New Publications are available for Legal aspects of computing
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New Publications are available now online for this publication.
Please follow the links to view the publication.Advanced video camera identification using conditional probability features
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp.2012.0426
Today, the misuse of digital data especially images and videos become crucial with the existence of sophisticated high-tech equipment and it is available at relatively low cost. Illegal recording of movie in cinema has caused losses of millions of dollars a year. Law enforcement agencies are keen to find ways to counter illegal video recording. Current research into camera identification techniques is attracting a significant amount of attention. The main objective is to identify the camera equipment used to record digital image or video based on the data source obtained. In this paper, we propose a video camera identification technique based on the Conditional Probability (CP) Features. Specifically we focus on its performance for identification of video sources using cameras of different models. In our experiments, we demonstrate that the CP Features are able to correctly match the test video frames with their source with classification accuracy is approximately 97.2%. These findings provide a good indication that CP Features are suitable for digital video forensics. (5 pages)Digital image ownership verification based on spatial correlation of colors
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp.2012.0448
In this paper, a spatial domain digital image copyright protection scheme based on Visual Cryptography (VC) and Spatial Correlation of Colors (SCC) is proposed. A binary feature matrix, extracted from the spatial correlation of host image, is used to split the watermark into two noisy binary images called shares. One of them is generated during watermark embedding phase and is registered with a trusted third party. The other is extracted during watermark extraction phase. Both these shares are combined to recover hidden watermark. When compared to the related works, the proposed scheme reduces the probability of false positives; reduces the size of shares and improves the quality of extracted watermark. Experimental results prove that the scheme is also robust to wide range of attacks. (5 pages)Legal, ethical and socio-economic aspects of community telecare
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic.2011.0023
Legal, ethical and socio-economic factors in community telecare differ from those pertaining to telemedicine and are examined with reference to older persons' care. Issues discussed include equipment liability, service malpractice, technical and service standards, consent (including the Mental Capacity Act), research, trials, human factors, dependence, privacy, security, accessibility, quality, affordability, social inequalities and community factors. (6 pages)Design and implementation of a context and role-based access control model for digital content
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp.2010.0570
Due to the popularity of the Internet and the trend in digital information, large amounts of information can be transmitted quickly around the world. Because of this, intellectual property rights have become an issue. Some valuable or confidential information might be obtained by unauthorized users from the Internet and, consequently, providing an effective protection mechanism for digital content management has become an important issue. Therefore, the research adopted a context and role-based access control mechanism, and combined usage rules and protection mechanisms to propose a novel access control model for digital content. The proposed model not only takes into account the digital content provider's copyright but also considers users' flexibility. The proposed model was found to be effective and practical for digital content access control. In the study, a prototype was implemented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.A novel technique of steganography and watermarking
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic.2009.0139
Given the shear volume of data stored and transmitted electronically in the world today, it is no surprise that countless methods of protecting such data have evolved. Our paper is part of information technology field called the information hiding. It is mainly divided into two parts: steganography and watermarking. Steganography is the art and science of hiding information so that it does not even appear to exist. Steganography is used not to encipher the information, but to hide the occurrence of communication in some sort of communication medium called stego-object. The secret information is called an embedded data. As an example we may consider images on the Internet, spam messages etc. Watermarking as the name suggests is a technique which allows an individual to add hidden copyright or other verification messages to digital audio, video, or image signals and documents. Such a message is a group of bits describing information pertaining to the signal or to the author of the signal (name, place, etc.). The technique takes its name from watermarking of paper or money as a security measure. Digital watermarking can be a form of steganography, in which data is hidden in the message without the end user's knowledge. (7 pages)A developing MCC and systems integration framework for AMP5
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20080134
