text stringlengths 234 589k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 62
values | url stringlengths 16 734 | date stringlengths 20 20 ⌀ | file_path stringlengths 109 155 | language stringclasses 1
value | language_score float64 0.65 1 | token_count int64 57 124k | score float64 2.52 4.91 | int_score int64 3 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electrochemical Random-Access Memory (ECRAM) is a type of non-volatile memory technology that uses an electrochemical cell to store and retrieve data. ECRAM implements multiple levels per cell for storing more than a single bit of information per cell. ECRAM is a three-terminal device namely gate, drain, and source. It comprises a conductive channel made of tungsten trioxide, an insulating electrolyte made of lithium phosphorous oxynitride (LiPON), and protons as mobile ions. The resistance of the conductive channel is modulated by the exchange of ions at the interface of the channel and dielectric layer on the application of an electric field. The change in the electrical conductivity of ECRAM on the application of electrical pulses stores information. ECRAM is designed in such a manner to mimic human memory synapses with low power consumption. ECRAM is designed to be used as synaptic memory for artificial intelligence and deep neural networks. Various nonvolatile memories such as resistive random-access memory and phase-change memory can be used for prototype building in neural networks, but due to their non-ideal switching characteristics, such as asymmetric weight update, stochasticity, and limited endurance, ECRAM is considered an attractive alternative for neural networks.
How does ECRAM work?
The principle of operation of ECRAM is based on the resistive switching, where the resistance of material changes in response to the voltage applied across it. ECRAM is composed of two electrodes, an anode, and a cathode, separated by an electrolyte. The electrolyte is a material that conducts ions, which are atoms or molecules that have an electric charge due to the gain or loss of one or more electrons. The anode and cathode are made of conductive materials that are typically coated with a thin layer of active material, such as tungsten oxide, titanium oxide, or nickel oxide. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, a chemical reaction occurs in the electrochemical layer, causing it to change from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state. This change in resistance can be detected and used to represent a binary state, with the high-resistance state representing a 0 and the low-resistance state representing a 1.
In an ECRAM, read and write operations are decoupled, hence, allowing for better endurance and low energy switching while maintaining the non-volatility. The electrochemical intercalation in an ECRAM can be precisely and reversibly controlled by controlling the amount of charge through the gate which provides symmetric switching characteristics with plentiful discrete states and reduced stochasticity. The researchers at IBM had fabricated an ECRAM with up to 1000 discrete conductance levels and a large dynamic conductance range of up to 40. Hence, ECRAM emerges as a potential device for high-speed, low-power neuromorphic computing. The write and read operations in ECRAM are performed by applying a voltage across the electrodes.
A. Write Operation: During the write operation, a negative voltage is applied between the gate and the source. With negative voltage pulses, the intercalated Li ions are released from the channel made up of LiCoO2 or LiPON to the gate that changes the resistance and results in a write operation. The voltage pulse is typically applied for a very short duration and with a very small amplitude.
B. Read Operation: The read operation is decoupled from the write operation by applying a voltage between the drain and the source. After applying the voltage between the drain and the source, the resulting current is measured. The magnitude of the current is proportional to the resistance of the cell, which in turn corresponds to the stored data. The read operation is non-destructive, meaning that the data is not lost during the read operation.
The above figure shows the structure of ECRAM, where Li ions are injected or removed from WO3 to change the conductance of ECRAM. The amount of Li ions inserted into WO3 is accurately controlled by the gate current and this process is reversible. During the operation of ECRAM, a series of positive current pulses are fed into the gate for potentiation, and negative gate current pulses are fed into the gate for depression. A typical ECRAM is programmed with 50 up and then 50 down pulses, resulting in good symmetry and a large conductance dynamic range.
Various research institutions have implemented ECRAM cells with a variety of materials, layouts, and performances. The materials for the manufacture of ECRAM include channels of tungsten trioxide, lithium carbonate, and graphene. Based on the type of ions, various ECRAMs are fabricated such as Li-ECRAM having lithium ions, H-ECRAM having hydrogen ions, and MO-ECRAM which is a metal-oxide-based ECRAM. Each of these types of ECRAM has different properties such as different operation speeds, retention capacity, and open circuit potential.
Advantages of ECRAM
ECRAM has several advantages over other non-volatile memory technologies, such as flash memory and phase change memory. It has a faster write speed and lower power consumption than flash memory and does not suffer from the endurance issues of phase change memory. ECRAM also has the potential to store a large number of bits per cell, which can increase memory density and reduce the cost of storage. The advantages of ECRAM can be described as follows:
1. High speed of operation: ECRAM can achieve high read and write speeds, making it suitable for use in high-performance computing devices. According to the researchers at MIT, the ions in an ECRAM move around in nanoseconds, about 10,000 times as fast as synapses in the brain.
2. Lower power consumption: ECRAM consumes less power than traditional memory technologies, which makes it more energy-efficient and helps to extend the battery life of portable devices.
3. High endurance: ECRAM has a high endurance, which means that it can withstand a large number of read and write cycles without degradation in performance. This makes it suitable for use in applications that require frequent memory access. ECRAM is capable of more than 100 million read-write cycles.
4. Non-volatility: ECRAM is a non-volatile memory technology that retains its data even when the power is turned off. This makes it suitable for use in applications that require persistent storage.
5. Longer memory: ECRAM is capable of retaining data for long periods. The researchers of the Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Michigan were able to achieve a retention time of 10 years using ECRAM.
6. Compatibility: ECRAM is designed to be compatible with standard CMOS technology, making it easier to integrate into the existing systems and reducing production costs.
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| Expected to be more expensive than RAM | |
| AI accelerators, edge computing devices, IoT devices | General-purpose computing |
ECRAM has a wide range of potential applications, particularly in areas where high-speed, low-power memory is required. Some of the potential applications of ECRAM include:
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI): To improve the performance of AI, the hardware is required to reach a level similar to the human brain. ECRAM is a promising technology for use in AI applications. With the ability of ECRAM to store multiple states within a single cell, it is useful in neural networks, where data storage and processing requirements are intensive.
2. Internet of Things (IoT) devices: IoT devices often run on battery power and need to consume lower energy to extend their battery life. ECRAM is useful in IoT applications due to its low power consumption and non-volatile memory. ECRAM can offer fast access times, which is essential in IoT devices that often need to process data in real time. The ability of ECRAM to store multiple levels of resistance can also make it useful for edge computing in IoT devices.
3. Nanotechnology: ECRAM has potential applications in the field of nanotechnology due to its ability to store and process large amounts of data in small spaces with low power consumption. This makes ECRAM an attractive option for use in small devices such as sensors which require high-density memory and low power consumption. ECRAM’s ability to achieve multiple conductance states could be useful in the development of new types of nano-electronics and nano-devices. Researchers could use ECRAM to build artificial synapses and neural networks on a nanoscale, which has a wide range of applications in various fields such as robotics, prosthetics, and brain-computer interfaces.
4. Medical devices: ECRAM technology has potential applications in medical devices requiring long-term storage and low power consumption. ECRAM could be used in implantable medical devices such as pacemakers, where reliable, non-volatile data storage is essential. ECRAM could help reduce the frequency of device replacements and associated storage with its long-term data retention capability. ECRAM could also be implemented in portable devices, such as glucose meters or blood pressure monitors. The ability of ECRAM to achieve high levels of conductance states makes it useful in pattern recognition applications, such as identifying biomarkers or pathogens.
5. Autonomous vehicles: ECRAM could be used in autonomous vehicles to store vast amounts of data generated by sensors and cameras. ECRAM could also be used in the processing of data within the autonomous vehicle's control system. Neural networks are often used in autonomous vehicle control systems to analyze sensor data and make decisions about how to maneuver the vehicle. ECRAM's ability to store synaptic weights and conductance states could be useful in implementing these neural networks in a low-power and high-density way.
ECRAM is a promising new memory technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we think about memory. Compared to conventional non-volatile memories, ECRAM shows many unique characteristics in switching, including linearity and superior symmetry, discrete conductance states with reduced stochasticity, a large dynamic range of conductance, and excellent endurance. By providing a high-speed, low-power alternative to traditional non-volatile RAM, ECRAM could enable new applications and devices that were previously not possible. While ECRAM is still in the early stages of development, it is clear that this technology has the potential to play an important role in the future of computing. | <urn:uuid:8f880853-cd8e-4ac1-87ef-8b00568a27b6> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.copperpodip.com/post/electrochemical-random-access-memory-ecram-state-of-the-art | 2024-09-17T18:27:06Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651829.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20240917172631-20240917202631-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.945518 | 2,201 | 3.4375 | 3 |
With the growing need for companies to safely store, share, and manage sensitive personal data, many organizations turn to data anonymization for additional security. This is especially true for businesses that must comply with strict data privacy laws, like GDPR in the European Union. The in-depth guide below will explain everything you need to know about data anonymization and how it works.
What is Anonymization Anyway?
Anonymization is a data privacy technique that protects sensitive information associated with an individual. The process erases or encrypts any personal identifiers that could link data to a natural person.
Examples of personal identifiers include names, phone numbers, addresses, social security numbers, and more. Anonymization protects the statistical accuracy and integrity of the data while keeping the data sources anonymous.
In an era where data collection and analysis are crucial for business operations, data security methods like anonymization are more critical than ever before.
Anonymization allows businesses to analyze and share data associated with customers and users without revealing the actual identities of the data source.
In addition to protecting sensitive customer data, some jurisdictions require organizations to implement data security methods for personal information. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) fines can cost companies up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s annual revenue, whichever is higher.
How Anonymization Works
In terms of data security, anonymization is one of the strictest ways to protect sensitive information. Unlike other types of data protection methods, anonymization can be irreversible.
Depending on the process used, certain parts of a data set containing sensitive personal information can be encrypted, and then the encryption key gets deleted.
In many cases, anonymization is a one-way process. However, hackers and malicious attackers could potentially cross-reference anonymous data with other sources available to the public in an effort to expose personal information. This process is known as de-anonymization.
Data anonymization is similar to data pseudonymization, although the two terms are not interchangeable.
Both anonymization and pseudonymization are data security techniques recommended by the GDPR for personal information protection. However, pseudonymization is reversible.
For example, let’s say a basic data set contains a person’s name, phone number, and home address along with their transactional history at a particular business. With anonymization, the personal identifiers (name, number, address) will be permanently erased or encrypted. But with pseudonymization, the identifiers will be replaced with pseudonyms to conceal the customer’s real identity.
It’s easier to re-identify data sources with pseudonymization. So anonymization should be used for instances where a complete dissociation needs to occur between a person’s identity and their data.
Example 1: Health Insurance Underwriting and Medical Reporting
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that creates national standards to protect sensitive patient health data.
Any information that can individually identify a natural person is protected by HIPAA.
But health insurance companies still need to create different plans for group or individual health coverage. To create these plans effectively, they need to analyze various health data to assess risk.
The data analytics must be completed without disclosing any patient records that would identify the individual. Things like names and social security numbers would need to be scrubbed from the data sets until rendered anonymous.
Similarly, medical facilities might need to report certain information to research groups for medical testing. Maybe a research lab wants to know if people have any allergic reactions to a specific prescription or vaccination.
The medical facility collecting this data could tell the research facility whether a patient had a reaction and what the reaction was. But everyone’s personal identifiers would need to be eliminated from the report.
Example 2: Business Intelligence Reporting Dashboards
Organizations worldwide collect data on their customers for a broad range of potential use cases. It’s common for this information to be used in reports so company executives can make data-driven decisions.
Businesses can take raw data and anonymize sensitive personal information before generating reports.
Rather than analyzing data individually, a company could create reports using generalized information as a whole. For example, the age of customers can be segmented into groups (18-25, 26-35, etc.) and plotted on a graph.
Average transactional values can be analyzed as well, without using the personal information associated with each individual buyer.
Executives, managers, and other decision-makers company-wide can still gain crucial insights into what’s happening with their customers without sharing any sensitive or personally identifiable data. Instead, everything can be evaluated through more of a big-picture lens while remaining compliant.
How to Get Started With Anonymization
As you can see from the examples above, there are many potential use cases where anonymization can help protect sensitive personal data. To get started with applying anonymization to your business, follow the simple steps explained below:
Step 1: Determine if Anonymization is Right For Your Situation
The first thing you need to do is determine whether or not your situation calls for anonymization. In some circumstances, pseudonymization might be a better alternative.
Anonymization should be applied in situations where you want to completely lose the connection between the data and an individual. It’s usually used in statistical or research-related scenarios.
Once anonymization is applied, it’s technically out of the scope of the GDPR. That’s because the data no longer contains any personal information—it’s gone forever.
While data anonymization is meant to permanently de-identify a person with their corresponding data, there are still other ways to indirectly re-identify a person.
For example, let’s say you were analyzing data from a local coffee shop. Through the process of anonymization, the customers’ names and phone numbers associated with their loyalty accounts have been permanently removed from the data—all that remains is the transactional information.
But an analyst could still see patterns in that data. If every day at precisely 10:15 AM a customer buys an iced double espresso with soy milk and a croissant, you would be able to identify this person from their buying behavior.
Organizations that want to truly anonymize sensitive data should be careful to hide any pieces of information that would allow for re-identification.
Using that same example, you may ultimately decide to eliminate the individual transactional information from your data. Instead, you could look at the total number of items ordered and the corresponding value of those transactions on an hourly basis.
It’s more challenging to use anonymization when analyzing individual customer or user data because you’ll need to eliminate additional identifiers.
The GDPR requires websites to obtain consent from visitors to collect personal information like cookies, device IDs, and IP addresses. By collecting this type of data anonymously, it limits your ability to retrieve value from the data as it relates to personalized marketing efforts.
For data associated with marketing and user behavior to aid with personalized campaigns, pseudonymization might be a better alternative to anonymization.
Step 2: Identify Data That Needs to Go Through Anonymization
After you’ve confirmed that anonymization is right for your situation, it’s time to narrow down the data that must be made anonymous.
In terms of the GDPR, “personal data” is intentionally used as a broad term. As we’ve seen with previous examples, certain data types might not seem personal at first glance. But when paired with additional information, some information could be used to re-identify an individual meant to be anonymous.
Generally speaking, the following would all constitute personal data that would need to be anonymized:
- Phone numbers
- Account numbers and ID numbers
- IP addresses
- Cookie data
- Web locations
- RFID tags
- Biometrics data
- Race and ethnicity
- Sexual orientation
- Political affiliation
- Vehicle identification numbers (VINs)
- License plates
- Social security numbers
Under GDPR law, no consent is required to collect anonymized data because the data no longer contains any personal information.
Here’s an example that explains how strict the GDPR is when it comes to data anonymization. A taxi company in Copenhagen, TAXA 4×35, was found to be in violation of the GDPR.
The company thought they complied by anonymizing data associated with the names of users in their database. However, TAXA 4×35 was not anonymizing data with the collection and delivery addresses of the riders.
This information could be attributed to a natural person, so the company was fined roughly €160,000.
Make sure you have a firm grasp of the data you’re collecting. What might not initially seem like something that should be anonymized could put you in violation of regulatory laws in certain jurisdictions.
Step 3: Choose Your Anonymization Technique
There are several different ways to achieve data anonymization. I’ll explain some of the top anonymization methodologies in greater detail below so you can determine the best option for your business.
- Data Masking — Data masking modifies the values of a data set. It can be accomplished through character shuffling, character substitution, or encryption. For example, someone’s name in a data set could be replaced with an “X” or a “0,” making it difficult to identify or reverse-engineer the individual. Data masking is commonly used for billing information, where credit card information gets listed as XXXX XXXX XXXX 8972 on file.
- Data Scrambling or Shuffling — This anonymization technique involves mixing the letters or digits of any data deemed to be personally identifiable. For example, an account number like #97531 could become #39517. This works best for long strings of numbers where the possible combinations would be tough to figure out.
- Generalization — The generalization method for anonymization excludes certain components of the data, so it’s less identifiable—the goal here is to remove personal identifiers while maintaining the accuracy of the information. For example, you could delete the home address in your database and replace it with their regions, such as Northeast or Southwest. Or you can replace a birthday with an age range, like 18-25, 26-34, 35-56, etc.
- Data Perturbation — This technique modifies the original data by adding random noise and applying round numbers to the data. As long as the values are proportional to the deviation, the data could still be valuable. But in some instances, changes could nullify the ability to use the data for anything meaningful.
- Synthetic Data — You can use algorithms to manufacture data that doesn’t connect to real events. Companies use synthetic information to create artificial databases by altering the original data. Applying medians, linear regressions, standard deviations, and other statistical models can generate synthetic data worth analyzing while protecting the original data source.
- Data Blurring — Data blurring makes it harder to identify an individual with certainty by using approximated values, similar to the generalization technique. For example, you’d be able to identify a natural person by their account balance at any given point in time. But by adding a small random value (like $1.26) to this balance, you can make the person anonymous without adding a significant amount of error to the data.
- Data Encryption — Encryption translates all of the personal identifiers in the data into an unreadable format. Only an authorized user with the encryption key or password can change the data back to its original form. In some instances, the encryption keys are destroyed, and the anonymization process is permanently irreversible.
- Null Data — In this scenario, all sensitive data is immediately deleted from the data set. Any piece of sensitive information, like a name, address, or phone number, will be displayed as null values in the data set.
- Data Swapping — The data swapping technique rearranges the attribution values of a data set so they don’t fit the original form. For example, you can swap the information in specific columns with values that are unrecognizable. Doing this with something like a date of birth can help make data anonymous.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to apply data anonymization. Depending on your scenario, you might ultimately use more than one of these techniques to make your data anonymous and protect sensitive personal information. | <urn:uuid:53ae95c1-f5a5-4ca0-b59c-f285ed10fa55> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://nira.com/anonymization/ | 2024-09-20T06:18:30Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652138.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920054402-20240920084402-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.901259 | 2,592 | 3.609375 | 4 |
MPLS and QoS DiffServ
We know from the 5-Day QoS bootcamp that Differentiated Services is one of the three major overall approaches to providing Quality of Service in an enterprise. The other options are Integrated Services and Best Effort.
When we studied Differentiated Services, we saw that the primary marking technology approach was the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) concept. These are the high order 6 bits in the IP packet ToS Byte. But how can MPLS use these markings in order to provide QoS treatment (Per Hop Behaviors (PHBs)) to various traffic forms?
The first major issue to solve is the fact that Label Switch Routers (LSRs) rely solely on the MPLS header when making forwarding decisions. These devices will no longer analyze the IP Header information, thus negating the use of the ToS Byte. This was solved through the creation of the Experimental Bits field in the MPLS header. The IETF has now renamed the field to the Traffic Class field. See RFC 5462.
But now there is another issue. There are 6 bits used for DSCP (providing 64 classifications), while there are only 3 Traffic Class bits (providing a mere 8 classifications).
It turns out there are two approaches to dealing with this issue. If you should happen to require less than 8 Per Hop Behaviours, just use the EXP Bits (Traffic Class). In fact, these bits are mapped to IP Precedence by default in Cisco's implementation, so they should be populated appropriately for QoS classification by default. This approach is called E-LSPs in official MPLS terminology. E stands for EXP-inferred in this case.
The second option is when we need more than 8 classifications in our network. Obviously, the three EXP bits fall far short of providing the necessary markings. In this case, the label itself is used to help mark traffic! In this approach, both the EXP bits and the label are used for the PHB. Typically the marking in the label will assign the congestion management treatment, while the EXP bits will control drop priority. This approach is called L-LSP. Here the L stands for label-inferred.
Thanks for reading this blog supplement to the QoS course, and you can expect many more over the coming months. Happy studies! | <urn:uuid:cc45a3ec-0164-4524-97ec-69f4052be933> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://ine.com/blog/2010-06-17-mpls-and-qos-diffserv | 2024-09-11T17:50:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651390.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911152031-20240911182031-00833.warc.gz | en | 0.931992 | 484 | 2.765625 | 3 |
For real protection of the critical data, organizations have to plan a more data-centric approach to their security programs. This approach will give the enterprises the possibility to protect against losses that occurs everywhere sensitive data lives. It is important to implement the same controls around data being cut/copy/pasted and e-mailed or sent out of the organization by other means, when so many places data are can easily leak out of an organization and it would be difficult to note them. A data loss point includes data transferred through any e-mail / web channel, improper or missing access controls to systems containing sensitive data, lost or stolen un-encrypted mobile devices, insecure transmission, improper destruction of information on electronic media and lack of separation of duties and access controls on databases and other shared systems.
Mechanisms for protection can be included into five major categories:
- Classic anti-malware and protections to prevent system infections
- Enforceable access controls
- Filtering for sensitive data types being sent out of the organization
As supplementary layers of protection to traditional malware defenses, encryption and access controls are very important in protecting sensitive data from insiders no matter where are data – in rest, in use or in motion. With the same importance count the ability to filter, log, and take action on outbound traffic and downloads. The last but not the least, education have to be implement by the actions of the control systems themselves. An example can be automatic encryption policies on some types of program actions (e-mailing, FTP).
In an information-centric approach to protecting sensitive data, all organizations need to:
- identify and classify their information assets;
- establish consistent policies;
- implement an appropriate portfolio of enabling technologies for encryption and key management;
- establish controls to ensure compliance with both internal policies and external regulations. | <urn:uuid:e4e768d1-f103-40d5-8f30-96a0d4805614> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.abs-mena.com/solutions/data-encryption/ | 2024-09-16T15:10:40Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651697.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20240916144317-20240916174317-00433.warc.gz | en | 0.917793 | 371 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The convergence of digitalization and sustainability has now become the most commanding market influence in the textile landscape. It has proven to change management practice and businesses, and more broadly, the society we live in.
Digitalization is driven by the extensive technological change brought about by artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the Internet of Things, all promising to transmute industrial processes, manufacturing, and workforce globally. On the other hand, sustainability is primarily operated by an amalgamation of geopolitical variability, environment, and degradation, entreating a novel methodology to outrank resource preservation and ecological governance among others.
And, the intersection of these two trends is mutually reinforcing, although mostly unexplored. It is challenging for textile companies to ease pollution footprint or manage waste, devoid of digital technology. Likewise, the energy drawn by machines can go futile without being thoughtful of sustainability.
Coalescing Digital Technology and Sustainability
Textile companies are now seeing an opportunity to enhance their sustainability objectives via digitization. And to support this program, the PwC report published in 2018, acknowledged 80 ways in which AI could be used to benefit the surroundings. It includes –
- Transportation’s demand-response charging infrastructure
- Augmented energy system estimating
- Supply chain track and transparency
Correspondingly, few apparel and footwear industry companies have already made it a priority to communicate sustainability performance to investors. Most of the data suppliers, technology vendors, and government agencies are concurrently embracing digital technologies to explore new ways to enhance sustainable living conditions and reduce supply costs.
Virtual Materials for Sampling and Prototyping
3D design software aids textile industries in making better-informed design decisions and thereby lessening the call for sampling and prototyping. Similarly, the material digitalization tools used in this segment are capable of shrinking the enormous amount of sample yardage created by fabric suppliers every season and decreasing the necessity for physical material swatches. Furthermore, this solution cuts down on the number of physical product prototypes, as some material decisions can be made virtually here.
Allegorithmic’s Substance software is an excellent example of this tool. It comprises 3D painting gears and textures, with an aptitude to render and export files for design lineups.
Nonwoven Materials for Lowering Cost
Nonwovens continue to occupy a bright spot in the U.S. textile industry. These products find applications in almost every textile division, right from less familiar apparel and bedding applications to the hygiene-related end-uses such as in wipes. The manufacturers of Nonwoven technology had a strong presence at ITMA 2019, which is a trade show highlighting subjects such as Industry 4.0, sustainability, and automation.
Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi, the executive director of The Nonwovens Institute, says, “The sustainability theme was interesting and very relevant. We have become accustomed to the three Rs — Recycle, Reduce, Reuse. A major addition at ITMA was the fourth R, and probably the most relevant for now and the future, and that was – Rethink. This is a very elegant way of saying design with the end in mind.”
Next-Gen Denim for Sustainable Advances
Cone Denim seeks out and fuels new opportunities, to uphold its headship in the denim market through recurrent investment in digital technologies. Cone Denim’s R&D incubator, Cone 3D, drives much of the eco-friendly lineup, including Ciclo Stretch, which lessens microfiber pollution from synthetic textiles, and S Gene with Repreve, which is dual-core denim finished with post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
Overall, Global Denim’s investment in sustainability is in the order of seven figures, and by doing so, it is planning to bring in change and deliver customers with the best product.
Virtual Try-On For Apparel and Footwear
‘Makers’ Experience’ by Nike cartels the latest digital tools with traditional shoemaking approach, to let consumers try on different shoes and customize it in 90 minutes or less. This virtual try-on is an operative strategy to improve consumer loyalty and let them make better buying decisions. It is proven useful for on-line shoppers, where they can create their avatar, to determine the best fit and style. Virtual Try-On can cut the number of returns and unworn clothes piling up in homes or discarded too early.
Employing digital technologies to develop high quality, innovative, and sustainable materials provide customers with the next level of satisfaction, in terms of saving the earth or going green. With blockchain and QR codes, they can learn to care for a new purchase to extend wear or facilitate efficient recycling, if they no longer want to wear it. It offers customers the chance to minimize the need for sampling and the companies to speed up future production efficiency. | <urn:uuid:6d9802af-5a5d-4c7f-a65a-cf0cc8ae04bb> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.mytechmag.com/digital-technology-and-sustainable-innovation-the-future-textile-goals/ | 2024-09-17T22:32:28Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651835.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20240917204739-20240917234739-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.93815 | 998 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Employees of federal, state and local governments; and businesses working with the government.
Scrum is the leading Agile development methodology for completing complex projects and is used by top organizations around the world. It was originally designed for software development, but has proven its value for any complex project.
Agile Scrum is as radically different from traditional project management, as agile processes are different from traditional methodologies. Rather than plan, instruct and direct – the ScrumMaster facilitates, coaches and leads. Participants learn how to become a ScrumMaster from the experts, and how to make a development team, a project, or an organization, agile. The ScrumMaster is the person who keeps the team focused on its goal, and is the person responsible for proper execution of Scrum within the organization.
The 2-day Agile Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) provides an optimal mix of classroom lectures, interactive case studies, assignments and additional reading materials to get you ready for implementing Scrum in your organization.
This course is aimed at people who work, or would like to work, in Agile Scrum teams. The objective of this two-day course is to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to work effectively in an Agile Scrum team; in roles such as Product Owner, ScrumMaster or Scrum team member. You will learn more than the basic framework in this course. You will also understand the underlying principles and specific techniques needed to help your team achieve project success.
Those considering working in or with a Scrum team:
- Project Managers
- Program Managers
- Software Architects
- System Analysts
- Team Leaders
- Scrum Masters
- Scrum Product Owners
- Scrum Team Members
- CIOs and CTOs
At the end of this course, you will understand:
- The principles of Agile and Scrum
- How to describe and participate in all parts of the Scrum framework
- How to launch a Scrum team
- How Scrum helps organizations cope with change
- How to apply a common lexicon of project management terms and principles
- Pragmatic practices for planning, project execution, and progress reporting
- The ScrumMaster’s role and how it is different from a project manager’s role
- Introduction To Scrum
- Concepts of Agile
- Scrum Basics and Roles
- Scrum Ceremonies and Artifacts
- Scrum Methodology
- Estimation Techniques, Planning Poker and Velocity
- Product Backlog and User Stories
- Sprint and Release planning
- Sprint Burn Down Charts
- Release Burn Down Charts
- Release Management
- Tracking Progress in Scrum and Metrics
- Sprint Review and Retrospective
- Scrum Team Dynamics
- Collaboration, Negotiations and Team Communication, Team Roles and Responsibilities
- Empower teams and adaptive leadership
- Team challenges for Agile adoption
- Managing distributed teams
- Soft issues and cultural diversity
- Transitioning teams to Scrum
- Situational exercises
- Writing User Stories
- Sprint and Release planning
Participants are required to have a basic understanding of the principals of Scrum. This information is available on the Scrum Alliance website: www.scrumalliance.org/pages/scrum_student_resources.
Why select an ITdojo Agile Certified ScrumMaster Course:
All instructors are Certified Scrum Trainers (CST), who have a solid understanding of the Scrum framework and have experience working with Agile and Scrum.
Training materials are up-to-date and in line with the requirements by the Scrum Alliance.
ITdojo works with a global network of partners to deliver Agile training courses. This means that there is a partner in your area and that we can deliver courses in your language. | <urn:uuid:9e417e08-aff2-4f84-9915-a13f3a1bf79c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.itdojo.com/scrum-training/certified-scrummaster-csm/ | 2024-09-08T07:13:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650960.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908052321-20240908082321-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.906858 | 799 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our modern world, revolutionizing industries and transforming the way we live and work. Behind this technological revolution lies a vast array of powerful AI tools that enable businesses and individuals to harness the potential of machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and more. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most popular AI tools and delve into their diverse applications across various domains.
- TensorFlow: Developed by Google, TensorFlow is an open-source deep learning framework widely used for building and training neural networks. Its versatility makes it a go-to tool for a broad range of applications, including image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and predictive analytics. TensorFlow's robustness, scalability, and extensive community support have made it a favorite among researchers and developers.
- PyTorch: PyTorch, an open-source deep learning library, has gained immense popularity due to its simplicity and flexibility. Developed by Facebook's AI Research lab, PyTorch is favored by researchers and developers for its intuitive programming interface, dynamic computational graph, and extensive support for experimentation. Its applications span various domains, including computer vision, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning.
- Scikit-learn: Scikit-learn is a Python library that provides a wide range of machine-learning algorithms and tools for data preprocessing, model selection, and evaluation. It is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive documentation, making it an ideal choice for beginners in the field of machine learning. Scikit-learn finds applications in tasks such as classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction.
- OpenCV: OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision Library) is a popular computer vision library used for image and video analysis. It offers a rich set of functions and algorithms for tasks such as object detection, facial recognition, motion tracking, and augmented reality. OpenCV's versatility, cross-platform compatibility, and real-time processing capabilities have made it an indispensable tool in fields like robotics, autonomous vehicles, and surveillance systems.
- Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK): The Natural Language Toolkit, commonly known as NLTK, is a comprehensive library for natural language processing (NLP) tasks. NLTK provides a wide range of tools and resources for tasks such as tokenization, stemming, part-of-speech tagging, and sentiment analysis. It is widely used in fields like chatbots, information extraction, language translation, and sentiment analysis to process and analyze textual data effectively.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI Services: AWS offers a suite of AI services that provide ready-to-use machine learning capabilities to developers and businesses. These services include Amazon Rekognition for image and video analysis, Amazon Comprehend for natural language processing, Amazon Polly for text-to-speech conversion, and Amazon Lex for building conversational interfaces (chatbots). AWS AI Services empower organizations to integrate AI functionalities seamlessly into their applications without requiring extensive expertise in AI algorithms and infrastructure setup.
Conclusion: The realm of AI tools is vast and continuously evolving, with new advancements being made regularly. The tools discussed in this blog post represent a snapshot of the most popular and widely used AI tools across different domains. From deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch to specialized libraries like Scikit-learn and NLTK, each tool brings its unique capabilities to the table, empowering developers and businesses to solve complex problems and unlock the potential of AI. As AI continues to reshape industries and drive innovation, staying updated with the latest AI tools and their practical applications becomes crucial for those looking to leverage the power of artificial intelligence effectively. | <urn:uuid:db2c7e79-696a-464e-9035-e2a465cfe2b6> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://power-net.com.au/blog/the-most-popular-ai-tools-and-their-uses/ | 2024-09-11T23:59:42Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651405.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911215612-20240912005612-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.9216 | 757 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Quantum computers will open doors to otherwise impossible breakthroughs. At the same time, they might render our security defenses useless.
Quantum computing is an existential threat, says Denis Mandich, CTO of Qrypt, a quantum-secure encryption provider. Fully aware that quantum computers could easily break the protections we rely on today, the US government is racing to build a post-quantum encryption standard to protect against that threat.
In theory, we could have unbreakable cryptography resistant to quantum computer threats as early as the beginning of 2022. Yet, in practice, we’ve witnessed two post-quantum algorithms breached using conventional computers and sending shock waves to the cryptographer community.
“The fear right now is that these new algorithms we are transitioning to will break, and there’s no proof that they are secure,” Mandich said.
He believes that quantum computers are becoming the virtual nuclear weapons of cyber warfare, so it is crucial to start quantum encrypting your data today. I sat down with Mandich to discuss the less exciting side of quantum computing – the disruption that it brings.
Baidu introduced its first quantum computer. IBM said it would build 4000 qubit-strong commercial quantum computers by 2025. All the opportunities and excitement aside, can you elaborate on the threat and risks that the dawning era of quantum computing poses to our everyday life?
It's an existential threat to our digital lives and communications today. Believe it or not, we currently rely on just a handful of algorithms that run the entire internet, all banking transactions, and all our medical records. These were invented in the 1970s, and quantum computers break these systems.
Unfortunately, they underpin all of the digital asset security we have today for software applications, web browsers, and just about everything else you can think of. Back in the early 2010s, the government realized this and began a process to phase these algorithms out and replace them with newer ones, and they are called post-quantum cryptography.
These will theoretically be safe against quantum computers. But we don't know because there's no track record for them.
Recently, one of the strongest ones that were held in reserve, called SIKE (Supersingular Isogeny Key Encapsulation), was broken by a regular computer. We have no proof that these new algorithms we are transitioning to are secure, the fear is that one of these will break.
Since China, the US, and many other governments worldwide have been collecting data [store-now-decrypt-later], waiting for the day when they will be able to decrypt it and operationalize it. Everyone is very concerned that we might not be as safe as we thought we would be by converting to post-quantum crypto. Quantum is scaling much faster than we expected.
Maybe it's for the better that we learned now that a post-quantum cryptographic algorithm could be cracked? On the other hand, it was designed to resist a quantum threat but was broken using a conventional computer in an hour, so this must concern you, right?
It's shocking. It has shaken the entire cryptographic community because the way it was broken was based on techniques and math discovered in the 1970s. We started with over 80 of them [post-quantum encryption algorithms] and are down to a handful. The problem here is that SIKE, although less performant than the other algorithms, was considered at least as strong but was broken so quickly. What if that did happen and had not been discovered for five or ten years?
What about other algorithms? They haven't been breached yet, but does that mean they are unhackable? Maybe it's just a matter of time and persistence.
Even the government has told us to be crypto agile [crypto-agility is the ability of a security system to switch between algorithms rapidly], which means be prepared for them to fail. It could be tomorrow, it could be ten years from now, but the anticipation is that they will eventually break, and we will have to come up with stronger and stronger systems.
What does it mean for companies? If I were a company's CEO, I would probably be lost at the moment, with some experts urging to prepare for the shift towards post-quantum cryptography and, simultaneously, witnessing some algorithms being broken with conventional computers. What should companies do now – should they look into different algorithms or wait for the standard to be implemented?
Waiting would be a mistake because we know for sure, and it's publicly proven through Shor's algorithm and other means that the ones we are using today are broken. They are not secure.
Although we are not 100% sure about the ones we are transitioning to, that's way better, way stronger, and being crypto agile is a better position for all future applications development. The older monolithic ones will be deprecated and will not be used in the future. So the first step is getting your crypto inventory and figuring out what's on your system.
The standardization can be in as little as 15 months, January 2024. We are not that far out, so everyone should be trying proofs of concept and test implementations to see what kind of systems will break and what kind of software will have performance issues when we transition to post-quantum.
Start doing all those things now because if you are in the compliance industry or if you are in the US government, you have to transition to post-quantum. It is not an option. This is mandatory.
What if you are not the US government? What if you are just some private company sitting on intellectual property? You are not obliged to adopt those algorithms, and yet, at the same time, you could expose some data related to the US government, given everything is interconnected.
The transition will be gradual, and small companies that are not required to comply with government standards will start doing that in probably six months or so. It makes no sense to engineer something into your system that's quantum insecure. Virtually everyone going forward, certainly after 2024, will say they are post-quantum safe or something to that effect. In the same way you see a little lock for HTTPS on your browser, you will see HTTPQ, and if you will not, you will not click on those browsers because you will assume that your data is not safe.
This is just a matter of time. There's a significant cost for anyone who does not transition. If you are developing new software, a roadmap for something for five years, you don't want to go back and re-engineer those systems to be post-quantum secure later. You want to build in that now and figure out what will work when you scale, especially if you plan to be successful as a company.
In terms of implementing any of these solutions, is it challenging to do it? Can I choose one protocol now and then move to something else, maybe safer, a few years from now?
Yes. If you build in that crypto agility from the beginning, you should be able to swap that in and out. If you didn't, you made a huge mistake. This is part of a standard that NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) guidance gave. You have to be crypto agile because we, NIST, don't know, we have no idea if these can break at any time. SIKE was a huge warning and a reminder for people that you have to be crypto agile.
What's your opinion on the store-now-decrypt-later trend? Are threat actors extracting vast amounts of data and waiting for quantum computers to arrive and decipher it for them? Is that a significant threat? Will we see a massive leakage of secrets once quantum computers come?
They are storing way more than people can believe. The cost of storing data is almost zero at this point. It costs nothing to store the data, and you are not running massive systems that need to be continuously accessed with computational resources. The profit margin for storing data is exceptionally high, and the cost is extremely low.
You don't have to decrypt all that data. You have to be able to decrypt a few pieces of it. The US government did this for decades, for the entire Cold War, it was called the Venona project, and it was highly successful. This was one of the best techniques where you don't have physical access to someone's systems, but you have access to the signals coming out of a facility, over the internet, over the satellites. Collecting those is very easy, as we do everything over the internet, those pipes go through data centers worldwide, through different vendors, where they can be captured and stored.
The Chinese government's number one goal is to overtake the US economy, and they've been very successful at that. We've seen the largest transfer of wealth from one country to another, from the United States to China, through the [theft] of intellectual property. That is not going to change. That is how their system works.
The US government can only collect secrets, not help any company get richer, but they can do that in China. They can collect secrets from US entities to make Huawei a bigger company. You can't do that in the United States, you can only steal secrets for strategic decisions of the government, not to enrich IBM. | <urn:uuid:c4a6d84b-698a-4688-90e9-8b36b8bb1b60> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://cybernews.com/editorial/the-existential-threat-of-quantum-computing-interview/ | 2024-09-14T07:57:41Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651559.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914061427-20240914091427-00733.warc.gz | en | 0.970638 | 1,911 | 2.75 | 3 |
The holidays have come and gone …. and someone got a new computer. What do we do with the old one?
You could donate it to a local charity, but if it is really old and no longer functioning, you have to dispose of it properly. Electronics like telephones, radios, TVs, computers and cell phones are items we rely on daily. These products make up the bulk of electronics that have the potential to cause the most environmental damage because of their hazardous ingredients. This section of waste is referred to as electronic waste, or e-waste.
Consider recycling or donating old electronic devices. With either choice, we can reduce the amount of e-waste landfilled and put our outdated items to good use. | <urn:uuid:4980b0f0-a1af-4998-a9bf-738920aeb7ec> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.mytechexperts.com/blog/what-to-do-now/ | 2024-09-14T07:00:20Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651559.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914061427-20240914091427-00733.warc.gz | en | 0.945439 | 148 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Our SwissCognitive AI Radar explores exciting developments in EdTech, and the way they are shaping the future of education.
“The Power of EdTech in Modern Education – SwissCognitive AI Radar”
Educational technology (EdTech) has become an integral part of the modern educational landscape, driving innovation and change in the way we teach and learn. As the world continues to become more connected and reliant on technology, it is crucial to harness the potential of EdTech to enhance the learning experience, bridge the digital divide, and prepare students for an increasingly digital future.
In this AI Radar, we explore some of the most exciting developments in the world of EdTech and the profound impact they are having on education.
AI is transforming education by enabling personalized learning, automating administrative tasks, and offering intelligent tutoring systems. These innovations help educators tailor instruction to individual needs and free up time for student-focused interactions. Online learning has its challenges, but addressing issues like inadequate training, poor communication, and student privacy concerns can create a seamless and engaging experience. Technology plays a vital role in personalizing learning through tailored instruction, real-time feedback, and adaptive curricula, empowering students to take ownership of their education.
Sustainable EdTech solutions prioritize energy efficiency, e-waste recycling, and resource conservation, fostering an eco-friendly approach to education. Encouraging students to explore EdTech tools helps them develop critical skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration. ChatGPT, a generative AI, is revolutionizing education by enhancing interactions, personalizing learning experiences, and providing innovative ways to engage with content.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the digital divide, emphasizing the need to address disparities and promote inclusive education. Finally, EdTech deepens science engagement through digital tools, virtual labs, and simulations, making complex concepts accessible and inspiring future scientists and innovators.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe to our AI NAVIGATOR! | <urn:uuid:163468ec-ce48-4749-bd94-e745b082865a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://swisscognitive.ch/2023/04/12/the-power-of-edtech-in-modern-education-swisscognitive-ai-radar/ | 2024-09-18T02:15:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651835.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918000844-20240918030844-00433.warc.gz | en | 0.929309 | 408 | 3.03125 | 3 |
MongoDB NoSQL Database
What is HuMONGOus (MongoDB)?
How does MongoDB work?
MongoDB is classified as a NoSQL database program, utilizing JSON-like documents with schemas, which makes integrating with some other platforms easier, such as YouTube.
The default security settings of MongoDB allow anyone full access, which has resulted in mass data breaches and servers being held for ransom. | <urn:uuid:3012c0f6-b8f1-4edb-91e6-799c0ae5432a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://hop.extrahop.com/resources/protocols/mongodb/ | 2024-09-20T13:56:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652278.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920122604-20240920152604-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.912109 | 87 | 2.640625 | 3 |
5G and Cybersecurity Many innovative applications appear with the development of the technologies and boost up a trend of digital transformation. Low latency data process and transmission is required to handle massive amount of data for diverse verticals including Smart Manufacturing, Smart City, Smart Medical, and more. Among the key technologies to support the applications, 5G network is one of them. More than just another increase in speed, 5G is designed ultimately to indue the network with new capabilities, such as network slicing and others. 5G also provides the capacity to eventually support millions of end devices, a density that will enable massive IoT deployments connected with ultra-low latency. The Possibilities and Benefits of 5G Some of the possibilities and benefits of 5G include: Faster speeds: 5G is expected to deliver peak speeds of up to 10 Gbps, which is 100 times faster than 4G. This will allow us to download movies and TV shows in seconds, stream high-definition video without buffering, and play online games with virtually no lag. Lower latency: Latency is gap time, or transmission time for a packet of data. 5G is expected to have latency in the 5-20 milliseconds range, which is much lower than 4G. Overall, this generation of wireless is expected to provide a 10X decrease in end-to-end latency. This will make it possible for us to interact with virtual reality and augmented reality applications in real time. Greater capacity: 5G networks are capable of supporting more devices than ever before. This will be essential as the number of connected devices continues to grow, a density that will enable massive IoT deployments connected with ultra-low latency. Network slicing: 5G network slicing is a technology that allows network operators to create multiple virtual networks on a single physical network. This can be used to create a dedicated network for mission-critical applications, which helps to secure the low latency and protect from unauthorized access and attack. One specific example is the Emergency Medical Services that require low latency, such as linking ambulance statistics with hospital while in transit, communicating with ER to conduct proper emergency treatment. 5G Cybersecurity Risks While 5G offers many potential benefits, it also introduces new cybersecurity risks. These risks include: Increased attack surface: 5G networks are more complex than previous generations, which means that they have a larger attack surface. This makes them more vulnerable to cyberattacks. New vulnerabilities: 5G networks use new technologies, which means that there are new vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. These vulnerabilities could be exploited by attackers to gain access to 5G networks. IoT devices: 5G networks are expected to be connected to a large number of IoT devices. These devices are often poorly secured, which could make them easy targets for attackers. The progress of the 5G and beyond revolution may well be hindered if security issues are not tackled early on while the systems are being designed and deployed. Secure Networking To deliver 5G’s full potential, enterprises need a broad and integrated approach in which security, networking, and compute work as an integrated solution. Accordingly, security and networking must function as a single, integrated system. By converging the two, whenever the networking infrastructure evolves or expands, security is able to automatically adapt and scale as an integrated part of that environment, protecting the extended identity of a user or device to ensure consistent protection while enabling accelerated performance across all network edges. Conclusion 5G is a powerful technology that offers a number of benefits. However, it is important to be aware of the cybersecurity risks associated with 5G and to adopt secure networking to mitigate them. To know more about AEWIN extraordinary products and customizations regarding 5G, please don’t hesitate to contact AEWIN friendly sales! – SCB-6915: Alder Lake-N Platform with 6x 1GbE and M.2 for LTE/5G and Wi-Fi. – SCB-1836: Alder Lake-S/Raptor Lake-S Platform with 4x PCIe NIC, IPMI, and TSB module. – SCB-1833: Ryzen Platform with 4x PCIe NIC and IPMI/TSB module. – SCB-1946: Dual EPYC-9004 Platform with short depth design, 4x PCIe Gen5 slots plus dual FHFL GPU slots or 4x PCIe Gen4 NIC, and IPMI. – SCB-1942: Dual Sapphire Rapids-SP Platform with short depth design, 4x PCIe Gen5 slots plus dual FHFL GPU slots or 4x PCIe Gen4 NIC, and IPMI.
How can I stop my internet browser tracking my info? • How can I change my AEWIN cookie settings? Some essential features on Aewin sites just won’t work without cookies. And having other cookies switched off can seriously affect the way you’ll be able to enjoy our services. Please check your cookie settings below and turn on any cookies you’re happy with. “Strictly necessary” cookies can’t be turned off. But Functional and Performance cookies can be turned on or off below. You can learn more about cookies and what they do on our other pages. If you've chosen to block third-party cookies on your browser, your cookie preferences won't carry over from Aewin.eu to Aewin.xx and vice versa. Please make sure to set your cookie preferences in both places.
The “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting Some internet browsers have a DNT setting. This sends a signal to websites asking them not to track your browsing. This doesn’t work with Aewin websites at the moment. But you can always change your Aewin cookie settings here. How to avoid web beacons and other tracking technologies You can normally render them ineffective by switching off cookies in your browser. There are also browser add-ons and extensions that specifically block web beacons. To avoid web beacons in emails, you can turn off images in your email service. Check your email’s Help section to find out how. There’s more info about these tracking technologies here.
These cookies are essential so that you can move around the website and use its features. Without these cookies services you have asked for cannot be provided. See list of strictly necessary cookies
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make to give you better functionality and personal features. See list of functional cookies
These cookies help to improve the performance of Aewin. If you want to opt-out of advertising cookies, you have to turn-off performance cookies. See list of performance cookies | <urn:uuid:0615314a-55f6-4037-af8c-2b49ae54c57b> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.aewin.com/application/5g-and-cybersecurity/ | 2024-09-10T21:25:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651318.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20240910192923-20240910222923-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.932211 | 1,351 | 2.765625 | 3 |
So we are all happy to use LLM AI’s to help us run our lives more efficiently, but I was wondering how do we test the software to make sure it is working correctly?
I found this information on how to attack the Miessler website AI programs from a year ago:
There also was a paper written on the many facets of cybersecurity and AI programs… called:
From ChatGPT to ThreatGPT: Impact of Generative AI in Cybersecurity and Privacy at cornell arxiv,org weblink.
This is the most interesting diagram…
Here is the SCMagazine 7 AI threats and what to do
The list of AI threats facing security teams today has grown fast. Here are the most common today:
- Prompt Injection: Where attackers manipulate an AI model’s output by embedding specific instructions in the prompt, similar to SQL injection in databases.
- Prompt Leaking: A subset of prompt injection designed to expose a model’s internal workings or sensitive data, posing risks to data privacy and security.
- Data Training Poisoning: Involves corrupting a machine learning model’s training dataset with malicious data to influence its future behavior, akin to an indirect form of prompt injection.
- Jailbreaking Models: Refers to bypassing the safety and moderation features of AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT or Google’s Bard, using prompt injection techniques that resemble social engineering.
- Model Theft: The unauthorized replication of an AI model by capturing a vast number of input-output interactions to train a similar model, which can lead to intellectual property theft.
- Model Inversion Attacks and Data Extraction Attacks: An AI model gets queried with crafted inputs to reconstruct or extract sensitive training data, threatening confidentiality.
- Membership Inference Attacks: Designed to determine if specific data was used in training a model by analyzing its responses, potentially breaching data privacy.
Notice that in both the academic paper and the SCMagazine article include Jailbreaks and Prompt injection. The idea in all the possible attack methods is to get the AI to reveal more information than it should reveal as well as changing the possible answers by affecting the data the AI uses.
How would one go about and actually test these AI LLM programs?
One has to have a set of questions to use and a set of words to use to see how the AI responds. Of course these words should change with each AI program and task, thus being a fluid test.
The real question of testing would be what would constitute a good or bad test? Of course if one finds privacy violations or actual errors those are easy to declare the test successful in finding the flaws. But what if nothing has been found ‘so far’ what would constitute a reasonable closure of the test and declare the AI ‘safe’?
Obviously there needs to be a way to test the AI program to reduce the risk of failure (which include jailbreaking and prompt injection as well as whatever else may be needed. Ideally one needs a continual method to test the AI eventually, or at least a minimal time or two.
Here is also an interesting thoughts of the future of AI which could be called AGI(Artificial General intelligence) or ASI(Artificial Super Intelligence) the following image is from Leopold’s X page image. OOM= Orders Of Magnitude
Also check his page at Situationalawareness.ai
I know I am going to a completely different topic, but Leopold Aschenbrenner (Leopold was interviewed in this youtube video“Trillion$Cluster”) has started thinking about the future direction of AI which he calls AGI(Artificial General intelligence) or ASI(Artificial Super Intelligence). This AI is OOM Order Of Magnitude better than what we currently have. But the thought is 2027 (or shortly thereafter) could see an AI that may not be self aware like in the movies, but the program may understand how to model the world just well enough to make a decent approximation of how the world works. Of course this kind of capability has many meanings, but as I always say we typically do not build security into the systems we initially build. Which is why the programs can be jailbroken and prompt injected today. My fervent wish is to include some cybersecurity in this future Trillion-dollar AI computer cluster by 2027 or beyond.
The interesting thing with predictions 3 to 4 years from now is that they will most likely be wrong, as 18 months ago we would not have thought much about ChatGPT2.0 as it was not capable of much. The initial exponential increase is not that obvious (i.e. going from 2 to 4 to 8 to 16 is not that obvious but when we are at 256 , 512, 1024, 2048, now the next upgrade might be shaking some foundations of other businesses).
Of course there is another aspect to predictions of exponential growth, maybe the growth of 16MB to 32MB to 64MB and higher may not work out exactly as prescribed since some unforeseen problem may not be a doubling phenomenon as before, and may be a 1.5x or lower, which admittedly is still good growth.
Unmitigated growth may not be constant forever, but what should be is the testing of this new program. The Trillion Dollar cluster may be inevitable, and the timing may not be important. What should be important is developing ways to test the program/cluster etc.
The above image is from a long time ago (December 3, 2015 post at oversitesentry.com)With one of my old logos…
As you can see I have been focusing on this topic for a while now (almost 10 years online – and before that offline).
Do not forget our adversaries are also developing strategies:
The idea: some input, one must inspect it and then review, feed it back, and do it again. it is called a system engineering basic feedback loop. Contact to learn what I am doing to review AI programs… | <urn:uuid:a4e3ac8c-4796-47fa-8b84-fb003d47a793> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://fixvirus.com/how-to-test-llm-ai/ | 2024-09-12T01:36:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651420.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20240912011254-20240912041254-00133.warc.gz | en | 0.951589 | 1,242 | 2.65625 | 3 |
As a global society, the climate emergency we find ourselves in should prompt us to take action in the best ways we can.
Businesses in particular have a great responsibility placed on them because their actions can have a big impact. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasised the importance of both businesses and governments to act immediately in its Climate Change 2022 report. But this isn’t a battle with no weapons. We have so many technical innovations, expertise and best practice at our disposal. We just need to commit to sharing information with each other and beginning to take action sooner, rather than later. “Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” the saying goes.
Let’s look at the IT sector as an example I know well. One area in particular with a large amount of potential to make sustainability improvements is the data center. Data centers and data transmission networks consume over two percent of global electricity, according to IEA. Although the industry has already taken strides to reduce the carbon emissions of data centers, we also have to bear in mind the growth of internet usage globally, which is putting a greater strain on data centers all the time. Based on the conversations I’m having with customers and others in the industry, here are a few things to think about when it comes to decarbonizing the data center:
Begin with the apps
Application modernization is a good place to start because this alone can provide a 50 percent power saving of server capacity. It reduces operating system overhead and the size of the overall infrastructure footprint. Savings can increase even more by switching off access to application data when it is not required, and offloading cold and unused data to a data lake, optimizing the enterprise data warehouse. Add to this the value that app modernization brings to data operations. It helps break down data silos so that information can flow freely throughout an organization. This in turn helps businesses use the insights they now have access to, in order to automate daily tasks. All of this contributes to having a more efficient organization both from a workload and energy perspective.
Measure all emissions – not just some
It’s also important to consider the energy efficiency of the infrastructure and think about what impact this can have across the entire value chain. Digital systems providers can play a key role here. Let’s take storage systems as an example. A lot of attention is usually given to the carbon emissions of the storage product during its manufacture, but what about emissions related to afterwards? More than 80 percent of the value chain carbon emissions of a storage product are related to its use after it’s sold. That means we can’t focus our efforts solely on energy usage during production, we have to monitor every stage from cradle to grave.
Manage data differently
A smarter approach to data management enables businesses to get more from their existing storage solutions and bring down the energy consumption at the same time. For example, using enhanced data compression technology, companies can store more user data using the capacity they’ve already purchased. Storage virtualization can apply this technology to existing storage systems and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Another approach to think about is the non-disruptive replacement of the storage controller to next generation systems. The key phrase here is ‘non-disruptive’. It avoids the need for data migration which can be complicated because of the need to run both old and new systems at the same time during the migration. Not only is data migration complex, it also requires more power, more floorspace, and more time to complete, which isn’t what you want when you’re trying to reduce energy usage.
