arXiv subjects

Peter Hillmann

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Hillmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Aligning Models with Their Realization through Model-based Systems Engineering

In this paper, we propose a method for aligning models with their realization through the application of model-based systems engineering. Our approach is divided into three steps. (1) Firstly, we leverage domain expertise and the Unified Architecture Framework to establish a reference model that fundamentally describes some domain. (2) Subsequently, we instantiate the reference model as specific models tailored to different scenarios within the domain. (3) Finally, we incorporate corresponding run logic directly into both the reference model and the specific models. In total, we thus provide a practical means to ensure that every implementation result is justified by business demand. We demonstrate our approach using the example of maritime object detection as a specific application (specific model / implementation element) of automatic target recognition as a service reoccurring in various forms (reference model element). Our approach facilitates a more seamless integration of models and implementation, fostering enhanced Business-IT alignment.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2024

A Flexible Cryptographic Infrastructure for High-security SDR-based Systems

Military software defined radio (SDR) systems are a major factor in future network-centric operations due to their flexibility and support for more capable radio communications systems. The inherent nature of software-based systems requires a more complex auxiliary infrastructure and multiple independent levels of security compared with typical systems: Secure booting of the SDR device, cryptographically signed software, real time operating platform software as well as radio applications. This technology raises new challenges with respect to the management. The largest impact on SDR deployments is due to the auxiliary cryptographic infrastructure for the security of the software life cycle and the cyclic update of the keys. Compared to conventional radio devices, the SDR system with the cryptographic infrastructure described in this paper reaches a higher security level and is more flexible. The advantage is the possibility to deploy trunked radio system and further waveforms, such as coalition wideband, which will be standardized in the future. Also it is possible to update cryptographic mechanisms. In this work, we analyze the requirements for a high secure SDR deployment and model the life cycle of the components of a deployed SDR node based on the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) Software Communication Architecture (SCA).

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

Constraint based Modeling according to Reference Design

Reference models in form of best practices are an essential element to ensured knowledge as design for reuse. Popular modeling approaches do not offer mechanisms to embed reference models in a supporting way, let alone a repository of it. Therefore, it is hardly possible to profit from this expertise. The problem is that the reference models are not described formally enough to be helpful in developing solutions. Consequently, the challenge is about the process, how a user can be supported in designing dedicated solutions assisted by reference models. In this paper, we present a generic approach for the formal description of reference models using semantic technologies and their application. Our modeling assistant allows the construction of solution models using different techniques based on reference building blocks. This environment enables the subsequent verification of the developed designs against the reference models for conformity. Therefore, our reference modeling assistant highlights the interdependency. The application of these techniques contributes to the formalization of requirements and finally to quality assurance in context of maturity model. It is possible to use multiple reference models in context of system of system designs. The approach is evaluated in industrial area and it can be integrated into different modeling landscapes.

cs.DB↗

arXiv2024

Strategies for Tracking Individual IP Packets Towards DDoS

The identification of the exact path that packets are routed in the network is quite a challenge. This paper presents a novel, efficient traceback strategy in combination with a defence system against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks named Tracemax. A single packets can be directly traced over many more hops than the current existing techniques allow. It let good connections pass while bad ones get thwarted. Initiated by the victim the routers in the network cooperate in tracing and become automatically self-organised and self-managed. The novel concept support analyses of packet flows and transmission paths in a network infrastructure. It can effectively reduce the effect of common bandwidth and resource consumption attacks and foster in addition early warning and prevention.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

