An Introspective Behavior Based Methodology To Mitigate E Mail Based Threats

E-mail is touted as the backbone of present day communication. Despite its convenience and importance, existing e-mail infrastructure is not devoid of problems. The underlying e-mail protocols operate on the assumption that users would not abuse the privilege of sending messages to each other. This weakness in design is consistently taken advantage by attackers to carry out social engineering and security exploits on day-to-day e-mail users. As a result, three prominent e-mail based threats have surfaced, viz. (i) spam; (ii) phishing; and (iii) information leak. While spam e-mail classification has received a lot of attention in the recent years, the other two threats still loom at large. The main goal of this dissertation is to design and develop efficient behavior based classification techniques that help to address each of these threats in an effective manner.^The first part of this dissertation attempts to tackle the problem of detecting phishing e-mails before they reach users' inboxes. To begin with, shortcomings of existing spam filters toward classifying phishing e-mails are highlighted. To overcome them, a customizable and usable spam filter (CUSP) that detects phishing e-mails from the absence of personalized user information contained in them is proposed. However, as solely relying on the presence of personalized information as the criteria to detect phishing e-mails is not entirely foolproof, a novel machine learning based classifier that separates phishing e-mails based on their underlying semantic behavior is proposed. Experimentation on real word phishing and financial e-mail datasets demonstrates that the proposed methodology can detect phishing e-mails with over 90% accuracy while keeping false positive rate minimum.^Also, feasibility of generating context-sensitive warnings that better educate the users about the ill-effects of phishing attacks is explored. Classification techniques that operate on features confined to the phishing e-mails' body can be thwarted by using simple obfuscation techniques, which substitute spurious content appearing in them with seemingly innocuous characters or images. To address such scenarios, the second part of this dissertation takes the classification process a step further to analyze the behavior and structural characteristics of Websites referred by URLs contained in e-mails. Specifically, a challenge-response based technique called PHONEY is proposed to detect phishing Websites based on their inability to distinguish fake and genuine inputs apart.^Experimental results based on evaluation on both ``live'' and `synthesized'' phishing Websites reveal that PHONEY can detect almost of all the e-mails that link to live phishing Websites with zero false positives and minimal computation overhead. In a similar vein, this dissertation proposes a novel technique to identify spam e-mails by analyzing the content of the linked-to Websites. A combination of textual and structural features extracted from the linked-to Websites is supplied as input to five machine learning algorithms employed for the purpose of classification. Testing on live spam feeds reveal that the proposed technique can detect spam e-mails with over 95% detection rate, thereby exhibiting better performance than two popular open source anti-spam filters. Information leaks pose significant risk to users' privacy.^An information leak could reveal users' browsing characteristics or sensitive material contained in their e-mail inboxes to attackers allowing them to launch more targeted social engineering attacks (e.g., spear phishing attacks). The third part of this dissertation focuses on addressing these two facets of information leaks, i.e., information leak triggered by spyware and user by detailing out the limitations with the state-of-the-art detection techniques. In order to bring out the deficiencies in existing anti-spyware techniques, first, a new class of intelligent spyware that efficiently blends in with user activities to evade detection is proposed. As a defensive countermeasure, this dissertation proposes a novel randomized honeytoken based methodology that can separate normal and spyware activities with near perfect accuracy.^Similarly, to detect inadvertent informational leaks caused by users sending misdirected e-mails to unintended recipient(s), this dissertation advances the existing bag-of-words based outlier detection techniques by using a set of stylometric and linguistic features that better encapsulate the previously exchanged e-mails between the sender and the recipient. Experimentation on real world e-mail corpus shows that the proposed technique detects over 78% of synthesized information leak outperforming other existing techniques. Another important point to be considered while devising specialized filters to address each of the e-mail based threat is the need to make them interoperable. For example, an e-mail supposedly sent from a financial domain, but having an URL referring to a domain blacklisted for spam is very likely a phishing e-mail. Identifying sources of attacks helps in developing attack agnostic solutions that block all sensitive communication from and to misbehaving nodes.^From this perspective, this dissertation explores the feasibility of building a holistic framework that not only operates in conjunction with intrusion detection systems (IDS) to block incoming and outgoing traffic from and to misbehaving nodes, but also safeguard the underlying e-mail infrastructure from zero-day attacks.

