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36354724 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line%20%28software%29 | Line (software) | Line, styled LINE, is a freeware app for instant communications on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and personal computers. Line users exchange texts, images, video and audio, and conduct free VoIP conversations and video conferences. In addition, Line is a platform providing various services including digital wallet as Line Pay, news stream as LINE Today, video on demand as Line TV, and digital comic distribution as Line Manga and Line Webtoon. The service is operated by Line Corporation, a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Softbank Group and the Seoul-based Naver Corporation.
Line was launched in Japan in June 2011 by NHN Japan, a subsidiary of Naver Corporation. Because it was tailored to Japanese consumers' tastes, and offered free smartphone calls as well as texting, with the help of a massive marketing campaign it quickly outpaced its existing rival KakaoTalk for the Japanese market. It reached 100 million users within 18 months and 200 million users six months later. Line became Japan's largest social network in 2013, with more than 300 million users. By February 2015 had 600 million users.
In March 2021, SoftBank Group affiliate and Yahoo! Japan operator Z Holdings completed a merger with Line Corporation. Under the new structure, A Holdings, a subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation and Naver Corporation, will own 65.3% of Z Holdings, which will operate Line and Yahoo! Japan. Line is the most popular messaging application in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
History
In South Korea, the home of NHN Japan's parent company Naver Corporation, Naver had launched a messaging app called Naver Talk for the South Korean market in February 2011. However, rival Korean company Kakao had first-mover advantage with its KakaoTalk app launched in March 2010, and easily dominated the Korean market by March 2012.
Naver/NHN co-founder and chairman Lee Hae-Jin and a team of engineers were in Japan when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck in March 2011. Naver/NHN had been in Japan for ten years, trying to build a Japanese search and portal business, since NHN's other international ventures had stagnated. The earthquake and tsunami left millions without power, and phone lines and SMS networks were overwhelmed. Since Wi-Fi and some 3G remained largely usable, many people turned to KakaoTalk, which was just beginning to gain a foothold in Japan. Lee was inspired to launch a messaging and chat app in the wake of the disaster, and his NHN Japan team was testing a beta version of an app accessible on smartphones, tablet, and PC, which would work on data network and provide continuous and free instant messaging and calling service, within two months. The app was launched as Line in June 2011.
Because Naver/NHN had a far superior cultural knowledge of what Japanese users wanted, and a much larger corporate marketing budget, Line quickly surpassed KakaoTalk in Japan. Line also offers free voice calls and, since Japan’s telecoms make customers pay for both SMSs and smartphone calls, this feature, which KakaoTalk did not have, was a major selling point.
The app proved hugely popular, and by late October 2011, Line experienced an unexpected server overload. To improve scalability to accommodate its exponential rise in new users, NHN Japan chose HBase as the primary storage for user profiles, contacts, and groups. In December 2011, Naver announced that Naver Talk would be merged into Line, effective early 2012.
In July 2012, NHN Japan announced the new Line features Home and Timeline. The features allowed users to share recent personal developments to a community of contacts in real-time, similar to the status updates in social networking services such as Facebook. On April 1, 2013, Naver's Japanese branch name was changed from NHN Japan to Line Corporation.
Line became Japan's largest social network by the end of 2013, with more than 300 million registrants worldwide, of which more than 50 million users were within Japan. In October 2014, Line announced that it had attracted 560 million users worldwide with 170 million active user accounts. In February 2015, it announced the 600 million users mark had been passed and 700 million were expected by the end of the year.
Line was originally developed as a mobile application for Android and iOS smartphones. The service has since expanded to BlackBerry OS (August 2012), Nokia Asha (Asia and Oceania, March 2013), Windows Phone (July 2013), Firefox OS (February 2014), iOS tablets (October 2014), and as a Chrome Browser Application (via the Chrome Web Store). The application also exists in versions for laptop and desktop computers using the Microsoft Windows and macOS platforms..
In July 2016, Line Corporation held IPOs on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In late December 2020, Line Corporation delisted from both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in advance of its absorption-type merger agreement with Z Holdings.
On March 1, 2021 Line Corporation merged with Yahoo! Japan, which has been operated by Z Holdings, a SoftBank Group subsidiary. Under the new structure, Naver Corporation (Line's former parent company) and SoftBank Corp. (the wireless carrier unit of SoftBank Group) each hold 50 percent stakes in a new company named A Holdings Corp., which holds a majority stake in Z Holdings, which now operates Line and Yahoo! Japan. Upon integrating the two businesses and creating further platforms, the merged company aims to compete with the U.S. tech giants Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple and the Chinese tech giants Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, as well as the Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten. The merger also gives Z Holdings three additional Asian markets where Line is popular: Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Market share
Line began in Spring 2011 as a communication system for NHN Japan employees. It then saw explosive growth when released to the public in June of that year. By 18 January 2013, Line had been downloaded 100 million times worldwide. The number expanded to 140 million by early July 2013 and to 200 million by July 21. As of June 2016, Japan claimed 68 million users while Thailand had 33 million. As of February 2014, Indonesia had 20 million users, Taiwan 17 million, while India and Spain had 16 million each. NHN representatives announced plans to reach 300 million by further expansion in East Asia, Spain, and Chile. In April 2014, Naver announced that Line had reached 400 million worldwide users, and by 2017 this had grown to 700 million.
Features
Line is an application that works on multiple platforms and has access via multiple personal computers (Windows or macOS). The application will also give an option of address book syncing. This application also has a feature to add friends through the use of QR codes, by Line ID, and by shaking phones simultaneously. The application has a direct pop-out message box for reading and replying to make it easy for users to communicate. It also can share photos, videos and music with other users, send the current or any specific location, voice audio, emojis, stickers and emoticons to friends. Users can see a real-time confirmation when messages are sent and received or use a hidden chat feature, which can hide and delete a chat history (from both involved devices and Line servers) after a time set by the user.
The application also makes free voice and video calls. Users can also chat and share media in a group by creating and joining groups that have up to 500 people. Chats also provide bulletin boards on which users can post, like, and comment. This application also has timeline and homepage features that allow users to post pictures, text and stickers on their homepages. Users can also change their Line theme to the theme Line provides in the theme shop for free or users can buy other famous cartoon characters they like. Line also has a feature, called a Snap movie, that users can use to record a stop-motion video and add in provided background music.
In January 2015, Line Taxi was released in Tokyo as a competitor to Uber. Line launched a new android app called "Popcorn buzz" in June 2015. The app facilitates group calls with up to 200 members. In June a new Emoji keyboard was also released for iOS devices, which provides a Line-like experience with the possibility to add stickers. In September 2015 a new Android launcher was released on the Play Store, helping the company to promote its own services through the new user interface.
Official channels
Line includes a feature known as "official channels" which allows companies, especially news media outlets, publications, and other mass media companies, to offer an official channel, which users can join, and thereby receive regular updates, published articles, or news updates from companies or news outlets.
Stickers
Line features a Sticker Shop where users are able to purchase virtual stickers depicting original and well-known characters. The stickers are used during chat sessions between users and act as large emoji. Users can purchase stickers as gifts, with many stickers available as free downloads, depending on country availability. Purchased stickers are attached to an account and can be used on other platforms. New sticker sets are released weekly. Line's message stickers feature original characters as well as a number of popular manga, anime and gaming characters, movie tie-ins, and characters from Disney properties such as Pixar. Some sticker sets, such as those that celebrate special events like the 2012 Summer Olympics, are released for only a limited time.
The original default characters and stickers, known as Line Friends, were created by Kang Byeongmok, also known as "Mogi", in 2011.
There are over 1 billion stickers sent by worldwide users on a daily basis.
Games
NHN Japan created Line Games in 2011. Only those with a Line application account can install and play the games. Players can connect with friends, send and accept items, and earn friend points. The game range includes puzzles, match-three, side-scroller, musical performance, simulation, battle, and spot-the-difference games. In September 2013, Line Corporation announced its games had been downloaded 200 million times worldwide.
On July 10, 2017, Line Games acquired NextFloor Corporation, developers of Dragon Flight and Destiny Child. On January 5, 2017, LINE Games was announced as the publisher for Hundred Soul (formerly known as Project 100) by Hound 13.
On December 12, 2018, Line Games held a media event called LPG (Line Games-Play-Game) to introduce its games for 2019. Mobile games announced include: Exos Heroes (by OOZOO), Ravenix: The Card Master (also by OOZOO), Dark Summoners (by SkeinGlobe), Project PK (by Rock Square), Super String (by Factorial Games). Project NM by Space Dive was also announced for PC. Games to be released on mobile and PC include: Project NL (by MeerKat Games) and Uncharted Waters Origins (by Line Games and Koei Tecmo).
On 10 Jul 2019, Nintendo released Dr. Mario World co-developed by Line Games. On July 18, 2019, First Summoner developed by SkeinGlobe was released.
Line Pay
Line introduced Line Pay worldwide on December 16, 2014. The service allows users to request and send money from users in their contact list and make mobile payments in store. The service has since expanded to allow other features such as offline wire transfers when making purchases and ATM transactions like depositing and withdrawing money. Unlike other Line services, Line Pay is offered worldwide through the Line app.
Line Taxi
Line Taxi was launched in January 2015 in partnership with Nihon Kotsu, a local taxi service in Japan. Just like Line Pay, Line Taxi is not offered as a separate app but rather through the Line app where users can request a taxi and automatically pay for it when they connect their account to Line Pay.
Line Wow
Announced alongside Line Pay and Line Taxi, a service that allows users to instantly access delivery services for registered food or products and services.
Line Today
A news hub integrated in the Line app.
Line Shopping
A referral program for online shopping. Customers get extra discount or earn Line Points by purchasing through the Line Shopping service.
Line Lite
In 2015, a lower-overhead Android app was released for emerging markets called Line Lite. This supports messages and calls but not themes or timeline.
It became available worldwide in August 2015.
In January 2022 Line announced the discontinuation of Line Lite, taking effect on the 28th February 2022.
Limitations
Line accounts can be accessed on only one mobile device (running the app version), plus one personal computer (running the version for those). Additional mobile devices can install the app but require different mobile numbers or e-mail addresses for the Line account.
If "Line Lite" for Android is installed and activated, the user is told they will be "logged out of the normal Line". This message does not make clear that it is impossible to log back in to the normal Line, and the normal Line will delete all history data when next launched.
Security
In August 2013, it was possible to intercept a Line chat session at the network level using packet capture software and to reconstruct it on a PC. Messages were sent in clear text to Line's server when on cellular data but encrypted when using Wi-Fi most of the time.
Until February 2016, it was also possible to "clone" an iPhone from a backup, and then use the "cloned" iPhone to access the same Line account as used by the original iPhone. This loophole was widely rumored (but never proven) to have been used to intercept Line messages between the popular Japanese television personality Becky and her married romantic partner Enon Kawatani; the intercepted messages were published in the magazine Shukan Bunshun and led to the temporary suspension of Becky's television career.
In July 2016, Line Corporation turned on end-to-end encryption by default for all Line users. It had earlier been available as an opt-in feature since October 2015. The app uses the ECDH protocol for client-to-client encryption. In August 2016, Line expanded its end-to-end encryption to also encompass its group chats, voice calls and video calls.
In March 2021, the Japanese government announced that it would investigate Line after reports that it let Chinese system-maintenance engineers in Shanghai access Japanese users' data without informing them, beginning in August 2018. Four Chinese engineers in a Shanghai-based affiliate that Line subcontracted to develop AI accessed the messages stored in the Japanese computer system and personal information of Line users, such as name, phone number, email address, and Line ID. Photos and video footage posted by Japanese users were also stored on a server in South Korea. Line stated in March 2021 that it had since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate, and that it would revise its privacy policy and make it more explicit. Line had been used by the Japanese government and local governments to notify residents about developments in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In response to the reports of security issues, the national government and many local governments halted their usage of Line in late March 2021. In April 2021 the government ordered Line to take measures to properly protect customers' information, and to report improvement measures within a month. Line also relocated image and other data stored in South Korea to Japan. As of November 2021, the Tokyo metropolitan government offers proof of COVID-19 vaccinations through the Line app, with expansion planned for other prefectures.
On 12 April 2021, Line suffered a large-scale crash in Taiwan. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Roman Matovsky hacked the company's servers because of a personal conflict with the company. He wrote about it on his personal blog shortly after the platform's services resumed, asserting why and what he claimed happened, and additionally left comments consistent with this in his social network profiles, which he subsequently removed the next day.
More than 70,000 LINE Pay users in Taiwan have been affected by a leak of transaction information during the period from Dec. 26, 2020 to April 2, 2021.
Censorship
Line suppressed content in China to conform with government censorship. Analysis by Citizen Lab showed that accounts registered with Chinese phone numbers download a list of banned words that cannot be sent or received through Line.
Line publicly confirmed the practice in December 2013. However, by 2014, access to Line chat servers has been entirely blocked by the Great Firewall, while the company still makes revenue in China from brick-and-mortar stores.
In Indonesia, Line has responded to pressure from the Indonesian Communication and Information Ministry to remove emojis and stickers it believes make reference to homosexuality, for example the emoji "two men holding hands". Line issued a public statement on the issue: "Line regrets the incidents of some stickers which are considered sensitive by many people. We ask for your understanding because at the moment we are working on this issue to remove the stickers".
In Thailand, Line is suspected of responding to pressure from the Thai government and, after previously approving 'Red Buffalo' stickers, which had been used to refer to the Red Shirts political faction, including by the Red Shirts themselves, removed the stickers.
In Russia, on 3 May 2017 access to Line chat servers was entirely blocked by the Roskomnadzor and the Line servers were added to the Unified Register of Banned Sites, after which Russian users began to experience problems receiving and sending messages.
In popular culture
On November 20, 2012, Line was shown in Far East Movement's music video, featuring Sidney Samson, for the song "Change Your Life". DJ Virman is seen chatting with Sidney Samson at the middle of the music video.
On December 16, 2012, the Line application was shown in American rap artist Big Sean's music video for the song "Guap".
On May 16, 2014, Warner Music Italy released the music video for Italian singer Annalisa's "Sento solo il presente", in which the recording artist is seen using the Line application at the beginning of the video.
In 2014, the LINE app was featured in Cycle 21 of America's Next Top Model.
The app had a significant presence in the popular Korean TV drama My Love from the Star.
The app is heavily featured in the visual novel Steins;Gate 0 under the name "Rine". Naver Corporation and Mages also partnered during the Steins;Gate 5th Anniversary Goods Project.
In the 2016 anime film Your Name, male protagonist Taki Tachibana uses Line to communicate.
In the 2017 anime Tsuki ga Kirei, the Line app is the protagonists' main way of communication.
The 2017 original anime series Just Because! uses Line extensively throughout the series as a method of communication between characters.
In the Webtoon 'Age Matters' by Enjelicious, Line is referred to as Lime Corp, a company which the protagonist Daniel is the CEO of.
In 2019 it was featured in Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro.
In the visual novel Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou, Line was referenced as Line.
Line has collaborated with the Supercell to add their characters as cosmetics in Supercell’s mobile game, Brawl Stars.
Related products
Line Friends
Line Friends are featured characters that are shown in stickers of the application. They include Brown, Cony, Sally, James, Moon, Boss, Jessica, Edward, Leonard, Choco, Pangyo and Rangers. Two anime series, Line Offline and Line Town, were produced in 2013, picturing the Line Friends as employees for the fictional Line Corporation.
Line Man
On-demand assistant for food and messenger delivery services in Bangkok.
Line TV
A video on demand service operating in Taiwan and Thailand.
Stores
There are physical stores in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, U.S. and a Korean online store to purchase Line Friends merchandise. Occasionally, Line will have pop-up or temporary stores globally.
See also
Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
Comparison of instant messaging protocols
Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
Comparison of LAN messengers
Comparison of VoIP software
List of SIP software
List of video telecommunication services and product brands
References
External links
Android (operating system) software
IOS software
Mobile payments
BlackBerry software
SoftBank Group
Symbian software
Instant messaging clients
Cross-platform software
Communication software
VoIP software
Windows Phone software
2011 software
Universal Windows Platform apps |
36366382 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet%20capture%20appliance | Packet capture appliance | A packet capture appliance is a standalone device that performs packet capture. Packet capture appliances may be deployed anywhere on a network, however, most commonly are placed at the entrances to the network (i.e. the internet connections) and in front of critical equipment, such as servers containing sensitive information.
In general, packet capture appliances capture and record all network packets in full (both header and payload), however, some appliances may be configured to capture a subset of a network's traffic based on user-definable filters. For many applications, especially network forensics and incident response, it is critical to conduct full packet capture, though filtered packet capture may be used at times for specific, limited information gathering purposes.
Deployment
The network data that a packet capture appliance captures depends on where and how the appliance is installed on a network. There are two options for deploying packet capture appliances on a network. One option is to connect the appliance to the SPAN port (port mirroring) on a network switch or router. A second option is to connect the appliance inline, so that network activity along a network route traverses the appliance (similar in configuration to a network tap, but the information is captured and stored by the packet capture appliance rather than passing on to another device).
When connected via a SPAN port, the packet capture appliance may receive and record all Ethernet/IP activity for all of the ports of the switch or router.
When connected inline, the packet capture appliances captures only the network traffic traveling between two points, that is, traffic that passes through the cable to which the packet capture appliance is connected.
There are two general approaches to deploying packet capture appliances: centralized and decentralized.
Centralized
With a centralized approach, one high-capacity, high-speed packet capture appliance connects to a data-aggregation point. The advantage of a centralized approach is that with one appliance you gain visibility over the network's entire traffic. This approach, however, creates a single point of failure that is a very attractive target for hackers; additionally, one would have to re-engineer the network to bring traffic to appliance and this approach typically involves high costs.
Decentralized
With a decentralized approach you place multiple appliances around the network, starting at the point(s) of entry and proceeding downstream to deeper network segments, such as workgroups. The advantages include: no network re-configuration required; ease of deployment; multiple vantage points for incident response investigations; scalability; no single point of failure – if one fails, you have the others; if combined with electronic invisibility, this approach practically eliminates the danger of unauthorized access by hackers; low cost. Cons: potential increased maintenance of multiple appliances.
In the past, packet capture appliances were sparingly deployed, oftentimes only at the point of entry into a network. Packet capture appliances can now be deployed more effectively at various points around the network. When conducting incident response, the ability to see the network data flow from various vantage points is indispensable in reducing time to resolution and narrowing down which parts of the network ultimately were affected. By placing packet capture appliances at the entry point and in front of each work group, following the path of a particular transmission deeper into the network would be simplified and much quicker. Additionally, the appliances placed in front of the workgroups would show intranet transmissions that the appliance located at the entry point would not be able to capture.
Capacity
Packet capture appliances come with capacities ranging from 500 GB to 192 TB and more. Only a few organizations with extremely high network usage would have use for the upper ranges of capacities. Most organizations would be well served with capacities from 1 TB to 4 TB.
A good rule of thumb when choosing capacity is to allow 1 GB per day for heavy users down to 1 GB per month for regular users. For a typical office of 20 people with average usage, 1 TB would be sufficient for about 1 to 4 years.
The ratio 100/0 means simplex traffic on real links you can have even more traffic
Features
Filtered vs. full packet capture
Full packet capture appliances capture and record all Ethernet/IP activity, while filtered packet capture appliances capture only a subset of traffic based on a set of user-definable filters; such as IP address, MAC address or protocol. Unless using the packet capture appliance for a very specific purpose covered by the filter parameters, it is generally best to use full packet capture appliances or otherwise risk missing vital data. Particularly when using a packet capture for network forensics or cybersecurity purposes, it is paramount to capture everything because any packet not captured on the spot is a packet that is gone forever. It is impossible to know ahead of time the specific characteristics of the packets or transmissions needed, especially in the case of an advanced persistent threat (APT). APTs and other hacking techniques rely for success on network administrators not knowing how they work and thus not having solutions in place to counteract them.
Intelligent Packet Capture
Intelligent packet capture uses machine learning to filter and reduce the amount of network traffic captured. Traditional filtered packet capture relies on rules and policies which are manually configured to capture all potentially malicious traffic. Intelligent packet capture uses machine learning models, including features from Cyber threat intelligence feeds, to scientifically target and capture the most threatening traffic. Machine learning techniques for network intrusion detection, traffic classification, and anomaly detection are used to identify potentially malicious traffic for collection.
Encrypted vs. unencrypted storage
Some packet capture appliances encrypt the captured data before saving it to disk, while others do not. Considering the breadth of information that travels on a network or internet connection and that at least a portion of it could be considered sensitive, encryption is a good idea for most situations as a measure to keep the captured data secure. Encryption is also a critical element of authentication of data for the purposes of data/network forensics.
Sustained capture speed vs. peak capture speed
The sustained captured speed is the rate at which a packet capture appliance can capture and record packets without interruption or error over a long period of time. This is different from the peak capture rate, which is the highest speed at which a packet capture appliance can capture and record packets. The peak capture speed can only be maintained for short period of time, until the appliance's buffers fill up and it starts losing packets. Many packet capture appliances share the same peak capture speed of 1 Gbit/s, but actual sustained speeds vary significantly from model to model.
Permanent vs. overwritable storage
A packet capture appliance with permanent storage is ideal for network forensics and permanent record-keeping purposes because the data captured cannot be overwritten, altered or deleted. The only drawback of permanent storage is that eventually the appliance becomes full and requires replacement. Packet capture appliances with overwritable storage are easier to manage because once they reach capacity they will start overwriting the oldest captured data with the new, however, network administrators run the risk of losing important capture data when it gets overwritten. In general, packet capture appliances with overwrite capabilities are useful for simple monitoring or testing purposes, for which a permanent record is not necessary. Permanent, non-overwritable recording is a must for network forensics information gathering.
GbE vs. 10 GbE
Most businesses use Gigabit Ethernet speed networks and will continue to do so for some time. If a business intends to use one centralized packet capture appliance to aggregate all network data, it would probably be necessary to use a 10 GbE packet capture appliance to handle the large volume of data coming to it from all over the network. A more effective way is to use multiple 1 Gbit/s inline packet capture appliances placed strategically around the network so that there is no need to re-engineer a gigabit network to fit a 10 GbE appliance.
Data security
Since packet capture appliances capture and store a large amount of data on network activity, including files, emails and other communications, they could, in themselves, become attractive targets for hacking. A packet capture appliance deployed for any length of time should incorporate security features, to protect the recorded network data from access by unauthorized parties. If deploying a packet capture appliance introduces too many additional concerns about security, the cost of securing it may outweigh the benefits. The best approach would be for the packet capture appliance to have built-in security features. These security features may include encryption, or methods to “hide” the appliance's presence on the network. For example, some packet capture appliances feature “electronic invisibility”, where they have a stealthy network profile by not requiring or using IP nor MAC addresses.
Though connecting a packet capture appliance via a SPAN port appears to make it more secure, the packet capture appliance would ultimately still have to be connected to the network in order to allow management and data retrieval. Though not accessible via the SPAN link, the appliance would be accessible via the management link.
Despite the benefits, the ability to control a packet capture appliance from a remote machine presents a security issue that could make the appliance vulnerable. Packet capture appliances that allow remote access should have a robust system in place to protect it against unauthorized access. One way to accomplish this is to incorporate a manual disable, such as a switch or toggle that allows the user to physically disable remote access. This simple solution is very effective, as it is doubtful that a hacker would have an easy time gaining physical access to the appliance in order to flip a switch.
A final consideration is physical security. All the network security features in the world are moot if someone is simply able to steal the packet capture appliance or make a copy of it and have ready access to the data stored on it. Encryption is one of the best ways to address this concern, though some packet capture appliances also feature tamperproof enclosures.
See also
Intrusion detection
Packet capture
Packet sniffer
References
Packets (information technology)
Computer network security |
36372498 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System76 | System76 | System76 is an American computer manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the sale of notebooks, desktops, and servers. The company supports and has always supported free and open-source software, and offers either Ubuntu or their own Ubuntu-based Linux distribution Pop!_OS as the preinstalled operating system.
History
System76 was founded by Carl Richell and Erik Fetzer. In 2003, Fetzer registered the domain system76.com to sell computers with the Linux operating system preinstalled. The idea was not pursued until two years later.
In mid-2005, Richell and Fetzer's most important and challenging question in the early stages of the company was that of which Linux distribution to use. Their quest to bring Linux to the mass market required choosing the best distribution for their customers. Red Hat Enterprise Linux, openSUSE, Yoper and other distributions were considered and dismissed. Ubuntu was initially dismissed, but Richell and Fetzer changed their mind quickly after giving it a more thorough evaluation. Furthermore, Richell was particularly fond of Canonical’s business model: completely free software, which was backed by commercial support as necessary. The first computers sold by System76 shipped with Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger preinstalled.
In response to Canonical Ltd. switching to GNOME for future releases of Ubuntu, System76 announced in May 2017 a new shell theme called Pop. To further their efforts in making Ubuntu fit more with System76's vision, the company announced in June 2017 that it would be creating its own Linux distribution based on Ubuntu called Pop!_OS.
Company name
The number 76 in the company name alludes to the year 1776, when the American Revolution took place. The company founders likewise hope to ignite an open source revolution, ultimately leading to a situation in which consumers do not rely primarily on proprietary software.
Products
System76's products are typically named after the fauna of Africa.
Laptops
Lemur
Lemur Pro
Gazelle
Kudu Pro
Galago Pro
Oryx Pro
Bonobo WS
Serval WS
Darter Pro
Pangolin
Desktops
Meerkat
Thelio
Thelio Major
Thelio Massive
Thelio Mega
Past systems
Wild Dog Pro
Leopard WS
Silverback WS
Servers
The servers sold by System76 were some of the first servers to offer the Ubuntu Linux distribution pre-installed. Recent models, as of 2012, have garnered generally positive reviews, which cite value and hardware compatibility as primary advantages.
Jackal 1U
Jackal Pro 1U
Jackal Pro 2U
Ibex Pro GPU
Starling Pro ARM
Pop!_OS
Pop!_OS is a Linux distribution developed by System76, based on Ubuntu by Canonical Ltd. and using the GNOME Desktop Environment. It is intended for use by "developers, makers, and computer science professionals". Pop!_OS provides full disk encryption by default as well as streamlined window management, workspaces, and keyboard shortcuts for navigation.
Community relations
The company has a history of sponsoring the Ubuntu Developer Summit, Southern California Linux Expo, and other Open Source/Linux events and conferences. Their official support forums are hosted by Canonical Ltd., the primary developer of Ubuntu.
System76 is an active member in the Colorado Ubuntu Community, serving as the corporate sponsor for Ubuntu LoCo events and release parties in downtown Denver.
See also
Framework Computer
Linux adoption
Purism (company)
Pine64
References
External links
Companies based in Denver
Computer companies of the United States
Computer hardware companies
Consumer electronics brands
Online retailers of the United States
Ubuntu |
36392387 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CS%20Communication%20%26%20Syst%C3%A8mes | CS Communication & Systèmes | CS Group initially known as CS Communication & Systèmes, is a French information-technology service company listed on the Paris Bourse as a member of the CAC Small index. The company designs information systems, develops and integrates software; manages projects and deploys industrial applications and provides science, technology and consulting services. CS Group is the French leader in air traffic control, the third biggest supplier of traffic-management systems in the world and provides information technology consulting services.
The company's headquarters is in Paris, with 12 other locations throughout France. Regional headquarters or subsidiaries are in Germany, Romania, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, India, and the United States. CS Group has nearly 2,000 employees.
Products
Defense, space and security
CS Group deploys command and control information systems, implementing open, interoperable and upgradeable solutions aligned with operational needs:
Operations command information systems: Air and naval defense, homeland security and intelligence
Space systems and applications: Flight dynamics, space surveillance and environmental safety
Information and communication systems security: Simulation and virtual-reality systems, electronic warfare and mission-critical information systems
Security consulting: Audit, support and assistance and risk analysis
Solution for the detection and neutralisation of light drones. Boreades, built around centralized supervision, it can detect, identify and pursuing drones, neutralize them and recover them.
Products: Prelude (a SIEM), Vigilo (a network-supervision tool), PKI, time stamping and archiving
Diginext, a CS Group subsidiary, also produces and markets in the fields of:
Tactical data links
Simulation and virtual-reality systems
Navigation and geolocation systems
Electronic warfare
Mission-critical information systems
Aeronautics
CS Group supplies aircraft manufacturers with high-tech embedded systems and motor parts, providing product lifecycle management, simulators and tests.
Energy
In nuclear safety and radioactive waste management, CS Group produces high-performance simulators and creates specialized scientific software. The firm participated in creating simulator platforms for nuclear-plants (including specialized simulators of EDF, the French electric company).
CS INDIA Bangalore
CS Group India Private Limited is started in 2011.
