arXiv subjects

Ezer Osei Yeboah-Boateng

Publications and source records attributed to Ezer Osei Yeboah-Boateng.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Review of Mobile Apps Permissions and Associated Intrusive Privacy Threats

The age of technology has created a huge market for smartphones and Apps usage and a new generation has been created based on knowledge sharing. Now knowledge has been made easily accessible by Apps but; are users even aware of the permissions that these Apps require and the privacy issues involved? The study was conducted on the basis of how users make use of Apps. It was conducted through the assessment of permissions required by various Apps through carefully selected third-party Apps and the devices settings and also a review of existing literature that has been conducted in fields within Apps and privacy. It will be unearthed that a many different but exhaustive lists of permission are sought by each App installed and the device it is installed on can quite give the user the information. Also not all permissions sought were found to be risky but some just created a path or a vulnerable point for other malicious programs to take advantage of.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2016

An Automated Attendance System based on NFC & X-Bee Technologies with a Remote Database

The main aim of this research was to automate attendance registration, thereby reducing human involvement in the whole process. Typically, the system works by storing vital staff personable information, such as Name, Job specification, etc. into a MySQL database upon engagement. The staff is identified with a unique key associated with an NFC based ID card within the database. So on typical work day, an employee scans his/her ID card on the PN532 reader in close proximity. The exact time and date, together with the unique identifier of the scanned card are stored locally on a storage media, before the data is relayed via the XBee to the remote database. The captured data is then authenticated by comparing with the pre-entered data to give access or authorization to the corporate resources, as well as recorded for attendance purposes. Our experiment shows that the automated attendance system is more effective, efficient and reliable, due to its real time capability, remote monitoring and attendance reports that it provides to the institution.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2016

Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD): An Evaluation of Associated Risks to Corporate Information Security

This study evaluates the cyber-risks to Business Information Assets posed by the adoption of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) to the workplace. BYOD is an emerging trend where employees bring and use personal computing devices on the companys network to access applications and sensitive data like emails, calendar and scheduling applications, documents, etc. Employees are captivated by BYOD because they can have access to private items as well as perform certain job functions while being unrestricted to their desks. This is however usually done on the blind side of management or the system administrator; a situation that tends to expose vital and sensitive corporate information to various threats like unwanted network traffic, unknown applications, malwares, and viruses. Expert opinions were elicited in this exploratory study. The study evaluated the characteristics of BYOD, assessed associated risks, threats and vulnerabilities. The findings indicate that little or no security measures were instituted to mitigate risks associated with BYOD. Though, profound benefits abound with BYOD adoption, they could be eroded by security threats and costs of mitigation in curing breaches. The most significant risk was found to be Data Loss which was in consonance with similar studies on Smartphone security risks. Some mitigation measures are then recommended.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2016

Multi-Tenancy Issues with Service Delivery in Developing Economies: Privacy, Trust and Availability Concerns

Cloud computing is a new paradigm and innovation in the technology service delivery. It is utilized for IT-enabled value creation. The capex-free nature of cloud service delivery renders it very attractive to many SMEs. But it is saddled with multi-tenancy issues; prominent under this study are concerns of privacy, trust and availability. How do end-users trust providers with their sensitive data? How secured and confidential are their corporate assets? Amidst the perennial power outages (a.k.a. Dumsor), what is the acceptable available uptime? We sampled and interviewed cloud service providers (CSPs) as well as end-users in Ghana, a developing economy. We also gleaned through some secondary data to ascertain some operational concerns. The results indicate that security and service level agreements (SLAs) are key concerns in respect of privacy and trust issues. Similarly, perennial power outages and security were key availability concerns. This was expected as end-users use cloud services for mission critical information assets, and so requires high availability. The implications are that the cyber-security concerns ought to be addressed if SMEs in developing economies are to adopt and accept cloud computing resources for IT-enabled competitive advantage.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2015

Challenges to Integration of Information Technology in Physical Infrastructure Development Processes at the Local Government Level

Ghana's Decentralization Policy has made significant contribution in infrastructural implementation and delivery through Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as an alternative development strategy to ensure the implementation of the overall national agenda. To date, many systems and strategies have been implemented towards improving development of infrastructure at the local government level. Given that initiation and implementation of infrastructural development at the local level involves the multi-institutional participation of various stakeholders in local governance for effective monitoring and development, several governance forms including e-governance have been initiated towards improvement and effective management of the assemblies. E-Governance through the use of relevant Information and Communication Technology has been implemented through the Government Policy on Information and Communications Technology for Accelerated Development as a catalyst to facilitate the cross-sectoral participation in the implementation of infrastructural development. Unfortunately, to date, the ICT4AD does not appear to be successfully on course having been in existence for over a decade. Similarly, the development and monitoring of the physical infrastructure at the local level continue to suffer several setbacks and it is currently clearly evident that a refined system of best practices must be put in place to simplify and harmonize the entire development process. This paper is aimed at the assessment of the challenges of e-governance in infrastructural development at the local government level in Ghana. Using a mixed approach with purposive sampling, data gathered from the MMDAs in Ashanti Region suggest that the entire programme has been very slow; bedeviled with lack of funding and

cs.CY↗