The article consists of a Powerpoint presentation on developing MCC and systems integration framework for AMP5. The areas discussed include: water industry; procurement/supply chain; maintenance; MCC and systems integration framework; EU rules; standardisation initiatives; 4D model; MCC pricing database; Internet; project management; remote programming access; etc. (12 pages)Research and implement of digital rights management system based on the smart card
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20080818
The digital content distribution businesses satisfy people's requirements for the rich and colorful digital content and also promote the user experience. These businesses also make an increasing profit for content makers, content providers and network carrier, and will be a critical position in the future business value chain. However, copyright piracy still doesn't solve very well and results in great loss for content providers. The digital content has the characteristics of easy copy and distribution, therefore, digital rights management has been the key technology to protect intellectual property of digital contents, control their dissemination and usage in digital content Web issue. First, synthetically analyze the disadvantages of typical digital rights management framework. Second, given a series of the problems in the modern system, digital rights management system based on smart card is proposed. Making use of the characteristic of smart card itself, the new framework will be mobile, secure and off-line. Following this, a set of digital management protocols are designed, including license acquisition protocol, usage, update protocol and authentication. The new system's framework, module structure, system design and realization are described. At last, the new system's characteristic is analyzed and is proved to be secure and efficiency.Cost implications and interoperability of processor IP for automotive and mobile applications
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic.2008.0765
This presentation deals with cost implications and interoperability of processor IP for automotive and mobile applications. (18 pages)Evolution of patents and the software patent debate
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20060235
The author has spoken on the issue of software patents at many international legal conferences but he intends to give a perspective on the evolution of patents and the economic importance of software patents. The key feature of the talk is: (1) technology endures and so must the systems which protect technological innovation, (2) proving the economic case for software patents, (3) businesses, and in particular innovative UK companies, must engage the intellectual property system much more enthusiastically.The requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20060318
In this paper Data Protection Act of 1998 and its directives are presented. The presentation includes the requirements, definition, descriptions and boundaries of the legislation.Culture media and sport committee inquiry: new media and the creative industries
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20060334
The National Consumer Council welcomes the opportunity to give evidence to the Culture Media and Sport Committee's inquiry into new media and the creative industries. Digital technology is having a major impact on our lives; it has changed how we find and use consumer information, as a service, and as a product, and it has radically changed distribution models in many sectors. The current copyright regime, which was designed for the analogue world, has proved unfit for the challenges of the digital revolution. There are now major tensions between IP rights holders, particularly music companies, and consumers. New approaches are needed. Our approach to intellectual property is to achieve a balanced regime that recognises both the interests of creators and the interests of consumers. We do not believe that this balance is being achieved. The legitimate interests of consumers have been eroded by the strident articulation (and advancement) of the interests of intellectual property rights holders.The legal risk and benefits of deploying DRM
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20060332
In this paper, the benefits of a technical solution and the legal risk of deploying the digital rights management (DRM) are discussed. If properly managed, DRM benefits can outweighs the legal risk.Software estimation - an introduction
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20060577
In many cases a successful project is one that meets a time and cost target that has been estimated by someone somewhere. The quality of this estimate will set the underlying probability of successfully completing the project. This presentation will discuss the basic factors that effect software estimation, and aims to show the benefits of formalising the estimation process to increase the understanding of key decisions that form the basis of an estimate. It will introduce the critical factors that ensure that we base our projects on information and assumptions that are clearly defined; easily understood and credible. It will also introduce the basic laws that govern software development, and the effect on project schedule.Safeguards in a world of ambient intelligence
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20060702
Intelligent devices embedded everywhere and interconnected with always-on capability enable new services and applications to emerge but also greatly magnify the risk of abuse of the exchanged data. This article presents the need to develop safeguards in order to protect valuable assets if society at large is to benefit from AmI. Since the challenge lies in identifying safeguards for threats and vulnerabilities that are yet to be defined, the dark scenarios developed by the SWAMI project (safeguards in a world of ambient intelligence), can be presented as a tool to help illustrate risks that need to be mediated if AmI is to be a future success story and against which safeguards need to be drawn. (5 pages)Legal aspects in AmI space