A Document-based Knowledge Discovery with Microservices Architecture

The first step towards digitalization within organizations lies in digitization - the conversion of analog data into digitally stored data. This basic step is the prerequisite for all following activities like the digitalization of processes or the servitization of products or offerings. However, digitization itself often leads to 'data-rich' but 'knowledge-poor' material. Knowledge discovery and knowledge extraction as approaches try to increase the usefulness of digitized data. In this paper, we point out the key challenges in the context of knowledge discovery and present an approach to addressing these using a microservices architecture. Our solution led to a conceptual design focusing on keyword extraction, similarity calculation of documents, database queries in natural language, and programming language independent provision of the extracted information. In addition, the conceptual design provides referential design guidelines for integrating processes and applications for semi-automatic learning, editing, and visualization of ontologies. The concept also uses a microservices architecture to address non-functional requirements, such as scalability and resilience. The evaluation of the specified requirements is performed using a demonstrator that implements the concept. Furthermore, this modern approach is used in the German patent office in an extended version.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2023

Lightweight Public Key Encryption in Post-Quantum Computing Era

Confidentiality in our digital world is based on the security of cryptographic algorithms. These are usually executed transparently in the background, with people often relying on them without further knowledge. In the course of technological progress with quantum computers, the protective function of common encryption algorithms is threatened. This particularly affects public-key methods such as RSA and DH based on discrete logarithms and prime factorization. Our concept describes the transformation of a classical asymmetric encryption method to a modern complexity class. Thereby the approach of Cramer-Shoup is put on the new basis of elliptic curves. The system is provable cryptographically strong, especially against adaptive chosen-ciphertext attacks. In addition, the new method features small key lengths, making it suitable for Internet-of-Things. It represents an intermediate step towards an encryption scheme based on isogeny elliptic curves. This approach shows a way to a secure encryption scheme for the post-quantum computing era.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2023

User-Like Bots for Cognitive Automation: A Survey

Software bots have attracted increasing interest and popularity in both research and society. Their contributions span automation, digital twins, game characters with conscious-like behavior, and social media. However, there is still a lack of intelligent bots that can adapt to web environments' variability and dynamic nature. Unlike human users, they have difficulty understanding and exploiting the affordances across multiple virtual environments. Despite the hype, bots with human user-like cognition do not currently exist. Chatbots, for instance, lack situational awareness on the digital platforms where they operate, preventing them from enacting meaningful and autonomous intelligent behavior similar to human users. In this survey, we aim to explore the role of cognitive architectures in supporting efforts towards engineering software bots with advanced general intelligence. We discuss how cognitive architectures can contribute to creating intelligent software bots. Furthermore, we highlight key architectural recommendations for the future development of autonomous, user-like cognitive bots.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2023

Towards Cognitive Bots: Architectural Research Challenges

Software bots operating in multiple virtual digital platforms must understand the platforms' affordances and behave like human users. Platform affordances or features differ from one application platform to another or through a life cycle, requiring such bots to be adaptable. Moreover, bots in such platforms could cooperate with humans or other software agents for work or to learn specific behavior patterns. However, present-day bots, particularly chatbots, other than language processing and prediction, are far from reaching a human user's behavior level within complex business information systems. They lack the cognitive capabilities to sense and act in such virtual environments, rendering their development a challenge to artificial general intelligence research. In this study, we problematize and investigate assumptions in conceptualizing software bot architecture by directing attention to significant architectural research challenges in developing cognitive bots endowed with complex behavior for operation on information systems. As an outlook, we propose alternate architectural assumptions to consider in future bot design and bot development frameworks.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2022

Enterprise Model Library for Business-IT-Alignment

The knowledge of the world is passed on through libraries. Accordingly, domain expertise and experiences should also be transferred within an enterprise by a knowledge base. Therefore, models are an established medium to describe good practices for complex systems, processes, and interconnections. However, there is no structured and detailed approach for a design of an enterprise model library. The objective of this work is the reference architecture of a repository for models with function of reuse. It includes the design of the data structure for filing, the processes for administration and possibilities for usage. Our approach enables consistent mapping of requirements into models via meta-data attributes. Furthermore, the adaptation of reference architectures in specific use cases as well as a reconciliation of interrelationships is enabled. A case study with industry demonstrates the practical benefits of reusing work already done. It provides an organization with systematic access to specifications, standards and guidelines. Thus, further development is accelerated and supported in a structured manner, while complexity remains controllable. The presented approach enriches various enterprise architecture frameworks. It provides benefits for development based on models.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2022