Phishing and Counter-Measures discusses how and why phishing is a threat, and presents effective countermeasures. Showing you how phishing attacks have been mounting over the years, how to detect and prevent current as well as future attacks, this text focuses on corporations who supply the resources used by attackers. The authors subsequently deliberate on what action the government can take to respond to this situation and compare adequate versus inadequate countermeasures.

Industrial Agents explains how multi-agent systems improve collaborative networks to offer dynamic service changes, customization, improved quality and reliability, and flexible infrastructure. Learn how these platforms can offer distributed intelligent management and control functions with communication, cooperation and synchronization capabilities, and also provide for the behavior specifications of the smart components of the system. The book offers not only an introduction to industrial agents, but also clarifies and positions the vision, on-going efforts, example applications, assessment and roadmap applicable to multiple industries. This edited work is guided and co-authored by leaders of the IEEE Technical Committee on Industrial Agents who represent both academic and industry perspectives and share the latest research along with their hands-on experiences prototyping and deploying industrial agents in industrial scenarios. Learn how new scientific approaches and technologies aggregate resources such next generation intelligent systems, manual workplaces and information and material flow system Gain insight from experts presenting the latest academic and industry research on multi-agent systems Explore multiple case studies and example applications showing industrial agents in a variety of scenarios Understand implementations across the enterprise, from low-level control systems to autonomous and collaborative management units

This book provides readers with up-to-date research of emerging cyber threats and defensive mechanisms, which are timely and essential. It covers cyber threat intelligence concepts against a range of threat actors and threat tools (i.e. ransomware) in cutting-edge technologies, i.e., Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud computing and mobile devices. This book also provides the technical information on cyber-threat detection methods required for the researcher and digital forensics experts, in order to build intelligent automated systems to fight against advanced cybercrimes. The ever increasing number of cyber-attacks requires the cyber security and forensic specialists to detect, analyze and defend against the cyber threats in almost real-time, and with such a large number of attacks is not possible without deeply perusing the attack features and taking corresponding intelligent defensive actions – this in essence defines cyber threat intelligence notion. However, such intelligence would not be possible without the aid of artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced data mining techniques to collect, analyze, and interpret cyber-attack campaigns which is covered in this book. This book will focus on cutting-edge research from both academia and industry, with a particular emphasis on providing wider knowledge of the field, novelty of approaches, combination of tools and so forth to perceive reason, learn and act on a wide range of data collected from different cyber security and forensics solutions. This book introduces the notion of cyber threat intelligence and analytics and presents different attempts in utilizing machine learning and data mining techniques to create threat feeds for a range of consumers. Moreover, this book sheds light on existing and emerging trends in the field which could pave the way for future works. The inter-disciplinary nature of this book, makes it suitable for a wide range of audiences with backgrounds in artificial intelligence, cyber security, forensics, big data and data mining, distributed systems and computer networks. This would include industry professionals, advanced-level students and researchers that work within these related fields.

This is the first comprehensive research and practice-based guide for understanding and assessing supervision technology and for using it to improve the breadth and depth of services offered to supervisees and clients. Written by supervisors, for supervisors, it examines the technology that is currently available and how and when to use it. Part I provides a thorough review of the technological, legal, ethical, cultural, accessibility, and security competencies that are the foundation for effectively integrating technology into clinical supervision. Part II presents applications of the most prominent and innovative uses of technology across the major domains in counseling, along with best practices for delivery. Each chapter in this section contains a literature review, concrete examples for use, case examples, and lessons learned. *Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com. *To request print copies, please visit the ACA website. *Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to [email protected]

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 2e, is ideal for courses in Computer/Network Security. In recent years, the need for education in computer security and related topics has grown dramatically – and is essential for anyone studying Computer Science or Computer Engineering. This is the only text available to provide integrated, comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of the broad range of topics in this subject. In addition to an extensive pedagogical program, the book provides unparalleled support for both research and modeling projects, giving students a broader perspective. The Text and Academic Authors Association named Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 1e, the winner of the Textbook Excellence Award for the best Computer Science textbook of 2008.