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20060701
Intelligent environments may or may not change law as we know it. It all is a matter of perspective: are intelligent environments to be perceived as abstract, visionary notions that perhaps assist the creation of new products or even conditions, but which shall ultimately be incorporated in the known, real-world reality? Or do they themselves constitute a reality, in which human beings shall unavoidably live? If intelligent environments are perceived as the successors of the information society, they could ultimately challenge legal concepts and axioms upon which the legal science has been built for the last 2.000 years: notions at the hard core of law (individual, ownership, action, accountability, etc.) may substantially change in AmI spaces. Nevertheless, it is claimed that it is not the law's mission to guide in visionary quests, but rather to settle conflicting interests when these do begin to be noted. Intelligent environments do not yet seem to be in the position to provide the law with adequate incentive to act. Until a social need indeed emerges, intelligent environments should be left alone in order to grow, observing however three basic development-assisting principles: definitional clarity, guaranteed level of protection, and retrospective compatibility. (4 pages)Functional safety in complex E/E/PE safety-related systems
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20040526
Component based COTS and SOUP development is of major practical significance to both the developer and safety regulator. It is argued that developing major safety applications software from scratch without software reuse is impractical in many cases. The key issue is whether COTS and SOUP can be used in safety applications to meet the functional safety requirements set for the safety functions to be implemented. Of key concern is the degree of safety integrity that can be claimed for the COTS and SOUP. If we are to be faced with COTS and SOUP applications then awareness of the technical and legal issues is essential. (11 pages)Introduction to intellectual property
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030285
In this paper the author explains the more common forms of intellectual property, including patents, designs, copyright database rights, trademark rights and confidential information. (9 pages)Choosing the right exploitation vehicle
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030288
A model for analysing exploitation issues and determining how best to exploit intellectual property rights in various circumstances has been developed. An explanation on how to use this model to select the best exploitation route, whilst considering the resources and capabilities needed to bring a technology to market is given. (10 pages)Saving money with intellectual property
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030287
This section discusses the tactics that may be adopted in order to maximise the value of intellectual property. Registered intellectual property rights such as patents, designs and trademarks can be expensive. What should be protected? When should it be protected? Why should it be protected? Intellectual property can be exploited in a number of different ways. A licence is just one means of exploiting the intellectual property. When might another form of exploitation model, such as a joint venture, distributor agreement, agency or partnership be appropriate? What is a European economic interest grouping? When are they used? A brief overview of these legal entities and forms of agreement, their distinction and use is described. (5 pages)Knowing the risks: pre and post event insurance
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030290
Ian Lewis from Miller discusses the availability of insurance for litigation in intellectual property disputes. Insurance can be obtained before any claim arises, as with a classical insurance policy. However, it is sometimes possible to obtain litigation insurance after an intellectual property dispute has arisen, as Ian explains. (6 pages)Preparing for and avoiding litigation
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030289
The author discusses what can be done to avoid litigation and minimise the cost, if litigation seems inevitable. Having a good legal case is only a small part of winning a litigation case. He discusses what tactics can be employed to maximise the chances of winning litigation. He also explores alternative methods of resolving disputes, such as mediation, arbitration and expert determination. (11 pages)European competition law and licensing agreements. Commentary on the new regulation
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_20030286
The author discusses the rules which govern the way in which intellectual property can be dealt with. The state gives away monopolies in the form of intellectual property rights. However, the state also controls the way in which those monopolies can be used, primarily through law known as competition law. The author also discusses the interaction between the two and the impact of European and United Kingdom competition law on the exercise of intellectual property rights. (19 pages)Maximising usability and minimising liability - the RESPONSE project
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20010490