Hitachi recently worked on a data center assessment where we found a customer’s storage NVMe flash configuration created 2.5 times more carbon than an SSD with SAS interface solution. Being aware of the carbon outputs of existing and potential storage solutions is important, as well as having the right guidance to make the switch. If the end result is a solution that performs better with reduced toll on the environment, it’s a win.
Leading with insights
Data insight is an important part of the journey towards decarbonization. Many companies have the adequate information they need to inform a smooth transition to a less carbon intensive data center. They problem is the data is often hiding in too many places across the business and isn’t used in the way it should be. Best practice is to have a central portal that gives an overview of past, current, and future energy consumption, taking into account electricity, CO2 emission, carbon footprint, and potential cost savings. When all this information lives in one place, it removes a lot of the guesswork that makes decarbonization puzzling and stressful.
The journey to becoming a carbon-neutral data center is achievable with the technology and insights available today. What’s more, doing so can be a cost-effective exercise that also allows a company to make progress in achieving sustainability goals. | <urn:uuid:0b6e8abf-d40c-4d3d-8b3e-6d005ec9821c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/carbon-neutral-data-centers-are-a-key-part-of-its-sustainability-drive/ | 2024-09-12T01:50:38Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651420.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20240912011254-20240912041254-00133.warc.gz | en | 0.944218 | 1,027 | 2.5625 | 3 |
March 29, 2024
With cyber-attacks continuously rising in frequency, publicity, and cost, organizations are increasingly emphasizing strong security postures. They are taking more proactive approaches to identifying opportunities to fortify their security and avoid costly breaches.
Vulnerability management and penetration testing are essential strategies for identifying and mitigating security risks. While both approaches are designed to help organizations secure their systems and data, they have different objectives and methods.
Vulnerability Management is a proactive approach to identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating security vulnerabilities within an organization’s IT infrastructure. It begins with a scheduled, automated scan of all IT assets, identifying vulnerabilities like outdated patches, misconfigurations, and default passwords. The assessment findings will then be documented with a severity rating for each vulnerability.
Remediation efforts may then take place to address the vulnerabilities. The goal of vulnerability scanning is to reduce the risk of a successful cyber-attack by continually assessing and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely and efficient manner.
Vulnerability management is an ongoing process that involves regularly scanning IT systems for vulnerabilities and assessing the risks they pose to the organization. This helps organizations stay current on vulnerabilities and make iterative improvements to their security posture.
Once vulnerabilities are identified, they are prioritized based on their potential impact on the organization, allowing security teams to focus on the most critical issues first. For organizations with budget concerns, this helps them get the most return on investment.
Vulnerability management involves applying patches and updates to software and systems to address known vulnerabilities. Done in conjunction with continuous assessments, these remediation activities help increase an organization’s security posture over time. Vulnerability scanning also provides an independent validation that the patches applied have addressed the weaknesses that the system had prior to being patched.
Penetration testing, also known as pen testing, is often the next step in fortifying an organization’s security posture. Pen testing is a simulated attack on an organization’s IT systems to identify and exploit vulnerabilities that demonstrate how a bad actor could comprise the organization’s network. Some vendors, like our partner Fortra, employ Certified Ethical Hackers (CEH) to perform pen testing.
Two types of pen testing, external and internal, can be performed in conjunction with each other or separately.
The pen tester simulates an attack from outside the organization, attempting to gain access to the perimeter layer (public facing) of the organization’s network in an effort to gain access. This may include web servers, email servers, and firewalls.
The pen tester simulates an attack from within the organization’s network, like a malicious insider or compromised device. The pen tester will attempt to move throughout the network to assess the amount of damage they could cause, testing the strength of the organization’s access controls and network segmentation.
Penetration testing simulates real-world attacks to identify vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit, whether the attack comes from outside or inside the organization.
Penetration testing typically involves a comprehensive assessment of an organization’s IT systems, including testing of web applications, network infrastructure, and other critical systems.
Penetration testing identifies specific vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker, providing actionable insights for improving security.
The main difference between vulnerability management and penetration testing is the human element. Vulnerability management is an automated, scheduled event that identifies and prioritizes vulnerabilities for remediation. This is typically performed on a regular cadence, such as monthly or quarterly.
Penetration testing, on the other hand, involves a human tester attempting to exploit vulnerabilities and demonstrate possible damage. They’ll then relay these insights to the client organization so they can fortify their security posture. Penetration testing is typically performed less frequently than vulnerability management, often occurring after several rounds of vulnerability scanning and remediation efforts.
Both vulnerability management and penetration testing are essential strategies for securing an organization’s IT environment. The right approach depends on the organization’s specific needs and security goals. Vulnerability management is a good choice for organizations that want to proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities systematically.
Penetration testing is a good choice for organizations to build upon vulnerability management efforts by simulating real-world attacks to identify exploitable weaknesses and improve their overall security posture.
Ultimately, combining these approaches is often the most effective way to secure an organization’s IT environment. They are also effective for demonstrating alignment with compliance requirements, framework initiatives, client-driven audits, and cybersecurity insurance mandates.
Are you interested in learning more about vulnerability management and penetration testing? Our experts can walk you through the benefits of our chosen partner Fortra’s Vulnerability Management and Pen Testing solutions. Don’t wait until you have a security incident; schedule a conversation with one of our experts today to begin improving your security posture.
Want to get instant feedback on your cybersecurity posture? Take our quiz.
Dewpoint, an award-winning, Michigan-based technology firm, has been helping businesses prepare for, stay ahead of, and respond to IT challenges for over 27 years. From IT security to infrastructure management to automation, cloud migration, and beyond, Dewpoint has long been a trusted technology resource for businesses. | <urn:uuid:97a09cc0-7341-4fa2-8143-a205333b5791> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.dewpoint.com/vulnerability-scanning-vs-penetration-testing-whats-the-difference/ | 2024-09-18T04:21:41Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651836.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918032902-20240918062902-00533.warc.gz | en | 0.944319 | 1,071 | 2.515625 | 3 |
In this technologically advanced age, the internet has become a beneficial tool for people of all ages across the globe.
However, it can be easy to forget the issue of cyber security and the unfortunate downfalls that come with this ever increasingly connected world.
Recently we have witnessed a huge increase in the amount of older people online and actively using the internet on a daily basis. They surf online post on social networks, order shopping and get the latest news updates.
With this in mind, and considering that today is the official international day for older persons, we have put together a quick top tips list for keeping safe online.
1. Your passwords should be stronger than superglue
To ensure that your passwords are super secure, a good rule of thumb is to make them as creative (yet memorable) as possible and of course change them regularly. Our advice is to always use a mix of upper and lower case letters and mix in a combination of numbers and symbols. Here are some good examples:
Jw1n,Adttr – Just what I need, Another dumb thing to remember.
B@k2$quR1 – Back to Square one.
Take care of your passwords the same as you would a toothbrush- that is to say never share them or leave them lying around. There are many handy and secure tools like password managers that you can use to store your passwords and keep them safe, if you have trouble remembering them all- which let’s face it is no easy task! Your personal notebook hidden in your top desk drawer is not the place to keep these.
2. Be wary of responding to emails
Always be on high alert for phishing emails- these are fraudulent emails sent by scammers to lure you into believing you owe money, your account has been hacked or to try to emotionally manipulate you into donating to a fictional charity. There have been numerous cases where older people have been targeted and scammed by cybercriminals looking to make a quick buck.
Investment opportunities may seem like a great idea but think twice before sending any cash to someone at the end of an email. Always research very carefully before you invest money into anything online. If you need help in spotting a phishing email please check out our previous blogs on phishing.
3. Be careful what you share
What you post online can be hard if not impossible to take down and remove. Therefore, it’s really important that you think twice before posting anything that could be of benefit to a cyber-criminal. You could be revealing information about yourself without even realising. Keep all confidential information (including any information that relates to passwords you may have for online accounts) to yourself as hackers are always on the lookout for information which could lead to an account hack. You should be wary also of posting any information about holidays as these are mere advertisements for criminals that your house may be unattended.
4. Keep your software up to date
It’s a simple rule but one that often goes overlooked. Update your software regularly. Whenever an update becomes available through your computers notifications you should make sure that your computer is running the latest version. This is because older versions can have security flaws and holes which have been fixed in newer versions but which hackers will target and be on the lookout for. On the other hand, be wary of any emails coming through offering software updates from your software provider as these may be phishing emails.
5. Lock all your devices the same you would your front door
These are open gateways for hackers to get in and steal valuable information such as banking details, account passwords etc. It can be easy to lose a phone or leave a device behind when you are out and about, therefore it’s crucial that any information on these devices is protected as much as is possible. All accounts on your device should be password protected- never allow a device to store and remember your passwords. Also, the device itself should be password protected and locked whenever you have to leave it unattended.
Do you always update your software and lock your devices? Did you find these top tips helpful? Are there any tips you’d like to share to keep safe online?
Leave a comment below! | <urn:uuid:9084686d-765d-4981-8775-85c60b418102> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.metacompliance.com/blog/phishing-and-ransomware/5-top-tips-to-help-keep-older-persons-safe-online | 2024-09-18T05:51:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651836.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918032902-20240918062902-00533.warc.gz | en | 0.956219 | 860 | 2.53125 | 3 |
In a previous post, we reviewed the value of APIs and how the data virtualization layer can be used as a data service provider. Another powerful way to use data virtualization and data services is to use the data virtualization layer as an integration layer for microservices. In this post, I will explore the benefits of using microservices to build applications, and how data virtualization can simplify a microservices architecture.
The Benefits and Challenges of Microservices
Microservices enable you to build an application from small, modular components that are typically exposed as RESTful web services. Because such applications are built of several microservices, instead of a single component, each component can be easily replaced, scaled, or changed without affecting the others.
This can provide significant benefits. For example, using microservices greatly reduces the risk of upgrading or changing a component. When a change is deployed, a single component is affected instead of the entire application. Microservices also make it possible to easily scale up selected portions of an application. An online retailer may experience increased traffic on one part of the company’s website during a yearly sale. If the entire site is deployed as a single component, the retailer would need to scale up the entire application. If it is made up of a collection of microservices, only a portion of the application would need to be scaled up to meet the increased demand.
While this approach has clear benefits, it also adds significant complexity to the architecture.
To take advantage of microservices benefits, each microservice should be as independent as possible, so dependencies between microservices should be minimized. Typically, this means that each microservice should have an independent data source so that changing the schema of one microservice will not affect the behavior of the others.
While this makes sense theoretically, it can be challenging to implement in practice. Splitting databases may be logically difficult and can leave data silos.
After the data is split, you might need to join the data back together to provide a more complete view of the data. For example, if customer and order information is stored in different databases, it is easy to imagine a scenario where the data needs to be joined. This can result in the complicated practice of copying data from one database to another in order to form complete data sets. In addition to being complicated, it can also be time-consuming and lead to data inconsistency across the organization.
How Can Data Virtualization Help?
A key component of data virtualization is the ability to decouple your physical data from the logical representation. With the introduction of a data virtualization layer, each microservice can use a virtual view to expose a data API. This decouples the data API from the physical API behind the scenes.
As a result, microservices can share the same physical database, and still maintain their logical independence. If the underlying source changes, the logical representation defined in the data virtualization layer stays the same. Similarly, an API built in your logical layer can be changed without affecting other microservices sharing the same physical data.
On the other hand, if the data for each microservice is stored in different physical locations, there will be instances when the data needs to be combined together. The data virtualization layer allows you to easily combine data coming from different physical locations in real time, eliminating the need to physically move the data and create new repositories just for the purpose of joining data.
In either case, data virtualization will make it easier to create and reuse microservices that contain complete sets of data, while still maintaining their independence. Using this approach, developers will be able to take advantage of the benefits and flexibility of microservices, with simplified data access and combination.
A Robust Strategy
The use cases described in this and my colleague’s post, “Building Quick, Robust, and Flexible APIs with Data Virtualization” highlight two scenarios where data virtualization can be used in API initiatives.
Organizations using data virtualization as part of their API development strategy will be able to integrate real-time data from multiple locations and take advantage of easy-to-use data-service publishing options.
With the combination of these and many other features, data virtualization can play a critical role in data services and API management architectures.
- Using Data Virtualization in Your APIs Initiatives - July 2, 2020
- Using Data Virtualization to Simplify Microservices Architecture - June 3, 2020 | <urn:uuid:fc60244c-460a-405e-9fd0-024a513016ec> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.datamanagementblog.com/using-data-virtualization-simplify-microservices-architecture/ | 2024-09-20T16:57:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701419169.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920154713-20240920184713-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.907504 | 902 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Are you team passwords or team PINs?
Passwords and secret codes have been used for thousands of years to keep information safe and private. In today's digital world, we continue to rely on these methods to protect our data and online accounts. Most people use either passwords or PINs to secure their digital assets, and there has been an ongoing debate about which is more secure.
Some users find PINs secure enough and appreciate that they're short and easy to remember. Password advocates argue that PINs, usually just a few digits long, offer far fewer combinations, making them more vulnerable to cyber attacks. There are also those who suggest that both PINs and passwords serve the same purpose of authentication and can be equally safe, as well as people who doubt the security of either approach.
Let's explore this topic to see whether PINs or passwords offer greater security.
What is a PIN?
To understand PINs and passwords, let's start with the basics. PIN stands for "Personal Identification Number," a numerical code used to verify a user's identity. PINs were first introduced in the 1960s along with cash machines (ATMs), and to this day, a typical PIN consists of four to eight digits, providing a relatively simple way to authenticate a person.
The simplicity of a PIN has its pros and cons. Because it's usually short and made up of numbers, a PIN is easy to remember. However, if a PIN has only four digits, there are just 10,000 possible combinations. While that might sound like plenty, in today's world of advanced technology, it's not as secure as you'd think. It’s actually super easy for powerful computers to crack these PINs.
PINs are usually entered manually on touchscreen devices, which makes automated brute-force attacks less effective. Additionally, most systems that use PINs have a limit on the number of failed attempts allowed before locking the user out. For instance, if a device only allows six attempts to enter a PIN, there is a 0.06% chance that someone could crack a four-digit PIN simply by guessing. However, if your PIN is as common as '0000' or '1234,' the chances of getting hacked go up significantly.
What is a password?
A password is a secret word, phrase, or string of characters used to confirm someone's identity or to gain access to a system, application, or device. It can be just about anything—a word, a set of numbers, or a mix of both. To make it secure, a strong password should combine numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and special characters and be at least 12 characters long.
Like PINs, digital passwords first appeared in the early 1960s and have been in use ever since. If you take a 10-character password, it can have a massive 59,873,693,923,837,900,000 possible variations. This might make you think you already know which of the two options is more secure, but things aren't as straightforward as they seem.
Passwords are often used for online accounts or devices that usually don't have a limit on failed login attempts. This makes them vulnerable to automated brute-force attacks, where a program systematically tries all possible combinations to crack the password. Not every brute-force attack is practical, though, because it could take years to break into a strong password. However, hacking technologies are evolving quickly, making these attacks more efficient and raising the odds of success.
Password vs. PIN: Which is safer?
It's time to answer the big question: Which is safer, passwords or PINs? Technically, passwords are more secure if they're strong enough. Even with the latest hacking software, it could take hundreds of years to crack a complex 12-character password. Using a 16-character password might extend that time to thousands of years. So, if you're looking to protect your device or online account, using a strong password is a better choice than a PIN.
This doesn't necessarily mean you should stop using PINs altogether. PINs are a practical and secure method to unlock your touchscreen device, for example. Using them is quick and often has a limited number of attempts before locking, adding an extra layer of protection.
However, if you really care about the security of your online accounts and digital assets, consider using both passwords and PINs generated by a multi-factor authentication (MFA) tool. In this case, after you enter your account's password, the MFA tool prompts you with a unique PIN that you must enter to verify your access. This extra layer of security ensures that even if someone gets hold of your password, they won't be able to access your account without the additional verification step.
How to create a secure PIN
If you are to create a PIN for your touchscreen device or credit card, make sure it is as secure as possible. Here are some guidelines on how to achieve that:
Stay away from simple, easily guessable PINs like "1234," "0000," "1111," "123456," or "9876."
Don't use personal information such as birthdates, anniversaries, phone numbers, or other details that someone could easily guess.
Don't write down your PIN or store it in an insecure manner (like a note on your phone)—just memorize it.
If possible, create a PIN that is longer than four digits.
How to improve your password security
The first thing you should do to improve your password security is to ensure that all your passwords are strong and stored securely. Since we’ve already stressed the importance of unique and complex passwords, let’s now shift our attention to the storage part.
Many people still keep their passwords in their notebooks or notes on their phones, not realizing how insecure that is. But the reasoning behind this habit isn't too surprising. After all, memorizing all your passwords isn't exactly easy. According to our study, the average person juggles a whopping 87 passwords just for work. For most of us, this is way too many to even try to remember. So, how do you address this problem? You use a reliable password manager like NordPass.
NordPass provides an encrypted virtual space where you can safely store and manage all your passwords, passkeys, credit card details, and other sensitive information. It is also lightning-fast at generating strong passwords, allows you to securely share credentials with the people you trust, and even checks if your login data has been compromised in a breach. So, if you’re looking for a way to improve your password security, NordPass is your go-to solution.
Try passwordless authentication
It might come as news to some of you that nowadays, you can skip the whole dilemma of choosing between PINs or passwords altogether and opt for a far more secure solution. This is because there is a new authentication method that lets you securely log in to websites and apps without entering a password or a PIN—and it’s called “passkeys”.
A passkey consists of two distinct cryptography keys: a public key, which is registered with the website or app, and a private key, which remains stored locally on your device and never leaves it. During login, these keys are matched up, granting you access to the website.
As already mentioned, NordPass lets you store passkeys, ensuring fast and secure access to your online accounts. This allows you to utilize biometrics, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, for authentication, making the whole process much easier and safer. Therefore, if you're truly committed to improving the security of your online accounts, we suggest you go passwordless with NordPass and switch to passkeys on accounts and applications. | <urn:uuid:96ac4ffd-0bf6-42c0-8ee7-94b8d8f466f6> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://nordpass.com/blog/pin-vs-password/ | 2024-09-08T12:36:08Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651002.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908115103-20240908145103-00533.warc.gz | en | 0.955093 | 1,597 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Global warming? Poverty? Illiteracy? Debt crises? They are all big global problems. And they have drawn the attention of the technology pros at Google. Google recently presented its new “Solve for X” initiative, a project in which Google’s greatest minds take on the world’s most vexing challenges. The aim is for “Solve for X” minds to suggest revolutionary suggestions for eliminating some of the biggest challenges facing the Earth.
Tackling the biggest global issues
Of course, it’s not all that simple. The “Solve for X” brain trust will be tackling problems that have long befuddled world leaders. However, the folks behind this project are nothing if not determined. They claim the work taking place here is akin to the innovative thinking that was required to send humans to the moon. On the “Solve for X” website, Google describes it this way: “This combination of things—a huge problem to solve, a radical solution for solving it and the breakthrough technology to make it happen—is the essence of a moonshot.”
Tackling water scarcity
The Mashable.com recently ran an interesting feature story on the “Solve for X” project. Mashable cited the account of a participant in a “Solve for X” retreat who said that the minds gathered with him were working on the huge issue of global water scarcity. What type of solutions are “Solve for X” members creating to handle this issue? One involved forward osmosis with recycled ammonium salts. If you have no clue what that means, don’t fret—the folks at “Solve for X” do.
The need for technology brain trusts
Whether or not “Solve for X” results in real remedies for the world’s problems, the concept certainly has value. Technology is generally developed with a single objective in mind, usually for entertainment. That said, it’s likely there are many ways we could use current technologies that we haven’t considered. With luck ,, “Solve for X” will help us take advantage of that potential. | <urn:uuid:b8933dd4-a335-408c-9b6b-6be63e55bf8a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.kloud9it.com/2012/03/what-is-google-solve-for-x/ | 2024-09-08T12:08:46Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651002.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908115103-20240908145103-00533.warc.gz | en | 0.945339 | 460 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Data validation is more than limiting entries to a drop down on a spreadsheet or making sure that columns are all formatted correctly. It is a systematic procedure to ensure accuracy, consistency, and quality in your data at every step of the extract, transform, load and processing cycles.
The 2020 Iowa Caucus Debacle provides an interesting example of the importance of clean data, an example of data auditing and validation, and a painful lesson in how an error in your master data can be extremely costly.
When the tabulation app was found to be reporting vote totals different from what the precinct chairs were entering; many precincts, counties, and caucus supervisors posted their raw data online. Having access to the raw data, processing procedures, and recorded steps, amateur internet sleuths and news outlets were able to provide their own independent verification of the results. What kind of tests did they perform?
1) Duplication checks: check if any precincts were entered twice in base data.
2) Intermediate checksum: examine vote totals to ensure that the second round did not have more voters than the first round.
3) Process validation: ensured candidates that did not meet the viability threshold were not awarded delegates.
4) Final checksum: ensure excess delegates were not awarded.
5) Mathematical validation: check that delegates were properly calculated.
6) Improper data mapping: see if votes were switched from their assigned viable candidate from one round to the next.
7) Error frequency: look to see the kinds of errors and produce a histogram to confirm if they are random or point to a biasing flaw.
After a performance- and time-intensive operation, the very worst outcome is to have an output that is wrong but looks right. Because that leads to a sober and rational decision that is uninformed and misinformed.
That is exactly what happened in Iowa. While the results are still being litigated, these independent audits found that the caucus failed on all of these validation checks. The New York Times estimated as many as 10% of precincts may have one or more of these errors. Voters in subsequent states are making decisions informed by news reporting that was generated by these bad reports. The potential second- and third-order consequence is huge.
As all these errors have been identified and reported, it should be easy enough to do a re-canvass, and find accurate results now that the errors in the process and data import are known, right?
No. Because there is a fundamental flaw in the master data here. Unlike a primary, where there are ballots to go back to, the caucus entailed getting people in a room and following a process to generate the master data. The validation checks found that many precinct secretaries improperly followed their realignment rules, lowering numbers for viable candidates with some candidates going from viable to not viable. This resulted in the master data being “incorrect” under the established rules.
Iowa can re-canvass and recount all they want, but this flaw in the master data cannot be corrected. It is likely we will never know who “won” the 2020 Iowa caucus, simply who was ahead when we stopped fighting over it.
What are the expensive consequences of this? It appears that Iowa will no longer be awarded its status as the start of the presidential election. The economic drop off from the loss of tourism, advertising, and spending will be in the tens of millions of dollars, and hundreds of millions in intangible valuation.
It is further likely that the loss of political status will see a drop off in government expenditures and subsidies that benefit the state. In the aggregate, this error in the master data will do billions of dollars of economic damage to the state.
Very costly, for such a little thing. | <urn:uuid:154485db-9ee9-4ccb-882e-f751f7e38d7e> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://netlogx.com/blog/2020/06/19/the-consequences-of-an-error-in-your-master-data-by-daniel-krouse/ | 2024-09-10T23:27:48Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651323.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20240910224659-20240911014659-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.963498 | 765 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Honeypots have been a part of the cybersecurity world for decades.
This is because they offer real-world data on the types of threats companies face, and can be a powerful research tool for identifying specific threat vectors.
Rather than relying on general passive protection systems, network administrators are now looking to test their cybersecurity in dynamic real-life situations.
Below is a simple but practical guide that covers the basic types of honeypots, as well as how and why they help researchers analyze malware.
What Are Honeypots & How Many Types There Are?
A honeypot is a real or simulated system designed to attract attacks on itself.
Essentially, they are virtual or physical machines that are open to the real world while flaunting their intended vulnerabilities.
The basic idea is that a cybercriminal will launch his attack against the trap instead of the real systems. If this happens, the company can obtain information on the types of tools, tactics, and procedures used, to prevent others from coming.
There are two broad categories of honeypots available today: high interaction and low interaction. These are defined based on the services, or level of interaction, provided to potential hackers.
- High interaction Honeypots: allow the hacker to interact with the system just as they would with any normal operating system, to collect the maximum amount of information about the attacker’s techniques.
- Low interaction Honeypots: In contrast, these present hacker-emulated services with a limited subset of the functionality that they would expect from a server, to detect sources of unauthorized activity.
Benefits of Using Honeypots in 2020
Large companies can use them to test vulnerabilities, strengthen their backup systems, or detect ongoing attacks.
Smaller companies use them to increase the security of their website, protect personal data, and increase their reputation by taking cybersecurity seriously.
This is because they offer a level of detailed threat analysis that is impossible using more general cybersecurity analysis software.
As they are not based on known attack signatures, they can often provide zero-day warning of potential security vulnerabilities.
Unlike intrusion detection systems, a user does not need to act suspiciously to trigger a warning that a system has been compromised.
The mere fact that someone is poking around a honeypot is enough to identify it as a threat. They are also useful for evaluating administrative responses to cyberattacks.
However, Honeypots aren’t perfect:
- They can be used by cybercriminals to attack other systems.
- It only supervises direct interactions with the honeypot.
- Smart attackers can potentially detect honeypots.
And not only they’re imperfect… But cybersecurity professionals tag Honeypots as unethical. Why is that?
Ethical Issues Related to Honeypots
The use of honeypots is a popular and controversial topic. And although their use is considered legal, are they ethical?
Some experts consider honeypots to be a cause of entrapment and while this is not a legal issue, it does not mean that the way it attracts attackers is ethical.
The argument is that since it is unethical and illegal to entice someone to steal an object, why is it legal or ethical to entice someone to commit a computer crime?
While some experts consider that honeypots are not only unethical but a disadvantage to the online world since in essence, they are “building the best hacker.”
On the other hand, some others express their opinion on the premise that they simply use the “Strike first, before you are attacked” approach.
This question is not easy to answer, therefore, the ethics of using themwill continue to be a questionable issue.
But, you can test for yourself, now that you know what it is, along with the benefits, disadvantages, and issues.
6 Best Honeypots Software Tools of 2020
For anyone looking, there are a wide variety of software solutions to choose from when it comes to honeypot solutions.
Best Low-interaction Honeypots
Specter – This Intrusion Detection System provides services such as PHP, SMTP, FTP, POP3, HTTP, and TELNET that easily attract attackers, but in reality, they are traps that intend to collect information.
Honeyd – It creates virtual hosts on the Web. Hosts can be configured to run arbitrary services and their personalities can be tailored so that they appear to be running certain operating systems.
KFSensor – This Windows-based Honeypot focus on intrusion detection system (IDS), attracting hackers and worms, vulnerable through the situation of the system services and Trojans.
Best High-Interaction Honeypot
HoneyNet – Is designed to collect a high degree of information about the threats to which the organization is subjected. It also provides a real means of systems, applications, and services to interact with attackers, in other words, a HoneyNet is a set of Honeypots.
But this topic can be as complex as the previously mentioned tools.
So, they won’t have any effect if you don’t know how to use them.
Plain and simple.
What can you do instead? Let a team of IT experts take care of it (of protecting your small, mid, to big-sized business assets, while you focus on making it grow). | <urn:uuid:a53826ac-b771-40b1-ab22-127916af66d5> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.gomyitguy.com/blog-news-updates/honeypot | 2024-09-11T00:44:26Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651323.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20240910224659-20240911014659-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.954922 | 1,084 | 3.484375 | 3 |
A cryptographic zone exists between two points, where a symmetric key or asymmetric public keys are shared in order to encrypt sensitive information. Once the key, or keys have been exchanged, data, and in some cases other keys, are encrypted within this zone.
Most of the security controls employed by web applications are dependent on cryptography, and therefore also dependent on secret keys. A key management system (KMS) should be designed to efficiently handle the secret keys during transfer of sensitive data.
This article introduces the classification of cryptographic zones in modern web applications.
Cryptographic zones can be classified into 3 parts:
Zone 1: External User and Web Application
When the user connects to the secure (HTTPS) websites such as Internet Banking application, the browser must establish a secure TLS session.
The web page should be rendered in the browser in encrypted form. Request and response between the browser and the server is encrypted using public key encryption.
Web applications uses public key cryptography to create a shared session key. It then communicates through symmetric key cryptography using this shared session key. Public key cryptography remains the most popular online protocol (over private key cryptography) because users never need to transmit or reveal their private keys to anyone, which lessens the chances of cyber criminals discovering an individual’s secret key during the transmission.
Zone 2: Web server and Application Server
Many web applications send this data in clear text, but if a hacker is able to compromise the web server, he would have similar rights to view credentials in the clear.
A few web applications do not use encryption during web server and application server communication. But it is always recommended to ensure that data is encrypted end-to-end, from web browser to application server or database server. Therefore, it is highly recommended to send the data through a new encrypted session by either establishing a new SSL session, or transferring data through an IPSec tunnel.
Zone 3: Application server and Database Server
On receipt of the sensitive data, the Web Application Server needs to send it to the database server for verification. The web application server and the database server are usually on the same trusted network, but it is recommended to use SSL to encrypt communication.
Ideally, these data elements are encrypted with a symmetric key which has been pre-negotiated with the mainframe system. Encryption is about ensuring confidentiality. Only an authorized recipient can read the data. The encryption techniques also rely on the strength and type of algorithms being used.
The encryption of data at rest should include strong encryption methods such as AES and RSA. With the increase in SSL security vulnerabilities such as POODLE, Heartbleed, or FREAK, it is highly recommended to use TLS 1.2 or above.
References and further reading
- What is Public Key Cryptography? (2015) by Nate Lord
- 10 Tips for a Cryptographic Key Management System in the Banking Industry - A Penetration Teting Perspective (2015)
- by Ashiq JA
- How to Document a Key Management System (2015) by Ashiq JA | <urn:uuid:5b56711c-6eac-4f44-8a7b-7421e70297af> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.cryptomathic.com/news-events/blog/securing-web-applications-with-cryptographic-zones | 2024-09-13T10:36:01Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651513.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913101949-20240913131949-00133.warc.gz | en | 0.915077 | 626 | 3.640625 | 4 |
A well-rounded solution for securing digital transactions includes the use of both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography and keys. Each method of data protection has advantages, especially when applied to the right scenarios. We will look at the reasons for using each cryptographic method in this section.
Symmetric Versus Asymmetric
Symmetric keys use the same key for both encryption and decryption. Both the sender and receiver of the data must know and share the secret key. For standard encrypt/decrypt functions, symmetric algorithms generally perform much faster than their asymmetrical counterparts. This is due to the fact that asymmetric cryptography is massively inefficient. Symmetric cryptography is designed precisely for the efficient processing of large volumes of data. In other words, symmetric encryption is generally used for speed and performance, e.g. when there's a large amount of data that needs to be encrypted/protected.
Asymmetric, on the other hand, makes use of a key pair which constitutes of a private key a mathematically associated public key - and if one key encrypts or signs something, then the other key can decrypt or verify the signature. For example, if the public key was used to sign/encrypt some data then only users with the private key can decrypt the data and verify its integrity. Vice versa, if users with the private key sign some data then anyone with the public key can decrypt and verify the integrity and authenticity of that data. Asymmetric is more beneficial when larger subsets of entities are sharing information. While asymmetric cryptography is relatively expensive computationally, it works well in situations requiring the benefits of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). A common example is when a trusted connection needs to be established where there is not an existing shared secret.
Asymmetric encryption is often used to establish a secure connection between two parties, e.g. when connecting to an online web portal / secure website. The extra overhead of the public/private key operation is only incurred at the beginning of the exchange to ensure a trusted relationship. Typically, once a secure connection is established, the two entities will then use faster symmetrical encryption to share multiple transactions of sensitive data. The combination of using both symmetric and asymmetric algorithms together is known as hybrid encryption.
With the hybrid encryption approach, the two communication partners initially use asymmetric encryption for establishing the secure connection to create a symmetric encryption key together and then start encrypting your traffic with that secret key. This approach allows generating a shared secret key in such a way that the key can't be seen by observing the communication. Secure Socket Layers (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are the most widely used examples of hybrid encryption communication.
One System to Manage All Keys
A significant difference between symmetric and asymmetric key management is the key distribution. With high value symmetric keys (such as a master key), it is much more difficult because each secret key has to be distributed securely to each application that requires them. With asymmetric, only one entity keeps hold of its private key and openly shares the public key with all other entities
Nevertheless, there are challenges to the management of both asymmetric and symmetric keys. The loss or misuse of any significant private or secret key can be hugely damaging to an organisation. Since the need for both types of cryptography will exist for the foreseeable future, you will need to securely manage the life-cycles and the growth of these keys.
The optimal solution will be a centralized key management system that is capable of handling the complexities of both types of keys throughout their life-cycle. A key management system can ensure that the right keys are available to (only) authorized applications when needed and are recoverable when necessary.
References and Further Reading
- Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Crypto Key Management System - Part 1: What is a key management system (2018), by Rob Stubbs
- Buyer's Guide to Choosing a Crypto Key Management System; Part 2: The Requirement for a Key Management System (2018), by Rob Stubbs
- Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Crypto Key Management System - Part 3: Choosing the Right Key Management System (2018), by Rob Stubbs
NIST SP800-57 Part 1 Revision 4: A Recommendation for Key Management (2016) by Elaine Barker
Selected articles on Key Management (2012-today) by Ashiq JA, Dawn M. Turner, Guillaume Forget, James H. Reinholm, Peter Landrock, Peter Smirnoff, Rob Stubbs, Stefan Hansen and more
CKMS Product Sheet (2016), by Cryptomathic | <urn:uuid:d120e9e1-9bc0-4c52-91bc-f832a761a565> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.cryptomathic.com/news-events/blog/the-need-to-manage-both-symmetric-and-asymmetric-keys | 2024-09-13T10:26:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651513.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913101949-20240913131949-00133.warc.gz | en | 0.903542 | 951 | 3.53125 | 4 |
How Will Quantum Computing Impact Cloud Security?
August 12, 2024Quantum computing — leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics — promises unprecedented computational power. It’s capable of solving complex problems far beyond the reach of classical computers. This technology could revolutionize numerous fields, including cryptography and data analysis, by performing calculations at speeds unimaginable today.
For IT teams and decision-makers, cloud security is a paramount concern, as it safeguards sensitive data and ensures the integrity of online services. Understanding how quantum computing might impact cloud security is crucial. It could offer robust new differences and introduce novel vulnerabilities, requiring strategic preparation and investment.
Classical computing relies on binary bits, representing data as either 0s or 1s. Meanwhile, quantum computing uses quantum bits or qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to superposition and entanglement. This fundamental difference allows quantum computers to process complex computations at unprecedented speeds.
Quantum computing is in the experimental phase with significant advancements, but practical, large-scale applications are still on the horizon. The prospects of quantum computing are promising, with potential breakthroughs anticipated in cryptography, drug discovery and artificial intelligence.
Quantum computing’s advanced capabilities can significantly enhance cloud security, making it a game changer in protecting sensitive data. Here’s how it can help IT teams boost encryption, threat detection and authentication methods.
Quantum algorithms create more robust encryption methods by leveraging the unique properties of quantum mechanics — such as superposition and entanglement — to generate highly secure cryptographic keys.
Post-quantum cryptographic algorithms can withstand the immense computational power of quantum computers. They ensure the encrypted data remains secure even in the face of quantum-based attacks. These advanced algorithms reduce the risk posed to traditional cryptographic systems, which are vulnerable to being easily decrypted by quantum computers.
Quantum computing can enhance anomaly detection by analyzing vast data sets to identify irregular patterns indicating security breaches. With the average data breach cost reaching $4.35 million in 2022, improving detection capabilities is crucial for organizations.
Quantum computers — with their unparalleled processing power — can rapidly sift through complex data to provide faster and more accurate threat identification. This heightened ability to detect anomalies helps protect sensitive information and reduce the financial impact of data breaches.
Developing quantum-resistant authentication algorithms is pivotal to cloud security, ensuring robust protection against quantum-based threats. Quantum-powered AI is critical in this domain because it analyzes traffic patterns more effectively and enables it to flag or isolate anomalous or potentially fraudulent events accurately.
These advanced algorithms can resist the computational prowess of quantum computers, safeguarding authentication processes and maintaining the integrity of secure systems. Incorporating quantum-resistant technologies allows organizations to better defend against emerging security challenges and reinforce their cybersecurity framework.
While quantum computing holds promise for enhancing cloud security, it also introduces significant challenges. These challenges range from the potential to break existing encryption methods to the increased complexity of managing new security protocols.
Quantum computers can break current encryption methods by utilizing powerful algorithms. For example, Shor’s algorithm enables a large-scale quantum computer to factorize large numbers efficiently, which is the foundation of many encryption systems.
This capability would allow a quantum computer to quickly break all the encryption systems currently securing internet traffic and render traditional cryptographic protections ineffective against interception. As a result, it can expose sensitive information transmitted over the internet, highlighting the urgent need for developing quantum-resistant encryption methods to maintain data security.
Implementing and managing quantum-based security protocols introduces a new level of complexity for IT teams. Quantum security systems require specialized knowledge and expertise, making them challenging to integrate into existing infrastructures.
Additionally, the need for ongoing maintenance and updates to keep up with advancements in quantum computing further complicates the management process. This increased complexity can strain resources and necessitate significant investment in training and technology. It poses a substantial hurdle for organizations aiming to adopt quantum security measures.
Quantum computing systems, while powerful, have unique vulnerabilities that traditional systems do not face. One such weakness is their susceptibility to disruptions in their global quantum state, which adversaries can exploit to undermine the system’s functionality.
This disruption can cause errors in quantum computations, leading to potential security breaches and unreliable performance. As a result, ensuring the stability and integrity of quantum systems is critical. Maintaining operational security and reliability requires robust safeguards against these novel threats.
Emphasizing proactive measures is crucial for leveraging the benefits of quantum computing while mitigating its associated risks. IT teams should invest in quantum research, develop quantum-resistant technologies and stay informed about advancements to prepare for the quantum era.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zac writes for ReHack as the Features Editor and covers cybersecurity, IT, and business tech. His work has been featured on publications like AllBusiness, CyberTalk, and BLR. For more of his writing, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn. | <urn:uuid:fbcd85e9-b86d-4e11-8752-ef734e3a3d84> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://cloudcow.com/content/how-will-quantum-computing-impact-cloud-security/ | 2024-09-14T17:55:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914161327-20240914191327-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.90391 | 1,001 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Article contributed by Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of Research for ManageEngine and Zoho.
Natural language processing (NLP) is a collection of techniques that can help a software system interpret natural language, spoken or typed, into the software system and perform appropriate actions in response. With the growth in ML and AI techniques, NLP has also evolved into a very powerful collection of techniques that can interpret human communication.
The basic idea behind AI systems is to infer patterns from past data and formulate solutions to a given problem. Traditional NLP systems were rule based, using rigid rules for the translation process, but modern-day NLP systems are powered by AI techniques and fed huge chunks of data across languages. These AI-powered techniques have improved the accuracy of language translation services.
Most brands run their business via mobile and web applications. However, another medium of digital interaction involving a conversational interface has taken businesses by storm. These NLP-powered conversational interfaces mimic human interaction and are very personalised. Organisations must grab this opportunity to instil the latest, most effective NLP techniques in their digital platforms to enable better customer interactions, given that the first touchpoint for many customer interactions is digital these days.
1. How does NLP help with speech recognition software?
Speech recognition software can be inherently complex and involves multiple layers of tools to output text from a given audio signal. Challenges involve removing background noise, segregating multiple speech signals, understanding code mixing (where the human speaker mixes two different languages), isolating nonverbal fillers, and much more.
The latest NLP solutions have near-human levels of accuracy in understanding speech, which is the reason we see a huge number of personal assistants in the consumer market. Today's AI-powered NLP-based speech recognition software is close to 95% accurate.
2. Why are there issues of bias in NLP and speech recognition?
Bias is one of the biggest challenges of any AI-powered system, where the model learns from the data we feed it. We've all read about AI systems that reject applicants based on gender or give different credit eligibility for similar people from different ethnicities. NLP has similar pitfalls, where the speech recognition system might not understand or wrongly interpret a particular subset of a person's speech.
One way to avoid such bias in the models is to ensure a variety of samples are included in the training data. An imbalanced training dataset is the first reason for bias to creep into a system.
Training data should be monitored and treated like code, where every change in training data is reviewed and logged to ensure the system remains bias-free. For example, the first version of the system might not contain much bias, but due to incessant addition to the training data, it may lose its bias-free nature over time. Closely monitoring the system for potential bias will help with identifying it in its earliest stages when it's easiest to correct.
Some examples of bias in speech detection
- Wrongly interpreting or unable to interpret accents
- Inability to interpret contextual references (phrases) that are region specific
- Unable to interpret the same words when spoken by a different gender
- Unable to interpret domain speak (for example: "checking in code" would mean committing code into a code repository)
The primary reason behind all of these is an imbalanced dataset or a training dataset that has decayed over iterations.
3. The setbacks of NLP and speech recognition due to bias
If speech recognition software is particularly error prone with particular accents, customers with that accent will stop using it over time and instead use the traditional way of interacting with the system. This translates into huge losses in the ROI on building the speech recognition system. This could also result in bad press and negatively impact the company's reputation.
4. How can bias be tackled both at the early and later stages once it has been recognised?
The key to tackling NLP bias is model monitoring and dataset monitoring. Model monitoring means consistently monitoring the model's output to ensure no bias has crept into the system. This bias is often referred to as concept drift—where the model has drifted from its original state. It's important to identify and mitigate concept drift before ethical boundaries are breached.
It's important to treat data like code, where every amendment to the training dataset is logged and reviewed. This is considered dataset monitoring.
5. How to ensure we can meet regulatory requirements around bias?
Ethics must be drilled into the design of NLP systems and cannot be an afterthought. We are seeing more and more regulatory frameworks going into effect to ensure AI systems are bias free. Proper developer education is important to ensure proper ethics is included by design.
Ethics is a continuous process during which we cannot take our hands off the wheel. Self-regulation plays a key role in staying bias free. | <urn:uuid:9738cbd0-4c8f-42f9-830c-bb6d75914807> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://em360tech.com/emerge5/5-things-you-need-know-about-natural-language-processing | 2024-09-14T18:43:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914161327-20240914191327-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.953629 | 994 | 3.1875 | 3 |
On the night of August 4th, a significant ransomware attack struck approximately 40 museums in France, including the Grand Palais.
This prestigious venue, currently hosting Olympic events in Paris and several other notable cultural institutions, had their systems compromised. The attackers specifically targeted the centralised financial data management systems across these museums.
The cybercriminals demanded a ransom in cryptocurrencies and threatened to release sensitive financial information if their demands were not met within 48 hours.
Sources indicate that the attackers warned, "The institutions had 48 hours to pay or the data would be released." The French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) confirmed its awareness of the incident but assured that the compromised systems did not impact the Olympic games.
The Grand Palais acknowledged the cyberattack but did not provide further details. The Louvre, initially suspected to be a target, has denied being attacked. According to police, a criminal investigation is underway focusing on the breaches, extortion by organised gangs, and the use of automated data processing systems.
Importantly, the attack did not affect any systems related to the Olympic events, including the fencing and martial arts competitions at the Grand Palais.
In this article, we explore the ransomware attack on 40 French museums, including Olympic venues like the Grand Palais. The attack encrypted crucial data and caused major disruptions, revealing security vulnerabilities. French authorities are investigating, highlighting the need for improved cybersecurity measures.
How did they attack?
The attackers used ransomware—a type of malicious software designed to block access to a victim's computer systems or data until a ransom is paid.
The process began with the deployment of ransomware, which infiltrated the cultural institution’s networks and encrypted critical files on their systems. This encryption rendered essential documents and operational tools inaccessible to the affected institutions, effectively locking out users from their own data. The ransomware’s primary function was to disrupt normal operations by making crucial files unreadable and unusable.
Once the ransomware encrypted the files, the attackers issued a ransom demand. They required payment in cryptocurrencies, which is a common tactic due to its anonymity.
In addition to the immediate disruption, the attackers threatened to publish sensitive financial and operational data if their demands were not met. This threat heightened the urgency for the museums to respond, as it meant potentially compromising their financial security and damaging their reputation.
This attack underscores the growing threat of ransomware and highlights the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures to defend against such invasive and financially damaging breaches.
How to Protect Your Organisation from Ransomware?
Defending against ransomware requires a proactive and multi-layered approach to cybersecurity.
First and foremost, it's crucial to implement robust security measures, such as regularly updating software and operating systems to protect against known vulnerabilities. Using comprehensive antivirus and anti-malware solutions can help detect and neutralise ransomware before it causes damage.
Regularly backing up important data is another essential practice. By maintaining up-to-date backups, organisations can restore their systems and files in the event of an attack, reducing the impact of data loss.
Additionally, educating employees about cybersecurity best practices, including recognising phishing emails and avoiding suspicious links, plays a vital role in preventing ransomware infections.
In light of recent events, such as the ransomware attack on museums in France amid the Paris Olympics, it is clear that the stakes are high. The presence of large crowds and increased activity in cultural and public spaces highlights the need for heightened vigilance.
Authorities and organisations must be cautious and prepared for potential disruptions that could affect not only individual institutions but also significant events like the Olympics.
While the attack on these museums was not as severe as initially feared, it serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by ransomware. The investigation into the attackers is still ongoing, emphasising the need for continuous vigilance and improved defences against such cyber threats.
Staying informed about the latest security threats and maintaining rigorous defence strategies are essential in protecting against ransomware and minimising its impact on operations and public events. | <urn:uuid:060c78d7-ffd1-439b-9755-dadd7fd4fa2c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://em360tech.com/tech-article/olympic-venue-among-40-museums-hit-ransomware-attack | 2024-09-14T16:48:18Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914161327-20240914191327-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.956492 | 810 | 3.03125 | 3 |
The act of prediction, itself, is the application of probability to determine what might happen. For example, if a person takes an action once, you might expect them to do it again. However, if that action caused a poor or negative result, you’d most likely expect the person not to do it again. Now, let’s make it more complex. Say that the person has taken the action in some situations, but not in others. By analyzing the details of each situation, determining the differences and factors in each one, you could begin to predict the likelihood of the person’s actions in a given context. Thus, to make a reasonable prediction for the future, you must have clear insight into past events, complete with context.
In essence, that is what Webroot strives to do with threat intelligence. By examining internet data and objects to determine threat trends, we can calculate the probability of future threat behavior. As millions of websites, domains, and IP addresses change state from benign to malicious and back, we can analyze trends and map the relationships between them, as well as with other internet objects, such as files and applications. This, in turn, allows us to better predict the potential for benign websites and IPs to turn malicious and vice versa, and even predict where future attacks may originate.
Upon examining our threat intelligence data from the first half of 2019, it’s fairly clear the trends we’ve observed over the last several years are still going strong. In particular, we’ve continued to see increases in polymorphism, phishing, and attack innovation overall.
This mid-year update to the annual Webroot Threat Report showcases data from the Webroot® Platform, our advanced machine learning-based threat analysis architecture, as well as trends, insights, and predictions from the Webroot Threat Research Team | <urn:uuid:9b2e2f4c-77cb-491d-a5b2-8b06bda5319a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://mysecuritymarketplace.com/reports/webroot-threat-report-mid-year-update/ | 2024-09-14T17:31:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914161327-20240914191327-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.939212 | 376 | 2.546875 | 3 |
I remember the first time I realized the true power of technology: it was a simple video call between my daughter and her grandmother, who lived hundreds of miles away in a small town. Seeing their faces light up as they connected across the distance made me understand how technology can bridge gaps and bring people closer. This experience ignited my passion for ensuring everyone, especially women, has access to these life-changing tools. As we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, I find myself reflecting on the incredible potential that lies within each woman when given the right tools and opportunities.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, technology is a game-changer for our future. But we sometimes forget how important it is for promoting inclusion and equality. Digital tech can boost economic growth and link people to vital services and job opportunities. However, if we don’t make sure women have access to these technologies and the skills to use them, we risk making economic and social inequalities even worse. Giving women the digital tools and know-how they need isn’t just a good idea—it’s crucial for building a fairer and more prosperous world for everyone.
Have you ever thought about how different your life would be without the internet? Imagine not being able to apply for jobs online, access educational resources, or stay connected with friends and family. For 35% of the world, this is a daily reality. Sure, the internet might be available globally, but is it truly accessible if people can’t afford it? By 2030, those of us who are connected will see another 500 billion devices at our fingertips, while the unconnected remain grounded. It’s not just unfair; it’s unnecessary. We have the tech to connect everyone, everywhere—it just takes a collective push from all of us. Connecting the unconnected could lift 500 million people out of poverty and add $6.7 trillion to the global GDP. This is the mission of Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program within the Digital Impact Office.
Women and the digital divide
But let’s focus the topic at hand: women. Despite the strides we’ve made, women still encounter significant barriers that limit their potential. In many remote and low-income areas, women often lack access to basic necessities like power sources to charge their phones—if they even own one. Shockingly, women are 7% less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 19% less likely to use mobile internet. By addressing these disparities, we can empower women and create a more equitable and connected world for everyone.
Digital exclusion perpetuates social and economic disparities. However, there’s hope. Empowering women through digital literacy can transform lives. Imagine if every woman knew how to use a phone, access the internet, search for information, engage in e-commerce, and manage finances electronically. By bridging this gap, we unlock immense potential for better social and economic outcomes.
“Innovation is the process of creating value by applying novel solutions to meaningful problems.”
Working with Mercy Corps’ Women’s Philanthropy Group (WPG) has been an eye-opening experience for me. I’ve seen firsthand how empowering women with digital skills can transform entire communities. It’s not just about technology; it’s about giving women the tools they need to thrive and make a difference. Imagine a young girl in a remote village who dreams of becoming a doctor. Without access to the internet, she can’t research medical schools, apply for scholarships, or even learn about the latest advancements in medicine. By bridging the digital divide, we can help her turn that dream into reality.
And here’s something cool: since 2007, Cisco has been teaming up with Mercy Corps to accelerate digital solutions in humanitarian work. Being part of this mission through the Women’s Philanthropy Group’s initiatives is incredibly exciting. It’s all about making a real impact and showing the next generation that they can too.
Contribute for inclusion
My journey in working with Cisco’s Digital Impact Office and Mercy Corps has entirely reshaped how I view technology and its impact. I used to get excited about the latest tech trends just because they were fun and flashy. But now, I’m driven by a deeper passion—using technology to solve real-world problems in my community and beyond. This shift has given my work a whole new sense of purpose. As a professional, it has made me more focused on creating solutions that are not just innovative but also meaningful and impactful. As a volunteer in the community, this perspective has fueled my efforts to bridge the digital divide, helping underprivileged families gain access to essential technology and digital literacy programs. As a mom, I want to show my daughter that technology can be a powerful force for good. I strive to be a role model for her, demonstrating that our skills and knowledge can be used to uplift others and create a more inclusive world.
“Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women
and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility.”
Whoever you are, regardless of your gender, social occupation, and role, you have something to contribute! If you are a man, try to walk in women’s shoes, empathize with them, and lend a helping hand. If you are a woman, try to connect with other women and share inspiration and support. If you are a mother or older sister, be a role model and be part of the new social norms that support women. If you are a woman experiencing success and know of opportunities, share your knowledge and bring another female up with you!
Let’s continue to champion equality, innovate for inclusion, and create lasting change. | <urn:uuid:ae822c88-7f48-4d78-825e-d674d581d6f0> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://blogs.cisco.com/innovation/celebrating-womens-equality-day-innovating-for-inclusion | 2024-09-15T20:32:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651647.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915184230-20240915214230-00833.warc.gz | en | 0.943166 | 1,204 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Things to Come:
Waiting for Smart Cards
, President, Avolio Consulting, Inc
What makes smart cards think they’re so smart? Well, they’re not
really “smart,” just … well … fancy. And just as a gerbil seems smart if
compared with, say, a typewriter, a smart card is smart only in relation
to a plastic credit card with a magnetic stripe. But smart
or not, these cards might have a place in your network security arsenal.
Let me explain what they are, what makes them so smart, how we can use them
for security — and the odd reason why most of us aren’t, yet.
Most of us have at least one magnetic stripe card we carry around.
It might be a credit card, bank card (ATM card), or a driver’s license.
The magnetic stripe stores information; typically, your name, plus a small
amount of other data (about 140 bytes). For example, you can purchase a telephone
“cash card” preloaded with a cash value — usually the amount you paid for
it. So, a $10.00 card starts with a value of $10.00, then value is subtracted
from the card each time you use it for a call. It’s neat and even useful.
But, it is not really smart.
Modern smart cards are the shape and size of a credit card. They
can even have a magnetic stripe on the back like a credit card. But what
makes them different (and potentially clever, if not actually
smart), is the embedded microchip.
What can we do with a microchip? Well, if it’s a memory chip, we
can store things on it. Except, instead of the 140 bytes of data stored
on a magnetic stripe, the chip could hold 5 kilobytes to 5 megabytes of data,
(over 4600 times more than a mag stripe). If the chip is a microprocessor,
we can use it to run programs. Smart cards also have input/output (I/O)
ports. Now we’re talking! If we have a processor, memory, and input and
output channels, and a way for those things to communicate, we have the makings
of a computer the size of a credit card. Now, things get interesting.
Smart cards are already used in many places, by many organizations.
My daughter’s university in Florida embeds a microchip in the student identification
card, enabling it to be used as a library card, ATM card, telephone calling
card, and a meal plan card. True, you can do some of this with a magnetic
stripe card. But due to the 140-byte limitation, you can’t do all of them.
With a smart card, you can.
The American Express Blue card is a smart card. American Express
recently co-sponsored with Sun Microsystems a “Code Blue” contest which,
according to an American Express press release, “challenged Java developers
from around the world to create innovative, new smart card applications for
potential use on the credit card Blue…” Yes, a smart card can run Java™.
