The fields of teaching and learning are evolving as a result of new techniques like blended-, onl... more The fields of teaching and learning are evolving as a result of new techniques like blended-, online-, and exploratory learning being implemented. Lecturers need to ensure successful teaching and also create an environment in which students can learn effectively. Two important factors that a lecturer can control to enhance learning are instruction and feedback. A learning analytics system was developed for the latter, utilizing mathematical programming models, which enables a lecturer to provide real-time progress feedback to students at regular intervals during the course of a program. This paper highlights flaws identified in some existing feedback scenarios, discusses the development of an electronic feedback system, and explains how its implementation can keep students informed on their progress from an early stage of instruction and present them with actionable targets for reaching their ultimate goal.
This research presents the exploratory application of behavioural threshold theory on group behav... more This research presents the exploratory application of behavioural threshold theory on group behaviour related to information security. Behavioural threshold analysis is presented as a possible tool for aiding the development of security awareness programs. Generic behavioural threshold analysis is presented and then applied in the domain of information security by collecting data on the behavioural thresholds of individuals in a group setting and how they influence each other when it comes to security behaviour. The results of behavioural threshold analysis are presented in order to illustrate the feasibility of the approach as an aid for the development of security awareness programs.
In the first part of the article we explore what decolonisation might entail and why it is needed... more In the first part of the article we explore what decolonisation might entail and why it is needed. The focus here is specifically on decolonisation within higher education and, more specifically, on the academic discipline of Operational Research (OR) and its curriculum. We explicate the specific challenge of decolonising operational research as part of the ‘pure’ sciences like mathematics. By investigating research in the decolonisation of ‘pure’ science in an attempt to find some guidance for decolonisation of OR, we found ourselves in uncharted waters. In the last section we contribute to the scholarship of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) by analysing the war strategies of King Shaka Zulu. We worked out some possibilities for decolonisation of OR by linking the war strategies of King Shaka Zulu to classical OR applications. This layed the foundation for decentring Western knowledge and for a more inclusive historical understanding of OR. Keywords: Decolonisation, Operationa...
The state of information security as a whole is a disaster, a train wreck". This view is giv... more The state of information security as a whole is a disaster, a train wreck". This view is given by Forte and Power (2007) describing the state of information security towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Amongst solutions offered, the view that security programs have to be holistic is proposed indicating that technical controls are of little value without the workforce understanding the risks of their irresponsible behavior. Another solution proposed by them is the role of awareness and education. All levels of users should be targeted letting them understand their role and responsibility in information security. Password related behavior is often highlighted as a key component of information security
How secure are passwords that will be used by future health care workers? ... HA Kruger School of... more How secure are passwords that will be used by future health care workers? ... HA Kruger School of Computer, Statistical and Mathematical Sciences North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa Hennie.Kruger@nwu.ac. ...
Email communication is growing as a main method for individuals and organizations to communicate.... more Email communication is growing as a main method for individuals and organizations to communicate. Sadly, this is also an emerging means of conducting crime in the cyber world, e.g. identity theft, virus attacks etc. The need for improving awareness to these threats amongst employees is evident in media reports. Information security is as much a people issue as a technology one. This paper presents a description and results of an email awareness experiment that was performed amongst staff from a South African university. It is shown how management can use these results to focus and improve ICT awareness.
Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be pre... more Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be prevalent in all authentication systems, but are lacking. Biometric information remains unique to each individual and it is for that reason that it should be protected, and yet many developers neglect the importance of securing biometrics effectively. This research presents a novel approach for authentication systems to protect biometric information using a combination of transformation techniques and steganography encryption methods. A leap motion controller captures user-specific biometric information. Once this information is retrieved, it is transformed or made "cancelable." This ultimately prevents a third party from reconstructing the information to its original state. The concept of obfuscating biometric information seems inadequate without storing this information so that users may be authenticated. The shortcomings of storing this information become apparent should an att...