The psychology classic—a detailed study of scientific theories of human nature and the possible ways in which human behavior can be predicted and controlled—from one of the most influential behaviorists of the twentieth century and the author of Walden Two. “This is an important book, exceptionally well written, and logically consistent with the basic premise of the unitary nature of science. Many students of society and culture would take violent issue with most of the things that Skinner has to say, but even those who disagree most will find this a stimulating book.” —Samuel M. Strong, The American Journal of Sociology “This is a remarkable book—remarkable in that it presents a strong, consistent, and all but exhaustive case for a natural science of human behavior…It ought to be…valuable for those whose preferences lie with, as well as those whose preferences stand against, a behavioristic approach to human activity.” —Harry Prosch, Ethics

The benefits of mindfulness include better performance, heightened creativity, deeper self-awareness, and increased charisma—not to mention greater peace of mind. This book gives you practical steps for building a sense of presence into your daily work routine. It also explains the science behind mindfulness and why it works and gives clear-eyed warnings about the pitfalls of the fad. This volume includes the work of: Daniel Goleman Ellen Langer Susan David Christina Congleton This collection of articles includes “Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity,” an interview with Ellen Langer by Alison Beard; “Mindfulness Can Literally Change Your Brain,” by Christina Congleton, Britta K. Hölzel, and Sara W. Lazar; “How to Practice Mindfulness Throughout Your Work Day,” by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter; “Resilience for the Rest of Us,” by Daniel Goleman; “Emotional Agility: How Effective Leaders Manage Their Thoughts and Feelings,” by Susan David and Christina Congleton; “Don’t Let Power Corrupt You,” by Dacher Keltner; “Mindfulness for People Who Are Too Busy to Meditate,” by Maria Gonzalez; “Is Something Lost When We Use Mindfulness as a Productivity Tool?” by Charlotte Lieberman; and “There Are Risks to Mindfulness at Work,” by David Brendel. How to be human at work. The HBR Emotional Intelligence Series features smart, essential reading on the human side of professional life from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Each book in the series offers proven research showing how our emotions impact our work lives, practical advice for managing difficult people and situations, and inspiring essays on what it means to tend to our emotional well-being at work. Uplifting and practical, these books describe the social skills that are critical for ambitious professionals to master.

Providers and consumers of mental health services are increasingly making use of the internet to gather information, consult, and participate in psychotherapy. This Handbook gives practical insight into how professionals can translate their practice to an online medium. Divided into four sections, section one provides an overview of how the internet has become an integral part of people's lives, and the research to date on the use and effectiveness of counseling online, as well as idiosyncrasies of online behavior and communication. Section two discusses the "practical" aspects of counseling online, including technological issues, ethical and legal issues, and business issues. Section three focuses on performing psychotherapy online, including online treatment strategies and skills, working with online groups, online testing and assessment, and international and multicultural issues in online counseling. The last section discusses the future of online counseling. The Handbook is intended for those professionals interested in the burgeoning telehealth movement and to those practicing therapists looking for ways to expand their practices online and/or to help round out treatment to specific patients who might benefit from online therapy in addition to traditional delivery.

Emotion is a basic phenomenon of human functioning, most of the time having an adaptive value enhancing our effectiveness in pursuing our goals in the broadest sense. Regulation of these emotions, however, is essential for adaptive functioning, and suboptimal or dysfunctional emotion regulation may even be counterproductive and result in adverse consequences, including a poor well-being and ill health. This volume provides a state-of-the art overview of issues related to the association between emotion regulation and both mental and physical well-being. It covers various areas of research highly relevant to both researchers in the field and clinicians working with emotion regulation issues in their practice. Included topics are arranged along four major areas: • (Neuro-)biological processes involved in the generation and regulation of emotions • Psychological processes and mechanisms related to the link between emotion regulation and psychological well-being as well as physical health • Social perspective on emotion regulation pertaining to well-being and social functioning across the life span • Clinical aspects of emotion regulation and specific mental and physical health problems This broad scope offers the possibility to include research findings and thought-provoking views of leading experts from different fields of research, such as cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, psychophysiology, social psychology, and psychiatry on specific topics such as nonconscious emotion regulation, emotional body language, self-control, rumination, mindfulness, social sharing, positive emotions, intergroup emotions, and attachment in their relation to well-being and health. Chapters are based on the “Fourth International Conference on the (Non) Expression of Emotions in Health and Disease” held at Tilburg University in October 2007. In 2007 Springer published “Emotion Regulation: Conceptual and Clinical Issues” based on the Third International Conference on the (Non) Expression of Emotion in Health and Disease,” held at Tilburg University in October 2003. It is anticipated that, depending on sales, we may continue to publish the advances deriving from this conference.