It is a computer.
So, we have this little computer. What can we do with it to enhance
security? One common use is for identification. As I said in ”
Biometrics: Coming of Age
,” in security, we talk of three ways to establish identity:
- Something a person has.
Possession of a physical item, such as a token, card, or key.
- Something a person knows. Possession of information, such
as a password, passphrase or a combination to a safe or briefcase.
- Something a person is
. Possession of a physical attribute, such as a particular face or voice
or fingerprint. This is the aspect of security known as “biometrics.”
Smart cards support strong user authentication for physical security.
Company badges can be smart cards. Long ago, most companies replaced uniform
laminated badges with badges having the “user’s” photo. Something you
have (the badge) and something you
are (your face, matching the photo) are required when accessing
company property. Add to that a password, or PIN (personal identification
number), that is a secret known only to you and stored on the card, and
you have something you know. Then all three elements of strong authentication
You might be thinking, “Fred, you don’t need a smart card to do that.
A magnetic stripe card works just fine.” This is true. But wait! There’s more.
Let’s use that same smart card not only for physical identification
and access, but also for network access control. We can use the smart card
to store our digital certificate, containing our public key, as well as
our private key to be used in public key cryptography. (If you don’t follow
what I mean, read ”
Foundations: Cryptography 101
.”) The user can sit down
at a computer. When asked to log in to the network, after entering her user
name, the user can slip her smart card into a reader. The authentication
software will access the card and ask the user for her passphrase to access
her private key, stored securely encrypted on the card. The passphrase is
used with the cryptographic processor on the card, to decrypt the private
key. The access software then sends a string of random data encrypted with
the user’s public key to the card. The card, applying the private key, decrypts
the random data, again using the on-board crypto processor. The decrypted
data is sent back to the system, proving the identity of the user using public
This method uses two of the three elements of strong security: something
she has (her private key) and
something she knows
(the passphrase to access the private key). Note an important
feature of this example. At no time was an unknown crypto engine used; we
only used the processor on the card. At no time was the private key stored
in memory on some possibly compromised computer; the unencrypted private
key was used from the volatile memory of the card. Quite nice.
What’s the holdup?
I have it on good authority (in other words, I read it on the Internet)
that Roland Moreno (who I had hoped was Italian, but he’s French) invented
the first smart card in 1974. That’s over a quarter of a century ago. So
why aren’t smart cards commonplace today? After all, they’ve been around
for a hundred years (in Internet-time). The software and smart card readers
exist and are not too expensive. Compaq has serial- and USB-based units for
around $25 USD. Some keyboards for sale have built-in smart card readers;
a quick Internet search shows keyboards with integrated readers for $70 USD.
Acer (www.acer.com) released the first notebook PC with integrated smart card
reader. So why aren’t smart cards everywhere?
I think it is nothing more than a “chicken and egg” problem. People
are not demanding them or using them. Consequently, smart card readers are
not standard equipment, nor do PCs come with software to use them.
Who will blink first?
You can blink first. Or, more accurately, you can ask for solutions
that support smart card use. Even though they are not
free, they are cheap.
You can at least find vendors who will sell a smart card reader, writer,
smart cards, and developer kits. Using your favorite search engine on the
key words in the previous sentence should get you good results. Try out smart
card technology. Play with it. Certainly, if you already are using public
key cryptography, think about using smart cards. From my perspective, it
seems like it could be … well, a smart move.
Smart Card Alliance
is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to accelerate
the widespread acceptance of multiple application smart card technology.
Smart cards used to reduce digital video piracy
Pentagon issues “smart” ID cards to four million troops
McDonalds test-markets smart card jointly with Mobil Gas
Copyright© 2001, WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
All rights reserved. WatchGuard, LiveSecurity, Firebox and ServerLock are
trademarks or registered trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. in
the United States and other countries. | <urn:uuid:7b2979ec-2dbd-4feb-80a6-4cb43c3944f2> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://avolio.com/smartcards/ | 2024-09-18T08:32:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651886.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918064858-20240918094858-00633.warc.gz | en | 0.935065 | 1,860 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Cybercrime is a major concern for companies of all sizes, from brand new startups to established international corporations. With so many high profile breaches over the last decade, the threat is as obvious as it is ever-present.
When stories like the Equifax breach hit the news, it’s hard to ignore the ramifications that can come from an attack on your online resources. However, the understanding that problems can and do arise doesn’t necessarily result in true knowledge of what can happen to a company as the result of cybercrime.
As good company leaders know, the way to fight back against the rise in online scams and threats isn’t to stick your head in the sand and hope for the best. By staying educated on the risks and consequences as well as adopting a prudent approach to cybersecurity, companies can prepare themselves for whatever the future may hold.
What Is Cybercrime?
Cybercrime simply refers to any sort of criminal activity that occurs on the internet and is directed toward computers or networks. The objective of most internet criminal attacks is financial in nature; individuals and organizations seek to exploit private information in order to steal credit card or bank account information or to hold data ransom, for example.
Some attacks may have other motives, like exposing information companies or platform users wished to keep private. Take, for example, the Ashley Madison breach in 2015. Ashley Madison, a dating website for married individuals seeking extramarital affairs, was hacked. Rather than going after financial records specifically, the group behind the breach made the choice to leak the information of site users for the purpose of shaming married individuals seeking outside partnerships.
Regardless of motivations, cybercrime can be a huge problem for businesses, both in terms of financial stability and reputation.
Where Does Cybercrime Come From?
Cybercrime originates from many sources depending on the circumstances of an attack. Some cyber attacks are carried out by individuals with personal goals, like learning proprietary information about a company’s operations or stealing identities for financial purposes, while others are conducted by criminal or vigilante groups with similar goals. Other cyber attacks are acts of terror carried out by organized groups against military or government networks. In other cases, cybercrime may be the result of a desire for mass chaos.
In general, motive doesn’t play a strong role in the effects of cybercrime. As nothing good can come of an attack, protection against any kind of intruder is the best stance.
Types of Cybercrime
The concept of cybercrimes is broad and far-reaching, referring to a number of different attacks versus one sole way to penetrate a company’s computers or networks. The most common forms of cybercrimes include:
- Hackers: Hackers are a human threat. These individuals attempt to breach computers and networks by exploiting vulnerabilities within a company’s servers, software use, or other avenues. Hackers can use forms of malware, depending on end goals.
- Malware: Malware is a blanket term to cover a variety of malicious software and malicious code with the intention of breaching or corrupting a computer or network. Spyware and trojans are forms of malware.
- Trojans: Trojans are a form of malware that is disguised as an actual software application. When downloaded, a trojan creates a backdoor into a system that criminals can then use to steal sensitive information. Trojans come in numerous different forms depending on the end objective of the user.
- Ransomware: Another form of malware, a ransomware attack can originate from phishing emails or illegitimate downloads and will essentially hold a computer or network hostage until a ransom is paid.
- Bots: An automated form of attack, bots infect a computer in order to gain access to a server in a way that leads to a whole network of compromised computers known as a botnets. With this kind of control, criminals can then flood a system to cause maximum damage across a company’s entire technology structure.
- Phishing attacks: Phishing is an email or social media scam in which users receive emails or messages from seemingly-legitimate senders that contain links or attachments that are actually malware. When recipients click on these benign-looking features, malware will be downloaded onto the computer, creating vulnerabilities. To make this obvious, many companies now have an automated way to mark emails from external senders so that employees will not be fooled by an address that appears to be from within the company.
- DDoS Attacks: Short for distributed denial-of-service, DDoS attacks use large amounts of traffic to bring down a website or server. In essence, this creates a sort of traffic jam: when too much traffic is directed to a site or server in a way that overloads capabilities, legitimate users are shut out. These denial of service attacks can be particularly challenging for cloud users as this kind of action is intended to interfere with internet-based server activity.
Numerous sub-variations exist within each category of criminal event, creating a rich tapestry of threats that companies must actively work to prevent.
Get the Most Secure IT Platform on the Market
What Do Cyber Attackers Do With the Information They Collect?
What cyber attackers do with the information they gain from their actions depends on overall goals and the information received. In some cases, criminals may use financial details to siphon money from bank accounts or use credit cards for personal gain. In others, they may use customer information to steal identities in order to achieve financial gain, like opening new credit cards or taking out loans using another person’s social security number.
When terrorists are involved in cyber attacks, information may be the primary goal. A terrorist group from another country may be interested in penetrating government or military databases in order to learn about confidential security details or future military action plans.
Some criminal networks may also hack networks to prove a point; for example, a criminal group may choose to hack a government organization simply to prove how ineffective or inefficient protections are in order to warn citizens. However, this kind of attack is far rarer than one intended to cause damage.
Cybercrimes in the Public Eye
Over the last decades, there have been many examples of large companies that have found themselves a victim of cybercrime. In recent years, the most notable case has been the Equifax breach.
In September 2017, Equifax fell victim to a mass-scale data breach that compromised the personal information of 147 million Americans – a large portion of the adult population. The company is still keeping many of the details of the breach under wraps, but the source of the issue appears to be related to a flaw in a tool used for internet application development called Apache Struts. While issues are always a possibility, Equifax admitted knowledge of the flaws in their platform a full two months prior to the breach – a significant violation of customer trust. Apache Struts is used by many other companies and government agencies, creating the likelihood for a problem of this caliber on a widespread level.
Equifax’s reputation was damaged beyond repair, and the financial costs of the issue aren’t small, either. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Equifax is responsible for expenditures of up to $425 million to cover the ramifications for those affected. The company is still attempting to navigate the situation, providing cash payments and credit monitoring services in an attempt to right their wrongs.
The Equifax breach is among the largest issues in history, but they aren’t the first major player to find themselves under fire: the same happened to Anthem insurance company in 2015, eBay in 2014, and Yahoo! and Target in 2013. With these events in mind, it should be clear that no company is immune, no matter the size or scale.
The Cost of Cybercrime
Think cybercrime is a small issue? It’s not. On a national scale, cybercrime is very costly, resulting in billions of extraneous expenditures on an annual basis. In 2018, this cost exceeded $600 billion USD worldwide – an absolutely astronomical amount, dwarfing the GDP of many countries around the globe.
The cost of cybercrime at an organizational level is also extreme: on average, companies pay $13 million per breach – $1.4 million over the prior year. For smaller companies, these kinds of expenses can be prohibitively costly, standing in the way of regular operations. For those who don’t make protection a priority, it’s possible that one bad attack could bring the company down for good.
How Do You Recognize Cybercrime?
So, you know cybercrime is a problem? But how do you know it’s coming?
There are many forms of cyber attacks, so keeping an eye out for all of them can be a lengthy process best handled by professionals. However, many major forms of attacks can be recognized fairly easily based on the most common forms of threats.
For example, phishing emails are popular due to the ease of use. These emails appear to come from legitimate senders. However, when links within emails are clicked or attachments are downloaded, a virus or other form of malware can be installed on your computer and, from there, infect an entire network. Other attacks from from downloading software from unknown locations. If a website you are visiting requests a software download to continue using features, for example, there’s a good chance this download will actually be a virus. Only download programs from legitimate and verified internet sites.
Some forms of attacks are far less blatant and may only be noticed on the back end by network administrators and IT professionals monitoring security logs. Things like unusual spikes in behaviors or logins from unknown locations at unusual times can be a sign of a potential attack.
The Effects of Cybercrime
Cybercrime can have very serious and long-reaching effects, affecting your company, your customers, and even your industry, depending on the extent of an attack. While the specific consequences will vary cases to case, these are some of the most common ramifications of cybercrime:
- Financial damages: As the main goal for many hackers and cyber criminals, cyber attacks can lead to large financial losses. This can come from damaged networks or from theft.
- Compromised information: Hacking often leaves your information vulnerable to criminals, compromising things like customer bank account and social security numbers. This can create serious issues, putting the future of your business at risk due to theft.
- Legal damages: For companies that must abide by things like HIPAA or any kind of SEC oversight, for example, compromising customer information can be a serious problem that may result in legal fines and other penalties. This can result in legal costs and other expenses that may be unaffordable for smaller companies.
- Ruined reputation: When your system is breached and customer information is compromised, it’s very likely that your customer base will start to pull away from you. If you can’t fulfill customer trust, you’re not going to be an appealing partner.
What Is Cyber Law and Cyber Law Enforcement?
Cyber law is a blanket term that refers to any kind of legislation or regulations that apply to online activities. One of the newer aspects of the legal system and law enforcement, cyber law intends to protect users by imposing laws on unscrupulous activity, like cyber attacks. Cyber laws enforced by law enforcement fall into three broad categories:
- Crimes Against People: These are crimes against individuals and include things like stalking, cyber harassment, child pornography, credit card fraud, spoofing, identity theft, trafficking, and slander. How these laws are enforced by law enforcement apply can vary from one location to another and may be classified as either misdemeanors or felonies
- Crimes Against Property: Crimes against property refer to cyber attacks that are specifically intended to damage property, like computers or servers. DDoS attacks, for example, are considered crimes against property due to the negative consequences these kinds of attacks have on servers and networks. Other crimes include viruses, hacking, vandalism, and copyright infringement.
- Crimes Against Government: Crimes against government involve cyber attacks and other criminal methods that harm the government. These attacks are often taken far more seriously as they are considered a potential breach of national security and, potentially, an act of war. These crimes include things like hacking and viruses, cyber terrorism, accessing any kind of confidential information, and pirated software theft. Law enforcement takes crimes against government very seriously.
Cyber law can be problematic due to the ever-changing state of technology. New approaches to attacks are utilized every day, and it’s often a possibility that laws will not adequately cover these new evolutions. While law enforcement agencies work as hard as they can to stay up to date, the legal system isn’t necessarily known for speed or efficiency, leaving a gap between the protections web users need and the actual laws covering illegal or questionable behaviors.
The recent trends in cyber law include far more stringent standards with a focus on encompassing as many threats and cases of fraud as possible, even in the face of creativity from cyber criminals. For those who suspect serious issues in need of immediate cybercrime investigation, the Internet Crime Complaints Center provides a simple, streamlined way to report potential problems for FBI or even homeland security examination.
The Evolving State of Cybersecurity
Due to the increasing presence of cyber criminals and the major challenges faced by companies like Equifax and Target, cyber security is now more important than ever. Countless colleges and universities are offering specific courses of study and degree programs for cyber security, emphasizing the importance of combating cyber crime to protect data and networks online.
If your company doesn’t employ a cyber security protocol, particularly if you have significant web-based services, like cloud computing, doing so is essential to moving your company forward.
If the serious implications of cybercrime and cyber fraud frighten you, you aren’t alone. While the likelihood of an Equifax-scale breach is very small for most companies, there are plenty of smaller threats out there that can result in devastating consequences. Even if you don’t believe your company is at risk, protective measures to combat cybercrime are absolutely essential.
- Emphasize Employee Education: You need to have faith in your employees – after all, you wouldn’t have hired them if you didn’t see the merit in their abilities – but taking the right approach to security is something all team members should be a part of. As such, keeping your employees up to date on threats, like not opening emails from unknown senders, not downloading suspicious attachments, or not posting too much information on social media, is an important part of protection. Password education is also critical; making sure employees know how to create a strong passwords and the importance of frequent changes can be paramount to strong security.
- Choose the Right Technology: More goes into preventing viruses and other attacks than running a simple anti-virus software. Everything, from out of date software to lesser hardware, can impact the vulnerability of your business. Be sure to keep all technology up to date, including the latest operating systems and current versions of all software in use. Update mobile phones and computers on a regular basis. Utilize encryption standards to protect the data on your servers and activate firewalls to bolster defenses, as well as implementing things like two-factor authentication.
- Get Professional Support: If cyber security isn’t an area of expertise for you, partnering with a pro may be the best course of action. A cyber security expert can help you identify vulnerabilities, create protection plans, and monitor your systems for unusual activity. For those who invest in cloud computing resources, many private cloud providers offer comprehensive packages that include cyber security, ensuring a customized private cloud experience
So You Think Your Company Can’t Be Hacked?
Many companies believe they can’t be hacked for any number of reasons, from being a small and relatively insignificant organization that has no value to offer hackers to using a particular form of operating system to unbeatable defenses. In spite of this, any company is at risk for being hacked or otherwise falling victim to cybercrime. No one is safe, which is why cyber security is a booming business. If you want to protect yourself, you need to take the proper steps to do so.
For those who want to protect information and business assets, the right approach to cyber security is absolutely critical. Without proper protection, it’s possible to lose money, customer information, and, ultimately, the respect of your community. By partnering with a provider who can keep you covered, no matter your industry, your personal goals, or any applicable industry regulations, you can keep your company as secure as possible in the changing face of cyber security.
If you are seeking managed security for your company, our private cloud platform can help. We specialize in highly complex and regulated businesses across the country and can improve the cyber security of your business. Please contact us today to learn more about our opportunities. | <urn:uuid:103c7a51-a01d-455d-a148-19a3531b0b8b> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.avataracloud.com/what-can-happen-to-a-company-as-the-result-of-cyber-crime/ | 2024-09-18T08:48:40Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651886.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918064858-20240918094858-00633.warc.gz | en | 0.940146 | 3,479 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Today, it is nearly impossible to imagine our life without the internet. From ordering a pizza, paying our bills, sharing crucial documents and information over emails to connecting with various people on social media, we use the internet everywhere. However, we have to enter our personal details to perform these tasks.
You must have encountered a situation where you got a random call from a service provider asking for your details in order to offer you better services or customer experience. However, have you ever wondered what happens with the information you share online? Is it safe to share your personal details?
According to a Statista report, approx. 37.2% of respondents stated that they had become victims of online banking fraud, whereas 69.7% of people reported that they had received fraudulent emails or phone calls asking for their personal details.
Since cybercrimes are on the rise and becoming a big threat to businesses and organizations globally, legislators in the EU have introduced data privacy laws, known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to eliminate data breaches. Regardless of the size and type, all businesses and organizations must follow the GDPR guidelines. Otherwise, they have to bear the consequences and pay a hefty fine.
So, what is GDPR? What companies are affected by GDPR compliance? So, without ado, let’s find out the answers to these questions.
What is GDPR Compliance?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was implemented on May 25, 2018. It is a set of guidelines tailored for EU individuals that offer better control over their sensitive data and protect them from data breaches.
The primary goal of GDPR compliance is to create a safe digital environment for the companies and their customers in the EU and aid in protecting individuals’ privacy. Therefore, the GDPR guidelines need to be followed by every organization that stores the personal data of the EU residents, including B2B companies.
GDPR in EU – What companies are severely affected by this compliance?
Now that you have got an idea of what GDPR is – let’s understand what is the impact of GDPR on businesses?
Impact of GDPR on Social Media
Social media is one of the most affected sectors by GDPR. For instance, last year, due to the effect of GDPR, Facebook faced a penalty of $652,000 from the UK’s Information Commissioner Office (ICO) in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which provided unauthorized access to personal information of over 145 million users to third-party applications.
As a result, social media users may have received emails from their social media websites notifying them about the several changes in their privacy policies.
So, what is the GDPR impact on social media? What are the GDPR guidelines for social media companies?
Well, according to GDPR rules,
- Social media companies have to disclose how your personal information will be used.
- They have to request full consent from the users to use their data outside the social media. However, users have the right to choose not to share some of their sensitive information.
- They must inform the users within 72 hours after a data breach is detected.
- They must use simple language in all privacy policies that everyone can easily understand. They can’t use technical and legal jargon.
- Now users have the “right to be forgotten.” It means that users can erase all their personal data from social media.
GDPR – Online Retail
GDPR urges online retail companies and digital brands to make some changes in their marketing strategies. And it becomes difficult for online retailers to grow due to the restrictions imposed by GDPR on sharing the user’s personal information to unauthorized parties.
However, these changes have a positive impact too as it allows online retailers to understand their customer needs and aids in building a trusting relationship with them.
The effects of GDPR on the banking sector are significant as it has made customers’ privacy the primary concern. And the primary goal of GDPR is “incorporating privacy and data protection” considerations into all the sectors that use personal information, including the online banking sector.
Digital bank owners consider the GDPR as a costly affair that can impact other projects too. As a result, many bank owners feel hesitant to invest in GDPR.
However, there are enormous benefits of GDPR compliance. It includes:
- Opportunity for innovation: Since GDPR is much more than regulatory compliance, it offers digital banks better opportunities for investment and innovation. It can be considered a profitable strategy as it allows bank owners to make some bold decisions due to the integration of data protection. Also, it offers them expertise in technology and data.
- Ethical data handling: Maintaining an ethical approach to data in the digital banking sector is beneficial. Digital banks have rigorously compiled and implemented the GDPR to protect the sensitive data of their customers.
Last but not least, cloud computing companies are severely affected by the GDPR. Since cloud service providers handle various types of data, including classified data and sensitive information, this may fall into the hands of unauthorized parties and lead to a data breach.
Another challenge that most cloud computing companies face is the externalization of privacy. Organizations that use cloud servers expect that the privacy agreements that they have shared with their staff will continue to work. However, the rights of data owners may vary, especially if the cloud service provider’s operations are in many jurisdictions. Hence, it is vital to have a customized agreement with the cloud computing company regarding privacy commitments.
The Bottom Line
It’s been a year since the implementation of GDPR. There are many issues and concerns that arise while following the rigorous GDPR guidelines. However, GDPR also offers several opportunities that can bring innovation in a competitive marketplace.
Even if you’re into a different business that sells products in the EU market, you need to follow the GDPR guidelines. Otherwise, there are high chances that you have to face hefty fines.
So, it is always recommended to gain knowledge regarding GDPR compliance. If you’re a newbie and don’t know the impact of GDPR on us, contact someone who has experience with GDPR compliance. | <urn:uuid:4b264bf7-1716-4a04-97d1-5724c4c5714f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://secuvy.ai/blog/what-is-gdpr-which-companies-are-affected-by-gdpr/ | 2024-09-08T16:59:29Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651013.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908150334-20240908180334-00697.warc.gz | en | 0.95195 | 1,277 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Although it’s been clear that seizures are linked to memory loss and other cognitive deficits in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, how this happens has been puzzling.
In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, a team of researchers reveals a mechanism that can explain how even relatively infrequent seizures can lead to long-lasting cognitive deficits in animal models.
A better understanding of this new mechanism may lead to future strategies to reduce cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions associated with seizures, such as epilepsy.
“It’s been hard to reconcile how infrequent seizures can lead to persistent changes in memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” said corresponding author Dr. Jeannie Chin, assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.
“To solve this puzzle, we worked with a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease focusing on the genetic changes that seizures might trigger in the memory center of the brain, the hippocampus, that could lead to loss of memory or other cognitive deficits.”
The researchers measured the levels of a number of proteins involved in memory and learning and found that levels of the protein deltaFosB strikingly increase in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease mice that had seizures.
DeltaFosB already is well known for its association with other neurological conditions linked to persistent brain activity of specific brain regions, such as addiction.
In this study, the researchers found that after a seizure, the deltaFosB protein remains in the hippocampus for an unusually long time; its half-life – the time it takes for the amount of protein to decrease by half – is eight days.
Most proteins have a half-life that is between hours and a day or two.
“Interestingly, because deltaFosB is a transcription factor, meaning that its job is to regulate the expression of other proteins, these findings led us to predict that the increased deltaFosB levels might be responsible for suppressing the production of proteins that are necessary for learning and memory,” Chin said.
“In fact, we found that when the levels of deltaFosB increase, those of other proteins, such as calbindin, decrease.
Calbindin also has been known for a long time to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy, but its mechanism of regulation was not known. We then hypothesized that deltaFosB might be regulating the production of calbindin.”
Further investigations supported the researchers’ hypothesis.
The scientists showed that deltaFosB can bind to the gene calbindin suppressing the expression of the protein.
When they either prevented deltaFosB activity or experimentally increased calbindin expression in the mice, calbindin levels were restored and the mice improved their memory.
And when researchers experimentally increased deltaFosB levels in normal mice, calbindin expression was suppressed and the animals’ memory deteriorated, demonstrating that deltaFosB and calbindin are key regulators of memory.
Connecting pieces of the puzzle
“Our findings have helped us answer the question of how even infrequent seizures can have such lasting detrimental effects on memory,” Chin said.
“We found that seizures can increase the levels of deltaFosB in the hippocampus, which results in a decrease in the levels of calbindin, a regulator of memory processes.
DeltaFosB has a relatively long half-life, therefore even when seizures are infrequent, deltaFosB remains in the hippocampus for weeks acting like a brake, reducing the production of calbindin and other proteins, and disrupting the consequent brain activity involved in memory.
The regulation of gene expression far outlasts the actual seizure event that triggered it.”
The scientists found the same changes in deltaFosB and calbindin levels in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease patients and in the temporal lobe of epilepsy patients.
However, they underscore that it is too soon to know whether regulating deltaFosB or calbindin could improve or prevent memory problems or other cognitive deficits in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
However, “now that we know that the levels of deltaFosB and calbindin are effective markers of brain activity in the hippocampus and memory function, we propose that these markers could potentially help assess clinical therapies for Alzheimer’s and other diseases with seizures,” Chin said.
Other contributors to this work include Jason C. You, Kavitha Muralidharan, Jin W. Park, Iraklis Petrof, Mark S. Pyfer, Brian F. Corbett, John J. LaFrancois, Yi Zheng, Xiaohong Zhang, Carrie A. Mohila, Daniel Yoshor, Robert A. Rissman, Eric J. Nestler and Helen E. Scharfman. The authors are affiliated with one or more of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, New York University School of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, VA San Diego Healthcare System and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Funding: This work was supported by the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation, the Hassel Family Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health Grants NS085171, F30-AG048710, NYS OMH, 193 AG051848, BX003040, AG0051839 and AG005131.
Source: Graciela Gutierrez – Baylor College of Medicine
Publisher: Content organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Original Research: Abstract for “Epigenetic suppression of hippocampal calbindin-D28k by ΔFosB drives seizure-related cognitive deficits” by Jason C You, Kavitha Muralidharan, Jin W Park, Iraklis Petrof, Mark S Pyfer, Brian F Corbett, John J LaFrancois, Yi Zheng, Xiaohong Zhang, Carrie A Mohila, Daniel Yoshor, Robert A Rissman, Eric J Nestler, Helen E Scharfman & Jeannie Chin in Nature Medicine. Published online October 16 2017 doi:10.1038/nm.4413 | <urn:uuid:10d96b42-43bb-4721-b439-e3f537d4a93b> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://debuglies.com/2017/10/17/mechanism-explains-seizures-may-lead-to-memory-loss/ | 2024-09-09T21:26:42Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651157.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909201932-20240909231932-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.914499 | 1,291 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Cyberattackers are often thought to be tech experts. Cyberattackers understand security vulnerabilities and loopholes that most people don't understand. However, the reality of a cyberattacker is that most are not that specialized — they bypass security solutions through small adjustments to already well-known attacks. By simply leveraging an already established attack sample that is available on the Web, hackers can and do consistently and efficiently modify attacks in order to stay one step ahead of their targets' security solutions. In fact, some malware strains have been designed to automatically modify themselves to avoid signature-based security offerings.
Even sandboxing security solutions — which involve opening suspect files in a controlled environment — are not deterring the ever-increasing rate of email attacks. Because sandboxing solutions have become popular among security practitioners, hackers have also developed sandbox-evasion techniques. Some of these techniques are quite straightforward, such as using the sleep mode to avoid scan detection. And some techniques involve more advanced tools such as sandbox presence detection, where malware runs "clean" code when a sandbox is detected.
In addition, most sandboxes run on machines with low processor counts, RAM, etc. This helps malware detect the difference between an actual computer and a sandbox. A lack of USB ports, small hard drives, no personal files, and no mail client can indicate a sandbox. Once the malware identifies the sandbox, specific techniques are then designed to evade detection. As a dynamic solution, sandboxes offer a way of effectively scanning a file to detect malware.
The bottom line is that as a general rule, today's security solutions rely on past attack experiences to identify present-day threats and ultimately often come up short when it comes to heading off the next hacker attack. Here are a couple of examples of how attackers make minor adjustments in order to take advantage of their targets.
GandCrab is a Trojan horse that encrypts files on a targeted computer and follows up with a demand for payment to decrypt them. GandCrab's creators used phishing emails to transmit ransomware and infect systems. These attackers have continued to evolve and adapt to avoid detection, bypass security solutions, and get its victims into mistakenly install ransomware onto their systems.
Between the end of January and September 2018, GandCrab has been updated five times. This agile approach has allowed its creators to stay one step ahead of security solutions and profit on the unsuspecting.
Recently, a new version of Emotet malware surfaced following a short period of inactivity. This marked the introduction of yet another iteration in a series of modifications that started back in 2014.
Emotet first emerged as an info-stealing Trojan aimed at financial credentials and proprietary data. Able to learn from experience, it has continually improved and increased in effectiveness and popularity. This most recent variant has developed a new capability allowing it to avoid detection by most security filters. In addition, Emotet is becoming stronger, more destructive, and costly to organizations and individual users.
Attackers are able to modify their techniques so quickly that it is impossible for organizations to be able to pinpoint what they are going to do next. They shouldn't try, either. What they should do is acknowledge that they need to stay vigilant and that these malicious actors, their viruses, and their profiteering are constantly fought against. Organizations must adapt and evolve themselves, by taking a proactive approach, embracing and implementing security solutions that are attack-agnostic.
With this strategy, organizations can detect and block viruses, no matter what kind of virus or malware is embedded in them, even if it changes or strengthens over time. This kind of approach provides more comprehensive data security than currently available.
Join Dark Reading LIVE for two cybersecurity summits at Interop 2019. Learn from the industry's most knowledgeable IT security experts. Check out the Interop agenda here.
About the Author
You May Also Like
State of AI in Cybersecurity: Beyond the Hype
October 30, 2024[Virtual Event] The Essential Guide to Cloud Management
October 17, 2024Black Hat Europe - December 9-12 - Learn More
December 10, 2024SecTor - Canada's IT Security Conference Oct 22-24 - Learn More
October 22, 2024 | <urn:uuid:3b3da452-919c-4a4e-98cf-4c9941a4ddce> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/old-threats-are-new-again | 2024-09-13T16:07:00Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651523.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913133933-20240913163933-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.952081 | 849 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The Internet has dramatically increased the pace at which our language changes. In fact, every year hundreds of new slang words appear. Thanks to social networks, new terms and acronyms can go viral overnight.
Here are some examples of the words that originated from the Internet in the recent years:
- prt: (acronym) please retweet,
- bae: (noun) baby/babe hybrid to refer to your boyfriend or girlfriend,
- derp: (exclamation) used as a substitute for speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action,
- unlike: (verb) withdraw one’s liking or approval of a web page or posting on a social media website that one has previously liked,
- tl;dr: (acronym) short for “Too long; Didn’t read”
…some of them became popular enough to officially end up in the Oxford Dictionary (Source)!
What Does It All Mean for Social Media Analytics Companies?
Language is becoming a fast-moving target for social media analytics companies. With all the new terms and no small amount of slang, jokes, and sarcasm social media data is difficult to interpret even for the human brain, let alone artificial intelligence. The majority of text analysis tools rely on dictionaries to define topic or sentiment, that’s why these tools work well unless an unknown word is met.
When it’s absolutely clear that conventional text analysis tools are helpless, we offer our clients to create domain-specific models that will work exceptionally well in their context. Our models learn different English, some can easily understand teens slang on Instagram, while others have no problem with conversations on gaming forums.
How We Create Models for Domain-specific Text Analysis?
If you learn Spanish, listening to Spanish speech every day is very helpful. The process of machine learning is somewhat similar. To create a domain specific model, we start from collecting a big learning sample. Saying big I mean really big – tens of millions of texts or billions of words. To get a proper model the learning sample must contain professional terms or slang typical for your industry. For example, if you need a model that can analyze client’s opinion about new features of your product, you need to collect real customer reviews for the learning sample, so that model could learn their language. We usually leverage APIs of social networks for that purpose, gathering posts and comments from topic-related social media groups, blogs, and forums.
After collecting online conversations we divide the acquired stream of text into tokens (separate words). The process is called tokenization.
| These derp dances bring me to life |
| These | derp | dances| bring | me | to | life |
Not to confuse a model with a big variety of forms of the same word, we reduce the number of forms of a word to one common base form. The process is called stemming and lemmatization:
bringing, brings >>> bring
brought >>> bring
After text preparation, the big (unannotated) text corpus is used for training word embeddings. Word embeddings is a geometric way to capture the meaning of a word via a low-dimensional vector. We use Word2vec or GloVe for training and using word embeddings. The model can define semantic proximity of different words.
Example: relationship between word pairs
Interestingly, word embeddings are related to how the human brain encodes meaning. Analyzing millions of texts it learns that the meaning of ‘bae’ is close to ‘baby’ or that ‘derp’ is equal to ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’ and etc. This way machine is ‘learning slang’. However, this unsupervised approach doesn’t allow us to capture text sentiment or define a topic. For these popular tasks, we need to build another model utilizing labeled texts and supervised approach.
If your sample data is limited the final model can be built using support vector machine. Given a set of training examples, each marked for belonging to one of two categories, an SVM training algorithm builds a model that assigns new examples into one category or the other. This model is looking at words in isolation, ignoring the order of words, thereby important information can be lost.
If you are lucky enough to have a lot of labeled data (at least several thousand messages per topic or per sentiment), you can use deep learning architectures like a recurrent neural network. Such models can learn difficult language structures and recognize how words compose the meaning of longer phrases.
Deep learning for sentiment analysis example: negative sentiment comes out on top over positive sentiment
- To build a model that can understand cool kids’ social media slang you’ll need a big learning sample made up of real social media messages (tens of millions of them).
- “Yaaaaaas”, a machine can learn social media slang as well as any other type of domain-specific vocabulary. As we can’t rely on dictionaries to build such models, we recommend training word embeddings, so that machine could define semantic proximity of words itself.
- Whenever it’s possible we recommend using deep learning architectures for sentiment analysis. Deep learning allows capturing difficult language structures like ‘neither … nor’, ‘despite …’, ‘… but …’ etc. and gives us hope that machine will be able to recognize sarcasm and jokes 😉
InData Labs helps tech startups and enterprises explore new ways of leveraging data, implement highly complex and innovative projects, and build breakthrough AI products, using machine learning, AI and Big Data technologies. Our core services include Machine Learning Consulting, Big Data Engineering, Data Science Consulting. | <urn:uuid:5460bba9-208a-44b3-b140-6806d75470ac> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://indatalabs.com/blog/machine-learning-text-analysis | 2024-09-14T21:36:04Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914193334-20240914223334-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.910417 | 1,202 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The concept of the semantic search was first introduced in already in 1998, but it remained mostly a theoretical concept until 2012 when Google, Facebook and Bing started launching their own products using semantic search.
Two trends pushed semantic search from concept to reality: an increase in long tail searches and a demand from users for more precision.
People were now asking questions in their searches instead of using just a few keywords, and they wanted more accurate results.
Semantic search was (and still is) a good way to address these new demands because it focuses on searches as a whole instead of individual keywords. The context in which search words appear is in the centre of what semantic search is. It is how semantic search engines are able to guess the user’s intent and deliver the most relevant results.
Let’s dive deeper into why semantic search is a superior choice for information retrieval systems, and what benefits it could mean for your business.
Limitations of Keyword-based Searches
The keyword-based approach to information retrieval problems is to build an index, which maps every word to a set of documents where this word is presented.
However, such an approach has a number of limitations:
- The approach offers no benefits in handling lexemes. For example, “child” and “children”, although related, are treated as completely different words.
- Typos are not handled. If the user types “semntic” instead of “semantic” the search will return 0 results.
- Synonyms are not taken into consideration. If a user types “football” the search will not return any documents containing the synonym “soccer”.This can mean missing out on some business opportunities. For example, InfluencEye, a platform for finding and managing influencers on social media, is using semantic search in their influencer search engine. As illustrated in the example above, the semantic search casts a much wider net and therefore returns a bigger number of potential influencers to work with.
- Generalizations are impossible to understand. If a user is searching for “watersports” he or she will find only documents containing that phrase, but no documents containing “swimming”, “surfing”, “diving” etc.
- All words are treated equally. Connecting words such as “and”, “or”, “if”, etc are given as much importance as more rare words such as “melanoma”, “tensor”, etc.
- Abbreviations cannot be interpreted. If a user types “BTC” he or she is unlikely to find documents containing the word “bitcoin”.
- Homonyms are difficult to place in context. Words that have the same spelling but different meanings make it difficult to return accurate results because we need to look at the context to understand their true meaning.
- Results are not ranked in relevance. Each result from the web or a database is returned only based on the criteria of having the words that the search includes. That is not enough to rank how relevant the results are.
There are, of course, ways to address these issues without semantic search. Lexemes and typos can be approached by performing stemming and lemmatization, checking for misspellings.
Connecting words problem and relevance of the results can be improved by using tfidf vectorization technique and using BM25 for ranking.
The rest of the challenges are, however, not easily addressed without a big commitment of time and resources.
To capture synonyms, generalizations and homonyms you can manually create dictionaries and ontologies (like wordnet), but it requires lots of continuous manual work to create and keep vocabularies and ontologies up-to-date.
That is why you need a semantic search.
What Makes Semantic Search so Powerful
Semantic search has the ability to put searches into context. By looking at the search query as a whole semantic search essentially creates a picture of the user intent, and provide the very best results for the very specific situation of the searcher.
How does semantic search work so intuitively?
To create semantic search engines data scientists use vectors to represent how the meaning of words are related to each other in a certain context. A vector is a quantity determining the position of one point in space relative to another.
This means, for example, that the words “cat”, “dog” and “guinea pig” will be represented with short vectors between each other in the context of a search for “pets”.
The outcome of mapping words and phrases to vectors is called word embeddings.
In other terms, words similar in context, are placed close together in a vector space. Here is a simple example of how it might look like:
The frequency of the searched words is also taken into the account. This means that words most descriptive of a given search that also appear more often are given a higher score.
Connecting words like “and”, “or”, and “if” appear often but don’t provide any meaning. Their lack of meaning is corrected by inverse term frequency, which accounts for how much information the words provide. That is calculated based on how many times a word appears across all websites or databases.
For example, you search for “what is the biggest mammal”. The descriptive words that would be weighted more are “mammal” and “biggest”. “What” and “is” will be given a lower score.
Popular Approaches to Semantic Search
One of the most popular and, some might claim, the most effective group of models to build a semantic search engine is word2vec. It was developed in 2013 by a team from Google led by Tomas Mikolov.
They proposed several ways of building word embeddings in a vector space. Their solution entailed that every word in a vocabulary has its own dense vector of fixed size. The most useful feature of the works of Mokilov’s team is the fact that words that have similar semantic sense also have similar vectors in that space.
It eliminated the need to manually match similar words to make search engines smarter. You can simply collect a large body of texts and build word embeddings based on the texts.
Benefits of Semantic Search for your Business
Semantic search improves the overall user experience, both before customers land on your site and while they are there, which in turn leads to higher conversion rates.
Google is using semantic search to provide more accurate results. This means that Google is looking at the context of your content rather than the presence of the right keywords.
This means your SEO efforts don’t have to be all about the so-called keyword stuffing or optimizing for just a few keywords. This feature allows your marketing team to focus on quality content that covers a topic instead of a single keyword.
Take this example of a search for “where to buy good tea”.
The top search results are tea shops close to where you live. The top organic result that follows does not contain the word “good”. Instead, it has the word “quality”.
Google has understood that when people search for “good tea” they imply quality.
Once potential customers land on your website, semantic search can make a big difference in how your customer can search in your product catalogue. After all, the search functionality of your company’s website is one of the most important tools for conversion.
Semantic search opens up for multiple ways you can customize your search.
- As with Google, you can autocomplete sentences based on popular search and correct spelling mistakes.
- Show product suggestions directly in the search bar
- Semantic search also allows for flexible filters based on what the customer is searching for. Flexible filters act both as a convenience to the customer, and as a way for you to understand what the customer is searching for.
Let’s take a look at how this works.
If you search for “shirt” on asos.com, you get the following filters:
Notice how the option “gender” appears among the filter options. This is because a shirt can be worn by both men and women, and asos.com cannot know your gender (unless you have an account).
Let’s see what happens when we search for “dress”, which is a female attire.
You can see that the filtering options changed to include factors like style, length and dress type.
Semantic Search = More Business Insight
Apart from making the search for products easier for your clients, semantic search can also help you uncover areas of improvement and new business opportunities based on the searches of your customers.
Areas of improvement:
- Most searched terms. Can help you understand the popularity of products, both in terms of specific product groups and brands.
- Common misspellings. This will help you create intelligent auto-suggestions, and uncover any words or product names that are hard to spell.
- Common questions. Especially useful for business that sells services. Semantic search can uncover patterns in the search to identify the most common questions your customers might have while they are on your site.
- Find out which products the customers have trouble finding. Adjust their category or description to increase their visibility.
New business opportunities:
- New product opportunities can be uncovered when evaluating searches for similar products.
- Product pages can be optimized based on frequently used search terms and products the customers buy based on those searches.
- Create sales bundles based on the products the customers usually search for and purchase together.
Semantic search is great for predicting user’s intent when they search. Building a semantic search engine requires many different techniques and models. The business benefits, however, are many.
A semantic search engine can significantly improve the user’s experience on your site. Customers no longer have to worry about typos or using synonyms to find the products they need. Popular products are also much easier to display once a semantic search engine is in place.
Work with InData Labs on Your Next Text Analysis Project
Have a project in mind but need some help implementing it? Drop us a line at firstname.lastname@example.org, we’d love to discuss how we can work with you. | <urn:uuid:3bf54819-94d9-4628-8ed2-09c1e7f4a514> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://indatalabs.com/blog/semantic-search-increase-conversion | 2024-09-14T19:40:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914193334-20240914223334-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.943296 | 2,193 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Service Records or SRV records are application specific DNS resource records used to locate a specific service. An example of this is the Microsoft Exchange server “autodiscover” record. This record is used to find and auto-configure a non-domain connected Outlook client. This resource record implements the underscore (“_”) as a method of namespace mangling; since this is normally an invalid DNS label, it helps keep the service DNS name unique and prevents conflicts with existing records. In short, this is a unique DNS label that is essentially a CNAME to the correct A record.
To configure an SRV record on an Ecessa device ensure that the namespace mangling character is omitted. Below is an example of the Ecessa device configuration for an SRV “autodiscover” record.
Service: _autodiscover Protocol: _tcp Port Number: 443 Host: mail.contoso.com
And here is the Ecessa configuration.
Again, notice the omission of the underscore (“_”), and the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) used in the Host Name column (trailing “.”). The other thing to note are the columns labeled Priority and Weight. These are SRV RR specific load balancing mechanism. This is a two level load balancing mechanism, with the Priority being the first qualifier, lowest being preferred and additional being failback records. The weight is relevant within the same Priority, essentially a sub-weighting of the Priority. As an example: Priority 10 Weight 5 would be used over the same SRV record with a Priority of 10 and a Weight of 6. | <urn:uuid:62d43569-b541-4709-a426-65cf381d3808> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://support.ecessa.com/hc/en-us/articles/200144016-SRV-Records | 2024-09-14T20:17:37Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914193334-20240914223334-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.891383 | 344 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are revolutionizing industries by enabling organizations to extract valuable insights, automate processes, and make data-driven decisions. With advancements in technology, AI and ML have become essential tools for businesses seeking a competitive edge. In this blog article, we explore the transformative potential of AI and ML and highlight how ADL, a leading provider of innovative solutions, is harnessing these technologies to drive digital transformation and empower organizations across industries.
Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. It encompasses a wide range of techniques, including ML, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. Machine Learning, a subset of AI, focuses on algorithms and models that enable computers to learn from data and improve performance without being explicitly programmed.
Advantages of AI and ML in Transforming Industries
The use of AI and ML offers numerous benefits, including enhanced efficiency and productivity. Automation of repetitive tasks reduces errors and frees up time for complex problem-solving. AI and ML algorithms swiftly analyze vast amounts of data, extracting valuable insights and enabling data-driven decision-making for accurate predictions and process optimization.
Another benefit is improved customer experience. AI analyzes customer data to deliver personalized interactions, recommendations, and 24/7 support through chatbots and virtual assistants, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.
AI and ML contribute to safety and security by detecting anomalies and mitigating risks in real-time. In healthcare, they enable early disease detection, precise diagnoses, and personalized treatment plans based on patient data, leading to improved outcomes.
Overall, AI and ML revolutionize industries by boosting efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, ensuring safety, and advancing healthcare outcomes.
Transforming Industries with AI and ML
AI and ML solutions are driving digital transformation across various industries:
- Telecommunications: This helps telecommunication providers optimize network performance, predict customer churn, and personalize offerings based on usage patterns, enhancing customer experience and maximizing operational efficiency.
- Finance: This enables financial institutions to leverage AI and ML to automate fraud detection, enhance risk management, and deliver personalized financial recommendations, improving customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance.
- Retail: This empowers retailers to utilize AI and ML to analyze customer preferences, optimize inventory management, and deliver personalized recommendations, driving customer engagement and increasing sales.
Thus, in conclusion, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have transformed the business landscape, enabling organizations to unlock the potential of their data and drive digital transformation. ADL stands at the forefront of innovation, offering a comprehensive suite of AI and ML solutions that empower organizations across industries. By harnessing the power of predictive analytics, natural language processing, computer vision, and anomaly detection, organizations can unlock new insights, automate processes, and make informed decisions. Join us as we explore the transformative impact of AI and ML, driven by ADL’s innovative solutions, and embrace the limitless possibilities that these technologies offer in the era of digitalization.
Find out more on the latest trends in the world of technology here. | <urn:uuid:2d69e964-7184-4669-9522-efe60191e2aa> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.axiatadigitallabs.com/2023/06/20/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/ | 2024-09-20T23:50:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701425385.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920222945-20240921012945-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.899514 | 624 | 2.65625 | 3 |
by: Lana Tkachenko
Data deduplication, although not traditionally considered backup software, can be quite handy when backing up large instances of data. The deduplication process works by identifying unique chunks of data, removing redundant data, and making data easier to store. For example, if a marketing director sends out a 10MB PowerPoint document to everyone in a company, and each of those people saves the document to their hard drive, the presentation will take up a collective 5G of storage on the backup disk, tape, server, etc. With data deduplication, however, only one instance of the document is actually saved, reducing the 5G of storage to just 10MB. When the document needs to be accessed the computer pulls the one copy that was initially saved.
Deduplication drastically reduces the amount of storage space needed to back up a server/system because the process is more granular than other compression systems. Instead of looking through entire files to determine if they are the same, deduplication segments data into blocks and looks for repetition. Redundant files are removed from the backup and more data can be stored.
There are three ways for deduplication to occur:
- source side deduplication
With inline deduplication, data is deduplicated before being stored. This does not require any additional space to store the data prior to deduplication.
Post-process deduplication briefly places all of the backup data on a disk-based staging storage prior to being deduplicated. Then, the data undergoes the deduplication process. Although this method requires more space, it enables faster backups and recovery.
“Source-side deduplication typically uses a client-located deduplication engine that will check for duplicates against a centrally-located deduplication index, typically located on the backup server or media server.”
Despite any of these methods being used, data deduplication is not a stand-alone product and must work in conjunction with other storage solutions.
The question is: Is deduplication worth the extra time and money?
- Compressing data gives SMBs more bang for their buck, because they can make the space on their current storage devices go further by removing duplicate data.
- “Less data can be backed up faster, resulting in smaller backup windows, smaller (more recent) recovery point objectives (RPOs) and faster recovery time objectives (RTOs).”
- Data deduplication speeds up backup, replication and the disaster recovery processes.
- Deduplication can lead to sizeable savings in terms of time, resources and budget.
- Because deduplication decreases file size, it helps remove the amount of media required to provide a SMB with good quality data recovery.
- There is a small potential of data loss when data is deduplicated because a deduplication system stores data differently than how it is written. Therefore, the reliability of the data depends on the deduplication system. However, the development of technology over the years has decreased the chance of data loss.
- If using the inline deduplication method, data that does not deduplicate well has the possibility of being erased.
- The source side deduplication method can become easily overloaded with large files, which can slow down backups.
- Data deduplication is not a stand-alone product, it must be used with other backup software.
- Some deduplication methods, such as post process, require more difficult configurations to make them function correctly.
With the abundance of data deduplication tools on the market, most of the cons associated with deduplication can be avoided by choosing the correct software. For SMBs trying to save money on a backup solution, deduplication can significantly decrease the amount of necessary storage space. With deduplication, backup and recovery can be attained much more quickly and without redundancy. Data backup solutions, in conjunction with deduplication, are the perfect way to make sure that data loss is never detrimental to a small business. | <urn:uuid:a903d6ae-456a-4cd0-b1f1-6b462516b479> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://info.focustsi.com/it-services-boston/resources/what-is-data-deduplication | 2024-09-07T15:26:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650883.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20240907131200-20240907161200-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.917358 | 868 | 2.6875 | 3 |
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system of communication where only the communicating parties can read the messages. When implemented properly, E2EE prevents potential eavesdroppers – including telecom providers, Internet providers, and even the provider of the communication service – from being able to access and decrypt the messages exchanged or the cryptographic keys needed to decrypt the messages.
End-to-end encryption is intended to prevent data being read or secretly modified, other than by the true sender and recipient(s). The messages are encrypted by the sender and any third party that may have access to the messages can access them only in their encrypted form. Only the recipient can decrypt the encrypted message.
In places where encryption is implemented, but not end-to-end – i.e. email – messages between parties are typically encrypted while ‘in-transit’ but ultimately pass through trusted intermediaries that can access the plaintext messages. | <urn:uuid:3b34d884-78f6-4cb5-8aee-06b2f91723c0> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://doubleoctopus.com/security-wiki/encryption-and-cryptography/end-to-end-encryption/ | 2024-09-10T02:04:29Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651164.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909233606-20240910023606-00697.warc.gz | en | 0.925569 | 192 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Although a flaw in Windows was behind it, we don’t know yet how the global ransomware attack that caused chaos across the NHS in the UK was physically triggered. It may well be that it started the way most ransomware attacks do – with an unsuspecting member of staff clicking on an email or attachment which unleashes malware.
Research by one of our security partners, Trend Micro, reveals that almost half (44%) of UK businesses were infected by ransomware in the last two years – almost a third of those more than once – with two thirds of those affected admitting that, ultimately, they paid the ransom.
Critically, a third of those questioned also admitted they had no programme to educate staff about the threat from ransomware.
Fraudsters are continually finding new ways to target us with links and attachments containing new strains of the malware. So in this blog in our series on ransomware, we are going to look at what you can do to educate your staff and make them aware of the potential threat.
For a ransomware attack to be successful the malware has to be downloaded onto a computer or mobile device. This involves a human being clicking on an email or an email attachment to open up access to the device and/or network. So the first thing you should do is encourage your employees to be suspicious about the emails they get and what attachments they open. The trouble is, many so-called phishing emails can seem very innocent. They are designed to trick the member of staff into doing something.
The vast majority of phishing emails now contain encrypted ransomware. A phishing email is, by its very description, ‘fishing’ for something and trying to hook you into revealing information or perform an action that will give cyber criminals access to your files.
How to spot one
Although a phishing email is most likely to come from an address or a person you don’t know, the more sophisticated ones can appear to come from one of your contacts. But a close look at an email can reveal anomalies in spelling, grammar and layout that are often characteristic of phishing and ransomware.
Ransomware attackers often rely on the recipient not understanding how domain names work. So they might include a well-known tech name or a brand name but add an extension ie. Apple.domainname.com
Other things to look out for include:
Hover your mouse over any links embedded in the email. If the hyperlinked address is different from the address that is displayed, the message is probably fraudulent.
Check the spelling of the email. Most legitimate emails won’t be full of grammatical mistakes.
Who is the email addressed to? If it is to a generic Dear Customer or Dear Employee it is unlikely to be genuine.
If the email contains a warning ‘Attention Unauthorised Access’ or is saying you have won an unexpected prize ‘Congratulations You’ve Won £10,000’ it is unlikely to be genuine.
Send me the money
If it asks you to send money it is most likely to contain a threat.
And equally, sometimes you might just get a gut feeling that something is not quite right.
Don’t download it!
Ransomware can infect your organisation not just through the devices but also through the web servers you use. As a result members of staff should not download software that hasn’t been authorised.
Report suspicious activity
It is important to have a reporting procedure in place. If someone in your organisation spots something suspicious there should be a named person or a department email that they can report it to so that action can be taken quickly.
Regular training should be carried out to reinforce the messaging to all staff around not opening anything they are even slightly concerned about. Employees should be regularly updated on the types of threats that exist (ransomware evolves quickly) and reminded not to click on emails or attachments without double-checking they are genuine first. Your policies and processes should reflect your organisation’s attitude to risk.
And whenever a new person joins your organisation they should also undergo best practice training.
Educate, educate, educate
Even those companies that have taken the above steps cannot guarantee they will be immune to attack. This is because ransomware attacks are difficult to detect and what are called ‘zero day exploits’ – new malware that’s unknown to the security experts – pop up all the time. Also, there’s a chance that if you fell for it once, you might well fall for it again.
When it comes to ransomware it pays to be wary about every email you receive—if it looks even remotely suspicious, don’t open it! | <urn:uuid:402e43ce-233b-4e6c-8c60-6149e9c4e863> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.iomart.com/iolearn/turn-your-top-ransomware-threat-into-your-best-defence | 2024-09-11T07:08:47Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651344.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911052223-20240911082223-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.956248 | 956 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The intensifying effects of climate change are a clarion call for a shift from conventional energy resources to sustainable alternatives. Sustainable energy is critical for environmental preservation and securing a stable energy future. As the damaging outcomes of greenhouse gas emissions escalate, transitioning to sustainable energy sources becomes not just imperative but crucial. This shift promises to mitigate ecological harm and fortify energy independence for future generations, establishing sustainable energy as the bedrock of ecological stability. It marks the path necessary for the protection of our planet and the continuity of our energy supplies.
