Vol. 21 No. 3/2017

Issue Topic: Cybersecurity

Using Ontologies in Cybersecurity Field
Tiberiu Marian GEORGESCU, Ion SMEUREANU 5
This paper is an exploratory research which aims to improve the cybersecurity field by means of semantic web technologies. The authors present a framework which uses Semantic Web technologies to automatically extract and analyse text in natural language available online. The system provides results that are further analysed by cybersecurity experts to detect black hat hackers’ activities. The authors examine several characteristics of how hacking communities communicate and collaborate online and how much information can be obtained by analysing different types of internet text communication channels. Having online sources as input data, the model proposed extracts and analyses natural language that relates with cybersecurity field, with the aid of ontologies. The main objective is to generate information about possible black hat hacking actions, which later can be analysed punctually by experts. This paper describes the data flow of the framework and it proposes technological solutions so that the model can be applied. In their future work, the authors plan to implement the framework described as a system software application.
Keywords: Cybersecurity, Ontologies, Semantic Web

Web Applications Vulnerability Management using a Quantitative Stochastic Risk Modeling Method
Sergiu SECHEL 16
The aim of this research is to propose a quantitative risk modeling method that reduces the guess work and uncertainty from the vulnerability and risk assessment activities of web based applications while providing users the flexibility to assess risk according to their risk appetite and tolerance with a high degree of assurance. The research method is based on the research done by the OWASP Foundation on this subject but their risk rating methodology needed de-bugging and updates in different in key areas that are presented in this paper. The modified risk modeling method uses Monte Carlo simulations to model risk characteristics that can’t be determined without guess work and it was tested in vulnerability assessment activities on real production systems and in theory by assigning discrete uniform assumptions to all risk charac-teristics (risk attributes) and evaluate the results after 1.5 million rounds of Monte Carlo simu-lations.
Keywords: Vulnerabilities, Quantitative Risk, Web Applications, Monte Carlo, Stochastic Systems, Cybersecurity

A Revised Set of Usability Heuristics for the Evaluation of Interactive Systems
Costin PRIBEANU 31
Usability is a critical quality attribute in the information society. Inspection based evaluation re-lies on various forms of design knowledge that are used to assess the usability, such as ergo-nomic criteria, heuristics, and guidelines. Usability heuristics are widely recognized principles against which the usability of an interactive system could be evaluated. This work presents a revised set of usability heuristics that are based on the experience acquired in previous studies targeting local e-government websites. The underlying goal is to include the most important er-gonomic criteria and usability heuristics into a clear hierarchical organization, which helps evaluators to better explain and developers to better understand the usability problems. The new set has only fourteen heuristics that are structured into four groups: user guidance, user effort, user control and freedom, and user support. The main strength of this approach is the good coverage achieved with a reduced number of heuristics.
Keywords: Usability Evaluation, Usability Heuristics, Ergonomic Criteria, Usability Inspection

Is DevOps another Project Management Methodology?
Logica BANICA, Magdalena RADULESCU, Doina ROSCA, Alina HAGIU 39
In this paper, the authors aim to present the concept of DevOps (Development & Operations), considering its degree of novelty in the area of project management. Firstly, the authors will bring theoretical arguments to support the idea that DevOps is an early-stage methodology, built on the Agile principles, but coming with its own contributions in project management for software development and implementation. Therefore, we believe that after a short time, DevOps will replace its predecessors. Secondly, we experienced this methodology by developing a small project in academic environment by three teams of master students, using VersionOne software. The Conclusions will emphasize the relevance and the future expected effects of DevOps methodology in the project management domain.
Keywords: Project Management Software, DevOps Methodology, Academic Environment

Dynamic Selection Screen Generation for SAP Solutions
Cornelia MUNTEAN 52
This paper presents an application for generating a dynamic selection screen in ABAP and the need and advantages of this solution instead of the manual modification of the coding itself for adding one or more parameters in the whole logic of the program. Depending on data found in a customizing table, we would like to generate a program with a selection screen, containing select options based on the criteria specified in the customizing table. The presented solution can be adapted to any dynamically generated ABAP program, according to the desired selection screen elements, and may be used as a template even for other programs. The advantages of the proposed solution are also presented along with the disadvantages, underlining the particularities of the ABAP programming language.
Keywords: Dynamic Programming, Selection Screen, Customizing Table, ABAP, SAP

Learning Analytics Mobile Application for the Bucharest University of Economic Studies’ Students
Anca IANCU, Daniel-Mihai IONESCU 65
Learning analytics refers to improving the educational process by providing feedback and in-volving all the stakeholders. It is a very useful method with positive effects on both students and teachers. In ASE, the idea of learning analytics is not very well shaped, so development is needed on this side. This article proposes a learning analytics app for better exploitation of SIMUR database content in order to improve the educational processes in the university.
Keywords: Learning Analytics, Educational Process Improvement, Students, Feedback

Social Networking as a Facilitator for Lifelong Learning in Multinational Employee’s Career
Andreea Nicoleta VISAN, Florentina Marinela OLTEANU 73
This paper discusses how multinational employees who are leaving in Bucharest, Romania use social networks as a tool for their everyday tasks and work, and how they want to satisfy their personal development needs by having access to information from these digital platforms. The case study described was conducted in Bucharest in 2017 and followed a results analysis with structured tables and graphs. In the study took part 24 participants who were selected among multinational IT employees in Bucharest. Social networks contribute to employee’s lifelong educational process: besides providing them positive gratification, they also contribute to their personal development and careers growth. Even though all individuals who participated in this study use social networks, more efforts should be done in order for companies in Bucharest to know the benefits of social networks and employee’s opinion about their contribution to lifelong learning.
Keywords: Social Network, Lifelong Learning, Multinational Companies, Bucharest

Publishing Guide for Authors 82

INFOREC Association 84