CS provides engineering services to aircraft engine manufacturers. CS Communication & Systèmes designs, integrates and operates systems worldwide. It offers operations command information systems for joint armed forces, air defense and naval, homeland security, armed forces training, intelligence, and support and logistics information systems applications; space systems and applications for use in ground segment and space services, flight dynamics, space surveillance, and environmental safety; information and communication systems security solutions, such as audit, consulting, and design of secure architectures, as well as authentication services and cyber defense solutions. The company also provides Diginext products in the fields of tactical data links, simulation and virtual reality systems, navigation and geo-localization systems, electronic warfare, and mission-critical information systems. In addition, it offers digital design products, including HPC and simulation products, digital mock-ups, enterprise content management solutions, and product lifecycle management solutions, as well as simulators for engineering, training, and maintenance. The company provides embedded systems, such as NSS, FWS, FADEC, ATC/ATM, cockpit displays etc.; engineering, development and integration, maintenance, testing, and certification services for aeronautics, automobiles, energy, mobile phones, railway transportation, etc.; and nuclear safety solutions for nuclear waste management, safety studies, and crisis centers, as well as supervision, command, and control. Further, it offers technical information systems comprising technical documentation and respect for production constraints; security systems for encryption and implementation in networking equipment, identification and validation, non-reversible transactions, data and interchange confidentiality, secured application flows, and rights management and attribution; and radio-telephone-intercom integrated solutions.
CS Inc
CS Group Inc was established in 2015 in East Hartford, CT to work with clients based in the United States. This is the company's first US branch and since its conception, it has secured several clients including Pratt & Whitney and Triumph Engine Controls. The US branch now employs over 25 people including software engineers, design engineers and IPT leads who mainly work on Aircraft Engine design and Software Testing in accordance with DO-178B. CS Inc. has worked on several commercial engines including the PW1100 for the Airbus A320 Neo, PW1500 for the Bombardier CS series and the PW1900 for the Embraer E-jets. More recent projects include military engines as well for which the company has formed a new military division.
Other activities
CS Group develops a computational fluid dynamics software solution based on the Lattice-Boltzmann method :ProLB. Low dissipation and dispersion errors combined with state-of-the-art turbulence modeling approaches (Large Eddy Simulations), allow ProLB to perform high-fidelity aeroacoustic and aerodynamic simulations of weakly compressible flows.
References
Electronic test equipment manufacturers
Electronics companies established in 1902
Companies based in Paris
French brands
Trunked radio systems
Defence companies of France
Electronics companies of France |
36492913 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imonggo | Imonggo | Imonggo is a free Cloud-based POS for small businesses. Released by international tech company Movmento Pte. Ltd. in 2009, it was the first free web-based POS system available for small business. Imonggo can be used on macOS as it is configured for Safari and also supports all other major Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome.
Release
Imonggo version 2.0 was first launched in 2009 by Movmento Pte. Ltd.. Movmento is a SaaS company with its headquarters in Singapore. They have sales and marketing divisions in the United States and their research and development teams are located in the Philippines.
Imonggo released its iPad app on January 4, 2013. The app allows users to sell items offline, and to use their iPad tablets to showcase their products to customers.
Features
Imonggo is not a downloadable software. Users must create an account online which can then be accessed from anywhere there is an Internet connection. Imonggo is configured as a POS system as well as a web-based retail management solution. It allows retailers to manage hundreds of stores and inventory as well as providing sales analysis and business intelligence. Imonggo allows stores to create multiple users as well as business subsidiaries. The software also has a hack-proof SSL encryption to protect data. It also uses several servers in different geographical areas to back up data in order to ensure that no business data for a company is lost or destroyed. The software can also support peripherals such as barcode scanners, label printers, cash drawers, check readers, receipt printers and signature capture pads.
Partnerships
Imonggo is partnered with Authorize.Net for credit card processing. It is also a software partner of Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
Awards and recognitions
Imonggo was awarded with the Best Business Software Award in the Point of Sales Software category by APEX in 2009. In 2011, they were also listed as one of the top 90 cloud computing companies to watch.
References
Cloud applications
Point of sale companies |
36520368 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailfish%20OS | Sailfish OS | Sailfish OS is a Linux-based operating system based on free software, and open source projects such as Mer as well as including a closed source UI. The project is being developed by the Finnish company Jolla.
The OS first shipped with the original Jolla Phone in 2013 (its sale stopped in 2016, but it was supplied with software updates until the end of 2020), then the Jolla Tablet in 2015 and from other vendors licensing the OS. The OS is ported by community enthusiasts to third-party mobile devices including smartphones and tablet computers. Sailfish OS can be used for many kinds of devices.
History and development
The OS is an evolved continuation of the Linux MeeGo OS previously developed by alliance of Nokia and Intel which itself relies on combined Maemo and Moblin. The MeeGo legacy is contained in the Mer core in about 80% of its code; the Mer name thus expands to MEego Reconstructed. This base is extended by Jolla with a custom user interface and default applications. Jolla and MERproject.org follow a meritocratic system to avoid the mistakes that led to the MeeGo project's then-unanticipated discontinuation.
The main elements for include:
Technically stronger OS core
Improved Android application compatibility
Support for ARM and Intel architectures, including the Intel Atom x3 processor, or any platform with kernel useable (settle-able) for MER core stack (also called middleware of Sailfish).
Design to provide visibility in the UI for digital content providers and to enable OS level integration for mobile commerce
Strong multitasking (one of the most important advantage of the OS and declared to be the best one on the market)
Strong privacy and personalization features
Enhanced user interface with new UI/UX features, including simpler swipe access to main functions, enhanced notifications and events views.
Software architecture
The and the Sailfish software development kit (SDK) are based on the Linux kernel and Mer. includes a multi-tasking graphical shell called "Lipstick" built with Qt by Jolla on top of the Wayland display server protocol. Jolla uses free and open-source graphics device drivers but the Hybris library allows use of proprietary drivers for Android. Jolla's stated goal is for Sailfish to be open source eventually.
can run some Android applications through a proprietary compatibility layer.
Targeted device classes
Sailfish is targeted at mobile devices, but since it inherited around 80% of MeeGo code, Sailfish can be used as a complete general-purpose Linux OS on devices including in vehicle infotainment (IVI), navigation, smart TV, desktops and notebooks, yachts, automotive, e-commerce, home appliances, measuring and control equipment, smart building equipment, etc. See use cases of original MeeGo to compare, and the Devices section for devices that run the .
Sailfish OS SDK
The SDK was announced at the Slush Helsinki conference in 2012, and the alpha was published in February 2013. The SDK, installation and coding tutorials are available for free download from the website despite the overall license not being open source.
Sailfish SDK uses Qt with VirtualBox for development, compiling and emulation purposes, in contrast to the simulation method. This technique allows compilation on the and full testing of developed software in the virtual machine, emulatingnot simulatingthe whole . This also separates development activities and side effects from everything else running on the host computer, leaving it undisturbed by developments and tests. According to Jolla, development with Sailfish SDK is development on itself; there are no differences between developed software appearance and behaviour in the SDK and on a device running .
The availability of source code to the SDK allows shaping and rebuilding to companies' or developers' specific needs, creating a context-specific environment that is set once and needs no preparation when the device is booted. The SDK runs on the operating systems Android, 32- and 64-bit versions of Linux, 64-bit versions of OS X, and Microsoft Windows. It can be used for compiling software for devices from Linux sources. Its general console/terminal mode follows a commonly used standard. Compatible binaries or libraries can also be used.
Application programming interfaces
uses open source Qt APIs (Qt 5, QtQuick 2 etc.) and a closed source Sailfish Silica for the UI. Standard Linux APIs are provided by the Mer Core.
Sailfish, Ubuntu and Plasma Active have been cooperating to share common APIs. When successful, this will make the platforms compatible on the API level.
Sailfish Browser is the default web browser based on Gecko and using embedlite (also known as IPCLiteAPI), a lite-weight embedding API from Mozilla.
Software overview
UI supported human languages
Officially Jolla declares supporting the following 14 languages for the user interface:
Danish, German, English (UK), Spanish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Chinese (mainland), and Chinese (Hong Kong). For each of them, the OS has a dedicated keyboard. There are a few more languages which are unofficially supported by community freelancers not under control by Jolla, hence more than 20 languages are supported in total. Additional languages can be installed by skilled users due to the Linux architecture.
Public "Early access" for beta testers and developers
After positive experiences with pushing early updates to a small group of opt-in users for Sailfish Update 9 and for the connectivity hotfix, Jolla has allowed all interested parties to try a new version of about 1–2 weeks before official release, in a program called "Early access". It is expected to be useful for developers and technically minded users, and a step towards more community integration into the Sailfish release process, including improvement of quality by identifying critical issues which only show up in certain environments or device setups, before rolling the update out to the wider user audience. As an added bonus, it provides a window for developers to test their applications on new releases of .
In the long term it will help Jolla to establish a developer program with early release candidate access for registered developers, and to have more community involvement in platform development. The first detail Jolla is hoping to learn from this is how it can gather feedback from a large audience in a reasonable way.
Basic details about the early access update:
The early release access is meant primarily for advanced users and developers.
To sign up for the program there is a checkbox in the Jolla accounts profile page.
Installed early-access release cannot be downgraded. The only way to downgrade from early access releases is to do a factory reset after removing the sign up check from the user's account profile.
Early access releases should be considered "reasonably stable". Issues found during that period will either be fixed, or added to "known issues" on the release notes.
Signing up for the early access releases will not void warranty.
Version history
has three naming conventions: version number, update number and version name.
Sailfish OS 1.0 versions were named after Finnish lakes.
Sailfish OS 2.0 supports the Jolla Tablet with x86 platforms and featured a reworked touch based UI. Releases were named after Finnish rivers.
Sailfish OS 3.0 and 4.0 features a slightly reworked UI. Releases are named after Finnish national parks.
Sailfish OS 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 features 64 bit support on the Sony Xperia 10 II, plus a new sharing system. Releases are named after Finnish Unesco world heritage sites.
Stop releases
When updating an installed Sailfish OS from an earlier release, for example after device factory reset, there are several stop releases which must not be skipped and have to be installed before continuing on the path to subsequent releases. These releases provide new functionality that is not compatible with previous releases and have to be traversed in order not to put the Sailfish OS installation into an unstable state.
Porting
The Sailfish website publishes an online compendium of knowledge, links and instructions on porting issues.
Using Android software running on
In addition to its native applications, Sailfish can run some Android applications by installing them from an application store or directly through an APK file. Supported Android versions are 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" on the original Jolla phone; 4.4.4 "Kit-Kat" on the Jolla C, Jolla tablet and Xperia X; 8.1.0 "Oreo", 9 "Pie" and 10 (depending on the Sailfish OS release) on Xperia XA2, Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 II. Problems can arise if these applications were built without following Android standards about controls, which might not display correctly and so become unusable.
Sailfish OS uses Alien Dalvik, a proprietary Android compatibility layer. It does not emulate Android, but instead implements its APIs by adapting the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code to run as an application. Android applications can thus run at native speed without any perceivable slow-down. Sailfish can run both native Sailfish and Android software simultaneously, with the user switching between them on the fly.
Starting with Alien Dalvik 8.1 (also called "Android App Support" since then), it uses LXC to improve security by better isolation, in the same way the open source Android compatibility layer Anbox is doing.
Hardware overview
Advantages of the Mer standard
can be used on any hardware with Linux-kernel support and compatible with the middleware utilising the Mer core. Community enthusiasts have ported to a number of devices this way. Instead of designation to a specific reference hardware platform, a VirtualBox implementation with the SDK is available for development on Linux, OS X and Windows operating systems. This virtual machine implementation contains the whole isolated from local resources and the local OS to enable convenient evaluation of the behaviour and performance of coded or ported software before deployment on real devices.
Jolla devices
Jolla C
Jolla Tablet
Jolla Phone
Devices from other vendors licensing
Manufacturers can provide mobile equipment with a licensed , or as open source, or combining both and including their own or the operator's modifications and branding for specific markets or purposes.
Sony Xperia 10 II – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia 10 Plus – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia 10 – via Sailfish X
Planet Computers Gemini PDA – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia XA2 – via Sailfish X
Sony Xperia X – via Sailfish X
Community enthusiasts' ports to devices from other vendors
Due to the relative ease of porting and the open source license, has also been unofficially ported to other 3rd-party devices. The Hardware Adaptation Development Kit for porters has been published and is free. These ports are mostly published on the Maemo and XDA Developers forums, and in the Mer wiki a list of the ports is compiled. Due to license restrictions, proprietary parts or extensions such as the Alien Dalvik compatibility layer for Android apps are not included. However they can be added, e.g. when a manufacturer or distributor turns it from the community version into an officially supported version for a particular device. From the originally more than 80 ports, there are about 19 ports that are still in active development – as of March 2019 – meaning they have been updated to Sailfish 3:
Alcatel Idol 3
Fairphone 2
F(x)tec Pro1
HP TouchPad
Motorola Moto Z Play
Motorola Photon Q
Motorola Moto X Force
Motorola Moto X 2014
Motorola Moto G 2014
Motorola Moto G 2015
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
OnePlus X
OnePlus One
OnePlus 3
OnePlus 3T
OnePlus 5
OnePlus 5T
PinePhone
Samsung Galaxy A5
Sony Xperia X Compact
Xiaomi Redmi 2
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
Xiaomi Redmi 4X
To display the ease of porting to other devices, Jolla showed created ports and community ports at events like the Mobile World Congress, Slush and FOSDEM:
Nokia N950
Nokia N9
Google Nexus 7
Google Nexus 4
Samsung Galaxy S3
Xiaomi Mi 2
TCL Idol X950
Google Nexus 5
Fairphone 2
Sony Xperia X
Jolla Sailfish Watch
Sony Xperia XA2
Planet Computers Gemini PDA
a feature phone similar to the Nokia 3310 assumed to be the Chinese Kingsun EF33
OS development status
is promoted by Jolla and supported by the open Sailfish Alliance established in 2011, a group established to unite OEM and ODM manufacturers, chipset providers, operators, application developers and retailers. On 16 August 2012, the user interface was reported to be ready for release. Jolla's CEO Jussi Hurmola stated in a ZDNet interview, " ... Our UI is ready now, we haven't released it yet, we will save it for the product launch and the platform is getting up now so the project looks pretty nice".
The next day, Jolla's CEO Marc Dillon said on social networking website Twitter that the company had reached the first development target. Sailfish was debuted by the Jolla team, including a worldwide internet stream, as a demo of the OS, and the UI and SDK during the Slush event in Helsinki, Finland, on 21–22 November 2012. The alpha stage of SDK was published at the end of February 2013 and was made available for free download.
On 16 September 2013, Jolla announced that its OS had been made compatible with Android applications and hardware. The first telephone to use it was launched on 27 November 2013 at a pop-up DNA Kauppa shop in Helsinki. The first 450 telephones were sold at this event, while the rest of the preordered devices were shipped shortly after.
In August 2015, version 1.1.9 "Eineheminlampi" was released, which added the main elements of the revamped user interface.
was launched with the Jolla Tablet, and existing devices, both smartphones and tablets, from Jolla's official distribution channels are supported with upgrade to and following updates.
In May 2016 Jolla announced the Sailfish Community Device Program, supporting developers and members of community.
Aurora OS
Jolla staff met with members of the Russian technology community to break ground on the new software and promote , as part of Jolla's BRICS strategy. As a result of those efforts, on 18 May 2015 the Russian minister of communications Nikolai Nikiforov announced plans to replace Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms with new software based on Sailfish. He intends it to cover 50% of Russian needs in this area during next ten years, in comparison to the 95% currently covered with western technology. The Russian version is currently being developed under the brand name Mobile OS "Aurora" (мобильная ОС «Аврора»), before 2019 as "Sailfish Mobile OS RUS". The Chinese multinational technology company Huawei was in talks with the Russian Ministry of Communications to install Aurora OS on tablets for Russia’s population census by August 2020.
Jolla has cut business ties with Russia in 2021
Sailfish Alliance
Sailfish Alliance is the open alliance established in 2011 by Jolla company to support the MeeGo ecosystem with new products, services and business opportunities around or using Sailfish OS, a Linux operating system combining Mer with proprietary components from Jolla and other parties, for various purposes and mobile devices.
The alliance is seen as a competitor to other groups like Android's Open Handset Alliance.
In 2011 some of the MeeGo team working at Nokia left, and were funded by Nokia though their "Bridge" program to fund spin-out projects by ex-employees. The Sailfish Alliance has sought to collaborate between the Finnish software developers, and overseas handset manufacturers, some of which are in China. The news media reports that a number of manufacturers in China and India want an alternative to Android.
The Alliance aims to "unite OEM and ODM manufacturers, chipset providers, operators, application developers and retailers."
Business strategy
The aim of the Alliance is to offer unique differentiation opportunities and sustainable competitive advantage for OEM and ODM manufacturers, chipset providers, operators, application developers, retailers and other interested in sides.
Sailfish Secure
The Sailfish Secure is the first open and secure mobile phone platform, based on Sailfish OS. It was introduced publicly in Barcelona, Spain at Mobile World Congress on 2 March 2015 where plans for the Sailfish Secure were presented.
It is based on a security-hardened version of the Sailfish OS and SSH's communication encryption and key management platform. Developed by Jolla (the Sailfish OS designer and developer) together with SSH Communications Security (the inventor of Secure Shell SSH protocol) in collaboration of Sailfish Alliance.
The hardware platform independent approach of the Sailfish Secure allow concept adaptation to local needs, and also in collaboration with other security partners. End customers like governments or large corporations are able to adapt the solution to their preferred or used hardware platform, as it is not tied to a specific hardware or configuration.
The aim is to answer increasing demand in privacy in mobile communications. Jolla and Sailfish OS has unique position to create and provide an alternative solution on markets dominated by Android or other non-EU based OSes. Target customers need a secure mobile solution, including government officials or corporations, but it is also to be the solution affordable for consumers.
See also
Comparison of mobile operating systems
Hongmeng OS
KaiOS
Nokia Asha platform
Nokia X platform
References
External links
SailfishOSwiki, a site hosting documentation
Building packages manually (including porting over existing applications that use a different build system)
Jolla website
OpenRepos.net
Why Sailfish is better as a modern OS? Here is a comparison
FlyingSheep on Sailfisha good reading for developers and porting from MeeGo Harmattan to
ARM operating systems
Embedded Linux distributions
Finnish brands
Free mobile software
MeeGo
Mobile Linux
Mobile operating systems
Smartphones
Software that uses QML
X86-64 Linux distributions
X86-64 operating systems
Linux distributions |
36536226 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20people%20with%20surname%20O%27Neill | List of people with surname O'Neill | This is a list of people with surname O'Neill, including the variant spellings O'Neil and O'Neal.
People
A
Alan O'Neill (footballer born 1957) (born 1957), Irish football player
Alan O'Neill (footballer born 1973) (born 1973), Irish football player
Alexander O'Neal (born 1953), American musician
Alexandre O'Neill (1924–1986), Portuguese writer
Alexander O'Neill aka Alexx O'Nell (born 1980), American musician and actor
Amber O'Neal (born 1974), American professional wrestler
Amos O'Neal, American politician
Amy O'Neill (born 1971), an actress/performer
Ana María O'Neill, an educator, author and advocate of women's rights
Andrew O'Neill (born 1979), English vegan, anarchist, transvestite, stand-up comedian, musician and writer
Anthony O'Neill (born 1964), Australian fiction writer
Aisling O'Neill, Irish actress
April O'Neil, a fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise
Arthur Joseph O'Neill (1917–2013), an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Arthur O'Neill (1876–1914), was an Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician
Arturo O'Neill (1736–1814), an Irish-born colonel who served the Spanish crown as governor of several places in New Spain (1781–1794)
B
Barbara O'Neil, an American film and stage actress
Bernie O'Neill (politician), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Bernie O'Neill (bowls), Northern Irish lawn bowler
Bernie O'Neill (Gaelic footballer) (born 1945), Irish Gaelic footballer
Bill O'Neill (1880–1920), a Canadian-born Major League Baseball player
Billy O'Neill (rugby) (1878–1955), a Welsh international rugby union player
Billy O'Neill (footballer), an Irish professional footballer
Brendan O'Neill (businessman) (born 1948), a British business executive
Brendan O'Neill (journalist), an English journalist
Brian O'Neill (ice hockey b. 1929), a Canadian executive within the National Hockey League
Brian O'Neill (ice hockey b. 1988), American ice hockey player
Brian O'Neill (1574), chief of the O'Neills of Clanaboy, surrendering his title to Sir Philip Sidney for a knighthood in 1567
Brian O'Neill (superintendent) (1941–2009), an American superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Brian O'Neill (American football) (born 1995), American football player
Bryan Hugh St. John O'Neil (1905-1954) British archaeologist and historian
Buckey O'Neill (1860–1898), an American soldier, sheriff, newspaper editor, miner, politician, gambler and lawyer
Byron O'Neill (born 1970), an American artist
C
Calvin O'Neal, American football linebacker
Carol O'Neal (born 1948), American model and Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month in July 1972
Catherine O'Neill (cricketer), New Zealand-born Irish cricketer
Charles Duncan O'Neal (1879–1936), Barbados politician and physician
Charles O'Neal (1904–1996), American film and television screenwriter
Christopher John O'Neill, Broadway actor
Chris O'Neill, Irish animator and YouTuber
Connor O'Neill, fictional Northern Irish character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
C. William O'Neill (1916–1978), American politician
Carlos O'Neill (1760–1835), titular head of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty
Cecily O'Neill, authority on Process drama and the arts in education
Charles O'Neill (musician), Canadian bandmaster and composer
Charles O'Neill (engineer) (1828–1900), Australasian engineer, inventor, parliamentarian and philanthropist
Charles H. O'Neill (c. 1800–1897), Irish-born American politician and mayor
Charles O'Neill (Pennsylvania politician) (1821–1893), American politician
Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill (1779–1841), British politician, peer and landowner
Chloe Ann O'Neil (born 1943), New York politician
Christopher O'Neill (born 1974), British-American businessman and the husband of Princess Madeleine of Sweden
Colm O'Neill (born 1964), Irish sportsperson
Colm O'Neill (born 1988), Irish sportsperson
Con O'Neill (actor), (born 1966), British actor
Con O'Neill (diplomat) (1912–1988), British civil servant and diplomat
Conn (Constantine) O'Neill, titular head of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty
D
Dave O'Neal (1937–2021), American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Deltha O'Neal (born 1977), American football player
Dipika O'Neill Joti (born 1977), Turkish actor and model
Damian O'Neill (born 1961), lead guitarist in the pop-punk band, The Undertones
Dan O'Neill (born 1942), American underground cartoonist
Dan O'Neill (writer), American journalist and writer
Daniel O'Neill (painter) (1920–1974), Irish Romantic painter
Daniel O'Neill (editor), Irish-born American newspaper editor and owner
Daria O'Neill (born 1971), American radio and television personality
Darren O'Neill, an Irish boxer
Dennis O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Dermot O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Diarmuid O'Neill (1969–1996), English-born volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Dick O'Neill (1928–1998), American stage, film and television actor
Don O'Neill, American watercolorist and architect
Donal O'Neill, Gaelic footballer for Galway
Douglas F. O'Neill (born 1968), American Thoroughbred horse trainer
E
Eamon O'Neill (born 1944), Northern Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland
Eamonn O'Neill (died 3 November 1954), Irish Cumann na nGaedhael and later Fine Gael party politician
Edward O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Ed O'Neill (born 1946), American actor
Ed O'Neal (born 1936), American musician, of the Dixie Melody Boys
Edward J. O'Neill (general) (1902–1979), American US Army officer
Edward L. O'Neill (1903–1948), American politician
Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill (1839–1928), arish peer and politician
Eliza O'Neill, (1791 – 29 October 1872), Irish actress, later baronetess
Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, (1883–1979) artist, author and lecturer
Ella O'Neill, mother of playwright Eugene O'Neill and wife of actor James O'Neill
Emmett O'Neill (1918–1993), American Major League Baseball pitcher
Eric O'Neill (born 1973), American former American FBI operative
Eugene M. O'Neill (1850–1926), Irish-born American lawyer and newspaper owner
Eugene O'Neill (hurler) (born 1978), Irish sportsperson
Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953), American playwright, and Nobel laureate in Literature
Eunan O'Neill (born 1982), Northern Irish television presenter
Evan O'Neill Kane (1861–1932), surgeon working in Pennsylvania, US
Edward Asbury O'Neal (1818–1890), American Confederate general during the American Civil War
Emmet O'Neal (1853–1922), American Democratic politician who was Governor of Alabama
F
Frank O'Neal, American cartoonist
Frederick O'Neal (1905–1992), American actor and television director
Fabián O'Neill (born 1973), Uruguayan former football midfielder
Felim O'Neill of Kinard, Irish nobleman who led the Irish Rebellion of 1641 in Ulster
Francis O'Neill (1848–1936), Irish-born American police chief and author of several Irish music collections
Frank "Buck" O'Neill (1875–1958), American head football coach
Frank O'Neill (footballer) (born 1940), Irish footballer
G
Gail O'Neill, American model and television journalist
Gary O'Neill, various people
Gene O'Neill, American novelist
George Bernard O'Neill (1828–1917), Irish genre painter
George O'Neill (born 1942), Scottish footballer who played and managed in the US in his later career
George O'Neill (footballer, born 1923) (1923–2003), English footballer
Gerard K. O'Neill (1927-1992), American scientist
Gerard M. O'Neill (1942-2019), American journalist and writer
Griffin O'Neal (born 1964), American actor
H
Harriet O'Neill, American judge
Harry O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Heather O'Neill (born 1973), Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist
Henrique O'Neill, 1st Viscount of Santa Mónica, Portuguese noble and politician
Henry O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Hugh McShane O'Neill, Irish nobleman and rebel in the 16th and 17th centuries
Hugh O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Hugo José Jorge O'Neill (1874–1940), Portuguese nobleman
I
Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill (1880–1975), stage and screen actor and Rhode Island legislator
Ivan O'Neal, Vincentian political leader
J
Jack O'Neill, a fictional character in the Canadian-American SyFy television series Stargate SG-1
Jamie O'Neal (born Jamie Murphy, 1968), Australian country singer and songwriter
Jermaine O'Neal (born 1978), American NBA basketball player
Jim O'Neal (born 1948), American blues expert, writer, record producer and record company executive
Joseph T. O'Neal, American politician
Johnny O'Neal, American jazz pianist
Jack O'Neill (baseball) (1873–1935), Irish-American baseball catcher
Jack O'Neill (businessman) (1923–2017), American businessman
Jack O'Neill (disambiguation)
Jacquie O'Neill (born 1969), English illustrator
James O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Jamie O'Neill (born 1962), Irish authoer
Jamie O'Neill (snooker player), English snooker player
Jan Lehane (born 1941), married name O'Neill, Australian tennis player
Jeff O'Neill (born 1976), Canadian broadcaster and former ice hockey player
Jeffrey O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Jennifer O'Neill, American actress and model
Jevon O'Neill, British film director and producer
Jim O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Jimmy O'Neill (footballer, born 1931) (1930–2007), Irish football goalkeeper
Jimmy O'Neill (footballer, born 1941), Northern Irish footballer
João O'Neill
João Pedro Torlades O'Neill
Joaquim Torlades O'Neill
Joe O'Neill, English footballer
John Johnston O'Neill (1886–1966), Canadian geologist and academic
John Joseph O'Neill (journalist) (1889–1953), American journalist
John Joseph O'Neill (British politician) (1888–1953), English Liberal MP
John Joseph O'Neill (American politician) (1846–1898), U.S. Representative from Missouri
John O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
John Raymond O'Neill, Canadian politician
Jonjo O'Neill (born 1952), Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer and jockey
Jorge Maria O'Neill
Jorge Torlades O'Neill I
Jorge Torlades O'Neill II
José Carlos O'Neill
José Maria O'Neill
Joseph O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Julian O'Neill (New Zealand rugby league), New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in England
Julian O'Neill, Australia rugby league footballer
Juliet O'Neill, Canadian journalist
K
Kathleen O'Neal Gear (born 1954), American writer
Kate Tenforde (née O'Neill; born 1980), American long-distance runner
Katie O'Neill, illustrator and writer from New Zealand
Keith O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Ken O'Neal (born 1962), American football player
Kevin O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Kim L. O'Neill, Irish biologist in the United States
Kitty O'Neil (1946–2018), American stuntwoman and racer
L
Leslie O'Neal (born 1964), American football player
Laurence O'Neill, Irish politician
Lawrence Joseph O'Neill, American judge
Lawrence O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Linda O'Neill, Australian soccer player
Louis O'Neill, American diplomat and attorney
Luke O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
M
Madeline O'Neill (born 1867/68), British tennis player
Maggie O'Neill, British actress
Máire O'Neill (academic) (born 1978), Irish data encryption academic
Maire O'Neill (1886– 1952), Irish actress
Margaret O'Neill Eaton (1799–1879), wife of John Eaton, involved in the Petticoat Affair
María de Mater O'Neill (born 1960), Puerto Rican artist, designer and educator
Maria O'Neill, Portuguese member of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty
Mark O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Martha Mary O'Neill, aka 'Mother Patricia', Irish-Australian Sister of Charity
Martin O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Clackmannan
Martin O'Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
Marty O'Neill (born 1965), Canadian lacrosse player and manager
Mary Auguste O'Neill
Mary Devenport O'Neill, Irish poet
Mary O'Neill, Canadian politician
Mary-Anne O'Neill, Australian politician
Mary Lovelace O'Neal, American artist
Mary Thomas O'Neal (1887 – after 1974), Welsh-born American labor activist
Maston E. O'Neal Jr. (1907–1990), American politician
Matthew O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Melinda O'Neal, American conductor of choral music
Merlin O'Neill (1898–1981), Commandant of the United States Coast Guard 1950 to 1954
Michael O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Michelle Leclaire O'Neill, American writer
Michelle O'Neill, Irish politician, deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland since 2020, Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018
Mike O'Neal (born 1951), Kansas Republican politician
Mildred O'Neill (1914? – 2003), wife of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O'Neill
Moira O'Neill, pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson (1864–1955), Irish-Canadian poet
Morgan O'Neill, Australian writer, director, actor and producer
N
Nathan O'Neill, Australian cyclist
Nicholas O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Norm O'Neill, Australian cricketer
Norman O'Neill (1875– 1934), English composer and conductor
O
Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve
Oona O'Neill, American actress
Owen Roe O'Neill (c.1585 – 1649), Gaelic Irish soldier
O'Neal Compton (born 1951), American film and television actor
O'Neill Donaldson (born 1969), English footballer
O'Neill Spencer (1909–1944), American jazz drummer and singer
Sir Neil O'Neill, Irish chieftain
P
Patrice O'Neal (1969–2011), American comedian
Patrick O'Neal (disambiguation), several people
Peggy O'Neal (disambiguation), several people
Pete O'Neal (born 1940), American Black Panther Party member
Pat O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Patrick O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Paul O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Pauline O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Pearse O'Neill, Irish Gaelic footballer
Peggy O'Neil (1898–1960), Irish-American actress
Peter O'Neill, former prime minister of Papua New Guinea
Phelim (Felix) O'Neill
Phelim Caoch O'Neill (1517–1542), prince of the Cenél nEógain
Phelim O'Neill, 2nd Baron Rathcavan
R
Ralph Ambrose O'Neill, American flying ace from World War I
Rebecca O'Neill (born 1981), New Zealand football player
Richard O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Riley O'Neill (born 1985), Canadian soccer player
Robert O'Neill (disambiguation), several people
Robin O'Neil, British historian
Rose O'Neill (1874–1944), American illustrator
Ryan O'Neill (American soccer player) (born 1978), American soccer midfielder
Ryan O'Neill (Northern Irish footballer) (born 1990), Northern Irish footballer
Ralph T. O'Neal (1933–2019), British Virgin Islands politician
Reagan O'Neal, one of several pseudonyms of James Oliver Rigney Jr (born 1948), American writer
Ron O'Neal (1937–2004), American actor, director and screenwriter
Rose O'Neal Greenhow (1817–1864), Confederate spy
Ryan O'Neal (born 1941), American actor
S
Séamus Ó Néill (1910–1986), Irish writer
Shaquille O'Neal (born 1972), American basketball player
Shareef O'Neal (born 2000), American basketball player and son of Shaquille
Stanley O'Neal, American business executive
Steve O'Neal (born 1946), American football punter
Seán O'Neill (born 1938), Northern Irish Gaelic footballer
Sean O'Neill (table tennis), American table tennis player and coach
Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) (c. 1530–1567), Irish chief of the O'Neill clan of Ulster
Shane O'Neill (Irish exile) (c. 1599 – 29 January 1641), youngest son of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Shane O'Neill (hurler) (born 1986), Irish sportsperson
Sharon O'Neill (born 1952), New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist
Sid O'Neill, Australian rules footballer
Simon O'Neill (born 1971), New Zealand-born operatic tenor
Stephen O'Neill (born 1980), Irish Gaelic footballer
Steve O'Neill (1891–1962), American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball
Steve O'Neill (owner) (1899–1983), American owner of a professional baseball team
Steve O'Neill (rugby league), English rugby league footballer
Susie O'Neill (born 1973), Australian swimmer
T
Tara Lynne O'Neill, Northern Irish actress
Ted O'Neill, Dean of Admissions at the University of Chicago
Terence O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine (1914–1990), the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Terry O'Neill (feminist) (born c. 1953), American attorney, professor and activist for social justice
Terry O'Neill (martial artist) (born 1948), English actor and martial artist
Terry O'Neill (photographer) (1938–2019), English photographer
Thomas Newman O'Neill Jr. (1928–2018), American federal judge
Thomas O'Neill (journalist) (1904–1971), American journalist
Thomas O'Neill (Canadian politician) (1882–1965), Canadian politician
Thomas P. O'Neill III (born 1945), American politician
Tim O'Neill (Canadian football) (born 1979), Canadian football player
Timothy O'Neill (soccer) (born 1982), American soccer player
Tip O'Neill (1912–1994), American politician
Tip O'Neill (baseball) (1858–1915), Canadian left fielder in Major League Baseball
Titus O'Neil (born 1977; real name Thaddeus Bullard), American professional wrestler
Tom O'Neill (ice hockey) (born 1923), Canadian ice hockey player
Tommy O'Neill (born 1955), Scottish football midfielder
Tony O'Neill, New York-based musician and author
Tatum O'Neal (born 1963), American actress
Tirlough Brassileagh Ó Neill, son of Phelim Caoch O'Neill, Prince of the Cenél nEógain
Turlough Luineach Ó Neill (1532–1595), Irish earl of the Clan-Connell, inaugurated as the King of Tyrone
Ty O'Neal (born 1978), American actor
W
Ward O'Neill (born 1951), Australian illustrator, caricaturist and cartoonist
Wes O'Neill (born 1986), Canadian ice hockey player
Willa O'Neill, New Zealand actress
William O'Neill (Connecticut politician) (1930–2007), American Governor of Connecticut
William O'Neill (Ohio jurist) (born 1947), American lawyer, jurist and appellate judge
William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill (1813–1883), Anglo-Irish hereditary peer, clergyman and musical composer
William T. O'Neil (1850–1909), New York politician
William J. O'Neil, American entrepreneur, stockbroker and writer
William O' Neil (1848–?), member of the Wisconsin Legislature
Y
Yvonne O'Neill (born 1936), Canadian politician
Surnames
Lists of people by surname |
36564120 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-transform | K-transform | In mathematics, the K transform (also called the Kemp-Macdonald Transform or Single-Pixel X-ray Transform) is an integral transform introduced by R. Scott Kemp and Ruaridh Macdonald in 2016. The transform allows a 3-dimensional inhomogeneous object to be reconstructed from scalar point measurements taken in the volume external to the object.