Abstract. Traditionally spam has been considered as an inconvenience requiring workers to sift th... more Abstract. Traditionally spam has been considered as an inconvenience requiring workers to sift through and delete large numbers of e-mail messages per day. However, new developments and the Internet have dramatically transformed the world and over the last number of years a situation has been reached where inboxes have been flooded with unsolicited messages. This has caused spam to evolve into a serious security risk with prominent threats such as spreading of viruses, server problems, productivity threats, hacking and phishing etc. To combat these and other related threats, efficient security controls such as spam filters, should be implemented. In this paper the use of a Generalized Additive Neural Network (GANN), as a spam filter, is investigated. A GANN is a novel neural network implementation of a Generalized Additive Model and offers a number of advantages compared to neural networks in general. The performance of the GANN is assessed on three publicly available spam corpora a...
Purpose -The dependence on human involvement and human behavior to protect information assets nec... more Purpose -The dependence on human involvement and human behavior to protect information assets necessitates an information security awareness program to make people aware of their roles and responsibilities towards information security. The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of an information security vocabulary test as an aid to assess awareness levels and to assist with the identification of suitable areas or topics to be included in an information security awareness program. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire has been designed to test and illustrate the feasibility of a vocabulary test. The questionnaire consists of two sections -a first section to perform a vocabulary test and a second one to evaluate respondents' behavior. Two different class groups of students at a university were used as a sample. Findings -The research findings confirmed that the use of a vocabulary test to assess security awareness levels will be beneficial. A significant rela...
Abstract-Linear programming is commonly used for solving complex problems in various fields, incl... more Abstract-Linear programming is commonly used for solving complex problems in various fields, including dietetics. Expert systems use expertise and inference procedures to solve problems that require advanced expert knowledge and are also applied to health related problems. Over the years many variations and facets of the diet problem and other related problems have been solved by means of linear programming techniques as well as expert systems. In this research, an expert system was created for the purpose of solving multiple facets of the diet problem, by creating a rule-based inference engine consisting of goal programming-and multi-objective linear programming models. The program was successfully applied to cases specific to South African teenage girls, which were obtained through system development. The resulting system compiles an eating-plan for a girl that conforms to the nutritional requirements of a healthy diet, includes the personal food preferences of the girl, and consi...
2020 2nd International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference (IMITEC), 2020
Information security policies (ISPs) are formalised rules and regulations to which users or emplo... more Information security policies (ISPs) are formalised rules and regulations to which users or employees are required to adhere to in order to safeguard information technology assets. It is an important tool to influence information security behaviour and is mandatory in most organisations. Given the importance of these policies, there is still a significant number of studies that report on the noncompliance to ISPs. Many research projects are conducted to explain this phenomenon -however, little or no attention is given to the opinion of users and employees about ISPs and the contents thereof. Surveys to obtain the opinion of employees on organisation and information security policies often resulted in response bias problems where answers are faked in order to provide an expected opinion. The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of affective computing and sentiment analysis to address this problem of response bias and to contribute to the evaluation of the quality of ISPs. An i...
Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be pre... more Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be prevalent in all authentication systems, but are lacking. Biometric information remains unique to each individual and it is for that reason that it should be protected, and yet many developers neglect the importance of securing biometrics effectively. This research presents a novel approach for authentication systems to protect biometric information using a combination of transformation techniques and steganography encryption methods. A leap motion controller captures user-specific biometric information. Once this information is retrieved, it is transformed or made “cancelable.” This ultimately prevents a third party from reconstructing the information to its original state. The concept of obfuscating biometric information seems inadequate without storing this information so that users may be authenticated. The shortcomings of storing this information become apparent should an attack occur ...
In this paper, inertial contact sensor-based terrain classification is performed with a Radial ba... more In this paper, inertial contact sensor-based terrain classification is performed with a Radial basis function network. Compared to the more popular Multilayer perceptrons, Radial basis function networks are also intelligent techniques and universal approximators, but with a much simpler structure and shorter training time. It has been shown that Radial basis function networks are efficient classifiers and, consequently may be used for terrain classification. For the experiments, a mobile robot platform recorded vibration training data with an inertial measurement unit while traversing five different terrains: asphalt, carpet, dirt, paving, and tiles. The composition of these terrains induces specific vibrations in the mobile platform, which are measured by the inertial measurement unit. The vibration signatures comprise the mobile robot’s linear acceleration, orientation, and the earth’s magnetic field. In contrast to most terrain classification techniques found in literature, no pr...
