CSCAN; The Centre for Security, Communications and Network Research
CSCAN is an established research group, comprising staff from the School of Computing and Mathematics at Plymouth University. Click here to visit their site.
Online Seminars Held at CSCAN
Digital forensics investigations of social networks: learning from other disciplines (Wednesday 10th February 2010)
John Haggerty, Lecturer in Information Systems Security, University of Salford.
In recent years, digital forensics investigations have risen in complexity due to the widespread use of technology and the decreasing cost of memory. One area of digital forensics that is underrepresented due to the limitations of existing tools is that of investigations into social networks despite the popularity of applications such as Facebook, email or mobile phones for this purpose. Social network analysis may not provide tangible evidence to be used in a court of law per se, but will identify intangible evidence such as other suspects, potential sources of evidence or the suspect's culpability for a crime or malicious event. It is therefore of major interest to those conducting digital forensics investigations outside the traditional law enforcement environment, such as national security, corporate investigations and commercial intelligence operations. This paper provides an overview of the technical and legal complexities of social network analysis. It then discusses specifically what the digital forensics field can learn and incorporate from other disciplines, such as the social sciences, to enhance the investigation.
Click here to view the presentation notes or here to watch the presentation.
The Significance of UMTS Long Term Evolution (LTE) for Operators
An Industry View (Wednesday 3rd February 2010)
Andy Wilton, Managing Director, Truron Consulting Ltd
The Seminar discusses the significance of LTE, both to 'greenfield' broadband and existing cellular operators. It will become clear that LTE represents a critical discontinuity in the evolution of mobile systems comparable with the move from analogue to digital. A short examination of the current wireless competitive environment will be followed by a more detailed discussion of the factors affecting operator profitability. The way in which the relative significance of these factors has changed, with the progressive introduction of UMTS and HSDPA will be reviewed to justify the prospect of a quantum leap in operator profitability following the introduction of LTE. A brief overview of the LTE physical layer will be used to develop a re-balanced operator profitability model which will require that equipment vendors and operators have a renewed focus on three areas: Increased Revenue/User; Optimised Transport Costs; and, Self Optimising Networks It will be argued that the single most important method of addressing two of these three factors is a different approach to Network Planning. The final part of the discussion will be dedicated to an overview of the novel aspects of this approach.
Click here to watch the presentation.
Information Security (Wednesday 27th January 2010)
Paul McKay/Craig Moore, Bond Pearce
Did you know that more than 70% of people would reveal their computer password in exchange for a bar of chocolate? Bond Pearce is a leading business law firm providing corporate, commercial, property and dispute resolution services to some of the UK's pre-eminent businesses and public sector organisations. The firm is recognised nationally for its work in the energy, retail, health and safety, real estate and insurance sectors. In a recent survey of advisers to the FTSE 100, Bond Pearce was listed as 24th nationwide and first equal of all law firms in the south of England.
Click here to watch the presentation.