Gunther Uhlmann proved that the K transform exhibits global uniqueness on , meaning that different objects will always have a different K transform. This uniqueness arises by the use of a monotonic, nonlinear transform of the X-ray transform. By selecting the exponential function for the transform function, which coincides with attenuation of particles in matter in accordance with the Beer–Lambert law, the K transform can be used to perform tomography of 3-dimensional objects using a low-resolution single-pixel detector. A numerical inversion using the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm was explored by Fichtlscherer.
Definition
Let an object be a function of compact support that maps into the positive real numbers
The K-transform of the object is defined as
where is the set of all lines originating at a point and terminating on the single-pixel detector , and is the X-ray transform.
Applications
The K transform has been proposed as a means of performing a physical one-time pad encryption of a physical object.
References
Integral transforms |
36580793 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern%20Access%20Network | Northern Access Network | Northern Access Network was a Canadian unlicensed television system which broadcast videotaped programming to remote Canadian communities in the late 1970s. Although short-lived and often in conflict with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission over its lack of a broadcast license, the service did have the effect of forcing Canada's major commercial television networks to add rebroadcast transmitters in a number of communities they had previously ignored.
The service's operator, David Brough, told The Globe and Mail in 1978 that his ultimate goal was to operate five transmitters in each community: two general entertainment channels to rebroadcast content from CTV and Global, a French channel to rebroadcast content from TVA (and Radio-Canada, where that service was not already available), an educational programming service and a local community channel. In actual practice, only one station was actually set up in each community, which aired either English-only or English and French programming depending on local market needs.
In the Globe interview, Brough clarified that his position was that he was simply using a different technological method to deliver a service legally and ethically no different from a cable television provider. The networks, however, viewed his methods as copyright infringement.
History
Brough was a special education teacher at an institution for the mentally challenged and an entertainer for the Toronto-based Uncle Bobby children's TV series. In 1969 Brough travelled throughout remote northern Canada as a solo performer. During these tours he noted the lack of radio and television service in many regions and developed methods to bring television to remote Canadian communities. In 1971, Brough created a prototype television program in Yellowknife using portable videotape technology and demonstrated this to the CBC's board of directors. When the CBC rejected his proposals for extending television service,
Brough then developed an inexpensive television system which could be installed in remote communities. The station depended on taped programming which would be shipped to the station, rather than on microwave or satellite transmissions. A camera was available at the station for local broadcasts. Brough installed the first Northern Access Network station at Pickle Lake, Ontario in December 1976 with support by Umex, the operator of a local mine. Operating costs of recording and shipping programming tapes were covered with subscriber fees through a locally-run trust fund.
The television channel was not licensed by the CRTC. When police attempted to confiscate the station's equipment, local miners and loggers defended the station by chopping down trees to block Highway 599.
A Northern Access Network station was opened at Longlac, Ontario in 1977. French programming was included on that station to support the predominantly francophone community. Previously, only the CBC English network television service was available there. On 2 February 1978, the Longlac transmitter was seized by RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police officers accompanied by a representative from the federal Department of Communications.
In May 1977, the CRTC and the Department of Communications indicated that they would demonstrate some tolerance to the unlicensed Northern Access Network stations. They adopted an approach where further attempts at station closures were unlikely, particularly where television service was otherwise unavailable.
Brough applied to the CRTC to formally license his stations. A hearing for that application was conducted that October. The CRTC awarded licences for five of his northern Ontario stations in late 1979, but rejected licences for many other existing stations. Brough's dilemma was that the smaller licensed stations would not be viable without income support from the unlicensed stations in more populous communities. Although it had been opposed to his original unlicensed methods, CTV did offer a network affiliation deal to Brough's licensed stations.
The Northern Access Network grew from 30 stations in its first year to 50 by 1979. There were plans for up to 100 additional stations at that point.
By 1981, Brough turned his attention to the development of satellite television receive-only systems. He began Commander Satellite Systems that year.
Operations
A typical Northern Access Network station consisted of a tower with a low power transmitter. The programming signal originated from either a local video camera or a Betamax videocassette recorder. Brough recorded television programming in Toronto, primarily from the commercial networks CTV and Global, onto Betamax tapes which he then sent to the stations for broadcast. Tapes were sent out by mail, with the expectation that once broadcast, they would be sent on to the next station, similar to the "bicycling" method of broadcast syndication.
The initial Pickle Lake station featured a tower of supported by a one watt transmitter to provide an approximately coverage area. Total equipment cost at Pickle Lake was approximately $4000.
Brough modified the Betamax cassette system so that it could contain 10 hours of programming which reduced shipping costs. In the late 1970s, each modified cassette cost Brough $30 compared to the $47 cost of each conventional Betamax cassette.
Stations were funded primarily through an expectation that viewers of the station would contribute toward an operational fund, although in many towns a large percentage of the viewership did not do so. A secondary source of operating funds for the stations was the broadcast of a televised bingo game, which viewers could play at home by buying bingo cards. Later, an inexpensive television encryption was developed for approximately $8 per descrambling unit. This allowed Northern Access Network to enforce a subscriber fee system in its communities.
Coverage
Ontario communities served by Northern Access Network besides Pickle Lake and Longlac included Armstrong, Balmertown, Caramat, Cochenour, Dubreuilville, Ear Falls, Ignace, Mattabi Mines, Moosonee, Nakina, Sioux Lookout, South Bay Mine and Wawa.
In early 1978, Manitoba stations were established at Gillam, Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake, where the only existing television at the time was from CBC.
Other stations were established in the Northwest Territories (Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk) and in Newfoundland (St Anthony).
References
Pirate television stations
Television stations in Northwestern Ontario
1976 establishments in Canada
Television stations in Manitoba
Television stations in Newfoundland and Labrador
Television stations in the Northwest Territories
Television stations in Northeastern Ontario
Defunct Canadian television stations
Canadian mass media regulation |
36589400 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R1%20RCM | R1 RCM | R1 RCM Inc. is an American revenue cycle management company servicing hospitals, health systems and physician groups across the United States. The company provides end-to-end revenue cycle management services as well as modular services targeted across the revenue cycle including pre-registration, financial clearance, debt collection, charge capture, coding, billing and follow-up, underpayments, and denials management.
History
R1 RCM was founded as Accretive Health in 2003 by Mary Tolan and Michael Cline. Tolan served as the company's president, chief executive officer, and board director until 2013. Cline served as board chairman between 2009 and 2013.
In 2012, responding to a Senate inquiry, the company stated that nine thefts of patient data-bearing company laptops had occurred in 2011, and that 30 company laptops had lacked encryption. As a consequence, in 2013, Accretive Health entered into a 20-year settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its data security measures.
In July 2012, Accretive Health entered into a $2.5 million settlement with the Minnesota Attorney General following an investigation into the company's debt collection practices. The company admitted no wrongdoing.
In April 2013, Mary Tolan stepped down as CEO. Tolan was replaced by former Dell executive Stephen Schuckenbrock.
In March 2014, as a result of missed financial restatements, Accretive Health was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Over-the-counter trading continued.
On July 21, 2014, Emad Rizk replaced Schuckenbrock as CEO.
In December 2014, the company restated certain previously filed financial statements and, in June 2015, announced that they had completed their 2014 SEC filings The company filed its 2015 Q2 10-Q with the SEC in August 2015.
In 2015, Ascension selected Accretive Health as its exclusive hospital revenue cycle partner. As part of the transaction, Ascension and TowerBrook Capital Partners invested $200M to support growth initiatives at Accretive Health.
In 2017, Accretive Health was renamed as R1 RCM.
In mid-2017, R1 RCM announced a further expansion of the agreement with Ascension to include an additional $1.5B in net patient revenue handled, which included physician group revenue cycle services.
In August 2020 R1 RCM was hit with a ransomware attack.
Layoffs
In 2017, R1 RCM laid off 20% of its total employees, most of which included software developers.
References
External links
Financial services companies of the United States
Companies based in Utah
Financial services companies established in 2003
Health care companies based in Utah
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
2003 establishments in Illinois
2010 initial public offerings |
36651571 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SignNow | SignNow | SignNow is a cloud-based provider of electronic signature technology, developed in the United States. The company's software-as-a-service platform enables individuals and businesses to sign, and manage documents from any computer. The e-signature product is also available for free on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, which lets you upload documents from your smartphone's e-mail, camera, or Dropbox account and tap to insert your signature.
The signatures within SignNow are legally recognized in the same way as traditional "wet ink" signatures as the company’s technology follows the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 2000, as well as the EU Electronic Signatures Directive.
History
SignNow was founded in 2011 by Chris Hawkins and Andrew Ellis, and operates in Newport Beach, CA. The two saw an issue in signature and notary fraud, and set out to revolutionize use of e-signatures with a legally binding way to add signatures to electronic documents of all sorts with authenticity, non-repudiation, and data integrity. It uses 256-bit SSL encryption to provide security to users.
To provide a resource explaining the development of signatures, the implementation of digital signatures, and the goals of signature, Hawkins wrote and published "A History of Signatures: From Cave Paintings to Robo-Signings" in March 2011. In that same month, SignNow raised $500,000 in financing from unnamed angel investors and then raised $2 million lead by Khosla Ventures in March 2012.
In April 2013, Barracuda Networks acquired SignNow. In October 2017 SignNow was sold to PDFfiller. It is now part of airSlate.
See also
Electronic signature
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act
References
External links
Business software companies
Software companies based in California
Electronic signature providers
Software companies of the United States |
36662188 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency | Cryptocurrency | A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
Individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger, which is a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. Despite their name, cryptocurrencies are not necessarily considered to be currencies in the traditional sense and while varying categorical treatments have been applied to them, including classification as commodities, securities, as well as currencies, cryptocurrencies are generally viewed as a distinct asset class in practice. Some crypto schemes use validators to maintain the cryptocurrency. In a proof-of-stake model, owners put up their tokens as collateral. In return, they get authority over the token in proportion to the amount they stake. Generally, these token stakers get additional ownership in the token over time via network fees, newly minted tokens or other such reward mechanisms.
Cryptocurrency does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority. Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to a central bank digital currency (CBDC). When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or issued by a single issuer, it is generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.
A cryptocurrency is a tradable digital asset or digital form of money, built on blockchain technology that only exists online. Cryptocurrencies use encryption to authenticate and protect transactions, hence their name. There are currently over a thousand different cryptocurrencies in the world, and their supporters see them as the key to a fairer future economy.
Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since the release of bitcoin, many other cryptocurrencies have been created.
History
In 1983, the American cryptographer David Chaum conceived an anonymous cryptographic electronic money called ecash. Later, in 1995, he implemented it through Digicash, an early form of cryptographic electronic payments which required user software in order to withdraw notes from a bank and designate specific encrypted keys before it can be sent to a recipient. This allowed the digital currency to be untraceable by the issuing bank, the government, or any third party.
In 1996, the National Security Agency published a paper entitled How to Make a Mint: the Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash, describing a Cryptocurrency system, first publishing it in an MIT mailing list and later in 1997, in The American Law Review (Vol. 46, Issue 4).
In 1998, Wei Dai published a description of "b-money", characterized as an anonymous, distributed electronic cash system. Shortly thereafter, Nick Szabo described bit gold. Like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that would follow it, bit gold (not to be confused with the later gold-based exchange, BitGold) was described as an electronic currency system which required users to complete a proof of work function with solutions being cryptographically put together and published.
In 2009, the first decentralized cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was created by presumably pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It used SHA-256, a cryptographic hash function, in its proof-of-work scheme. In April 2011, Namecoin was created as an attempt at forming a decentralized DNS, which would make internet censorship very difficult. Soon after, in October 2011, Litecoin was released. It used scrypt as its hash function instead of SHA-256. Another notable cryptocurrency, Peercoin, used a proof-of-work/proof-of-stake hybrid.
On 6 August 2014, the UK announced its Treasury had commissioned a study of cryptocurrencies, and what role, if any, they could play in the UK economy. The study was also to report on whether regulation should be considered. Its final report was published in 2018, and it issued a consultation on cryptoassets and stablecoins in January 2021.
In June 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, after the Legislative Assembly had voted 62–22 to pass a bill submitted by President Nayib Bukele classifying the cryptocurrency as such.
In August 2021, Cuba followed with Resolution 215 to recognize and regulate cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
In September 2021, the government of China, the single largest market for cryptocurrency, declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal, completing a crackdown on cryptocurrency that had previously banned the operation of intermediaries and miners within China.
Formal definition
According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets six conditions:
The system does not require a central authority; its state is maintained through distributed consensus.
The system keeps an overview of cryptocurrency units and their ownership.
The system defines whether new cryptocurrency units can be created. If new cryptocurrency units can be created, the system defines the circumstances of their origin and how to determine the ownership of these new units.
Ownership of cryptocurrency units can be proved exclusively cryptographically.
The system allows transactions to be performed in which ownership of the cryptographic units is changed. A transaction statement can only be issued by an entity proving the current ownership of these units.
If two different instructions for changing the ownership of the same cryptographic units are simultaneously entered, the system performs at most one of them.
In March 2018, the word cryptocurrency was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Altcoins
Tokens, cryptocurrencies, and other types of digital assets that are not bitcoin are collectively known as alternative cryptocurrencies, typically shortened to "altcoins" or "alt coins", or disparagingly known as "shitcoins". Paul Vigna of The Wall Street Journal also described altcoins as "alternative versions of bitcoin" given its role as the model protocol for altcoin designers. The term is commonly used to describe coins and tokens created after bitcoin.
Altcoins often have underlying differences with bitcoin. For example, Litecoin aims to process a block every 2.5 minutes, rather than bitcoin's 10 minutes, which allows Litecoin to confirm transactions faster than bitcoin. Another example is Ethereum, which has smart contract functionality that allows decentralized applications to be run on its blockchain. Ethereum was the most used blockchain in 2020, according to Bloomberg News. In 2016, it had the largest "following" of any altcoin, according to the New York Times.
Significant rallies across altcoin markets are often referred to as an "altseason".
Stablecoins
Stablecoins are altcoins that are designed to maintain a stable level of purchasing power.
Architecture
Decentralized cryptocurrency is produced by the entire cryptocurrency system collectively, at a rate which is defined when the system is created and which is publicly known. In centralized banking and economic systems such as the US Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency. In the case of decentralized cryptocurrency, companies or governments cannot produce new units, and have not so far provided backing for other firms, banks or corporate entities which hold asset value measured in it. The underlying technical system upon which decentralized cryptocurrencies are based was created by the group or individual known as Satoshi Nakamoto.
, over 1,800 cryptocurrency specifications existed. Within a proof-of-work cryptocurrency system such as Bitcoin, the safety, integrity and balance of ledgers is maintained by a community of mutually distrustful parties referred to as miners: who use their computers to help validate and timestamp transactions, adding them to the ledger in accordance with a particular timestamping scheme. In a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, transactions are validated by holders of the associated cryptocurrency, sometimes grouped together in stake pools.
Most cryptocurrencies are designed to gradually decrease the production of that currency, placing a cap on the total amount of that currency that will ever be in circulation. Compared with ordinary currencies held by financial institutions or kept as cash on hand, cryptocurrencies can be more difficult for seizure by law enforcement.
Blockchain
The validity of each cryptocurrency's coins is provided by a blockchain. 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. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. It is "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.
Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain.
Nodes
In the world of cryptocurrency, a node is a computer that connects to a cryptocurrency network. The node supports the relevant cryptocurrency's network through either; relaying transactions, validation or hosting a copy of the blockchain. In terms of relaying transactions each network computer (node) has a copy of the blockchain of the cryptocurrency it supports, when a transaction is made the node creating the transaction broadcasts details of the transaction using encryption to other nodes throughout the node network so that the transaction (and every other transaction) is known.
Node owners are either volunteers, those hosted by the organisation or body responsible for developing the cryptocurrency blockchain network technology, or those who are enticed to host a node to receive rewards from hosting the node network.
Timestamping
Cryptocurrencies use various timestamping schemes to "prove" the validity of transactions added to the blockchain ledger without the need for a trusted third party.
The first timestamping scheme invented was the proof-of-work scheme. The most widely used proof-of-work schemes are based on SHA-256 and scrypt.
Some other hashing algorithms that are used for proof-of-work include CryptoNight, Blake, SHA-3, and X11.
The proof-of-stake is a method of securing a cryptocurrency network and achieving distributed consensus through requesting users to show ownership of a certain amount of currency. It is different from proof-of-work systems that run difficult hashing algorithms to validate electronic transactions. The scheme is largely dependent on the coin, and there's currently no standard form of it. Some cryptocurrencies use a combined proof-of-work and proof-of-stake scheme.
Mining
In cryptocurrency networks, mining is a validation of transactions. For this effort, successful miners obtain new cryptocurrency as a reward. The reward decreases transaction fees by creating a complementary incentive to contribute to the processing power of the network. The rate of generating hashes, which validate any transaction, has been increased by the use of specialized machines such as FPGAs and ASICs running complex hashing algorithms like SHA-256 and scrypt. This arms race for cheaper-yet-efficient machines has existed since the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was introduced in 2009.
With more people venturing into the world of virtual currency, generating hashes for validation has become more complex over time, forcing miners to invest increasingly large sums of money to improve computing performance. Consequently, the reward for finding a hash has diminished and often does not justify the investment in equipment and cooling facilities (to mitigate the heat the equipment produces), and the electricity required to run them. Popular regions for mining include those with inexpensive electricity, a cold climate, and jurisdictions with clear and conducive regulations. , bitcoin's electricity consumption is estimated to about 7 gigawatts, 0.2% of the global total, or equivalent to that of Switzerland.
Some miners pool resources, sharing their processing power over a network to split the reward equally, according to the amount of work they contributed to the probability of finding a block. A "share" is awarded to members of the mining pool who present a valid partial proof-of-work.
, the Chinese Government has halted trading of virtual currency, banned initial coin offerings and shut down mining. Many Chinese miners have since relocated to Canada and Texas. One company is operating data centers for mining operations at Canadian oil and gas field sites, due to low gas prices. In June 2018, Hydro Quebec proposed to the provincial government to allocate 500 MW to crypto companies for mining. According to a February 2018 report from Fortune, Iceland has become a haven for cryptocurrency miners in part because of its cheap electricity.
In March 2018, the city of Plattsburgh in upstate New York put an 18-month moratorium on all cryptocurrency mining in an effort to preserve natural resources and the "character and direction" of the city.
GPU price rise
An increase in cryptocurrency mining increased the demand for graphics cards (GPU) in 2017. (The computing power of GPUs makes them well-suited to generating hashes.) Popular favorites of cryptocurrency miners such as Nvidia's GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 graphics cards, as well as AMD's RX 570 and RX 580 GPUs, doubled or tripled in priceor were out of stock. A GTX 1070 Ti which was released at a price of $450 sold for as much as $1100. Another popular card, the GTX 1060 (6 GB model) was released at an MSRP of $250, and sold for almost $500. RX 570 and RX 580 cards from AMD were out of stock for almost a year. Miners regularly buy up the entire stock of new GPU's as soon as they are available.
Nvidia has asked retailers to do what they can when it comes to selling GPUs to gamers instead of miners. "Gamers come first for Nvidia," said Boris Böhles, PR manager for Nvidia in the German region.
Wallets
A cryptocurrency wallet stores the public and private "keys" (address) or seed which can be used to receive or spend the cryptocurrency. With the private key, it is possible to write in the public ledger, effectively spending the associated cryptocurrency. With the public key, it is possible for others to send currency to the wallet.
There exist multiple methods of storing keys or seed in a wallet from using paper wallets which are traditional public, private or seed keys written on paper to using hardware wallets which are dedicated hardware to securely store your wallet information, using a digital wallet which is a computer with a software hosting your wallet information, hosting your wallet using an exchange where cryptocurrency is traded. or by storing your wallet information on a digital medium such as plaintext.
Anonymity
Bitcoin is pseudonymous rather than anonymous in that the cryptocurrency within a wallet is not tied to people, but rather to one or more specific keys (or "addresses"). Thereby, bitcoin owners are not identifiable, but all transactions are publicly available in the blockchain. Still, cryptocurrency exchanges are often required by law to collect the personal information of their users.
Additions such as Monero, Zerocoin, Zerocash and CryptoNote have been suggested, which would allow for additional anonymity and fungibility.
Economics
Cryptocurrencies are used primarily outside existing banking and governmental institutions and are exchanged over the Internet.
Block rewards
Proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, offer block rewards incentives for miners. There has been an implicit belief that whether miners are paid by block rewards or transaction fees does not affect the security of the blockchain, but a study suggests that this may not be the case under certain circumstances.
The rewards paid to miners increase the supply of the cryptocurrency. By making sure that verifying transactions is a costly business, the integrity of the network can be preserved as long as benevolent nodes control a majority of computing power. The verification algorithm requires a lot of processing power, and thus electricity in order to make verification costly enough to accurately validate public blockchain. Not only do miners have to factor in the costs associated with expensive equipment necessary to stand a chance of solving a hash problem, they further must consider the significant amount of electrical power in search of the solution. Generally, the block rewards outweigh electricity and equipment costs, but this may not always be the case.
The current value, not the long-term value, of the cryptocurrency supports the reward scheme to incentivize miners to engage in costly mining activities. Some sources claim that the current bitcoin design is very inefficient, generating a welfare loss of 1.4% relative to an efficient cash system. The main source for this inefficiency is the large mining cost, which is estimated to be US$360 Million per year. This translates into users being willing to accept a cash system with an inflation rate of 230% before being better off using bitcoin as a means of payment. However, the efficiency of the bitcoin system can be significantly improved by optimizing the rate of coin creation and minimizing transaction fees. Another potential improvement is to eliminate inefficient mining activities by changing the consensus protocol altogether.
Transaction fees
Transaction fees for cryptocurrency depend mainly on the supply of network capacity at the time, versus the demand from the currency holder for a faster transaction. The currency holder can choose a specific transaction fee, while network entities process transactions in order of highest offered fee to lowest. Cryptocurrency exchanges can simplify the process for currency holders by offering priority alternatives and thereby determine which fee will likely cause the transaction to be processed in the requested time.
For Ether, transaction fees differ by computational complexity, bandwidth use, and storage needs, while bitcoin transaction fees differ by transaction size and whether the transaction uses SegWit. In September 2018, the median transaction fee for ether corresponded to $0.017, while for bitcoin it corresponded to $0.55.
Some cryptocurrencies have no transaction fees, and instead rely on client-side proof-of-work as the transaction prioritization and anti-spam mechanism.