The fields of teaching and learning are evolving as a result of new techniques like blended-, onl... more The fields of teaching and learning are evolving as a result of new techniques like blended-, online-, and exploratory learning being implemented. Lecturers need to ensure successful teaching and also create an environment in which students can learn effectively. Two important factors that a lecturer can control to enhance learning are instruction and feedback. A learning analytics system was developed for the latter, utilizing mathematical programming models, which enables a lecturer to provide real-time progress feedback to students at regular intervals during the course of a program. This paper highlights flaws identified in some existing feedback scenarios, discusses the development of an electronic feedback system, and explains how its implementation can keep students informed on their progress from an early stage of instruction and present them with actionable targets for reaching their ultimate goal.
This research presents the exploratory application of behavioural threshold theory on group behav... more This research presents the exploratory application of behavioural threshold theory on group behaviour related to information security. Behavioural threshold analysis is presented as a possible tool for aiding the development of security awareness programs. Generic behavioural threshold analysis is presented and then applied in the domain of information security by collecting data on the behavioural thresholds of individuals in a group setting and how they influence each other when it comes to security behaviour. The results of behavioural threshold analysis are presented in order to illustrate the feasibility of the approach as an aid for the development of security awareness programs.
In the first part of the article we explore what decolonisation might entail and why it is needed... more In the first part of the article we explore what decolonisation might entail and why it is needed. The focus here is specifically on decolonisation within higher education and, more specifically, on the academic discipline of Operational Research (OR) and its curriculum. We explicate the specific challenge of decolonising operational research as part of the ‘pure’ sciences like mathematics. By investigating research in the decolonisation of ‘pure’ science in an attempt to find some guidance for decolonisation of OR, we found ourselves in uncharted waters. In the last section we contribute to the scholarship of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) by analysing the war strategies of King Shaka Zulu. We worked out some possibilities for decolonisation of OR by linking the war strategies of King Shaka Zulu to classical OR applications. This layed the foundation for decentring Western knowledge and for a more inclusive historical understanding of OR. Keywords: Decolonisation, Operationa...
The state of information security as a whole is a disaster, a train wreck". This view is giv... more The state of information security as a whole is a disaster, a train wreck". This view is given by Forte and Power (2007) describing the state of information security towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Amongst solutions offered, the view that security programs have to be holistic is proposed indicating that technical controls are of little value without the workforce understanding the risks of their irresponsible behavior. Another solution proposed by them is the role of awareness and education. All levels of users should be targeted letting them understand their role and responsibility in information security. Password related behavior is often highlighted as a key component of information security
How secure are passwords that will be used by future health care workers? ... HA Kruger School of... more How secure are passwords that will be used by future health care workers? ... HA Kruger School of Computer, Statistical and Mathematical Sciences North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa Hennie.Kruger@nwu.ac. ...
Email communication is growing as a main method for individuals and organizations to communicate.... more Email communication is growing as a main method for individuals and organizations to communicate. Sadly, this is also an emerging means of conducting crime in the cyber world, e.g. identity theft, virus attacks etc. The need for improving awareness to these threats amongst employees is evident in media reports. Information security is as much a people issue as a technology one. This paper presents a description and results of an email awareness experiment that was performed amongst staff from a South African university. It is shown how management can use these results to focus and improve ICT awareness.
Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be pre... more Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be prevalent in all authentication systems, but are lacking. Biometric information remains unique to each individual and it is for that reason that it should be protected, and yet many developers neglect the importance of securing biometrics effectively. This research presents a novel approach for authentication systems to protect biometric information using a combination of transformation techniques and steganography encryption methods. A leap motion controller captures user-specific biometric information. Once this information is retrieved, it is transformed or made "cancelable." This ultimately prevents a third party from reconstructing the information to its original state. The concept of obfuscating biometric information seems inadequate without storing this information so that users may be authenticated. The shortcomings of storing this information become apparent should an att...
