Sustainable forest management is vital for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. Human-induced stresses on forest ecosystems demand innovative approaches to ensure long-term health and productivity. This study explores how cutting-edge technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), remote sensing, and artificial intelligence (AI), enhance sustainable forest management practices. Researchers reviewed 196 studies published between 2021 and 2024 from IEEE Xplore Digital Library, MDPI, Taylor & Francis, ScienceDirect, Frontiers, Springer, SAGE, Hindawi, Nature, Wiley Online Library, and Google Scholar. The findings highlight IoT devices like drones, enabling real-time data collection on temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and tree growth, facilitating continuous forest monitoring. Remote sensing technologies, utilizing satellite imagery and aerial surveys, deliver high-resolution data for large-scale forest assessments, including forest cover changes, biomass estimation, and early detection of illegal logging. When integrated with AI, these tools enhance predictive modeling, data analysis, and decision-making, leading to more effective forest management strategies. The study also identifies challenges such as data security concerns, bandwidth limitations, interoperability issues, and high costs. Despite these barriers, IoT, remote sensing, and AI present transformative potential for improving forest resilience, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. These technologies are crucial in preserving forest ecosystems and mitigating climate change impacts by advancing real-time monitoring, optimizing resource allocation, and enabling data-driven decisions.

Wireless sensor networks and Internet of Things devices are revolutionizing the smart agriculture industry by increasing production, sustainability, and profitability as connectivity becomes increasingly ubiquitous. However, the industry has become a popular target for cyberattacks. This survey investigates the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving cybersecurity in smart agriculture (SA). The relevant literature for the study was gathered from Nature, Wiley Online Library, MDPI, ScienceDirect, Frontiers, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, IGI Global, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Google Scholar. Of the 320 publications that fit the search criteria, 180 research papers were ultimately chosen for this investigation. The review described advancements from conventional agriculture to modern SA, including architecture and emerging technology. It digs into SA’s numerous uses, emphasizing its potential to transform farming efficiency, production, and sustainability. The growing reliance on SA introduces new cyber threats that endanger its integrity and dependability and provide a complete analysis of their possible consequences. Still, the research examined the essential role of AI in combating these threats, focusing on its applications in threat identification, risk management, and real-time response mechanisms. The survey also discusses ethical concerns such as data privacy, the requirement for high-quality information, and the complexities of AI implementation in SA. This study, therefore, intends to provide researchers and practitioners with insights into AI’s capabilities and future directions in the security of smart agricultural infrastructures. This study hopes to assist researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in harnessing AI for robust cybersecurity in SA, assuring a safe and sustainable agricultural future by comprehensively evaluating the existing environment and future trends.

The proliferation of digital financial innovations like mobile money has led to the rise in mobile subscriptions and transactions. It has also increased the security challenges associated with the current two-factor authentication (2FA) scheme for mobile money due to the high demand. This review paper aims to determine the threat models in the 2FA scheme for mobile money. It also intends to identify the countermeasures to overcome the threat models. A comprehensive literature search was conducted from the Google Scholar and other leading scientific databases such as IEEE Xplore, MDPI, Emerald Insight, Hindawi, ACM, Elsevier, Springer, and Specific and International Journals, where 97 papers were reviewed that focused on the topic. Descriptive research papers and studies related to the theme were selected. Three reviewers extracted information independently on authentication, mobile money system architecture, mobile money access, the authentication scheme for mobile money, various attacks on the mobile money system (MMS), threat models in the 2FA scheme for mobile money, and countermeasures. Through literature analysis, it was found that the threat models in the 2FA scheme for mobile money were categorised into five, namely, attacks against privacy, attacks against authentication, attacks against confidentiality, attacks against integrity, and attacks against availability. The countermeasures include use of cryptographic functions (e.g., asymmetric encryption function, symmetric encryption function, and hash function) and personal identification (e.g., number-based and biometric-based countermeasures). This review study reveals that the current 2FA scheme for mobile money has security gaps that need to be addressed since it only uses a personal identification number (PIN) and a subscriber identity module (SIM) to authenticate users, which are susceptible to attacks. This work, therefore, will help mobile money service providers (MMSPs), decision-makers, and governments that wish to improve their current 2FA scheme for mobile money.