Understanding Sustainable Energy
Sustainable energy is the means to power our lives without depleting resources, harming ecosystems, or adversely impacting the climate. It’s about energy solutions that are enduring, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future. True sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power provide an infinite supply, distinguishing them from finite and polluting fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.
Harnessing sustainable energy taps into Earth’s natural processes, using sources that offer a constant influx of energy. This blueprint for sustainable consumption avoids the environmental pitfalls of fossil fuels, combating air pollution and the greenhouse effect that disrupts our climate and resources.
The Economic Argument for Sustainable Energy
The transition to sustainable energy forms comes with long-term financial benefits that surpass the upfront costs of systems like solar panels and wind turbines. Stable energy costs, job growth in various sectors, and economic gains from a healthier population underscore the economic viability of sustainable energy. Additionally, cleaner air and water from sustainable practices reduce healthcare costs, fostering economic and innovative progress.
Health and Environmental Benefits
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels through sustainable energy not only improves public health by decreasing air pollutants but also brings ecological benefits by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Cleaner air leads to healthier communities, while reduced carbon output is key to slowing climate change and its effects on global ecosystems.
Societal Implications of Energy Choices
Embracing sustainable energy enhances energy independence, aligns with international climate change commitments, and combats geopolitical complications associated with international fuel markets. Self-reliance and adherence to global initiatives like the Paris Accord are crucial outcomes of the societal shift towards sustainable energy sources.
The Roadmap to a Sustainable Future
The sustainable energy future depends on determined policymaking, fostering innovation, and developing the necessary infrastructure. Governments, individuals, and collective action play pivotal roles in this transition. From incentives to consumer choices and grassroots movements, every action contributes to moving towards a more sustainable energy system.
Embracing the Shift Towards Sustainability
Challenges such as political resistance, initial costs, and infrastructure integration confront the widespread adoption of sustainable energy. Nonetheless, technological advancements are making it more efficient and affordable. As these technologies evolve, the benefits of sustainable energy create a cycle that accelerates the transition from fossil fuels. Sustainable energy is not only about a cleaner environment but also about resilient, equitable, and prosperous communities. It is the infinite solution for our infinite energy needs. | <urn:uuid:e12052d6-bed8-4452-99c1-598ff91ee37f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://energycurated.com/renewable-energy/is-sustainable-energy-the-key-to-our-environmental-future/ | 2024-09-12T13:29:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651457.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20240912110742-20240912140742-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.894617 | 609 | 3.625 | 4 |
Updated July 2019
We, as humans, but also as employees of organizations, speak different languages and come from different cultures. But even when we speak the seemingly same language, we can have different dialects and use different words for the same things. My wife and I are both from Austria but we are from different regions. Even though we both speak German and Austria is a small country, we also use different regional dialects which caused some confusion – especially with our written conversations – in the beginning. For example, we use the word “netta” which relates to the German word for “nur” (English: “only”) in my dialect but the German word for “nicht” (English: “not”) in her dialect. This is setup for a potential communication disaster if you’re not aware of it.
In the business world, we also use different synonyms for the same terms but also have a different perspective on a business term depending on the line of business we work in. The context plays a big role for terms and definitions.
As an example, in finance, a “counterparty” is a legal entity: it means the other party in a financial transaction. However, in technology, it could mean a financial platform to create a peer-to-peer application on the bitcoin “blockchain.” Or to make it even simpler: the term “customer” in a sales organization could mean something very different than the term “customer” for an accounting organization.
Dimensions of a business glossary
All the above leads to different dimensions we need to be aware of when creating a business glossary. In my above examples, I have three dimensions, but there could be many more:
- geography/region and culture
- business unit
All of this may sound obvious. But if that’s the case, then why do so many businesses fail to have such a list?
Pitfalls of failing to have a governed business glossary
There are certain pitfalls that companies fall into by creating and using business glossaries rather than governed business glossaries. Looking at those dimensions of glossaries mentioned above, there can be different terms but also different definitions used for the same assets within an organization. If business units work in a vacuum, and departmental silos do not consider the big picture and the impact and relations to the rest of the organization, the lack of governance will eventually become an issue for company-wide initiatives. This is also why any data governance program requires company-wide buy-in from all business stakeholders.
It’s Time to Speak the Same Language
A business glossary is a living body that is constantly changing and evolving. It is important to have an established governance process on the creation of a company-wide business glossary which entails not only terms and definition, but also responsibilities, rules, and policies. You must also establish data lineage of those data assets. This process also involves collaboration and communication between lines of business and working groups to agree on an enterprise-wide business glossary. Having said that, using the right technology to support this collaboration and processes is essential for a successful data governance program and to enable all stakeholders to speak the same “language.” | <urn:uuid:230f9f19-d673-4639-be41-2d6859a26aac> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.collibra.com/us/en/blog/why-you-need-a-governed-business-glossary | 2024-09-13T19:30:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651535.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913165920-20240913195920-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.958442 | 679 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Are you curious about the security features of blockchain technology? Do you want to dive deep into the world of consensus mechanisms and understand how they ensure the integrity and reliability of blockchain networks? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we will explore different consensus mechanisms and their impact on blockchain security. Consensus mechanisms play a crucial role in maintaining the decentralized nature of blockchain networks, preventing fraud, and enabling trustless transactions. From the well-known Proof of Work (PoW) to the innovative Proof of Stake (PoS) and beyond, we will examine the inner workings of each mechanism, their strengths, weaknesses, and real-world applications. Whether you are a blockchain enthusiast, a developer, or simply someone interested in the future of digital currencies, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to navigate the complex world of blockchain security. Get ready to embark on an exciting journey into the world of consensus mechanisms and discover how they shape the future of secure transactions.
Don’t know what is blockchain then you can learn by spending 3 minutes here. Blockchain explained in 3 minutes
Don’t know the role of Cryptographic Techniques in Blockchain? learn here, Exploring the Role of Cryptographic Techniques in Enhancing Blockchain Security
Why consensus mechanisms are crucial for blockchain security
Consensus mechanisms are the backbone of blockchain security. They are responsible for ensuring that all participants in a blockchain network agree on the validity and order of transactions. Without a consensus mechanism, blockchain networks would be vulnerable to attacks and manipulation. The consensus mechanism acts as a decentralized decision-making process that enables trustless transactions and prevents fraudulent activities. It ensures that all participants in the network follow the same rules, agree on the state of the blockchain, and reach a consensus on which transactions are valid.
One of the key advantages of consensus mechanisms is their ability to prevent double-spending. Double-spending occurs when a user attempts to spend the same digital asset more than once. Consensus mechanisms ensure that only one transaction is considered valid, preventing the duplication of digital assets. By consensus, blockchain networks eliminate the need for intermediaries or trusted third parties, making them more secure and efficient.
Consensus mechanisms also play a crucial role in maintaining the decentralized nature of blockchain networks. Decentralization is one of the key principles of blockchain technology and ensures that no single entity has control over the network. Consensus mechanisms distribute decision-making power among the participants, making it difficult for any single entity to manipulate the system. This decentralization enhances the security and trustworthiness of blockchain networks, as they are not dependent on a single point of failure.
Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism
Proof of Work (PoW) is the most well-known consensus mechanism used in blockchain networks, with Bitcoin being the prime example. In a PoW system, participants, known as miners, compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and add them to the blockchain. The first miner to solve the puzzle is rewarded with newly minted tokens.
The security of the PoW consensus mechanism lies in its computational power requirements. Miners must invest significant computational resources to solve the puzzles, making it economically impractical to attack the network. Additionally, the PoW mechanism ensures that the majority of the network’s computational power is controlled by honest participants, further enhancing security.
However, PoW does have its drawbacks. It requires a large amount of energy consumption, making it environmentally unfriendly. The high computational requirements also limit the scalability of PoW-based blockchains. Despite these limitations, PoW remains a widely used and secure consensus mechanism.
Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism
Proof of Stake (PoS) is an alternative consensus mechanism that aims to address the energy consumption and scalability issues of PoW. In a PoS system, validators are chosen to create new blocks based on the number of tokens they hold and are willing to “stake” as collateral. Validators are selected randomly, weighted by the number of tokens they hold.
The PoS mechanism eliminates the need for miners to compete against each other, significantly reducing energy consumption. It also allows for faster block confirmation times and increased scalability compared to PoW. However, critics argue that PoS may lead to centralization, as validators with more tokens have a higher chance of being selected and gaining control over the network.
To mitigate the centralization risk, some PoS-based blockchains implement mechanisms like “slashing,” where validators can lose their staked tokens if they behave maliciously. Despite the ongoing debate, PoS consensus mechanisms have gained significant traction and are being adopted by various blockchain networks.
Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism
Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is a variation of the PoS consensus mechanism that introduces a reputation-based system. In a DPoS system, token holders vote for a limited number of delegates who are responsible for validating transactions and creating new blocks. These delegates are typically trusted entities or individuals within the network.
DPoS offers faster block confirmation times and higher scalability compared to PoW and PoS. By delegating the validation process to a limited number of trusted entities, DPoS reduces the computational requirements and allows for more efficient consensus. However, DPoS has been criticized for its potential centralization, as the selection of delegates is based on voting power.
To address this concern, some DPoS-based blockchains implement mechanisms like vote decay, where voting power diminishes over time. This encourages token holders to actively participate in the voting process and prevents the concentration of power in a few hands.
Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) consensus mechanism
Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) is a consensus mechanism designed for permissioned blockchain networks. Unlike PoW and PoS, PBFT assumes that the participating nodes are known and trustworthy. In a PBFT system, a leader is elected to propose a block, and the remaining nodes reach a consensus on its validity.
PBFT offers fast block confirmation times and high scalability, making it suitable for applications that require low latency and high throughput. However, PBFT requires a predefined set of trusted nodes, which limits its applicability to permissioned networks. It also assumes that the majority of the nodes are honest, making it vulnerable to attacks if a significant portion of the network is compromised.
Despite these limitations, PBFT is widely used in enterprise blockchain solutions where trust among participants can be established.
Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism
Proof of Authority (PoA) is another consensus mechanism designed for permissioned blockchain networks. In a PoA system, a limited number of trusted validators, known as authorities, are responsible for validating transactions and creating new blocks. These authorities are typically well-known entities or individuals within the network.
PoA offers fast block confirmation times and low energy consumption compared to PoW and PoS. By relying on trusted authorities, PoA eliminates the need for computational puzzles or token staking. However, PoA sacrifices decentralization, as the network’s security relies on the trustworthiness of the selected authorities.
PoA is often used in private consortium blockchains, where participants are known and trusted, and the focus is on efficiency and privacy rather than decentralization.
Comparison of different consensus mechanisms
Each consensus mechanism discussed in this guide has its strengths and weaknesses, making them suitable for different use cases.
- PoW is secure and battle-tested but consumes significant energy.
- PoS offers scalability and energy efficiency but may lead to centralization.
- DPoS allows for fast block confirmation and scalability but can be prone to centralization.
- PBFT is fast and scalable but requires a predefined set of trusted nodes.
- PoA provides fast block confirmation and low energy consumption but sacrifices decentralization.
When choosing a consensus mechanism, factors such as security requirements, scalability needs, energy efficiency, and network governance must be considered. It is essential to evaluate the trade-offs and select the mechanism that best aligns with the intended use case.
Factors to consider when choosing a consensus mechanism
When selecting a consensus mechanism for a blockchain network, several factors should be considered:
- Security: The consensus mechanism should provide robust security against attacks and ensure the integrity of the network.
- Scalability: The mechanism should be able to handle a large number of transactions per second to support growing user demand.
- Energy Efficiency: Energy consumption is a critical consideration, especially with the increasing concerns about the environmental impact of blockchain networks.
- Decentralization: If maintaining a decentralized network is a priority, the consensus mechanism should distribute decision-making power among participants and prevent centralization.
- Network Governance: The mechanism should align with the desired governance structure of the network, whether it be fully decentralized or permissioned.
By carefully considering these factors, blockchain developers and network participants can choose the most suitable consensus mechanism for their specific requirements.
Challenges and future developments in consensus mechanisms
While consensus mechanisms have come a long way in ensuring the security and reliability of blockchain networks, there are still challenges to overcome and room for improvement.
One of the main challenges is achieving a balance between security, scalability, and decentralization. Many consensus mechanisms sacrifice one or more of these aspects to achieve the others. Researchers and developers are constantly exploring innovative solutions that offer improved security, scalability, and decentralization simultaneously.
Another challenge is the environmental impact of energy-intensive consensus mechanisms like PoW. As the demand for blockchain technology grows, finding more energy-efficient alternatives becomes essential. PoS and other energy-efficient consensus mechanisms are promising steps towards addressing this challenge.
In addition to these challenges, consensus mechanisms need to adapt to emerging technologies and use cases. As blockchain technology expands beyond cryptocurrencies, new requirements and applications will arise. Consensus mechanisms will need to evolve to accommodate these changes and provide secure and efficient solutions.
Consensus mechanisms are the foundation of blockchain security. They enable trustless transactions, prevent fraud, and ensure the integrity and reliability of blockchain networks. From the well-known Proof of Work (PoW) to the innovative Proof of Stake (PoS) and beyond, each consensus mechanism has its strengths and weaknesses.
When choosing a consensus mechanism, it is crucial to consider factors such as security, scalability, energy efficiency, decentralization, and network governance. By selecting the most suitable mechanism, blockchain networks can achieve the desired balance between these factors and enable secure and efficient transactions.
As blockchain technology continues to advance, consensus mechanisms will play a vital role in shaping the future of secure transactions. Whether you are a blockchain enthusiast, a developer, or simply someone interested in the future of digital currencies, understanding consensus mechanisms is essential. Armed with this knowledge, you can navigate the complex world of blockchain security and contribute to the growth and adoption of this transformative technology. | <urn:uuid:d8a09ff8-3e6a-4013-a515-996282eea135> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://hacklido.com/blog/579-exploring-different-consensus-mechanisms-a-comprehensive-guide-to-blockchain-security | 2024-09-15T00:54:40Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651601.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914225323-20240915015323-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.930254 | 2,248 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The use of services exposed on the Internet attracts criminals with multiple interests. However, we have observed a favoritism in the search for services designed to handle large volumes of data in order to convert them into cryptocurrency miners, this is because these resources are usually configured to process multiple and large requests. In recent analyzes, we were able to observe machines in these conditions, in which the Jupyter Notebook product was abused for the purpose described above.
Anyone who works, or has colleagues in the field of data science, must have heard about Jupyter Notebook, an interactive web application that allows the creation and sharing of documents with dynamic code. The product is widely used in the areas of data mining, facilitating its activities of visualization, cleaning and data exploration, in addition to allowing the mixing of code and text snippets, optimizing the creation of presentations and reports, allowing the construction of everything in a single location, as if it were an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for the data scientist. The following image shows a basic architecture of the tool.
At the beginning of the analysis, we observed that the studied machines had a Docker running. As this product has been commonly used as an attack vector, we imagine that there would be the source of the compromise.
However, a single port released in the firewall of the obtained environments was an 8888, which in turn took a Jupyter server whose authentication process was configured to not require a token/password.
We found that there was little documentation on this type of behavior, limited mainly to users of GitHub exchanging information about the case. Thus, by intensifying the study of environmental conditions, we arrive at the following scenario:
1-) The server’s IP address and port were indexed on Shodan.io
2-) Tools that use the Shodan API can detect and connect to the Jupyter server in order to validate access via WebSocket.
3-) With validated access, the attackers establish the WebSocket connection and send the miner which has commands very similar to those of a PoC published by the GitHub user harshu4 in September 2019, but with some modifications in the versions and commands.
4-) After executing the commands, the XMRig miner is activated.
In searches on Shodan through Tornado Server – Web Server that makes up the Jupyter Notebook application – we were able to observe approximately 15 thousand available servers. Many of them requiring tokens in their authentication process, but exposed.
Lessons learned and suggestions
Keeping in close contact with your cloud provider can be crucial in detecting attacks like this, as the company can identify unusual fluctuations in resource usage and issue alerts in a very short time.
It’s also important to check periodically whether assets in your environment are being indexed by services like Censys and Shodan. This is a relevant measure to assess if everything that is exposed to the Internet should really be in this condition.
It’s also important to monitor network traffic in order to identify any suspicious communications and periodically review permissions both in the on-premises and in the cloud environment, so that critical events such as instance activation or modifying firewall permissions must be rigorously reviewed.
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1596.005 – Search Open Technical Databases: Scan Databases
T1190 – Exploit Public-Facing Application
T1059.004 – Command and Scripting Interpreter: Unix Shell
T1496 – Resource Hijacking | <urn:uuid:324fb266-5ca5-40ac-ac77-d5790b15c6f4> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://sidechannel.blog/en/jupyter-notebooks-for-fun-and-cryptomining-2/ | 2024-09-15T00:37:20Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651601.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914225323-20240915015323-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.944322 | 715 | 2.703125 | 3 |
How Hackers Violate Privacy and Security of the Smart Home
The Technology Invades Our Living Room
The rapid growth of the paradigm of the Internet of Things is influencing in a significant way our concept of "house." Modern homes are full of smart devices and a new generation of smart appliances promises to make our life easier and more comfortable, but we cannot underestimate that risk of cyber attacks.
The solutions for home automation are flooding the market, but these devices in the majority of cases lack security; security experts are aware that smart cameras and meters are an easy target for hackers.
Earlier in 2015, experts at Synack security firm analyzed 16 home automation devices from cameras to home automation controllers to thermostats. Unfortunately, the results of the tests are disconcerting, the researchers were able to hack almost every appliance.
"Really, the state of security on these things right now is pretty atrocious," said Colby Moore, security research engineer at Synack.
The experts played different attack scenarios simulating different situations that could expose our lives to hacking attacks, including the implant of nasty stuff before products leave the factory and the hijacking of mobile apps designed by manufacturers for their remote control.
By exploiting vulnerabilities in home automation devices, attackers can gather information on targets, threatening their privacy and safety, understanding their behavior and patterns.
According to the finding of the Synack study, connected cameras are the automotive devices having the greatest number of security vulnerabilities. Synack found that the smart devices tested don't encrypt data and implement weak password policies. All of the connected thermostats studied were affected by serious security issues that could be exploited to control them; even the home automation centers present numerous flaws.
The principal problem when dealing with Internet of Things devices is that manufacturers don't have strong backgrounds in cyber security. It is not easy for manufacturers to design smart objects that could be used in so different scenarios.
"A lot of these device manufacturers are just not security people and they really just don't have security people on staff, especially when it comes to IoT start-ups," Moore said. "What they are doing is phenomenal with all of these new uses for technology. But security isn't a concern for everybody. It's ship now and patch later mentality."
"There's no industry standard and there's is no way to tell if a product is secure or not if you are the average Joe. That is a big problem and it's a problem that the industry needs to address and is thinking about," Moore said.
A Hacker on the Doorstep
A recent research conducted by the security firm Veracode, titled "The Internet of Things: Security Research Study," analyzed household IoT devices, revealing that they are exposing users to a wide range of threats, including data theft and sabotage.
The devices analyzed in the study have a significant capability to interact with the physical environment (e.g., hardware sensors) and peer devices; for this reason, a cyber attack could result in a physical intrusion in the smart home where they are deployed.
The experts analyzed six household IoT devices with up-to-date firmware version and performed a set of uniform tests. The tests are focused on four different domains: user-facing cloud services, back-end cloud services, mobile application interface, and device debugging interfaces.
The six household IoT devices analyzed by the Veracode experts are:
- Chamberlain MyQ Internet Gateway: Internet-based remote control of garage doors.
- Chamberlain MyQ Garage: Internet-based remote control of garage doors, interior switches, and electrical outlets.
- SmartThings Hub: A central control device for home automation sensors, switches and door locks.
- Ubi: The Unified Computer Intelligence Corporation manufactures this always-on, voice-controlled device for answering questions, controlling home automation and performing tasks such as sending emails and SMS messages.
- Wink Hub: A central control device for home automation products.
- Wink Relay: A combination hub and control device for home automation sensors and products.
The researchers discovered a number of security issued affecting all the devices, including authentication flaws and arbitrary code execution flaws, which could be exploited to gain complete control of the devices.
The exploitation of the flaw allowed the researchers to control the garage door and collect information related to the presence of people in the house. This information exposes users to the risk of robbery.
Leveraging data managed from Ubi could enable attackers to collect a huge quantity of information on the user's habits, which can advantage a robbery, or even a stalking activity.
The hack of the Ubi device or Wink Relay could result is a serious violation of the user privacy because it could allow attackers to control the microphones inside the home environment.
Now we will analyze in detail other common smart objects present in modern houses, discovering why the lack of security by design could harm our security and privacy.
Smart TV, Smart Meters, Smart Fridge … Open Door to the Hackers
Modern houses are full of connected devices; smart TVs, smart meters and fridges collect a huge quantity of information regarding our behavior and in many cases this information is transmitted to remote servers without the user's knowledge.
In 2013, the researcher Malik Mesellem demonstrated that smart TV hacking is a real menace, we used for his test Samsung models which he forced to reboot by sending a specifically crafted HTTP GET request.
In the specific case, the researchers demonstrated the feasibility of a DoS attack, but it was just the beginning because, in recent months, experts uncovered security issues that could transform smart TV's entry point for hackers in our homes.
One year later, in February 2014, researchers at ReVuln demonstrated how to exploit the last firmware update for Philips smart TV to steal user's cookies and other sensitive data.
The hack was very insidious: It took a few seconds to carry out and it was impossible for the victims to detect it.
Attackers connecting to a Miracast-enabled Wi-Fi network were able to browse and download any files that may be contained on USB drives plugged into the Philips smart TV. The researchers at ReVuln also demonstrated that it was possible to steal browser cookies that contain sensitive information and that are used in some cases by many web services for authentication purpose.
The researchers at ReVuln published a video to show how an attacker can easily steal from the Philips smart TV the authentication cookies for an existing Gmail account and also user's data from a USB drive connected to the device.
The attacks on smart TV are evolving and this class of smart devices is being exploited to hack systems inside the domestic network and exfiltrate user data.
In 2015, things don't get better: Security researchers discovered that the Samsung smart TV sends unencrypted voice recognition data and text information across the Internet without encrypting it, allowing hackers to capture it.
Figure 1 - Samsung smart TV data traffic
A hacker could be able to spy on users exploiting the functionalities in modern smart TV and in this way accessing its domestic LAN. Such flaws and implementations open the doors also to surveillance activities that could be operated by persistent attackers (e.g., intelligence agencies) that could access user traffic directly from internet service providers or by accessing the Internet backbones.
Let's think for example about the smart meters. Last year, the researchers Javier Vazquez Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera discovered millions of network-connected electricity meters that were susceptible to cyber attacks due to lack of proper security controls.
Figure 2 - Smart Meter
In Spain, there are three major utility companies, Endesa, E.ON, and Iberdrola and the number of installed Smart meters is nearly 8 million, which corresponds to nearly 30 percent of households.
Bad actors, accessing the smart meters, could cause a blackout or conduct fraudulent activities, including billing fraud. The researchers explained that poorly protected credentials stored in the devices provided by one of the companies could let attackers gain access of smart meters; during their session tests they were able to take full control of any device and modify its unique ID to impersonate other customer.
The researchers discovered a flaw that affects the code running on the smart meters. This vulnerability could be exploited remotely to shut down power supplies to individual households, access meter readings, transfer meter readings to other customers, and also inject "network worms" that could cause serious problems to the overall network.
The experts explained that the smart meters deployed by the Spanish utility company use AES-128 encryption to protect data, but this encryption algorithm is not invulnerable to a brute-force attack.
They were also able to use the smart meter to launch attacks against the power network. The researchers avoided disclosing also the name of the smart meter manufacturer for obvious reasons; immediately the Spanish utility company that deployed the smart meters started the necessary actions to mitigate the risks and improve the security of the devices.
The attack scenario is disconcerting because a threat actor could carry on an attack on a large scale and shut down an entire country by hacking the network of smart meters
"Oh wait? We can do this? We were really scared," said Vazquez Vidal, "We started thinking about the impact this could have. What happens if someone wants to attack an entire country?" he said.
Let's go on: What do you think about hacking smart thermostat?
Early 2015, security experts from TrapX Security demonstrated how to hack an Internet-connected thermostat produced by the company Nest, a firm controlled by Google. As explained several times, IoT devices in our home are equivalent to open doors for hackers, in the specific case the experts hacked the Nest thermostat and succeeded in hacking other devices sharing the same home network.
Figure 3 - NEST smart thermostat
The hack is not simple to implement because the attack chain starts with a physical access to the device. The TrapX experts started from a research released a couple of years ago by a group of researchers at the University of Central Florida, led by engineering professor Yier Jin. The group jailbreaked the Linux operating system running on the Nest Thermostat by accessing it through its USB port. Then they loaded their custom firmware on the thermostat that would stop your thermostat data from being sent back to Nest's servers. "The problem is with the way the hardware is built," said Jin in a phone interview on Thursday. "That's why, after we released this hack almost one year ago, there's still no fix yet. Nest can't repair that."
The experts at TrapX were also able to load their software onto the Nest's ARM7 processor chip, a procedure that allowed them to access various information managed by the thermostat, including the Wi-Fi password for the local network and data related to the presence of users at home.
The experts discovered that the network traffic generated by the Nest device was not encrypted. By exploiting the ARP protocol, the researchers forced other devices in the same network to exchange data with the compromised Nest device. They were able to exploit the device as an entry point in the host network; using it, they were able to localize other appliances, including a baby monitor, and hack them.
"In testing, TrapX was able to go through the compromised thermostat to exploit known software vulnerabilities found in devices like baby monitors and even a PC with an older, unpatched operating system to gain control of them," reported Forbes in a blog post.
"Once we're inside the network, it's quite trivial to escalate," said Carl Wright, executive vice president and general manager at TrapX. "There's a lot of devices in the home we're able to jump off of and compromise."
Despite there is no evidence that a Nest device has ever been compromised in the wild, the case presented highlights once again the need of security by design for IoT devices.
The surprises don't end here: Do you know smart light bulbs?
Also these components of a modern home could be exploited to enter into our everyday life.
Last year, experts at Context Information Security firm discovered a security vulnerability in LIFX smart LED light bulbs.
The Wi-Fi-enabled bulbs can be remotely controlled via mobile devices. By exploiting the flaw, an attacker was able to access the master bulb and control every other connected light bulb in the house and expose user network configurations.
The architecture, LIFX, is based on a meshed network; it requires that only one bulb has to be connected to the Wi-Fi at a time. The experts at Context Information Security were able to analyze the traffic on the mesh network, identifying the packets used to share the encrypted network configuration among the bulbs on the network.
Figure 4 - Light Bulb Mesh Network Data Traffic
Once the traffic was identified, the researchers injected packets without any authentication into the mesh network interfering with the bulbs.
The company promptly identified the vulnerability with the support of the experts at Context Information Security and released a firmware update to fix it.
Figure 5 - Smart Light Bulbs
"It should be noted, since this attack works on the 802.15.4 6LoWPAN wireless mesh network, an attacker would need to be within wireless range, ~30 meters, of a vulnerable LIFX bulb to perform this attack, severely limiting the practicality for exploitation on a large scale," states the official blog post of Context.
A Prying Eyes in Our Homes
Let's close our short tour by introducing another category of smart device that recently raised a heated debate on the security of IoT devices in our homes, the baby monitors.
Security researchers from Rapid7 have discovered major security flaws in popular networked video baby monitor products that could allow attackers to snoop on babies and families.
Rapid7 analyzed baby monitors from six vendors, ranging in price from $55 to $260, in order to evaluate their overall security. The list of baby monitor analyzed includes the Philips In.Sight B120/37, the iBaby M3S and M6 models, the Summer Infant Baby Zoom, TrendNet Wi-Fi Baby Cam, the Lens Peek-a-View, and a Gynoii device.
"I really wanted to figure out if cameras of a higher price [range] were more secure or less secure," he explained.
The flaws discovered in the baby monitors represent a serious threat to the privacy of the families. Baby monitors are smart devices, always online and equipped with a camera and a microphone, all the necessary equipment to spy on the surrounding environment.
The researchers have discovered numerous security issues, such as hardcoded backdoor credentials, a privilege escalation bug in one of the baby monitors, an authentication bypass flaw in another, a direct browsing flaw in another, an information leakage flaw in another, and a reflective, stored cross-site scripting (XSS) bug in another.
Baby Monitors are wrongly considered secure and harmful devices by families that completely ignore the risks of a cyber attack, and hackers could exploit the lack of security by design of these devices that could become the entry point in domestic environments.
"It's a safety device that seems innocuous and friendly," explained Stanislav.
The researchers from Rapid7 haven't discovered evidence of mass exploitation of the baby monitors, despite the fact that none of them had been already fixed.
The Philips Electronics audio/video In.Sight Wireless HD Baby Monitor B120E/37 was affected by three of the vulnerabilities, hardcoded credentials, reflective and stored XSS in the cloud-based Web service, and a flaw in the remote viewing feature.
Figure 6 - Baby Monitor
The attacker can exploit the flaws to access the device and open a video stream without authentication.
"It's exposing the entire camera Web app server on the Net," explained Stanislav. "If you connect to the device and you're not the person who initiated the connection and is authorized to view it, you shouldn't" be allowed to view it, he says. "The vuln is [that it's] not requiring any authentication," he says.
Philips promptly replied to the report by providing a timeline for patches; the company added that the Philips device is now managed by Gibson Innovations. The patches are expected to release by September 4.
"As part of our responsible disclosure policy and processes, Philips has been in contact with both Gibson Innovations and the security research firm investigating this issue, to promptly and transparently address known and potential vulnerabilities in Philips products," a Philips spokesperson said.
Another disconcerting aspect of the story is that it is very easy to discover baby monitors, and other IoT devices, online by using the Shodan search engine for internet-connected devices.
In the following table are reported the vulnerabilities discovered by the researchers:
Predictable Information Leak
Local Net, Device
Local Net, Device
Philips In.Sight B120/37
Reflective, Stored XSS
Philips In.Sight B120/37
Philips In.Sight B120/37
Summer Baby Zoom Wi-Fi Monitor & Internet Viewing System
Summer Baby Zoom Wi-Fi Monitor & Internet Viewing System
Local Net, Device
The problem is not new and it is extended to common IP cameras used for domestic surveillance.
Early 2014, a bug in the software that powers a broad array of Webcams, IP surveillance cameras, and baby monitors made by the Chinese camera giant Foscam allowed anyone to access the connected device and view live and recorded video footage.
In 2012, a group of researchers revealed that a large number of IP cameras made by TRENDnet were affected by a similar flaw.
In that circumstance, the instructions to access the IP cameras worldwide were available online; a number of websites published the links to the compromised feeds.
Other website started to publish nudity image taken with the hacked cameras; screenshots were made and posted to 4chan.
A hacker can easily locate the IP address of a poorly configured IP camera and hack it once necessary information on the model is collected. Specialized search engines like SHODAN make easy the research and hackers can use them to pinpoint flawed IP cameras.
Figure 7 - SHODAN search engine
I have presented just a few examples of Internet of Things easy to find in modern homes. These smart devices in many cases are poorly configured and lack security by design, opening the domestic network to cyber intruders.
We cannot forget that IoT devices are always connected to the Internet and for this reason are easy to find and exploit by hackers by using search engines like SHODAN.
It is curious to think that users buy IoT devices to make their home more comfortable and secure, but instead they are opening the door of their home to crooks and hackers. | <urn:uuid:044f76fb-89fd-4702-a89a-b76e7809ea12> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.infosecinstitute.com/resources/hacking/how-hackers-violate-privacy-and-security-of-the-smart-home/ | 2024-09-16T04:47:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651676.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20240916044225-20240916074225-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.949388 | 3,836 | 2.546875 | 3 |
IT infrastructure monitoring is an essential part of IT services for businesses that depend on information technology for productivity. As companies rely on software, they need to maintain an IT infrastructure comprising networks, software and hardware components required to deliver and support IT services. Monitoring and reporting is a business process of collecting and analyzing data from the IT infrastructure. This guide discusses IT monitoring and the tools that monitor networks to detect issues.
The IT infrastructure monitoring refers to deploying a built-in knowledge base to diagnose performance issues across the technological stack. It involves collecting, analyzing and reporting data about a firm’s IT infrastructure for effective management. The data gathered through IT monitoring allows businesses to respond and manage the security, capacity and service level management from an informed point of view.
The monitoring is needed to identify and correct any problem before productivity has been compromised. It entails watching and reporting on issues before they can affect end-users and compromise productivity. Any device or application connected to a firm’s network presents the risk of attack from hackers and other malicious actors to access sensitive data. The monitoring is conducted on both software and hardware devices on an ongoing basis to prevent such attacks. When used with a web server, an IT monitoring tool can analyze trends to determine whether the system has crashed or runs out on space.
The monitoring tools track the connectivity levels that users experience on the network. This can be done through observational, analysis, or engagement tools. Observational tools are used to observe hardware or software and report on their operational effectiveness. The analysis tools focus on taking observational data and analyzing it to determine where problems originate or where they are likely to arise based on historical trends. Lastly, engagement tools deal with rebooting any troublesome hardware or software.
Every IT infrastructure component requires routine maintenance to operate at peak efficiency. The infrastructure monitoring provides data that is crucial in understanding the status of a system and its functioning. The analysis of this data allows an organization to respond proactively to any security breach and mitigate such threats before they occur.
While IT monitoring has a minimal effect on your company’s overall performance, it is a crucial part of your management when used with other IT services. The monitoring entails collecting regular data on the IT infrastructure, such as the software, and reporting it for analysis. For example, monitoring the software can highlight any issues such as network intrusion and resource saturation. The monitoring allows IT teams to address any root cause of performance issues to allow for an appropriate response.
The IT infrastructure monitoring is more complicated when the infrastructures are denser and dispersed. Also, larger quantities of server data and quick analysis of data require more sophisticated monitoring and the need for automation. The complex infrastructures need automation that can take the form of automated alerts or perform complex actions to remedy a problem without human intervention.
IT organizations use specialized software tools to aggregate data from a company’s IT infrastructure. These tools aggregate data in the form of automatic event logs when responding user activity. This means complex IT infrastructure such as those combining cloud and on-premises networks will demand automation.
In essence, IT monitoring has evolved over the years to keep up with the complexities of IT environments. More tools are designed to monitor both on-premises and cloud-based systems. As IT infrastructure continues to increase in complexity, IT companies must adopt a monitoring approach that will help a business grow. Through this IT monitoring, businesses are notified of any impending threats on operational issues to respond appropriately. Security monitoring is specially designed to observe a network for any unusual activity.
The basic types of IT monitoring include evaluating web performance, web application management, security monitoring, and real user monitoring. Availability or system application is the most common type of IT monitoring that focuses on the performance of infrastructure services. It involves categories such as server management, network monitoring, and infrastructure management to provide users with information about the performances of the system. The tracking of this data can help the organization make appropriate decisions and respond to the problem appropriately.
There is also web performance monitoring as a part of the IT infrastructure assessment. It involves monitoring web service availability and capturing information such as page loading time on web elements and location of errors to help analysts fine-tune a website performance. Application management is another IT infrastructure monitoring tool that focuses on customer-facing applications. The data from this monitoring allows analysts to track an application’s performance and spot any issues before they affect a user base.
Visibility and control
The IT monitoring and reporting is conducted to provide complete visibility of all hardware and software assets. This network monitoring system tracks data movement through servers to detect any problem and resolve it efficiently.
Optimize network reliability
IT monitoring is done to determine the performance effectiveness of a network or database. This is a proactive approach to maintaining a healthy network and reduce downtime occurrences.
Improve the bottom line
IT monitoring also improves a business’ productivity by reducing operational costs through proactive response. Once a company is aware of any impending problems, it can manage or reduce downtime and increase productivity
Information decision making
IT monitoring comes with effective reporting that provides information needed to make the correct decision. Providing reports to senior managers improves their perception of how to manage systems. In essence, IT monitoring is crucial to software operations and business outcomes. It helps in proactively discover underlying issues and alert teams whenever there are threats.
IT infrastructure monitoring is an essential part of effective IT management when combined with other elements of IT management. Monitoring the IT infrastructure allows business access to an array of critical information that is valuable to network management. It alerts the IT management team on regular data and any unplanned downtime to minimize network intrusions. Organizations cannot operate efficiently without an efficient IT infrastructure, including firms that have migrated to the cloud. | <urn:uuid:991d7925-40f1-488e-be5f-a3e436c50228> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.bostonhelpdesk.com/what-is-it-monitoring/ | 2024-09-19T22:13:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652067.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20240919194038-20240919224038-00797.warc.gz | en | 0.927591 | 1,160 | 2.578125 | 3 |
A 2020 Business Insider Intelligence research report predicts there will be more than 41 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices by 2027, up from about 8 billion in 2019.
This accounts of a rise of more than 500% in less than a decade. With so many “things” coming online, businesses across the world must act to ensure their IoT breach detection and mitigation capabilities are as effective as possible.
Why is it so hard to detect an IoT breach?
Network monitoring is the typical method for attempting to detect threats surrounding network-attached devices, including IoT devices. Most mid to large-sized companies have implemented a sufficiently effective security program around their IT operations.
The OT side of the house, however, is still playing catch-up, largely because the threat monitoring tools for industrial and other IoT devices are inadequate. In addition, traditional asset discovery and tracking tools often overlook or can’t detect IoT devices, and thus they aren’t registered in asset inventories.
Monitoring tools developed for the IT side of the network don’t work well in OT environments due to incompatible systems, proprietary operating systems and insufficient sensors. Network monitoring looks for suspicious behaviors and activities on the network, but it can’t detect these characteristics on the IoT devices themselves. Dangerous or threatening activity can occur on the IoT devices where network monitoring can’t detect changes to controller code, firmware or device configurations.
IoT devices must be protected from the inside
Once an attacker gets inside perimeter defenses and onto an OT network, there is little protection for IoT devices. Many if not most of them are inherently insecure because they were built without internal defensive mechanisms or the means to repel attacks.
Consumer-oriented IoT devices are typically built with low cost, ease of use and convenience as priorities over security. Commercial or industrial IoT devices often lack inherent security because manufacturers considered they would be “secured through obscurity” and not exposed to threats on the Internet or private networks.
For the most part, IoT manufacturers operate without the benefit of security standards, regulation or even industry oversight—although that is beginning to change. Manufacturers need to adopt a new mindset on security. If they are protecting their devices from the inside (as opposed to building a security perimeter around them), they can remove threats without affecting the normal operation of the devices.
What does it mean to “protect a device from the inside”? It means that security should be given a high priority throughout a device’s lifecycle. Manufacturers should be building the requisite cybersecurity defenses into their devices to ensure they ship without vulnerabilities, are resistant to attack, can facilitate critical updates, and can be actively monitored for signs of software failures and other serious conditions.
This effort requires protecting network-enabled IoT devices throughout all phases of their lifecycle; for example, by:
- Securing new devices prior to deployment to ensure they are without vulnerabilities,
- Monitoring the cyber health and acceptable behavior of the devices once they are deployed,
- Protecting devices on the network from threats, and
- Patching devices by orchestrating the distribution of updated firmware when needed.
As the threat surface from IoT devices grows ever larger, these lifecycle protection features are “must haves” and not simply “nice to haves.” Such features allow customers and end users to benefit from the value of connected devices and equipment without increasing their risk profile, and device manufacturers benefit from being able to use onboard device security as a key competitive differentiator. | <urn:uuid:ba6ce733-12f8-493a-b761-180bccc1194d> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/detecting-mitigating-iot-breaches/ | 2024-09-19T21:13:56Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652067.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20240919194038-20240919224038-00797.warc.gz | en | 0.947994 | 724 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Until very recently, protecting critical national infrastructure was an entirely physical affair. Thick walls, sturdy fences, and in some cases armed personnel were the key to protecting our energy, transportation, and water infrastructure from potential threats.
This status quo persisted for a surprisingly long time, even as almost every other aspect of our lives has become increasingly digitized. Most industries have fully embraced digital transformation in recent years, and the business world has become dependent on a highly complex web of interconnected technology. Our personal lives too are dominated by digital technology which has become the de facto approach for everything from paying bills to tracking health.
Yet as the digital age advanced, the industrial control systems that underly our critical national infrastructure remained largely isolated from the internet, and the security perimeter was almost entirely physical.
Embracing digital transformation
Finally, though, the unstoppable impetus of digital transformation and its promise of efficiency and flexibility has overtaken the industrial world. Interconnected information and communication technologies that power the realms of business and commerce are rapidly converging with the operational technologies that control our critical infrastructure.
On balance, an interconnected infrastructure is a good thing on both a national and global scale. The combination of advanced computing and industrial automation will help to increase productivity and output. This approach also unlocks new possibilities around predictive and remote maintenance, helping to address issues before they can escalate into more costly problems that can lead to serious outages.
But as with all advances, the digital era brings a multitude of risks along with benefits. Our infrastructure must now increasingly prepare for potentially dire threats that are far beyond the scope of security fences and armed guards to defend against.
The mounting cyber threat
Dealing with cyber attacks has increasingly become part and parcel of doing business in the digital age. It’s rare for more than a couple of weeks to go by without reports of at least one serious security incident being suffered by a large organization. In late July, a number of large blue-chip corporations in fields including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and air travel were hit by attacks from what was widely believed to be a state-backed Chinese group.
As companies have become more reliant on today’s interlinked digital web, most have exposed themselves to an ever-increasing level of risk. Organizations managing critical national infrastructure are no exception, and the newly connected terrain can be used by threat actors to conduct reconnaissance, gain remote access and even mount serious attacks.
Fortunately, these incidents have so far been an order of magnitude rarer than the constant stream of attack reports we see from sectors such as finance and retail. There have only been a small number of cases around the world in the last few years. However, the repercussions of an attack on infrastructure are far greater than almost any other sector.
Whereas a breach suffered by a retail organization will hit its bottom lines and expose its customers to increase the risk of fraud, a successful attack on critical infrastructure can have a much more tangible impact on a national scale – even potentially putting lives at risk.
Advanced infrastructure attacks in action
The watershed moment for cybersecurity in critical infrastructure came into 2015 with the first known successful attack to knock out a power grid. In December 2015, the information systems governing three energy distribution companies in Ukraine were hit with an attack that subsequently took down the grid.
The attack was highly organized and complex, involving a multi-pronged approach that combined several different attack techniques. The opening move saw corporate networks being compromised with a powerful malware known as BlackEnergy, which was delivered via a spear-phishing email.
Once this had been established, the attackers seized control of the SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems to remotely turn off substations, as well as disable IT infrastructure assets. Alongside this, another malware called KillDisk was used to destroy large amounts of files stored on workstations and servers, and finally, a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack was used to disable a call center and prevent consumers from receiving information about the blackout.
The attack left 225,000 citizens without access to power, with outages lasting between one and six hours depending on the area. Due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia at the time, the attack has been widely attributed to the Russian advanced persistent threat (APT) group dubbed Sandworm.
Ukraine was the victim of another serious attack on its power grid almost exactly a year later in December 2016. This second attack took out the power for more than a fifth of Kiev for close to an hour but is believed to have been merely a test exercise from the perpetrators.
The attack used a different approach to the 2015 incident, revolving around a powerful malware called Industroyer, also known as Crashoverride. The malware was designed specifically to disrupt industrial control systems and contained a number of components that carry out different actions.
A backdoor element was used to establish a remote connection, enabling attackers to deliver commands and execute attacks, with a secondary backdoor in place if the first is discovered.
Four separate payload components then targeted particular industrial protocols, while a data wiper erased crucial registry keys and overwrote files, making it much harder to recover in the aftermath.
The current threat
While the Ukraine attacks are fortunately rather exceptional for now, the threat of a new incident looms large for both the energy industry and governments around the world.
Recent research carried out jointly by the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium at the University of Oxford and the Centre for Risk Studies at Cambridge Judge Business School looked to quantify the potential risk to the UK if a cyber attack was launched. Using the Ukrainian incidents as a base, researchers estimated that similar attacks on the UK could cost in excess of £111m a day. It was concluded that even a relatively limited incident could hit the power supplies of more than 1.5m UK citizens.
A study by the Pew Research Center into public awareness and attitudes around cyber risks found that in most cases citizens around the world believed an attack on their infrastructure was likely. US citizens were particularly pessimistic, with 83 percent saying that they thought it was likely public infrastructure would be damaged by a cyber attack in the future. The UK was only slightly more optimistic, with 74 percent believing an attack was likely.
Into the unknown
One of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity is accounting for the unknown. While security personnel and detection tools can quickly adapt to account for newly discovered vulnerabilities, malware and techniques, little can be done to prepare for previously unknown threats.
It is highly likely that many industrial systems have already been compromised by unknown malware, which is now lying in wait for instructions when the time is right. Earlier this year, Dan Coats, the US Director of National Intelligence, told Congress it was believed Moscow was staging cyber-attack activity to disrupt civilian and military infrastructure in the event of a crisis.
Much as we have seen in the past with traditional weaponry when cyber capabilities are monopolized by a small number of powerful nation-states, it is possible to achieve a state of global deterrence. Overt hostility would result in counter-attacks, so the states restrict their activity to small-scale incidents with a high degree of deniability.
However, unlike conventional warfare, serious cyber attacks can be orchestrated by non-state actors with comparatively few resources. Critical infrastructure presents an unappealing target for the average criminal motivated by financial gain, with many other industries offering greater rewards for less effort and risk. However, infrastructure is still potentially at risk from non-state actors such as terrorists, activists, or those simply acting out of malice.
Does going retro hold the answer?
Perhaps the most significant challenge in securing the world’s infrastructure is that it was never designed to be secured against these kinds of threats. Most systems were intended to be operated in highly secured environments, protected from interference by walls, gates, and guards. This means devices often lack basic features such as authentication and encryption.
The challenge is exacerbated by the fragmented and opaque nature of the attack surface. Most of the world’s critical infrastructure runs on a variety of old and obscure protocols, many of which are proprietary, making it much more difficult to gain a unified view of systems as a whole.
One of the most prominent solutions to this problem is the decision to back away from digitalization. In July 2019 the US Government announced plans to revert critical systems to analog and manual technology in order to isolate the grid’s essential control systems.
A press release on the passing of the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act (SEIA) stated that the intent was to ensure that aggressors would once again have to physically touch the equipment to disrupt or damage it.
However, I believe this approach of “going retro” is counterproductive and could harm innovation. The critical national infrastructure of America and other nations around the world is not vulnerable because it’s digital, but because the threat actors understand the landscape better than those tasked with defending it.
Visibility is key
We are now faced with the unusual situation of the industry, rather than the government, being on the front lines of potential conflict. With a large amount of critical national infrastructure brings governed by the private sector, it is largely up to individual organizations to equip themselves with visibility into their own networks and the ability to identify and defend against threats. The industry’s focus has suddenly shifted from reliability to reliance – the ability to continue running in the face of attack.
The priority should instead be to close the visibility gap that currently allows aggressors to implement elaborate attack plans without being detected. The industry must work with the government to transform today’s disjointed and opaque attack surface into a transparent defense architecture that enables defenders to reliably identify threats. | <urn:uuid:e104744c-3971-442b-a1c9-ffc916853c2c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.mytechmag.com/with-critical-infrastructure-embracing-the-digital-age-how-do-we-secure-it/ | 2024-09-19T20:25:01Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652067.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20240919194038-20240919224038-00797.warc.gz | en | 0.970115 | 1,965 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Since reliable records were kept, four major hurricanes have directly hit the Tampa Bay area. They are the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1848, the 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane, the 1946 Florida Hurricane, and the Storm of the Century of 1993.
All of these storms had one major attribute: They developed in the southwestern Caribbean or off of central America, rather than the Atlantic or eastern Caribbean. This fact is worth noting.
Commonly, major hurricanes in our part of the world come off the coast of Africa or the eastern Caribbean, and shoot off westward, affecting the US by hitting Florida or the southeastern states on the east, or going below Florida and shooting up to the Florida Panhandle or the various Gulf states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas).
These storms rarely go up the Gulf, and then make an immediate jaunt eastward to Tampa. When in the Gulf, they just go straight up. Exceptions, such as Hurricane Charley (which came out of the central Caribbean), have not affected Tampa (but almost did, and it was a near thing indeed!).
The reason is that Tampa faces west, and the trade winds prevalent in our area move east-to-west. In other words, the prevailing winds keep the storms pushed away from us.
Now, storms such as Elena, Irma and Frances have affected Tampa, but were not at the scale of a direct hit (although certainly not little storms – they all had an impact).
For me, the concern with Irma is that it would go further to the west, hitting us at an angle to hit Tampa Bay directly, causing a potentially massive storm surge. However, it was fairly clear by the 8th of September that it would be a major wind event – but not a big storm surge creator. Still, I took precautions.
What’s of great concern with a direct hit to Tampa Bay is that the region has a shallow continental shelf, with very warm water. That is a bad combination, creating a potential of a devastating storm surge. A big storm coming directly at us will be quite dangerous.
Remember, storm surges are where you see boats on top of trees 20 miles inland. Katrina. That kind of thing. Storm surge is the big problem in hurricanes.
So, I pay very close attention to tropical disturbances in the southwestern Caribbean, because these could hit Tampa directly. A direct hit creates the massive storm surge that is actually the major danger in hurricanes.
Now, that’s not to say that I am not wary of any major storms developing that could affect our area…
Disclaimer: I’ve lived in Florida, cumulatively, well over 20 years. I’m not an expert nor a meteorologist. But I have had to worry about the safety of my family in the face of big storms and I’m a bit of a nerd who has spent a lot of time studying the issue. This is only my viewpoint and observation. Feel free to disagree. Everyone fights about hurricanes, and the news doesn’t help by scaring the heck out of everybody, so the arguments tend to be between people who are scared witless – not the best combination. | <urn:uuid:36191c6f-fabc-45b1-a2fc-0a43a58cf86c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | http://blog.eckelberry.com/tampa-bay-hurricane-history/ | 2024-09-21T03:56:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701427996.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20240921015054-20240921045054-00697.warc.gz | en | 0.963163 | 649 | 2.734375 | 3 |
There are two truisms of K-12 schools that exist today:
First, safety and security are core objectives. Second, school budgets are tight.
K-12 schools have traditionally been perceived as safe havens where children can learn and develop. Unfortunately, K-12 schools are increasingly being subjected to violence, vandalism, and theft. Teachers are expressing growing concerns about their personal safety as they intervene in physical conflicts within schools while also encountering students carrying firearms or other weapons on school premises. Even more sobering - more than 360,000 students in the U.S. have experienced gun violence at school in the past 24 years.
Further compounding the situation, schools and their administrators are on tight budgets. Pandemic relief funding has kept many school initiatives afloat over the past few years, but in the rush spend on new high-tech solutions, many of the basics were left behind. With pandemic aid all but exhausted, school districts are having to do more with less.
These two truisms offer more questions than answers for superintendents, principals, teachers, board members, and parents. What school security solutions can we deploy that actively prevent violence in schools? How can we cost-effectively implement such tools? We want to improve K12 security and efficiency at the same time, but how?
At their most basic level, school key control systems are designed to securely protect keys in an electronic key cabinet. At their most complex, key control systems are an integral piece of the larger security puzzle – helping schools of all sizes manage security and operations effectively during times of both emergency situations and daily operations.
In a traditional school key control system, keys are securely stored within an individual electronic key cabinet with each key uniquely assigned and tracked. Authorized users gain access to specific keys by providing their credentials, such as a PIN or biometric authentication, which grants them permission to remove a key from its designated cabinet. This enables schools to effectively manage and track access to various areas throughout a building and/or campus, thus minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry or loss of keys.
Integrated software further enhances the functionality of the key control system. A user-friendly interface allows administrators to manage and configure access permissions, generate detailed reports, and receive notifications about key-related activities. Additionally, the software can be integrated with other security systems, such as school access control or video surveillance systems, creating a holistic security solution.
What’s more, key management systems are a cost-effective solution that proactively reduces a school’s security spend. By reducing the possibility of lost keys and limiting access to master keys to authorized individuals, school districts can save thousands in unforeseen re-keying costs. Electronic asset management lockers integrated with a key control cabinet likewise safeguard critical assets ranging from laptops to sensitive files, reducing the opportunity for theft and improving compliance. These types of physical access controls also improve campus security for a lower cost than that of armed security guards and contracted off-duty police.
A key control system offers significant school security benefits, particularly when it comes to emergency situations such as active shooter events. By utilizing a centralized key control system, schools can ensure that emergency keys are securely housed and readily accessible to local first responders. Responding officers can swiftly retrieve the required keys, such as those for locked classrooms or secured areas, enabling them to enter and address the situation promptly. Rapid first responder key access significantly improves response times and effectiveness during critical incidents and gives parents peace of mind, knowing that their children's school is equipped with robust security measures to handle emergencies efficiently.
The EKG can save a life! Don’t wait, contact us today to learn more about the benefits of an EKG in your school! |
In addition to facilitating emergency response, a key control system in K-12 schools enhances general security protocols. These systems enable schools to centralize key management, ensuring that keys are always properly secured and accounted for, and only accessible by authorized personnel. This comprehensive key management solution can significantly reduce the likelihood of security breaches, vandalism and theft at K-12 schools.
Furthermore, the key tracking software provides administrators with real-time visibility and monitoring capabilities, allowing them to track who has accessed keys, when, and for what purpose. This helps schools better comply with FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) that requires schools to closely control access to private medical and academic files. Enforcing employee accountability effectively strengthens security measures and fosters a safer environment for students, faculty, and staff.
Beyond enhancing security, a key control or school asset manager system can significantly improve the efficiency of school maintenance teams. With a centralized key control system, maintenance personnel can quickly access the keys necessary for completing their required tasks, eliminating time-consuming searches for the right key or reliance on multiple key copies. By providing a streamlined process for accessing keys, maintenance teams can promptly respond to maintenance requests while ensuring that doors are secured and unlocked as needed, thus minimizing disruptions to the school's operations.