(B)LOCKBOX -- Secure Software Architecture with Blockchain Verification

According to experts, one third of all IT vulnerabilities today are due to inadequate software verification. Internal program processes are not sufficiently secured against manipulation by attackers, especially if access has been gained. There is a lack of internal control instances that can monitor and control program flows. Especially when a software vulnerability becomes known, quick action is required, whereby the consequences for an individual application are often not foreseeable. With our approach (B)LOCKBOX, software building blocks act as verified entities within a transaction-based blockchain network. Source Code, binaries and application execution become supervised. Unwanted interference and manipulation are prevented by the integrity of the distributed system.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2022

Methodology for Holistic Reference Modeling in Systems Engineering

Models in face of increasing complexity support development of new systems and enterprises. For an efficient procedure, reference models are adapted in order to reach a solution with les overhead which covers all necessary aspects. Here, a key challenge is applying a consistent methodology for the descriptions of such reference designs. This paper presents a holistic approach to describe reference models across different views and levels. Modeling stretches from the requirements and capabilities over their subdivision to services and components up to the realization in processes and data structures. Benefits include an end-to-end traceability of the capability coverage with performance parameters considered already at the starting point of the reference design. This enables focused development while considering design constraints and potential bottlenecks. We demonstrate the approach on the example of the development of a smart robot. Here, our methodology highly supports transferability of designs for the development of further systems.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2021

Automated Enterprise Architecture Model Mining

Metadata are like the steam engine of the 21st century, driving businesses and offer multiple enhancements. Nevertheless, many companies are unaware that these data can be used efficiently to improve their own operation. This is where the Enterprise Architecture Framework comes in. It empowers an organisation to get a clear view of their business, application, technical and physical layer. This modelling approach is an established method for organizations to take a deeper look into their structure and processes. The development of such models requires a great deal of effort, is carried out manually by interviewing stakeholders and requires continuous maintenance. Our new approach enables the automated mining of Enterprise Architecture models. The system uses common technologies to collect the metadata based on network traffic, log files and other information in an organisation. Based on this, the new approach generates EA models with the desired views points. Furthermore, a rule and knowledge-based reasoning is used to obtain a holistic overview. This offers a strategic decision support from business structure over process design up to planning the appropriate support technology. Therefore, it forms the base for organisations to act in an agile way. The modelling can be performed in different modelling languages, including ArchiMate and the Nato Architecture Framework (NAF). The designed approach is already evaluated on a small company with multiple services and an infrastructure with several nodes.

cs.IR↗

arXiv2021

Reference Service Model for Federated Identity Management

With the pandemic of COVID-19, people around the world increasingly work from home. Each natural person typically has several digital identities with different associated information. During the last years, various identity and access management approaches have gained attraction, helping for example to access other organization's services within trust boundaries. The resulting heterogeneity creates a high complexity to differentiate between these approaches and scenarios as participating entity; combining them is even harder. Last but not least, various actors have a different understanding or perspective of the terms, like 'service', in this context. Our paper describes a reference service with standard components in generic federated identity management. This is utilized with modern Enterprise Architecture using the framework ArchiMate. The proposed universal federated identity management service model (FIMSM) is applied to describe various federated identity management scenarios in a generic service-oriented way. The presented reference design is approved in multiple aspects and is easily applicable in numerous scenarios.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2021