Exchanges
Cryptocurrency exchanges allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money, or to trade between different digital currencies.
Atomic swaps
Atomic swaps are a mechanism where one cryptocurrency can be exchanged directly for another cryptocurrency, without the need for a trusted third party such as an exchange.
ATMs
Jordan Kelley, founder of Robocoin, launched the first bitcoin ATM in the United States on 20 February 2014. The kiosk installed in Austin, Texas, is similar to bank ATMs but has scanners to read government-issued identification such as a driver's license or a passport to confirm users' identities.
Initial coin offerings
An initial coin offering (ICO) is a controversial means of raising funds for a new cryptocurrency venture. An ICO may be used by startups with the intention of avoiding regulation. However, securities regulators in many jurisdictions, including in the U.S., and Canada, have indicated that if a coin or token is an "investment contract" (e.g., under the Howey test, i.e., an investment of money with a reasonable expectation of profit based significantly on the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others), it is a security and is subject to securities regulation. In an ICO campaign, a percentage of the cryptocurrency (usually in the form of "tokens") is sold to early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies, often bitcoin or Ether.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, four of the 10 biggest proposed initial coin offerings have used Switzerland as a base, where they are frequently registered as non-profit foundations. The Swiss regulatory agency FINMA stated that it would take a "balanced approach" to ICO projects and would allow "legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with national laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system." In response to numerous requests by industry representatives, a legislative ICO working group began to issue legal guidelines in 2018, which are intended to remove uncertainty from cryptocurrency offerings and to establish sustainable business practices.
Price trends
The "market cap" of any coin is calculated by multiplying the price by the number of coins in circulation. The total cryptocurrency market cap has historically been dominated by Bitcoin accounting for at least 50% of the market cap value where altcoins have increased and decreased in market cap value in relation to Bitcoin. Bitcoin's value is largely determined by speculation among other technological limiting factors known as block chain rewards coded into the architecture technology of Bitcoin itself. The cryptocurrency market cap follows a trend known as the "halving", which is when the block rewards received from Bitcoin are halved due to technological mandated limited factors instilled into Bitcoin which in turn limits the supply of Bitcoin. As the date reaches near of an halving (twice thus far historically) the cryptocurrency market cap increases, followed by a downtrend.
By mid-June 2021 cryptocurrency as an admittedly extremely volatile asset class for portfolio diversification had begun to be offered by some wealth managers in the US for 401(k)s.
Social trends
Anarchism and libertarianism
According to The New York Times, libertarians and anarchists were attracted to the philosophical idea behind bitcoin. Early bitcoin supporter Roger Ver said: "At first, almost everyone who got involved did so for philosophical reasons. We saw bitcoin as a great idea, as a way to separate money from the state." The Economist describes bitcoin as "a techno-anarchist project to create an online version of cash, a way for people to transact without the possibility of interference from malicious governments or banks." Economist Paul Krugman argues that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are "something of a cult" based in "paranoid fantasies" of government power.
Nigel Dodd argues in The Social Life of Bitcoin that the essence of the bitcoin ideology is to remove money from social, as well as governmental, control. Dodd discusses the "Declaration of Bitcoin's Independence" a message of crypto-anarchism with the words: "Bitcoin is inherently anti-establishment, anti-system, and anti-state. Bitcoin undermines governments and disrupts institutions because bitcoin is fundamentally humanitarian."
David Golumbia says that the ideas influencing bitcoin advocates emerge from right-wing extremist movements such as the Liberty Lobby and the John Birch Society and their anti-Central Bank rhetoric, or, more recently, Ron Paul and Tea Party-style libertarianism. Steve Bannon, who owns a "good stake" in bitcoin, considers it to be "disruptive populism. It takes control back from central authorities. It's revolutionary."
According to Preston Byrne, cryptocurrencies stem from cypherpunk ideas. Their need for privacy and desire to escape all manner of supervision, oppressive or merely unpleasant, gave rise to the anonymous ledger system that cryptos run on. Byrne also suggests that libertarians naturally gravitate towards crypto because it helps them acquire independence from the state. Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's founder, has also said cryptocurrencies combine well with libertarianism: "It's very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly. I'm better with code than with words though" Satoshi said in 2008.
According to the European Central Bank, the decentralization of money offered by bitcoin has its theoretical roots in the Austrian school of economics, especially with Friedrich von Hayek in his book Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined, in which Hayek advocates a complete free market in the production, distribution and management of money to end the monopoly of central banks.
Increasing regulation
The rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies and their adoption by financial institutions has led some governments to assess whether regulation is needed to protect users. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has defined cryptocurrency-related services as "virtual asset service providers" (VASPs) and recommended that they be regulated with the same money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) requirements as financial institutions.
In May 2020, the Joint Working Group on interVASP Messaging Standards published "IVMS 101", a universal common language for communication of required originator and beneficiary information between VASPs. The FATF and financial regulators were informed as the data model was developed.
In June 2020, FATF updated its guidance to include the "Travel Rule" for cryptocurrencies, a measure which mandates that VASPs obtain, hold, and exchange information about the originators and beneficiaries of virtual asset transfers. Subsequent standardized protocol specifications recommended using JSON for relaying data between VASPs and identity services. As of December 2020, the IVMS 101 data model has yet to be finalized and ratified by the three global standard setting bodies that created it.
The European Commission published a digital finance strategy in September 2020. This included a draft regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), which aimed to provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in the EU.
On 10 June 2021, The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision proposed that banks that held cryptocurrency assets must set aside capital to cover all potential losses. For instance, if a bank were to hold bitcoin worth $2 billion, it would be required to set aside enough capital to cover the entire $2 billion. This is a more extreme standard than banks are usually held to when it comes to other assets. However, this is a proposal and not a regulation.
The IMF is seeking a co-ordinated, consistent and comprehensive approach to supervising cryptocurrencies. Tobias Adrian, the IMF's financial counsellor and head of its monetary and capital markets department said in a January 2022 interview that "Agreeing global regulations is never quick. But if we start now, we can achieve the goal of maintaining financial stability while also enjoying the benefits which the underlying technological innovations bring,"
United States
In 2021, 17 states passed laws and resolutions concerning cryptocurrency regulation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering what steps to take. On 8 July 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is part of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote to the chairman of the SEC and demanded that it provide answers on cryptocurrency regulation by 28 July 2021, due to the increase in cryptocurrency exchange use and the danger this poses to consumers. On 17 February 2022, the Justice department named
Eun Young Choi as the first director of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team to aid in identification of and dealing with misuse of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
China
On 18 May 2021, China banned financial institutions and payment companies from being able to provide cryptocurrency transaction related services. This led to a sharp fall in the price of the biggest proof of work cryptocurrencies. For instance, Bitcoin fell 31%, Ethereum fell 44%, Binance Coin fell 32% and Dogecoin fell 30%. Proof of work mining was the next focus, with regulators in popular mining regions citing the use of electricity generated from highly polluting sources such as coal to create Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In September 2021, the Chinese government declared all cryptocurrency transactions of any kind illegal, completing its crackdown on crytocurrency.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, as of 10 January 2021, all cryptocurrency firms, such as exchanges, advisors and professionals that have either a presence, market product or provide services within the UK market must register with the Financial Conduct Authority. Additionally, on 27 June 2021, the financial watchdog demanded that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, cease all regulated activities in the UK. Some commentators believe this is a sign of what is to come in terms of stringent regulation of the UK cryptocurrency market.
South Africa
South Africa, who has seen a large amount of scams related to cryptocurrency is said to be putting a regulatory timeline in place, that will produce a regulatory framework. The largest scam occurred in April 2021, where the two founders of an African-based cryptocurrency exchange called Africrypt, Raees Cajee and Ameer Cajee, disappeared with $3.8 billion worth of Bitcoin. Additionally, Mirror Trading International disappeared with $170 million worth of cryptocurrency in January 2021.
South Korea
In March 2021, South Korea implemented new legislation to strengthen their oversight of digital assets. This legislation requires all digital asset managers, providers and exchanges are registered with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit in order to operate in South Korea. Registering with this unit requires that all exchanges are certified by the Information Security Management System and that they ensure all customers have real name bank accounts, that the CEO and board members of the exchanges have not been convicted of any crimes and that the exchange holds sufficient levels of deposit insurance to cover losses arising from hacks.
Turkey
Turkey's central bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets for making purchases from 30 April 2021, on the ground that the use of cryptocurrencies for such payments poses significant transaction risks.
El Salvador
On 9 June 2021, El Salvador announced that it will adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, the first country to do so.
India
At present, India neither prohibits nor allows investment in the cryptocurrency market. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India had specifically lifted the ban on cryptocurrency, which was imposed by the Reserve Bank of India. Since then the investment in cryptocurrency is considered legitimate though there is still ambiguity about the issues regarding the extent and payment of tax on the income accrued thereupon and also its regulatory regime. But it is being contemplated that the Indian Parliament will soon pass a specific law to either ban or regulate the cryptocurrency market in India. Expressing his public policy opinion on the Indian cryptocurrency market to a well-known online publication, a leading public policy lawyer and Vice President of SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law) Hemant Batra has said that the "cryptocurrency market has now become very big with involvement of billions of dollars in the market hence, it is now unattainable and irreconcilable for the government to completely ban all sorts of cryptocurrency and its trading and investment". He mooted regulating the cryptocurrency market rather than completely banning it. He favoured following IMF and FATF guidelines in this regard.
Legality
The legal status of cryptocurrencies varies substantially from country to country and is still undefined or changing in many of them. At least one study has shown that broad generalizations about the use of bitcoin in illicit finance are significantly overstated and that blockchain analysis is an effective crime fighting and intelligence gathering tool. While some countries have explicitly allowed their use and trade, others have banned or restricted it. According to the Library of Congress in 2018, an "absolute ban" on trading or using cryptocurrencies applies in eight countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. An "implicit ban" applies in another 15 countries, which include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macau, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. In the United States and Canada, state and provincial securities regulators, coordinated through the North American Securities Administrators Association, are investigating "bitcoin scams" and ICOs in 40 jurisdictions.
Various government agencies, departments, and courts have classified bitcoin differently. China Central Bank banned the handling of bitcoins by financial institutions in China in early 2014.
In Russia, though owning cryptocurrency is legal, its residents are only allowed to purchase goods from other residents using Russian ruble while nonresidents are allowed to use foreign currency. Regulations and bans that apply to bitcoin probably extend to similar cryptocurrency systems.
In August 2018, the Bank of Thailand announced its plans to create its own cryptocurrency, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Advertising bans
Cryptocurrency advertisements have been temporarily banned on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Bing, Snapchat, LinkedIn and MailChimp. Chinese internet platforms Baidu, Tencent, and Weibo have also prohibited bitcoin advertisements. The Japanese platform Line and the Russian platform Yandex have similar prohibitions.
U.S. tax status
On 25 March 2014, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that bitcoin will be treated as property for tax purposes. Bitcoin is therefore subject to capital gains tax. In July 2019, the IRS issued letters to cryptocurrency owners instructing them to amend returns and pay taxes.
The legal concern of an unregulated global economy
As the popularity of and demand for online currencies has increased since the inception of bitcoin in 2009, so have concerns that such an unregulated person to person global economy that cryptocurrencies offer may become a threat to society. Concerns abound that altcoins may become tools for anonymous web criminals.
Cryptocurrency networks display a lack of regulation that has been criticized as enabling criminals who seek to evade taxes and launder money. Money laundering issues are also present in regular bank transfers, however with bank-to-bank wire transfers for instance, the account holder must at least provide a proven identity.
Transactions that occur through the use and exchange of these altcoins are independent from formal banking systems, and therefore can make tax evasion simpler for individuals. Since charting taxable income is based upon what a recipient reports to the revenue service, it becomes extremely difficult to account for transactions made using existing cryptocurrencies, a mode of exchange that is complex and difficult to track.
Systems of anonymity that most cryptocurrencies offer can also serve as a simpler means to launder money. Rather than laundering money through an intricate net of financial actors and offshore bank accounts, laundering money through altcoins can be achieved through anonymous transactions.
Cryptocurrency makes legal enforcement against extremist groups more complicated, which consequently strengthens them. White supremacist Richard Spencer went as far as to declare Bitcoin the “currency of the alt-right.”
Loss, theft, and fraud
In February 2014, the world's largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, declared bankruptcy. The company stated that it had lost nearly $473 million of their customers' bitcoins likely due to theft, which Mt. Gox blamed on hackers who exploited transaction malleability problems in the network. This was equivalent to approximately 750,000 bitcoins, or about 7% of all the bitcoins in existence. The price of a bitcoin fell from a high of about $1,160 in December to under $400 in February.
Two members of the Silk Road Task Force—a multi-agency federal task force that carried out the U.S. investigation of Silk Road—seized bitcoins for their own use in the course of the investigation. DEA agent Carl Mark Force IV, who attempted to extort Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht ("Dread Pirate Roberts"), pleaded guilty to money laundering, obstruction of justice, and extortion under color of official right, and was sentenced to 6.5 years in federal prison. U.S. Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty to crimes relating to his diversion of $800,000 worth of bitcoins to his personal account during the investigation, and also separately pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection with another cryptocurrency theft; he was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison.
Homero Josh Garza, who founded the cryptocurrency startups GAW Miners and ZenMiner in 2014, acknowledged in a plea agreement that the companies were part of a pyramid scheme, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2015. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately brought a civil enforcement action against Garza, who was eventually ordered to pay a judgment of $9.1 million plus $700,000 in interest. The SEC's complaint stated that Garza, through his companies, had fraudulently sold "investment contracts representing shares in the profits they claimed would be generated" from mining.
On 21 November 2017, the Tether cryptocurrency announced they were hacked, losing $31 million in USDT from their primary wallet. The company has 'tagged' the stolen currency, hoping to 'lock' them in the hacker's wallet (making them unspendable). Tether indicates that it is building a new core for its primary wallet in response to the attack in order to prevent the stolen coins from being used.
In May 2018, Bitcoin Gold (and two other cryptocurrencies) were hit by a successful 51% hashing attack by an unknown actor, in which exchanges lost estimated $18m. In June 2018, Korean exchange Coinrail was hacked, losing US$37 million worth of altcoin. Fear surrounding the hack was blamed for a $42 billion cryptocurrency market selloff. On 9 July 2018 the exchange Bancor had $23.5 million in cryptocurrency stolen.
The French regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) lists 15 websites of companies that solicit investment in cryptocurrency without being authorised to do so in France.
A 2020 EU report found that users had lost crypto-assets worth hundreds of millions of US dollars in security breaches at exchanges and storage providers. From 2011 to 2019, between four and 12 breaches were identified a year. In 2019, thefts were reported to have exceeded a value of $1 billion. Stolen assets "typically find their way to illegal markets and are used to fund further criminal activity".
According to a 2020 report produced by the United States Attorney General's Cyber-Digital Task Force illicit uses of cryptocurrency typically fall into three categories: "(1) financial transactions associated with the commission of crimes; (2) money laundering and the shielding of legitimate activity from tax, reporting, or other legal requirements; or (3) crimes, such as theft, directly implicating the cryptocurrency marketplace itself." The report concludes that "for cryptocurrency to realize its truly transformative potential, it is imperative that these risks be addressed" and that "the government has legal and regulatory tools available at its disposal to confront the threats posed by cryptocurrency's illicit uses".
According to the UK 2020 national risk assessment—a comprehensive assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk in the UK—the risk of using cryptoassets such as Bitcoin for money laundering and terrorism financing is assessed as "medium" (from "low" in the previous 2017 report). Legal scholars suggested that the money laundering opportunities may be more perceived than real. Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis concluded that illicit activities like cybercrime, money laundering and terrorism financing made up only 0.15% of all crypto transactions conducted in 2021, representing a total of $14 billion.
Darknet markets
Properties of cryptocurrencies gave them popularity in applications such as a safe haven in banking crises and means of payment, which also led to the cryptocurrency use in controversial settings in the form of online black markets, such as Silk Road. The original Silk Road was shut down in October 2013 and there have been two more versions in use since then. In the year following the initial shutdown of Silk Road, the number of prominent dark markets increased from four to twelve, while the amount of drug listings increased from 18,000 to 32,000.
Darknet markets present challenges in regard to legality. Cryptocurrency used in dark markets are not clearly or legally classified in almost all parts of the world. In the U.S., bitcoins are labelled as "virtual assets". This type of ambiguous classification puts pressure on law enforcement agencies around the world to adapt to the shifting drug trade of dark markets.
Impacts and analysis
The Bank for International Settlements summarized several criticisms of cryptocurrencies in Chapter V of their 2018 annual report. The criticisms include the lack of stability in their price, the high energy consumption, high and variable transactions costs, the poor security and fraud at cryptocurrency exchanges, vulnerability to debasement (from forking), and the influence of miners.
Speculation, fraud and adoption
Cryptocurrencies have been compared to Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes and economic bubbles, such as housing market bubbles. Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management stated in 2017 that digital currencies were "nothing but an unfounded fad (or perhaps even a pyramid scheme), based on a willingness to ascribe value to something that has little or none beyond what people will pay for it", and compared them to the tulip mania (1637), South Sea Bubble (1720), and dot-com bubble (1999), which all experienced profound price booms and busts.
Regulators in several countries have warned against cryptocurrency and some have taken measures to dissuade users. However, research in 2021 by the UK's financial regulator suggests such warnings either went unheard, or were ignored. Fewer than one in 10 potential cryptocurrency buyers were aware of consumer warnings on the FCA website, and 12% of crypto users were not aware that their holdings were not protected by statutory compensation. Of 1000 respondents between the ages of eighteen and forty, almost 70% falsely assumed cryptocurrencies were regulated, 75% of younger crypto investors claimed to be driven by competition with friends and family, 58% said that social media enticed them to make high risk investments. The FCA recommends making use of its warning list, which flags unauthorized financial firms.
Many banks do not offer virtual currency services themselves and can refuse to do business with virtual currency companies. In 2014, a senior banking officer Gareth Murphy suggested that the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies may lead to too much money being obfuscated, blinding economists who would use such information to better steer the economy. While traditional financial products have strong consumer protections in place, there is no intermediary with the power to limit consumer losses if bitcoins are lost or stolen. One of the features cryptocurrency lacks in comparison to credit cards, for example, is consumer protection against fraud, such as chargebacks.
Banks
As the first big Wall Street bank to embrace cryptocurrencies, Morgan Stanley announced on 17 March 2021 that they will be offering access to Bitcoin funds for their wealthy clients through three funds which enable Bitcoin ownership for investors with an aggressive risk tolerance. BNY Mellon on 11 February 2021 announced that it would begin offering cryptocurrency services to its clients.
On 20 April 2021, Venmo added support to its platform to enable customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies.
In October 2021, financial services company Mastercard announced it is working with digital asset manager Bakkt on a platform that would allow any bank or merchant on the Mastercard network to offer cryptocurrency services.
Environmental impact
Mining for proof-of-work cryptocurrencies requires enormous amounts of electricity and consequently comes with a large carbon footprint. Proof-of-work blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Monero were estimated to have added 3 to 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere in the period from 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2017. By November 2018, Bitcoin was estimated to have an annual energy consumption of 45.8TWh, generating 22.0 to 22.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, rivalling nations like Jordan and Sri Lanka. By the end of 2021, Bitcoin was estimated to produce 65.4 megatons of carbon dioxide, as much as Greece, and consume between 91 and 177 terawatt-hours annually.
Critics have also identified a large electronic waste problem in disposing of mining rigs. Mining hardware is improving at a fast rate, quickly resulting in older generations of hardware.
Bitcoin is the least energy-efficient cryptocurrency, using 707.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity per transaction. In comparison, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, uses 62.56 kilowatt-hours of electricity per transaction. Ripple ($XRP) is the world's most energy efficient cryptocurrency, using 0.0079 kilowatt-hours of electricity per transaction.
A few papers concluded that variable renewable energy power stations could invest in Bitcoin mining to reduce curtailment, hedge electricity price risk, stabilize the grid, increase the profitability of renewable energy power stations and therefore accelerate transition to sustainable energy.
Technological limitations
There are also purely technical elements to consider. For example, technological advancement in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin result in high up-front costs to miners in the form of specialized hardware and software. Cryptocurrency transactions are normally irreversible after a number of blocks confirm the transaction. Additionally, cryptocurrency private keys can be permanently lost from local storage due to malware, data loss or the destruction of the physical media. This precludes the cryptocurrency from being spent, resulting in its effective removal from the markets.
Academic studies
In September 2015, the establishment of the peer-reviewed academic journal Ledger () was announced. It covers studies of cryptocurrencies and related technologies, and is published by the University of Pittsburgh.
The journal encourages authors to digitally sign a file hash of submitted papers, which will then be timestamped into the bitcoin blockchain. Authors are also asked to include a personal bitcoin address in the first page of their papers.
Aid agencies
A number of aid agencies have started accepting donations in cryptocurrencies, including the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and the UN World Food Program.
Christopher Fabian, principal adviser at UNICEF Innovation said that UNICEF would uphold existing donor protocols, meaning that those making donations online would have to pass rigorous checks before they were allowed to deposit funds to UNICEF.
In 2022, the Ukrainian government raised over $10 million worth of aid through cryptocurrency following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Criticism
Bitcoin has been characterized as a speculative bubble by eight winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: Paul Krugman, Robert J. Shiller, Joseph Stiglitz, Richard Thaler, James Heckman, Thomas Sargent, Angus Deaton, and Oliver Hart; and by central bank officials including Alan Greenspan, Agustín Carstens,Vítor Constâncio, and Nout Wellink.
The investors Warren Buffett and George Soros have respectively characterized it as a "mirage" and a "bubble"; while the business executives Jack Ma and J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have called it a "bubble" and a "fraud", respectively, while BlackRock CEO Laurence D. Fink called bitcoin an "index of money laundering". Though Jamie Dimon later said he regretted dubbing Bitcoin a fraud.
See also
2018 crypto crash
Blockchain-based remittances company
Crypto-anarchism
Cryptocurrency bubble
Cryptocurrency exchange
Cryptographic protocol
List of cryptocurrencies
Virtual currency law in the United States
References
Further reading
External links
Financial technology
Decentralization
Uberisation
Applications of cryptography |
36670576 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProFTPD | ProFTPD | ProFTPD (short for Pro FTP daemon) is an FTP server. ProFTPD is Free and open-source software, compatible with Unix-like systems and Microsoft Windows (via Cygwin).
Along with vsftpd and Pure-FTPd, ProFTPD is among the most popular FTP servers in Unix-like environments today. Compared to those, which focus e.g. on simplicity, speed or security, ProFTPD's primary design goal is to be a highly feature rich FTP server, exposing a large amount of configuration options to the user.
Supported platforms
AIX
BSD/OS
DG/UX
Digital Unix
FreeBSD
HP/UX
IRIX
Linux for IBM S/390, zSeries
Linux
Mac OS X
NetBSD
OpenBSD
SCO
Solaris
SunOS
Windows (via Cygwin)
Configuration and features
ProFTPD includes a number of options that are not available with many other FTP daemons. The configuration of ProFTPD is performed in a single main configuration file called /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf. Due to its similarities to the configuration file of Apache HTTP Server it is intuitively understandable to someone who uses this popular web server.
Some of the most noticeable features are:
Per directory ".ftpaccess" configuration similar to Apache's ".htaccess"
Multiple virtual FTP servers and anonymous FTP services
Runs either as a stand-alone server or from inetd/xinetd, depending on system load
Anonymous FTP root directories do not require any specific directory structure, system binaries or other system files
No SITE EXEC command, which in modern Internet environments represent a security issue
Hidden directories and files, based on Unix-style permissions or user/group ownership
Runs as a configurable non-privileged user in stand-alone mode in order to decrease chances of attacks which might exploit its "root" abilities
Logging and utmp/wtmp support.
Shadow password suite support, including support for expired accounts
Modular design, allowing server to be extended easily with modules. Modules have been written for SQL databases, LDAP servers, SSL/TLS encryption, RADIUS support, etc.
IPv6 support
Graphical user interface
ProFTPD comes with a command-line interface (CLI) only, but there are several third-party Graphical user interfaces (GUI) existing for ProFTP for users who prefer this to the CLI, or like to use a combination of both. Especially when it comes for example to real-time monitoring of current user actions and file transmissions, a GUI can be very helpful and superior to the CLI. Some existing GUIs for ProFTPD are (selection):
GAdmin-ProFTPD, a GTK+ front end for GNOME and KDE, as a part of the GAdmintools collection
ProFTPD Admin
ProFTPD PHP/MySQL administration tool
ProFTPD Administrator
See also
FTP server
Comparison of FTP server software
List of FTP server software
List of SFTP server software
References
External links
Official website
An overview of existing GUIs for ProFTPD
French tutorial for install ProFTPD with Debian Linux
FTP server software
Free server software
Free file transfer software
FTP server software for Linux
Unix Internet software |
36706586 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%20Love%20Deep%20Web | No Love Deep Web | No Love Deep Web is the second studio album by American experimental hip hop group Death Grips, originally released via their website on October 1, 2012. Recorded from May to August 2012, it exhibited what the group described as a darker, more minimal style, and was leaked by Death Grips themselves due to complications over its release date with their label Epic Records, who subsequently dropped them; the album was later made available for purchase via the band's own Third Worlds imprint and Harvest Records.
The album's release was met with strong attention from online media groups largely due to its sexually explicit album cover, which features a picture of group member Zach Hill's erect penis with the title written across it. Despite this, the album received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its complexity and stripped-down sound.
Production
Background and recording
The album was first announced in early 2012 along with the release of two tracks from their album The Money Store, and was originally titled No Love. A sticker was included in the physical release of The Money Store that read: "No Love. Fall 2012." on the reverse side. On April 4, 2012, Death Grips announced dates for an international supporting tour for The Money Store, later adding more to the list. However, shortly after the release of The Money Store, the group cancelled the entire tour so that they could finish the recording of No Love.
Recording of the album took place from May to August 31, 2012 at MC Ride and Zach Hill's apartment in Sacramento, California. On August 12, 2012, Death Grips announced through Pitchfork that the title of the album had been changed to No Love Deep Web and that they had recorded 20 tracks for the album and were narrowing it down to 13 tracks.
Style
In an interview with Exclaim! the group said that: "No Love [is a] sort of a culmination of our two previous releases. We think it'll end up being the heaviest thing we've made so far on many levels. It's striking us as the closest we've gotten to what our initial vision of what Death Grips would sound like. We have the feeling and it's pretty absolute that this album will contain our most future-forward and potent material...It's emotionally raw and direct; the sound is indescribable, it's very beat oriented. It has some of the guitar-driven elements that we touched on with Exmilitary but they aren't exactly being generated by a guitar."
In August 2012, the band told Pitchfork: "there are no manually programmed drums on this album, the beats are being played live on a Roland electronic v-drum set or acoustic drum set by Zach. There are no features, guest collabs or outside producers. The material is cold, bass heavy, minimal, rock & roll influenced and could simultaneously fit into a rave or dance club context. It is essentially rap and electronic music while at times extremely aggressive." The song "Artificial Death In The West" features an audio sample from the song "Being Sucked In Again" by English post-punk band Wire from their 1978 album Chairs Missing.
Promotion
To promote No Love Deep Web the group created an alternate reality game (ARG) which ran from August 12–16, 2012, beginning minutes after their release of a statement about the album through Pitchfork. Using the internet as its medium, it mainly employed encrypted archive files hosted on the Tor Network with the filetype .gpg. The game employed many types of encryption through image, text and sound files, including Braille, QR code, Base64, the Caesar cipher, Binary code, Morse code and the Affine cipher, and used websites such as Imgur and various Tor related sites. The game yielded the first mention of the original release date of No Love Deep Web, October 23, 2012, and an unmastered version of The Money Store for download on the first day. On the fifth day an instrumental version of The Money Store was discovered by users of 4chan on a .onion domain and uploaded for regular download.
Throughout August, the group announced plans for live shows, including a gig at Electric Ballroom, London, and participation in festivals such as the Pitchfork Music Fest Paris and the Big Day Out.
Release
On September 30, 2012, Death Grips announced through their Facebook and Twitter accounts that their record label refused to release the album until "next year sometime" instead of the intended date of October 23, 2012. They then released the track listing and told fans to stay tuned for midnight on October 1. On the next day the band self-released the album through a website posted via Twitter as well as SoundCloud, and various filesharing services including BitTorrent. Later that day, it was revealed that Death Grips topped BitTorrent's "List of Most Legally Downloaded Music" following the release of No Love Deep Web, with 34,151,432 downloads.
Upon its release, No Love Deep Web was met with a swarm of media attention. Several hours after its release, the group's official website was shut down. In an interview, Zach Hill claimed that their record label, Epic, shut it down; however, Epic denied any involvement. The website reappeared shortly after. On October 31, 2012, Death Grips posted confidential emails they received from Epic concerning their copyright infringement on Facebook. The emails, dated October 1, 2012, revealed that Epic planned to receive the original album masters from the group and release the album in stores, but following the leak of the letters, Epic announced that they worked to end their relationship with Death Grips.