Abstract. Traditionally spam has been considered as an inconvenience requiring workers to sift th... more Abstract. Traditionally spam has been considered as an inconvenience requiring workers to sift through and delete large numbers of e-mail messages per day. However, new developments and the Internet have dramatically transformed the world and over the last number of years a situation has been reached where inboxes have been flooded with unsolicited messages. This has caused spam to evolve into a serious security risk with prominent threats such as spreading of viruses, server problems, productivity threats, hacking and phishing etc. To combat these and other related threats, efficient security controls such as spam filters, should be implemented. In this paper the use of a Generalized Additive Neural Network (GANN), as a spam filter, is investigated. A GANN is a novel neural network implementation of a Generalized Additive Model and offers a number of advantages compared to neural networks in general. The performance of the GANN is assessed on three publicly available spam corpora a...
Purpose -The dependence on human involvement and human behavior to protect information assets nec... more Purpose -The dependence on human involvement and human behavior to protect information assets necessitates an information security awareness program to make people aware of their roles and responsibilities towards information security. The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of an information security vocabulary test as an aid to assess awareness levels and to assist with the identification of suitable areas or topics to be included in an information security awareness program. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire has been designed to test and illustrate the feasibility of a vocabulary test. The questionnaire consists of two sections -a first section to perform a vocabulary test and a second one to evaluate respondents' behavior. Two different class groups of students at a university were used as a sample. Findings -The research findings confirmed that the use of a vocabulary test to assess security awareness levels will be beneficial. A significant rela...
Abstract-Linear programming is commonly used for solving complex problems in various fields, incl... more Abstract-Linear programming is commonly used for solving complex problems in various fields, including dietetics. Expert systems use expertise and inference procedures to solve problems that require advanced expert knowledge and are also applied to health related problems. Over the years many variations and facets of the diet problem and other related problems have been solved by means of linear programming techniques as well as expert systems. In this research, an expert system was created for the purpose of solving multiple facets of the diet problem, by creating a rule-based inference engine consisting of goal programming-and multi-objective linear programming models. The program was successfully applied to cases specific to South African teenage girls, which were obtained through system development. The resulting system compiles an eating-plan for a girl that conforms to the nutritional requirements of a healthy diet, includes the personal food preferences of the girl, and consi...
2020 2nd International Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference (IMITEC), 2020
Information security policies (ISPs) are formalised rules and regulations to which users or emplo... more Information security policies (ISPs) are formalised rules and regulations to which users or employees are required to adhere to in order to safeguard information technology assets. It is an important tool to influence information security behaviour and is mandatory in most organisations. Given the importance of these policies, there is still a significant number of studies that report on the noncompliance to ISPs. Many research projects are conducted to explain this phenomenon -however, little or no attention is given to the opinion of users and employees about ISPs and the contents thereof. Surveys to obtain the opinion of employees on organisation and information security policies often resulted in response bias problems where answers are faked in order to provide an expected opinion. The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of affective computing and sentiment analysis to address this problem of response bias and to contribute to the evaluation of the quality of ISPs. An i...
Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be pre... more Complex methods are often used in an attempt to rectify basic security aspects that should be prevalent in all authentication systems, but are lacking. Biometric information remains unique to each individual and it is for that reason that it should be protected, and yet many developers neglect the importance of securing biometrics effectively. This research presents a novel approach for authentication systems to protect biometric information using a combination of transformation techniques and steganography encryption methods. A leap motion controller captures user-specific biometric information. Once this information is retrieved, it is transformed or made “cancelable.” This ultimately prevents a third party from reconstructing the information to its original state. The concept of obfuscating biometric information seems inadequate without storing this information so that users may be authenticated. The shortcomings of storing this information become apparent should an attack occur ...
In this paper, inertial contact sensor-based terrain classification is performed with a Radial ba... more In this paper, inertial contact sensor-based terrain classification is performed with a Radial basis function network. Compared to the more popular Multilayer perceptrons, Radial basis function networks are also intelligent techniques and universal approximators, but with a much simpler structure and shorter training time. It has been shown that Radial basis function networks are efficient classifiers and, consequently may be used for terrain classification. For the experiments, a mobile robot platform recorded vibration training data with an inertial measurement unit while traversing five different terrains: asphalt, carpet, dirt, paving, and tiles. The composition of these terrains induces specific vibrations in the mobile platform, which are measured by the inertial measurement unit. The vibration signatures comprise the mobile robot’s linear acceleration, orientation, and the earth’s magnetic field. In contrast to most terrain classification techniques found in literature, no pr...
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