As more complex Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) are developed by the automotive industry, ranging from simple warning systems to those that completely automate control of the car, important and complicated issues arise regarding consumer expectations, driver performance, system reliability and legal aspects (particularly product liability). Whilst the technical feasibility of such systems is already being demonstrated, and surveys suggest a high level of interest and acceptance by potential users, their deployment, in practice, is highly dependent on both human factors and legal issues. RESPONSE is an EU funded project and the first to look in an integrated way at the legal, technical and practical issues behind the implementation of these new technologies. The project involved input from various sectors, including law firms from six EU countries, many of the leading motor manufacturers and leading research institutes from a number of different countries.Ergonomic problems of the control staff of the Estonian shipping company
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20010485
Risk assessment in the work environment has been required under Estonian work safety and health law since 1996, when the EU document "Guidance of risk assessment at work" became accessible. The new Act on Occupational Health and Safety that demands risk analysis at every workplace was adopted in Estonia in 1999. In this context the main problem for managers and labour inspectors became the determination of risk level. The article discusses the factors involved. In particular it mentions factors at the offices of the Estonian Shipping Company.The technology works - the law doesn't: legal aspects of secure electron commerce
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19980780
The colonisation of cyberspace is technology and opportunity driven. Indeed technology is at the same time both a threat as well as a solution, because on the one hand it challenges existing legal and regulatory infrastructures and yet offers the solution to many of those threats including security, integrity and authenticity. (46 pages)Can you validate enterprise systems such as SAP R/3?
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19970933
Enterprise systems now cover a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Common systems are MRP II applications such as SAP R/3 or BPCS, laboratory control systems (LIMS) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) such as Flowstream. They often cross traditional functional boundaries. For example, the LIMS that are used in quality assurance testing laboratories also link into the MRP II systems, providing data to allow speedy batch release. We believe that you can validate enterprise systems, and this paper outlines our approach to the validation of enterprise systems. Validation is important for enterprise systems, including those that predominantly address commercial issues, because it is essential to demonstrate control of all the factors that can impact on product quality. It is an obvious regulatory requirement, and also essential to protect the business from the consequences of poor quality standards, e.g. downtime, recalls and litigation. The size and the complexity of the systems involved means that the validation exercise is not in itself a simple issue. For example, there is potential for almost limitless testing of the systems. This paper is based on validation primarily to meet legislative requirements, not to address other types of risk. However, there is no reason why the logical approach suggested could not be applied in other areas, e.g. with financial applications, in order to minimize the potential for loss of control or system failures. (3 pages)Multimedia - a European perspective
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19970156
In March 1995 a proposal was put forward to set up a working group under the multimedia domain of the EC ESPRIT programme. MAGNET (Multimedia Action Groups NETwork) began officially on 1st December 1995. One of the first activities of the new group was to initiate a structural survey of the way the multimedia sector is evolving. MAG-PIE (MAGNET-Planning Information for Europe) is not a snapshot of the sector, nor is it attempting to compete with commercially available market research data. The objective of the project is to provide developers, suppliers and users of multimedia technologies with the information they need about the structure, trends and future evolution of the European multimedia industry and marketplace in order to plan the evolution of their business. The paper describes some of the early preliminary results emerging from the five study areas, which are: electronic publishing-the ability to use multimedia technologies for the commercial exploitation of information resources; distribution of multimedia products-mechanisms through which electronic information products can be distributed in their various markets; online transactions-the opportunities that exist for implementing new methods of charging for information products; emerging consumer applications-the factors that will create new markets for electronic information products in the consumer/home sector; legal frameworks-existing and emerging legal structures within which commerce in electronic information will be conducted. (6 pages)Brokers and intermediation for the info-underworld
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19971149