Key control systems additionally provide the flexibility of localized access for contracted workers. Contractors, such as HVAC repairmen or IT technicians, can receive access to individual keys with location specifical access granted only for areas they need to work over specific time periods. The school key control software keeps a record of their key usage, allowing administrators to track a worker’s activities and ensure accountability. This granular level of key control allows school administrators to grant temporary access to contracted workers while maintaining overall security.
Key control systems also offer significant benefits for the management of a school’s fleet vehicles, such as buses and other vehicles. With school bus fleet management software integrated into a key control system, administrators can effectively track and control the usage of school busses district-wide. Administrators can retrieve data on the status of any bus, shuttle, or other vehicle at any time. A fleet key management system provides a clear record of who has used a specific vehicle key, enabling administrators to monitor vehicle availability, maintenance schedules, and overall fleet utilization.
By deploying Morse Watchmans' key control and intelligent inventory management systems, schools can effectively address security concerns, optimize operations, and make efficient use of resources. Our proven implementation of key control systems in K-12 environments offers schools a reliable and cost-effective solution that promotes a safe and efficient educational environment. It’s all part of our outside-the-box thinking – that you’ll find right inside the box.
View Our Webinar: A Panel Discussion on The Role of Key Control in K-12 Emergency Preparedness
– Watch Now
FREE PLAYBOOK: Key Control for Enhanced Security, Operational Efficiency, and Cost Savings in K-12 Schools
– Get it here
Policy Writing Guidelines: Key Control Policy Writing Guidelines for K-12 Schools
– Get it here
Taking today's keys into tomorrow
Morse Watchmans Incorporated – USA
2 Morse Road
Oxford, Connecticut 06478
Toll Free: 800-423-8256
Morse Watchmans UK Ltd. – UK
Unit B Swift Park, Old Leicester Road
Swift Valley Industrial Estate
Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 1DZ
Phone: +44 (0) 115 967 1567 | <urn:uuid:1b142cde-e3f6-4a5c-9aba-86baa59b4a24> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.morsewatchmans.com/markets/education | 2024-09-07T21:29:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650920.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20240907193650-20240907223650-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.937144 | 1,483 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Continuous inventions in different fields of Artificial Intelligence leads to delivering excellent results for every cause. Using the concepts of deep learning, face recognition, self-driven cars, and more concepts came nearly to be implemented while natural language processing (NLP) remained a few steps behind. However, the increasing demands for smarter solutions have forced professionals to start again with natural language processing, and the progress achieved is tremendous.
Natural Language Processing: Connects Computers and Humans
As artificial intelligence aims to build autonomous digital systems, natural language processing is a part where human interaction with machines is given higher priority. Natural language processing (NPL) focuses on the interaction between humans and computers using a natural language. The aim is to make the computer read, learn, understand, and decipher the language used among humans and perform operations accordingly.
It can be achieved by implementing the concepts of machine learning that can help a machine learn the languages used by humans by studying the data using complex machine learning algorithms to derive appropriate actions. The primary application of the knowledge earned by a machine through natural language processing is analyzing and processing the text and words to derive appropriate actions.
Natural Language Processing: How AI Helps to Deliver Results
Also called NLP, natural language processing helps in processing the input audio or text of a user by converting into text (if audio!) and later processing it to generate desired outcomes.
The importance of understanding the text by classifying it in different classes, e.g., noun, verb forms, gender, adverbs, and more, is necessary to understand the exact and complete meaning of the sentence. The use of enhanced machine learning algorithms and a vast dataset derived from the enormous amount of information can help the machine understand each. The text classification can be done accordingly to derive the complete meaning of it.
This implies the use of neural networks and concepts of deep learning that can automate the learning and understanding the process of a machine when a natural language input is provided. Text classification is a must to let the machine clearly understand what the user has entered. There are various stages and steps by which the complete classification of the text can be done.
Labeling of Texts
Deriving whether a named entity is living or not requires text labeling to be done. The practical application of text labeling in the business world can be said to identify spam emails. 45% of the total emails sent are spam. Moreover, it helps in learning whether a submitted article is subjective or objective. Processing larger chunks of information at a single time is possible with the enhanced deep learning concepts implemented, and it helps in labeling these chunks also.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe to our AI NAVIGATOR!
Moreover, text labeling helps in understanding the questions raised. If a machine is asked several questions together, it must be able to differentiate between them and understand what a particular question is about. Therefore, using natural language processing, the computer can be enabled to perform all these tasks automatically and efficiently to achieve the desired results from the program.
Based on the sentiments expressed in audio or text, the appropriate reply should be generated. Even for humans, this task is challenging. By just reading out a text or listening to an audio, the machine should be able to process it and derive the tone used, and categorize it accordingly. Using a sentiment analysis model, a text can be checked for polarity, whether positive or negative.
By connecting words and sentences to form a relationship and particular structure to find out whether they are positive or negative, the machine can efficiently help in filtering out the comments and opinions. The application of this particular module is most beneficial for businesses as it can help classify the product reviews and customer opinions between positive, neutral, and negative.
Research suggests that 90% of customers who read online reviews were influenced to buy products by reading positive reviews, while 86% of their buying decisions were influenced by negative reviews.
It becomes difficult for the program to classify between extremely positive, positive, neutral, negative, extremely negative reviews, but the training set is kept big and knowledgeable enough; this kind of classification can also be done. For example, a business is providing music streaming services to its customers through the Spotify clone. It becomes necessary for them to know the user feedback and understand the requirements. With the use of sentiment analysis, they can efficiently differentiate between positive and negative feedback and efficiently deliver the best services following the user requirements.
Answering User Queries
Machine learning helps computers to develop excellent skills, and this set of skills includes answering skills also. The practical example of this is chatbots. Using the chatbots, the user queries can be answered efficiently without adding any human touch to it. Running a business is incredibly difficult when you are supposed to answer all user queries at any time of the day. Providing 24×7 customer support is not easier. However, chatbots are here to save on the expenses and answer all questions efficiently without tiring out throughout the day.
Natural language processing enables the understanding of input text and mapping the keywords from the question asked to the set of answers stored; an appropriate response is generated. Moreover, with continuous learning programs of today, the enhancement of stored answers and analysis of user queries is done to improve the productivity and outcomes of the chatbots. And as a result, 27% of all chatbots resolve the entire chat by themselves. Moreover, 70% of millennials have reported a positive chatbot experience. Isn’t it great?
Businesses wanting to expand their business reach across the globe must be ready to meet the demands of customers coming from any remote corner. The only barrier between these customers and the business is the language. If a business is not able to understand what the customer is trying to convey, the possibilities of failing at meeting all the demands increases, and it ultimately affects the business reputation. But worry not as natural language processing is here to help out.
Using the complex models built specifically for efficient translation of customer queries and doubts, the businesses can understand what their customers want to say. According to a report by CBInsights, 8% of startups fail because they get stuck in legal queries, while 14% fail because of not meeting their user demands. The importance of fulfilling customer requirements is higher to save a business from legal problems or failure.
And if a business is serving customers all across the world, it becomes essential to understand and voice out the right answers for every question raised, no matter the language used. With language translation facilities by natural language processing models, a business can engage more customers and ensure business growth via excellent customer support delivered without the barrier of language in between as 84% of customers state that the experience provided by a company is as important as the product and service qualities.
Is There More?
Upcoming years will bring much more change in the technology trends. The importance of Artificial Intelligence in everyday lives will increase as the solutions will become more practical and user-centric. Hence, natural language processing will thrive in the times when text-to-speech and natural language understanding in machines will increase. And the future is promising much more than that. Applying the concepts of NLP in business, businesses can also benefit from providing an excellent user experience whenever they approach the business.
Gaurav Kanabar is the Founder and CEO of Alphanso Tech, an India based IT Consulting company that provides Event Management Software development service and other app development services to individuals as per their specified demand. Besides this, the founder also loves to deliver excellent niche helping readers to have deep insight into the topic. | <urn:uuid:212bbeac-e473-4f4f-be73-b323c2f8b698> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://swisscognitive.ch/2020/11/26/natural-language-processing/ | 2024-09-13T22:17:41Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651540.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913201909-20240913231909-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.944012 | 1,534 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Dozens of remotely activated solar panels on rooftops in a village in rural Africa fail at providing electricity at nightfall and homes go dark. At a busy university campus event, the vending machines aren’t linking up to network and can’t process payments for hours. On a side street of a crowded city, a row of shops is vulnerable to no-witness burglaries, as surveillance cameras aren’t transmitting data. These events seem unconnected but could very well be the cause of local Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks on the devices’ cellular connectivity.
DoS attacks are more than just a nuisance – they can create meaningful financial, operational or physical damage to businesses and individuals. As companies increasingly rely on connected devices for monitoring, operations, sales and customer service; hackers are turning to DoS attacks to take companies offline or steal their sensitive data. DoS attacks have been around since computers have been networked, and cellular IoT devices are no exception. DoS attacks via cellular networks are traditionally undetectable, unstoppable and do not leave a trace.
How do hackers roll out a cellular DoS attack? Every cellular device’s SIM has a unique IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), which identifies it to mobile networks. The IMSI serves as your “credentials” when you connect to the network. Attackers impersonate cell towers with devices called “IMSI catchers” (AKA fake cell towers / “Stingray” devices), and “convince” devices to connect to them by providing the “best” signal. Once a device is connected to the fake cell tower, it is no longer connected to the network and doesn’t receive service, hence a DoS attack is underway. Subsequent attacks can include providing the device with cellular connectivity while the hacker acts as a “man in the middle” (MiTM) between the device and the network. In a MiTM attack, hackers can gain access to the device’s sensitive information and even inject malicious code. With one simple IMSI catcher, hackers can roll out DoS attacks on thousands of IoT devices.
DoS via IMSI catchers is only one of the many possible attacks on cellular IoT devices. As remote, mobile and critical devices that are deployed globally, these IoT devices are prime targets for hackers, criminals, and even terrorists. Data duplication to malicious addresses, location monitoring, and operation manipulation are just some of the potential risks.
These scenarios are alarming, but they don’t have to become the reality. Companies can and should take measures to prepare themselves for attacks on business continuity and operations. Firstly, by assessing the level of risk from cellular DoS and data leakage attacks and secondly by setting out a plan to mitigate this risk via existing service providers or alternative 3rd party solutions.
MNOs have the opportunity to block cellular DoS and other network based attacks at the network level, in a way that no cloud-based solution can. MNOs can be the go-to source for cellular IoT cybersecurity, in addition to connectivity and management services.
This post was originally published in 2018 by Prof. Dror Fixler, CEO of FirstPoint Mobile Guard prior to his lecture on unique cellular network based cyber-attacks on IoT devices in 2G-5G networks, the GSMA 5G standard approach to enhance protection, and as he presented FirstPoint Mobile Guard’s cellular network-based IoT protection platform based on network elements. | <urn:uuid:4912e4af-d2cc-4ae8-9dd8-c22ba6322e76> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.firstpoint-mg.com/blog/iot-denial-of-service-and-the-mno-opportunity/ | 2024-09-13T20:38:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651540.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913201909-20240913231909-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.946162 | 729 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Initially, the concept of open-source software was met warily, with apprehension. However, today, 90% of global IT leaders seek open-source software to modernise IT infrastructure as well as for application development and digital transformation, due to its ability to drive fast and cost-effective development.
Developers use open source to quickly discover what works best for them
The open software advantage is that developers can take the thousands of building blocks it offers through the multitude of open source solutions available today, and safely experiment with these different solutions to discover what works and does not work for them. This means developers can “fail-fast”, a concept in DevOps and agile, where they are able to work with small increments of code to identify and resolve problems while still in early development, without breaking the bank. With proprietary software however, the IT team might be stuck with using a software that the company has paid a large sum for even though it might not be best suited for their needs, which slows down innovation.
Developers can take advantage of different capabilities without fear of lock-in
To avoid being locked in to specific vendors or platforms, many developers choose not to rely on specific capabilities which are offered in proprietary software, which requires them to write a lot more code than they really need to, and lowers performance and productivity.
Instead, an open source database software like PostgreSQL enables developers to take advantage of features that enable agile development, without being locked in to a vendor, cloud, or cost model. PostgreSQL runs anywhere from the cloud to your laptop, and organisations can choose support from any vendor (or no vendor at all), benefitting from varied database capabilities and enabling them to go to market faster.
Open source, specifically community driven open source, drives constant innovation
Enterprise open source is popular because it is cost effective and because it fosters the constant innovation made possible by a community of contributors. Some open source projects like PostgreSQL are run by a community of developers from individuals and organisations worldwide, who are motivated not by profits but by adding value to ensure that the software is sustainable.
Skills needed to leverage open source innovation
While it is evident that open source is the key to driving innovation, the industry lacks specialist talent. In 2020, globally, 93% of hiring managers reported difficulty finding sufficient talent with open source skills, up from 87% in 2018.
For organisations to develop an appetite and culture for open source, it will entail a fundamental change in mindset. IT professionals that innovate using open source are typically proactive problem solvers who actively seek to build their own solutions using open-source, as opposed to working with existing proprietary solutions. Open source moves differently in an organisation as compared to proprietary software.
To adapt, organisations need to incorporate specific psychographics into their hiring and training strategies, as open-source projects are not built equally. IT professionals first need to have a good understanding of the underlying structures of open source projects such as who is managing the roadmap and development of projects, and the various open-source licenses governing the use of the software. If an open-source project led by a commercial entity fails, for example, so does the project, affecting the IT teams relying on the project. Ubiquity and democracy are key qualities to look for when selecting open-source software.
IT professionals also need to be active contributors to the open-source project, not only because it is the right thing to do, but it also ensures that the company’s interests are represented and furthered in the open-source community.
Cultivating talent in open source
To cultivate and interest employees in open source software, enterprises could create a community of practitioners within the organisation that their employees can approach for help and guidance. Previously, a centre of excellence consisted of one or two experts to serve as a resource, yet developers today are independent learners who like to try things on their own. They evangelise, meet up, and create a general awareness of how good an open-source technology is. Companies that encourage collaboration and experimentation in a similar manner, allowing their people to take risks and grow through hackathons and meet-ups, lunch and learn events, can benefit from the cross-share of knowledge and incubate innovation. It is also important to implement development policies that encourage open source development. These policies should be supported with secure technology such as IP and vulnerability scanning to permit secure development and integration with products.
Navigate the shortage in open-source skills
Companies can select open-source projects that make use of familiar systems that require little reskilling and training. For instance, PostgreSQL is compatible with Oracle, a popular legacy database technology used by several enterprises.
As the cost of training a workforce in open source will take time and money, companies can also rely on commercial vendors of the open-source software. While it is easy to develop on free open source software, a commercial vendor can ensure that project targets are successfully managed, and resolve issues when things go wrong, especially when the organisation is inexperienced with the software. | <urn:uuid:3dca86ab-88c6-4911-bd81-1753bca72a6a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.frontier-enterprise.com/why-open-source-is-critical-for-innovation/ | 2024-09-15T03:25:46Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651614.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915020916-20240915050916-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.949659 | 1,027 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Firmware connects the hardware and software of a device, but efforts to protect it have been absent in many of the government’s recent cybersecurity initiatives, according to the report.
The code embedded inside devices that bridges interactions between hardware and software is frequently exposed to security vulnerabilities, but lawmakers and federal officials have not paid enough attention to them, a national security think tank analysis argues.
The report, released Wednesday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, contends that firmware vulnerabilities remain largely unaddressed, despite ongoing U.S. efforts focused on shoring up the nation’s cybersecurity structure through sweeping regulations and standards.
Firmware, the microsoftware responsible for telling hardware and software how to talk with one another on a device, enables several functions of modern computers but has gotten little attention across federal cybersecurity and technology initiatives, according to the report.
For example, there is no mention of the term “firmware” in an April 2023 release from the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency focused on principles for deploying products that have pre-installed features to shield them from cyberattacks. Additionally, the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act — a law designed to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research — mentions “firmware” just one time.
Firmware-linked cyberattacks are not frequent but, when executed, often give hackers “more bang for their buck,” according to report author Michael Sugden, who briefed members of the media on the topic.
“[They] are often harder to detect and harder to remove than their software cyberattack counterparts,” he said. Common antivirus scanning tools “can only detect malware at the software level, which leaves firmware completely in the dark,” he added.
Firmware is often made vulnerable due to weak code bases that aren’t addressed during their building and deployment processes, leaving them open to attacks across the software supply chain. For instance, security research firm Eclypsium last year discovered a hidden back door in the firmware of Taiwan-based motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte that allowed for hijacking and installation of malicious code.
The FDD report specifically cites a high-profile cyberattack on some 30,000 Viasat KA-SAT modems carried out by Kremlin-linked operatives immediately following Russia’s invasion on Ukraine in 2022. “In this case, tens of thousands of consumers had to throw out their devices, as an update or patch at the firmware level would have been impossible for reasons particular to the Viasat modems,” the analysis says.
Among several recommendations, the report suggests the creation of a national repository for known firmware threats, as well as updates to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2018 firmware resiliency guidance.
Firmware has often been an uncommon way for hackers to access systems, which could explain why the Biden administration and Congress have done little to address the issue at this point, said Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD and former head of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a congressionally-backed cyber policy advisory body.
“I think it is a very good tool for intellectual property theft, I think it's a pretty good tool for nation states that might want to have access to a network to shut it down at a later date,” Montgomery said.
“I think as [adversaries] come off the sugar high of ransomware, we’re going to start seeing a lot more action in the firmware business,” he later added, referring to this past year’s frenzy of ransomware activity, in which hackers held organizations’ data hostage in exchange for a ransom payment. | <urn:uuid:1be761f6-c022-41ee-bd72-8c712e7f53b9> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2024/01/us-regulators-have-done-little-address-firmware-vulnerabilities-think-tank-argues/393596/?oref=ng-next-story | 2024-09-17T15:26:28Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651800.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20240917140525-20240917170525-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.958319 | 778 | 2.5625 | 3 |
- Data warehouses are designed for analytical processing, while operational databases are designed to support transactional workloads.
- Data warehouses store historical data, while operational databases store current data.
- Data warehouses often use column-oriented storage, while operational databases use row-oriented storage.
- Data warehouses can use dimensional, star and snowflake schemas, while operational databases use entity-relationship model-based schema designs.
- Data warehouses are used for business intelligence and reporting applications, while operational databases are used for real-time and transaction processing.
In data management, distinguishing between a data warehouse and an operational database is essential due to their distinct roles. While both serve as storage for data, they cater to different needs. A data warehouse is instrumental in analytical processing, aiding decision-making processes by providing valuable insights from historical data. An operational database is designed for real-time transactional processing, supporting daily operational activities that require immediate access to the most up-to-date information.
Understanding these differences is critical for data management practitioners. By utilizing a data warehouse, organizations can harness the power of data analytics to drive strategic decision-making based on trends and patterns observed over time. Conversely, an operational database ensures that essential transactions are processed efficiently in real time, supporting business operations.
The distinction between these two types of databases is fundamental in structuring an organization’s data infrastructure to meet its specific needs, whether for strategic planning or day-to-day operations. Additionally, integrating both systems can create a robust data management framework that optimizes performance and enhances overall efficiency within an organization.
Understanding Data Warehouses and Operational Databases
Think of these two systems as separate places for information in a company. The data warehouse is like a repository for past data. It is carefully arranged for analysis and reports. The operational database focuses on high transaction throughput, showing the present condition of business activities. This fundamental difference affects how they are designed and what they can do.
Defining Data Warehouses: Purpose and Users
A data warehouse is where structured and historical data is stored. Its main goal is to help with business intelligence by providing a complete view of past trends and performance. Unlike operational databases, which focus on real-time transactions, data warehouses are better at handling complex questions and providing insights from large data sets collected over time.
Data analysts and business leaders depend heavily on data warehouses. They use their powerful tools to find hidden patterns, spot opportunities, and make data-based choices. By combining and changing raw data from various sources, data warehouses turn information into helpful planning and decision-making tools.
Defining Operational Databases: Purpose and Users
An operational database is a component of a transactional system and is very important for daily business activities. It collects and processes real-time transactions, keeping data secure and consistent. Operational databases manage tasks like processing orders, handling inventory, and tracking customer interactions. They deal with many short tasks vital for keeping the business running smoothly.
Front-line employees, customer service workers, and system admins are the primary users of operational databases. They use the database for fast data access, updates, and changes necessary for quick decision-making and effective customer service. The performance of an operational database affects the responsiveness of key business activities.
Fundamental Differences and Their Impact on Business
Data warehouses and operational databases serve different purposes. Data warehouses support online analytical processing (OLAP), while operational databases focus on online transactions (OLTP). OLTP systems make sure transactions run quickly and in high volumes. In contrast, OLAP systems deal with fewer queries, but the queries answer more complex questions and cover more extensive amounts of data. Because of this, the design and setup of these systems differ.
Define the Purpose: OLAP vs OLTP
One of the main differences between these systems is what they do. Online analytical processing (OLAP) is used for data warehouses. It is excellent for handling complex questions about large amounts of historical data. OLAP systems help business users find trends, create reports, and make smarter decisions. They focus on reading and analyzing data.
On the other hand, online transaction processing (OLTP) is used in operational databases. These systems are made for quick and frequent transactions. OLTP focuses on data creation, such as order entries, inventory line item updates, and financial transactions. The goal is to ensure data integrity and provide real-time access for daily business activities rather than deep data analysis.
Examining Data Characteristics: Historical vs Real-Time
A key difference is about the type of data. Data warehouses focus on keeping a large amount of historical data collected over many years. This past information helps to find long-term trends, perform time-based analysis, and enable fact-based intelligent decisions. You can consider it an extensive archive of the company’s past results and customer actions.
In contrast, operational databases deal mainly with current data. They show the latest state of business transactions and interactions. This is important to keep operations running well with the most up-to-date information. For example, an inventory database on an e-commerce site needs to show real-time stock levels. This way, it can process orders correctly and avoid selling out.
Deep Dive into Performance and Scalability
When you pick a data warehouse or an operational database, you must consider performance and scalability. A data warehouse is excellent for dealing with complex questions using large amounts of data. It uses column-oriented storage. A single query can take advantage of multiple processors that span multiple servers. Operational databases use lightweight transaction handling and are architected to support large numbers of concurrent users, focusing on throughput.
How Data Warehouses Handle Large-Scale Queries
Data warehouses are designed to efficiently manage complex questions with large volumes of data. Storing data in columns helps them quickly fetch specific pieces of information, even from tables with large numbers of fields containing billions of rows. This setup, along with distributed processing, helps data warehouses carry out detailed analytical processing tasks on massive datasets without sacrificing performance.
Techniques like indexing and partitioning also improve how fast queries run. Indexing creates a data map, making it easy for the system to find relevant details quickly without reading every row of data. Partitioning splits large tables into smaller and more manageable parts, which can be accessed in parallel to accelerate data retrieval for analytical queries.
How Operational Databases Manage Frequent Transactions
Operational databases are essential to daily business tasks. They are built to handle many short transactions quickly. These databases focus on speed and allow many users to work with data simultaneously.
Operational databases use atomic transactions to make sure data stays consistent. This means a set of operations is treated as one single task. So, either the entire transaction is saved correctly, or nothing is saved.
Data locking ensures only one transaction can modify any piece of data at a time. Transaction logging records all changes made and protects the data in the case of a server failure.
Architectural Variations Between Data Warehouses and Operational Databases
Data warehouses and operational databases serve different purposes. This affects how they are built and organized.
- Data warehouses focus on analytical processing, which means they are designed to explore and discover data.
- They use column-oriented storage and unique schema designs to answer complex analytical queries quickly.
- Transaction databases handle simpler queries using more straightforward schema designs.
Storage Methods: Column-Oriented vs Row-Oriented
How data is stored in different systems shows how they work differently. Data warehouses are made for analytical processing. They often use column-oriented data storage. This stores table data in columns rather than in rows. It helps to get specific data quickly from large datasets. This method is excellent for analytical queries that look at some columns over many rows.
Conversely, operational databases use row-oriented storage. In this type of database, data is stored one row at a time. This setup suits tasks where you must get or update a whole row of information for one record. Even if it is not as good for analytical tasks, row-oriented storage works well for applications that need to retrieve a whole data record quickly.
Data Models: Star and Snowflake Schemas vs Entity-Relationship Models
The choice of data modeling techniques helps to tell the difference between data warehouses and operational databases. Data warehouses often use star or snowflake schemas. These schemas make it easier and faster to run complicated analytical queries. They organize data around a main fact table that shows a business event. This fact table connects to several dimension tables, which give more information about the event. This setup makes things faster and more efficient by reducing the need for complex query joins.
In contrast, relational databases, such as operational databases, usually use entity-relationship models (ER models). ER models arrange data in a more structured way and focus on keeping data without repetition derived using a technique known as normalization. These models work well for transactional tasks but can incur complex table joins. This can slow down query performance regarding analysis, making them less suitable for data warehousing needs.
Practical Applications in the Real World
Knowing how data warehouses and operational databases work in the real world is essential for picking the best system for you. These systems are key in different ways. They help run business intelligence dashboards, create detailed reports, manage online transactions, and provide real-time data. Each system has unique and essential roles across business tasks.
Data Warehouses in Business Intelligence and Reporting
Business intelligence depends a lot on the analytical power of data warehouses. Companies use data warehouses to gather data from different sources. They turn this raw data into valuable insights. These insights help see trends, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and make smart marketing, sales, and finance choices.
The ability of a data warehouse to answer detailed questions and show historical information is essential for comprehensive reporting. These reports are often displayed using interactive dashboards. They provide important insights into customers’ behaviour, market trends, and operations’ efficiency. These dashboards help businesses make informed decisions, resulting in improved strategies and sustained business growth.
Operational Databases in Real-Time Processing and Transactions
Operational databases play a crucial role in real-time processing and managing transactions. Many industries, like finance, e-commerce, and telecommunications, count on fast and dependable operational database systems. These databases help manage tasks like processing money transactions, handling online orders, tracking stock updates, and booking services, which are essential for smooth operations that drive good customer experiences.
Managing many concurrent transactions while keeping data accurate and secure is very important. Transactional data needs to be processed immediately, and operational databases are built to handle these needs efficiently and safely.
Choosing the Right Database System for Your Needs
Choosing between a data warehouse and an operational database depends on your needs and goals. It’s important to consider how much data you have, how fast it comes in, how complicated your queries are, how fresh you need the data, and your budget. Operational databases are great for managing everyday tasks. Data warehouses are best suited for analyzing data. So, knowing exactly what your application needs is very important.
Factors to Consider Before Making a Decision
Factor | Data Warehouse | Operational Database |
Purpose | Analytical processing, reporting, and business intelligence | Transaction processing, real-time updates, and operational efficiency |
Data Volume | Typically handles huge Volumes of data (terabytes to petabytes) | Manages moderate to large data Volumes, typically smaller than data warehouses |
Data Freshness | Data is typically updated in batches (daily, weekly) | Requires real-time or near real-time data availability |
Query Complexity | Designed for complex, analytical queries involving large datasets | Optimized for simple, fast queries involving limited data points |
Scalability | Highly scalable to accommodate growing data volumes and user demands | Scalability is essential but often limited by the need for real-time performance |
Besides these factors, considerations like data governance, security requirements, integration with existing systems, and the expertise of your IT team play a vital role in making the right choice.
Future-Proofing Your Data Management Strategy
Preparing your data management strategy for the future is important as technology changes and data grows. To meet the needs of big data, artificial intelligence, and real-time analysis, businesses should think ahead about how they store and manage data.
Using cloud-based solutions for data storage and databases provides the flexibility and ability to expand as needed. Also, data virtualization methods allow you to see data from different systems in one place. This helps with better analysis and reporting.
Data Management providers such as Actian provide best-in-class transactional and analytic databases. Actian also provides a hybrid database technology that uses both row and column-based storage to support mixed transactional and analytic use cases.
In conclusion, it is essential to understand the key differences between data warehouses and operational databases. Understanding the differences will help you make a good decision based on your business needs. Data warehouses are great for handling big queries used for analysis. Operational databases are good at managing everyday transactions quickly. Consider data type, performance, and growth when picking the right system. Plan your data management approach for the future. Look at changes in data warehousing and operational databases to stay ahead in data management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Main Benefits of a Data Warehouse Over an Operational Database?
A data warehouse is a central place that stores historical data. It is excellent for analytical processing and handling complex queries. This makes it perfect for business intelligence and reporting. On the other hand, an operational database is mainly focused on transaction tasks.
Can Data Warehouses and Operational Databases Work Together?
Absolutely. They often work well together. Data from operational databases can be added to data warehouses. This integration gives a full view of both historical and current data. It helps improve operational efficiency and makes better strategic decisions.
How Do I Decide Between a Data Warehouse and an Operational Database?
- Think about how you will use it.
- A data warehouse is the right choice if you need to analyze complex data on a lot of data.
- If your main goal is to handle real-time transactions and keep data safe, an operational database is better for your business needs.
What Are the Latest Trends in Data Warehousing and Operational Databases?
Cloud-based solutions, big data analytics, machine learning integration, and real-time data streaming are changing how we use data storage and operational databases. These advancements allow quicker insights, better scalability, and improved data mining. | <urn:uuid:bf31031a-0bb4-4d5a-b84a-814db0e4697a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.actian.com/data-warehouse-vs-operational-database/ | 2024-09-18T20:23:05Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651941.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918201359-20240918231359-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.914353 | 3,006 | 2.8125 | 3 |
NIST compliance refers to adherence to the standards and guidelines set forth by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. NIST provides guidance, best practices, and standards for various areas, including information security, cybersecurity, and privacy.
In the context of cybersecurity, NIST has developed several publications that outline recommended practices and controls to help organizations enhance their security posture. The most notable publication is the NIST Special Publication 800-53, commonly referred to as NIST SP 800-53. This standard provides a comprehensive set of security and privacy controls that organizations can implement to protect their information systems and data.
While the NIST Cybersecurity Framework does not directly address SaaS security, its fundamental principles offer a versatile foundation for securing SaaS applications. Designed with a technology-agnostic perspective, the framework’s core functions—Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover—can be effectively adapted to the realm of SaaS. By assessing the risks associated with SaaS adoption, implementing robust protection mechanisms, establishing vigilant monitoring, devising responsive incident protocols, and ensuring swift recovery strategies, organizations can leverage the NIST framework to bolster the security posture of their SaaS environments. In this way, the framework serves as a valuable guide for navigating the nuanced landscape of SaaS security and aligning it with overarching cybersecurity objectives.
NIST compliance involves aligning an organization’s security practices and controls with the requirements specified in NIST SP 800-53. This includes the following steps:
Identify: Understanding SaaS Risks
The first step in any effective cybersecurity strategy is identifying potential risks. For SaaS, this involves comprehending the complexity of SaaS security settings, users, and devices.
The NIST framework’s “Identify” function provides a blueprint for developing an in-depth understanding of a SaaS ecosystem. It encourages organizations to map out SaaS applications, assess vulnerabilities, and establish a governance structure to effectively manage usage.
Protect: Strengthening SaaS Defenses
Once SaaS risks are identified, the next logical step is to protect the organization against potential threats. NIST’s “Protect” function aligns seamlessly with this objective. Access controls and other SaaS security best practices are all paramount for safeguarding SaaS applications to keep organizations secured. Implementing these measures helps shield sensitive data from unauthorized access, ensuring that the advantages of SaaS are not compromised by security lapses.
Respond: Timely Reactions to Incidents
In the event of a security breach involving SaaS applications, an organized and efficient response is imperative. The “Respond” function of the NIST framework offers guidelines for formulating an effective incident response plan tailored to SaaS environments. Defining roles, responsibilities, communication channels, and escalation procedures can help organizations respond promptly and decisively to security incidents, minimizing damage and potential data loss.
Recover: Bouncing Back from Breaches
Even the most stringent security measures may not prevent all incidents. Thus, the “Recover” function becomes crucial in ensuring a swift return to normal operations after a security breach. For SaaS, this involves having robust backup and restoration procedures in place, enabling organizations to recover their data and systems efficiently while minimizing downtime.
NIST compliance is widely recognized and adopted, not only within the United States but also internationally. Many organizations, especially those operating in regulated industries or working with government agencies, strive to achieve NIST compliance to demonstrate their commitment to robust cybersecurity practices and protect sensitive information.
It’s important to note that NIST compliance is not a legal requirement, but it provides a framework and best practices that organizations can follow to enhance their security and meet industry standards. | <urn:uuid:e34ae013-8454-49e9-ae45-41ab5a60fcc7> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.adaptive-shield.com/academy/nist-compliance/ | 2024-09-08T01:02:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650926.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20240907225010-20240908015010-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.913077 | 796 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Digitally connected devices and applications are encroaching every aspect of our lives, be it our homes, offices, cars or even our bodies. All objects are turning smart to be able to harness the benefits of being connected to the internet. The era of Internet of Things (IoT) is booming at an ever-expanding rate.
According to ABI research, there are over 40 billion devices connected to the wireless networks in 2020. There’s a massive amount of data being transferred over the network to and from these devices. While enterprise IT systems reside in the cloud, much of the IoT infrastructure resides at the Edge. The numbers of devices and workloads at the Edge are orders of magnitude higher than anything we might find in the data centers and they are very distributed in nature.
While in earlier times, the threat surface was limited to only enterprise IT setup, in a modern world, it has become much wider. Before we talk about security measures in IoT, let’s look at few threat vectors that surround it.
Common Threat Vectors for IoT
A threat vector is a path or means by which a cyber criminal can gain access to your core systems running in a network. With so many devices connected in IoT, the most common threat vectors are:
No physical boundaries
IoT devices transcend the traditional network perimeter and exist out there in the open. Traditional security approaches to restrict access to the devices are no more applicable. These devices can be shifted to any new location as and when needed and can be configured to access the network.
Weakly configured Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth configurations in IoT pose a major threat for data leakage. Weak encryption methods can allow attackers to steal credentials during the transmission of data in the network. Also, most of the times, the passwords are not uniquely set for each device leaving a gap for unauthorized access to the whole network if just one device is compromised.
Physical possession of the device
This is perhaps the worst of all the threat vectors where attackers gain physical access to devices and workloads. With this kind of access, attackers can easily get to the internals of devices and their content, but with tools like Bus Pirate, Shikra or Logic Analyzers, they can read all communication flowing in the network as well. Through physical possession of an IoT device, an attacker can extract cryptographic secrets, modify its programming or replace with another device under their control.
IoT vs IT
While IoT devices are present on Edge, the IT infrastructure is sitting on the cloud. One compromise on IoT security can lead to attackers gaining access to the core IT network through any of the IoT threat vectors mentioned above. Few real-life incidents are mentioned below.
Target data breach through HVAC
Target, one of the top 10 American retailer corporation, reported that hackers stole 40 million credit card numbers in one of the biggest data breaches in history. The hackers stole the credentials from the third-party HVAC vendor, got into the HVAC system and then gained access to the enterprise network.
Subway PoS Hacking
There have been several reported security breaches related to PoS. One of them is the $10 million Subway PoS breach where at least 150 franchises were targeted. Another similar breach happened at Barnes & Noble where credit card readers in 63 stores were compromised.
Another famous case of system breach was reported through SamSam ransomware that attacked the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Port of San Diego, in the U.S., in 2018 abruptly stopping their services.
Although the IoT regulations are in place in many locations, they are not enough to mitigate the risks involved with attacks. California has a “reasonable security level” of regulations when it comes to curbing attacks. Likewise, the UK has implemented the policies of unique passwords, companies must provide a clear vulnerability disclosure contact and regular security updates to the IoT devices connected to the state IT infrastructure. Although these codes of practice were welcomed by many security commentators, there’s not much clarity on who would enforce these policies. Officials added that they are working towards understanding how these regulations can be enforced through existing UK agencies.
Attackers are evolving at a much faster rate in their strategies while these regulations are implemented yearly or, at max, semi-annually. It is hard to keep up with the security from attackers just by relying on regulatory policies.
What Must Enterprises Do
While the above regulations are being put in place, enterprises have to come up with their own security measures for IoT devices.
To start with, they must have clear identification of IoT devices. Each of these devices must have their unique identities that can be managed well. That is of absolute importance and forms the foundation of much of the security measures that are later built upon.
Then software needs to be secured as well through measures like firmware, signed code, firmware compliance or workload compliance. All these measures need to be built out on top of the identity layer.
And finally, companies must have the top most layer of compliance that decides which versions of software must be running, or the level of firmware that must be running on the devices.
So, to sum up, for complete security solution for IoT devices, identity management should lie at the core of all followed by management of firmware and software and finally any kind of compliance needs to be built on top of it. | <urn:uuid:db8546f7-7659-4ea7-a16e-f571a6962e70> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.appviewx.com/blogs/why-is-iot-security-so-important-today/ | 2024-09-11T12:17:08Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651387.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911120037-20240911150037-00797.warc.gz | en | 0.963157 | 1,095 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Physical computer storage refers to the hardware components where data is saved and retrieved by a computer system. Various storage method include; Hard Disk Drives, Solid State Drives, USB Flash Drives, Memory Cards, Cloud Storage, etc. HDD’s use rotating disks coated with magnetic material to store data. They are widely used for long-term storage due to their relatively low cost and high capacity. SSD’s are storage devices that use flash memory to store data. They are faster and more durable than HDD’s but are typically more expensive and offer less storage capacity. USB Flash Drives, these portable storage devices use flash memory to store data and are commonly used for transferring files between computers or as a backup solution. Memory cards are small, removable storage devices commonly used in camera’s smartphones, and other portable devices to store photos, videos, and other data. Cloud storage allows users to store and access data over the internet. Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud provide a convenient way to store files securely and access them from various devices. Each storage method has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed, capacity, cost, and durability, allowing users to choose the most suitable option based on their specific needs and requirements. | <urn:uuid:c5cbae03-5d6c-4a63-bd9a-a18141da952f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://mile2.com/forums/reply/95427/ | 2024-09-14T01:47:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651540.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913233654-20240914023654-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.938534 | 253 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Awarded through the Collaborations in Artificial Intelligence and Geosciences—or CAIG—program, the grants are meant to expand access to education and training opportunities for using AI capabilities in geosciences research, the NSF said on Friday.
According to Wendy Graham, the director of the research, innovation, synergies and education division at NSF, the selected CAIG projects will provide cross-training for AI and geoscience knowledge and bolster the United States’ capacity to study and analyze extreme weather, solar activity and earthquake hazards.
The program will enable the 25 research teams to unlock geoscience questions and promote collaborations between geoscientists and AI experts, Graham added.
Under the initiative, researchers will employ AI techniques, such as generative AI and surrogate models, to better understand complex Earth systems.
The research teams will work to enhance the use of geoscience models, improve forecasting and mitigation of natural hazards, increase understanding of earthquake dynamics, and improve natural resource management and decision-making to address climate change, NSF noted.
The selected projects aim to achieve needed advancements in AI, cyberinfrastructure and advanced computing, which the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 identifies as critical technology areas for the United States. | <urn:uuid:10562f4a-f531-4ae6-8b18-6af68f3462b3> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://executivegov.com/2024/09/nsf-funds-25-projects-seeking-to-deploy-ai-tech-in-geosciences/ | 2024-09-15T06:08:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651616.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915052902-20240915082902-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.924527 | 256 | 2.953125 | 3 |
June 4, 2019
ISO 14001:2015 is the world’s leading environmental standard and, for the many organizations who are certified, its impact on EMS (environmental management system) performance is significant. There are some basic benefits that ISO 14001:2015 certification can bring, such as major savings on utility bills such as electricity, water or natural gas. Some readers may remember that, even some 20 years ago, the desire to drive internal business energy efficiencies and save money was the main driver for many businesses to become certified to the standard. So how can today’s ISO 14001:2015 certified businesses ensure that they can realize the financial and economic benefits of reduced energy bills?
Previously, in the article Driving your supply chain to ISO 14001 compliance, we could see how driving supply chain to compliance can also reduce your organization’s environmental impact. This was done by ensuring those involved in the production of your goods or services shared your good practices.
Section 6 of the ISO 14001:2015 standard deals with “planning,” and many companies nominate energy consumption as either an environmental aspect to be controlled and reduced, or even part of an environmental objective, depending on the size and context of the particular organization. The article How to set criteria for environmental aspects evaluation can help you decide how you prefer to handle this. Identifying this topic as an environmental aspect will be more realistic for most medium to large organizations who have more specific environmental concerns to measure as an outright objective. No matter how your organization decides to deal with it, the use of natural gas, electricity and water can be extremely expensive to a business, and obviously a drain on the Earth’s resources.
Most organizations consume energy in the form of natural gas, electricity and water. In many cases, especially in large organizations with larger usage, it may make sense to split these utilities apart to ensure they can be dealt with as efficiently as possible.
Let’s consider how this can be done.
This is a constant for most modern businesses and a significant cost. Working on a recent ISO 14001:2015 project with a small business, we discovered that over 40% of the business’s electricity bills were accrued outside of business hours. This can provide a business with real motivation and impetus to decrease those costs. The solution to mitigating the costs can be a combination of common sense and technological factors. Here are some tips:
Use signs. Signs stating, “Please switch the light off when room is not in use,” is traditional, but effective. A communication to the team announcing the objective of such an initiative, and how everyone’s behavior can contribute, normally brings immediate improvements.
Designate a “champion.” In some cases, designating a responsible person, or “champion,” can give your employees a point of contact if they need more information or have questions on how to help save electricity.
Use ‘’Smart technology.’’ Technological solutions can also help with saving electricity. Ensure room sensors are accurate and used, consider remote temperature control applications, consider LED and sensor lighting in your office, even consider the possibility of PoE (Power over Ethernet) lighting systems, where low consumption electricity can be transmitted over ethernet cables to provide an intelligent and sensor-led lighting solution for your office. “Smart technology” looks sure to play a major part in reducing electricity consumption for businesses in the coming years.
Whether natural gas or heating fuel, most workplaces need some sort of heating. There are several simple questions you can ask to ensure your system is efficient and costs are kept to a minimum:
Studying this in your business with periodic reviews and actions can help you to understand this impact/cost and reduce it accordingly. Once more, communicating this objective to your employees will bring immediate benefit in terms of raising their awareness and changing behavior, and often in terms of inviting positive feedback and suggestions.
Water is one of the earth’s most critical components for nurturing life and growth on this planet, and preserving this resource is of paramount importance. Every business and household can play a part in this, and even the simplest of measures can be effective. For many employees, hearing about the importance of an initiative from the organizational leaders gives it greater importance, and results tend to follow. Again, a mixture of methods can help reduce your company’s water consumption:
Like many elements related to the ISO 14001:2015 standard, using the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” cycle can bring positive results with the reduction of all utilities.
In the article How to perform communication related to the EMS read how communication should be tackled, and how encouraging your top management team to communicate the establishment of these issues can be critical to their eventual success.
The one thing all these elements have in common is that they have several benefits for any organization: resources are preserved, costs are reduced, and awareness is increased due to a sharing of knowledge and increase in teamwork. Along with the improvements that internal audits and reviews can bring, it quickly becomes clear that ISO 14001:2015 in the context of energy consumption can bring measurable benefits and savings to all modern businesses.
Why not use this free Gap Analysis Tool to measure how close your business is to ISO 14001:2015 certification?
You may unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please see our privacy notice. | <urn:uuid:6b7ec54b-305a-49fd-a25d-063f8798f6b4> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2019/06/04/how-can-iso-14001-reduce-energy-consumption/ | 2024-09-19T00:16:20Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651944.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918233405-20240919023405-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.950598 | 1,110 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Black History Month 2024
February is Black History Month, a time to honor the achievements and contributions of African Americans to the history and culture of the United States. Black History Month was first established in 1926 by Carter G Woodson, an African American historian who wanted to highlight the stories of Black people and their role in shaping American society. Since then every U.S. president has officially designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. For this year’s Black History Month, we at Infoblox leaned into the 2024 theme of “African Americans and the Arts” which explores the key influence African Americans have had in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, and other forms of cultural expression.
This year our Black Employee Resource Group (BERG) prepared a series of events which celebrated Black culture and showcased Black contributions to the arts. This included:
- Hosting Doug E Fresh for a virtual discussion on the origins of Hip Hop and its significant cultural contributions and influence
- Hosting Kyle Bowser, EVP of NAACP Hollywood Bureau, for a virtual discussion on African American representation in film and television and the importance of sharing Black narratives
- Partnering with Afrotech to host a professional networking event and panel discussion with members from BERG in Atlanta, Georgia | <urn:uuid:971a080c-a4f8-410b-9007-33c2ff4e2c77> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://diversity.infoblox.com/black-history-month-2024/ | 2024-09-19T01:37:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651944.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918233405-20240919023405-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.945193 | 273 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Cyber threats have become a significant concern for businesses of all sizes. While large corporations often make headlines when they fall victim to cyber attacks, small businesses are not immune to these threats. In fact, small businesses are increasingly targeted by hackers due to their unique vulnerabilities. This article will delve into the reasons why hackers target small businesses and provide insights on how these businesses can bolster their defenses against cyber attacks.
One of the primary reasons hackers target small businesses is their limited resources for cybersecurity. Unlike large corporations, small businesses often lack the financial means to invest in sophisticated security systems and employ dedicated IT security personnel. This leaves them more vulnerable to cyber attacks, as their defenses may not be as robust as those of larger organizations.
2. Perceived ease of attack
Hackers often perceive small businesses as easier targets compared to larger corporations. This perception stems from the belief that small businesses have weaker security measures in place, making it simpler for hackers to infiltrate their systems and access sensitive data. This perceived ease of attack can make small businesses more attractive targets for cybercriminals.
3. Valuable data
Despite their size, small businesses still possess valuable data that can be lucrative for hackers. This data may include customer information, financial records, and intellectual property. By targeting small businesses, hackers can gain access to this valuable information, which can then be sold on the dark web or used for identity theft and other nefarious purposes.
4. Supply chain vulnerabilities
Small businesses often serve as suppliers or service providers for larger corporations. By targeting these smaller organizations, hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in the supply chain to gain access to the systems and data of larger corporations. This tactic, known as a "supply chain attack," allows hackers to bypass the more robust security measures of larger organizations by infiltrating their smaller partners.
5. Lack of employee cybersecurity awareness
Small businesses may not prioritize employee training in cybersecurity best practices, leaving their staff ill-equipped to recognize and respond to potential threats. Employees who are unaware of the risks associated with phishing emails, weak passwords, and other common attack vectors can inadvertently expose their organization to cyber attacks.
6. Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with small businesses often being targeted due to their perceived inability to recover from such an attack. In a ransomware attack, hackers encrypt a company's files and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key. Small businesses may be more likely to pay the ransom, as they may lack the resources and expertise to restore their systems and recover their data.
How can small businesses protect themselves?
To mitigate the risks associated with cyber attacks, small businesses can take several proactive steps to bolster their defenses:
1. Invest in cybersecurity measures
Small businesses should allocate resources to implement cybersecurity measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems. These tools can help prevent cyber attacks and detect suspicious activity on their networks.
2. Regularly update software and systems
Keeping software and systems up to date is crucial for maintaining a strong security posture. Small businesses should ensure that they apply security patches and updates as soon as they become available to minimize the risk of exploitation by hackers.
3. Train employees in cybersecurity best practices
Providing employees with regular training in cybersecurity best practices can help reduce the likelihood of successful cyber attacks. This training should cover topics such as recognizing phishing emails, creating strong passwords, and safely handling sensitive data.
4. Implement regular data backups
Regularly backing up data can help small businesses recover more quickly in the event of a cyber attack. These backups should be stored offsite or in the cloud to ensure that they are not compromised during an attack.
5. Use multi-factor authentication
Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts can help prevent unauthorized access to systems and data. MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of identification before granting access, making it more difficult for hackers to gain entry.
6. Develop an incident response plan
Having a well-defined incident response plan in place can help small businesses respond quickly and effectively to a cyber attack. This plan should outline the steps to be taken in the event of a breach, including how to contain the attack, assess the damage, and notify affected parties.
Small businesses face unique challenges when it comes to cybersecurity, as they often lack the resources and expertise of larger organizations. However, by understanding the reasons why hackers target small businesses and taking proactive steps to bolster their defenses, these organizations can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to cyber attacks. By investing in cybersecurity measures, training employees, and implementing best practices, small businesses can protect their valuable data and maintain the trust of their customers and partners. | <urn:uuid:9c30fa83-a1fc-4e37-8f6b-44c2167575cc> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.infostream.cc/2023/06/why-do-hackers-target-small-businesses/ | 2024-09-08T03:49:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650958.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908020844-20240908050844-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.959426 | 956 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Sign up for the next DPS Factory Training!
Whether you're new to our equipment or you've used it for years, DPS factory training is the best way to get more from your monitoring.
Reserve Your Seat TodayA supervisory system can save you a lot of money and increase profitability. However, your SCADA implementation (if not done properly) can be a sinkhole of cost overruns, delays, and limited capabilities.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe SCADA meaning in the engineering of networks is not related to a specific technology, but to a type of application.
\r\nSupervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is a computer system that gets real-time data about a system in order to control that system is a SCADA application.
\r\nA SCADA network has two main elements:
\r\nYou can use SCADA to manage any kind of gear.
\r\nNormally, SCADA systems are used to automate complex industrial processes where human control is impractical. Systems, where there are more control factors and more fast-moving control factors than individuals, can comfortably deal with.
\r\nHere are some of the examples of where SCADA networks can be implemented:
\r\n\r\nFacility managers use SCADA to control HVAC, refrigeration units, lighting and entry systems.\r\n
This list barely covers all the possible applications for SCADA systems.
\r\nYou can find SCADA system projects in many different industries and public infrastructure - simply anywhere automation increases efficiency.
\r\nAlso, these examples don\'t really cover how deep and complex SCADA data can be. In every industry, managers need to process data and control multiple factors and the interactions between those factors. SCADA systems provide the capabilities and the computational power to track everything important to your operations.
\r\n\r\nDo you work in one of the previous fields listed?
\r\nMaybe you don\'t, but think about your operations and all the aspects that can affect your bottom line.
\r\nSCADA network systems are normally constituted of four components:
\r\n\r\nThe previous SCADA components perform the following SCADA network functions:
\r\nFirst, a real-life SCADA network typically needs to monitor hundreds or even thousands of sensors. Some sensors measure inputs into the system - water flowing into a reservoir for example. And some sensors measure outputs - like valve pressure as water is released from the reservoir.
\r\nSome of those sensors measure simple events that can be detected by a straightforward on/off switch, called a discrete input (or digital input). In real life, are used to measure simple states, such as whether the equipment is on or off, or tripwire alarms, like a power failure at a critical facility.
\r\nSome sensors measure more complex situations where exact measurement is important. These are analog sensors, which can detect continuous changes in a voltage or current input. Analog sensors are used to track fluid levels in tanks, voltage levels in batteries, temperature, and other factors that can be measured in a continuous range of input.
\r\n\r\nFor most analog factors, there is a normal range defined by a bottom and top level. For example, you may want the temperature in a server room to stay between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
\r\nSo, if the temperature goes above or below this range, it\'ll trigger a threshold alarm. In more advanced systems, there are four threshold alarms for analog sensors. These thresholds define Major Under, Minor Under, Minor Over, and Major Over alarms.
\r\nIt\'s important to be able to monitor multiple systems from a central location. So, you need a communications network to transport all the data collected from your sensors.
\r\nEarly SCADA networks communicated over radio, modem, or dedicated serial lines. Today the trend is to put SCADA data on Ethernet and IP over SONET. For security reasons, SCADA data should be kept on closed LAN/WANs without exposing sensitive data to the open Internet.
\r\nSCADA networks don\'t communicate with just simple electrical signals, either. SCADA data is encoded in protocol format. Older SCADA systems depended on closed proprietary protocols, but today the trend is to use open, standard protocols and protocol mediation.
\r\nSensors and control relays are very simple electric devices that can\'t generate or interpret protocol communication on their own. Therefore an RTU is needed to provide an interface between the sensors and the SCADA network.
\r\nThe RTU encodes sensor inputs into protocol format and forwards them to the SCADA master. In turn, the RTU receives control commands in protocol format from the master and transmits electrical signals to the appropriate control relays.
\r\nA SCADA machine that reports to human operators over a specialized computer is variously called a master station, an HMI (Human-Machine Interface) or an HCI (Human-Computer Interface).
\r\nThe SCADA master station has multiple functions. It continuously monitors all sensors and alerts the operator when there is an \"alarm\" - that is when a controlling factor is operating outside what is defined as its normal operation. The master then presents a comprehensive view of the entire managed system, and gives more detail in response to user requests.
\r\nThe master also performs data processing on information gathered from sensors - it maintains report logs and summarizes historical trends. An advanced SCADA master can add a great deal of intelligence and automation to your systems management, making your job much easier.
\r\n\r\n\r\nIf you have a sufficiently modern master unit, your SCADA network system can completely regulate all kinds of industrial processes automatically (without any human intervention). But, of course, you can still manually override the automatic controls from the master station.
\r\nSo, for example, if too much pressure is building up in a gas pipeline, the SCADA system can automatically send a command to open a release valve. Electricity production can be adjusted to meet demands on the power grid. Even these real-world examples are simplified - a full-scale SCADA network can adjust the managed system in response to multiple inputs.
\r\n\r\n\r\nNow you know what SCADA can do for you. But, do you know how to get its full benefits?
\r\nEvaluating complex systems can be tricky - especially if you have to learn a new technology while still doing your everyday job. However, you\'ve got to be able to make an informed decision, because the stakes are incredibly high.
\r\nA SCADA network is a major, business-to-business purchase that your company will live with for maybe as long as 10 to 15 years. When you make a recommendation about a permanent system like that, you\'re laying your reputation on the line and making a major commitment for your company.