On November 19, 2013, No Love Deep Web was released on vinyl and CD through Harvest Records, as well as being made available on iTunes and Spotify.
Artwork and controversy
No Love Deep Web was met with controversy related to its album cover, which depicts the image of an erect penis with the album title written across it. The picture was taken in a bathroom at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, which is where the band stayed for the two months leading up to the leak.
In an interview with Spin, MC Ride responded to the interest by saying, "If you look at that and all you see is a dick, I don't really have anything to say, pretty much. I looked at it and said, 'This is a great photo, and I'd love for this to be the album cover.'" Hill further explained, "It was difficult to do, honestly, in general, it was very difficult. It's difficult even telling people that's the source of it; it feels sacrificial in a sense. That idea existed long before, by the way. This is going to sound funny to other people, but we saw it as tribal, as spiritual, as primal. Also, it comes from a place of being a band that is perceived as...such an aggressive, male-based, by some, misogynistic-seeming band... It's a display of embracing homosexuality, not that either of us are homosexual. Am I making sense? People are still going to think that it's macho, but that's not the source of where it comes from." In a separate interview with Pitchfork, Hill expounded, "It's also a spiritual thing; it's fearlessness...it represents pushing past everything that makes people slaves without even knowing it."
Due to the explicit album artwork, Death Grips were forced to place a disclaimer on their website warning of the explicit content. The statement from the group said "US law states you must be 18 years of age to view graphic sexual material. We consider this art." A censored version, replacing the penis with a black bar, was released through their YouTube and SoundCloud channels. Several days after the album's initial release, the group released alternate artwork containing an image of a person wearing tube socks with the words "SUCK MY DICK" printed across the ankle of them.
The 2013 Harvest release features the original artwork packaged in a black slipcase with a disclaimer stating that the artwork is explicit. The slipcase has to be removed before the album cover is shown.
Reception
No Love Deep Web was met with positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, which indicates "generally favorable", based on 13 reviews. Grayson Currin, of Pitchfork, gave the album a positive review, stating "loud and punishing, the sonics of No Love Deep Web suit MC Ride's mix of hysteria, rage and exhaustion." John Doran, of BBC Music, also commended the album; while saying that "the record is certainly denser and more difficult to find an entry point into than either of its predecessors," Doran stated "after several listens a handful of stone-cold, diamond-hard gems present themselves from a scree of electronic beats and stentorian rapping/shouting." He also compared the band's sound to that of Autechre.
In a mixed review of the album, Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club said "Even at a meaty 46 minutes, the album still suffers from a feeling of writer's block."
Track listing
Charts
Notes
References
External links
2012 albums
Obscenity controversies in music
Harvest Records albums
Death Grips albums
Albums free for download by copyright owner |
36712986 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signed%20and%20Encrypted%20Email%20Over%20The%20Internet | Signed and Encrypted Email Over The Internet | The Signed and Encrypted Email Over the Internet (SEEOTI) initiative is an approach to providing small and medium enterprises with the ability to communicate securely with one another, government defence ministries and major aerospace and defence contractors, allowing them to play a full part in the defence supply chain.
Overview
SEEOTI implements the secure email specifications defined by the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program (TSCP). These support interoperable signing and encryption of email messages in a federated environment. In addition, the security labelling of email messages is supported with a network border guard being able to check labels even though messages are encrypted. This meets the goal of protecting Intellectual Property in the global business environment, which is of particular importance to the UK Cyber Security Strategy as intellectual property is seen as key to the growth of the economy.
Deep-Secure organised a trial of SEEOTI for UK MOD and the UK Council for Electronic Business. This integrated Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) products from TITUS, Boldon James and Deep-Secure to provide the system's email security functionality. Deep-Secure were selected as the overall winner of the UKCeB Excellence Awards 2011 for their work on SEEOTI in February 2012. Deep-Secure and its partners Adept4, Intercede and Trustis are providing a SEEOTI solution as a service. Nexor provide compatible products.
References
Data security
Email |
36775648 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TLS%20termination%20proxy | TLS termination proxy | A TLS termination proxy (or SSL termination proxy, or SSL offloading) is a proxy server that acts as an intermediary point between client and server applications, and is used to terminate and/or establish TLS (or DTLS) tunnels by decrypting and/or encrypting communications. This is different to TLS pass-through proxies that forward encrypted (D)TLS traffic between clients and servers without terminating the tunnel.
Uses
TLS termination proxies can be used to:
secure plaintext communications over untrusted networks by tunnelling them in (D)TLS,
allow inspection of encrypted traffic by an intrusion detection system to detect and block malicious activities,
allow network surveillance and analysis of encrypted traffic,
enable otherwise unsupported integration with other applications that provide additional capabilities such as content filtering or Hardware security module,
enable (D)TLS protocol versions, extensions, or capabilities (e.g. OCSP stapling, ALPN, DANE, CT validation, etc.) unsupported by client or server applications to enhance their compatibility and/or security,
work around buggy/insecure (D)TLS implementations in client or server applications to improve their compatibility and/or security,
provide additional certificate-based authentication unsupported by server and/or client applications or protocols,
provide an additional defence-in-depth layer for centralised control and consistent management of (D)TLS configuration and associated security policies, and
reduce the load on the main servers by offloading the cryptographic processing to another machine.
Types
TLS termination proxies can provide three connectivity patterns:
TLS Offloading of inbound encrypted (D)TLS connection from a client and forwarding communications over a plain text connection to the server.
TLS Encryption of inbound plaintext connection from a client and forwarding communications over an encrypted (D)TLS connection to the server.
TLS Bridging of two encrypted (D)TLS connections to allow inspection and filtering of encrypted traffic by decrypting inbound (D)TLS connection from a client and re-encrypting it with another (D)TLS connection to the server.
Combining a TLS Encrypting proxy in front of a client with a TLS Offloading proxy in front of a server, can allow (D)TLS encryption and authentication for protocols and applications that don't otherwise support it, with two proxies maintaining a secure (D)TLS tunnel over untrusted network segments between client and server.
A proxy used by clients as an intermediary gateway for all outbound connections is typically called a Forward proxy, while a proxy used by servers as an intermediary gateway for all inbound connections is typically called a Reverse proxy. Forward TLS bridging proxies that allow intrusion detection system to analyse all client traffic are typically marketed as "SSL Forward Proxy".
TLS Offloading and TLS Bridging proxies typically need to authenticate themselves to clients with a digital certificate using either PKIX or DANE authentication. Usually the server operator supplies to its reverse proxy a valid certificate for use during (D)TLS handshake with clients. A forward proxy operator, however would need to create their own private CA, install it into the trust store of all clients and have the proxy generate a new certificate signed by the private CA in real time for each server that a client tries to connect to.
When network traffic between client and server is routed via a proxy, it can operate in transparent mode by using the client's IP address instead of its own when connecting to the server and using the server's IP address when responding to the client. If a Transparent TLS Bridging Proxy has a valid server certificate, neither client nor server would be able to detect the proxy presence. An adversary that has compromised the private key of the server's digital certificate or is able to use a compromised/coerced PKIX CAs to issue a new valid certificate for the server, could perform a man-in-the-middle attack by routing TLS traffic between client and server through a Transparent TLS Bridging Proxy and would have the ability to copy decrypted communications, including logon credentials, and modify content of communications on the fly without being detected.
References
Transport Layer Security |
36776895 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westmere%20%28microarchitecture%29 | Westmere (microarchitecture) | Westmere (formerly Nehalem-C) is the code name given to the 32 nm die shrink of Nehalem. While sharing the same CPU sockets, Westmere included Intel HD Graphics, while Nehalem did not.
The first Westmere-based processors were launched on January 7, 2010, by Intel Corporation.
The Westmere architecture has been available under the Intel brands of Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Pentium, Celeron and Xeon.
Technology
Westmere's feature improvements from Nehalem, as reported:
Native six-core (Gulftown) and ten-core (Westmere-EX) processors.
A new set of instructions that gives over 3x the encryption and decryption rate of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) processes compared to before.
Delivers seven new instructions (AES instruction set or AES-NI), out of which six implement the AES algorithm, and PCLMULQDQ (see CLMUL instruction set) implements carry-less multiplication for use in cryptography and data compression.
Integrated graphics, added into the processor package (dual core Arrandale and Clarkdale only).
Improved virtualization latency.
New virtualization capability: "VMX Unrestricted mode support," which allows 16-bit guests to run (real mode and big real mode).
Support for "Huge Pages" of 1 GB in size.
CPU variants
Westmere CPUs
TDP includes the integrated GPU, if present.
Clarkdale processors feature 16 PCIe 2.0 lanes, which can be used in 1x16 or 2x8 configuration.
Clarkdale and Arrandale contain the 32 nm dual core processor Hillel and the 45 nm integrated graphics device Ironlake, and support switchable graphics.
Only certain higher-end CPUs support AES-NI and 1GB Huge Pages.
Server / Desktop processors
Mobile processors
Roadmap
The successor to Nehalem and Westmere is Sandy Bridge.
See also
List of Intel CPU microarchitectures
Tick-Tock model
References
External links
Official Intel homepage for Westmere-EP
Official Intel homepage for Westmere-EX
Westmere-EX: A 20 thread server CPU (PDF)
Intel microarchitectures |
36794801 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle%20Advanced%20Security | Oracle Advanced Security | Oracle Advanced Security, an extra-cost option for Oracle database environments, extends Oracle Net Services in the field of database computing to provide network security, enterprise-user security, public-key infrastructure security
and data encryption to users of Oracle databases.
Network encryption (native network encryption and SSL/TLS) and strong authentication services (Kerberos, PKI, and RADIUS) are no longer part of Oracle Advanced Security and are available in all licensed editions of all supported releases of the Oracle database.
History
Former incarnations of Oracle Advanced Security included Secure Network Services and Advanced Network Services, dating back to Oracle database Release 7.
Components
Oracle Key Vault (OKV) - key management
Footnotes
Oracle software |
36812097 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profanity%20%28instant%20messaging%20client%29 | Profanity (instant messaging client) |
Profanity is a text mode instant messaging interface that supports the XMPP protocol. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows (via Cygwin or WSL), FreeBSD, and Android (via Termux).
Packages are available in Debian, Ubuntu and Arch Linux distributions.
Features include multi-user chat, desktop notifications, Off The Record and OMEMO message encryption.
References
External links
Linux Format Issue 164 Hotpicks
Free XMPP clients
Free instant messaging clients
Instant messaging clients for Linux |
36818179 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentum%20Backup | Argentum Backup | Argentum Backup is a backup software program for Microsoft Windows, produced by Argentum. Argentum Backup copies files into Zip compressed folders, as well as provides native file copying. Backup copies can be created both manually and automatically on the schedule. The product features a number of backup task templates to back up common file locations on computers with Microsoft Windows. Argentum Backup has won PC Magazine Editors' Choice award and PC World Best Buy award.
Features
The company and reviewers
emphasize the overall raw simplicity and ease of use of the user interface of Argentum Backup software, aimed first for beginners and novice computer users. The company also stresses the minimalistic nature of the program and very fast backup operation due to the proprietary backup engine written in highly optimized and profiled C++/STL code. Other notable features include:
64-bit extensions (Zip64) to Zip format are supported to create large, multi-gigabyte Zip backups.
Argentum Backup supports strong 128-bit and 256-bit AES symmetric encryption to securely protect sensitive data when backing up into Zip files. AES 256-bit strong encryption methods provide significantly greater cryptographic security than the traditional Zip encryption.
A set of built-in backup templates to recognize and back up locations of valuable data on Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 10, and other Microsoft Windows platforms.
Stacking feature which allows to have several backup copies - each backup copy for a particular point of time, to allow to get back to any of them whenever required.
XHTML reports of backup activity with actions and problems logged and detailed summary statistics shown.
See also
Backup software
Minimalism
External links
Argentum Backup official site
References
Backup software for Windows
Windows software
Shareware |
36886541 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High%20Marnham%20Test%20Track | High Marnham Test Track | The High Marnham Test Track is a linear railway test track created in 2009 and centred on Lodge Lane, Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire in the United Kingdom. It houses Network Rail's Rail Innovation & Development Centre (RIDC), originally known as the Rail Vehicle Development Centre (RVDC). The main route is approximately long and rated for speeds up to . It is primarily formed of a former section of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway running between Thoresby Colliery Junction at the western end, and High Marnham Power Station at the eastern end. Additionally a branchline diverges northwards over the Bevercotes Colliery Branch via Boughton Brake Tunnel to Bevercotes.
The main test track passes on a bridge directly over the East Coast Main Line, at the location of the former Dukeries Junction interchange station, but without a rail connection being provided. Instead the test track is accessed from the national British railway network via Shirebrook Junction on the Robin Hood Line and the existing line from there to Thoresby Colliery Junction.
Access for trains is protected by an Annett's key under the supervision of an Engineering Technical Officer. There is no signalling on the line owing to theft and vandalism, including the previous destruction of the Ollerton Colliery signal box.
Re-opening
On 10 February 2009 975025 Caroline visited the line on inspection duties prior to re-opening. Network Rail announced their intention for the reopening between Thoresby Colliery Junction and High Marnham on 10 July 2009. In August 2009 Network Rail stated that because the route of the line would now be maintained, it might increase the likelihood of being able to restore a passenger service in connection with Robin Hood Line services at a later date.
In November 2011 local people were reminded about the operational nature of the test track following acts of trespass.
During 2012 the Branch Line Society announced their intention to run a railtour covering the main test track and special steep gradients; plus the Bevercotes Branch to a distance of . Such a tour ran on 5 January 2013 and was widely reported in the railway enthusiast press.
This line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a priority 1 candidate for reopening.
Facilities
The test track includes short sections of non-energised 25 kV AC railway electrification and non-energised third/fourth rail, a W6A loading gauge, and facilities for ERA Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) noise testing.
An area of special track exists for RIS-1530-PLT testing of on-track plant, including lengths of track for brake testing at up to 1:25 and sharp reverse curves. The Lodge Lane area also contains portacabins for visiting staff, and a inspection shed for railway vehicles.
Projects
In March 2012 braking tests were undertaken for fitments of improved hydraulic brakes to 450 road-rail vehicle excavators. These excavators were all falling under classification "type 9b" where the rubber wheel touch small flanged steel wheels, which in-turn touch the rails and were found to have significantly reduced braking performance in adverse conditions.
In August 2012 the line was used for the testing of RFID and iPad-based "Virtual Lineside Signalling". Funding came from a Department of Transport £100,000-grant to investigate the possibility for low cost system for locations where European Rail Traffic Management System installation is not viable. RFID tags are placed on the track, and contact with a central signalling location is maintained by using encryption over traditional GSM networks and off-the-shelf portable computers used for the cab display.
In October 2013 a new high output "factory train" which will be used on Great Western Main Line electrification is due to be brought from Germany to the test track for trialling and staff familiarisation.
References
Sources
External links
Railway test tracks
Network Rail
2009 establishments in England
Railway lines in the East Midlands |
36901358 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National%20Police%20Computing%20and%20Material%20Service%20%28Norway%29 | National Police Computing and Material Service (Norway) | National Police Computing and Material Service (, PMDT) is an agency of the Norwegian Police Service which has the responsibility for information and communications technology, procurement, security and real estate. Subordinate to the National Police Directorate, it was established in 2004.
Equipment
As of 2011 the police's new patrol cars are four-wheel drive Volkswagen Passat with automatic transmission. New transport cars are Mercedes-Benz Vito for light transport and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter for heavy transport. The police force operates two Eurocopter EC135 helicopters, which are based at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. In addition, the Emergency Response Unit can use the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Bell 412 helicopters.
The police have two main types of uniforms, type I is used for personnel which primarily undertake indoor work, and type II is used for personnel which primarily undertakes outdoor service. Both types have summer and winter versions, and type I also has a dress uniform version. Both types use black as the dominant color with light blue shirts. Police officers are not armed with firearms during patrolling, but have weapons locked down in the patrol cars. Arming requires permission from the chief of police or someone designated by him. The police use Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and Heckler & Koch P30 semi-automatic pistols. Specially-trained forces use Diemaco C8 assault rifles. Norwegian police officers do not use electroshock weapons.
Previously the police used a decentralized information technology system developed during the mid-1990s. As late as 2012 servers were still being run with Windows NT 4.0 from 1996 and log-on times were typically twenty minutes. The new IT-system D#2 was introduced in 2011 and will have been taken into use by all divisions by 2012. D#2 will be operated by ErgoGroup and will have two redundant server centers. Personnel have access to the system via thin clients. The police have a system to raise a national alarm to close border crossings and call in reserve personnel. The one time it was activated the message was not received by any of the indented recipients. Since 2009 it has been possible to report criminal damage and theft of wallets, bicycles and mobile telephones without known perpetrator online.
The Norwegian Public Safety Radio has been installed in Oslo, Østfold, Akershus and southern Buskerud. The system is uses Terrestrial Trunked Radio and allows for a common public safety network for all emergency agencies. Features include authentication, encryption and possibilities to transmit data traffic. As the system is rolled out, central parts will receive transmission speeds of 163 kbit/s. The rest of the country uses an analog radio system specific for each police district. In addition to lack of interoperability with paramedics and fire fighters, none of the systems are encrypted, forcing police officers to rely heavily on GSM-based mobile telephones for dispatch communication when transmitting sensitive information. Police cars lack GPS navigation devices and mobile data terminal. Instead, all communication must be radioed to the dispatcher at the joint operations center, and officers must rely on printed road atlases for navigation. In contrast, navigation and terminal equipment was finished installed in ambulances and fire trucks in 2003. The Norwegian Public Safety Radio is scheduled for completion in 2015.
References
Law enforcement in Norway
2004 establishments in Norway
Government agencies established in 2004 |
36901603 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libzip | Libzip | libzip is an open source library for handling zip archives. It is written in portable C and can thus be used on multiple operating systems. It is based on zlib. It is used by PHP's zip extension for zip file support and MySQL Workbench. It is also used by KDE's ark archiving tool for zip archive support.
Notable features
libzip supports reading and writing zip archives. In particular, it allows extracting single or multiple files and querying their attributes (including extra fields and comments). For writing, it allows replacing files or adding new ones; the data can come from buffers, files, or even other zip archives (without recompression). Extra field data and comments (both file and archive) can be added, modified, or deleted. All changes are finalized when closing the archive, so the on-disk archive is always self-consistent.
The zip64 extension for large files is also supported. Version 1.2.0 added support for encryption and decryption using AES, while version 1.3.0 added support for compression using bzip2. Version 1.7.0 added support for traditional PKWARE encryption. Version 1.8.0 added support for Zstandard and lzma.
When opening existing archives, a strict consistency check can be requested.
libzip is written in C but can be used from C++.
Since version 1.1, libzip contains ziptool, a tool for modifying zip archives from the command line.
See also
Zip (file format)
Zlib
References
External links
Free data compression software
Cross-platform software
Computer libraries
1999 software
Windows compression software
Linux archivers and compression-related utilities |
36938738 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boneh | Boneh | Boneh or Beneh may refer to:
Dan Boneh (b. 1969), Israeli computer scientist
Boneh–Franklin scheme, an identity-based encryption system
Boneh-Lynn-Shacham, a signature authentication system
Solel Boneh, Israeli construction and civil engineering company
Iran
(Persian: بنه)
Beneh, Ardabil, a village in Iran
Boneh, Khuzestan, a village in Iran
Boneh, Markazi, a village in Iran
Boneh Alvan, a village in Iran
Boneh Anbar, a village in Iran
Boneh Balut, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Iran
Boneh Dan, a village in Iran
Boneh Darvazeh, a village in Iran
Boneh Dasht, a village in Iran
Boneh Dastak, a village in Iran
Boneh Deraz, a village in Iran
Boneh Goli, a village in Iran
Boneh Guni, a village in Iran
Boneh Ju, a village in Iran
Boneh Kaghi, a village in Iran
Boneh Karuk, a village in Iran
Boneh Kenar, a village in Iran
Boneh Kuh, a village in Iran
Boneh Kuh, Semnan, a village in Iran
Boneh Lam, a village in Iran
Boneh Lasheh, a village in Iran
Boneh Pir, a village in Iran
Boneh Posht, a village in Iran
Boneh Razi, a village in Iran
Boneh Seyyed Taher, a village in Iran
Boneh Shanbeh, a village in Iran
Boneh Sur, a village in Iran
Boneh Var-e Yaqub, a village in Iran
Boneh Zard, a village in Iran
Boneh-e Askari, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Abbas (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Abd, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Abed, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Abedun, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ahmad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ahmadi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ajam, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Akhund (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Ali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ali-Mardan Khan, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Amir Asgar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Aqa-ye Bozorg, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Arun, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Asad Davud, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Atabak, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ati, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Azim, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ba Damuiyeh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Baba Zahed, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Bad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Bandar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Cheragh (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Chahar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Dari, a village in Iran
Bon-e Esfandi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Esmail (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Fakhr (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Fathali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Gach, a village in Iran
Bon-e Gelu, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Ghalim, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Gholamali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Gholamreza, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hajat, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hajj Nemat, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hajji, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hajji, Fars, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hajji Ali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Haqqi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Heydar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Hoseyn Kaluli, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Isa, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Jaberi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Jan Mohammad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kamtuleh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Karim, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kazem, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kazem Hajj Soltan, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kazem Jamal, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Khanjar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Khater, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Khiraleh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Khumehzar, a former village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kordi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Kuyeh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Lar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Majid, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Meskin, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Mirza, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Mirza Ali Akbar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Mohammad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Mohammad Ali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Molla Ahmad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Molla Mehdi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Mordeh Ghaffar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Morteza, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Musa, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Nafal, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Naimeh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Narges, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Nejat, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Owlad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Qaem, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Qarz Ali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Qeysar, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Qeytas, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Qobad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Rahimali, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Rahmani, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Rashid, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Rezvan, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Sahrab, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Sarhadi, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Seyyed Mohammad Reza, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Seyyed Nasrollah, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Shah Reza Arab, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Shir Mohammad, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Sib, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Sukhteh (disambiguation), villages in Iran
Boneh-ye Sukhteh Char, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Taher, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Teymur, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Yabareh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Zobeydeh, a village in Iran
Boneh-ye Zolfaqar, a village in Iran
See also
Boneh Var (disambiguation)
Do Boneh (disambiguation) |
36993688 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar%20Gretener | Edgar Gretener | Edgar Gretener (2 March 1902 in Lucerne – 21 October 1958 in Zurich) was a Swiss electrical engineer.
Gretener was the twelfth of 14 siblings. He studied electrical engineering at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), where he received his Ph.D. in 1929. He then became head of development at the Albiswerk factory in Zurich. In 1930, he worked as head of the telegraph laboratory of Siemens & Halske in Berlin. There he got in contact with Fritz Fischer (physicist), another Swiss engineer, working as a manager at the central research labs of Siemens. When Fritz Fischer got the call to become professor at the ETH Zurich in 1932, he made Gretener his chief assistant a few years later. Fischer invented the Eidophor video projection system. Gretener was in charge of its implementation.
When World War II started, the Swiss authorities asked Gretener to develop an encryption device for teleprinters. For this purpose the Dr. Edgar Gretener AG was set up as a company in 1943. Gretener got absorbed by this new challenge. As his replacement, Hugo Thiemann continued the development of the Eidophor system at the ETH. When Fischer died unexpectedly in 1947, Thiemann and the Eidophor project were transferred to Gretener's company. It now had two lines of R&D: encryption devices and Eidophor, which still needed development to make it a viable product. Finally, the marketing effort led to first contracts for this new wide-screen video projection system.
The untimely death of Gretener in 1958 led to the renaming of his company, which continued under new ownership as GRETAG AG.
Literature
W. Gerber: Obituary in Schweizerische Bauzeitung, 1958 (76), p. 782.
References
Swiss electrical engineers
ETH Zurich alumni
Swiss cryptographers
1902 births
1958 deaths |
36996476 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-SIM%20card | Multi-SIM card | Multi-SIM technology allows cloning up to 12 GSM SIM cards (of format COMP128v1) into one card. The subscriber can leave the original cards in a secure place and use only the multi-SIM card in day to day life.
For telecom operator-provided cards, only the Group MSISDN number is known to multi-SIM subscribers. Member-SIM MSISDN is transparent to the subscriber. Messages sent to member SIM are delivered to the Group MSISDN.
Multi-SIM allows switching among (up to) 12 stored numbers from the phone's main menu. A new menu entry in subscriber’s phone automatically appears after inserting the multi-SIM card into the cell phone.
Only one of the member cards may be active at a time.
Modern SIM cards from many mobile operators are not compatible with multi-SIM technology and may not be cloned. Multi-SIM technology is a result of poor security algorithms used in the encryption of the first generation of GSM SIM cards, commonly called COMP128v1. SIM cloning is now more difficult to perform, as more and more mobile operators are moving towards newer encryption methods such as COMP128v2 or COMP128v3. SIM cloning is still possible in some countries such as Russia, Iran and China.
SIM cards issued before June 2002 most likely are COMP128v1 SIM cards, thus clonable.
Mobile phone standards |
37014054 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrobits | Acrobits | Acrobits is a privately owned software development company creating VoIP Clients for mobile platforms, based in Prague, Czech Republic.
Company history
Acrobits was founded in November 2008, and builds mobile VoIP software with a polished user interface, supporting encrypted calls using SRTP/SDES and ZRTP, Google Voice integration, and the G.729 Annex A audio codec.
In 2009 Acrobits Softphone was released on the iTunes App Store.
The following year Acrobits released their SIP Client with business features, Groundwire. In early 2011 Acrobits Softphone was released on the Android Market.
In 2010 Acrobits also launched a service allowing SIP providers to appear on the list of pre-configured providers in Acrobits Softphone.
In 2012 Acrobits added video calls over WiFi support for the iOS version of its softphone.
Acrobits Softphone
Acrobits Softphone is a VoIP client which uses Session Initiation Protocol. Acrobits Softphone is the leading SIP Client on the App Store, featuring push notifications and the G.729 Annex A audio codec, backgrounding, Google Voice integration and encrypted calls through ZRTP.
History of Softphone
The first version of Acrobits Softphone was released on the App Store in April 2009. Version 1.0 supported only a single SIP account and the G711 and GSM codecs. During the following months new updates were released rapidly, adding new features, and the app quickly became the most downloaded paid SIP app for iOS worldwide. Support for push notifications for incoming calls was added to Softphone in September 2009, shortly after push notifications were introduced in iOS3. The G729 codec was added in Apr 2010. In August 2010, a business-caliber version of Softphone called Groundwire was released on the App Store, adding support for conferencing, voicemail, call transfers, call forwarding and other advanced features of business-grade phones.
With the release of Groundwire, the app reached the level of maturity and completeness and attracted much interest from VoIP providers, who asked for white-label versions of the app, optimized and fine-tuned for their network only. Until now, around 50 different white-label versions were created.
Later, the following features were added to Softphone: ZRTP support (December 2010), NAT Bridge to help NAT traversal in difficult networking conditions (July 2011), support for video calls (Dec 2011), support for ICE (March 2012)
Acrobits Softphone for Android was released in Feb 2011, followed by Android Groundwire in April 2012. Android apps are now on par with their iOS counterparts, with the exception of video calls which are not yet supported on Android.
Features
Acrobits Softphone and especially Groundwire support all features and technologies expected of the modern SIP client, plus some unique features described below.
Push notifications for incoming calls
The challenge with VoIP on mobile devices is to make sure that the device is ready to receive incoming calls while keeping the power consumption as low as possible. Due to the inherent mobility of mobile devices, the network conditions change often and frequent SIP re-registrations and keep-alive traffic are needed to make sure the mobile client is properly registered and will receive incoming call at all times. This has a significant impact on battery life.
Acrobits Softphone uses a proprietary SIP Instance Server (SIPIS) to register on behalf of user when the mobile app is not running in foreground on the mobile device. As soon as the app is suspended to background or exited completely, SIPIS server takes over, registers the account and starts listening for incoming calls. When a call arrives, the mobile app is woken up using the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) and the call is handed over to the mobile app.
The advantage of this solution is that the mobile app does not need to run at all on the device, consuming no additional battery power, and is still able to receive incoming calls. The media of the call (audio and video) are still transferred directly to the mobile app, for lowest latency and security - no extra relaying is done. Using push notifications doesn't require any support on the SIP server side and uses only SIP protocol standard.
An important point and a potential drawback of this solution is the need to transfer full SIP account credentials to SIPIS server, as it needs them to be able to register, which is an obvious security risk. One way to avoid it is to install the SIPIS server on the premises of the VoIP service provider, in which case the security risk is eliminated - the provider already knows the passwords anyway.
Secure Calls
Acrobits Softphone supports encrypted voice and video calls using the standard SRTP protocol. It is able to encrypt media packets with the AES-128, AES-192 or AES-256 ciphers and authenticate them using either 32-bit or 80-bit HMAC-SHA1 algorithm.
