Regarding Dr. Aunshul Rege and her Critical Infrastructure Ransomware Dataset Repository

It has come to my attention of something that many researchers dread – someone else stealing *your* data.

Though her dataset repository is free of charge, as well as publicly available, there always are individuals (and corporations) out in the world who feel that publicly-available, openly-available, and freely-available data, although free, belongs to them for the taking.  The issue isn’t so much about taking the data; people do this all the time for whatever reasons that they may have.

No, it isn’t so much about how the data is taken, it’s about how it’s seen and recognized.

Dr. Aunshul Rege founded this project as her research – utilizing statistics and observations as to how creative adversaries work, particularly with our critical infrastructures.

In a time where it is obviously becoming ever-increasingly evident that infrastructure attacks are no longer physical – but logical – has finally taken hold with society at large.  Everything is up for grabs; and, if it has weak or weakened defenses, particularly if targeted, impacts at several levels resulting in severe consequences, damage if not destroying the very foundation of modern society.

Dr. Rege has devoted much (if not all) of her time researching these very issues.  And yet, there are those who feel that it is their right to take something *without* giving credit or showing some semblance of respect or acknowledgment to those who’ve expended a significant amount of work (and their life) researching.

SCADASEC has repeatedly stated that we are neutral; in matters such as this, especially when academic and private researchers are so profoundly involved with their research, that individuals (or even corporations) who fail to understand this ONE fundamental and MOST IMPORTANT rule – “Thou shalt acknowledge thine other’s work” ranks at levels to that of plagarism, perhaps even theft.

Although we take no political position or make statements considered political in nature, situations such as this warrant further discussion, disclosure, and solidarity.

-rad

URLs:

(1)  https://hackingbutlegal.com/the-chutzpah-of-an-information-security-plagiarist-687f9ce89e86
(2)  https://twitter.com/HackingButLegal/status/1511167400129048582
(3)  https://twitter.com/dangoodin001/status/1511378808330354692