Enterprise Architecture Model Transformation Engine

With increasing linkage within value chains, the IT systems of different companies are also being connected with each other. This enables the integration of services within the movement of Industry 4.0 in order to improve the quality and performance of the processes. Enterprise architecture models form the basis for this with a better buisness IT-alignment. However, the heterogeneity of the modeling frameworks and description languages makes a concatenation considerably difficult, especially differences in syntax, semantic and relations. Therefore, this paper presents a transformation engine to convert enterprise architecture models between several languages. We developed the first generic translation approach that is free of specific meta-modeling, which is flexible adaptable to arbitrary modeling languages. The transformation process is defined by various pattern matching techniques using a rule-based description language. It uses set theory and first-order logic for an intuitive description as a basis. The concept is practical evaluated using an example in the area of a large German IT-service provider. Anyhow, the approach is applicable between a wide range of enterprise architecture frameworks.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2021

Selective Deletion in a Blockchain

The constantly growing size of blockchains becomes a challenge with the increasing usage. Especially the storage of unwanted data in a blockchain is an issue, because it cannot be removed naturally. In order to counteract this problem, we present the first concept for the selective deletion of single entries in a blockchain. For this purpose, the general consensus algorithm is extended by the functionality of regularly creating summary blocks. Previous data of the chain are summarized and stored again in a new block, leaving out unwanted information. With a shifting marker of the Genesis Block, data can be deleted from the beginning of a blockchain. In this way, the technology of the blockchain becomes fully transactional. The concept is independent of a specific block structure, network structure, or consensus algorithm. Moreover, this functionality can be adapted to current blockchains to solve multiple problems related to scalability. This approach enables the transfer of blockchain technology to further fields of application, among others in the area of Industry 4.0 and Product Life-cycle Management.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2021

Cyber Taxi: A Taxonomy of Interactive Cyber Training and Education Systems

The lack of guided exercises and practical opportunities to learn about cybersecurity in a practical way makes it difficult for security experts to improve their proficiency. Capture the Flag events and Cyber Ranges are ideal for cybersecurity training. Thereby, the participants usually compete in teams against each other, or have to defend themselves in a specific scenario. As organizers of yearly events, we present a taxonomy for interactive cyber training and education. The proposed taxonomy includes different factors of the technical setup, audience, training environment, and training setup. By the comprehensive taxonomy, different aspects of interactive training are considered. This can help trainings to improve and to be established successfully. The provided taxonomy is extendable and can be used in further application areas as research on new security technologies.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2020

Agile Approach for IT Forensics Management

The forensic investigation of cyber attacks and IT incidents is becoming increasingly difficult due to increasing complexity and intensify networking. Especially with Advanced Attacks (AT) like the increasing Advanced Persistent Threats an agile approach is indispensable. Several systems are involved in an attack (multi-host attacks). Current forensic models and procedures show considerable deficits in the process of analyzing such attacks. For this purpose, this paper presents the novel flower model, which uses agile methods and forms a new forensic management approach. In this way, the growing challenges of ATs are met. In the forensic investigation of such attacks, big data problems have to be solved due to the amount of data that needs to be analyzed. The proposed model meets this requirement by precisely defining the questions that need to be answered in an early state and collecting only the evidence usable in court proceedings that is needed to answer these questions. Additionally, the novel flower model for AT is presented that meets the different phases of an investigation process.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2020

NERD: Neural Network for Edict of Risky Data Streams

Cyber incidents can have a wide range of cause from a simple connection loss to an insistent attack. Once a potential cyber security incidents and system failures have been identified, deciding how to proceed is often complex. Especially, if the real cause is not directly in detail determinable. Therefore, we developed the concept of a Cyber Incident Handling Support System. The developed system is enriched with information by multiple sources such as intrusion detection systems and monitoring tools. It uses over twenty key attributes like sync-package ratio to identify potential security incidents and to classify the data into different priority categories. Afterwards, the system uses artificial intelligence to support the further decision-making process and to generate corresponding reports to brief the Board of Directors. Originating from this information, appropriate and detailed suggestions are made regarding the causes and troubleshooting measures. Feedback from users regarding the problem solutions are included into future decision-making by using labelled flow data as input for the learning process. The prototype shows that the decision making can be sustainably improved and the Cyber Incident Handling process becomes much more effective.

cs.CY↗