Sapan Pandya^*

Journal of Cyber Security, Vol.7, pp. 637-651, 2025, DOI:10.32604/jcs.2025.073670 - 24 December 2025

Abstract Ransomware has evolved from opportunistic malware into a global economic weapon, crippling critical services and extracting billions in illicit revenue. While most research has centered on enterprise networks and healthcare systems, an equally vulnerable frontier is emerging in lottery and betting kiosks—self-service financial Internet of Things (IoT) devices that handle billions of dollars annually. These terminals operate unattended, rely on legacy operating systems, and interact with sensitive transactional data, making them prime ransomware targets. This paper introduces a Resilient Security Framework (RSF) for kiosks under ransomware threat conditions. RSF integrates three defensive layers: (1) prevention… More >

Boniface Wambui^1,*, Margaret Mwinji¹, Hellen Nyambura²

Journal of Cyber Security, Vol.7, pp. 463-482, 2025, DOI:10.32604/jcs.2025.069444 - 23 October 2025

Abstract As universities rapidly embrace digital transformation, their growing dependence on interconnected systems for academic, research, and administrative operations has significantly heightened their exposure to sophisticated cyber threats. Traditional defenses such as firewalls and signature-based intrusion detection systems have proven inadequate against evolving attacks like malware, phishing, ransomware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). This growing complexity necessitates intelligent, adaptive, and anticipatory cybersecurity strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a transformative approach by enabling automated threat detection, anomaly identification, and real-time incident response. This study sought to design and evaluate an AI-driven cybersecurity framework specifically for university networks… More >

Inam Ullah Khan¹, Fida Muhammad Khan^1,*, Zeeshan Ali Haider¹, Fahad Alturise^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.85, No.3, pp. 4307-4344, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.070189 - 23 October 2025

Abstract The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has introduced significant security challenges due to the scale, complexity, and heterogeneity of interconnected devices. The current traditional centralized security models are deemed irrelevant in dealing with these threats, especially in decentralized applications where the IoT devices may at times operate on minimal resources. The emergence of new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, edge computing, and Zero-Trust-Architecture (ZTA), is offering potential solutions as it helps with additional threat detection, data integrity, and system resilience in real-time. AI offers sophisticated anomaly detection and prediction analytics, and… More >

Asrar Mahboob¹, Muhammad Rashad¹, Ghulam Abbas¹, Zohaib Mushtaq², Tehseen Mazhar^3,*, Ateeq Ur Rehman^4,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.85, No.2, pp. 3805-3823, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.067615 - 23 September 2025

Abstract This paper presents a novel blockchain-embedded cybersecurity framework for industrial solar power systems, integrating immutable machine learning (ML) with distributed ledger technology. Our contribution focused on three factors, Quantum-resistant feature engineering using the UNSW-NB15 dataset adapted for solar infrastructure anomalies. An enhanced Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) classifier with blockchain-validated decision thresholds, and A cryptographic proof-of-threat (PoT) consensus mechanism for cyber attack verification. The proposed Immutable LightGBM model with majority voting and cryptographic feature encoding achieves 96.9% detection accuracy with 0.97 weighted average of precision, recall and F1-score, outperforming conventional intrusion detection systems (IDSs) by… More >

Kuncham Sreenivasa Rao¹, Rajitha Kotoju², B. Ramana Reddy³, Taher Al-Shehari⁴, Nasser A. Alsadhan⁵, Subhav Singh^6,7,8, Shitharth Selvarajan^9,10,11,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.85, No.1, pp. 1899-1916, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.064728 - 29 August 2025

Abstract Protecting Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition-Industrial Internet of Things (SCADA-IIoT) systems against intruders has become essential since industrial control systems now oversee critical infrastructure, and cyber attackers more frequently target these systems. Due to their connection of physical assets with digital networks, SCADA-IIoT systems face substantial risks from multiple attack types, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), spoofing, and more advanced intrusion methods. Previous research in this field faces challenges due to insufficient solutions, as current intrusion detection systems lack the necessary accuracy, scalability, and adaptability needed for IIoT environments. This paper introduces CyberFortis, a… More >