For key exchange, Acrobits Softphone offers support for SDES and ZRTP protocols.
The SDES protocol transmits the encryption keys in plain text inside SIP+SDP messages. This key exchange protocol is therefore pretty much useless for most users, unless they have a complete control over the SIP signalling system to ensure that the TLS transport protocol is used all the way from the originating to the receiving device. Even if a SIP provider guarantees usage of TLS everywhere in his infrastructure, the provider itself is still able to see the encryption keys in plain text, because its SIP proxies must decrypt the SIP+SDP messages in order to route them forward.
To address the above shortcomings of the SDES protocol, Phil Zimmermann devised a military grade key exchange protocol, ZRTP, which is built on ideas from public-key cryptography. Using ZRTP, two devices can securely exchange encryption keys even over an inherently insecure communication channel. Moreover, by employing human brains to compare short authentication strings (SAS) spoken by the other party, ZRTP severely reduces the probability of a successful man-in-the-middle attack, which requires a single shot guess of the correct SAS out of 65536 possibilities. The whole point of SAS is that one human being compares and confirms spoken words of another human being whom the first recognizes (e.g. by voice) as the intended remote party. Any other usage of SAS is meaningless.
Acrobits Softphone supports the following algorithms employed by ZRTP:
SRTP Cipher:
AES1 (AES with 128-bit key)
AES2 (AES with 192-bit key)
AES3 (AES with 256-bit key)
SRTP Authentication:
HS32 (HMAC-SHA1 32-bit)
HS80 (HMAC-SHA1 80-bit)
ZRTP Hash:
S256 (SHA-2 256-bit)
Key Agreement:
DH3k (Finite Field Diffie-Hellman with 3072-bit Prime)
DH2k (Finite Field Diffie-Hellman with 2048-bit Prime)
Prsh (Pre Shared Mode)
Mult (Multi Stream Mode)
Short Authentication Strings:
B32 (Base32, Four Letters and Digits)
B256 (Base256, Two English Words)
Other products
Acrobits Groundwire
Customers
In addition to their flagship products Acrobits creates white label SIP Solutions for VoIP providers around the world.
See also
Comparison of VoIP software
References
External links
Acrobits website
Review from brighthub.com
Review from onSIP.com
Review from bestappsite.com
Review from osnews.com
VoIP software |
37021521 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav%20Guanella | Gustav Guanella | Gustav Guanella (21 June 1909 – 12 January 1982) was a Swiss inventor who held numerous patents.
Life
Guanella was born in Chur, then educated in Lucerne, Switzerland. He finished high school in 1929, studied electrical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and graduated in 1933. There, he became assistant to Professor Fritz Fischer, known as the inventor of the Eidophor large-screen video projection system, at the Institute of Technical Physics until 1937, followed by a few years as a consultant to different companies.
In 1938 he married Hanni Zietzschmann.
From 1941 until his retirement he worked for Brown, Boveri & Cie, Baden, Switzerland (BBC). Already in 1943 he was made head of a department involved in high-frequency electronics product development, where he made important contributions to this field.
He retired in 1973 and died of brain tumor in 1982.
Achievements
Guanella had a strong interest in electronics, especially high-frequency (HF) techniques. While he did consulting work for various companies such as Philips, AEG and BBC, he came up with inventions resulting in 40 patent application before entering employment at BBC. Some of these early inventions related to locating and radio direction-finding solutions as predecessors to radar before and during the first years of World War II.
His most important inventions were conceived while working for BBC from 1941 onwards. It is less known that BBC had a rapidly growing electronics division besides electrical equipment manufacturing. Guanella and other outstanding engineers positioned the company in the fields of radio transmitters, power line communications, microwave links and encryption techniques.
In particular, Guanella is credited as one of the inventors of the Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) transmission technique. The patent filing date in Switzerland was January 29, 1942. The corresponding US Patent 2405500 Means for and method of secret signaling was granted in 1946. In the Spread Spectrum Communications Handbook by M.Simon et al., Guanella is referred to as Swiss pioneer of noise-modulated radar and speech privacy systems. DSSS is of considerable importance for mobile radio up to now.
Guanella is best known for the Guanella Balun, a high-frequency impedance adapter. The term balun is an abbreviation of balanced-unbalanced signals, referring to a suitable coupling at such interfaces. Patents were granted in many countries, such as US Patent 2470307 and GB 617870. Widespread use led to considerable royalty income.
In his lifetime, Guanella was inventor or co-inventor of more than 200 patents. He was not only a brilliant Swiss inventor but also a successful department manager bringing various HF products to the market.
Honors
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers elevated him to the grade of IEEE Fellow in 1965.
The ETH Zurich honored him with the title Dr. sc. tech. (honoris causa) in 1969 together with Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD, married to his sister Anita Guanella.
A building of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), the company resulting from the merger of Asea and BBC, in Turgi AG, Switzerland, carries his first name.
References
1909 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Swiss inventors
Swiss electrical engineers
ETH Zurich alumni
Fellow Members of the IEEE
People from Chur
Neurological disease deaths in Switzerland
Deaths from cancer in Switzerland
Deaths from brain tumor |
37107011 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immediate%20Mobilization%20Networks | Immediate Mobilization Networks | Immediate Mobilization Networks (in Spanish: Fuerzas Inmediatas de Movilización) are an alleged paramilitary organization formed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to remain in control of the country if he was defeated in the 2012 presidential election.
Its objectives are to abort the opposition rallies before they could be prepared, detection of opposition leaders, organizing street protests and resistance and control of territory.
Chavez Militias are responsible (along with the Army) from the custody of the electoral process (polling security, custody of the votes and his move to places count). A first contingent will be deployed in 51% of polling stations, the rest at 49%, precisely in many of the places where the opposition is strong.
Of its approximately 3,800 members, not everyone will have military targets. Some of them could be limited to monitoring process, but other functions provided for these groups, composed of small teams of five to seven members, require violence. Venezuelan Army sources said that in June they started handing out about 8,000 AK-103 to this group.
They are formed by "social intelligence teams" and "communicators in action" ("street propaganda and guerrilla internet") and of "territorial control equipment," constituted "as Rapid Action Force and Action street, with ability to block or enable critical road corridors, geographic areas or localities" and "defend the spaces adjacent to state institutions."
Their tactics are based on Iranian Basij units whose performance was decisive to abort the Green Revolution in 2009, and used a complex system of communication encryption.
References
Hugo Chávez
Paramilitary organizations based in Venezuela |
37111193 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle%20NoSQL%20Database | Oracle NoSQL Database | Oracle NoSQL Database (ONDB) is a NoSQL-type distributed key-value database from Oracle Corporation. It provides transactional semantics for data manipulation, horizontal scalability, and simple administration and monitoring.
Oracle released Oracle Autonomous NoSQL Database Cloud (OANDC) on August 10, 2018. OANDC is a managed cloud service for applications that require low latency, flexible data models, and elastic scaling for dynamic workloads.
Developers focus on application development and data store requirements rather than managing back-end servers, storage expansion, cluster deployments, topology, software installation/patches/upgrades, backup, operating systems, and availability. OANDC scales to meet dynamic application workloads and throughput requirements.
Users create tables to store their application data and perform database operations. An OANDC table is similar to a relational table with additional properties including provisioned write units, read units, and storage capacity. Users provision the throughput and storage capacity in each table based on anticipated workloads. OANDC resources are allocated and scaled accordingly to meet workload requirements. Users are billed hourly based on the capacity provisioned.
OANDC supports tabular model. Each row is identified by a unique key, and has a value, of arbitrary length, which is interpreted by the application. The application can manipulate (insert, delete, update, read) a single row in a transaction. The application can also perform an iterative, non-transactional scan of all the rows in the database.
Licensing
Oracle Corporation distributes the Oracle NoSQL Database in three editions:
Oracle NoSQL Database Server Community Edition under an Apache License, Version 2.0
Oracle NoSQL Enterprise Edition under the Oracle Commercial License
Oracle NoSQL Basic Edition
Oracle NoSQL Database is licensed using a freemium model: open-source versions of Oracle NoSQL Community Edition are available, but end-users can purchase additional features and support via the Oracle Store. If integrating with other Oracle Products such as Oracle Enterprise Manager or Oracle Coherence, then Oracle NoSQL Enterprise Edition should be purchased.
Oracle NoSQL Database Basic edition, is available when a customer purchases or has purchased an Oracle Database Enterprise Edition (DBEE) Version 11g or 12c license they are entitled to download and use Oracle NoSQL Database Basic Edition.Support for Oracle NoSQL Database Basic Edition will be included as part of the DBEE support contract, if support was purchased.
Oracle NoSQL Database drivers, licensed pursuant to the Apache 2.0 License, are used with both the community and enterprise editions.
Main features
Architecture
Oracle NoSQL Database is built upon the Oracle Berkeley DB Java Edition high-availability storage engine. It adds services to provide a distributed, highly available key/value store, suited for large-volume, latency-sensitive applications.
Sharding and replication
Oracle NoSQL Database is a client-server, sharded, shared-nothing system. The data in each shard are replicated on each of the nodes that comprise the shard. It provides a simple key-value paradigm to the application developer. The major key for a record is hashed to identify the shard that the record belongs to. Oracle NoSQL Database is designed to support changing the number of shards dynamically in response to availability of additional hardware. If the number of shards changes, key-value pairs are redistributed across the new set of shards dynamically, without requiring a system shutdown and restart. A shard is made up of a single electable master node to serve read and write requests, and several replicas (usually two or more) that can serve read requests. Replicas are kept up to date using streaming replication. Each change on the master node is committed locally to disk and also propagated to the replicas.
High availability and fault-tolerance
Oracle NoSQL Database provides single-master, multi-replica database replication. Transactional data is delivered to all replica nodes with flexible durability policies per transaction. In the event the master replica node fails, a consensus-based PAXOS-based automated fail-over election process minimizes downtime. As soon as the failed node is repaired, it rejoins the shard, updated and then becomes available for processing read requests. Thus, Oracle NoSQL Database applications can tolerate failures of nodes within a shard and also multiple failures of nodes in distinct shards.
Proper placement of masters and replicas on server hardware (racks and interconnect switches) by Oracle NoSQL Database is intended to increase availability on commodity servers.
Transparent load balancing
Oracle NoSQL Database Driver partitions the data in real time and evenly distributes it across the storage nodes. It is network topology and latency-aware, routing read and write operations to the most appropriate storage node in order to optimize load distribution and performance.
Administration and system monitoring
Oracle NoSQL Database's administration service can be accessed from a web console or a command-line interface. This service supports functionality such as the ability to configure, start, stop and monitor a storage node, without requiring configuration files, shell scripts, or explicit database operations. It allows Java Management Extensions (JMX) or Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agents to be available for monitoring. This allows management clients to poll information about the status, performance metrics and operational parameters of a storage node and its managed services.
Elastic configuration
"Elasticity" refers to dynamic online expansion of the deployed cluster. Adding storage nodes increases capacity, performance and reliability. Oracle NoSQL Database includes a topology planning feature, with which an administrator can modify the configuration of a NoSQL database while the database is online. The administrator can:
Increase data distribution: by increasing number of shards in the cluster, which increases write throughput.
Increase replication factor: by assigning additional replication nodes to each shard, which increases read throughput and system availability.
Rebalance data store: by modifying the capacity of storage nodes, the system can be rebalanced, re-allocating replication nodes to storage nodes as appropriate.
Administrators can move replication nodes and/or partitions from over-utilized nodes onto underutilized storage nodes or vice versa.
Multi-zone deployment
Oracle NoSQL Database supports multiple zones to intelligently allocate replication of processes and data, in order to improve reliability during hardware, network and power-related failure modes. The two types of zones are: primary zones that contain nodes that can serve as masters or replicas and are typically connected by fast interconnects. Secondary zones contain nodes that can only serve as replicas. Secondary zones can be used to provide low latency read access to data at a distant location, or to offload read-only workloads such as analytics, report generation and data exchange for improved workload management.
JSON data format
Oracle NoSQL Database supports Avro data serialization, which provides a compact, schema-based binary data format. Schemas are defined using JSON. Oracle NoSQL Database supports schema evolution. Configurable Smart Topology System administrators indicate how much capacity is available on a given storage node, allowing more capable nodes to host multiple replication nodes. Once the system knows about the capacity for the storage nodes in a configuration, it automatically allocates replication nodes intelligently. This is intended for better load balancing, better use of system resources and minimizing system impact in the event of storage node failure. Smart Topology supports data centers, ensuring that a full set of replicas is initially allocated to each data center.
Online rolling upgrade
Oracle NoSQL Database provides facilities to perform a rolling upgrade, allowing a system administrator to upgrade cluster nodes while the database remains available.
Fault tolerance
Oracle NoSQL Database is configurable to be either C/P or A/P in CAP. In particular, if writes are configured to be performed synchronously to all replicas, it is C/P in CAP i.e. a partition or node failure causes the system to be unavailable for writes. If replication is performed asynchronously, and reads are configured to be served from any replica, it is A/P in CAP i.e. the system is always available, but there is no guarantee of consistency.
Database features
Table data model
Release 3.0 introduced tabular data structure, which simplifies application data modeling by leveraging existing schema design concepts. Table model is layered on top of the distributed key-value structure, inheriting all its advantages and simplifying application design by enabling seamless integration with familiar SQL-based applications
Secondary index
Primary key only based indexing limits the number of low latency access paths. Sometimes applications need a non-primary-key based paths to support specific application requirements. OND supports secondary index on any value field.
Large object support
Oracle NoSQL Database EE Stream based APIs allow reading and writing large objects (LOBs) such as audio and video files, without having to materialize the entire file in memory. This is intended to decrease the latency of operations across mixed workloads of objects of varying sizes.
ACID compliant transaction
Oracle NoSQL Database provides ACID compliant transactions for full create, read, update and delete (CRUD) operations, with adjustable durability and consistency transaction guarantees. A sequence of operations can operate as a single atomic unit as long as all the affected records share the same major key path.
Integration
Oracle NoSQL Database includes support for Java, C, Python, C# and REST APIs. These allow the application developer to perform CRUD operations. These libraries include Avro support, so that developers can serialize key-value records and de-serialize key-value records interchangeably between C and Java applications.
Oracle RESTful Services
Oracle NoSQL Database supports Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS). This allows customers to build a REST-based application that can access data in either Oracle Database or OND.
GeoJSON
Supports spatial queries on RFC7946 compliant GeoJSON data. Spatial functions and indexing for GeoJSON data are supported.
Apache Hadoop
KVAvroInputFormat and KVInputFormat classes are available to read data from OND natively into Hadoop MapReduce jobs. One use for this class is to read NoSQL database records into Oracle Loader for Hadoop.
Oracle integration
Oracle Big Data SQL and Hive
Oracle Big Data SQL is a common SQL access layer to data stored in Hadoop, HDFS, Hive and OND. This allows customers to query Oracle NoSQL Data from Hive or Oracle Database. Users can run MapReduce jobs against data stored in OND that is configured for secure access. The latest release also supports both primitive and complex data types
Oracle Database
Oracle NoSQL Database EE supports external table allows fetching Oracle NoSQL data from Oracle database using SQL statements such as Select, Select Count(*) etc. Once NoSQL data is exposed through external tables, one can access the data via standard JDBC drivers and/or visualize it through enterprise business intelligence tools.
Other Oracle products
Oracle Event Processing (OEP) provides read access to Oracle NoSQL Database via the NoSQL Database cartridge. Once the cartridge is configured, CQL queries can be used. Oracle Semantic Graph includes a Jena Adapter for Oracle NoSQL Database to store large volumes of RDF data (as triplets/quadruplets). This adapter enables fast access to graph data stored in OND via SPARQL queries. Integration with Oracle Coherence allows OND to be used as a cache for Oracle Coherence applications, allowing applications to directly access cached data from OND.
Enterprise security
Oracle NoSQL Database EE supports OS-independent, cluster-wide password-based user authentication and Oracle Wallet integration and enables greater protection from unauthorized access to sensitive data. Additionally, session-level Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption and network port restrictions improve protection from network intrusion.
Release Updates
OND Version 4.0 – New Features:
Full text search – Elastic Search.
Time-To-Live – efficient aging out of “expired” data – a common IoT requirement.
SQL Query – Declarative query language.
Predicate Pushdown – ability to process predicates from Big Data SQL in NoSQL Database nodes without passing data that fails the predicate for improved performance and scalability.
Import/Export – Easy to backup/restore data or move data between Oracle NoSQL Database stores.
Performance
The Oracle NoSQL Database team has worked with several key Oracle partners, including Intel and Cisco, performing Yahoo! Cloud Serving Benchmarks (YCSB) on various hardware configurations, and published its results. For example, in 2012 Oracle reported that Oracle NoSQL Database exceeded 1 million mixed YCSB Ops/Sec.
See also
Database scalability
References
Oracle software
NoSQL
Database-related software for Linux
Big data products
Key-value databases
Software using the GNU AGPL license |
37114838 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows%20Phone%207 | Windows Phone 7 | Windows Phone 7 is the first release of the Windows Phone mobile client operating system, released worldwide on October 21, 2010, and in the United States on November 8, 2010. It runs on the Windows CE 6.0 kernel.
It received multiple large updates, the last being Windows Phone 7.8, which was released in January 2013 and added a few features backported from Windows Phone 8, such as a more customizable start screen. Microsoft ended support for Windows Phone 7 on October 14, 2014. It was succeeded by Windows Phone 8, which was released on October 29, 2012.
History
Microsoft officially unveiled the new operating system, Windows Phone 7 Series, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 15, 2010, and revealed additional details at MIX 2010 on March 15, 2010. The final SDK was made available on September 16, 2010. HP later decided not to build devices for Windows Phone, citing that it wanted to focus on devices for its newly purchased webOS. As its original name was criticized for being too complex and "wordy", the name of the operating system was officially shortened to just Windows Phone 7 on April 2, 2010.
On October 11, 2010, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer announced the 10 launch devices for Windows Phone 7, made by HTC, Dell, Samsung, and LG, with sales beginning on October 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia and November 8, 2010 in the United States. The devices were made available on 60 carriers in 30 countries, with additional devices to be launched in 2011. Upon the release of Windows Phone 7's "Mango" revision, additional manufacturers became partners, including Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE.
Windows Phone initially supported twenty-five languages, with applications being available through Windows Phone Store in 35 countries and regions. Support for additional languages and regions were subsequently brought through both the Mango and Tango updates to the OS respectively.
Features
Core
Windows Phone 7 is the only version of Windows Phone that features a kernel based on the Windows Embedded Compact 7 version of Windows Embedded CE, which was also used in Windows Mobile and Pocket PC systems.
User interface
Windows Phone 7 features a user interface based on a design system codenamed and commonly referred to as Metro. The home screen, called "Start screen", is made up of "Live Tiles". Tiles are links to applications, features, functions and individual items (such as contacts, web pages, applications or media items). Users can add, rearrange, or remove tiles. Tiles are dynamic and update in real time – for example, the tile for an email account would display the number of unread messages or a tile could display a live update of the weather.
Several key features of Windows Phone 7 are organized into "hubs", which combine local and online content via Windows Phone's integration with popular social networks such as Facebook, Windows Live, and Twitter. For example, the Pictures hub shows photos captured with the device's camera and the user's Facebook photo albums, and the People hub shows contacts aggregated from multiple sources including Windows Live, Facebook, and Gmail. From the Hub, users can directly comment and 'like' on social network updates. The other built-in hubs are Xbox Music and Video, Xbox Live Games, Windows Phone Store, and Microsoft Office. Due to Facebook Connect service changes, Facebook support is disabled in all bundled apps effective June 8, 2015.
Windows Phone uses multi-touch technology. The default Windows Phone user interface has a dark theme that prolongs battery life on OLED screens as fully black pixels do not emit light. The user may choose a light theme instead, and can also choose from several accent colors. User interface elements such as tiles are shown in the user's chosen accent color. Third-party applications can be automatically themed with these colors.
Text input
Users input text by using an on-screen virtual keyboard, which has a dedicated key for inserting emoticons, and features spell checking and word prediction. App developers (both inhouse and ISV) may specify different versions of the virtual keyboard in order to limit users to certain character sets, such as numeric characters alone. Users may change a word after it has been typed by tapping the word, which will invoke a list of similar words. Pressing and holding certain keys will reveal similar characters. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode. Phones may also be made with a hardware keyboard for text input.
Messaging
Windows Phone 7's messaging system is organized into "threads". This allows a conversation with a person to be held through multiple platforms (such as Windows Live Messenger, Facebook messaging, or SMS within a single thread, dynamically switching between services depending on availability.
Web browser
Windows Phone 7.5 features a version of Internet Explorer Mobile with a rendering engine that is based on Internet Explorer 9.
The built-in web browser allows the user to maintain a list of favorite web pages and tiles linking to web pages on the Start screen. The browser supports up to 6 tabs, which can all load in parallel. Other features include multi-touch gestures, a streamlined UI, smooth zoom in/out animations, the ability to save pictures that are on web pages, share web pages via email, and support for inline search which allows the user to search for a word or phrase in a web page by typing it. Microsoft has announced plans to regularly update the Windows Phone web browser and its layout engine independently from the Windows Phone Update system.
Contacts
Contacts are organized via the "People hub", and can be manually entered into contacts or imported from Facebook, Windows Live Contacts, Twitter, LinkedIn and Gmail. Contacts may be manually imported from Outlook using Windows Live Contacts or Gmail. A "What's New" section show news feed and a "Pictures" section show pictures from those social networks made by the contacts. A "Me" section show the phone user's own social networks status and wall, allow the user to update his status, and check into Bing and Facebook Places. Contacts can be added to the home screen by pinning them to the start. The contact's "Live Tile" displays his social network status and profile picture on the homescreen and the contact's hub displays his Facebook wall as well as all of the rest of his contact information and information from his other social networks.
If a contact has information stored on multiple networks, users can link the two separate contact accounts, allowing the information to be viewed and accessed from a single card. As of Windows Phone 7.5, contacts can also be sorted into "Groups". Here, information from each of the contacts is combined into a single page which can be accessed directly from the Hub or pinned to the Start screen.
Email
Windows Phone supports Outlook.com, Exchange, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail natively and supports many other services via the POP and IMAP protocols. For the native account types, contacts and calendars may be synced as well. Users can also search through their email by searching in the subject, body, senders, and receivers. Emails are shown in threading view and multiple email inboxes can be combined or kept separate.
Multimedia
The “Music + Videos hub also known as zune” allows the user to access music, videos, and podcasts stored on the device, and links directly to the "Xbox Music Store" to buy music, or rent with the Xbox Music Pass subscription service. When browsing the music by a particular artist, users are able to view artist biographies and photos, provided by the Xbox Music. This hub integrates with many other apps that provide video and music services, including, but not limited to, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Vevo. This hub also includes Smart DJ which compiles a playlist of songs stored on the phone similar to the song or artist selected. Purchased movies and other videos can be played through Xbox Video.
The "Pictures hub" displays the user's Facebook and SkyDrive (Now OneDrive) photo albums, as well as photos taken with the phone's built-in camera. Users can also upload photos to social networks, comment on others photos, and tag photos on social networks. Multi-touch gestures permit zooming in and out of photos.
Media support
Windows Phone 7 supports WAV, MP3, WMA, AMR, AAC/MP4/M4A/M4B, and 3GP/3G2 standards. The video file formats supported include WMV, AVI, MP4/M4V, 3GP/3G2, and MOV (QuickTime) standards. These supported audio and video formats would be dependent on the codecs contained inside them. It has also been previously reported that the DivX and Xvid codecs within AVI are also playable on the system. Unlike the previous Windows Mobile operating system, there are currently no third-party applications for handling other video formats. The image file formats that are supported include JPG/JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIF and Bitmap (BMP).
After the "Mango" update, Windows Phone 7 added the ability for users to have custom ringtones. Ringtone audio files must be under 1MB and less than 40 seconds long. Custom ringtones still cannot be used for text messages, IMs or emails.
Games
The "Games hub" provides access to games on a phone along with Xbox Live functionality, including the ability for a user to interact with their avatar, view and edit their profile, see their achievements and view leaderboards, and send messages to friends on Xbox Live. The Games hub also features an area for managing invitations and turn notifications in turn-based multiplayer games.
Search
Microsoft's hardware requirements stipulate that every device running Windows Phone 7 must have a dedicated Search button on the front of the device that performs different actions. Pressing the search button while an application is open allows users to search within applications that take advantage of this feature; for example, pressing Search in the People hub lets users search their contact list for specific people. This has been changed in Windows Phone 7.5 however – as the search button is reserved for Bing – so applications that previously used this feature (such as the Marketplace) now include soft search buttons.
In other cases, pressing the Search button will allow the user to perform a search of web sites, news, and map locations using the Bing application.
Windows Phone also has a voice recognition function, powered by TellMe, which allows the user to perform a Bing search, call contacts or launch applications simply by speaking. This can be activated by pressing and holding the phone's Start button.
Bing is the default search engine on Windows Phone handsets due to its deep integration of functions into the OS (which also include the utilization of its map service for location-based searches and queries). However, Microsoft has stated that other search engine applications can be used.
Aside from location-based searches, Bing Maps on Windows Phone 7 also provide turn-by-turn navigation service to Windows Phone users, and Local Scout shows interest points such as attractions and restaurants in the nearby area. Bing Audio also allows the user to match a song with its name, while Bing Vision allows the user to read barcodes, QR codes, and tags.
Office suite
The "Office hub" organizes all Microsoft Office apps and documents. Microsoft Office Mobile provides interoperability between Windows Phone and the desktop version of Microsoft Office. Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, OneNote Mobile, and SharePoint Workspace Mobile allow most Microsoft Office file formats to be viewed and edited directly on a Windows Phone device.
Microsoft Office can also open files from SkyDrive and Office 365, as well as files stored locally on the phone. Office files on Windows Phone 7 are sorted by tiles: Word documents (blue tile), Excel spreadsheets (green tile), PowerPoint presentations (red tile), and OneNote documents (purple tile).
Multitasking
Windows Phone 7 features a card-based task switcher which can be accessed by pressing and holding the back button. The screenshots of last five open apps are shown as cards. Apps can be kept running even when out of view through "Live Agents".
Sync
Zune software is used to manage and sync content on Windows Phone 7 devices with PCs. Windows Phone 7 can wirelessly sync with the software. In addition to accessing Windows Phone devices, Zune software can also access the Zune Marketplace to purchase music, videos, and apps for Windows Phone and Zune products. While music and videos are both stored locally on the PC and on the phone, apps are only stored on the phone even if purchased from the Zune software. Zune software is also used to deliver software updates to all Windows Phone 7 devices.
The Zune software is unavailable for Mac OS X, but Microsoft has released Windows Phone Connector, which allows Windows Phone devices to sync with iTunes and iPhoto. This has since been succeeded by the Windows Phone App, which is designed for Windows Phone 8 but can sync with Windows Phone 7 devices as well.
Removed features
While Windows Phone contains many new features, a number of capabilities and certain programs that were a part of previous versions up to Windows Mobile 6.5 were removed or changed.
The following is a list of features which were present in Windows Mobile 6.5 but were removed in Windows Phone 7.0.
Calling
The list of past phone calls is now a single list, and cannot be separated into inbound, outbound or missed calls
Sync
Windows Phone does not support USB sync with Microsoft Outlook's Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes as opposed to older versions of Windows Mobile with Desktop ActiveSync. Syncing Contacts and Appointments is done via cloud-based services (Windows Live, Google, or Exchange Server), and no method to sync this information directly with a PC is provided. Third party software, such as Akruto Sync, provides some of this functionality. A petition to Microsoft was filed to reinstate USB sync for Outlook.
Other
Adobe Flash
Features subsequently implemented in Windows Phone 7.5
Internet sockets
Cut, copy, and paste
Partial multitasking for 3rd party apps
Connecting to Wi-Fi (wireless) access points with hidden SSID, but without WPA
Tethering to a computer
Custom ringtones
Universal email inbox
USSD messages
VoIP calling through a separate app
Features subsequently implemented in Windows Phone 8.0
Removable SD cards
USB mass-storage
Bluetooth file transfers
Connecting to Wi-Fi (wireless) access points with both a hidden SSID and WPA protection
Sideloading for corporate apps
VoIP and IP Videocalling integrated in the Phone app
Support for Office documents with security permissions
On-device encryption
Strong passwords
Full Exchange support
Native applications
Full background multitasking
Features subsequently implemented in Windows Phone 8.1
IPsec security (VPN)
System-wide file manager
The 'Weekly' view in the Calendar app
Universal search
UMTS/LTE Videocalling
Hardware
To provide a more consistent experience between devices, Windows Phone 7 devices are required to meet a certain set of hardware requirements, which Andy Lees, Microsoft's senior vice president of mobile communications business, described as being "tough, but fair." All Windows Phone 7 devices, at minimum, must include the following:
Previously, Windows Phone 7 devices were required to have 512 MB of RAM. As of the "Tango" update, the requirements were revised to allow for chipsets with slower processors, and for devices to have a minimum of 256 MB of RAM. Certain features of the operating system, and the ability to install certain resource-intensive apps are disabled on Windows Phone devices with under 512 MB of RAM.
