced phase separation, and annealing. The sorbent has hundreds of cavities per cm 2 that are capable of swelling up to twenty-five times its thickness, allowing for super-fast saturation kinetics (within 30 s) and maximum oil sorption (97 g/g). The sorption mechanism follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the sorbent is easily compressible, and its structure is retained during oil sorption, desorption, and resorption, resulting in 96.5% reuse efficiency. The oil recovery process involves manually squeezing the film, making the cleanup process efficient with no chemical treatment required. The sorbent film possesses high porosity for effective sorption with sufficient tensile strength for practical applications. Our integrated technique results in a strengthened porous polymeric structure that can be tailored according to end-use applications. This study provides a sustainable solution for waste management that offers versatility in its functionality.

We propose a novel area/time efficient elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) processor architecture which performs all finite field arithmetic operations in the discrete Fourier domain. The proposed architecture utilizes a class of optimal extension fields (OEF) GF ( q m ) where the field characteristic is a Mersenne prime q = 2 n - 1 and m = n . The main advantage of our architecture is that it achieves extension field modular multiplication in the discrete Fourier domain with only a linear number of base field GF ( q ) multiplications in addition to a quadratic number of simpler operations such as addition and bitwise rotation. We achieve an area between 25k and 50k equivalent gates for the implementations over OEFs of size 169, 289 and 361 bits. With its low area and high speed, the proposed architecture is well suited for ECC in small device environments such as sensor networks. The work at hand presents the first hardware implementation of a frequency domain multiplier suitable for ECC and the first hardware implementation of ECC in the frequency domain. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The use of Polypropylene PP in disposable items such as face masks, gloves, and personal protective equipment has increased exponentially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing significantly to microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment. Upcycling of waste PP provides a useful alternative to traditional thermal and mechanical recycling techniques. It transforms waste PP into useful products, minimizing its impact on the environment. Herein, we synthesized an oil-sorbent pouch using waste PP, which comprises superposed microporous and fibrous thin films of PP using spin coating. The pouch exhibited super-fast uptake kinetics and reached its saturation in fewer than five minutes with a high oil uptake value of 85 g/g. Moreover, it displayed high reusability and was found to be effective in absorbing oil up to seven times when mechanically squeezed between each cycle, demonstrating robust oil-sorption capabilities. This approach offers a potential solution for managing plastic waste while promoting a circular economy.