Shitharth Selvarajan^1,2,3,*, Hariprasath Manoharan⁴, Taher Al-Shehari⁵, Hussain Alsalman⁶, Taha Alfakih⁷

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.82, No.3, pp. 4339-4369, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.056100 - 06 March 2025

Abstract This research presents an analysis of smart grid units to enhance connected units’ security during data transmissions. The major advantage of the proposed method is that the system model encompasses multiple aspects such as network flow monitoring, data expansion, control association, throughput, and losses. In addition, all the above-mentioned aspects are carried out with neural networks and adaptive optimizations to enhance the operation of smart grid networks. Moreover, the quantitative analysis of the optimization algorithm is discussed concerning two case studies, thereby achieving early convergence at reduced complexities. The suggested method ensures that each communication More >

Kranthi Alluri, S. Gopikrishnan^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.79, No.1, pp. 943-961, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.048621 - 25 April 2024

Abstract Secure authentication and accurate localization among Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are pivotal for the functionality and integrity of IoT networks. IoT authentication and localization are intricate and symbiotic, impacting both the security and operational functionality of IoT systems. Hence, accurate localization and lightweight authentication on resource-constrained IoT devices pose several challenges. To overcome these challenges, recent approaches have used encryption techniques with well-known key infrastructures. However, these methods are inefficient due to the increasing number of data breaches in their localization approaches. This proposed research efficiently integrates authentication and localization processes in such a… More >

Jaime Ortiz Córdoba, Alejandro Molina Zarca^*, Antonio Skármeta

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.37, No.2, pp. 2307-2333, 2023, DOI:10.32604/iasc.2023.039607 - 21 June 2023

Abstract 5G/Beyond 5G (B5G) networks provide connectivity to many heterogeneous devices, raising significant security and operational issues and making traditional infrastructure management increasingly complex. In this regard, new frameworks such as Anastacia-H2020 or INSPIRE-5GPlus automate the management of next-generation infrastructures, especially regarding policy-based security, abstraction, flexibility, and extensibility. This paper presents the design, workflow, and implementation of a security solution based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), able to extend 5G/B5G security framework capabilities with UAV features like dynamic service provisioning in specific geographic areas. The proposed solution allows enforcing UAV security policies in proactive and reactive… More >

Walid El-Shafai^1,2, Hayam A. Abd El-Hameed³, Ashraf A. M. Khalaf³, Naglaa F. Soliman⁴, Amel A. Alhussan^5,*, Fathi E. Abd El-Samie¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.73, No.2, pp. 2713-2730, 2022, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2022.028739 - 16 June 2022

Abstract Authentication of the digital image has much attention for the digital revolution. Digital image authentication can be verified with image watermarking and image encryption schemes. These schemes are widely used to protect images against forgery attacks, and they are useful for protecting copyright and rightful ownership. Depending on the desirable applications, several image encryption and watermarking schemes have been proposed to moderate this attention. This framework presents a new scheme that combines a Walsh Hadamard Transform (WHT)-based image watermarking scheme with an image encryption scheme based on Double Random Phase Encoding (DRPE). First, on the More >

Osama S. Faragallah^1,*, Walid El-Shafai², Ashraf Afifi¹, Ibrahim Elashry³, Mohammed A. AlZain¹, Jehad F. Al-Amri¹, Ben Soh⁴, Heba M. El-Hoseny⁵, Hala S. El-Sayed⁶, Fathi E.Abd El-Samie²

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.28, No.2, pp. 353-367, 2021, DOI:10.32604/iasc.2021.016865 - 01 April 2021

Abstract With the rapidly increasing rate of using online services and social media websites, cybercriminals have caused a great deterioration in the network security with enormous undesired consequences. Encryption techniques may be utilized to achieve data robustness and security in digital multimedia communication systems. From this perspective, this paper presents an optical ciphering framework using Double Random Phase Encoding (DRPE) for efficient and secure transmission of Three-Dimensional Videos (3DVs). Firstly, in the DRPE-based 3DV cybersecurity framework proposed in the paper, an optical emitter converts each frame of the transmitted 3DV into an optical signal. Then, the More >