This paper discusses the concept of information brokerage as a range of intermediary services between consumers and information sources. These services are considered in the context of an increasingly commercial information trading environment, including the necessary legal requirements for online commerce. This is not a proposal for brokerage-it is a scenario for how brokerage may organically evolve; what drives its development, and its role in the developing services needed to support information services (viz the evolving Internet) on top of the traditional PSTN/ISDN. The paper considers the construction, deployment and management of future networked information services, and considers the scenario of service deployment following a net centric component ware paradigm; this assumes a trading environment where services are composed of third party provided service components which are subject to commercial procurement. The paper then develops this scenario to consider information services as online businesses which are autonomous and continually reassessing their own market environment. The fundamental conclusion is the increase in the requirement for intermediaries, and specifically information brokerage. It is argued that the commercial environment and the scale of the evolving Internet can't survive without intermediation. This also applies to the management and support of the communications networks themselves in this fertile services environment. (7 pages)The technical and institutional issues associated with the enforcement of a multi-lane debiting system
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19961345
In the field of automatic debiting systems, the automatic collection of road tolls and road use pricing fees from vehicle drivers, without the need for the driver to slow down or stop at the point of collection is regarded as a technically demanding and complex interaction of a number of subsystems in real time. The problem of designing an enforcement system is regarded as not only technically demanding but there are also several institutional issues, legal and practical problems which need to be considered. Such issues and constraints can be difficult enough within one country, but when trying to implement a common pan European road tolling scheme the problems become greatly magnified. From a European perspective which must consider the issues from the view of harmonisation and interoperability, and the paper highlights some of these important areas. It discusses the development of a multi lane automatic debiting and enforcement system and presents a 5.8 GHz microwave solution which was developed within the DRIVE-ATT project ADEPT. This solution has been further developed by the ADEPT partner SAAB Combitech, and is now at a commercial stage with several installations in place throughout the world. The paper also looks at the work of CARDME in its attempts to harmonise automatic debiting systems across Europe. Additionally there is a discussion of the key legal issues which cover the actions from the detection of a non compliant vehicle to the imposition of a fine or penalty. (15 pages)The Gas Appliance Directive and its implications on control systems
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960217
The Gas Appliance Directive, 90/396/EEC, is one of the “new-approach” Directives, which rather than specifying detailed technical requirements for products, sets out essential requirements only. The implementation of the Directive is largely through harmonised standards drawn up within the EEC by either CEN (mainly mechanical items) or CENELEC (mainly electrical items). However, manufacturers can propose other means of compliance to the Notified Bodies, (the Authorities appointed by Governments to ensure compliance), who have discretion to accept such alternatives. The Essential Requirements of the Directive set out basic, generic requirements which the implementing Standards need to interpret into usable requirements. These can subsequently be incorporated into the Conformity Assessment process. Successful completion of the assessment will help to ensure the CE-marking of the appliance, and its consequent acceptability in the European market-place. Most of the essential requirements of the Directive are concerned with safety and construction of the appliances. Amongst these are several which have strong implications for the design of controls. (3 pages)The Medical Devices Directive
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960216
There will be eventually be three Directives concerning medical devices. The Medical Devices Directive covers most kinds, but active implantable devices (such as cardiac pacemakers and insulin pumps) have their own Directive, and a third Directive to cover In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices (such as pathology laboratory equipment and pregnancy test kits) is still in draft. All three of these directives follow the “New Approach”, i.e. they specify the “Essential Requirements” which products must meet, but only in outline, and technical detail is provided by “harmonised standards”. This paper concentrates on the general Medical Devices Directive but the other two are very similar in content. (2 pages)High Speed Train Directive
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960215
EU directives are aimed at removing barriers to trade. Many existing directives emphasise safety issues because national safety regulations have often presented barriers to trade. However it is to be expected that as technology develops directives will need to address fundamentally new issues rather than merely regularising existing arrangements. This is already happening, particularly in the field of systems engineering. One of the best examples is the proposed High Speed Train Directive. This directive will have major implications for railway systems engineering, but also illustrates trends which are likely to affect all safety related system engineers. (3 pages)The law and its impact on the way data security issues are addressed
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960886