\r\nAnd, as much as SCADA can help you improve your operations, there are also some pitfalls to a hasty, unconsidered SCADA implementation.
\r\n\r\nSo, let\'s go over some guidelines for what you should look for in a good SCADA network.
\r\n\r\nYour RTUs need to communicate with all your on-site equipment and survive under the harsh conditions of an industrial environment. Here\'s a checklist of things you should expect from a quality RTU:
\r\n\r\nYou know how hard on equipment your remote locations can be. Keep in mind that your SCADA network needs to be the most reliable element in your facility.\r\n
Your SCADA master should display information in the most useful ways to human operators and intelligently regulate your managed systems. The following is a checklist of SCADA master must-haves:
\r\nSupport for multiple protocols and equipment
\r\nEarly SCADA systems were built on closed, proprietary protocols. Single-vendor solutions aren\'t a great idea - vendors sometimes drop support for their products or even just go out of business. Support for multiple open protocols safeguards your SCADA network against unplanned obsolescence.
\r\nBuilding the right SCADA system for your business isn\'t that simple. It\'s easy to spend more than what you really need. However, there are also many opportunities to save money and improve operational efficiency that you don\'t want to miss.
\r\nIt\'s also hard to learn everything you need to know and still make sure you\'re focusing on your daily job.
\r\nWe can help you plan your SCADA implementation, with expert consultation, training, and information resources. Our equipment is built with the capabilities you need and don\'t forget that we\'re committed to helping you get the best SCADA system for your specific needs.
\r\nThere\'s no risk when you decide to work with us. Your SCADA network is backed by our 30-day, no-risk, and money-back guarantee.
So, you can test your new system at your site for 30 days. If you\'re dissatisfied for any reason, just send it back for a full refund. We don\'t want your money unless it\'s your perfect-fit solution. It\'s that simple.
\r\nContact us today and let\'s dive into your SCADA implementation together.
\r\n\r\n\r\nA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is an automation system that controls infrastructure and industrial processes, as well as reports network status to you.\r\n
\r\n\r\nIf you\'re in contact with the telecom and IT worlds, you must have heard of the acronym \"RTU.\" In this article, we\'ll try to answer: what is a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) exactly?\r\n
\r\n\r\nIf you\'re just getting started in the world of SCADA operating systems, it\'s important to know what kind of budget you should set aside for this investment and what kind of features affect your SCADA price.\r\n | <urn:uuid:62c2c880-786a-4a73-ae0f-e6e25c10cb89> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.dpstele.com/blog/how-to-implement-scada-network-to-monitor-equipment.php | 2024-09-10T13:28:19Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651255.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20240910125411-20240910155411-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.928 | 2,198 | 2.625 | 3 |
Creator: Georgia Institute of Technology
Category: Software > Computer Software > Educational Software
Topic: Environmental Science and Sustainability, Physical Science and Engineering
Tag: Carbon, Coursera, engineering, material, structure
Availability: In stock
Price: USD 49.00
Have you ever wondered why ceramics are hard and brittle while metals tend to be ductile? Why some materials conduct heat or electricity while others are insulators? Why adding just a small amount of carbon to iron results in an alloy that is so much stronger than the base metal? In this course, you will learn how a material's properties are determined by the microstructure of the material, which is in turn determined by composition and the processing that the material has undergone. This is the first of three Coursera courses that mirror the Introduction to Materials Science class that is taken by most engineering undergrads at Georgia Tech.
Interested in what the future will bring? Download our 2024 Technology Trends eBook for free.
The aim of the course is to help students better understand the engineering materials that are used in the world around them. This first section covers the fundamentals of materials science including atomic structure and bonding, crystal structure, atomic and microscopic defects, and noncrystalline materials such as glasses, rubbers, and polymers. | <urn:uuid:050b2e68-a04a-4301-b129-35f352726181> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://datafloq.com/course/material-behavior/ | 2024-09-11T15:53:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651390.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911152031-20240911182031-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.923089 | 267 | 3.78125 | 4 |
The Privacy Problem
It is no secret that the original DNS design did not take security into account. While DNSSEC addresses many of the security short comings of the traditional DNS design, especially in server-to-server communication, it falls short in adequately addressing the “last mile” problem, that is the communication between DNS client (such as a mobile phone) and its nearest DNS server (such as the corporate or ISP DNS server).
Truth be told, there are two major reasons why DNSSEC is the wrong tool for this job:
- DNSSEC does not encrypt traffic: DNSSEC uses public key cryptography to provide authentication and data integrity, so we know precisely who sent the data, and whether or not that data changed during transmission. However, it does not provide any privacy, meaning someone eavesdropping on the wire can still see all the DNS message in the clear; it is just extremely difficult for them to alter the data.
- DNSSEC validation is resource intensive: DNSSEC validation requires more computing power and network queries to fully validate an answer. While it is possible to have the client perform all of these queries itself, we do not do it for the same reason why we have a local DNS server: so nearby clients can share the resources and cache of the server, and spare themselves the busy work. Just imagine if a mobile phone could not rely on a DNS server to perform all the queries and lookups, but rather had to do all of the lookups itself AND perform full validation on each answer. This would likely drain the phone’s battery so quickly that it would render the device less useful.
To fill this big gap that is the “last mile,” many competing technologies have emerged over the years, such as DNSCurve and DNSCrypt. While these technologies try to bring privacy between DNS client and server, they have one thing in common: they are proprietary and non-standardized. The standards body IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) recognizes the need for DNS privacy, and released two new standards in 2016 that address these needs. In this article, we will be discussing one of the two new standards1, DNS over HTTPS, or DoH as it is commonly referred to. It also has drafts being worked on for both Confidential DNS and IPSECA.
To understand DoH, we first need to understand HTTPS. Many people may know the S stands for SSL (Secure Socket Layer), and the modern version of HTTPS is based on TLS2, Transport Layer Security, the successor to SSL.
In a standard HTTPS communication, a client (usually a web browser) reaches out to the web server, obtains the server’s certificate (usually a X.509 cert), and runs through the standard certificate authority validation process to decide whether or not it trusts this server, i.e. is it signed by a certificate authority the client trusts, etc. This is an important detail that deserves highlighting, and we will discuss its impact later. After the client decides to trust the server, they negotiate an encryption key, and are ready to start encrypting data. This is known as a TLS handshake.
RFC 8484 describes DoH at a high level. A DoH client reaches out to a DNS server that supports DOH over standard TCP port 443. The DoH client receives the server’s certificate, somehow validates it (more on this later), then generates a symmetrical encryption key that they both agree on (such as AES) for the actual data encryption. In short, DoH behaves exactly like a web browser, with the exception that it encodes DNS data within HTTPS sessions in the form of GET and POST messages.
Similar to DoT, DoH protects the per-hop communication between server and client; but different from DoT, it is not intended to be used to secure server-to-server communication. This means DoH is truly a technology meant to secure the “last mile.” Similar to DoT, DoH does not provide the authentication and integrity checking that DNSSEC offers.
DoH has the following characteristics:
- It encrypts
- It runs over HTTPS
- It uses a different DNS setting than the rest of the system
DoH grants privacy between two parties, meaning it is per-hop privacy. Your communication might be private between your web browsers and your ISP, but it may not be between your ISP and its upstream DNS server. Privacy may sound like a good idea for end users, but when used in a controlled environment such as corporate network, it may cause more concern than benefits. Running a rogue DoH client in a corporate setting means that the IT or security team is unable to look into the DNS queries the client makes, be it that the client is visiting a known malware-infected domain, or is using (encrypted) DNS to exfiltrate sensitive data out of the corporate network.
Running yet another service over HTTP(S) has its advantages and disadvantages. HTTP is a mature protocol that offers many performance enhancement features such as compression and session reuse, but it also has a wide attack surface and presents a high value target. HTTPS relies on TLS, and it brings DoH right back to the problem with certificate authorities (CA). During the TLS handshake, the client receives a certificate from the server, and the client needs to follow all the standard procedure a web browser would, to validate this certificate; this usually means by checking if the certificate is signed by a trusted root CA, or the certificate is self-signed. One possible solution is to leverage DANE to lessen the dependency on CA.
Unique DNS Setting:
Although not mandatory, nearly all DoH clients are web browsers, which makes sense since the original problem they were trying to solve was how the web browser could use a more trust-worthy DNS server than the one defined by the operating system. Whether or not this is a good thing depends on your point of view: from a corporate security and IT support point of view, this is unacceptable. Not only do we have to troubleshoot two separate DNS settings on the same client, there is no visibility into the DNS queries that the web browser is making over HTTPS.
Why Use DoH?
Major DNS service providers such as Google DNS, CloudFlare, and Quad9 have started offering DoH as part of their public offerings. If your web browser supports DoH (Firefox and Bromite both support DoH), you may point your web browser to use one of these DNS servers and have the communication between your web browser and the DNS server encrypted.
Just like DoT, If you trust the DNS service provider (such as Google), using DoH provides an extra layer of security between you and the service provider. Just understand that communication between the service provider and the rest of the Internet could still be wide open and not secured by anything.
If you are stuck on a machine or an environment where you know the DNS queries are filtered or blocked, and you have no access to alter the system’s DNS setting, using a DoH-enabled web browser might provide a path out to the Internet without filter or detection.
1 The other leading new standard is DNS over TLS, or DoT
2 RFC 2818 describes HTTP over TLS, DoH is largely based on TLS 1.2 | <urn:uuid:776915e1-7210-4df9-998d-53ab2a5be04b> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.infoblox.com/dns-security-resource-center/dns-client-security/dns-client-security-dns-over-https-doh/ | 2024-09-11T16:32:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651390.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911152031-20240911182031-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.942212 | 1,505 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Common Cyberattacks Every Company Needs to Know About
This year will go down as one that most people will never forget and sadly it hasn’t reached its end. Not only has it been a year wrought with social, political, and economic chaos as the entire world struggles to find its footing during a global pandemic, but it has also been a year plagued by significant increases in all forms of cyberattacks that have forced businesses to rethink their cybersecurity standards and practices in order to combat the alarming number of growing threats.
Businesses within every industry have had to uncomfortably accept the “adapt or die” mentality regarding their cybersecurity protocols to keep up with the ongoing changes in company work environments. Specifically, many companies feel more vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the increase in remote employee hires while also managing the massive transition of daily office employees to a work-from-home workforce. While employees have had an easier time adjusting, businesses have had to quickly figure out how to confidently secure their remote workforce from the increase in cyberattacks aimed at exploiting this change in the working environment.
In order to combat cyberattacks, the first step is to ensure you’re familiar with the different types of attacks your business is likely to face.
What Is a Cyberattack?
A cyberattack is any type of unwanted offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, or personal computer devices in an attempt to access data, functions or other restricted areas of the system without authorization and with malicious intent. A cyberattack can steal, alter, or destroy a specified target by hacking into a susceptible system and causing damages that lead to significant financial losses, harmful legal ramifications, and a damaged reputation with both customers and consumers.
4 Common Cyberattacks You Should Be Familiar With
- Phishing Attacks
Phishing and closely related business email compromise (BEC) attacks are popular among cybercriminals, primarily because of how simple yet successful they can be. Phishing emails convincingly impersonate other people both inside and outside your company and can trick unsuspecting employees into revealing account credentials, financial information, and other sensitive company data. According to Avanan’s phishing statistics, 1 in every 99 emails received by a business email is a phishing attack. This equates to roughly 4.8 emails per employee in a five-day work week. What’s more, close to 30% of phishing emails make it past default security defenses and it only takes one mistake to compromise your company’s security. Spear phishing messages are especially crafty, as they target executives, IT staff, and other individuals who typically have administrative or high-end privileges. - Ransomware
Ransomware is an extremely disruptive type of malware that prevents an employee from accessing a system or data on their device. The most common form is crypto ransomware, which makes data or files unreadable through encryption and requires a decryption key in order to restore access to the user. Cybercriminals will often use phishing and social engineering to trick a company employee to click on an attachment or a link to a malicious website, which then allows them to exploit available vulnerabilities to deliver the attack payload. Once a system is infected, the attack will launch an on-screen notification with the ransom demand. Cybercriminals typically request a payment to decrypt files or restore access, which can cost businesses thousands or even millions of dollars if they’re otherwise unable to recover/restore the “lost” files/data. Worse yet are the all-too-common instances where the company pays the ransom, but the attacker never provides the decryption key! With the average cost of a ransomware attack on businesses sitting at $133,000, it’s imperative that employees remain diligent and informed about these types of attacks. The speed at which ransomware attacks are happening is growing at an alarming rate. According to a Cybersecurity Ventures report, it’s expected that businesses will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 11 seconds by 2021, up from every 14 seconds in 2019. - Brute-Force Attacks
Cybercriminals will attempt a brute-force attack to gain unauthorized access to secure systems by trying all possible passwords until guessing the correct one. This cyberattack is performed with software designed to try large samples of either common or stolen username/password combinations using a trial and error process. This form of attack can easily go undetected unless your business has a line of defense that monitors for this type of behavior. This method of attack is an old one, but it’s still useful and popular with cybercriminals, especially against businesses that don’t have strict guidelines for managing and updating passwords on a regular basis. In fact, according to theVerizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, stolen credentials remain the #1 hacking tactic used by malicious cybercriminals to perpetrate data breaches. Over 80% of breaches classified as “hacking” involve brute force or the use of stolen credentials. - Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks
A DDos attack seeks to crash a web server or an online service by flooding it with more traffic than it’s designed to handle. While this type of cyberattack may not seem too destructive on the surface since it does not necessarily result in the attacker gaining access to a company’s network, often is disruptive IT event that allows criminals to enter your system while IT is distracted. DDoS attacks paralyze businesses of all sizes by disrupting critical operations, such as online sales. A DDoS attack on your business can last anywhere from a few hours to several days, rendering your website and associated systems inaccessible for the duration. Most cyberattackers find satisfaction with simply causing the denial of service because it can damage a company’s reputation. Additionally, the attack can disrupt the ability to deliver services to thousands of paying customers, leading to a loss in consumer trust and confidence. Bulletproof’s2019 Annual Cyber Security Report indicates that a DDoS attack can cost up to $120,000 for a small company or more than $2 million for an enterprise organization, and that doesn’t even account for the impact of diminished customer dissatisfaction.
What’s the Main Takeaway?
The first line of defense in combatting any form of offensive strike is to stay informed. The sophistication and variety of cyberattacks is ever increasing; so, it remains the duty of every employee, from the leadership team down to the IT staff to be knowledgeable about cyberattacks.
The most common mistake any employee can make is thinking “I don’t have to worry about this stuff because I’m sure our company has a bunch of cybersecurity products in place that can automatically stop all of these threats.” That type of thinking is a cyberattack waiting to happen, because what many employees fail to realize is that they are targets too. While some cyberattacks are aimed at network defenses and systems, many others seek to take advantage of end users, such as the executive who didn’t take the few extra seconds necessary to check who sent the email with the weird attachment, the salesperson who has repeatedly ignored the overdue notification to update their password, or the marketer that didn’t alert their IT team when there was an abnormal spike in site traffic.
Cybersecurity is truly a team effort. The better informed you and your employees are about the types of cyberattacks headed your way, the better your business will be at avoiding them. | <urn:uuid:8f806b2a-f126-459d-9d80-285b4316e19b> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.intrusion.com/blog/common-cyberattacks-every-company-needs-to-know-about-2/ | 2024-09-15T10:19:48Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651622.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915084859-20240915114859-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.947935 | 1,531 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Backporting refers to the practice of applying software patches or updates to older versions of a software program, in order to address security vulnerabilities or add features that were missing before. While backported changes can help address vulnerabilities or add features, they may introduce undesirable side effects within system architectures.
Security updates often create a false sense of security for customers. They may read reports about vulnerabilities and upgrade their software only to find that their systems remain vulnerable despite having done so.
Backporting is a software development technique that involves taking elements of newer versions of an application and porting them backwards, often to address security vulnerabilities or add features to old software programs. Backporting may also reduce performance issues by decreasing the number of changes necessary for updates; however, this may introduce vulnerabilities within its architecture that were never there before.
At times, backports may introduce undesirable side effects into an application environment that become increasingly complex and costly to maintain over time. This can become particularly problematic for systems heavily dependent upon backports such as operating systems; such issues could create security concerns that outweigh any original benefits of a backport.
Backporting may cause additional problems that don’t reflect in version numbers of applications involved, which could be hazardous to users who rely on updates as a response to media reports of vulnerabilities or to protect themselves against hacker exploits; this isn’t always possible with backported patches since they don’t always reflect upstream project’s latest release number.
Software distributors face an ongoing struggle when trying to balance customer requests for stability with new features and hardware support. Unfortunately, this can often prove challenging and results in operating systems which aren’t suitable for business use – for instance Linux kernels shipped with embedded devices are often subject to multiple levels of backporting; first by their original kernel provider (SoC), and later by integrators who build the device itself – leading to bugs or vulnerabilities which cannot be patched by original kernel patches resulting from these additional backports – making them harder for companies than before to patch.
There are multiple methods available to reduce the risks of backporting. One such way is isolating each collateral evolution as its own patch using tools like Coccinelle; this can make implementing necessary changes much simpler. Another strategy can be backporting only essential features from updates or patches and reduce maintenance costs associated with maintaining IT infrastructures.
Backporting refers to the practice of applying software patches from newer versions to older ones of the same software, usually for security or feature purposes. While backporting may help address security flaws in older software versions, or add new features altogether. It can be complex and time consuming process but the key to its success lies in testing all changes thoroughly to avoid adding extra bugs or side effects into older applications.
Developers generally commit software modifications to the latest development branch of their project, while occasionally they may modify a patch so it can be backported to an earlier version of the codebase – this process is known as cherry-picking and involves going back through their original commit or pull request and adding a comment such as /backport [repo].
Backporting may cause conflicts in the codebase when multiple patches are applied differently, leading to incompatible patches being merged into one stable branch instead of being applied individually. Conflicts typically arise because either some patches from original branch are missing from target branch, or because backports were modified somehow prior to backporting.
Backports may cause system conflicts as well as creating vulnerabilities and weaknesses within its architecture. If a backported security update is not regularly updated, other versions of software remain vulnerable against future attacks.
Backports may increase system complexity and maintenance costs, leading to increased maintenance expenses. Over time, their use may create far greater problems than benefits.
Due to these considerations, developers should take great care before attempting to backport patches or other software modifications. Before doing so, thorough testing should be conducted to ensure the backported software maintains full functionality within its IT architecture and does not introduce unwanted side effects. Any issues should be quickly addressed so as to limit further damage and lessen its effect on applications.
Backporting allows software developers to correct security flaws in older versions of their program without issuing a new version, without incurring an extra update cost or the hassle. Unfortunately, this method can also introduce other security threats and vulnerabilities into an IT environment, especially if backported patches are not tested thoroughly due to either lack of resources or support features being added at once.
As an example, Linux kernel updates may be backported from stable branches to address critical security flaws, thereby saving users from upgrading their systems – potentially impacting productivity and security in the process. Backport preparation requires extensive testing by both developers and users; they must ensure compatibility between versions as well as identify any unexpected side effects immediately and address them effectively.
Backporting can be seen at work through the work done by the WordPress Security Team to protect websites. They must backport critical fixes from newer versions to older ones to maintain their reputation and market share; this process can be both time consuming and complex as many updates involve major structural modifications.
Security updates can be particularly challenging to backport. Customers expect their software to stay current to protect against new vulnerabilities; media reports about those flaws often prompt customers to upgrade quickly – an action which may prove counterproductive in terms of cybersecurity and auditing tools which do not take into account backported patches, leading to false positives.
Backported patches often introduce changes to upstream software that cause confusion, creating version mismatches between upstream and SUSE packages – potentially leaving bugs that have been resolved elsewhere unfixed within SUSE packages.
Sometimes it may not be possible to backport certain updates onto the stable branch due to issues in their upstream codebase, prompting software developers to make difficult tradeoffs between stability and feature support. For instance, backporting security fixes onto stable branches may lead to instability elsewhere in the program – something which compromises its overall stability as well as users being able to effectively utilize it.
Backporting is an increasingly popular software modification technique used to apply patches or updates to older versions of programs, often in order to address security flaws found in legacy code, or as part of regular maintenance to improve stability or performance in legacy apps. Backporting keeps software up-to-date without needing a whole new release; protecting users against hacker attacks is just an added bonus!
Backporting can be a complex and time consuming process, but is essential for open-source projects where patching and updating software is a collective effort. To backport successfully, identify problems with old versions of software; determine what patches, updates or modifications exist to solve those issues; adapt those solutions so they work with older code versions; then adapt those solutions so that they will function well with both versions.
Backporting refers to an upgrade or patch applied to an older version of a computer program, generally to address security vulnerabilities found in its latest release, or add features or fix bugs discovered within that particular version of software. Backports are usually applied when new security vulnerabilities arise from updates found in current releases of programs; they can also be used to add features that have become necessary due to changes made over time; additionally they may even help add features previously unavailable in more mature programs or make corrections due to outdated codebases.
Backports differ from bug patches in that they can be easily applied to older versions of a project without changing their source code. This is possible because backports do not aim to merge into the main branch but instead serve to secure stable branches – an approach which enables developers to utilize these stable branches as production servers without incurring potential issues.
Ceph places great emphasis on testing backports on all platforms prior to pushing them into stable branches, since these contain the most secure and reliable code within its system. Backports can be integrated using the git diff command; this displays differences between functions to allow developers to detect issues that might otherwise go undetected by other tools. | <urn:uuid:ff155c6f-680e-4e77-bcc8-b90f9afaef2e> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://cybersguards.com/backporting/ | 2024-09-16T17:05:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651697.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20240916144317-20240916174317-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.945352 | 1,607 | 3.234375 | 3 |
People with a gene variation of FGF21 have a predisposition to less body fat than others, new research conducted at the University of Copenhagen, among others, shows.
It comes as a bit of a surprise to the researchers, who last year discovered that precisely this genetic variation could be one of the reasons why some people have a particular craving for sweet things. People with this variation eat more sugar than others.
‘It sort of contradicts common intuition that people who eat more sugar should have less body fat.
But it is important to remember that we are only studying this specific genetic variation and trying to find connections to the rest of the body.
This is just a small piece of the puzzle describing the connection between diet and sugar intake and the risk of obesity and diabetes’, says one of the researchers behind the study, Associate Professor Niels Grarup from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research.
Higher Blood Pressure and More ‘Apple Shape’
But the effects associated with the genetic variation are not all positive, the new study shows.
The genetic variation is connected with slightly increased blood pressure and more fat around the waist than the hips – that is, more ‘apple shape’.
The study is an international collaboration headed by researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and has just been published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.
The researchers’ conclusions are based on large amounts of data.
They have studied health information from more than 450,000 individuals who have allowed their data to be recorded in the UK Biobank.
It includes blood samples, questionnaires on diet and genetic data, among other things.
‘Now that so many people are involved in the study, it gives our conclusions a certain robustness.
Even though the difference in the amount of body fat or blood pressure level is only minor depending on whether or not the person has this genetic variation or not, we are very confident that the results are accurate.
Around 20 per cent of the European population has this genetic predisposition’, says Niels Grarup.
Potential Drug Target
This new knowledge about people with a ‘genetic sweet tooth’ is mainly important in connection with the development of drugs and future research.
Because researchers are currently trying to determine whether it is possible to target or replace FGF21 using drugs in order to treat for obesity and diabetes.
‘Due to its connection with sugar, FGF21 constitutes a potential target in the treatment of for example obesity and diabetes.
This research helps us to understand the underlying mechanisms of the hormone and to predict its effects and side effects’, says Niels Grarup.
Funding: The study is funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, among others.
Source: University of Copenhagen
Image Source: University of Copehnagen news release.
Original Research: Open access research for “A Common Allele in FGF21 Associated with Sugar Intake Is Associated with Body Shape, Lower Total Body-Fat Percentage, and Higher Blood Pressure” by Timothy M. Frayling, Robin N. Beaumont, Samuel E. Jones, Hanieh Yaghootkar, Marcus A. Tuke, Katherine S. Ruth, Francesco Casanova, Ben West, Jonathan Locke, Seth Sharp, Yingjie Ji, William Thompson, Jamie Harrison, Amy S. Etheridge, Paul J. Gallins, Dereje Jima, Fred Wright, Yihui Zhou, Federico Innocenti, Cecilia M. Lindgren, Niels Grarup, Anna Murray, Rachel M. Freathy, Michael N. Weedon, Jessica Tyrrell, and Andrew R. Wood in Cell Reports. Published April 10 2018. | <urn:uuid:6924b676-9174-4ecd-9a56-58b505ca9395> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://debuglies.com/2018/04/15/sweet-tooth-gene-linked-to-less-body-fat/ | 2024-09-16T15:14:02Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651697.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20240916144317-20240916174317-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.927085 | 794 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Before we get into how you can use DNS, we need to understand how the system works. We already know that it maps IP addresses to domain names, but where is this information stored? On nameservers!
Name servers store DNS records which are the actual file that says “this domain” maps to “this IP address”. So is there a room somewhere that has all the nameservers and DNS records for every site on the Internet? No… that would be ridiculous. They are actually distributed all around the world. These nameservers are called the root nameservers and instead of storing every domain ever, they store the locations of the TLD (top level domains).
TLD’s are the two or three character strings like .com that end a domain name. Each TLD has their own set of nameservers that store the information that says who is authoritative for storing the DNS records for that domain. The authoritative nameserver is typically the DNS provider or the DNS registrar (like GoDaddy that offers both DNS registration and hosting). And here we can find the DNS record that maps example.com to the IP address 127.66.122.88.
Let’s put that all together. When you query a domain name your first step won’t actually be at the root name servers. Instead, your browser will ask your local resolving name server if they have the DNS records for that domain cached.
The resolving name server is typically your ISP (Internet Service Provider), and if it’s a popular website like youtube.com they will likely have the record in their cache. In this case, you would skip the rest of the DNS lookup process. However, these records are only stored for a short period of time. Whenever you create a record, you have the option to set a TTL (Time to Live). TTL’s tell resolving name servers how long they can store the record information. TTL’s can range anywhere from 30 seconds to a week.
What if the record we are looking for isn’t cached? Then the resolving name server will ask the root name servers for the TLD for that domain, which will point you to the provider authoritative for hosting the records.
Okay, that was a lot of steps to go through just to find the IP address. Oh, and by the way, this process happens in just a couple milliseconds. A little perspective, you blink your eye in roughly 50 milliseconds. You can resolve most DNS queries in under 30. | <urn:uuid:4699a491-7110-42d9-aef3-c2284c891cfe> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://knowledge.digicert.com/constellix/general/how-dns-works | 2024-09-17T22:48:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651835.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20240917204739-20240917234739-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.941829 | 519 | 3.203125 | 3 |
In this Cisco CCNA training tutorial, you’ll learn about the need for BGP (the Border Gateway Protocol). Scroll down for the video and also text tutorial.
This is the 1st in a series of BGP tutorials.
Part 5: Cisco BGP for Enterprises
Why We Need BGP – The Border Gateway Protocol – Video Tutorial
It makes detailed concepts very clear and easy to understand. Neil takes a friendly approach to the course which I like very much. Thank you so much sir for your nice work. Very much appreciated!!!
IGP Interior Gateway Protocols in Service Provider networks
This might sound obvious, but Internet Service Providers do not have just one huge router that routes traffic between all their customers. They've got many routers which connect all of their different physical locations. Those routers provide connectivity for customer traffic and also for the service provider’s own internal traffic between their own internal departments.
Service providers therefore need to use an IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol) for the routing within their administrative domain. It's usually OSPF or IS-IS which is used. You might find both OSPF and IS-IS in use in different parts of the network in large networks.
Let's have a quick recap of how IGP's like OSPF and ISIS work because we're going to compare this to how BGP works later.
How IGPs work
In the example above the administrator enabled OSPF on router R1's interfaces. R1 then sends out link-local multicast hello messages looking for other OSPF routers that it can form an adjacency with.
In this example, R2 does not have OSPF enabled yet so it drops the OSPF hello packet from R1. As it's a link-local multicast, R2 does not forward it out other interfaces.
Then the administrator does enable OSPF on R2. R2 starts sending out multicast OSPF hello messages.
The message reaches R1 and R1 says, "Hey, I'm running OSPF too. Let's check that our settings match. (For example, these interfaces are both in the same area and the timers match.) Then we'll form an adjacency."
The adjacency is formed and then the routers exchange routes.
In our autonomous system (our administrative domain) we enable OSPF on all of our routers. This is what the service provider are doing in their network in our example. The OSPF adjacency is formed between R1 and R2 and they exchange routes. The same happens between R2 and R3, R3 and R4, R4 and R5, and R5 and R1. All of the routers form adjacencies with their neighbours. They all exchange routes with each other and pretty soon all of the routers know the routes to get to everywhere inside the network.
IGP's learn the IP subnets that are available within the autonomous system and calculate the best paths to those IP subnets. They do this based on the links between the individual physical routers. IGP's share information and make decisions - which is the best route - on a physical hop by physical hop basis. All of the routers in the IGP learn about all the best paths to get everywhere, physical router by physical router.
Service providers also need to maintain connectivity between their internal networks. In the example above, we've got New York up at the top left of the diagram, Washington beneath, Boston in the top right, and Philadelphia in the bottom right. In between those routers, the service provider has their core routers. They're running an IGP, OSPF or IS-IS, on all of those routers and all of the routers will learn the routes to everywhere else within the service provider network.
But the service provider doesn't just have its own internal traffic, it also needs to have customers so that it can make money. And those customers need public IP addresses to be able to communicate with each other.
Let's look at how public IP address allocation works next.
Internet IP Address Allocation
The allocation of public IP addresses follows a hierarchical model. At the top of the tree is IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. They're responsible for global public IP address allocation. That then gets broken down into smaller regions. IANA delegates allocations of IP address blocks to Regional Internet Registries, RIRs. Each RIR allocates addresses for a different area of the world. For example, there's an RIR in North America and so on.
The RIR's then break down to another lower level. They divide their allocated address pools into smaller blocks again and delegate them to Internet Service Providers. These smaller blocks of addresses can also be delegated to another organisation, like a company, at that level if the company is big enough to have their own block.
Going down to the last level, Internet Service Providers can allocate addresses to customers. The company next door and your network at home are going to get their public IP addresses from an Internet Service Provider.
Connectivity between customers
The Internet Service Provider is shown in the middle of the diagram above. They're running their IGP inside their network.
Customer 1 shown on the left are a medium sized company. They're also running an IGP inside their network as well. They also want to have Internet connectivity so they connect to the Internet Service Provider.
Customer 2 on the right are a different company who also maintain their own IGP and want Internet connectivity.
Both customers have only one path out to the Internet, with the ISP as the next hop. Both customers configure a default static route pointing to the ISP. All internal traffic will be routed via their IGPs, and traffic destined to the Internet will match the default static routes.
At this point, the service provider knows the routes to all of their own internal networks. They also know the routes to the public IP addresses for their customers because they allocated those addresses. And the customers have default static routes pointing out to the Internet and IGP's for their own internal routes.
We have connectivity within all internal private networks (but not between the different private networks) and also between all of the public networks.
At this point we don't need BGP. IGPs are running inside the service provider and the customers, default static routes at the customers point out to the Internet, and everything works just fine.
But, we obviously don't just have one Internet Service Provider in the world. There are lots of Internet Service Providers. All of the different service providers have got their own customers and so that customers everywhere in the whole world can communicate with each other, the service providers need to have connectivity to each other. So the service providers peer with each other in Internet exchanges, which are big data centres that allow them to connect.
Service provider interconnectivity
In the example above Service Provider 1 have got their IGP and their customers. They connect to Service Provider 2, who've also got their IGP and their customers. Service Provider 2 is connecting to Service Provider 3 in our example. 1 is connected to 4, 4 is connected to 5, and 5 is connected to 3.
Note this topology is just an example. In the real world, it's not like the service providers always connect to each other in a ring like this. You're going to have multiple service providers connected to other multiple different service providers. We’re just using this topology because it's going to be helpful for the examples that you're going to see later.
IGP Scalability Issue
You saw before when we just had the one service provider that an IGP would work for everything. But we're going to run into a problem as the network grows and we've got multiple different service providers. IGP's such as OSPF and IS-IS are not designed to support routing on the Internet. It's not feasible to control routing for the entire planet on a physical hop by physical hop basis. We can't have every service provider knowing about all the different individual routers in the whole world - obviously that's not going to work! So a different model needs to be used. And that's where BGP, the Border Gateway Protocol, comes in.
The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
BGP is the only EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol) currently in use and it controls routing on the Internet. There's lots of choices for an IGP within a company, like ERGIP, OSPF, et cetera. But for routing on the Internet, it's always BGP that is used. And with BGP, rather than sharing information and making decisions on a physical hop by physical hop (physical router by physical router) basis, BGP works on an AS by AS basis - Autonomous System by Autonomous System.
An Autonomous System is a portion of a large network, such as the Internet, which is under a single administrative control. So that AS could be the network of a service provider or it could be the network of a company. The point is that it is a single entity that is controlling the routing within that part of the network.
The term Autonomous System has also got another meaning. It's also used in EIGRP and BGP configurations to specify their scope. For EIGRP routers to form an adjacency with each other they have to be in the same EIGRP AS.
Our Interior Gateway Protocols are used to share routes within an AS. And the AS's have a single coherent interior routing plan and they present a consistent picture of what destinations are reachable through it. Within a company's or an organization's network, they’re going to be running an IGP and all of the routers in that IGP know how to get to all of the other networks within that network. So that's how an IGP works within an AS. But for routing between different AS's, that's where we're going to use BGP.
When we do use BGP, the service providers each have a unique BGP AS number. This is overlaid in the diagram above. Each of those different service providers, SP1 to SP5, have got an AS number. BGP is going to be aware of that AS number and it's going to use it for routing traffic between the different service providers. Find out more about BGP routing within Service Providers in the next post in this series! | <urn:uuid:842e6ef9-cdb1-4147-b5e4-f89029040100> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.flackbox.com/why-we-need-bgp | 2024-09-19T03:45:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651981.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20240919025412-20240919055412-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.954274 | 2,160 | 3.1875 | 3 |
10 Key GDPR Terms You Need to Know
The most common questions we receive regarding GDPR compliance are all related to terms and definitions. Controllers, processors, processing, sub-processor, joint controller, controller-processor – there’s so many complicated, similar GDPR terms. If you’ve been confused by what terms mean and which definitions are vital to the compliance process, you are not alone. What’s your organization’s role? Who enforces GDPR? What kind of data is covered under the law? What kind of person is covered under the law? Understanding key GDPR terms will help you be able to answer these important questions and help you begin your GDPR compliance journey.
Key GDPR Terms Defined
Data Subject: Some may assume that “data subjects” means EU citizens, but the explicit language of the law applies to processing the personal data of “data subjects in the Union” which could cover tourists, non-citizen residents, international students, and much more. Because GDPR uses informal descriptions for the term “data subject,” the public has been left with varying interpretations and significant challenges. We generally see five definitions proposed for data subjects:
- A person located in the EU,
- A resident of the EU,
- A citizen of the EU,
- An EU resident/citizen physically located anywhere in the world, or
- A person whose personal data is processed within the EU, regardless of that person’s location.
Organizations should closely monitor regulatory and legal developments related to the definition of “data subject.”
Personal Data: Per Article 4(1), personal data is any identifiable information related to a data subject. For example: name, geographic location data, email address, IP address, photographs, video or voice recordings, biometric data, or an online identifier of the specific physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identify of a data subject.
Controller: The natural or legal entity that regulates the purpose and means of processing personal data. The greater the decision-making authority an organization has regarding what personal data to obtain from data subjects and how to use that personal data, the more likely it is that an organization takes on the responsibilities of a data controller.
Processing: Processing is any action that impacts or uses personal data, including accessing, collecting, storing, archiving, reviewing, or destroying.5. Processor The natural or legal entity that processes personal data in support of a controller. Processors cannot process data without the authority of the data controller, therefore, processors must provide controllers with sufficient GDPR compliance guarantees, notification of data breaches, and adding/changing of sub-processors.
Processor: The natural or legal entity that processes personal data in support of a controller. Processors cannot process data without the authority of the data controller, therefore, processors must provide controllers with sufficient GDPR compliance guarantees, notification of data breaches, and adding/changing of sub-processors.
Data Protection Officer (DPO): An individual that has expert knowledge of data protection laws, coordinates with data subjects and supervisory authorities, participates in data protection impact assessments, and monitors GDPR compliance.
Supervisory Authority: Independent, public authorities for each EU member state that are responsible for monitoring the application of GDPR and addressing non-compliance. For example:
• National Commission of Computing and Freedoms in France
• The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Germany
• Agency of Protection of Data in Spain
• The Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom
Joint Controller: When two or more controllers jointly have authority over and determine the purposes and means for processing personal data.
Controller-Processor: An organization or person identified as both a controller and a processor.
Sub-processor: An organization that processes personal data on behalf of a processor. Sub-processors must comply with the same contractual and compliance requirements as a processor.
For more information about how KirkpatrickPrice can assist you in meeting your compliance objectives, contact us today. | <urn:uuid:6be895c4-75db-438e-ba7b-b07353e2ffac> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://kirkpatrickprice.com/white-papers/10-key-gdpr-terms-you-need-to-know/ | 2024-09-20T10:53:34Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652246.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920090502-20240920120502-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.890486 | 844 | 2.90625 | 3 |
More about Digital Transformation
- Storage IT Admin to Cloud Architect: Career Success Stories
- What Is Storage as a Service (STaaS)?
- How to Upskill from Storage Administrator to Cloud Expert
- Modern Data Estate: What IT Leaders Need To Know
- Cloud Computing Deployment Models and Architectures
- Cloud Adoption Strategy: What’s the Best Approach for Your Organization?
- 8 Digital Transformation Technologies and Their Business Impact
- What Is Digital Transformation in Banking?
- Digital Transformation in Healthcare: 4 Key Trends
- Digital Transformation: Examples from 5 Industries
- The Future of Cloud Computing: 5 Trends You Must Know About
- 5 Types of Digital Transformation and the Technologies that Power Them
- Digital Transformation Strategy: 6 Tips for Success
Subscribe to our blog
Thanks for subscribing to the blog.
What Is the Future of Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing has grown into a major paradigm in the tech world. It enables ubiquitous and simple on-demand access to shared computing resources via configurable Internet services.
With businesses progressing faster toward digital transformation, many are looking for ways to improve their business continuity, agile processes, scalability, and profits. Cloud computing technologies will likely remain at the core of any business strategy, providing the necessary connectivity and flexibility to keep up with evolving standards.
In this article:
- The History of Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Adoption Trends
- Cloud Computing Future Trends
- Cloud Migration with Cloud Volumes ONTAP
The History of Cloud Computing
The concept of cloud computing has its roots in the 1950s and 1960s, although it has since undergone major evolutions. Businesses first started using mainframes in the 1950s, but computers were expensive, and it was impractical for all users to have their own machines. Therefore, companies introduced the concept of time-sharing to make more efficient use of the valuable processor time on central mainframes.
Time-sharing allowed users to simultaneously access multiple instances of a computer mainframe to maximize processing power and minimize downtime. This technique is the first instance of sharing computing resources and forms the basis of cloud computing today.
The origins of the use of global networks to provide computing resources are almost always attributed to the American computer scientist J.C.R. Licklider, who helped build the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, a forerunner to the Internet. Licklider aimed to connect computers worldwide, giving users access to data and programs from anywhere.
Cloud computing began to take a more recognizable shape with the introduction of the first virtual machines in the 1970s. These virtual machines allowed users to run multiple computing systems on a single physical machine. Their capabilities led to the concept of virtualization and had a great impact on the evolution of cloud computing.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the leading tech companies Microsoft, Apple, and IBM pioneered technologies that improved cloud environments and promoted the use of cloud server hosting. Salesforce was the first company in 1999 to provide access to business applications via its website.
Amazon launched AWS in 2006 to provide cloud computing and storage services. Since then, other major technology companies, including Microsoft and Google, have launched their cloud products to compete with AWS.
Cloud Computing Adoption Trends
According to Gartner, global spending on public cloud products is growing at an annual rate of 20.4% and is likely to reach $600 billion in 2023.
Gartner projects that end-user spending on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is growing at 30.6% year-over-year. The growth forecast is 26.6% for Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and 26.1% for Platform as a Service (PaaS). The increasing trend of hybrid work is driving organizations to spend an estimated $2.6 billion per annum on their cloud migration efforts.
Companies that recently provided employees with traditional client computing solutions such as workstations and other physical office tools are now moving to DaaS offerings. PaaS spending will likely increase to $109.6 billion, given end-user demand for cloud native capabilities.
According to Gartner, by 2025, IT spending on public cloud services will exceed traditional IT spending. Gartner’s “Cloud Shift” survey only covers segments of the IT market that can migrate to the cloud. These areas include application and infrastructure software, business processes, and system infrastructure.
51% of IT spending in these markets will go toward public cloud solutions by 2025, up from 41% in 2022. 65.9% of application software spending will go towards the cloud in 2025, increasing from 57.7% in 2022.
The cloud is a major enabling technology for digital transformation. Learn about other digital transformation technologies.
Cloud Computing Future Trends
1. Quantum Computing
Quantum computing is changing the business world in unprecedented ways. Companies like Google promote innovation by leveraging quantum physics principles to develop next-generation end-user products. Supercomputers are the best example of how quantum computing works when used correctly. Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and AWS compete by adapting to the emerging quantum technologies.
Quantum computers employ the principles of quantum physics to enable complex algorithmic calculations and process large data sets in a short amount of time. A supercomputer can provide powerful encryption capabilities for electronic communications and increase network security.
Financial institutions can leverage quantum computing to speed up their transaction processes. This approach saves time and increases process efficiency. Quantum computers store data in qubits, a simpler form of data that speeds up processing. Quantum computing also reduces the additional cost of creating new resources to handle pre-optimized tasks.
2. Edge Computing
Cloud providers are moving closer to the edge to respond to the growth of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and latency-sensitive applications. Edge computing is not new to the tech industry glossary, but companies are increasingly adopting it.
Although data centers are built to store large amounts of information in one centralized location, half of the global population lives in rural areas. Edge computing allows systems to become increasingly distributed, bringing data and processing closer to users. This approach reduces latency, cuts bandwidth costs, and improves connection performance.
3. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
As employees access more services and data from devices outside of corporate IT networks, businesses are reevaluating their security and risk management strategies. Gartner coined the term Secure Access Service Edge to refer to a cloud-based IT security approach that addresses the changeability of work processes.
Companies using SASE can benefit from cloud-based network security services such as security gateways, firewalls, and zero-trust network access (ZTNA). SASE is a robust architecture that gives businesses peace of mind, allowing them to deliver new services quickly and securely through the cloud.
4. Cloud Regions
The geopolitical fragmentation of regulations, trade protectionism, and industry standards create new, separate compliance ecosystems. Vertical and regional data services and cloud ecosystems are undergoing a consolidation process.
Cloud customers seek to reduce lock-in and single points of failure by using cloud providers outside their country. Some regions simply do not have a sufficient local supply of platform services. This is leading to cooperative legislation that regulates how cloud services will be exchanged across borders.
For example, initiatives like GAIA-X have emerged in European countries due to growing concerns among technology providers, politicians, and researchers.
5. Green Cloud
The extensive infrastructure, electricity, and cooling required for cloud computing significantly increase a business's environmental impact. The US Department of Energy found that data centers consume 2% of the total electricity used in the United States. The average data center uses between 10 and 50 times more energy per floor than a typical commercial office building.
Cloud providers are constantly looking for ways to increase hardware and software efficiency. Even small changes and improvements here can yield significant energy savings in the long run. E-waste is also a problem, as aging hardware produces millions of tons of waste each year.
Shortages in the rare earth mineral market and disruptions in supply chains are driving the demand for improved computer hardware recycling. Responsible business owners recognize their role in tackling climate change and take these factors seriously when discussing on-premises data centers and cloud computing.
Cloud Migration with Cloud Volumes ONTAP
Cloud computing is at the core of digital transformation, elevating it from the adoption stage of digital technology to include also the tools, rebuilding process, and the experience of a virtual environment that is accessible from anywhere. In order for an organization to achieve its goals and secure future viability, it needs to adopt a cloud-first or hybrid cloud management strategy.
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, the leading enterprise-grade storage management solution, delivers secure, proven storage management services on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Cloud Volumes ONTAP capacity can scale into the petabytes, and it supports various use cases such as file services, databases, DevOps or any other enterprise workload, with a strong set of features including high availability, data protection, storage efficiencies, Kubernetes integration, and more.
NetApp and Cloud Volumes ONTAP play a key role in the cloud transformation process, helping enterprises move workloads and data to the cloud securely, manage them efficiently, and integrate them with modern cloud technologies. This frees the organizations from the burden of managing large-scale storage infrastructure and allows them to focus on their core business.
In particular, Cloud Volumes ONTAP assists with cloud migration in digital transformation projects. Learn more about how Cloud Volumes ONTAP helps with lift and shift cloud migration.
Read how Cloud Volumes ONTAP helps customers in these Cloud Migration Case Studies. | <urn:uuid:d7fe3d30-fc09-4b32-9b68-3565993d0089> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://bluexp.netapp.com/blog/cvo-blg-the-future-of-cloud-computing-5-trends-you-must-know-about | 2024-09-09T12:37:11Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651098.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909103148-20240909133148-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.917067 | 1,996 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Recently, Russian hackers made off with 1.2 billion username/password combinations and over 500 million email addresses, in what the New York Times says is “the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials.”
Here are a few simple but effective steps Forbes has shared that should be taken to protect yourself from hackers.
- Wi-Fi hotspots should be used with caution. The free Wi-Fi in your hotel lobby or the downtown coffee shop is never going to be secure, even if you have to ask for the password. Being free to the public makes them targets.
- Use a VPN, virtual private network, when going online. When you connect to a network, the internet and your computer communicate directly. This communication is not encrypted and anyone logging that traffic can see what you’re doing. A VPN interrupts this communication and encrypts the communication between it and your computer.
- Change all passwords when you think you may be at risk, and do not use the same password or username across multiple sites. | <urn:uuid:c3e0ffa8-41c7-4048-abe9-6a07f576a9ab> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.mdltechnology.com/keeping-data-out-of-hackers-hands/ | 2024-09-10T18:45:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651303.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20240910161250-20240910191250-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.938079 | 209 | 2.859375 | 3 |
A government laboratory compares fiber and copper--and chooses copper for its network.
Dean Collins, John Antonishek, and Alan Mink / NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (nist), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is upgrading the cabling of existing buildings and installing cabling in a new laboratory in a building under construction. The goal of the upgrade is to provide nist with as modern a data-communications network as possible within cost constraints. nist is a scientific research laboratory that explores the physical sciences and information technology. Typical calculations include simulations and analysis of physical systems and visualization of their results. Network communication is required to support e-mail, Internet access, cluster and distributed computing, client/server computing, and access to the central supercomputing facility.
The nist campus in Gaithersburg, MD, covers about 578 acres, with 31 buildings serving a staff of more than 3000. The buildings are connected with a fiber-optic Fiber Distributed Data Interface backbone. The cabling within the buildings is mostly Category 3 copper cabling, but some sites use Category 5 and fiber-optic cabling. Most of the horizontal runs are less than 100 meters in length.
The recabling of existing buildings and the cabling of the new laboratory involve tradeoffs between copper and fiber-optic cable and the associated switches. Singlemode fiber costs about 5% more than multimode, but associated network interface cards (nics) and switches can cost significantly more. Although singlemode fiber can support higher bit rates over longer distances than multimode, it is not necessary for the desktop environment. Thus, we eliminated singlemode from our considerations and focused on just multimode fiber. We looked at the various tradeoffs from two different viewpoints:
- the cost of installing and maintaining the cabling
- computer-imposed limitations on the use of the cabling.
Our major cabling options included Category 5, Enhanced Category 5, and Category 6 copper cable, as well as fiber-optic cable. Copper cabling, at the rated speeds, is limited to 100-meter runs. In a typical nist office building, this constraint does not present any undue hardship. With fiber, it`s possible to service more, if not all, of the building from one central telecommunications closet (TC), but in practice this arrangement becomes cumbersome because of the amount of space necessary to support all of the cable and the limited amount of space available in a cable tray.
Network active devices for fiber-optic cabling are about four to six times more expensive per port than for copper cabling. The density of fiber-optic ports is also much lower and requires additional equipment racks and modules. Since the fiber-optic equipment supports a lower port density, more patch-panel and equipment space is necessary--almost four times the equipment space and one-and-a-half times more patch-panel space. Since fiber requires more racks to support the same number of ports, it also requires additional air conditioning. Furthermore, fiber patch cords used in the TCs and offices are five times more expensive than their copper counterparts.
The installation costs for fiber (including pulling, terminating, and testing) are twice that of copper cabling. Since maintenance agreements are a percentage of the initial cost, the same factors for component costs and installation costs are relevant. More of our in-house staff already are trained to pull, terminate, and test copper cabling than fiber-optic cabling, thereby reducing the need for external support to maintain a copper-cabling infrastructure.
Installation and components
The cost difference for cabling one typical nist laboratory--considering only the installation and component cost--is approximately $1.2 million. If this difference is applied across the entire campus, we estimate that the additional cost for using fiber optics would be approximately $14.5 million.
Based on our evaluation, we reached the following conclusions: For recabling the existing buildings we chose Category 5 copper, which provided cost benefits and sufficient capacity--up to 155 megabits per second--to support most network users. This decision was based on our having only a five- to 10-year horizon before all the existing buildings are scheduled to be renovated. At that time, cabling requirements and options will be reevaluated. For the cabling of the new laboratory, we chose Category 6 because it is the most advanced copper solution currently available; while there is a minimum cost differential for the material, there is no additional installation cost. It is only 10% more expensive than Category 5 and 5% more expensive than Enhanced Category 5. Furthermore, it is completely backward-compatible with existing Category 3 and Category 5 installations.
From another perspective, the computer user doesn`t care about electrons or photons. The user is interested in performance, which includes effective communication latency and bandwidth; interoperability between protocols; availability of network components; ease of use; and the cost of the computer itself.
Simply put, what measurable benefit will the computer user obtain for the extra cost of fiber optics?
For the user, there is no advantage from either copper or fiber. The transmission medium--whether copper or fiber--is transparent to the user, even to the system device-driver programmer, because the nics hide that level of detail. The device-driver software in the operating system (OS) deals with a logically delimited data packet, frame, or segment. Therefore, there is no difference in ease of use.
Neither fiber nor copper has an impact on communications protocols or their interoperability. All the protocol layers, except the physical layers, are handled by the processor--or the processor side of the nic--while the physical layer is transparent to the processor and handled by the media (fiber or copper) side of the nic (see "How protocols affect communication speed," page 24).
Latency is of interest to the end-user. In distributed computing, latency can be described as how long it takes for a message to travel from one computer to another. But it turns out that network latency--the delay introduced while a packet of data is stored, pro-cessed, and then forwarded--is not a determining factor in select-ing either copper or fiber. Network latency depends on the effective communications speed and the length of the packet being sent.
For example, communication latency for a 200-megahertz Pentium running on a Fast Ethernet local area network (lan) can be broken down as shown in the graph on page 19. The data packet in this example has a minimum length of 4 bytes and a maximum length of 1453 bytes. Depending on the packet size used, the communication latency can range from approximately 84 to 248 microseconds. The protocol stack terms are dependent on processor speed and could also be reduced by advanced protocols such as Operating System Bypass. The nic direct-memory-access transfer terms are only affected by memory access speeds. The only term dependent on bandwidth is network latency, which is a function of network speed and packet size. If a gigabit connection were used, the latency associated with the maximum packet length would decrease from approximately 122 to 12 microseconds. However, the total communication latency would still be dominated by the non-bandwidth-related terms (protocol stacks and direct-memory-access transfer).
Looking at cost and availability of nics and their associated device drivers, we see that Fast Ethernet is a de facto standard and thus inexpensive. A device driver is software that is part of the OS and acts as an interface between a specific device and the OS. On the device side, this software handles all the details of a single device, such as an nic, a disk, or a keyboard. This software is so specific that different models and versions of a device from the same manufacturer may require a different device driver.
On the OS side, this piece of software hides all those device-specific details and presents a uniform interface to the OS for that class of device. An atm/oc-3 155-Mbit/sec nic is available for most major computer input/output (I/O) buses and is moderately priced, but device drivers are not available for all operating systems. The faster atm/oc-12 622-Mbit/sec nic is very sparsely available and so are the necessary device drivers; it is also expensive. The Gigabit Ethernet nic is just starting to become available. These early offerings are expensive, but will undoubtedly come down in cost. Very fast atm connections (above OC-12) are not currently aimed at the desktop, and nics are not available.
From the standpoint of the computer user, the choices depend on the user`s own criteria. If price, performance, and interoperability are the most important factors, Fast Ethernet is the choice. It is low-cost, uses copper, has good performance, high availability, and is the de facto standard, thus providing interoperability.
If local performance is the only important factor, Gigabit Ethernet and atm/oc-12 are good choices. They are fast networks, use fiber (or copper for Gigabit Ethernet), are moderate to high in cost, and are selectively available. However, achieving high performance requires nonstandard protocols.
If global interoperability and performance are the most important factors, use either Fast Ethernet or atm/oc-3. These both have good performance, use either copper or fiber, have moderate to low costs, high to reasonable availability, support standard Internet protocols for interoperability, and have long-distance capability.
For fiber-optic technology to become attractive for the particular scenario we have looked at, some of the following must occur:
Components and nics must become more readily available and cost less.
Device drivers must be readily available and supported so devices can easily be interfaced to different computers and operating systems.
Fiber must have a smaller footprint to allow high densities on patch panels and network devices.
Fiber must become easier and less expensive to terminate.
Users` bandwidth needs must require fiber.
Standard protocols faster than tcp/ip must be developed and commonly used.
