Vítor Fonte - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Vítor Fonte

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a bottom-up approach to inclusive digital identity systems

14th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, 2021

The path towards the United Nations objective of providing legal identity for all, including free... more The path towards the United Nations objective of providing legal identity for all, including free birth registrations, has been facing several challenges. Particularly, the diversity of social realities, limited ICT infrastructures, inadequate legal frameworks, and unstable political engagement have resulted in solutions highly fitted to a specific scenario, thus hard to be replicated in different regions. Paired with noncomprehensive public services of civil registration, these aspects impact the way identity records are created, stored and used by citizens in their daily interactions. To tackle these impairments, this work introduces IDINA, a non-authoritative approach aiming at a community-oriented identification system underpinned by relations of social trust, inclusiveness, and the use of cutting-edge accessible technologies.

Research paper thumbnail of EAGP: An Energy-Aware Gossip Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

2020 International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM), 2020

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), typically composed of nodes with resource constraints, leverag... more In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), typically composed of nodes with resource constraints, leveraging efficient processes is crucial to enhance the network lifetime and, consequently, the sustainability in ultra-dense and heterogeneous environments, such as smart cities. Particularly, balancing the energy required to transport data efficiently across such dynamic environments poses significant challenges to routing protocol design and operation, being the trade-off of reducing data redundancy while achieving an acceptable delivery rate a fundamental research topic. In this way, this work proposes a new energy-aware epidemic protocol that uses the current state of the network energy to create a dynamic distribution topology by self-adjusting each node forwarding behavior as eager or lazy according to the local residual battery. Simulated evaluations demonstrate its efficiency in energy consumption, delivery rate, and reduced computational burden when compared with classical gossip protocols as well as with a directional protocol.

Research paper thumbnail of Data Security and Trustworthiness in Online Public Services

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, 2019

Providing public services through the internet is an effective approach towards an encompassing n... more Providing public services through the internet is an effective approach towards an encompassing number of citizens being covered by them and for cost reduction. However, the fast development of this area has fostered discussion and legislation regarding information security and trustworthiness. In addition to security mechanisms for data processed and stored internally, service providers must ensure that data exchanged between their servers and citizens are not intercepted or modified when traversing heterogeneous and uncontrolled networks. Moreover, such institutions should provide means enabling the citizen to verify the authenticity of the services offered. In this way, the present work provides a comprehensive overview regarding the security posture of Portuguese public institutions in their online services. It consists of non-invasive robustness evaluation of the deployed solutions for end-to-end data encryption and the correct use of digital certificates. As a result, we provide some recommendations aiming to enhance the current panorama in the majority of the 111 online services considered in this study.

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a bottom-up approach to inclusive digital identity systems

14th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, 2021

The path towards the United Nations objective of providing legal identity for all, including free... more The path towards the United Nations objective of providing legal identity for all, including free birth registrations, has been facing several challenges. Particularly, the diversity of social realities, limited ICT infrastructures, inadequate legal frameworks, and unstable political engagement have resulted in solutions highly fitted to a specific scenario, thus hard to be replicated in different regions. Paired with noncomprehensive public services of civil registration, these aspects impact the way identity records are created, stored and used by citizens in their daily interactions. To tackle these impairments, this work introduces IDINA, a non-authoritative approach aiming at a community-oriented identification system underpinned by relations of social trust, inclusiveness, and the use of cutting-edge accessible technologies.

Research paper thumbnail of EAGP: An Energy-Aware Gossip Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

2020 International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM), 2020

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), typically composed of nodes with resource constraints, leverag... more In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), typically composed of nodes with resource constraints, leveraging efficient processes is crucial to enhance the network lifetime and, consequently, the sustainability in ultra-dense and heterogeneous environments, such as smart cities. Particularly, balancing the energy required to transport data efficiently across such dynamic environments poses significant challenges to routing protocol design and operation, being the trade-off of reducing data redundancy while achieving an acceptable delivery rate a fundamental research topic. In this way, this work proposes a new energy-aware epidemic protocol that uses the current state of the network energy to create a dynamic distribution topology by self-adjusting each node forwarding behavior as eager or lazy according to the local residual battery. Simulated evaluations demonstrate its efficiency in energy consumption, delivery rate, and reduced computational burden when compared with classical gossip protocols as well as with a directional protocol.

Research paper thumbnail of Data Security and Trustworthiness in Online Public Services

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, 2019

Providing public services through the internet is an effective approach towards an encompassing n... more Providing public services through the internet is an effective approach towards an encompassing number of citizens being covered by them and for cost reduction. However, the fast development of this area has fostered discussion and legislation regarding information security and trustworthiness. In addition to security mechanisms for data processed and stored internally, service providers must ensure that data exchanged between their servers and citizens are not intercepted or modified when traversing heterogeneous and uncontrolled networks. Moreover, such institutions should provide means enabling the citizen to verify the authenticity of the services offered. In this way, the present work provides a comprehensive overview regarding the security posture of Portuguese public institutions in their online services. It consists of non-invasive robustness evaluation of the deployed solutions for end-to-end data encryption and the correct use of digital certificates. As a result, we provide some recommendations aiming to enhance the current panorama in the majority of the 111 online services considered in this study.