Information technology can be used to ensure openness or to effect security; to enhance privacy or to erode it. The technical ability is available to make messages instantly accessible worldwide, using, for example, the Internet, or to secure IT using powerful encryption algorithms. The question the author poses is not, therefore: “is IT safe?”, but “how safe does the information held need to be and from whom should it be kept?” The current framework of law is provided by the Data Protection Act 1984. It requires the balancing of two freedoms-the right to free exchange of information, and the right to privacy. Or as the Council of Europe Treaty 108 says, in setting the context of the Convention, “it is necessary to reconcile the fundamental values of the respect for privacy and the free flow of information between peoples”. The equation is not a simple one to balance for there is a need to be aware of issues such as commercial confidentiality and-on the other side-the overriding of the privacy rights of the individual in the interests of state security or for the prevention and detection of crime. (3 pages)Computer crime
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960892
The Computer Crime Unit at New Scotland Yard was formed in 1984. It is the only dedicated unit in the United Kingdom and has certain national responsibilities including liaison with telecommunication organisations, training, network crimes abroad, virus collation and coordination of major enquiries. It was one of the first active and dedicated units to be formed and its methodologies have become models for organisation and techniques for similar units being formed in other countries. Most of the developed countries have now formed, or are in the process of forming computer crime units. They fall within the umbrella of The Interpol Computer Crime Committee which distributes new methodologies, enhances cross border investigations and runs training courses. These courses fall into two categories-basic and advanced; the former concentrating on technology and evidence recovery, the latter on network crimes and virus distribution. (3 pages)A system integrator's view of the Directives
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/ic_19960218
The System Integrator (or SI) is caught in the middle of many of the issues associated with control systems engineering and the Directives. On the one side is the end-user who is (quite justifiably!) expecting his final system to comply with all relevant Directives, whilst on the other side the component suppliers will only provide compliance at the individual product level, or in some cases not at all. The SI is therefore faced with the challenging task of selecting and applying appropriate components in order that the system not only meets the original goals of specification, budget and timescale, but now also demonstrates conformance with Directives that in many cases make little or no allowance for the role of the SI in constructing the final product or installation. This is not to say that the Directives are a bad thing. In many cases they are now beginning to serve at least one of their intended purposes that of improving the overall levels of health and safety in the working environment. Furthermore, some of the better European Standards emerging from this process are being widely accepted and their adoption by component suppliers, SIs, specifiers and end-users alike will eventually lead to a more standardised approach to the engineering process, and even to reduced costs over a longer time period. (3 pages)'Cookie law': a hostage to fortune?
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/et.2012.0812
The latest bit of EU legislation aims to protect the privacy of anyone visiting UK-owned Web sites by notifying them of cookie usage - but it is also impairing the Web site experience and jeopardising revenue opportunities, its critics are claiming.Wavelet-based oblivious image watermarking scheme using genetic algorithm
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-ipr.2010.0347
In this work, a robust and oblivious image watermarking scheme based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT) for copyright protection is presented. The original unmarked image is not required for watermark extraction. Third-level DWT is applied to the original cover image. Third- and second-level horizontal detail sub-band (LH2 and LH3) coefficients are grouped into different blocks. Grouping of the coefficients is done in such a way that each block should contain one coefficient from LH3 sub-band and four coefficients from LH2 sub-band. In each block, the first minimum and the second minimum are identified and modified according to the watermark bit. After watermark insertion, inverse DWT is applied to the sub-bands with modified coefficients to obtain the watermarked image. For watermark extraction, a threshold-based decoder is designed. Embedding and extraction process are characterised with parameters and genetic algorithm is used for parameter optimisation. Optimisation is to maximise the values of peak signal-to-noise ratio of the watermarked image and normalised cross correlation of the extracted watermark. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared with the existing schemes and significant improvement is observed. Experimental results show that, this algorithm is highly robust for many image attacks on the watermarked image.Web dual watermarking technology using an XML document
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-ifs_20060083