Version history
Reception
What Engadget and Gizmodo felt were notable omissions in a modern smartphone OS have largely been addressed in the Mango update. ZDNet praised the OS's virtual keyboard and noted the excellent touch precision as well as powerful auto-correct and revision software. The touch responsiveness of the OS has also been universally praised by all three sites with reviewers noting the smoothness of scrolling and gestures like pinch to zoom in web browsing.
PCWorld ran an article called "Windows Phone 7: Microsoft's Disaster" citing what they call a "lack of security, shockingly bad Office apps, an interface not backed up under the hood and abandonment of the full Microsoft customer base."
The reception to the "Metro" UI (also called Modern-Style UI) and overall interface of the OS has also been highly praised for its style, with ZDNet noting its originality and fresh clean look. Engadget and ZDNet applauded the integration of Facebook into the People Hub as well as other built-in capabilities, such as Windows Live, etc.
Awards
Windows Phone 7 was presented with a total of three awards at the 2011 International Design Excellence Awards, voted by an independent jury at an event co-sponsored by Microsoft, among others; Gold in Interactive Product Experience, Silver in Research and Bronze in the Design Strategy.
"The Windows Phone 7 was built around the idea that the end user is king. The design team began by defining and understanding the people who would use this phone. It was convinced that there could be a better user experience for a phone, one that revolves more around who the users are rather than what they do. The Windows Phone 7 lets users quickly get in, get out and back to their lives."
At the awards ceremony, Windows Phone 7 was given "the noteworthy People's Choice Award, an award handed to the favorite IDEA 2011 gold award winner."
See also
Windows Phone 8.0
Windows Phone 8.1
Windows 10 Mobile
List of digital distribution platforms for mobile devices
List of features removed in Windows Vista
List of features removed in Windows 7
List of features removed in Windows 8
Notes
References
External links
Official website (Archive)
Windows Phone 7 for government
Windows Phone
Smartphones |
37121257 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoParty | CryptoParty | CryptoParty (Crypto-Party) is a grassroots global endeavour to introduce the basics of practical cryptography such as the Tor anonymity network, I2P, Freenet, key signing parties, disk encryption and virtual private networks to the general public. The project primarily consists of a series of free public workshops.
History
A successor to the Cypherpunks of the 1990s, CryptoParty was conceived in late August 2012 by the Australian journalist Asher Wolf in a Twitter post following the passing of the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 and the proposal of a two-year data retention law in that country, the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011. The DIY, self-organizing movement immediately went viral, with a dozen autonomous CryptoParties being organized within hours in cities throughout Australia, the US, the UK, and Germany.
Many more parties were soon organized or held in Chile, The Netherlands, Hawaii, Asia, etc. Tor usage in Australia itself spiked, and CryptoParty London with 130 attendees—some of whom were veterans of the Occupy London movement—had to be moved from London Hackspace to the Google campus in east London's Tech City.
As of mid-October 2012 some 30 CryptoParties have been held globally, some on a continuing basis, and CryptoParties were held on the same day in Reykjavik, Brussels, and Manila.
Media response
CryptoParty has received early messages of support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and (purportedly) AnonyOps, as well as the NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, WikiLeaks central editor Heather Marsh, and Wired reporter Quinn Norton. Eric Hughes, the author of A Cypherpunk's Manifesto nearly two decades before, delivered the keynote address, Putting the Personal Back in Personal Computers, at the Amsterdam CryptoParty on 2012-09-27. Marcin de Kaminski, founding member of Piratbyrån which in turn founded The Pirate Bay, regards CryptoParty as the most important civic project in cryptography today, and Cory Doctorow has characterized a CryptoParty as being "like a Tupperware party for learning crypto." Der Spiegel in December 2014 mentioned "crypto parties" in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks in an article about the NSA.
Publications
The first draft of the 442-page CryptoParty Handbook (the hard copy of which is available at cost) was pulled together in three days using the book sprint approach, and was released 2012-10-04 under a CC-BY-SA license; it remains under constant revision.
Attack and site takedown
In April and May 2013, the movement's main wiki page, cryptoparty.org, was subject to a series of spam attacks that eventually resulted in the site being taken out of service. Protection against spam attacks was rendered more difficult than on other wikis by a site-specific policy permitting edits from users employing anonymization services. Spam attacks were also facilitated by the use of inappropriate MediaWiki settings in the ConfirmEdit plugin. The use of SimpleCaptcha is not recommended by the ConfirmEdit authors (" [...] used by very few wikis outside WMF if any, probably because of scarce effectiveness").
Edward Snowden involvement
In May 2014, Wired reported that Edward Snowden, while employed by Dell as an NSA contractor, organized a local CryptoParty at a small hackerspace in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 11, six months before becoming well known for leaking tens of thousands of secret U.S. government documents. During the CryptoParty, Snowden taught 20 Hawaii residents how to encrypt their hard drives and use the Internet anonymously. The event was filmed by Snowden's then-girlfriend, but the video has never been released online. In a follow-up post to the CryptoParty wiki, Snowden pronounced the event a "huge success."
See also
Cyber self-defense
References
External links
CryptoParty Wiki
Another CryptoParty Wiki
An Australian crypto primer preso
Beginning of CryptoParty London's slideshow
Eric Hughes's keynote address at the Amsterdam CryptoParty
Asher Wolf on privacy concerns and the origin and spread of CryptoParty
Democratic Socialists of America's Information Security Recommendations
Anarchism
Cryptography
Crypto-anarchism
Cypherpunks
Internet privacy
21st-century social movements
Internet activism
Mass surveillance |
37134785 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-only%20memory%20%28engineering%29 | Write-only memory (engineering) | In information technology, a write-only memory (WOM) is a memory location or register that can be written to but not read. In addition to its literal meaning, the term may be applied to a situation when the data written by one circuit can be read only by other circuitry. The most common occurrence of the latter situation is when a processor writes data to a write-only register of hardware the processor is controlling. The hardware can read the instruction but the processor cannot. This can lead to problems in producing device drivers for the hardware.
Write-only memories also find applications in security and cryptography as a means of preventing data being intercepted as it is being decrypted.
Hardware uses
In 1972, WOM, an antithesis of read-only memory (ROM), was introduced as an inside practical joke perpetrated by Signetics. However, it was soon recognized that this concept actually describes certain functionalities in microprocessor systems.
The most frequent occurrences of write-only memories are where the memory locations are registers or an integrated circuit being used to control, or pass information to, hardware outside the processor. A central processing unit (CPU) can write to these locations, and thus control the hardware, but cannot read back the information and discover the current state of the hardware. The memory is write-only relative only to the CPU's point of view. Such arrangements are common on small embedded microcontroller systems to save costs and can cause difficulties for authors of device driver software. When the current hardware state is unknown to the CPU it can only put it into a known state by sending a new command, which may result in the state changing. To alleviate this difficulty, the content of the WOM may be mirrored by the CPU in the regular memory. However, this strategy is only reliable if the register is read-only from the perspective of the hardware. If the external hardware is able to change its own state independently of the CPU then the hardware state is able to diverge from the image of that state being mirrored in CPU memory.
An example of this kind of use concerned access to memory on early PCs. The original PCs used 8086 or 8088 processors which had the ability to address only of memory. A large part of this was occupied by the BIOS resulting in only of addressable RAM being available. The memory requirement of many applications soon surpassed this figure. One method of overcoming the limitation was by the use of bank-switched RAM. A number of banks of RAM are provided, but are not permanently assigned to a memory location. In a particular implementation, a special board is added to a computer, which controls the allocation of banks to memory space. The control board has its own memory chip. A computer can write data into this chip, but only the control board itself can read the chip, hence it is dubbed "write only" memory.
Another example concerns some functions carried out by graphics processing units (GPUs). For instance, a GPU might be carrying out shader processing on the contents of graphics memory. It can be faster and more efficient for the GPU to take input for the shader process from read-only locations and write the shader output to different write-only locations without having to copy data between the read and write buffers after each iteration.
An example that is still of contemporary relevance can be found in the 16550 UART, whose derivatives are still in widespread use. To add a data FIFO without breaking compatibility with the 8250 UART's 8 configuration registers, the write-only "FIFO control register" was assigned the same port address as the read-only "interrupt identification register". Writes to that address program the FIFO control register, but there is no way to read it back.
The term is also used to describe the computer view of certain display devices such as the e-ink screens used in e-readers.
Security and encryption
Locking the frame buffer of a GPU to effectively turn it into a write-only memory can be useful in protecting encrypted data. When encrypted data arrives at its destination, it needs to be decrypted before it can be displayed to the user. The existence of unencrypted material in memory where it can be accessed by the CPU or peripheral devices is a potential security weakness. This weakness may be alleviated by carrying out the decryption within the GPU and writing the unencrypted data directly to display memory. Nothing else can read the data while the frame buffer is locked, and when it is unlocked it will be displaying something else. All modern smart cards that feature a chip can also be said to rely on WOM technology, because they are programmed at a factory with certain encryption keys that can not directly be read by a card reader. Instead the keys are indirectly used by algorithms that validate passwords or decrypt certain content. Nintendo has a patent describing using hard disk portions as temporary write only storage for game code that is kept write only until that partition has been verified with an authorizing digital signature.
Computability theory
In computability theory, adding a WOM to some models of computation can increase their computational power.
See also
Null device or /dev/null, another "write-only" concept
Phonautograph, patented in 1857 and the earliest device to record sound, but not able to be played back
References
Bibliography
.
Christof Seiler, Philippe Büchler, Lutz-Peter Nolte, Mauricio Reyes, Rasmus Paulsen, "Hierarchical Markov random fields applied to model soft tissue deformations on graphics hardware", Recent Advances in the 3D Physiological Human, part 1, pp. 133–148, 2009 .
Computer memory |
37176723 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro%20and%20security | Macro and security | A macro in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to a replacement input sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure.
A macro is used to define variables or procedures, to allow code reuse, or to design domain-specific languages.
Macros can be separated into several types:
Text substitution macros as in the C language.
Macros in software. In some software, a sequence of instructions can be associated to a keyboard or mouse action. Some software can include a programming language (like VBA in Microsoft Office) allowing the control of software features.
Other types of macros that are not covered in this article.
Macros can be very useful to software users. They simplify regularly used actions (repetitive code for a programmer, or a sequence of actions in a program) so that the productivity of the user is increased. However, many problems exist, they will be tackled subsequently.
Flaws and macros viruses
Text substitution dangers
There are a few dangers in text substitution macros, like C macros.
The C preprocessor is a powerful tool that can bring clarity to the code or on the contrary, obscure it.
Hiding repeated evaluation
If a macro such as the common function max is defined as
#define max(a,b) (((a) > (b)) ? (a) : (b))
then one of a or b will be evaluated twice when it is used, although from perusal of the calling code this may not be obvious. If these entities are constants this is harmless; if they are function calls then the repeated evaluation may consume resources. Worse, if they are functions with side effects, a second evaluation may lead to unexpected results.
Bracketing arguments
Failure to bracket arguments can lead to unexpected results. For example,
#define double(x) 2 * x
is intended to produce twice the argument. But double(x + 1) will produce 2 * x + 1 instead. The solution is to bracket the arguments:
#define double(x) (2 * (x))
VBA-type/Winword macros flaws
These flaws are completely different from the previous ones : the main problem in VBA-type macros is the viruses. Macro viruses are relatively recent, the first one named Concept, was created in June 1995.
The main reason of that is that the high-level languages used to write macro code are powerful and easy to use, considerably increasing the pool of potential virus writers, and the documents containing the macros can be disseminated rapidly and widely by E-mail.
Macro flaws can be spread quickly and become very destructive.
Different types of macros viruses
System macro viruses
System macro means macros that interact with basic operators in a Word document (like often-used functionalities like FileSave, FileSaveAs which are macros). The strength, and yet the weakness of a Word document is that such types of macros can be redefined by users. This allows the user great flexibility, but this also is a flaw that hackers can exploit to take down control of the document and the computer where the Word document is opened. Such type of viruses use automatic and semi-automatic macros, they can be launched by any action or events without the user's knowledge or consent.
For example, a Word document has the following macros: AutoExec, AutoNew, AutoClose, AutoOpen, AutoExit, so it is easy for a hacker to replace these basic functionalities by a macro virus which has the same name as the original functionality.
Also, a combination of shortcut keys can be associated with a system command (like Ctrl+B to set up the bold font) and the user can change them, replacing them by custom macros. As such, a hacker can modify and create macros that the user will activate by using the shortcut key. Such macros can also be activated by a macro button, like a button "Click here for further information" which seems common and innocuous.
Document-to-macro conversion
A type of macro virus that cuts and pastes the text of a document in the macro. The macro could be invoked with the Auto-open macro so that the text would be re-created when the document (empty) is opened. The user will not notice that the document is empty. The macro could also convert only some parts of the text in order to be less noticeable. Removing macros from the document manually or by using an anti-virus program could lead to a loss of content in the document.
Polymorphic macros
Polymorphic viruses change their code in fundamental ways with each replication in order to avoid detection by anti-virus scanners.
In WordBasic (first name of the language Visual Basic), polymorphic viruses are difficult to do.
Indeed, the macro's polymorphism relies of the encryption of the document. However, the hackers have no control of the encryption key.
Furthermore, the encryption is inefficient: the encrypted macros are just in the document, so the encryption key is too and when a polymorphic macro replicates itself, the key does not change (the replication affects only the macro not the encryption).
In addition to these difficulties, a macro can not modify itself, but another macro can. WordBasic is a powerful language, it allows some operations to the macros:
Rename the variables used in the macro(s).
Insert random comments between the operators of its macro(s)
Insert between the operators of its macros other, ‘do-nothing’ WordBasic operators which do not affect the execution of the virus.
Replace some of its operators with others, equivalent ones, which perform the same function.
Swap around any operators the order of which does not impact the result of the macro’s execution.
Rename the macro(s) themselves to new, randomly selected names each time the virus replicates itself to a new document, with the appropriate changes in these parts of the virus body which refer to these macros.
So, in order to implement macros viruses which can change its contents, hackers have to create another macro which fulfills the task to modify the content of the virus. However, this type of macro viruses is not widespread. Indeed, hackers frequently choose to do macro viruses because they are easy and quick to implement. Making a polymorphic macro requires a lot of knowledge of the WordBasic language (it needs the advanced functionalities) and more time than a "classic" macro virus. Even if a hacker were to make a polymorphic macro, the polymorphism needs to be done, so, the document needs to update and the update can be visible to a user.
Chained macros
During replication, a macro can create do-nothing macros. But this idea can be combined with polymorphic macros, so macros are not necessarily do-nothing; each macro invokes the next one, so they can be arranged in a chain. In such a case, if they are not all removed during a disinfection, some destructive payload is activated. Such an attack can crash the winword processor with an internal error. Since Winword 6.0, the number of macros per template is limited to 150, so the attack is limited, too, but can still be very annoying.
"Mating" macro viruses
Macro viruses can, in some cases, interact between themselves. If two viruses are executed at the same time, both of them can modify the source code of each other.
So, it results a new virus which can not be recognize by the anti-viruses software. But the result is totally random: the macro virus can be more infectious or less infectious, depending upon which part of the virus has been changed.
However, when the 'mating' is unintentional, the resulting macro virus has more chances to be less infectious.
Indeed, in order to replicate itself, it has to know the commands in the source code, but, if it is changed with a random scheme, the macro can not replicate itself.
Nevertheless, it is possible to do such macros intentionally (it is different from polymorphic macros viruses which must use another macro to change their contents) in order to increase the infectivity of the two viruses.
In the example of the article, the macro virus Colors infected a document, but another infected the user's system before : the macro virus Concept.
Both of these viruses use the command AutoOpen, so, at first, the macro virus Colors was detected but the command AutoOpen in it was the command of the macro virus Concept.
Moreover, when Concept duplicates itself, it is unencrypted, but the command in the virus Colors was encrypted (Colors encrypt its commands).
So, replication of the macro virus Concept results in the hybridation of this macro virus (which had infected the user's system first) and Colors.
The "hybrid" could replicate itself only if AutoOpen were not executed; indeed this command comes from Concept, but the body of the hybrid is Colors, so that create some conflicts.
This example shows the potential of mating macro viruses: if a couple of mating macro viruses is created, it will make it more difficult to detect both macro viruses (in this hypothesis, there are only two viruses which mate) by the virus-specific scanners and may reinforce the virility of the viruses.
Fortunately, this type of macro virus is rare (more than the polymorphic macro viruses, one may not even exist), indeed, creating two (or more) which can interact with each other and not reduce the virility (rather reinforce it) is complicated.
Macro virus mutators
Among the worst scenarios in the world of viruses would be a tool allowing one to create a new virus by modifying an existing one.
For executable files, it is hard to create this kind of tool. But it is very simple for macro viruses since sources of macros are always available. Based on the same idea of polymorphic macros, a macro can perform modifications to all macros present in the document. Considering this, there are just a few modifications to make to the macro in order to convert it in a macro virus mutator.
So it is easy to create macro virus generators, and thereby to create quickly several thousands of known viruses.
Parasitic macro viruses
Most macros viruses are stand-alone; they do not depend on other macros (for the infectious part of the virus, not for the replication for some viruses), but some macros viruses do. They are called parasitic macros.
When launched, they check other macros (viruses or not), and append their contents to them. In this way, all of the macros became viruses.
But, this type of macro can not be spread as quickly as stand-alone macros.
Indeed, it depends on other macros, so, without them, the virus can not be spread. So, parasitic macros often are hybrid: they are stand alone and they can infect other macros.
This kind of macro virus poses real problems to the virus-specific anti-virus; in fact, they change the content of other viruses, so that accurate detection is not possible.
Suboptimal anti-virus
There are different types of anti-virus (or scanners), one is the heuristic analysis anti-virus which interprets or emulates macros.
Indeed, to examine all branches of macros require a NP-complete complexity (using backtracking), so in this case, the analysis of one document (which contains macros) would take too much time. Interpreting or emulating a macro would lead to either false positive errors or in macro viruses not detected.
Another type of anti-virus, the integrity checker anti-virus, in some cases, does not work: it only checks documents with extensions DOT or DOC (indeed, some anti-virus producers suggest to their users), but Word documents can reside in others extensions than those two, and the content of the document tends to change often. So, like the heuristic analysis, this can lead to false positives errors, due to the fact that this type of anti-virus checks the whole document.
The last type of anti-virus seen will be the virus-specific scanner. It searches the signature of viruses, so, the type of anti-virus is weaker than the previous ones.
Indeed, the viruses detected by virus-specific scanners are just the ones known by the software producers (so, more updates are needed than in other types of scanners). Moreover, this type of anti-virus is weak against morphing viruses (cf.section above). If a macro virus change its content (so, its signature), it cannot be detected any more by the virus-specific scanners, even if it is the same virus doing the same actions. Its signature does not match the one declared in the virus scanner.
Additional to the responsibility of the anti-virus is the user's responsibility: if a potential macro virus is detected, the user can choose what to do with it: ignore it, quarantine it or destroy it, but the last option is the most dangerous.
The anti-virus can activate some destructive macro viruses which destroy some data when they are deleted by the anti-virus.
So, both virus scanners and users are responsible for the security and the integrity of the documents/computer.
Moreover, even if the anti-virus is not optimal in the virus detection, most macro viruses are detected and the progression in virus detection improves but with creation of new macro viruses.
See also
Macro (computer science)
Macro instruction
Macro-définition (French)
References
Notes
Computer security |
37196658 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database%20encryption | Database encryption | Database encryption can generally be defined as a process that uses an algorithm to transform data stored in a database into "cipher text" that is incomprehensible without first being decrypted. It can therefore be said that the purpose of database encryption is to protect the data stored in a database from being accessed by individuals with potentially "malicious" intentions. The act of encrypting a database also reduces the incentive for individuals to hack the aforementioned database as "meaningless" encrypted data is of little to no use for hackers. There are multiple techniques and technologies available for database encryption, the most important of which will be detailed in this article.
Transparent/External database encryption
Transparent data encryption (often abbreviated as TDE) is used to encrypt an entire database, which therefore involves encrypting "data at rest". Data at rest can generally be defined as "inactive" data that is not currently being edited or pushed across a network. As an example, a text file stored on a computer is "at rest" until it is opened and edited. Data at rest are stored on physical storage media solutions such as tapes or hard disk drives. The act of storing large amounts of sensitive data on physical storage media naturally raises concerns of security and theft. TDE ensures that the data on physical storage media cannot be read by malicious individuals that may have the intention to steal them. Data that cannot be read is worthless, thus reducing the incentive for theft. Perhaps the most important strength that is attributed to TDE is its transparency. Given that TDE encrypts all data it can be said that no applications need to be altered in order for TDE to run correctly. It is important to note that TDE encrypts the entirety of the database as well as backups of the database. The transparent element of TDE has to do with the fact that TDE encrypts on "the page level", which essentially means that data is encrypted when stored and decrypted when it is called into the system's memory. The contents of the database are encrypted using a symmetric key that is often referred to as a "database encryption key".
Column-level encryption
In order to explain column-level encryption it is important to outline basic database structure. A typical relational database is divided into tables that are divided into columns that each have rows of data. Whilst TDE usually encrypts an entire database, column-level encryption allows for individual columns within a database to be encrypted. It is important to establish that the granularity of column-level encryption causes specific strengths and weaknesses to arise when compared to encrypting an entire database. Firstly, the ability to encrypt individual columns allows for column-level encryption to be significantly more flexible when compared to encryption systems that encrypt an entire database such as TDE. Secondly, it is possible to use an entirely unique and separate encryption key for each column within a database. This effectively increases the difficulty of generating rainbow tables which thus implies that the data stored within each column is less likely to be lost or leaked. The main disadvantage associated with column-level database encryption is speed, or a loss thereof. Encrypting separate columns with different unique keys in the same database can cause database performance to decrease, and additionally also decreases the speed at which the contents of the database can be indexed or searched.
Field-level encryption
Experimental work is being done on providing database operations (like searching or arithmetical operations) on encrypted fields without the need to decrypt them. Strong encryption is required to be randomized - a different result must be generated each time. This is known as probabilistic encryption. Field-level encryption is weaker than randomized encryption, but it allows users to test for equality without decrypting the data.
Filesystem-level encryption
Encrypting File System (EFS)
It is important to note that traditional database encryption techniques normally encrypt and decrypt the contents of a database. Databases are managed by "Database Management Systems" (DBMS) that run on top of an existing operating system (OS). This raises a potential security concern, as an encrypted database may be running on an accessible and potentially vulnerable operating system. EFS can encrypt data that is not part of a database system, which implies that the scope of encryption for EFS is much wider when compared to a system such as TDE that is only capable of encrypting database files. Whilst EFS does widen the scope of encryption, it also decreases database performance and can cause administration issues as system administrators require operating system access to use EFS. Due to the issues concerning performance, EFS is not typically used in databasing applications that require frequent database input and output. In order to offset the performance issues it is often recommended that EFS systems be used in environments with few users.
Full disk encryption
BitLocker does not have the same performance concerns associated with EFS.
Symmetric and asymmetric database encryption
Symmetric database encryption
Symmetric encryption in the context of database encryption involves a private key being applied to data that is stored and called from a database. This private key alters the data in a way that causes it to be unreadable without first being decrypted. Data is encrypted when saved, and decrypted when opened given that the user knows the private key. Thus if the data is to be shared through a database the receiving individual must have a copy of the secret key used by the sender in order to decrypt and view the data. A clear disadvantage related to symmetric encryption is that sensitive data can be leaked if the private key is spread to individuals that should not have access to the data. However, given that only one key is involved in the encryption process it can generally be said that speed is an advantage of symmetric encryption.
Asymmetric database encryption
Asymmetric encryption expands on symmetric encryption by incorporating two different types of keys into the encryption method: private and public keys. A public key can be accessed by anyone and is unique to one user whereas a private key is a secret key that is unique to and only known by one user. In most scenarios the public key is the encryption key whereas the private key is the decryption key. As an example, if individual A would like to send a message to individual B using asymmetric encryption, he would encrypt the message using Individual B's public key and then send the encrypted version. Individual B would then be able to decrypt the message using his private key. Individual C would not be able to decrypt Individual A's message, as Individual C's private key is not the same as Individual B's private key. Asymmetric encryption is often described as being more secure in comparison to symmetric database encryption given that private keys do not need to be shared as two separate keys handle encryption and decryption processes. For performance reasons, asymmetric encryption is used in Key management rather than to encrypt the data which is usually done with symmetric encryption.
Key management
The "Symmetric & Asymmetric Database Encryption" section introduced the concept of public and private keys with basic examples in which users exchange keys. The act of exchanging keys becomes impractical from a logistical point of view, when many different individuals need to communicate with each-other. In database encryption the system handles the storage and exchange of keys. This process is called key management. If encryption keys are not managed and stored properly, highly sensitive data may be leaked. Additionally, if a key management system deletes or loses a key, the information that was encrypted via said key is essentially rendered "lost" as well. The complexity of key management logistics is also a topic that needs to be taken into consideration. As the number of application that a firm uses increases, the number of keys that need to be stored and managed increases as well. Thus it is necessary to establish a way in which keys from all applications can be managed through a single channel, which is also known as enterprise key management. Enterprise Key Management Solutions are sold by a great number of suppliers in the technology industry. These systems essentially provide a centralised key management solution that allows administrators to manage all keys in a system through one hub. Thus it can be said that the introduction of enterprise key management solutions has the potential to lessen the risks associated with key management in the context of database encryption, as well as to reduce the logistical troubles that arise when many individuals attempt to manually share keys.
Hashing
Hashing is used in database systems as a method to protect sensitive data such as passwords; however it is also used to improve the efficiency of database referencing. Inputted data is manipulated by a hashing algorithm. The hashing algorithm converts the inputted data into a string of fixed length that can then be stored in a database. Hashing systems have two crucially important characteristics that will now be outlined. Firstly, hashes are "unique and repeatable". As an example, running the word "cat" through the same hashing algorithm multiple times will always yield the same hash, however it is extremely difficult to find a word that will return the same hash that "cat" does. Secondly, hashing algorithms are not reversible. To relate this back to the example provided above, it would be nearly impossible to convert the output of the hashing algorithm back to the original input, which was "cat". In the context of database encryption, hashing is often used in password systems. When a user first creates their password it is run through a hashing algorithm and saved as a hash. When the user logs back into the website, the password that they enter is run through the hashing algorithm and is then compared to the stored hash. Given the fact that hashes are unique, if both hashes match then it is said that the user inputted the correct password. One example of a popular hash function is SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) 256.
Salting
One issue that arises when using hashing for password management in the context of database encryption is the fact that a malicious user could potentially use an Input to Hash table rainbow table for the specific hashing algorithm that the system uses. This would effectively allow the individual to decrypt the hash and thus have access to stored passwords. A solution for this issue is to 'salt' the hash. Salting is the process of encrypting more than just the password in a database. The more information that is added to a string that is to be hashed, the more difficult it becomes to collate rainbow tables. As an example, a system may combine a user's email and password into a single hash. This increase in the complexity of a hash means that it is far more difficult and thus less likely for rainbow tables to be generated. This naturally implies that the threat of sensitive data loss is minimised through salting hashes.
Pepper
Some systems incorporate a "pepper" in addition to salts in their hashing systems. Pepper systems are controversial, however it is still necessary to explain their use. A pepper is a value that is added to a hashed password that has been salted. This pepper is often unique to one website or service, and it is important to note that the same pepper is usually added to all passwords saved in a database. In theory the inclusion of peppers in password hashing systems has the potential to decrease the risk of rainbow (Input : Hash) tables, given the system-level specificity of peppers, however the real world benefits of pepper implementation are highly disputed.
Application-level encryption
In application-level encryption, the process of encrypting data is completed by the application that has been used to generate or modify the data that is to be encrypted. Essentially this means that data is encrypted before it is written to the database. This unique approach to encryption allows for the encryption process to be tailored to each user based on the information (such as entitlements or roles) that the application knows about its users.
According to Eugene Pilyankevich, "Application-level encryption is becoming a good practice for systems with increased security requirements, with a general drift toward perimeter-less and more exposed cloud systems".
Advantages of application-level encryption
One of the most important advantages of application-level encryption is the fact that application-level encryption has the potential to simplify the encryption process used by a company. If an application encrypts the data that it writes/modifies from a database then a secondary encryption tool will not need to be integrated into the system. The second main advantage relates to the overarching theme of theft. Given that data is encrypted before it is written to the server, a hacker would need to have access to the database contents as well as the applications that were used to encrypt and decrypt the contents of the database in order to decrypt sensitive data.