At this time, for our nist application, copper is still the clear winner. On cabling considerations alone, copper provides nist definite cost benefits while supporting sufficient bandwidth in our five- to 10-year horizon. nist computer users cannot use the longer run length and higher bandwidth of fiber, thus nist users would see no performance difference between copper and fiber. Fiber-optic technology is changing rapidly, however, as is copper technology.
This article is based on a presentation made at Kessler Marketing Intelligence Corp.`s 21st Annual Newport Conference on Fiberoptics Markets (Newport, RI) in October 1998.
Latency breakdown for a 200-MHz Pentium computer on a Fast Ethernet local area network shows that the medium of the network--copper or fiber--has little effect on communication latency. This latency is most affected by the communication-protocol software and electronics as well as the length of the data packet.
How protocols affect communication speed
Currently all communication processing is done electronically in parallel (8, 16, or 32 bits) for two reasons:
The data is meaningful only in groups and, by dealing with a parallel group, you have more time to process the data than at the bit rate.
Optical processing of protocols is not yet feasible, but research is progressing in this area.
Interoperability of protocols is handled by the protocol stack, which allows only well-known protocols to be used together. For example, routers convert between a number of well-known protocols such as Ethernet and Fiber Distributed Data Interface. Nonstandard protocols, including many applications programming interfaces (apis), cannot interoperate. Well-known standard protocols also provide stability and reliability, mostly through massive exposure and fine-tuning over an extended period. Performance, on the other hand, is achieved via nonstandard apis or Operating System Bypass protocols, although an api called Virtual Interface Architecture is being proposed by an industrial group that includes Intel.
How does all this affect communication speeds? The graph compares memory access speeds (cpu-to-memory) with network speeds (network I/O-to-memory). The Y axis shows common network speeds. The X axis shows memory access speeds. Two representative points on the X axis are personal computers based on a 200- and 400-megahertz Pentium microprocessor. The memory access (read and write) speed is derived by doubling the measured memory copy (read-followed-by-write) speed.
Network communication requires user data to be encapsulated and transferred from memory (usually specified by its virtual address) to a nic plugged into the I/O bus. The actual transfer is accomplished via direct memory access by the nic. The nic "packages" the data and transmits it onto the communications medium, possibly traversing through a number of switches, which may buffer and process some or all of the message before passing it along. When it reaches the destination nic, the process is reversed, placing the data into memory (a user-specified buffer).
The dashed diagonal line in the figure represents the upper limit of communication speed, equal to memory access speed. This upper limit may be a desirable goal, but not practically achievable.
All current microprocessors running the tcp/ip protocol can use the maximum bandwidth of the current common commodity networks such as Fast Ethernet and atm/oc-3. Current processors can execute the instructions for the common tcp/ip protocols faster (between 150 and 600 megabits per second) than the bandwidth of these networks can transmit them. Our performance measurements have shown that although atm/oc-3 has a 50% higher bandwidth than Fast Ethernet, using tcp/ip over atm/oc-3 only obtains about 30% higher communications throughput than tcp/ip over Fast Ethernet. Furthermore, on a 200-MHz computer, tcp/ip would limit communications throughput to less than 200 Mbits/sec. Thus, providing a fiber-based gigabit-per-second network interface for such a machine would result in only marginal communications throughput compared to an OC-3 155-Mbit/sec link.
But to achieve gigabit-per-second communication requires OS Bypass protocols. These significantly reduce the intervention of the processor to execute the communication protocol by moving most of the previous software instructions to hardware. This technique is limited by the speed of the I/O bus. In many computers today, that is the pci (peripheral component interconnect) bus. To achieve OS Bypass protocols requires the communication be done directly to the user buffers, bypassing the OS. This approach requires the user buffers be locked in physical memory and that the nic be programmable to maintain the list of user buffer physical addresses and be able to multiplex different message streams from different sources. To achieve even higher-speed communication requires faster networks and switches connected to faster I/O buses, or even direct attachment to the memory bus, in addition to bypassing the OS.
Dean R. Collins, is division chief; John K. Antonishek is group leader, Network and Telecommunications Systems; and Alan Mink is project leader, Scalable Parallel Systems and Applications Group, of the High Performance Systems & Services Div. of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD). Collins can be contacted at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:ad14b766-a429-44da-a1a7-a294ec6c022a> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.cablinginstall.com/home/article/16466721/copper-makes-sense-for-nist-network | 2024-09-11T22:28:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651405.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911215612-20240912005612-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.930087 | 3,162 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Air cooling has dominated the data center cooling industry, not only of its convenience but as previously installed air conditioning units only need a little expansion to provide cool air for the IT equipment. Liquid cooling on the other side has many disastrous concerns, especially when introduced in the market. These concerns include:
Liquid leaks and their effects on an electrical facility like a data center.
Huge power consumption
Component failure and malfunctions
Humidity and condensation
Massive Carbon footprint
Retrofit Data Centers Into Liquid-Cooling
Environmental Impact and Energy-Efficiency
The growing number of data centers using liquid cooling can bring the infrastructure to the next level. Because many businesses realize the benefits of liquid cooling now, it is possible that in the next three years it will double in growth. Data centers could also use this proposition to attract customers. As many customers now are looking for sustainable and energy-efficient partner companies.
The Limitations of Air-Cooling Technology
Retrofit Data Centers Into Liquid Cooling
Most data center equipment is designed for air cooling and is not viable for liquid cooling. However, it will be better for the data center to completely convert into liquid cooling than to redesign its entire facility. In this case, it’s best to install an air to liquid Chilldyne Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) as a first step before retrofitting the data center. This will allow for a liquid-cooled rack of servers utilizing direct to chip cold plates to be deployed without a dedicated liquid loop taken through the data center, and there is an added benefit of the liquid being controlled in smaller, more manageable volumes.
It’s a complex process to retrofit a data center into liquid cooling. However, data centers can always rely on The Green Grid, ASHRAE, and the Open Compute Project. They can assist from the compliance of construction materials to the actual implementation of the chosen liquid cooling method. Another option is the development of prefabricated modular data centers. This is where liquid cooling can be added to the facility without any reconstruction. many data centers can actually retrofit into liquid cooling right away. However, they still believe that they can be efficient with the best practices and optimal methods.
How Will The Transition Progress?
Of course, the transition from air cooling to liquid cooling would not happen overnight or a couple of days. There might be a transitional technology to help the industry into the inevitable change. This transition technology might just be in the form of hybrid coolers. Hybrid coolers can be more efficient than today’s air-cooled devices. However, data centers supporting hybrid coolers require at least two cooling plants. One is to cool the water that runs through the cold plates on the IT devices, and the other one is cooling the air-cooled loads in the building.
It’s expensive to provide for two plants and may have an impact on reaching return on investment. However, the best advances that can be made in the industry will occur when existing air-cooled data centers have reached their physical limit for cooling, and the only option for adding more capacity comes from refreshing the air-cooled IT in the data center to water-cooled IT equipment. Even if this change comes with the addition of plants to provide the cooling water to the new water-cooled equipment, the addition of this infrastructure is still more favorable than building new data centers from the ground up.
As those modifications become commonplace, the industry will see a clearer path to the purer, more leading-edge design of immersion cooling. That change will come in the next five years, it will dramatically change the industry, and we’ll check back again in ten years.
Liquid Cooling Monitoring
Monitoring and alarm are essential for any technology in the contemporary data center. AKCP Monitoring Solutions includes a software suite that provides monitoring, alerts, including temperatures, flow, pressures, and leak detection, and importantly can report into data center management software suites.
Power Monitoring Sensor
The power of the cooling unit was monitored using a power meter that can monitor and record real-time power consumption. The AKCP Power Monitor Sensor gives vital information and allows you to remotely monitor power eliminating the need for manual power audits as well as providing immediate alerts to potential problems. Power meter readings can also be used with the sensorProbe+ and AKCPro Server lives PUE calculations that analyze the efficiency of power usage in your data center. Data collected over time using the Power Monitor sensor can also be viewed using the built-in graphing tool.
Wireless Pipe Pressure Monitoring
The pressure in the tank was monitored by an automatic pressure relief valve with a pressure sensor. Digital pressure gauge for monitoring all kinds of liquids and gasses. Remote monitoring via the internet, alerts, and alarms when pressures are out of pre-defined parameters. Upgrade existing analog gauges.
Wireless Valve Motor Control
Wireless, remote monitoring, and control of motorized ball valves in your water distribution network. Check status and remotely actuate the valves. Receive alerts when valves open and close, or automate the valve based on other sensor inputs, such as pressure gauges or flow meters. | <urn:uuid:fde76556-ffb5-4e2d-a255-aea41614e687> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.akcp.com/articles/why-liquid-cooling-is-the-future/ | 2024-09-13T00:50:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651506.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913002450-20240913032450-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.918757 | 1,061 | 2.765625 | 3 |
It seems like nearly every week, and in some cases nearly every day, there is some security breach announced. The vast majority of these assaults tend to revolve around online user accounts, where password, account information, and even usernames are stolen. Over the years, there has been a general trend where the number of accounts breached or compromised is growing, and in early August news broke about possibly the biggest breach to date.
The latest big-scale breach
In early August, it emerged that a Russian hacker ring had amassed what is believed to be the biggest known collection of stolen account credentials. The numbers include around 1.2 billion username and password combinations, and over 500 million email addresses.
According to Hold Security, the company that uncovered these records, the information comes from around 420,000 sites. What is particularly interesting about this particular attack is that such a wide variety of sites were targeted when compared this with other attacks which tend to either attack large brand names or smaller related sites.
How did this happen?
Despite what many believe, this was not a one-time mass attack; all sites that were compromised were not attacked at the same time. Instead, the hacker ring – called the Cyber Vor – was likely working on amassing this data over months or longer. How they were able to amass this much information is through what’s called a botnet.
Botnets are a group of computers infected by hackers. When the hackers establish a botnet, they attack computers with weak network security and try to infect them with malware that allows the hacker to control the computer. If successful, users won’t even know their computer has been hacked and is being used by hackers.
Once this botnet is established, the hackers essentially tell the computers to try to contact websites to test the security. In this recent case, the computers were looking to see if the websites were vulnerable to a SQL injection. This is where hackers tell the computers in the botnet to look for fillable sections on sites like comment boxes, search boxes, etc. and input a certain code asking the website’s database to list the stored information related to that box.
If the Web developer has restricted the characters allowed in the fillable text boxes, then the code likely would not have worked. The botnet would notice this, and then move onto the next site. However, if the code works, the botnet notes this and essentially alerts the hacker who can then go to work collecting the data.
So, is this serious and what can I do?
In short, this could be a fairly serious problem. While 420,000 sites may seem like a large number, keep in mind that the Internet is made up of billions of websites. This means that the chances of your website’s data being breached by this ring are small. That being said, there is probably a good chance that one of the sites related to your website may have been breached.
So, it is a cause for concern. However, you can limit the chance of hackers gaining access to your information and a website’s information.
1. Change all of your passwords
It seems like we say this about once a month, but this time you really should heed this warning. With 1.2 billion username and password combinations out there, there is a chance your user name for at least one account or site has been breached.
To be safe, change all of your passwords. This also includes passwords on your computer, mobile devices, and any online accounts – don’t forget your website’s back end, or hosting service. It is a pain to do, but this is essential if you want to ensure your data and your website is secure from this attack.
2. Make each password different
We can’t stress this enough, so, while you are resetting your password you should aim to ensure that you use a different one for each account, site, and device. It will be tough to remember all of these passwords, so a manager like LastPass could help. Or, you could develop your own algorithm or saying that can be easily changed for each site. For example, the first letter of each word of a favorite saying, plus the first and last letter of the site/account, plus a number sequence could work.
3. Test your website for SQL injection
If you have a website, you are going to want to test all text boxes to see if they are secure against SQL injection. This can be tough to do by yourself, so it’s best to contact a security expert like us who can help you execute these tests and then plug any holes should they be found.
4. Audit all of your online information
Finally, look at the information you have stored with your accounts. This includes names, addresses, postal/zip codes, credit card information, etc. You should only have the essential information stored and nothing else. Take for example websites like Amazon. While they are secure, many people have their credit card and billing information stored for easy shopping. If your account is hacked, there is a good chance hackers will be able to get hold of your card number.
5. Contact us for help
Finally, if you are unsure about the security of your accounts, business systems, and website, contact us today to see how our security experts can help ensure your vital data is safe and sound. | <urn:uuid:68931944-cfb8-4356-94b9-a271fbe48527> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.enstep.com/blog/security/massive-new-security-threat-exposed/ | 2024-09-16T18:15:19Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651710.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20240916180320-20240916210320-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.962793 | 1,107 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The total amount of data on the internet is flabbergasting. Estimated at 79 zettabytes (one zettabyte is approximately one billion terabytes) in 2020, the total amount of data is expected to rise to 175 zettabytes by 2025 per Seagate UK.
The growth of data communication over the global network raises a plethora of questions surrounding data security and integrity as data travels from one part of the planet to another. Organizations with an online presence want and need to protect terabytes of sensitive information. Given the rise in data leaks, the need for solutions that can keep data away from prying eyes has gained traction.
Without data encryption, sensitive data on the cloud or connected servers would be exposed to digital attacks, such as ransomware and malware, and placed at the mercy of company staff who can misuse their access to the data. In the past, data encryption standard (DES) was used to preserve data integrity, but it had many shortcomings. Today, an abundance of newer solutions claim to provide better protection—without the same vulnerabilities and loopholes.
What is data encryption?
Data cannot be stored or transferred securely via the web in its original form. We use data encryption to convert text or other forms of communication into a code, known as ciphertext, that can be decrypted and understood only by those with the correct key. Data encryption allows organizations to send sensitive information across the web or store it in the cloud easily and securely.
Cyber attackers have figured out ways to decode the prevalent encryption techniques of yesteryear, so we are seeing a profusion of new-age solutions that combine old-age steganography encryption techniques with other algorithms and methods for optimal data protection.
How are data encryption techniques used today?
Around 90% of the data of internet users is unstructured, but organizational data is usually structured and demands proper protection. The primary purpose of data encryption is to protect data integrity.
While the initial focus of data encryption was to prevent external users from gaining unwanted access, a lot of data encryption techniques have started focusing on identity-based encryption. These techniques employ an additional layer of security to use the receiver’s unique identifier to generate a public key and for data encryption. It enables user access by using identity and access management (IAM) to establish to access for the right people to the right data.
While this may seem daunting, your organization doesn’t need to handle this independently. Instead, you can partner with a modern, third-party access control system provider like Oloid to enable stringent access control and protect your data better. Oloid has expertise in privacy compliance and can effortlessly handle your data leakage troubles.
What are encryption algorithms?
There are two primary encryption algorithms:
The symmetric or shared key algorithm
With symmetric encryption, there is a single key for encryption and decryption. The key needs to be shared with all authorized people. As only one key is involved, this algorithm is fast but often considered less secure. Such encryption algorithms and techniques are helpful when processing speed is vital and if the organization wants data to be shared with only specific users.
The asymmetric or public key algorithm
With asymmetric encryption, two keys are involved. While one key is public, the other one remains private. The former helps encrypt the data, and the latter is used for decryption purposes. Due to the separate keys, asymmetric algorithms are considered more secure than symmetric algorithms, but they can also slow down operations.
What types of data encryption techniques are there?
A number of encryption techniques are available in the market. Organizations use the one most relevant for them depending on their desired IAM security levels and other features.
Here we review the most popular data encryption types available today.
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
AES is a modern-day data encryption version that uses steganography and cryptography encryption techniques. AES uses symmetric key encryption to encode data and is well known for protecting everyday professional communication and business. Unlike most other encryption techniques, AES encrypts data in a single block and doesn’t transfer data in individual bits. Depending on the specific requirements, it can create blocks of 128, 192, or 256 bits.
RSA uses an asymmetric cloud encryption technique based on factorizing two large prime numbers. The person receiving such data needs the requisite private key to decode the content. While RSA is effective for smaller communications, it doesn’t work well for a large number of files or a large data volume.
Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES)
While DES in its original form has become irrelevant for most use cases, a newer algorithm, 3DES, has quickly gained traction. As the name suggests, the same data passes through the original DES algorithm three times for encryption. The solution is not widely popular, but it is used by some financial bodies and industries that rely on quantitative data.
Twofish encryption is one of the most freely available encryption methods. It is not patented and comes bundled with open-source software and other utilities, such as GPT, TrueCrypt, and more. It follows the 64-bit Blowfish encryption and churns out 16 rounds of data, irrespective of size.
Businesses have plenty of sensitive data, whether offline or on the cloud. As a result, they need data encryption to protect their databases, emails, communications, financial data, etc. In response to newer threats, they often have to acquire software and solutions that do not integrate well with their legacy systems.
That is where OLOID comes in. Instead of having to write off the existing systems, we retrofit them. This allows us to complete implementation swiftly while saving you time and money that would otherwise be spent on new components for optimal efficiency, and data protection. | <urn:uuid:f0eade85-5561-4834-8aec-cacb2eaefaee> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.oloid.ai/blog/what-is-data-encryption-what-encryption-techniques-are-used-for-data-security/ | 2024-09-18T01:28:40Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651835.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20240918000844-20240918030844-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.92644 | 1,181 | 3.40625 | 3 |
"Your personal files are encrypted!" glares the headline on a red pop-up window. The text that follows warns the user that all of the photos, videos and documents stored on the computer were encrypted with a secret encryption key. Unless the user pays a $500 ransom, then a virus will destroy those files permanently.
Words like this must have struck fear into the hearts of IT administrators at the Midlothian, Ill., police department when they came up on a police computer in January 2015. Lacking any solid technical alternative, the department paid a $500 ransom to unknown attackers to restore access to critical files.
While a police department may feel especially embarrassed when successfully extorted by unknown cybercriminals, thousands of people around the world experience this same scenario every day. Ransomware, a fairly new class of malware, infects systems and holds important personal information hostage unless the user meets the attackers' financial demands. Fortunately, there are simple steps that users and businesses can take to protect themselves against ransomware infection.
What is Ransomware?
From a technical perspective, ransomware isn't much different from any other form of malware. It spreads to new victims through a variety of mechanisms, including the use of drive-by downloads. In this attack, hackers compromise otherwise normal websites and reconfigure the site to distribute ransomware. When an unsuspecting user visits the compromised site, a hidden download exploits vulnerabilities in the user's computer to install the ransomware on the system and wreak havoc on personal information.
Ransomware departs from the tactics of its malware brethren by taking advantage of strong cryptographic techniques to prevent legitimate access to files. Cryptography, normally a technique used to protect sensitive information, uses encryption keys to convert normal files into versions that may not be read without the appropriate decryption key. It's a tactic similar to password protecting a file. If you don't know the decryption key, you simply can't access the content.
This is a very effective technique for transferring sensitive information between systems and individuals over otherwise insecure networks. In fact, the HTTPS secure websites users visit every day use encryption to protect information sent back and forth between the user and the web server.
When ransomware uses encryption, however, it has much darker intent. The malware scours the infected system's hard drive, searching out personal files. Each time it encounters such a file, it encrypts it using a secret key known only to the malware author. When the legitimate user attempts to access his or her files, the encryption stymies that effort and the ransomware pops up a demand for payment in Bitcoin or other anonymous digital currency. If the user pays the ransom, the attacker sometimes (but not always!) provides the decryption key used to restore file access. If the user doesn't pay the ransom, the encryption may result in the potentially devastating permanent loss of data.
Protecting Against Ransomware
Fortunately, there are ways that users and organizations can protect themselves against the ransomware threat. The same good computer security practices that IT professionals advocated in years past apply to this new threat. Well-maintained systems should be immune from most ransomware threats, although no technique is foolproof.
First and foremost, every system connected to a network should run antivirus software from a reputable vendor with current signature files installed. That means paying the annual license fee to maintain current protection. If users don't purchase these updates, the antivirus software cannot effectively defend against new risks. Each day that passes without a signature update significantly increases the risk of infection by ransomware or other malware nasties.
Second, IT staffers should install operating system patches and software security updates on a regular basis. The drive-by download technique favored by ransomware creators depends upon exploiting known flaws in operating systems, web browsers and other applications. Running old, unpatched software provides a pathway that may allow malware to enter the system.
Finally, there's no substitute for practicing safe web browsing habits. Users should avoid visiting suspicious sites, downloading unapproved software, and clicking on unknown attachments. Making one of these simple mistakes, even a single time, can trigger an irreversible ransomware infection. Organizations can complement safe browsing education programs with technical filters that block access to known malicious sites from the organization's network. This is an effective way to block some infections, but IT staffers must remember that many computers leave the safe confines of the corporate network and access the Internet from unfiltered connections at hotels, airports, coffee shops and similar locations.
The key to avoiding ransomware infection is the same as protecting against many other security risks practice defense in depth. No single security control is a panacea in the fight against malware. Building a series of layered defenses dramatically increases the safety of Internet-connected systems.
What If You're Infected?
What happens when defenses fail and a system falls victim to ransomware infection? Unfortunately, the prognosis is bleak. Ransomware uses very strong encryption technology and it is virtually impossible to decrypt files without access to the secret decryption key.
If an organization has backups of the files stored on a computer, the best bet is to simply wipe and rebuild the infected system and then restore the unencrypted files from backup. When taking this path, it's very important to verify the security controls described earlier are in place. Without antivirus software, content filtering and safe browsing habits, the system may fall victim to the same infection again.
If backups don't exist, there aren't many great options. Organizations can take the same path as the Midlothian police department and pay the ransom, but that's a risky proposition. There's no guarantee that anonymous criminals will honor their word and provide the decryption key. If the organization refuses to pay the ransom and no copies of the files exist elsewhere, data loss may be inevitable.
Ransomware is big business. Symantec recently issued a report analyzing the ransomware industry and estimated that ransomware developers may rake in as much as $400,000 per month! By taking simple security steps, organizations may protect their computers and critical files from this dangerous threat. | <urn:uuid:b4e0b191-4cdb-4af0-b193-26530ef8790c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.certmag.com/articles/protection-prevention-vital-countering-threat-of-ransomware | 2024-09-20T12:44:26Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652278.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920122604-20240920152604-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.918681 | 1,230 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Transformation have appeared as pivotal elements shaping the contemporary business landscape. With technological advancements, organizations are increasingly looking to leverage AI to optimize their operations, derive meaningful insights from data, and offer unparalleled services to their customers. This synergy between AI and business processes has fueled a change in thinking, allowing businesses to redefine their operational strategies, customer interactions, and value propositions, heralding a new era in digital transformation.
The convergence of AI and digital transformation offers a treasure trove of opportunities, ranging from streamlined operations and enhanced productivity to improved customer experiences and innovative business models. However, implementing AI is not without its challenges. It mandates a meticulous understanding of AI and digital transformation, a clear vision, and an effective strategy to integrate AI into existing business processes and systems seamlessly. The transformation also involves navigating through a learning curve and addressing ethical concerns while constantly adapting to the evolving technological landscape.
Let’s explore the depth and breadth of this topic and explain how AI acts as a catalyst in businesses’ digital transformation journey.
Introduction to AI and Digital Transformation
The modern technological era has ushered in a spectrum of innovations, among which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Transformation stand out as the harbingers of change. These elements are not just reshaping industries but are also redefining how organizations operate, deliver, and create value. This section aims to lay the foundation by defining AI and digital transformation, exploring the significance of AI in today’s businesses, and understanding how AI fuels digital transformation processes.
Defining Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science focused on creating intelligent machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, language understanding, and even creativity. AI looks to emulate human cognition to execute tasks ranging from solving puzzles, understanding languages, recognizing patterns and images, and making judgments and predictions. Machine learning, a subset of AI, involves the development of algorithms that allow computers to learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data.
Understanding Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation, on the other hand, integrates digital technology into all business areas, fundamentally altering how organizations operate and deliver value to customers. It goes beyond mere digitization and involves a holistic change in organizational activities, processes, competencies, and business models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities a mix of digital technologies provides. Digital transformation is driven by many factors, including the desire for efficiency, competitive advantage, and customer satisfaction, enabling businesses to evolve and adapt to the changing business environment.
Significance of AI in Modern Businesses
The significance of AI in modern businesses is multifaceted and profound. AI acts as a lever to enhance efficiency and productivity by automating mundane and repetitive tasks, allowing human employees to focus on more complex and creative aspects of their jobs. It enables organizations to glean insights from previously impossible or highly time-consuming data, thereby helping more informed decision-making. Moreover, AI offers unprecedented customization and personalization capabilities, enabling businesses to offer tailored products, services, and interactions, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
How AI Powers Digital Transformation
AI is the powerhouse that fuels digital transformation by enabling businesses to leverage advanced technologies to redefine their operational strategies, customer interactions, and value propositions. It empowers organizations to reach new levels of efficiency, innovate products and services, and create enhanced user experiences. AI-driven analytics and data processing allow companies to make real-time decisions and predictions, optimize business processes, and uncover new possibilities. Through machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, AI supplies the tools necessary for businesses to transform digitally, ensuring they are still competitive, innovative, and resilient in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
The Synergy of AI and Business Processes
Integrating AI within business processes is like weaving threads of innovation and efficiency into the fabric of an organization. The resultant synergy is transformative, allowing businesses to reshape their operational paradigms, make informed decisions, and elevate their productivity levels. In this section, we will explore how AI streamlines operations, its role in decision-making processes, and how it enhances productivity, reflecting its symbiotic relationship with business processes.
Streamlining Operations with AI
AI’s prowess in streamlining operations is undeniable, serving as the bedrock for operational efficiency and agility. It automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks, minimizing the scope for human error and freeing up human resources to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. For instance, AI-powered bots and automation tools can manage customer inquiries, process data, and handle basic administrative tasks swiftly, reducing the workload on human employees. Additionally, AI’s ability to process and analyze vast amounts of data enables organizations to optimize their supply chains, improve resource allocation, and forecast demands accurately, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
AI in Decision-Making Processes
The infusion of AI in decision-making processes acts as a catalyst for cultivating informed and strategic business decisions. AI’s capability to process massive datasets allows organizations to derive insights, recognize patterns, and predict trends, enabling leaders to make decisions grounded in data and analytics. Predictive analytics and data-driven insights give organizations a clearer understanding of market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging risks, allowing for more strategic planning and risk management. Moreover, AI-powered decision-making tools supply real-time insights, enabling businesses to respond promptly to changing market conditions and customer needs, thus maintaining a competitive edge.
Enhancing Productivity through AI
AI is pivotal in enhancing productivity by automating tasks and optimizing workflows. By taking over mundane and repetitive tasks, AI allows employees to concentrate on high-value, creative, and strategic activities, increasing job satisfaction and output. AI-driven tools can aid in managing projects, allocating resources efficiently, and prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance, thus optimizing workflow and minimizing bottlenecks. Additionally, AI’s ability to learn and adapt means it can continuously improve and optimize processes, leading to incremental enhancements in productivity over time.
Implementation Challenges of AI in Business
While the integration of Artificial Intelligence offers a myriad of benefits, organizations face several challenges in its implementation. These challenges range from ethical concerns and steep learning curves to significant cost implications. Addressing these challenges is crucial for successful AI integration and fully harnessing its transformative potential in digital transformation. This section explores the challenges organizations encounter while implementing AI in business processes.
Ethical Concerns in AI Implementation
Implementing AI raises several ethical concerns that organizations must address meticulously. One of the prominent concerns is data privacy and security, given the vast amounts of sensitive and personal data AI systems process. Ensuring the ethical use of such data is paramount. Bias in AI models is another critical concern; if the data used to train AI models is biased, it will produce biased results, leading to unfair and discriminatory outcomes. Organizations also face challenges related to transparency and accountability, as the decision-making process of AI systems can often be opaque, making it difficult to ascertain responsibility in case of mistaken or harmful decisions. Addressing these ethical concerns is not just about compliance with regulations; it is fundamental for building trust with customers, employees, and stakeholders.
Navigating the Learning Curve of AI Adoption
Adopting AI necessitates a change in thinking in organizational learning and development. Organizations encounter challenges in skilling and reskilling their workforce to use AI tools effectively. The steep learning curve involves understanding the complexities of AI technologies, developing the necessary technical skills, and adapting to new workflows and processes. It is essential for organizations to invest in continuous learning and development programs and foster a culture of learning to ease the smooth adoption of AI. Overcoming the learning curve is crucial for perfecting the use of AI and ensuring that employees can use AI tools to enhance their productivity and decision-making capabilities.
The Cost Implications of AI Integration
The integration of AI in business processes comes with significant cost implications. Developing or buying AI technologies requires substantial investment in research and development, technology infrastructure, and talent acquisition. The costs related to data acquisition, processing, and management are also considerable. Additionally, the ongoing costs of maintaining, updating, and improving AI systems can strain an organization’s resources. Balancing the cost implications with the expected benefits and value addition is crucial for a sustainable AI integration strategy. Organizations need to conduct thorough cost-benefit analyses and develop clear ROI models to navigate the financial aspects of AI integration effectively.
In conclusion, the union of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation is paving a revolutionary pathway, crafting realms where innovation, efficiency, and value creation are pivotal and reshaping the entire business landscape. This convergence is transforming how organizations run, make decisions, and yield outputs, going beyond mere enhancements in efficiency and productivity—it is about redefining and revolutionizing the way value is created and delivered. The constructive interaction between AI and business processes allows for navigating the intricacies of the contemporary business environment and adapting to its continual evolutions, presenting unprecedented opportunities and challenges in customer experiences, data management, and analysis.
By using AI, organizations can foresee a future marked by sustainable and groundbreaking growth, exploring deeper synergies, overcoming implementation challenges, and realizing the vast potential in practical applications and future innovations in business digital transformation.
Ready to start your AI journey? Learn how New Era Technology can help by contacting us today. | <urn:uuid:ef02e198-d0a9-48e3-aacd-1adce60ceb1f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.neweratech.com/us/blog/role-of-artificial-intelligence-business-digital-transformation/ | 2024-09-09T15:14:01Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651103.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909134831-20240909164831-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.918392 | 1,904 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Sharing Files Using the Public Folder
Windows Vista doesn’t have the Shared Documents folder that Windows XP offered; however, the Public folder is included, offering a very easy way to share files and documents with others on the same network in addition to other user accounts on the PC.
As Figure 1 shows, you can access the Public folder from Windows Explorer or Computer.
Figure 1 |
You can simply drag and drop (or copy and paste) files and folders into the Public folder (or one of its subfolders) to share them with users on the same PC and others on the same network.
Although Vista automatically shares the Public folder with other network users, there is a security measure in place to help prevent unintended sharing of your Public folder when on public and other un-trusted networks, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots. As mentioned in Intro to Wi-Fi Networking Using Windows Vista, there’s a new network classification scheme where you’re prompted to classify the networks you connect to: Home, Work, or Public.
For example, if you choose Public for your network location, Vista will automatically disable all network discovery and sharing (the Public folder and any manually shared folders) to protect your documents and privacy while on the unsecured network. Then if you go back home and connect to your network (which you most likely classified as Home), sharing will be re-enabled.
You can also easily disable the sharing of the Public folder at any time via the Network and Sharing Center, which can be accessed by right-clicking on network status icon in the system tray. Then just scroll down to the green and/or gray status lights, click the arrow to the right of the Public folder sharing light, select your desired setting, and click Apply.
Sharing a Specific Folder
In addition to dragging files over to the Public folder, you can also enable the sharing of just about any folder on your PC, just like you could in Windows XP. Setting up sharing for folders in Vista isn’t much more difficult than in XP, although it is a bit more confusing at first. Here’s how to do it:
1. Right-click on the folder you want to share and select the
Share… option. The File Share window pops-up. Figure 2 shows an example.
Figure 2 |
The list box with the Name and Permission Level fields are those who can access the shared folder (we’ll call it the Access List). The Windows account you’re currently logged on is automatically added to the Access List.
2. Using the drop down list (just above the Access List), select who you want to add to the Access List and click Add. To share the folder among network users (and consequently all other user accounts on the PC), select and add the Everyone entry from the drop down list.
3. After adding an entry to the Access List, you can modify the Permission Level by clicking its arrow.
Here are the attributes of the levels:
- Reader: Can view shared files, but not add, alter, or delete them.
- Contributor: Can view or add shared files, but can only alter or delete files he or she has contributed.
- Co-owner: Can view, add, alter or delete any shared file.
4. Once you’re done click the Share button to apply the changes. Then you’ll see a window letting you know the folder is now shared and its path.
5. Click Done to exit.
Sharing a Printer
Just like in Windows XP, you can easily set up a printer that’s connected to a PC to be shared among users on the network; here’s how:
1. Open the Printers folder from the Control Panel.
2. Right-click on the printer you want to share and select the Share…
option. The printer properties window pops up with the Sharing tab selected.
3. Click Change Sharing Options. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. Check the Share this printer option.
5. Enter the name in the Share name field that you would like to show in the network resources.
6. Click OK.
Using a Shared Printer
Once you have enabled the sharing of a printer, you can add that printer to other PCs on the network so you can print from it. Here’s how to do it in Windows Vista:
1. Open the Printers folder from the Control Panel.
2. Click the Add a printer button on the toolbar.
3. Select the Add a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer button. It will begin searching for any shared printers on the network.
4. Select the printer and click Next. If you don’t see the printer you want, click the appropriate button to manually find it.
5. Enter your desired name for the new printer.
6. If you don’t want the printer to be the default one selected/used when printing from the PC, uncheck the appropriate option.
7. Click Next. A window should appear indicating the printer was successfully added.
8. To ensure its setup correctly click Print a test page.
9. Click Finish.
If you’re unable to find the shared printer during the setup, you may want to ensure that printer sharing isn’t disabled on the PC hosting the printer. You can check this by opening the Network and Sharing Center and scrolling to the appropriate entry on the status light area
Enabling Password Protection
In Windows Vista you can enable password protection for your shared folders. When enabled, however, your shared resources aren’t shared with others on the network. The shared resources will only be available to other user accounts on the same PC, and of course access is only given by entering the password.
1. Right-click on the network status icon in the system tray and select Network and Sharing Center. The Network and Sharing Center pops up.
2. Scroll down to the green and/or gray status lights and click the arrow on the right of Password protected sharing. The settings will appear, as seen in Figure 3.
Figure 3 |
3. Select Turn on password-protected sharing and click Apply.
Viewing All Your Shared Folders
Unlike Windows XP, Vista allows you to easily and quickly see all the folders you’re sharing. It’s very easy to forget which folders you’ve shared over time, and as a result this helpful feature enables you to always know exactly what is being shared and to whom. This enables you to better protect your data and privacy, which is particularly important for those who often use un-trusted networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots.
Here’s how to view the lists of shared files and folders:
1. Right-click on the network status icon in the system tray and select Network and Sharing Center.
2. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Network and Sharing Center.
3. Click on the links, as pointed out by the red arrow in figure 4, to view the files and folders you are sharing.
Figure 4 |
It’s a good idea to periodically check your shared folders, their permission settings, and their contents to make sure you don’t unintentionally share something that’s private or sensitive.
Stay Tuned for more on networking using Windows Vista, including our Introduction to Wi-Fi Networking with Windows Vista as well as tips for Connecting to Wi-Fi Networks using Windows Vista.
Eric Geier is the founder and president of Sky-Nets, Ltd., which operates a Wi-Fi hotspot network serving the general aviation community. He has also been a computing and wireless networking author and consultant for several years. One of Eric’s latest books is Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting up Public Wireless Internet Access, published by Cisco Press.
This article was first published on Wi-Fi Planet. | <urn:uuid:9bc9655c-fb96-4994-8f8d-ed4b5d61118c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.datamation.com/networks/vista-networking-tips-sharing-on-a-wi-fi-network-using-windows-vista/ | 2024-09-12T01:54:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651420.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20240912011254-20240912041254-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.905346 | 1,665 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Table of Content
Familiarising With The Term Cyber Security
You must have heard of the word cyber security, making headlines in the news, internet, social media, IT forums, etc. However, has it ever occurred to you what is cyber security or why does the security administrator of your organization keep on talking about the importance of cyber security?
Fundamentally, cyber security is the body of technology, process, and practice, designed to protect systems, networks, programs, and data from cyber risks like cyber attacks, damage, or unauthorized access. It is also referred to as information technology security. With cyber attacks evolving today as a danger to organizations, employees, and customers, cyber security plays a very crucial role in the prevention of such security threats.
As we have entered into this new decade, we can already see new challenges arising in cyber security since day one! It is no surprise to see that cyber security is constantly on the rise and there is a lot in store for the near future. Today, companies have become more technologically reliant than ever and the trend doesn’t seem to stop. Rather, it looks like this technological reliance will keep evolving in the long term.
Almost every organization nowadays uses cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive to store their confidential data and sensitive information. If not taken proper online security measures, this data present online can easily be exploited by cybercriminals.
Why is Cyber Security Important for Companies Today?
Often some organizations take their data security lightly and as a result, they fall victim to cyber-attacks. In fact, our companies are still not immune to these evolving cyber-attacks. But thanks to these fast-developing technology standards today, cyber security has become a priority for every organization across the world.
It is a serious matter of how cyber attacks are shaping in every form possible in order to stay one step ahead of the development in technology. Phishing, ransomware, and cyber scams are some of the common yet highly dangerous cyber attacks that are designed with the motive to access and exploit the user’s sensitive data and extort money out of it.
Here are some more major reasons to understand why cyber security is important for companies:
- Rise of Cyber Crimes
Be it a large scale or a small scale firm, hackers and cyber criminals spare no one. Rather, they lookout for opportunities to exploit data and get money out of these firms. Over the past year, the average cost of cybercrime for an organization has increased 23% more than last year—US$11.7 million, according to the report. Also, the average number of security breaches has risen significantly and it is now $3.86 million, as per the report. With the introduction of new technologies, the chances of cyber threats and risks are also rapidly increasing. Cybercriminals have advanced their attempts of deploying cyber attacks with the evolution of technology.
- Growth of IoT Devices
With the mission to create smart cities with smart devices, our dependency to connect everything to the internet has increased too. The introduction of IoT technology i.e. Internet of Things, has not only simplified and sped up our tasks but has also created a pit of new vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. No matter how advanced security measures we take, cybercriminals will always stay one step ahead to attempt cyber crimes. If these internet-connected devices are not managed properly then they can provide a gateway to business to hackers or cyber criminals!
- Bridge to Security Gap
Human resources and IT resources have always been one of the most important aspects of any organization. Regardless of their dependency on each other, there has always been a security gap between both aspects. In order to bridge this gap, it is important to provide individuals working in an organization with the right cyber security awareness training. Training for employees is necessary to bridge the gap in cyber security skills and to create a cyber-resilient working culture in the organization.
- Cost of Cyber Risks
Cyber attacks today are not only multiplying in numbers but are also multiplying in the cost of damage created. These cyber-attacks can prove to be extremely expensive for any organization to endure if not taken proper security measures. With more business infrastructures connecting, it is predicted, cybercrime to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, says the report. Besides, it is not just the financial damage that could cost but also the reputation of the firm along with loss of customer trust in the business.
- Security of Data
When it comes to data security, it can be clearly seen how organizations are getting highly comfortable in keeping their information online. With the alarming number of data breaches and information leaks making news headlines almost every day, it can be seen how vulnerable the data left is online. Moreover, cyber attack vectors such as ransomware, phishing, cyber scams, risk of removable media, etc. leave no room for data exploitation and publicizing of any vulnerable data. Implementation of the right cyber security solutions is a must to avoid any future cyber risks related to the sensitive data of an organization.
How to Cyber Secure Your Organization in 2021?
Are you here to look for the best defensive system for your organization to combat cyber attacks? Well, the only thing that is important for your organization in 2021 is a strong cyber security system along with the best cyber defense practices to reduce the cyber threat posture of your organization.
Solely relying on anti-virus software will not stop cyber criminals from accessing your business. But educating employees in making smart cyber defensive choices can definitely reduce the chances of cyber risks!
Moreover, it doesn’t require a specialist to teach employees about cyber defense and cyber security awareness. There are advanced technology-based tools available today to help and guide employees in recognizing and combating cyber threats before they infiltrate networks and systems.
Web and network attackers are constantly striving to undermine the security system of the company’s IT infrastructure today with the intention of stealing confidential data. Thus, making it more challenging for organizations to stay cyber secure.
Organizations are required to equip themselves to prepare for tight security measures and the best cyber security solutions like security risk assessment tools, anti-phishing, and fraud monitoring tools to look for vulnerabilities and to track your brand online. Always remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
What more challenges and surprises do you think cybersecurity has in store for this year?
Let us know your views in the comment section below!
Thank you for sparing your valuable time here, hope you had a good read!
Turn Your Employees Into A Cyber Threat Shield
Make your employees proactive against prevailing cyber attacks with ThreatCop! | <urn:uuid:76f81f39-0dc7-43e2-bf23-a2866b60ebd2> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://kratikal.com/blog/5-major-reasons-for-why-is-cybersecurity-important/ | 2024-09-19T11:52:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700652028.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20240919093719-20240919123719-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.95011 | 1,352 | 2.953125 | 3 |
EIGRP redistributing named mode
When redistributing EIGRP into any other routing protocol, the command used references the autonomous system number of the EIGRP instance to be redistributed. For example, when redistributing from EIGRP to BGP the following commands would be used:
R1(config)#router bgp 1 R1(config-router)#redistribute eigrp 10
Where 10 is the autonomous system number of the EIGRP routing instance.
When using EIGRP named mode, the same command is used.
EIGRP named mode does not do away with the autonomous system numbers used by EIGRP. Under the address-family
configuration, you must still specify an autonomous system number for the specific EIGRP domain. It is this autonomous system number that you must use when redistributing.
Note that EIGRP named mode may use a virtual instance name instead of a number, but it does not replace the use of the AS. The AS is specified under the address-family
command. Here is an example of a named EIGRP configuration:
router eigrp MY_NAME ! address-family ipv4 unicast autonomous-system 12 ! af-interface GigabitEthernet0/0 authentication mode md5 authentication key-chain MY_CHAIN exit-af-interface
In this scenario, if you were to redistribute from EIGRP to BGP for example, the autonomous system number you would use is 12. | <urn:uuid:5ffe211d-1a4e-4350-9eda-ec1e6dcab53d> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://notes.networklessons.com/eigrp-redistributing-named-mode | 2024-09-20T17:57:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701419169.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920154713-20240920184713-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.823564 | 317 | 2.546875 | 3 |
There are many factors that can contribute to a slow computer. One of the most common is simply having too many programs and files installed on the machine. Over time, as more and more programs are installed and used, the computer can start to bog down and become slower. Additionally, if there is a lot of fragmentation in the hard drive, this can also lead to a slower computer.
Another factor that can contribute to a slow computer is having a lot of start-up programs. These are programs that automatically start when the computer is turned on, and they can use up valuable resources that could be used for other tasks. If you suspect that one of these factors is causing your computer to run slowly, there are a few things you can do to try to speed it up. Try uninstalling any programs you don’t use anymore, defragmenting your hard drive, and disabling start-up programs. Additionally, make sure you aren’t running too many programs at once and that your computer has enough memory to handle everything you’re asking it to do.
The more programs you have the worse off your computer will be. Whether they were already on when or if someone else installed them after purchase doesn’t matter; either way, there are too many of these unnecessary files taking up hard drive space and using up memory resources! Sometimes you might need to install an updated program because it improves on the previous one (such as DirectX 9 and Media Player 10) which improve graphics respectively. On the other hand, installing a new version can be risky especially if your computer does not have enough storage space or power for them all at once, in this case, try downloading smaller pieces until they are installed safely!
Defragment Your Hard Drive
When you free up space on your hard drive, it doesn’t go into a big pot of free space, it remains where the deleted data was filed as a fragment. After a while, your hard drive fills up and starts to use up the little free fragments – creating your document or file from a number of locations on the disc. This takes more time for your computer to do.
Defragmenting – or defragging – your hard drive organizes the disorganized bits of data on your hard drive into easily accessible and ordered blocks. If your PC has slowed down over time, defragmenting can help speed it up. In particular, programs that have large file sizes (video editors, games, etc) will cause your hard drive to fragment and defragmenting will improve their performance.
Upgrade Your Hardware
If your computer is still slow, it may be time to upgrade your hardware. Adding more RAM can help speed up your computer, and replacing an old hard drive with a solid-state drive will make a big difference in how quickly your computer starts up and how fast it runs. If you’re not comfortable upgrading your own hardware, you can always take your computer to a professional to have them do it for you.
Go to the Experts
Your computer is a living, breathing entity. It’s not uncommon for people to let their machines collect dust and become over-clogged with programs they never use again after installation or purchase. Programs can slow down your machine over time if you don’t take the initiative in uninstalling them when needed! Consider having an expert tidy things up once every few months so that these slowdown effects don’t accumulate too much momentum before being noticed by others using shared resources such as printers on office networks
In order words: Investing just 10-15 minutes per week may help save money spent on repairing costly repairs later. Learn more ways CCSI can help slow down your computer speeds. | <urn:uuid:21caefa5-2f94-414e-874f-482fe917d4a1> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.ccsipro.com/blog/what-makes-computers-slow/ | 2024-09-20T16:11:03Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701419169.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920154713-20240920184713-00397.warc.gz | en | 0.952078 | 761 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Can You Have Zero Trust Authentication with Passwords?
Passwords have long been a necessary evil. Once organizations began storing important data, they needed a way to verify what users could access, hence the implementation of the password. But attackers soon found ways to steal, bypass, or subvert password-based security measures.
Today, we know passwords are an insecure authentication method. Hackers are able to breach passwords because it’s easy—people reuse passwords, make them easy to remember (and thus guess), and a myriad of other reasons. As attacks continue to mount and security experts issue ever more dire warnings about the risks of password-based attacks, most organizations still depend on the password to authenticate users.
Attempts have been made to fix passwords—layering on a multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the most often used solution—but the password remains the insecure foundation for first-generation MFA.
The continued existence of the password, combined with the traditional “castle and moat” network security model, leaves organizations open for attack. MFA solutions that use SMS text messages and OTP are easy phishing targets. Recent breaches of well known organizations have proven this.
This is where transitioning to a zero trust security model can help. By following the mantra “never trust, always verify,” organizations can limit potential damage by never inherently trusting a device or a user and continuously verifying device level security controls. Instead of the network itself serving as the perimeter, the user’s identity becomes the perimeter.
As you embark on your zero trust journey, you may consider if passwords fit. The answer is an emphatic no. We'll explain why maintaining password-based authentication is incompatible with zero trust.
Why can’t passwords be a part of a zero trust strategy
Passwords require a degree of trust that the rightful owner possesses the credential. If the person requesting the resource holds the proper credentials, access is granted to all resources permitted for that user’s role. Passwords can be easily stolen and shared for even the most sensitive of resources, which makes them such a bad authentication method to trust because of how hackable they are and how often these credentials are breached.
On top of this, the security check for password-based authentication happens only once, at initial login. Also, most authentication solutions do not take into account the security posture of the device.
Zero trust requires eliminating trust of any kind from your environment and implementing the use of continuous authentication because otherwise you are trusting that the person who authenticated a few minutes ago hasn’t turned off their firewall, been a victim of a session hijacking attack, or a number of other scenarios. Passwords don’t fit in that scenario. You can add additional security measures to passwords, but those solutions will not stop attackers and still rely on transitive trust.
First-generation MFA isn’t enough either
Many organizations consider MFA an important security control in preventing data breaches, and it’s certainly better than passwords alone. But first-generation MFA is not zero trust compatible. Any use of a password, even if it’s only stored in a database as a backup account recovery method, puts you at risk.
Like the password, an MFA factor is a one-time event, whether it be a magic link, a texted one-time password (OTP), or a push notification. Zero trust requires device security be continuously reassessed during a session to maintain access to a resource, not just during the initial sign-in.
Furthermore, traditional MFA factors also rely on a degree of trust that the OTP or magic link has made it to the right person, and they are easy to phish. The Executive Order from the US Government on zero trust put forth the concept of phishing-resistant factors and moving away from them as soon as possible in order to achieve a zero trust security architecture. The elimination of factors like SMS text messages gets organizations one step closer to fulfilling the "phishing-resistant" requirement put forth by the US government.
While there are secure and unphishable MFA factors, as long as the password is involved, zero trust cannot exist.
Switch to passwordless, unphishable MFA to set the foundation for zero trust
Transitioning to passwordless authentication is a significant first step toward securing your organization, but it isn’t enough to keep your environment protected. You need to layer on unphishable, zero trust MFA to eliminate attack vectors and enhance security.
What is phishing-resistant MFA? Instead of using factors like OTPs, magic links, or push notifications, factors such as cryptographic keys, local biometrics, and device-level security checks to verify the device are used. It provides unparalleled security to stop hacks and breaches.
Beyond Identity’s platform was built to provide Zero Trust Authentication. Our robust MFA delivers secure and efficient access while eliminating passwords. Our zero trust policy engine continuously scans for risk signals and can respond based on those signals. We enforce continuous risk-based authentication to identify risks with zero friction for the user.
Need to implement zero trust authentication that fully eliminates passwords so you can protect your organization from future attacks? Beyond Identity has you covered. Ask for a demo today. | <urn:uuid:95e2bf9e-65fb-4321-8d23-c4420219457f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.beyondidentity.com/resource/can-you-have-zero-trust-authentication-with-passwords | 2024-09-08T14:03:29Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651002.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908115103-20240908145103-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.932565 | 1,088 | 2.625 | 3 |
Our modern world is awash with ideas. Some become the raw material of great technology achievements. Most don’t. The difference in fortune usually comes down to a pivotal moment along the way. For GSM it all came down to 37 weeks in 1987.
GSM can trace its origins as far back as 1975 when Henry Kieffer from the Swiss PTT suggested Europe needed to find new spectrum for mobile at 900 MHz – the vital raw material for radio.
Setting-up of GSM was the next significant milestone. Similar standards activity also started in USA and Japan. In those countries the standards responsibility for the radio and the linked network were split between different standards bodies. A similar split had existed inside CEPT. The critical decision in 1982 was to allow GSM to define everything it needed for itself. This secured a competitive edge for European mobile standards making.
Over the next few years GSM became a funnel for ideas from every R&D Lab in Europe. Great institutions like CNET, CSELT and BTRL, key Industrial Labs (Ericsson, Alcatel etc) and many Universities were all drawn into this exciting new opportunity – to digitalise Europe’s mobile networks.
1987 was GSM’s Pivotal Moment
Over a very turbulent period in 1987 Europe produced the very first agreed GSM Technical Specification (February). Ministers from the 4 big EU countries cemented their political support for GSM with the Bonn Minister’s Declaration (May) and the GSM MoU was tabled for signature (September). The MoU drew-in mobile operators from across Europe to pledge to invest in new GSM networks to an ambitious common date. It got GSM up and running fast.
In a breathtaking 37 weeks the whole of Europe (countries and industries) had been brought behind GSM in a rare unity and speed.
What made the difference between GSM falling over a cliff edge and spectacularly taking off
In this pivotal moment the guiding hands shaping the outcome of all three critical events were (from right to left) Armin Silberhorn Germany), Stephen Temple (UK), Philippe Dupuis (France) and Renzo Failli (Italy):
Officials delighted that Four Ministers sign the Bonn declaration giving GSM the green-light
Thomas Haug (Winner of the 2013 Draper Prize for pioneering contributions to the world’s first cellular telephone networks, systems, and standards) facilitated a seamless criss-crossing of the initiative in and out of GSM..
Thomas Haug GSM Chairman keeps the ship steady in turbulent waters
An important player in GSM’s success that has never received their deserved recognition is the EU Commission. They made four significant contributions: They set the political agenda in which a Single Market in cellular mobile was a common goal shared by all. The impact of this alignment should not be underestimated in having everyone pulling in the same direction They called for the setting up of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in their 1987 Green Paper. The old CEPT way of working would never have delivered the GSM technical standards on-time. After ETSI was set up in 1988 they generously funded the full-time project team working on the details of the 6000 page technical standard They tabled the GSM frequency directive that protected harmonised spectrum for GSM across the EU that was in imminent danger of being sucked into analogue systems by huge market forces at work in different member states. The spectrum was released essentially in exchange for a coverage obligation, rather than paying money to governments through spectrum auctions that came later and almost almost sunk 3G. They promoted a network competition model based upon the successful UK duopoly of Cellnet and Vodafone. This was a huge part of the GSM implementation dynamism. It was Mannesmann, Orange, Vodafone and others that did much of the early heavy lifting when the technology was still immature and mobiles in short supply. They also galvanised the incumbents into action. This generated early scale economies for Europe. The standardisation task was immense. Keeping the radio technical details on the right track was led by the brilliant French engineer Alain Molaberti. Alain Molaberti successfully steered the direction of the controversial radio interface The very first GSM call was made by the Finnish Prime Minister (Harri Holkeri) in Helsinki to the Mayor of Tampere (Kaarina Suonio) who was in front of the Rosendahl Hotel in Tampere in Finland. The future success of GSM then passed into the hands of hundreds of engineers from all the major mobile radio operators and the large systems companies. The result was a common cellular radio network right across Europe to serve the needs of the business community – an early triumph for the new European Single Market. But the future destiny of GSM was not to stay rooted in the business market. Something happened that took it off this path and onto one that was to lead GSM to become the most successful communications network in history – with over 6 billion users. The mobile industry was to move out of its base of professional electronics and into a new world of consumer electronics. The point of origin for this transformation was the seminal publication by the UK DTI called Phones on the Move”. The point of origin of mobiles becoming a mass consumer item This was the first public consultation by any government to set out the new visions of Personal Communications as a consumer industry driven by widening the scope for network competition, opening up the 1800 MHz bands, adding 38 GHz microwave links to reduce the cost of back-haul and adding fresh energy to GSM’s scale economies. “Phone on the Move” was conceived and written by Stephen Temple who also proposed and wrote the GSM MoU. Industry embraced the vision. The mobile revolution was born. …and hidden behind the curtain…other remarkable GSM achievers: Jan Audestad, Christian Vernes and Michel Mouly. One of the reasons why GSM was so attractive to developing countries was that it was a complete telecommunications network. Standards bodies in other parts of the world only produced a specification for the radio piece of the mobile network. Automatic roaming and handover of calls between base stations required dedicated exchanges for numbering and switching management. GSM took the ideas developed for the NMT network and significantly extended them to support handover between exchanges and information security. A step forward was made in flexibility by using Signalling System No. 7 which was essential to support new data services and SMS. Jan Audestad who led the network side of the GSM standard The Chairman of the GSM Working Party that quietly got on with putting all this together in a sensible architecture was was Norwegian Engineer Jan Audestad. Two other key contributors were Michel Mouly (France) and Christian Vernhes (France) The other miracle of GSM was that the technical standard was ever completed on time. It was written in “the paper age”…over 5,000 pages of it. Feeding into this was probably 100 times that amount of paper by way of contributions to meetings. The contributors were dispersed right across Europe. Bernard Mallinder from the UK headed up a full time support team under GSM to accelerate the work and in today’s world might have carried the title of Project Manager. Bernard Mallinder Thomas Beijer from Sweden was the Secretary of GSM and had to record a continuous flow of decisions taken by GSM that never met twice in the same place in its early days. SMS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS THE SLEEPING BEAUTY OF GSM. READ ABOUT THE 2+3 HEROES THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MESSAGING COMMUNITY: CLICK ON THE LINK: WHO CREATED SMS? | <urn:uuid:fef5a44e-8255-42ff-9417-6389b907a122> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | http://www.gsmhistory.com/who_created-gsm/ | 2024-09-09T18:07:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651133.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909170505-20240909200505-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.966459 | 1,603 | 2.65625 | 3 |
What Is Smishing and How Organizations Can Protect Themselves (Arctic Wolf)
SMS (short messaging service) phishing or “smishing” is a common type of cyber attack where victims receive misleading text messages intended to trick them into providing credentials, access, valuable data, or even downloading malware onto a system. It is also called “cell phone phishing.”