As healthcare becomes increasingly dependent on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) infrastructure, it is essential to establish a secure system that guarantees the confidentiality and privacy of patient data. This system must also facilitate the secure sharing of healthcare information with other parties within the healthcare ecosystem. However, this increased connectivity also introduces cybersecurity attacks and vulnerabilities. This comprehensive review explores the state-of-the-art in the IoMT, security requirements in the IoMT, cryptographic techniques in the IoMT, application of cryptographic techniques in securing the IoMT, security attacks on cryptographic techniques, mitigation strategies, and future research directions. The study adopts a comprehensive review approach, synthesizing findings from peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, book chapters, Books, and websites published between 2020 and 2024 to assess their relevance to cryptographic applications in IoMT systems. Despite advancements, cryptographic algorithms in IoMT remain susceptible to security attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, replay attacks, ransomware attacks, cryptanalysis attacks, key management attacks, chosen plaintext/chosen ciphertext attacks, and side-channel attacks. While techniques like homomorphic encryption enhance security, their high computational and power demands pose challenges for resource-constrained IoMT devices. The rise of quantum computing threatens the efficacy of current cryptographic protocols, highlighting the need for research into quantum-resistant cryptography. The review identifies critical gaps in existing cryptographic research and emphasizes future directions, including lightweight cryptography, quantum-resistant methods, and artificial intelligence-driven security mechanisms. These innovations are vital for meeting the growing security requirements of IoMT systems and protecting against increasingly sophisticated threats.

With the expansion of smartphone and financial technologies (FinTech), mobile money emerged to improve financial inclusion in many developing nations. The majority of the mobile money schemes used in these nations implement two-factor authentication (2FA) as the only means of verifying mobile money users. These 2FA schemes are vulnerable to numerous security attacks because they only use a personal identification number (PIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM). This study aims to develop a secure and efficient multi-factor authentication algorithm for mobile money applications. It uses a novel approach combining PIN, a one-time password (OTP), and a biometric fingerprint to enforce extra security during mobile money authentication. It also uses a biometric fingerprint and quick response (QR) code to confirm mobile money withdrawal. The security of the PIN and OTP is enforced by using secure hashing algorithm-256 (SHA-256), a biometric fingerprint by Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) that uses a standard public key cryptography technique (RSA), and Fernet encryption to secure a QR code and the records in the databases. The evolutionary prototyping model was adopted when developing the native mobile money application prototypes to prove that the algorithm is feasible and provides a higher degree of security. The developed applications were tested, and a detailed security analysis was conducted. The results show that the proposed algorithm is secure, efficient, and highly effective against the various threat models. It also offers secure and efficient authentication and ensures data confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, user anonymity, and privacy. The performance analysis indicates that it achieves better overall performance compared with the existing mobile money systems.

Green hydrogen represents a sustainable energy solution capable of supporting the global shift away from fossil fuels. In Algeria, with its abundant solar resources, this potential is significant. However, challenges related to water resource management and the energy cost of production limit large-scale implementation. Addressing these issues is crucial for effectively harnessing Algeria’s renewable energy potential. This study conducts an in-depth analysis leveraging advanced simulation tools like HOMER Pro to compare photovoltaic (PV) productivity and hydrogen yields in Algerian regions. The study identifies both desert regions and non-desert areas for their potential, employing innovative methods such as seawater electrolysis and wastewater utilization for sustainable water sourcing. The potential integration of hydrogen fuel cells into microgrids is also explored for enhanced energy stability and storage. The findings reveal that desert regions, such as Tamanrasset and Adrar, exhibit the highest photovoltaic electricity productivity, generating 33.5 GWh/year and 32.9 GWh/year, respectively. This translates into green hydrogen production capacities of 679 tons/year and 668 tons/year. Meanwhile, northern regions like Tlemcen and Skikda demonstrate substantial potential, producing 29 GWh/year and 26.6 GWh/year of solar electricity, which results in green hydrogen production outputs of 589 tons/year and 539 tons/year, respectively. This underscores Algeria’s ability to leverage solar energy across diverse regions. The study highlights that while desert regions exhibit high solar and hydrogen production, northern areas provide a strategic advantage due to their proximity to European markets. Algeria’s existing infrastructure supports efficient export to European markets, offering a strategic advantage in green hydrogen trade.