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About

Pedro Pinto received a Licenciatura degree in Electrotecnical and Computer Engineering and a MSc degree in Communication Networks and Services both from University of Porto, Portugal. Also, he holds a joint PhD degree in Telecommunications from Universities of Minho, Aveiro and Porto, Portugal. He has 15+ years of experience lecturing in telecommunications and computer networks areas. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC) and also a senior researcher at INESC TEC. His research interests include wireless networks, routing, QoS and security.

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Publications

2023

On the Performance of Secure Sharing of Classified Threat Intelligence between Multiple Entities

Authors
Fernandes, R; Bugla, S; Pinto, P; Pinto, A;

Publication
SENSORS

Abstract
The sharing of cyberthreat information within a community or group of entities is possible due to solutions such as the Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP). However, the MISP was considered limited if its information was deemed as classified or shared only for a given period of time. A solution using searchable encryption techniques that better control the sharing of information was previously proposed by the same authors. This paper describes a prototype implementation for two key functionalities of the previous solution, considering multiple entities sharing information with each other: the symmetric key generation of a sharing group and the functionality to update a shared index. Moreover, these functionalities are evaluated regarding their performance, and enhancements are proposed to improve the performance of the implementation regarding its execution time. As the main result, the duration of the update process was shortened from around 2922 s to around 302 s, when considering a shared index with 100,000 elements. From the security analysis performed, the implementation can be considered secure, thus confirming the secrecy of the exchanged nonces. The limitations of the current implementation are depicted, and future work is pointed out.

2023

Prototyping the IDS Security Components in the Context of Industry 4.0 - A Textile and Clothing Industry Case Study

Authors
Torres, N; Chaves, A; Toscano, C; Pinto, P;

Publication
Communications in Computer and Information Science

Abstract
With the introduction of Industry 4.0 technological concepts, suppliers and manufacturers envision new or improved products and services, cost reductions, and productivity gains. In this context, data exchanges between companies in the same or different activity sectors are necessary, while assuring data security and sovereignty. Thus, it is crucial to select and implement adequate standards which enable the interconnection requirements between companies and also feature security by design. The International Data Spaces (IDS) is a current standard that provides data sharing through data spaces mainly composed of homogeneous rules, certified data providers/consumers, and reliability between partners. Implementing IDS in sectors such as textile and clothing is expected to open new opportunities and challenges. This paper proposes a prototype for the IDS Security Components in the Textile and Clothing Industry context. This prototype assures data sovereignty and enables the interactions required by all participants in this supply chain industry using secure communications. The adoption of IDS as a base model in this activity sector fosters productive collaboration, lowers entry barriers for business partnerships, and enables an innovation environment. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

2023

Toward a Secure Industrial Wireless Body Area Network Focusing MAC Layer Protocols: An Analytical Review

Authors
Javadpour, A; Sangaiah, AK; Jafari, F; Pinto, P; Memarzadeh-Tehran, H; Rezaei, S; Saghafi, F;

Publication
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL INFORMATICS

Abstract
Monitoring security and quality of service is essential, due to the rapid growth of the number of nodes in wireless networks. In healthcare/industrial environments, especially in wireless body area networks (WBANs), this is even more important. Because the delays and errors can directly affect patients'/scientists' health. To increase the Monitoring Quality of Services (MQoS) in WBANs, a secure medium access control (MAC) protocol needs to be developed to provide optimal services. This article provides a comprehensive review of MAC protocols in WBANs with a technical security analysis approach. Time-based, contention-based, and hybrid protocols are compared in this article, regarding MQoS and their security vulnerabilities. We have considered delay, packet loss, and energy consumption as performance evaluation criteria in WBANs, which may be degraded under a cyberattack. This work shows that there is a research gap in the literature, which is the failure of covering security and privacy issues in the MAC layer protocols.

2023

Using Reinforcement Learning to Reduce Energy Consumption of Ultra-Dense Networks With 5G Use Cases Requirements

Authors
Malta, S; Pinto, P; Fernandez Veiga, M;

Publication
IEEE ACCESS

Abstract
In mobile networks, 5G Ultra-Dense Networks (UDNs) have emerged as they effectively increase the network capacity due to cell splitting and densification. A Base Station (BS) is a fixed transceiver that is the main communication point for one or more wireless mobile client devices. As UDNs are densely deployed, the number of BSs and communication links is dense, raising concerns about resource management with regard to energy efficiency, since BSs consume much of the total cost of energy in a cellular network. It is expected that 6G next-generation mobile networks will include technologies such as artificial intelligence as a service and focus on energy efficiency. Using machine learning it is possible to optimize energy consumption with cognitive management of dormant, inactive and active states of network elements. Reinforcement learning enables policies that allow sleep mode techniques to gradually deactivate or activate components of BSs and decrease BS energy consumption. In this work, a sleep mode management based on State Action Reward State Action (SARSA) is proposed, which allows the use of specific metrics to find the best tradeoff between energy reduction and Quality of Service (QoS) constraints. The results of the simulations show that, depending on the target of the 5G use case, in low traffic load scenarios and when a reduction in energy consumption is preferred over QoS, it is possible to achieve energy savings up to 80% with 50 ms latency, 75% with 20 ms and 10 ms latencies and 20% with 1 ms latency. If the QoS is preferred, then the energy savings reach a maximum of 5% with minimal impact in terms of latency.

2023

An Analysis of Infractions and Fines in the Context of the GDPR

Authors
Dias, JC; Martins, A; Pinto, P;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION AND NEW MEDIA

Abstract
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the regulation that determines the directives inherent to the collection, processing, and protection of personal data in European Union (EU) countries. It was implemented in May 2018 and over the past few years, several public and private companies have been affected by serious penalties. With more than 1500 fines already registered, it is important to have an analysis and insights about them. This paper proposes a detailed analysis of the public records of fines under GDPR, understanding the average fines imposed, the main causes for their application and how they have evolved over time. It is also intended to understand the most affected sectors and point ways to mitigate these penalties. It is concluded that fines under GDPR have an increasing trend over time, both in number of fines and in value, with Industry and Commerce & Media, Telecoms and Broadcasting being the most affected sectors.