A novel dual watermark technology based on digital copyright technology is proposed, which, making full use of the advances of the web, stores the correlation information including the keys and the dual watermarks in an XML document. A new image watermarking technology to spread a digital image with copyright protection is realised successfully on the Internet. The arithmetic has very good robustness against the most common, non-malevolent data manipulations, including digital-to-analogue conversion and digital format conversion. Finally, the experimental results confirm that the two watermarks embedded by the proposed algorithm are invisible and robust against commonly used image-processing manipulations such as JPEG compression, adding noise, cropping, and rescaling and soon. The proposed algorithm is shown to provide very good results in term of image imperceptibility too.Quality labels for e-health
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-com_20060596
A drug e-prescription demonstrator was created in compliance with existing legislation as well as security and privacy standards. A professional ID-card was built on a high security chip (ISTEC E4 High; EAL-5) with a Hash hardware accelerator for a digital signature placed in a single chip USB token. Commercial software products as well as development kits of the new hardware designed in the project were used to build an authentication, authorisation and electronic signature demonstrator. The degree of legal compliance was evaluated. The tested novel single chip USB token was highly efficient but limited by its 1.1 interface speed (12 Mbit/s). The chip, initialised with a banking-mask, inefficiently managed space for the health-care chain of trust. The public key and privilege management infrastructure was not able to handle health-care attributes in the appropriate extensions. Templates for role-rule privileges were not available and healthcare standards for security and privacy were not found in commercial products. The paper points out the urgent need for an e-health conformance label as well as a quality label for liability and confidence to gain users' trust.Three-stage compression approach to reduce test data volume and testing time for IP cores in SOCs
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/ip-cdt_20045150
A three-stage compression technique that reduces test data volume and test application time for scan-based testing of intellectual property (IP) cores in system-on-chip integrated circuits is presented. In the first stage, referred to as width compression, the concept of scan chain compatibilities is combined with a method that exploits the logic dependencies between scan chains. This leads to a gated fanout decompression structure that uses <i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">c</i> input channels to drive <i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">m</i> scan chains (<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">c</i>≪<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">m</i>). Next, static compaction is used to reduce the number of test patterns, a step referred to as height compression. Finally, dictionary-based compression is used to further reduce test data volume. Structural information about the IP cores is not necessary for fault simulation, dynamic compaction, or test generation. By combining the advantages of the gated fan-out structure and dictionary-based compression, the proposed approach significantly reduces the test data volume and testing time with very little hardware overhead for on-chip decompression. Results are presented for the ISCAS-89 benchmarks and for four industrial circuits.Efficient model checking of PSL safety properties
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-cdt.2010.0154
Safety properties are an important class of properties, as in the industrial use of model checking, a large majority of the properties to be checked are safety properties. This work presents an efficient approach to model check safety properties expressed in PSL (IEEE Std 1850 Property Specification Language), an industrial property specification language. The approach can also be used as a sound but incomplete bug-hunting tool for general (non-safety) PSL properties, and it will detect exactly the finite counterexamples that are the informative bad prefixes for the PSL formulae in question. The presented technique is inspired by the temporal testers approach of Pnueli and co-authors, but unlike theirs, the proposed approach is aimed at finding finite counterexamples to properties. The new approach presented here handles a larger syntactic subset of PSL safety properties than earlier translations for PSL safety subsets and has been implemented on top of the open source NuSMV 2 model checker. The experimental results show the approach to be a quite competitive model checking approach when compared to a state-of-the-art implementation of PSL model checking.Interaction laws for dependability explicit computing in open multi-agent systems
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-sen.2008.0025
In an open multi-agent system (MAS), agent autonomy and heterogeneity may possibly exploit cooperation, leading the system to an undesirable state. Since an MAS has no central control, a coordination mechanism must be developed to allow agents to fulfill their design goals. It is proposed to incorporate the dependability explicit computing (DepEx) ideas into a law-governed approach in order to build a dependable open MAS. The authors show that the law specification can explicitly incorporate dependability concerns, collect data and publish them in a metadata registry. This data can be used to realise DepEx and, for example, it can help to guide design and runtime decisions. The advantages of using a law-governed approach are (i) the explicit specification of the dependability concerns; (ii) the automatic collection of the dependability metadata reusing the infrastructure of the mediators presenting in law-governed approaches; and (iii) the ability to specify reactions to undesirable situations, thus preventing service failures.The EC software directive. A fair balance?