The Evolution of Cybersecurity in Banking (Fortinet)
As highlighted in recent reports, key activities in the financial ecosystem can be disrupted by cyber incidents, so risk management and secure network protocols are paramount. With cybercriminals relentlessly pursuing financial gain, data breaches have become more frequent and sophisticated, underscoring vulnerabilities in the banking sector.
Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica ft. Bryon Singh, RailWorks Corporation
The Common Cloud Misconfigurations That Lead to Cloud Data Breaches (CrowdStrike)
Multi-cloud environments are complex, and it can be difficult to tell when excessive account permissions are granted, improper public access is configured or other mistakes are made. It can also be difficult to tell when an adversary takes advantage of them.
Insider Threat Awareness: Are You Prepared for an Insider Threat? (Proofpoint)
The most effective insider threat management programs don’t just focus on tracking data; they also correlate data movement with user activity. This improves a company’s ability to identify risky user behavior and prevent insider-led incidents.
Who Are Ransomware Attackers and What Are They After? (Pure Storage)
Don’t let ransomware attackers take you by surprise. Understand who makes the ideal target and why, and what you can do to avoid becoming the next statistic.
Rewards and Risks: What Generative AI Means for Security (Varonis)
As AI has grown in popularity, concerns are being raised about the risks involved with using the technology. Cybercriminals have already found ways to exfiltrate data from different AI tools, including using platforms like WormGPT, an AI model trained on malware creation data and used for ill intent or to generate malicious code.
Unleash the Cloud and Data for a Seamless and Secure Media Experience (F5)
The media and entertainment (M&E) industry’s digital transformation continues as the cloud spurs a shift toward seamless content delivery. The cloud provides several benefits that make it easier for organizations like yours to store, process, and distribute content more efficiently and cost effectively. | <urn:uuid:45c6150e-e222-4b03-bb90-f0891ad529ca> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.gothamtg.com/blog/this-week-in-technology-212 | 2024-09-09T19:31:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651133.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909170505-20240909200505-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.899305 | 517 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Machine Learning presents new challenges for governance, risk, compliance, and audit professionals. Some of the top areas of concern are:
For these reasons, and more, we have to be able to understand, inspect, and test the decisions made by ML systems.
Machine Learning Assurance (MLA), is a controls-based process for ML systems that establishes confidence and verifiability through software and human oversight.
Download our whitepaper for a deeper introduction to Machine Learning Assurance and an overview of how Monitaur's software can support your assurance efforts.
In this 10-15 minute read, you’ll gain insights into:
Machine Learning (ML) is a form of artificial intelligence whereby computer systems recognize patterns and make predictions or decisions without explicit programming.
Machine learning models are the mechanisms needed for a machine to recognize patterns and learn how to make decisions. A machine learning model is comprised of training data, algorithms, and other important information.
Machine learning assurance (MLA)
MLA is a controls-based process for ML systems that establishes confidence and verifiability through software and human oversight.
AI regulations are laws that define how organizations use and report on AI systems, especially when it comes to consumer privacy, ethical practices, and transparency.
Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining is a framework for how ML is conducted by practitioners. CRISP-DM was specifically tailored to enhance machine learning assurance in 2018.
The high-level steps of CRISP-DM methodology include:
Download our whitepaper to learn more about our expanded methodology that includes the top 10 controls for machine learning. | <urn:uuid:3e712401-4e88-450b-8ccc-a576c28283e1> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.monitaur.ai/machine-learning-whitepaper | 2024-09-12T06:40:18Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651422.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20240912043139-20240912073139-00297.warc.gz | en | 0.929506 | 333 | 2.59375 | 3 |
With increasing threats of cyber-attacks and data breaches, healthcare providers must prioritize data privacy to maintain the trust of their patients and comply with stringent legal requirements. The stakes are high—security breaches compromise critically sensitive information, and expose healthcare providers to legal and financial repercussions.
Only by adopting certain practical strategies and security measures can healthcare providers better protect their patient’s records, and uphold their commitment to confidentiality and security.
Data Security: Healthcare Regulations and Data Privacy Laws
The most prominent regulation in the United States is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which sets the standard for protecting sensitive data. Any organization that deals with protected electronic health information (EPHI) must ensure that all the required physical, network, and process security measures are in place and followed.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes stringent regulatory requirements for handling the personal data of European citizens, regardless of the organization’s location. GDPR emphasizes the rights of individuals over their personal data–including health records and information, which necessitates explicit consent for data processing and mandates high penalties for non-compliance.
Assessing Current Healthcare Data Privacy Practices
Before implementing new privacy protocols, it’s crucial for healthcare organizations to understand their current stance on data privacy and security. This starts with a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential vulnerabilities in their handling of patient data. By employing frameworks like those provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), organizations can methodically evaluate their existing practices against industry standards.
The assessment should cover several areas, including how patient data is collected, stored, accessed, and shared. Tools like data flow diagrams can help visualize where data travels throughout the organization and where breaches might occur. This step is vital in pinpointing weak spots in data storage or transmission that could be exploited by unauthorized parties.
From these assessments, healthcare providers can generate a prioritized list of areas needing improvement. This list guides the subsequent steps in strengthening data privacy measures, ensuring that efforts are focused on the most critical vulnerabilities first. By systematically assessing and addressing these areas, healthcare organizations can significantly enhance their overall data security posture, thus better protecting patient privacy.
Conducting Regular Audits and Compliance Checks
Regular audits are crucial for ensuring that data privacy practices meet the required standards and regulations. These audits help identify any non-compliance issues or gaps in security that could potentially lead to data breaches. Healthcare providers should consider both internal and external audits to get a comprehensive view of their data security health.
Internal audits can be conducted by an organization’s in-house team, focusing on routine checks and ongoing compliance with data protection policies. These audits should be scheduled at regular intervals and after any significant system updates or changes to ensure continuous compliance.
External audits, performed by third-party experts, provide an unbiased assessment of the organization’s data privacy and security measures. These experts can also offer valuable insights and recommendations based on industry best practices and the latest trends in cybersecurity. Engaging with external auditors helps maintain transparency and builds trust with patients and stakeholders concerning data privacy.
Healthcare IT Infrastructure: Secure and Up-to-Date Technology
Ensuring technology infrastructure is up-to-date and secure enhances data security and improves the overall operational efficiency of any healthcare organization. Central to this upgrade is the implementation of encrypted databases that secure patient information at rest, preventing unauthorized access even if a breach occurs.
Secure communication platforms ensure that all data exchanged between doctors, staff, and patients is protected. These platforms should support end-to-end encryption, which keeps communication private and secure from eavesdroppers.
Some cloud service providers offer robust data protection measures tailored to healthcare requirements, while regular software updates and patch management will further increase safeguards against vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals often exploit outdated systems; therefore, healthcare organizations must implement a routine process for applying updates and patches to their software and systems promptly. Automating this process can reduce the burden on IT staff and minimize human error.
Data Access: Implementing Strong Access Controls
To protect patient data, it’s essential to control who has access to sensitive information and to what extent. Implementing strong access controls can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized data exposure.
Role-based access controls (RBAC) ensure that employees have access only to the data necessary for their roles. By minimizing access, healthcare providers can reduce the potential damage from internal threats or accidental breaches.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be standard practice for accessing patient data systems. MFA adds a layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification from users before granting access to resources.
Another key principle is that of least privilege, which means providing employees with the minimum level of access required to perform their job functions. This principle should be applied across all systems, particularly those involving sensitive patient data, and reviewed regularly to adjust access rights as roles change within the organization.
Employee Training: Raising Cyber Awareness
The human element is often the weakest link in data security; therefore, regular training and awareness programs for all healthcare staff are crucial to enhancing the privacy of patient data.
These programs should focus on teaching staff how to recognize phishing attempts, manage passwords securely, and ensure safe usage of mobile devices and other technologies that access patient information.
Training should include practical advice on how to create strong, unique passwords for different systems and the importance of changing these passwords regularly. Employees should also be educated on the use of two-factor or multi-factor authentication as an additional security layer.
Awareness programs should be interactive and ongoing, rather than one-off events. Simulated phishing exercises can be particularly effective, helping staff identify suspicious emails and understand the consequences of a breach. This type of training helps to cultivate a culture of security within the organization, making data protection a regular part of the workflow rather than an afterthought.
Fortify Your Healthcare IT Systems with Expert Assistance
Enhancing patient data security and privacy across healthcare IT environments is an ongoing challenge that requires constant vigilance and proactive management. From understanding the landscape of data privacy regulations to implementing robust security measures, healthcare providers can build a crucial foundation of trust and compliance.
Davenport Group specializes in providing IT services and cybersecurity solutions for healthcare organizations. We’ll ensure your systems are up-to-date and fully compliant with the latest regulations to help you safeguard your patients’ sensitive information and reinforce your commitment to their privacy. | <urn:uuid:1226d30c-b94b-4c41-a609-c0e68f070b2e> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://davenportgroup.com/insights/healthcare-data-security-practical-steps-to-enhance-patient-data-privacy/ | 2024-09-13T12:49:02Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651513.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20240913101949-20240913131949-00197.warc.gz | en | 0.921629 | 1,308 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Technology is becoming increasingly interconnected. Most people use multiple devices daily and store almost everything about their lives online, leading to identity theft.
Additionally, improvements in information management centralize all those details in one place. While this is undoubtedly convenient, it also adds new possibilities for cybercriminals to exploit.
If the device gets compromised, the owner will lose much more than a single piece of information. It can lead to identity theft or even put work accounts at risk. After all, more than 80 percent of US workers report using at least one personal device for their job.
The cloud’s primary purpose is to store and sort information in an off-site location. It’s used by both individuals and corporations, with its primary benefits being flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and convenience.
However, the possible liabilities in the cloud’s security can offset these advantages. The ability to access the cloud from mobile devices also encourages engaging with unsafe Wi-Fi connections, allowing hackers to monitor any traffic coming to and from the cloud. Any personal information found this way will help them to steal an identity or leverage any other information they can get their hands on.
Staying away from public Wi-Fi doesn’t ensure complete safety either. Cybercriminals often try to hack users’ cloud accounts directly and gain access to the service provider. This allows them to “hop” to other people’s data and access new information.
While there are many well-guarded cloud providers, it’s essential to understand the dangers of using the cloud. Individuals risk medical, financial, tax, and identity theft depending on what information they store.
Skimming is a strategy used to collect and duplicate the data from credit cards. By altering ATMs and commercial card readers, scammers can record the magnetic stripe data and the personal identification numbers (PIN) of every card used.
The 2021 Kaspersky Security Bulletin states that the number of credit card skimming operations steadily increases yearly. New technologies allow criminals to download the card information and create duplicates in a very short time. This gives criminals direct access to bank accounts and credit lines.
One way to minimize the risk of interacting with skimming is to use contactless payment options whenever possible. By going contactless, you bypass credit card readers entirely and keep your information out of malicious hands.
Spear phishing is a highly targeted strategy to trick people into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware. Traditional phishing scams play a numbers game and send malicious communications to a large population. However, spear phishing is for a more concrete purpose.
Hackers want to ransom or leverage specific information from one particular target. So, they first need to earn their target’s trust, which requires a heavy burden of research. However, the rise of social media has taken much of that out of the equation.
Usurping a social media account associated with a target provides hackers with all the tools they need to succeed. It allows them to see private information and send out messages that would generally be suspicious. These messages often include a disguised link that will install malware onto the target’s computer.
This malware will track and record the user’s online activity. It most likely sends back various login credentials, particularly of financial accounts, exposing users to identity theft.
Earlier in this article, we discussed how hackers could monitor and read your activity over unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Public Wi-Fi is “unsecured” because the transferred data isn’t encrypted.
It means that even the most unskilled hacker can see everything. So, logging into bank accounts or other vital profiles should be saved strictly for private connections. A 2022 study found that nearly 25 percent of travelers get hacked due to using public Wi-Fi while traveling.
Nowadays, hackers can precisely copy public Wi-Fi networks down to the MAC address. These “Evil Twins” networks often provide a stronger signal than the original to attract more users. Anyone who connects to these networks is at an extremely high risk for identity theft.
Do you wonder how to stay safe on public Wi-Fi and avoid such risks? Use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN will strain your data through its servers and cloak it with military-grade encryption, so users remain anonymous.
“Bots” are computers that a hacker controls remotely through malware. They use these infected computers to perform cyberattacks like identity theft. The owners of bot computers may not even know that their units are compromised.
Bring enough of these bots together, and a “botnet” forms. The dangerous thing about these webs is that they’re constantly growing. The malware locates weaknesses in surrounding devices and extends its reach while extracting the personal data found on each computer.
A botnet also executes sweeping strategies that are impossible with only one computer. It can send out billions of emails and DDoS networks. Then it creates communication channels through the devices.
Individuals must understand the possible risks when connecting to a new network or logging into an account. Learning when and how hackers target their victims is the key to combating identity theft. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be wise to consider professional protection even as an individual.
However, technology is continually improving and changing how we approach cybersecurity. It reveals weaknesses in existing systems that go unnoticed, and hackers quickly take advantage of them. We all need to stay aware of the best online practices around the ever-evolving cybersecurity technology. | <urn:uuid:f5e83689-2065-4e59-93c0-342187caeab2> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://coruzant.com/security/5-ways-technology-assists-identity-theft/ | 2024-09-14T17:03:07Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914161327-20240914191327-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.934587 | 1,131 | 2.84375 | 3 |
There’s no slowdown in the amount of power we’re using within the data center. A recent US Department of Energy report found that in 2014, data centers in the U.S. consumed an estimated 70 billion kWh, representing about 1.8% of total U.S. electricity consumption. Energy use is expected to continue slightly increasing in the near future, increasing 4% from 2014-2020, the same rate as the past five years. Based on current trend estimates, U.S. data centers are projected to consume approximately 73 billion kWh in 2020.
Furthermore, the latest AFCOM State of the Data Center report showed that 70% of respondents indicated that power density (per rack) has increased over the past 3 years. 26% indicated that this increase was significant.
So, what does this do to cooling, and most of all – airflow management? In the past decade, many companies have become aware of the advantages of data center airflow management practices that include containment systems.
It is also now well understood that as the average heat load per cabinet rises, simply arranging cabinets in a traditional open hot aisle/cold aisle configuration is not an effective approach. Industry associations have considered indirect and direct liquid cooling as possible solutions for high density applications, but using a containment system with perimeter cooling is still a very capable solution for today’s average rack densities and the anticipated densities over the next decade. Furthermore, containment systems support retrofit from hot aisle/cold aisle, economizer applications and free air cooling.
In this whitepaper from Chatsworth Products (CPI), we examine and compare three data center containment systems and demonstrates that there are important differences to consider that distinguish one system over the others.
To read the full article, please click here. | <urn:uuid:229240d5-ecaf-485a-a750-698463718c2f> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://datacenterpost.com/airflow-management-basics-comparing-containment-systems/ | 2024-09-15T20:02:43Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651647.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915184230-20240915214230-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.944814 | 362 | 2.625 | 3 |
Versatility in Learning
Customized Learning Experiences
VR’s potent flexibility stands out in education, especially in the medical field, as it tailors to the learner’s unique requirements. This adaptability allows for an extensive array of educational scenarios to suit every experience level, facilitating learning from the novice med student to the expert surgeon. Novices might explore 3D anatomy, while specialists could tackle simulations of uncommon, intricate procedures. This adaptability is not only beneficial in terms of technical skill development but also supports various learning preferences. Kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learners alike can derive immense benefit from the immersive, multisensory opportunities that VR offers. This level of personalization in learning not only enhances the educational experience but also may lead to better patient outcomes as healthcare professionals are able to train and refine their skills in a highly realistic yet controlled environment.
Collaborative and Remote Learning
Virtual reality (VR) has revolutionized medical training by breaking down geographical barriers. It creates dynamic shared learning spaces where healthcare professionals from anywhere can converge and engage jointly. With VR, medical students are no longer bound by their physical location; they can immerse themselves in collective scenarios. This real-time collaboration isn’t just about simulating procedures; it’s about learning from peers, enhancing teamwork, and mastering cooperative skills. Such skills are vital in the high-pressure medical field. Experiencing these scenarios together mirrors real-life hospital situations and cultivates a learning experience that’s rich, diverse, and reflective of actual clinical teamwork, offering a depth of learning that traditional methods cannot match. These shared VR experiences are incredibly beneficial, effectively mimicking the complexities of real-world healthcare dynamics.
Enhancing Medical Proficiency
Advanced Surgical Training
Virtual reality (VR) has become a transformative tool in surgical training. By providing immersive and realistic simulations, it enables novice surgeons to practice complex procedures without the real-world risks. Advanced practitioners also benefit, honing their skills and prepping for challenging surgeries. VR’s high-quality simulations not only demonstrate detailed human anatomy but also replicate the unpredictability of surgery. This prepares surgeons thoroughly, instilling the necessary confidence to handle a variety of surgical situations. The fidelity of this preparation is crucial; it minimizes errors in the operating room and enhances patient care. The integration of VR into surgical education marks a significant advancement, promising improvements in both training efficiency and surgical precision.
Improved Diagnostic and Communication Skills
Virtual reality technology presents a revolutionary tool for enhancing the diagnostic abilities of medical trainees. Through immersive simulations presenting various case studies, learners can practice and refine their diagnostic techniques tirelessly, achieving expert proficiency. These virtual scenarios are instrumental in sharpening both critical thinking and decisive action, which are integral when faced with real-life patient cases.
Moreover, VR extends its utility to mastering patient communication skills. Utilizing interactive virtual encounters, medical students can learn to navigate complex conversations, such as delivering difficult news or dealing with patient non-adherence, without real-world repercussions. These exercises are crucial for cultivating both empathy and clear communication, traits that are indispensable for any effective healthcare professional. Through these simulated experiences, virtual reality is shaping a new era of highly skilled and communicative medical practitioners. | <urn:uuid:faf8d4b3-31d8-42f8-9072-245746ea9870> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://educationcurated.com/edtech/revolutionizing-medicine-how-vr-transforms-healthcare-training/ | 2024-09-15T19:29:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651647.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915184230-20240915214230-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.914551 | 663 | 3.203125 | 3 |
What you need to know about ADSL (broadband Networks #1)
I can hear you say "I know everything about ADSL, its a mature technology and I already know it inside out, why is he writing about ADSL now?"
To be honest I am also surprised by writing about ADSL after working with it for about 7 years now and the rest of the world is talking about FTTx technologies.However, I found it a good start for a series of posts about broadband technologies. Although ADSL is a mature technology, it is still growing even after the spread of fiber technologies and I believe it has the potential to grow more in the coming years.
ADSL was born of the need for speed internet access coupled with the desire for low cost dedicated connections. ADSL is still satisfying both needs for both data carriers and subscribers. ADSL data rates are sufficient for almost all internet applications available today at low cost compared to other technologies and using the same infrastructure that was built 100 years ago (PSTN).
Lets start by covering DSL technology without getting into much telecommunication details that I forgot myself few years after my graduation from college.
What is DSL?
DSL stands for digital subscriber lines, different xDSL technologies exist ( SDSL, SHDSL, VDSL, ADSL and others ). All of them turn twisted pair copper lines (PSTN lines) into a high speed telecommunication channels without the need for an infrastructure upgrade.
DSL operates over normal telephone lines originally intended to provide voice communication. These lines are named local loops and connect the subscriber site to a PSTN central office or CO.
Today fiber is replacing DSL. However, the high cost and resources involved into installing fiber links delayed the wide implementation of fiber technologies.
DSL Technologies are very scalable and extendable, as they support almost all available network protocols (Frame relay, ATM,TDM, Ethernet, IP, …etc).
A typical DSL network consists the following components:
- DSL modems at the subscriber side.
- Local loop copper lines.
- DSL access multiplexers (DSLAMS) at the CO.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber line (ADSL):
ADSL is a way to transmit digital signals over analog carriers; the majority of ADSL services coexist on the same physical cable with telephone services (POTS). This is achieved using Frequency division multiplexing (FDM), FDM splits the two services into two frequency bands the 300Hz to 3.4KHz band for voice and above 3.4K band for data.
The name ADSL stands for Asymmetric digital subscriber line. This name comes from the difference between the downstream and upstream data rates. ADSL has a high downstream data rates vs lower data rates for upstream due to the higher demand for download traffic at subscriber sites.
ADSL employs the use of two transceivers one at the subscriber site and another at the CO. These transceivers perform modulation and demodulation operations. The subscriber requires a modem/router and a splitter (more about this later) which connects the local loop to then to the phone set and computer .
DSLAMS (DSL Access Multiplexers)are used at the service provider side to connect the multiple ADSL lines to backbone network of the service provider.
ADSL requires a signal splitter or a (low pass high pass filter) that is integrated into the modem, DSLAM or as standalone element. The splitter divides the bandwidth available on the telephone line into two virtual channels to separate voice and data.
ADSL supports rates up to 24Mbps (ADSL2+ ITU G.992.5 Annex M) in the downstream direction and upto 3.5Mbps in the upstream direction. Its important to mention that ADSL speeds depends on the length and the quality of the local loop.
That was a brief review of ADSL to refresh our minds because I am planning to visit broadband solutions again very soon. | <urn:uuid:59c777fd-3263-4db3-a1cb-bf44384e54e5> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://networkers-online.com/p/what-you-need-to-know-about-adsl-broadband-networks-1 | 2024-09-15T19:10:06Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651647.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20240915184230-20240915214230-00897.warc.gz | en | 0.933969 | 826 | 2.859375 | 3 |
What do the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning mean to you? If what comes to mind initially involves robot butlers or rogue computer programs, you’re not alone. Even IT pros at large enterprise organizations can’t escape pop culture visions fed by films and TV.
But today, as cyberattacks against businesses and individuals continue to proliferate, technologies like AI and ML that can drastically improve threat detection, protection and prevention are critical. This is even more true as workforces continue to operate remotely in such numbers.
That’s why, for a few years now, we’ve been conducting surveys of IT professionals to determine their familiarity with, and attitudes toward, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). For the purposes of this report, we surveyed IT decision-makers at enterprises (1000+ employees), small and medium-sized businesses (<250 employees), and consumers (home users) throughout the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Australia/New Zealand.
As a result, we learn about:
- Baseline cyber hygiene, including what cybersecurity tools are in use and how they’re used
- General experience with data breaches and attitudes toward the safety of their data
- How many organizations use cybersecurity tools with AI components
- Whether IT admins feel that AI actively contributes to the safety of their organizations or is marketing fluff
We titled this year’s survey Fact or Fiction: Perceptions and Misconceptions of AI and Machine Learning and expanded it to include professionals in the enterprise, mid-market organizations and private individuals. It’s one of the largest and most thorough reports on the topic we’ve put together to date and is packed with interesting findings.
Historically, we’ve seen significant confusion surrounding AI and ML. IT professionals are generally aware that they're in-use, but struggle to voice how they're helpful or what it is exactly that they do. In Australia, for instance, while the bulk of IT decision makers employ AI/ML-enabled solutions, barely over half (51%) are comfortable describing what they do.
Nevertheless, adoption of AI/ML-enabled technologies continues to rise. Today, more than 93% of enterprise-level businesses report using them. Overall, slightly less than half (47%) call increasing adoption of AI/ML their number one priority for addressing cybersecurity concerns in the coming year.
Here are a few other key takeaways regarding enterprise attitudes toward AI/ML:
- Understanding is growing – But more education is still required, so vendors must focus on benefits of AI/ML in terms of the bottom line and an enhanced security posture.
- AI/ML are key to repelling modern threats – Especially for remote workforces, advanced technologies are emerging as a key component for ensuring uptime and availability for clients.
- AI/ML can differentiate a business – Buyers are looking to invest in their tech stacks to stay out of the headlines for suffering a breach. As understanding of AI/ML grows, more are looking for these capabilities in their cyber defenses.
For the mid-market and individuals, another theme has persisted through our studies: overconfidence.
Among IT professionals at businesses with fewer than 250 employees, almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents believe their organizations are safe from most cyberattacks. But 48% have also admitted to falling victim to a data breach at least once. Interestingly, despite their confidence in their cybersecurity, the same respondents also believe their security situation has been worse by COVID-19.
Other notable findings among small and mid-sized businesses include:
- They’re beginning to recognize they’re targets – SMBs are catching onto the fact that cybercriminals pick off weak targets and realizing this fact’s implications for their supply chains.
- Limited IT budgets must be spent wisely – Without the resources to hire full-time IT staff, it becomes critical that a security stack defends against all the most common forms of attack (and their consequences).
- User education is key – If a business can’t spring for top-of-the-line cybersecurity solutions, educating users on how to keep from enabling breaches can go a long way towards building a strong defense with relatively little investment.
Consumers continue to report abysmal habits in their personal online lives. Less than half use an antivirus or other security tool. Only 16% report using a VPN when connecting in public spaces and 48% have had data stolen at least once. On the brighter side, constant headlines concerning corporations leaking consumer data have made consumers wary about who they give their data to and how much. This healthy skepticism is a good sign as the next large data breach is likely just around the corner.
Some valuable learning from the consumer sector, and how it bleeds over into the corporate sector, include:
- Business breaches affect consumers’ data – And they know it. Consumers are wary of providing too much sensitive data to companies after being barraged by news of high-profile hacks and data breaches.
- Consumers ARE NOT taking proper precautions – Fewer than half of home users have antivirus, backup or other cybersecurity measures in place. In all, 11% take no precautions online. This finding is especially relevant if remote workers are using personal devices for business.
- Unsurprisingly, AI/ML knowledge is lacking – When paid IT professionals don’t understand the technology, it may not be practical to expect the average consumer to be. But consumers should do their research on the tech powering their protection before committing to a VPN, antivirus or backup solution.
For the report’s complete findings, including a breakdown of cybersecurity spending by business size, download the full report. | <urn:uuid:0113a2ce-da00-46ad-910e-e4a2d0205998> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.carbonite.com/blog/2021/survey-how-well-do-it-pros-know-ai-and-machine-learning/ | 2024-09-17T01:19:08Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651722.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20240917004428-20240917034428-00797.warc.gz | en | 0.945397 | 1,171 | 2.53125 | 3 |
SQL Azure, also known as Windows Azure SQL Database, is a database management system (DBMS) based on SQL Server. It is part of the Windows Azure platform. When Enterprise Server for .NET runs in Azure in a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) configuration, it uses SQL Azure for its system databases.
From SQL Azure Database Overview at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/sql-azure-database-guide.aspx:
Microsoft SQL Azure Database is a database service provided as part of the Windows Azure Platform. It is based on Microsoft SQL Server, and provides many of the same features. Unlike SQL Server, which is provided as a software package that you install and maintain, SQL Azure Database is provided as a service that is hosted on hardware in Microsoft datacenters. SQL Azure takes care of maintaining the hardware and software layer, freeing you to concentrate on database design. Since SQL Azure maintains the hardware and software for your database, provisioning a new database is very straightforward and easy; you request a new database and Microsoft provisions one automatically for you. Data stored in SQL Azure Database is also highly available, as each database hosted in the Microsoft data center has three copies: one primary and two secondary replicas. All reads and writes go through the primary, and any changes are replicated to the secondary replicas asynchronously.
See Getting Started with Windows Azure SQL Database at http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/manage/services/sql-databases/getting-started-w-sql-databases for details about how to set up and access SQL Azure databases. The documentation in this section assumes availability of a SQL Azure database server. | <urn:uuid:4b47f7f7-4a9b-451d-b355-40f9ae305a04> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.microfocus.com/documentation/enterprise-developer/ed70/ES-NET/GUID-A1464061-F329-4309-B4C2-596658DD27F3.html | 2024-09-20T19:39:18Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701423570.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920190822-20240920220822-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.877241 | 356 | 2.84375 | 3 |
In this course you will learn HBase which is a NoSQL database runs on top of hadoop. This course is designed for developers who will be using HBase to develop applications, administrators who will manage HBase cluster, Software professionals, analytics Professionals and students who are willing to build their career in Big Data. Towards the finish of this course, you will able to:
- Understand how NoSQL is different from RDBMS.
- Install, manage and monitor HBase Cluster.
- Understand HBase and HDFS work together.
- Perform DML and DDL on the data stored in HBase tables using shell.
- Connect HBase using the Java API.
- Design optimal HBase schemas for efficient data storage and recovery.
- Implement filters, counters in HBase using Java API and HBase shell. | <urn:uuid:576313af-3bcd-434f-be04-07339e7dfa3c> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.mytechlogy.com/Online-IT-courses-reviews/13344/mastering-apache-hbase-with-hands-on/ | 2024-09-20T19:30:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725701423570.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20240920190822-20240920220822-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.880076 | 172 | 2.625 | 3 |
Biggest cyber attacks in history
The realm of cybersecurity has evolved dramatically since the inception of the internet, with digital threats growing in complexity, scale, and impact. In today’s interconnected world, where data and information flow seamlessly across borders and industries, understanding the history of cyber attacks is paramount. This introductory paragraph sets the stage for an exploration of the biggest cyber attacks in history, illuminating the evolution of these digital threats over time. As we delve into this chronicle of cyber warfare, we will uncover the motivations, techniques, and consequences that have shaped the modern landscape of cybersecurity, emphasizing the pressing need for vigilance and cooperation in our increasingly digitalized society.
A. Brief explanation of cyber attacks:
Cyber attacks encompass a wide range of malicious activities conducted in the digital realm with the intent to compromise computer systems, networks, or data. These attacks can take various forms, such as hacking, malware infections, phishing, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and more. Cybercriminals or state-sponsored actors typically launch these attacks for a multitude of reasons, including financial gain, political espionage, activism, or simply wreaking havoc. Understanding the fundamentals of cyber attacks is crucial as it provides a foundation for comprehending the constantly evolving tactics employed by threat actors, ultimately aiding in the development of effective cybersecurity strategies.
B. Importance of understanding the evolution of digital threats:
Recognizing the evolution of digital threats is essential in today’s digital age. It is a dynamic landscape where new cyber threats and attack vectors emerge continuously. By studying the historical progression of cyber attacks, we gain invaluable insights into the motives, techniques, and strategies employed by cybercriminals and nation-states. This knowledge enables us to adapt and fortify our defenses, anticipate future threats, and craft more robust cybersecurity policies.
III. Pre-2000: Early cyber attacks
A. First recorded cyber attack: The Morris Worm (1988)
The Morris Worm is a watershed moment in the history of cyber attacks, marking one of the first recorded instances of a malicious program spreading across the internet. Created by Robert Tappan Morris, this self-replicating worm inadvertently infected thousands of computers, causing widespread disruption. The Morris Worm serves as a historical reference point, highlighting the potential dangers of unintended consequences in the digital realm.
B. The emergence of viruses and malware
During the pre-2000 era, cyber attackers began experimenting with various forms of malicious software, including viruses and malware. These nefarious programs were designed to infiltrate computer systems, replicate, and potentially cause harm or steal sensitive information. This period witnessed the nascent stages of malware development, foreshadowing the more sophisticated threats to come.
C. Initial motivations behind early attacks
Understanding the motivations behind early cyber attacks is crucial to appreciate the context in which these incidents occurred. While some early attacks were driven by curiosity and the desire to explore the boundaries of technology, others had more malicious intentions. These motivations ranged from the thrill of hacking and notoriety among peers to ideological reasons or the pursuit of financial gains. Examining these initial motivations provides valuable insights into the evolving mindset of cyber attackers.
IV. The Dot-Com bubble era (2000-2002)
A. The ILOVEYOU Worm (2000)
The ILOVEYOU Worm was a devastating cyber attack that demonstrated the potential for mass-scale damage through social engineering tactics. Disguised as a love letter, it spread rapidly through email systems, infecting millions of computers worldwide. This attack not only highlighted the vulnerability of human psychology but also showed that cyber attackers were increasingly motivated by social disruption and the potential for widespread chaos.
B. Code Red and Nimda (2001)
Code Red and Nimda were prominent examples of worms that exploited vulnerabilities in software and spread quickly across the internet. These attacks had a profound impact on e-commerce and government websites, emphasizing the importance of software security and the need for rapid response mechanisms to combat cyber threats.
C. Economic motivations: attacks on e-commerce and financial institutions
The Dot-Com Bubble Era witnessed a shift toward economic motivations in cyber attacks, with a surge in attacks targeting e-commerce platforms and financial institutions. These attacks aimed to disrupt online business operations and, in some cases, steal valuable financial information. This period highlighted the potential for significant financial losses due to cybercrime, prompting increased cybersecurity measures in the financial sector and beyond.
V. The rise of state-sponsored attacks (2005-2010)
A. Estonia cyberattacks (2007)
The Estonia cyberattacks of 2007 were among the first major instances of state-sponsored cyber aggression. These attacks targeted Estonia’s government and critical infrastructure, including banks and media outlets, crippling the country’s digital infrastructure. The incident highlighted the potential for nation-states to weaponize cyber capabilities for political and strategic purposes, marking a significant shift in the landscape of cyber threats.
B. Stuxnet (2010)
Stuxnet is a notorious computer worm that represents a watershed moment in the history of cyber warfare. Discovered in 2010, it was designed to target Iran’s nuclear program, specifically its uranium-enrichment facilities. Stuxnet demonstrated the capacity of advanced malware to cause physical damage to critical infrastructure. This attack underscored the involvement of nation-states in cyber warfare, raising concerns about the potential for cyber attacks to have real-world, kinetic consequences.
C. Shift from individual actors to nation-states
The period from 2005 to 2010 witnessed a significant transformation in the threat landscape as cyber attacks shifted from primarily being carried out by individual hackers and criminal groups to state-sponsored actors. This shift indicated that governments had recognized the strategic value of cyber capabilities and were actively using them for espionage, sabotage, and geopolitical advantage. It marked a transition from cybercrime to cyber espionage and cyber warfare on a global scale.
VI. The age of data breaches (2010-Present)
A. Target data breach (2013)
The Target data breach of 2013 shocked the world, with hackers compromising the credit card information of millions of customers. This breach highlighted the vulnerability of retail and consumer sectors to cyber attacks, with attackers increasingly motivated by financial gains through data theft.
B. Equifax breach (2017)
The Equifax breach of 2017 exposed the sensitive personal information of nearly 147 million people. It emphasized the high-stakes nature of data breaches, with attackers targeting large databases to steal valuable personal data, including Social Security numbers. The Equifax incident triggered increased scrutiny on data protection regulations.
C. The Cambridge Analytica scandal (2018)
The Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the extent to which personal data could be exploited for political purposes. This incident showcased the intersection of data breaches, social engineering, and the manipulation of public opinion through digital means, emphasizing the need for stronger data privacy regulations and ethical considerations in the digital age.
D. Evolution of cyber attacks for financial gain and data theft
The age of data breaches has seen cyber attackers increasingly motivated by financial gain and data theft. This shift reflects the growing value of data in the digital economy and underscores the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information. Cyber attacks have evolved to become more sophisticated, with attackers constantly adapting their tactics to bypass security measures and exploit vulnerabilities for profit.
VII. Ransomware epidemic (2017-Present)
A. WannaCry (2017)
In 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity community. It infected hundreds of thousands of computers in over 150 countries, exploiting a Windows vulnerability to encrypt data and demand a ransom in Bitcoin. WannaCry marked the onset of a ransomware epidemic, highlighting the potential for cybercriminals to disrupt critical systems and extort money from individuals and organizations.
B. NotPetya (2017)
NotPetya, another devastating ransomware attack in 2017, initially appeared to be ransomware but was later attributed to a nation-state actor. It targeted Ukrainian infrastructure but quickly spread globally, causing massive financial losses. NotPetya blurred the lines between criminal ransomware and state-sponsored cyberattacks, showcasing the complexity and interconnectedness of modern cyber threats.
C. The rise of cryptocurrency-based ransomware
The proliferation of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, has enabled the rise of cryptocurrency-based ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals increasingly demand ransom payments in cryptocurrencies, making it challenging to trace and apprehend them. This shift in payment methods has contributed to the growth of ransomware attacks as a lucrative criminal enterprise.
D. Impact on critical infrastructure and healthcare
Ransomware attacks have had severe consequences, particularly on critical infrastructure and healthcare sectors. Hospitals and healthcare providers have been targeted, disrupting patient care and putting lives at risk. Additionally, attacks on critical infrastructure, such as power grids and transportation systems, pose a significant threat to national security. The ransomware epidemic has exposed vulnerabilities in these essential systems, emphasizing the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures and preparedness.
VIII. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and espionage
A. Chinese cyber espionage (Operation Aurora, 2009)
Operation Aurora, attributed to Chinese state-sponsored actors, targeted major technology companies, including Google, with the aim of stealing intellectual property and sensitive information. This attack exemplified the concept of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), where highly skilled and well-funded hackers persistently infiltrate systems over an extended period, often for espionage purposes.
B. Russian hacking in the US election (2016)
The Russian hacking and interference in the 2016 US presidential election garnered worldwide attention. Russian state-sponsored actors were accused of orchestrating cyberattacks to influence the election’s outcome, showcasing the potential for cyber espionage to disrupt democratic processes and undermine trust in institutions.
C. SolarWinds supply chain attack (2020)
The SolarWinds supply chain attack was a highly sophisticated and far-reaching espionage operation, believed to be conducted by a nation-state, likely Russia. Attackers compromised the software supply chain, inserting a backdoor into SolarWinds’ Orion software, which was widely used by government agencies and businesses. This breach exposed the vulnerabilities in software supply chains and demonstrated the extent to which nation-states could infiltrate critical systems.
D. Nation-state cyber espionage and information warfare
Nation-state actors engage in cyber espionage and information warfare to gather intelligence, influence geopolitics, and advance their agendas. These APTs operate with significant resources, technical expertise, and long-term objectives. The blending of cyber capabilities with traditional espionage has redefined the landscape of international relations and underscored the importance of international cooperation and norms in cyberspace.
X. The role of Hacktivism and Hacktivist groups
A. Anonymous and its operations
Anonymous, a loosely organized hacktivist collective, has been involved in numerous operations and campaigns to promote social and political causes. Their activities have ranged from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against government websites to exposing corporate and government misconduct. Anonymous exemplifies the power of decentralized online movements to leverage hacking as a form of activism.
B. WikiLeaks and its impact
WikiLeaks founded by Julian Assange, gained notoriety for its role in publishing classified documents and sensitive information, exposing government and corporate secrets. While not a traditional hacktivist group, WikiLeaks acted as a platform for whistleblowers to leak information anonymously, sparking global debates about transparency, government accountability, and freedom of information.
C. The intersection of hacktivism and state-sponsored attacks
The intersection of hacktivism and state-sponsored attacks blurs the lines between different categories of cyber threats. In some cases, nation-states have covertly supported hacktivist groups to advance their own interests, leveraging the skills and anonymity of hacktivists for their agendas. This convergence highlights the complexity of the cyber threat landscape and the need for nuanced responses to cyber incidents.
IX. The future of cyber threats
A. Emerging technologies and vulnerabilities
The future of cyber threats is closely tied to emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. As these technologies proliferate, new vulnerabilities will surface, and cyber attackers will exploit them. Understanding and addressing these emerging threats is crucial for maintaining cybersecurity in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
B. The potential for AI-driven cyber attacks
AI-driven cyber attacks represent a looming threat. Malicious actors can use AI to automate and enhance their attacks, making them more sophisticated and evasive. AI can also be used to impersonate individuals or automate social engineering attacks, posing significant challenges to traditional cybersecurity measures.
C. The need for international cybersecurity cooperation
As cyber threats become more global and interconnected, international cooperation is essential for effectively combating them. Cybersecurity threats often transcend national borders, and coordinated efforts are necessary to share threat intelligence, establish norms and regulations, and deter malicious actors. The future of cybersecurity hinges on collaboration among governments, the private sector, and international organizations to create a safer digital environment for all.
In conclusion, the chronicle of cyber attacks has evolved from early, curiosity-driven exploits to sophisticated state-sponsored operations and the rise of ransomware and hacktivism. This historical journey highlights the ever-increasing importance of cybersecurity in our interconnected world. As we face the challenges of emerging technologies, AI-driven threats, and the complex landscape of international cybersecurity, it becomes evident that understanding the evolution of digital threats is not merely an academic pursuit but a critical necessity. It underscores the urgency of strengthening our defenses, fostering global cooperation, and embracing resilient cybersecurity strategies to safeguard our digital future. | <urn:uuid:c7492b7f-13be-4e02-8356-dd493ef8e516> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://internationalreleases.com/biggest-cyber-attacks-in-history/ | 2024-09-07T10:26:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700650826.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20240907095856-20240907125856-00861.warc.gz | en | 0.920644 | 2,756 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Using Artificial InteIligence to Power Application Security
AI is more than one million ‘If-Else’ statements in a trench coat. It’s technology we use to decrease threat vector identification times and increase the speed for delivering real-time security risk assessments.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a bit of a buzzword that has been thrown around quite a bit in the past few years. But, today, many companies are making real game-changing use of the technology. At WhiteHat, we use AI to improve both the speed and accuracy of our application security platform.
For example, application security teams are constantly caught between the need to keep pace with security testing and the ability to allow developer teams to operate in the rapid DevOps environment. Our AI software dramatically decreases threat vector identification times and improves the efficiency of false positive identification. As a result, enterprises can increase the speed at which developers are made aware of potential application security vulnerabilities and deliver real-time security risk assessments.
To fully understand the impact of this technology, let’s first investigate the meaning of the terms themselves.
What are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?
AI is not just 1,000,000 If-Else statements in a trench coat. It is a broad category that can be summed up as "the study of intelligent agents." However, what we actually use at WhiteHat is a subset of AI, called machine learning (ML).
ML uses a sophisticated process to ingest extremely large amounts of labelled data in order to "train" a model that can later accurately classify new information. This is usually what is working behind the scenes for programs such as facial recognition.
As our senior engineer likes to say, "In a nutshell, machine learning is a tool you use to reverse engineer a statistical model when building it the classical way would be way too complex or impossible."
How Does Machine Learning Apply to Application Security?
At its core, machine learning is a heavy-duty classification engine. It can answer questions like:
Whose face is this? Amy’s, Betsy’s or Christie’s?
Is this a picture of a dog or a cat?
Is this thing a risk or not?
The algorithm then (usually) assigns a weight to each answer: "This picture looks 87% like Amy, 26% like Betsy and 3% like Christie," for instance. From that, you can conclude that is probably a picture of Amy.
A large part of running a successful security program is having metrics, identifying risks and identifying incidents, all of which are forms of classification. Does this set of signals and responses look more like a risk or more like normal, everyday responses?
What Does This Mean for the User?
When all is said and done, AI and ML are just supporting technologies. Generally speaking, to the user, saying "our product uses AI" should mean no more than if we said, "some of our backend services are written using Go."
One of the challenges to any machine learning project is getting the required training data. Generally speaking, the more complex the problem, the more training data you need, and the more training data you have, the more accurate your model will be. The data also has to be labeled in a way that a machine can read it. It’s not enough to just have 1,000 pictures of Amy, Betsy and Christie. You have to have someone label the faces in each picture. This can be a major roadblock for many startup projects.
We are lucky at WhiteHat to be able to sidestep this issue. We have nearly two decades worth of findings from our scanner, all of which have already been labeled as “vulnerable” or “not vulnerable” by our Threat Research Center. Our engineers were able to take this data and use it to train models that aid our research center in verifying findings, resulting in faster overall delivery of service.
Our machine learning team is currently involved in several research projects.
The first, and probably most obvious, is to help classify findings. This will help answer: "Is this finding obviously a false positive or obviously vulnerable?"
The second major focus is to identify "landing spaces." This is a more technical concept that refers to allowing the scanner to infer metadata about the surrounding response in the same way a human attacker or researcher would.
The third focus is form classification. This will help answer: "Is this a search form or a contact-us form?” “Does this form delete or create anything?” This is necessary to allow for more accurate testing, while still remaining safe in a production environment.
While WhiteHat is utilizing AI and ML, it is only the beginning and we look forward to sharing upcoming developments.
About The Author: Bryan Becker, Product Manager, WhiteHat Security
Bryan Becker is product manager at WhiteHat Security, an application security solutions platform. With over ten years of software engineering and security research experience, Brian is focused on defining and delivering products that make real change in the cybersecurity industry.
WhiteHat Security is the leading advisor for application security with the most comprehensive platform powered by artificial and human intelligence. For more information, visit www.whitehatsec.com.
About the Author
You May Also Like
State of AI in Cybersecurity: Beyond the Hype
October 30, 2024[Virtual Event] The Essential Guide to Cloud Management
October 17, 2024Black Hat Europe - December 9-12 - Learn More
December 10, 2024SecTor - Canada's IT Security Conference Oct 22-24 - Learn More
October 22, 2024 | <urn:uuid:40369ffd-3d06-4eb2-9fcb-2936bb5f52ca> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/using-artificial-inteiligence-to-power-application-security | 2024-09-08T15:26:47Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651013.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20240908150334-20240908180334-00761.warc.gz | en | 0.952592 | 1,154 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The internet age makes it easy for startup companies to launch their ideas and turn them into successful enterprises. However, cyber criminals can also use this highly accessible tool to their advantage. On May 12th, 2017, more than 200,000 computers in over 150 countries around the world were encrypted and held for ransom. The infection spread like wildfire through network vulnerabilities that were patched by Microsoft just 2 months prior. Consequently, the WannaCry ransomware attack has become recognized as a far more dangerous cyber attack than any other data breach that businesses had ever encountered before. Unfortunately, WannaCry was only one obstacle in a long and constant battle against cyber crime.
5 Ways Start-Ups can Prevent Cyber Attacks
Cyber attacks do not only target large corporations. Small businesses are also highly susceptible to cyber attacks, and a security breach can have a detrimental effect on the business moving forward. We understand that most startups cannot afford to allocate a majority of their funds for security. If you are in the early stages of setting up your business, you may even be under the false notion that there is very little for criminals to steal in the first place. However, it is important that you assess the risks and formulate a security plan so your business is prepared as it continues to grow and prosper.
Here is an example of how a tech start-up has adopted an efficient, cost-effective security strategy to protect their business as it forges ahead on a solid growth path. With managed security services from GlassHouse Systems, the company, Acme Tech” follows these protocols and preventive measures:
- Back up Data – Data can be easily retrieved through a backup. Regular tests are performed to ensure that the restoration process is reliable. The company also ensures that backups are not permanently connected to the computers and networks they are storing information from.
- Configure Computer System – Firewalls have been set up and a centralized patch is used that operates from the main computing system. If a security incident does occur, these obstacles will make it more difficult for a cyber criminal to gain access to the company’s private files and documents.
- Separate Networks – Malware may be easily spread if every computer runs on the same network, as was the case with the recent WannaCry attack. Separating networks helps prevent the entire system from being compromised.
- Implement a Training Program – Security breaches are often the result of human error. Acme Tech has trained employees to recognize suspicious activity and become familiar with the safety protocols should a situation arise. Employee access is limited and only certain files and documents are permitted to those who need the information to perform their job. Lastly, every employee inbox features spam filters to prevent phishing, and pop-up blockers are installed for certain sites.
- Anti-virus Technology – Acme Tech uses the most up-to-date anti-virus technology. While this may be the most costly safeguard within the company’s security posture, anti-virus software can recognize malicious activity and will block malware from infecting their computers. Thus, the company will save money and ultimately their business if an incident occurs in the future.
* Name changed to protect client confidentiality.
Protect Your Business with Help from a MSSP
At GlassHouse Systems, we have over 25 years of experience in evaluating, designing, and managing advanced IT infrastructures. While our work has been recognized with several industry leading awards, we are also proud to deliver an equally positive customer experience.
Contact us to learn more or leave a comment below for more information on how to prevent security breaches and attacks. Our managed security experts work diligently to provide you with the best service so you can find effective solutions to protect your small business and start up company. | <urn:uuid:60a84e8c-5ef6-4d7e-978a-b50e29ae7ebe> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://www.ghsystems.com/blog/case-study-security-steps-every-start-up-should-follow | 2024-09-09T22:36:51Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651157.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20240909201932-20240909231932-00661.warc.gz | en | 0.960698 | 760 | 2.5625 | 3 |
In a recent blog post, Amazon invited developers to test drive its gigantic IoT network. This network has been labeled ‘Sidewalk’ and was created by tying together all of Amazon’s wireless devices like Amazon Echos and Ring cameras.
Amazon claims this huge wireless network now covers 90% of U.S. households. Amazon created the network by transmitting Bluetooth and 900 MHz LoRa signals from its various devices. This network provides a benefit to Amazon because it can detect and track its own devices separate from anything a homeowner might do with WiFi.
But Amazon has intended for years to monetize this network, and this announcement begins that process. This network has been under-the-radar until now, and most homeowners have no idea that their Amazon devices can connect and communicate with other devices outside the home. Amazon swears that the IoT connection between devices is separate from anything happening inside the house using WiFi—that the IoT network is a fully separate network.
The network should be robust anywhere where there are more than a few Amazon devices. The 900 MHz spectrum adds a lot of distance to the signals, and it’s a frequency that does a good job of penetrating obstacles like homes and trees.
Amazon believes that IoT device makers can use this network to improve the performance of IoT devices in a neighborhood—things like smart thermostats, appliance sensors, and smart door locks. Such devices use only a small amount of bandwidth but are reliant on the home broadband network being operational to work. Amazon’s vision with this network is that your smart door lock will still work even when your home WiFi isn’t working.
By making the network available to others, Amazon can unleash developers to create new types of wireless devices. For example, using outdoor sensors has always been a challenge since WiFi signals outside of homes are weak and inconsistent. It’s not hard to imagine a whole new array of sensors enabled by the Sidewalk network. Picture a motion detector on a shed door or a leak detector on outdoor faucets. With this network, vendors can now manufacture such devices with the knowledge that most homes will be able to make the needed wireless connection.
This also holds a lot of promise for municipal and business sensors. This is a low-cost way to communicate with a smart city or other sensors. This would enable, for the first time, the deployment of environment sensors anywhere within range of the Sidewalk network.
This is another interesting venture by Amazon. At least in the U.S., this is a lower-cost solution than trying to connect to IoT devices by satellite. The only cost of building this network for Amazon was adding the wireless capability to its devices—mere pennies when deployed across millions of devices. But interestingly, Amazon will also have a satellite network starting in 2025 that can fill in the gaps where the Sidewalk network can’t reach.
Amazon says that it has already made deals to test the network with companies like Netvox, OnAsset, and Primax. Now that manufacturers know this network exists and is available, this ought to open up a wide range of new IoT devices that are not reliant only on WiFi. This might finally be the network that enables the original promise of IoT of a world with sensors everywhere, keeping tabs on the environment around us. | <urn:uuid:3438ee59-116c-4ea9-b1f1-496944df4bf4> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://circleid.com/posts/20230421-amazons-huge-iot-network | 2024-09-11T03:15:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651343.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20240911020451-20240911050451-00561.warc.gz | en | 0.947097 | 679 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The number argument can be any valid numeric expression that expresses an angle in radians.
The Sin function takes an angle and returns the ratio of two sides of a right triangle. The ratio is the length of the side opposite the angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse. The result lies in the range -1 to 1.
To convert degrees to radians, multiply degrees by pi /180. To convert radians to degrees, multiply radians by 180/pi.
The following example uses the Sin function to return the sine of an angle:
Dim MyAngle, MyCosecant
MyAngle = 1.3 ' Define angle in radians.
MyCosecant = 1 / Sin(MyAngle) ' Calculate cosecant. | <urn:uuid:d52d091e-9b64-4b1c-a2cc-fef733764435> | CC-MAIN-2024-38 | https://admhelp.microfocus.com/uft/en/all/VBScript/Content/html/9843cf30-c25b-44fe-b4b0-24573723eebe.htm | 2024-09-14T21:56:31Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-38/segments/1725700651580.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20240914193334-20240914223334-00261.warc.gz | en | 0.690048 | 165 | 4 | 4 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.