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/ir_19910157
Viewpoint: Protection of information in the IT era
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/cce_19920036
This article is based on a speech the author made at the third annual conference of Survive! on the 6th November 1991, and while some things have progressed and others evolved since then (and further details may have changed since the recent General Election), the main points made then are as relevant now as they were then.Security for future standardised DRM
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/books/10.1049/pbte051e_ch16
<p xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a generic term used to cover the protection of proprietary digital content against misuse, including unauthorised distribution and use. This chapter seeks to re-examine possible solutions to the provision of DRM by first examining the threats and resulting security requirements, and then classifying approaches to DRM depending on the nature of the operating system on which the proprietary content will be used. This then leads to a detailed analysis of security requirements for a DRM solution running on an 'open' operating system platform.</p>The key to compliance [corporate accounting]
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/inp_20050406
In the wake of the Enron and Worldcom accounting scandals, the regulations an enterprise implements to ensure its integrity are open to increasing scrutiny. This has given rise to a growing number of initiatives such as Basel II, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the new Companies Act, all designed to ensure that high-standards of corporate governance become part of day-to-day business culture. New regulations on the way that companies report their finances are driving moves to improve user access and authentication techniques.Finding the fruits of 'failure' [innovative organisation failure]
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/inp_20060208
The author argues that apparent flops should be seen as innovative organizations to redouble their efforts. For all companies, but particularly those in the IT sector, making the most of your intellectual property assets is a must. These are the company's crown jewels, but they should not be so tightly locked up that they cannot be used to their utmost. The solution to a struggling product already exists within most organisations - it just needs to be found; and, to find it, a culture of innovation must be inculcated. Creating that culture enables companies to release their internal resources to make the most of their assets. Innovating also leads to diversification, encouraging companies away from having all their eggs in one basket. The problem for many IT firms is that their staff is sealed in organisational cells from which they have scant productive interaction: engineers and technicians are in one cell, marketing team in another, and management and financial colleagues in another still. Opening the cells requires a fundamental decision to be taken: the board must accept that innovation can go backwards as well as forwards and sideways. It must give its staff the time and space to succeed - and also the freedom to fail.Investing the 'trust dividend'
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/inp_20060303
Building a trust-based relationship with an outsourcer benefits from a framework that defines expectations and elevates contractual arrangements beyond mere cost-saving considerations. Outsourcing is one answer to this business environment. Yet companies who neglect actively to manage their relationships with IT outsourcing partners are missing out on a `trust dividend' worth up to 40% of the total contract value. Outsourcing IT is most successful when viewed as a business strategy, not a transaction.The new market in body parts [biometric security]
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/inp_20060401
The arrival of biometrics-based security systems have major implications for information professionals: they have to learn new technology, new procedures, and new data types. Continuous development of the underlying technology has seen significant improvements from the early days of biometric solutions, together with a less intrusive experience for users. The focus has consequently moved to the real benefits of these systems and how real-world solutions are delivered.IT solutions for power plant management in competitive markets
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/cce_20010202
Deregulation and liberalisation of energy markets are spreading rapidly over the entire globe. This process is changing the business environment in all sectors of power companies: generation, transport, distribution and sales, with dramatic impact on the way the traditional utilities do business. Competition is placing pressure on utilities to cut their costs. Only companies that are really determined to go ahead and exploit their potential to the utmost will be successful in the long run. More intensive and efficient use of information systems is the key factor to success. It is evident that IT will play a major role for success in rapidly changing and strongly competitive markets. The article discusses the impact of deregulation on the IT solutions required to achieve this goal. As practical examples, some applications and current developments at Siemens are used.