Disadvantages of application-level encryption
The first important disadvantage of Application-level encryption is that applications used by a firm will need to be modified to encrypt data themselves. This has the potential to consume a significant amount of time and other resources. Given the nature of opportunity cost firms may not believe that application-level encryption is worth the investment. In addition, application-level encryption may have a limiting effect on database performance. If all data on a database is encrypted by a multitude of different applications then it becomes impossible to index or search data on the database. To ground this in reality in the form of a basic example: it would be impossible to construct a glossary in a single language for a book that was written in 30 languages. Lastly the complexity of key management increases, as multiple different applications need to have the authority and access to encrypt data and write it to the database.
Risks of database encryption
When discussing the topic of database encryption it is imperative to be aware of the risks that are involved in the process. The first set of risks are related to key management. If private keys are not managed in an "isolated system", system administrators with malicious intentions may have the ability to decrypt sensitive data using keys that they have access to. The fundamental principle of keys also gives rise to a potentially devastating risk: if keys are lost then the encrypted data is essentially lost as well, as decryption without keys is almost impossible.
References
Cryptography
Data security |
37217701 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge%20function | Sponge function | In cryptography, a sponge function or sponge construction is any of a class of algorithms with finite internal state that take an input bit stream of any length and produce an output bit stream of any desired length. Sponge functions have both theoretical and practical uses. They can be used to model or implement many cryptographic primitives, including cryptographic hashes, message authentication codes, mask generation functions, stream ciphers, pseudo-random number generators, and authenticated encryption.
Construction
A sponge function is built from three components:
a state memory, S, containing b bits,
a function that transforms the state memory (often it is a pseudorandom permutation of the state values)
a padding function P
The state memory is divided into two sections: one of size r (the bitrate) and the remaining part of size c (the capacity). These sections are denoted R and C respectively.
The padding function appends enough bits to the input string so that the length of the padded input is a whole multiple of the bitrate, r. The padded input can thus be broken into r-bit blocks.
Operation
The sponge function operates as follows:
The state S is initialized to zero
The input string is padded. This means the input is transformed into blocks of r bits using the padding function P.
for each r-bit block B of the padded input:
R is replaced with R XOR B (using bitwise XOR)
S is replaced by f(S)
This process "absorbs" (in the sponge metaphor) all blocks of the padded input string.
The sponge function output is now ready to be produced ("squeezed out") as follows:
the R portion of the state memory is output
repeat until enough bits are output:
S is replaced by f(S)
the R portion of the state memory is output
If less than r bits remain to be output, then R will be truncated (only part of R will be output).
Another metaphor describes the state memory as an "entropy pool", with input "poured into" the pool, and the transformation function referred to as "stirring the entropy pool".
Note that input bits are never XORed into the C portion of the state memory, nor are any bits of C ever output directly. The extent to which C is altered by the input depends entirely on the transformation function f. In hash applications, resistance to collision or preimage attacks depends on C, and its size (the "capacity" c) is typically twice the desired resistance level.
Duplex construction
It is also possible to absorb and squeeze in an alternating fashion. This operation is called the duplex construction or duplexing. It can be the basis of a single pass authenticated encryption system.
The state S is initialized to zero
R is XORed with the first r-bit block of the input
S is replaced by f(S)
R is now the first r bits of the output.
R is XORed with the next r-bit block of the input
S is replaced by f(S)
R is now the next r bits of the output.
…
Overwrite mode
It is possible to omit the XOR operations during absorption, while still maintaining the chosen security level. In this mode, in the absorbing phase, the next block of the input overwrites the R part of the state. This allows keeping a smaller state between the steps. Since the R part will be overwritten anyway, it can be discarded in advance, only the C part must be kept.
Applications
Sponge functions have both theoretical and practical uses. In theoretical cryptanalysis, a random sponge function is a sponge construction where f is a random permutation or transformation, as appropriate. Random sponge functions capture more of the practical limitations of cryptographic primitives than does the widely used random oracle model, in particular the finite internal state.
The sponge construction can also be used to build practical cryptographic primitives. For example, Keccak cryptographic sponge with a 1600-bit state has been selected by NIST as the winner in the SHA-3 competition. The strength of Keccak derives from the intricate, multi-round permutation f that its authors developed. The RC4-redesign called Spritz refers to the sponge-construct to define the algorithm.
For other examples, a sponge function can be used to build authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD), as well as a password hashing schemes.
References
Cryptographic hash functions
Theory of cryptography |
37220648 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link%20Motion%20Inc | Link Motion Inc | Link Motion Inc, formerly NQ Mobile, is a multinational technology company that develops, licenses, supports and sells software and services that focus on the smart ride business. Link Motion sells carputers for car businesses, consumer ride sharing services, as well as legacy mobile security, productivity and other related applications. Link Motion maintains dual headquarters in Dallas, Texas, United States and Beijing, China. A Court Receiver, lawyer Robert Seiden, was appointed over Link Motion in February 2019 in the United States in the federal district court in the Southern District of New York by Judge Victor Marrero. The Receiver removed Wenyong “Vincent” Shi as chairman and chief executive officer, and replaced him by appointing Mr. Lilin “Francis” Guo.
History
2005–2011: Founding and company beginnings
Link Motion was founded as NQ Mobile in 2005 by Dr. Henry Lin, formerly the youngest associate professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Dr. Vincent Shi. The company began its business by offering mobile security services and later started offering productivity products to families and enterprise customers. Their services were compatible with a wide range of handset models and almost all currently available operating systems for smartphones, including iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS. NQ Mobile also collaborated closely with other mobile ecosystem participants, including chipmakers, handset manufacturers, wireless carriers, third party payment channels, retailers and other distribution channels in order to broaden the reach of their services.
NQ Mobile's initial focus was the China marketplace. The company cooperated with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, the three largest mobile companies in China. NQ Mobile also cooperated with Nokia and Sony to pre-installed NQ products on their companywide mobile phones. NQ Mobile has also worked closely with Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android, developing mobile security applications based on those operating systems. In addition, Samsung, Motorola, Dopod, Lenovo, Tencent, and Baidu have all been the company's partners.
In August 2011, Chris Stier was appointed managing director for the Americas and became responsible for NQ Mobile's business development throughout the Americas, overseeing sales and marketing operations as well as establishing strategic partnerships with key industry players in the region.
In October 2011, Geoff Casely was appointed managing director for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region based in London and became responsible for NQ Mobile's business development in EMEA and building strategic partner relationships.
2012–2013: International expansion
Omar Khan joined the company in January 2012 as co-CEO to direct the company alongside the current chairman and chief executive officer Dr. Henry Lin and the company changed its corporate name from NetQin Mobile Inc. to NQ Mobile Inc. Mr. Khan focused on the global expansion of NQ Mobile into markets such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Korea and India. Dr. Lin continued to focus on the core markets such as China and Taiwan among other developing countries.
During the first half of 2012, NQ Mobile expanded its international management with the additions of Gavin Kim as chief product officer, Conrad Edwards as chief experience officer, and Victoria Repice as senior director of product management.
NQ Mobile expanded its mobile internet services in November 2012 with the acquisition of Feiliu. Feiliu was founded in 2009 and was subsequently rebranded to FL Mobile. It is a leading mobile interest-based community platform with coverage in China that engages users in real-time mobile online activities. FL Mobile provides application recommendation services, interest-based exchanges, and mobile games to its user communities. According to data published by third party marketing research company Sino MR, FL Mobile was the top iOS mobile game publisher and operator in the Chinese market in December 2012. FL Mobile had 87.3 million registered users and 16.1 million monthly active users by the end of June 2013.
EnfoDesk Analysys International (EnfoDesk), a major market tracking company, reported that FL Mobile became the number one publisher on the iOS platform and increased its market share to 36.6 percent in the first half of 2013. The first-place ranking included the top spot for both revenues and number of mobile users. The report also claims FL Mobile ranks third place across all platforms for both revenues and mobile users and maintains 18.8 percent share of total revenues in the first half of the 2013.
NQ Mobile also expanded into enterprise security products and services starting in May 2012 when it acquired 55% of NationSky and the remaining 45% in July 2013. Founded in 2005, NationSky is a leader in providing mobile services to more than 1,250 enterprises in China. By working with carriers and smart phone platform providers, NationSky delivers device agnostic managed mobile services, self developed mobile device management (MDM) software NQSky and other mobile SaaS services. Headquartered in Beijing, NationSky also has offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
In June 2013, NQ Mobile hired Matt Mathison to the senior management position of vice president, Capital Markets.
In August 2013, NQ Mobile opened a second global headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The company also further expanded its products and service offerings with the acquisitions of Shanghai Yinlong Information and Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yinlong") to develop content-based music information retrieval (MIR) technology based on multi platforms, NQ Mobile (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. ("NQ Shenzhen") to offer online security education and value added services, Best Partners Ltd. ("Best Partner") for mobile advertising, Beijing Tianya Co., Ltd. ("Tianya") for mobile healthcare applications development and search engine marketing in the healthcare industry in China, Chengdu Ruifeng Technology Co., Ltd. ("Ruifeng") to provide enterprise mobility system development and iOS training programs, Tianjin Huayong Wireless Technology Co., Ltd. ("Huayong ") for research and development and marketing of live wallpapers for smart phones using the Android operating system, and expanded its market with NQ Mobile KK ("NQ Japan") in Japan.
2014–2015: Consolidation and divestments
In 2014 NQ Mobile continued expanding through acquisitions with Beijing Trustek Technology Co., Ltd. ("Trustek") to provide enterprise mobility services, including system management, application development, business intelligence and maintenance services, Yipai Tianxia Network Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yipai") to provide mobile intelligent interactive advertising services, through integration of media channels of outdoor, newspapers, magazines etc., Beijing Showself Technology Co., Ltd. ("Showself") to provide entertainment and dating platforms on mobile internet, and established Beijing NQ Mobile Co., Ltd. ("NQ Yizhuang") to engage in software design and development for computer and mobile devices and other technology consulting services. The company also took a controlling stake in Link Motion.
In May 2015, Mr. Zemin Xu took over as CEO and the company held a press conference in Beijing to announce their new business strategy and reorganized along two lines, a technical division representing mobile security, mobile enterprise and mobile health care, and an entertainment division covering mobile advertising, mobile entertainment and mobile games. During the conference NQ Mobile also announced its new Showself Entertainment brand which includes Showself, Showself Live Wallpaper, Showself Music Radar and Showself Launcher. In June 2015, Mr. Roland Wu was appointed as chief financial officer.
In August 2015 the company along with the other existing shareholders of FL Mobile Inc. agreed to sell to Beijing Jinxing Rongda Investment Management Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd, the entire stake in FL Mobile Inc. that they currently hold for no less than RMB 4 billion (or approximately no less than US$626 million) and also the sale of all of NQ Mobile's interest in Beijing NationSky Network Technology Co., Ltd., to Mr. Hou Shuli, a founder and senior management member of Beijing NationSky, for an aggregate consideration of US$80 million. The company completed the divestment of NationSky for $80 million at the end of 2015.
2016–Present: Business transformation
Throughout 2016 NQ Mobile continued to consolidate and began shifting its core business to smart cars while working on the divestments of FL Mobile and other businesses. On March 30, 2017, the company announced a new agreement to sell FL Mobile for RMB 4 billion along with Beijing Showself for RMB 1.23 million to Tongfang Investment Fund Series SPC, an affiliate of Tsinghua Tongfang. The divestment of FL Mobile and Beijing Showself was completed in December 2017.
In January 2018, NQ Mobile announced that its board of directors approved a rebranding effort around its new focus as a vehicular automation and mobility as a service company by change its name from “NQ Mobile Inc.” to “Link Motion Inc.” and its ticker from “NQ” to “LKM.”
In February 2018, the company hired MZ Group for investor relations and financial communications across all key markets and changed its name to Link Motion Inc. and their ticker to LKM.
In March 2018, Link Motion Inc. appointed Mr. Duo Tang to executive vice president and the head of the company's smart ride business.
In February 2019, the federal court in New York appointed Robert W. Seiden, a lawyer and former prosecutor, as Receiver over Link Motion to preserve the assets of the company. Seiden was also appointed receiver over LKM and its subsidiaries in Hong Kong by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court of the First Instance, along with Lauren Lau of KLC. The Receiver removed Wenyong “Vincent” Shi as chairman and chief executive officer of Link Motion and replaced him by appointing Mr. Lilin “Francis” Guo.
Products
Mobile value added services
Freemium products including NQ Mobile Security Applications, Vault and Family Guardian.
Advertising
Revenue sources include third-party application referrals from mobile applications, banner ads and intelligent interactive advertising services through user modeling and image recognition technology to search for advertisers’ products and services that are of potential interest.
Enterprise mobility
Trustek offers mobility strategy consulting, architecture design, hardware and software procurement and deployment, mobile device and application management, training, maintenance and other ongoing support services to enterprise customers.
Timeline of key events
2005–2011
In October 2005, the company launched its first mobile security product NetQin 1.0.
In November 2009, The 2009 China Frost & Sullivan Award for Mobile Security Market Leadership of the year was presented to NetQin Tech. Co., Ltd. (NetQin) for its leading market share in China mobile security market, continued commitment and excellence in R&D, and outstanding contribution to the industry.
Deloitte Technology ranked the company 9th in the Fast 50 China Program for its growth of 1687% in the past three years in October, 2010.
In May 2011, The company announced that its initial public offering of 7,750,000 American depositary shares ("ADSs"), each representing five Class A common shares of the company, was priced at $11.50 per ADS, with a total offering size of US$89.125 million, assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option.
On May 5, 2011, NQ Mobile started trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “NQ”.
In July 2011, NQ Mobile reached 100 Million registered users nearly 100% growth since June, 2010 and signed a framework agreement with Telefónica, S.A. (Telefónica) to provide mobile Internet services to the subscribers of Telefónica. Under the agreement, NQ Mobile's mobile internet services will be integrated in Telefónica's and its subsidiary's App Store and in mobile devices distributed by Telefónica and subsidiaries.
In September 2011, NQ Mobile and Brightstar Corp. signed a global go-to-market agreement to promote adoption of NQ Mobile security products. The company also opened the NQ Mobile Security Research Center based in Raleigh, N.C. led by Dr. Xuxian Jiang, who was appointed chief scientist.
2012–2015
In January 2012, NetQin launched its new "NQ Mobile" brand, under which it now conducts all of its international business, and announced plans to change the company's corporate name from NetQin Mobile Inc. to NQ Mobile Inc. The company also signed an agreement to pre-install NQ Mobile Security on Motorola Android smartphones in China and released a new version of its antivirus software, Mobile Security V6.0 for Android.
In February 2012, NQ Mobile integrated the BlueVia payment API from Telefónica, providing a mobile payment option to Telefónica's subscribers.
In April 2012, NQ Mobile announced that The Cellular Connection (TCC) will offer NQ Mobile Security at more than 800 Verizon Wireless Premium Retail locations across the U.S. Rollout of this program will begin with availability at TCC's nearly 300 corporate stores.
In May 2012, NQ Mobile visited the NYSE to celebrate the company's 1-year anniversary of listing on the NYSE. In honor of the occasion, Omar Khan and Yu Lin, CO-CEOs of NQ Mobile, rang The Closing Bell. The company also acquired 55% of Beijing NationSky Network Technology, Inc. ("NationSky"), a provider of mobile services to enterprises in China and signed a collaboration agreement with A Wireless to offer NQ Mobile Guard in more than 125 Verizon Wireless Premium Retail locations in the US.
In August 2012, NQ Mobile and MediaTek Inc. reached an agreement regarding NQ Mobile's acquisition of approximately one-third interest in Hesine Technologies International Worldwide Inc. ("Hesine"), a wholly owned subsidiary of MediaTek and a premier mobile messaging provider. NQ Mobile's co-founder, chairman and co-CEO, Henry Lin joined the board of directors of Hesine. The company also announced the launch of NQ Mobile Vault for iPhone.
In September 2012, NQ Mobile announced the launch of NQ Family Guardian.
In November 2012, acquired Beijing Feiliu Jiutian Technology Co. ("Feiliu") and later rebranded it to FL Mobile. The company also announced that epay Australia, a Division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), will offer NQ Mobile Guard in major retail locations across Australia, including Harvey Norman and Allphones, UK retailer Phones 4u will offer NQ Mobile Security at over 600 retail locations across the UK.
In December 2012, NQ Mobile announced the launch of a proprietary security check service for HTC's App Store in mainland China.
In July 2013, NQ Mobile agrees to purchase the remaining 45 percent stake in its subsidiary, NationSky.
In September 2013, NQ Mobile announced the release of "Music Radar," a content-based music information retrieval (MIR) application from one of its subsidiaries, Yinlong making the app available in China for both Android and iOS platforms. The app was later renamed Doreso.
In October 2013, NQ's stock “fell a shattering 47 percent”, followed by lawsuits. The short-seller research firm Muddy Waters LLC alleged that "at least 72 percent of the company’s revenue in China is fictitious and that its actual market share in China is 1.5 percent instead of 55 percent that it had claimed". An independent investigation conducted by an independent special committee of its board of directors and carried out by its independent counsel Shearman & Sterling LLP and Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory Services Limited acting as forensic accountants found the companies disclosures were verifiable. However, in April 2015, the co-CEO of NQ Mobile, Omar Khan, stepped down after the stock had fallen nearly 84 percent.
Reception
NQ Mobile Security and NQ Family Guardian were both selected as top 25 apps at the Mobile Apps Showdown for CES 2013 in December, 2012.
NQ Mobile was granted the 2011 Technology Pioneer Award by the World Economic Forum for its technology leadership and innovation in mobile security. “The company’s heavy investment in R&D has resulted in 23 patented and patent-pending technologies, giving the company a leading edge in the burgeoning mobile security market.”
Time Magazine named the company one of the “10 Start-Ups That Will Change Your Life” in September, 2010.
NQ Mobile Security was selected as a top 20 app at the Global Mobile Internet Conference Silicon Valley (GMIC SV) in October, 2012. In addition, NQ Mobile Vault for Android was selected as a top 100 app.
Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (2010)
Reviews and analysis of products
NQ Mobile Security received 4 out of 5 stars when reviewed by PC Advisor.
NQ Mobile Vault received 4 out of 5 star, both from CNet and from PC Magazines.
In April 2015 an analysis of the NQ Vault product indicated that it only encrypted the first 128 bytes of the data, leaving the rest unencrypted. NQ Mobile responded by saying that the encryption level was "appropriate".
Partnerships
In August 2011, NQ Mobile and MediaTek reached an agreement on mobile security cooperation whereby MediaTek will make NQ Mobile's mobile security service available to the MediaTek's smartphone chipset. The company also signed an agreement with Taiwan Mobile to provide mobile anti-virus services to Taiwan Mobile subscribers in Taiwan.
In June 2012, NQ Mobile announced an alliance with TDMobility, the joint U.S. venture between Brightstar Corp and Tech Data Corporation. The collaboration will enable TDMobility to bring NQ Enterprise Shield to Tech Data's network of 65,000 Value Added Resellers across the US, serving small, medium, and large businesses. The company also announced the official global launch of NQ Enterprise Shield and scientists from NQ Mobile's Mobile Security Research Center, in collaboration with North Carolina State University disclosed a new way to detect mobile threats without relying on known malware samples and their signatures.
In October 2012, NQ Mobile announced that its applications, including NQ Mobile Guard, NQ Mobile Vault for Android and NQ Family Guardian, will be offered by GoWireless at more than 350 and Wireless at more than 80 Verizon Wireless Premium Retail locations across the United States.
References
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Mobile security
Mobile technology companies
Mobile device management
Online advertising services and affiliate networks
Cloud computing providers
Software companies based in Beijing
Chinese brands
Software companies established in 2005
Chinese companies established in 2005
2011 initial public offerings |
37242195 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F2FS | F2FS | F2FS (Flash-Friendly File System) is a flash file system initially developed by Samsung Electronics for the Linux kernel.
The motive for F2FS was to build a file system that, from the start, takes into account the characteristics of NAND flash memory-based storage devices (such as solid-state disks, eMMC, and SD cards), which are widely used in computer systems ranging from mobile devices to servers.
F2FS was designed on a basis of a log-structured file system approach, which is adapted to newer forms of storage. Jaegeuk Kim, the principal F2FS author, has stated that it remedies some known issues of the older log-structured file systems, such as the snowball effect of wandering trees and high cleaning overhead. In addition, since a NAND-based storage device shows different characteristics according to its internal geometry or flash memory management scheme (such as the Flash Translation Layer or FTL), it supports various parameters not only for configuring on-disk layout, but also for selecting allocation and cleaning algorithms.
Features
Multi-head logging
Multi-level hash table for directory entries
Static/dynamic hot and cold data separation
Adaptive logging scheme
Configurable operational units
Dual checkpoint
Roll-back and roll-forward recovery
Heap-style block allocation
TRIM/FITRIM support
Online fs defragmentation/file defragmentation
Inline xattrs/data/dir
Offline filesystem check (Check and fix inconsistency)
Atomic operations
Filesystem-level encryption
Offline resizing (shrinking not supported.)
Inner periodically data flush
Extent cache
Transparent file compression using LZO or LZ4 (with Linux 5.6), or zstd (with Linux 5.7)
Design
On-disk layout
F2FS divides the whole volume into a number of segments, each of which is fixed at 2 MB. A section is composed of consecutive segments, and a zone consists of a set of sections. By default, section and zone sizes are set to the same size, but users can easily modify the size with mkfs.
F2FS splits the entire volume into six areas, and all except the superblock area consist of multiple segments as described below.
Superblock (SB)
The SB is located at the beginning of the partition. There are two copies to avoid file-system corruption. It contains basic partition information and some default F2FS parameters.
Checkpoint (CP)
The CP contains file system information, bitmaps for valid NAT/SIT sets, orphan inode lists, and summary entries of current active segments.
Segment Information Table (SIT)
The SIT contains the valid block count and validity bitmap of all the Main Area blocks.
Node Address Table (NAT)
The NAT is an address table for the Main Area node blocks.
Segment Summary Area (SSA)
The SSA contains entries which contain the owner information of the Main Area data and node blocks.
Main Area
The main area contains file and directory data and their indices.
In order to avoid misalignment between file system and flash storage, F2FS aligns the start block address of the CP with the segment size. It also aligns the Main Area start block address with the zone size by reserving some segments in the SSA area.
Metadata structure
F2FS uses the checkpoint scheme to maintain file system integrity. At mount time, F2FS first tries to find the last valid checkpoint data by scanning the CP area. In order to reduce the scanning time, F2FS uses only two copies of the CP. One of them always indicates the last valid data, which is called a shadow copy mechanism. In addition to the CP, the NAT and SIT also use the shadow copy mechanism. For file system consistency, each CP points to which NAT and SIT copies are valid.
Index structure
The key data structure is the "node". Similar to traditional file structures, F2FS has three types of nodes: inode, direct node, indirect node. F2FS assigns 4 KB to an inode block which contains 923 data block indices, two direct node pointers, two indirect node pointers, and one double indirect node pointer as described below. A direct node block contains 1018 data block indices, and an indirect node block contains 1018 node block indices. Thus, one inode block (i.e., a file) covers:
4 KB × (923 + 2×1018 + 2×10182 + 10183) = 3.94 TB
Note that all the node blocks are mapped by the NAT, which means that the location of each node is translated by the NAT. To mitigate the wandering tree problem, F2FS is able to cut off the propagation of node updates caused by leaf data writes.
Directory structure
A directory entry (dentry) occupies 11 bytes, which consists of the following attributes.
A dentry block consists of 214 dentry slots and file names. A bitmap is used to represent whether each dentry is valid or not. A dentry block occupies 4 KB and has the following composition:
Dentry Block (4 K) = bitmap (27 bytes) + reserved (3 bytes) +
dentries (11 * 214 bytes) + file name (8 * 214 bytes)
F2FS implements multi-level hash tables for the directory structure. Each level has a hash table with a dedicated number of hash buckets as shown below. Note that "A(2B)" means a bucket includes 2 data blocks.
Term
A indicates bucket
B indicates block
N indicates MAX_DIR_HASH_DEPTH
level #0 A(2B)
level #1 A(2B) - A(2B)
level #2 A(2B) - A(2B) - A(2B) - A(2B)
...
level #N/2 A(2B) - A(2B) - A(2B) - A(2B) - A(2B) - ... - A(2B)
...
level #N A(4B) - A(4B) - A(4B) - A(4B) - A(4B) - ... - A(4B)
When F2FS finds a file name in a directory, first a hash value of the file name is calculated. Then, F2FS scans the hash table in level #0 to find the dentry consisting of the file name and its inode number. If not found, F2FS scans the next hash table in level #1. In this way, F2FS scans hash tables in each level incrementally from 1 to N. In each level F2FS needs to scan only one bucket determined by the following equation, which shows O(log(# of files)) complexity.
bucket number to scan in level #n = (hash value) % (# of buckets in level #n)
In the case of file creation, F2FS finds empty consecutive slots that cover the file name. F2FS searches the empty slots in the hash tables of whole levels from 1 to N in the same way as the lookup operation.
Default block allocation
At runtime, F2FS manages six active logs inside the "Main Area:" Hot/Warm/Cold node and Hot/Warm/Cold data.
LFS has two schemes for free space management: threaded log and copy-and-compaction. The copy-and-compaction scheme which is known as cleaning, is well-suited for devices showing very good sequential write performance, since free segments are served all the time for writing new data. However, it suffers from cleaning overhead during high utilization. Conversely, the threaded log scheme suffers from random writes, but no cleaning process is needed. F2FS adopts a hybrid scheme where the copy-and-compaction scheme is adopted by default, but the policy is dynamically changed to the threaded log scheme according to the file system status.
In order to align F2FS with underlying flash-based storage, F2FS allocates a segment in a unit of a section. F2FS expects the section size to be the same as the garbage collection unit size in FTL. With respect to the mapping granularity in FTL, F2FS allocates each section of the active logs to as many different zones as possible. FTL can write the active log data into one allocation unit according to its mapping granularity.
Cleaning process
F2FS does cleaning both on demand, and in the background. On-demand cleaning is triggered when there are not enough free segments to serve VFS calls. The background cleaner is executed by a kernel thread, and triggers the cleaning job when the system is idle.
F2FS supports two victim selection policies: greedy, and cost-benefit algorithms. In the greedy algorithm, F2FS selects a victim segment having the smallest number of valid blocks. In the cost-benefit algorithm, F2FS selects a victim segment according to the segment age and the number of valid blocks in order to address the log block thrashing problem present in the greedy algorithm. F2FS uses the greedy algorithm for on-demand cleaning, the background cleaner uses the cost-benefit algorithm.
In order to identify whether the data in the victim segment are valid or not, F2FS manages a bitmap. Each bit represents the validity of a block, and the bitmap is composed of a bit stream covering whole blocks in the Main Area.
Adoption
Motorola Mobility has used F2FS in their Moto G/E/X and Droid phones since 2012. Google first used F2FS in their Nexus 9 in 2014. However Google's other products didn't adopt F2FS until the Pixel 3 when F2FS was updated with inline crypto hardware support.
Huawei has used F2FS since the Huawei P9 in 2016. OnePlus has used F2FS in the OnePlus 3T. ZTE has used F2FS since the ZTE Axon 10 Pro in 2019.
Arch Linux and Gentoo Linux support F2FS, Debian supports it from version 10 upwards as well.
See also
Comparison of file systems
List of flash file systems
References
External links
FAST '15 - F2FS: A New File System for Flash Storage (2015-02-17)
WHAT IS Flash-Friendly File System (F2FS) documentation for Linux
Flash Friendly File System (F2FS), Embedded Linux Conference (2013-02-22)
LWN.net: An f2fs teardown (2012-10-10)
eMMC/SSDFile SystemTuningMethodology (2013-05-24)
Embedded Linux
Flash file systems supported by the Linux kernel
Free special-purpose file systems
Compression file systems |
37272128 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back%20in%20Time%20%28Linux%20software%29 | Back in Time (Linux software) | Back In Time is a backup application for Linux. It has versions that integrate favorably in GNOME and KDE SC 4 and is available directly from the repositories of many Linux distributions. Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL), it is free software.
Back In Time uses rsync as backend and has the characteristic feature of using hard links for files which are identical in snapshots at different times, thus using disk space just once for files that remained unchanged. It is possible to use several backup profiles, e.g. for backups on different hard disks and also to create schedules. Symbolic links can be backed up, both absolute and relative ones, but hard links cannot be treated as such due to the used backup method. Back In Time also supports encryption of backups and backup over SSH.
Advantages of the hard link method are that it is easy to look at snapshots of the system at different times and also easy to remove old snapshots compared to incremental backup methods which save difference information between consecutive backup times. However, a drawback of Back In Time is that it does not allow for compression, and requires file systems that support hard links on the backup location.
User interface
There is a graphical interface written in Qt.
See also
The standard backup tool of Mac OS X, Time Machine, works on the same principles.
References
Back In Time – A Simple backup tool for ubuntu
External links
Back In Time code hosting
Free backup software
Backup software for Linux
Software that uses Qt
Linux-only free software |
37306130 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide%20of%20Amanda%20Todd | Suicide of Amanda Todd | Amanda Michelle Todd (November 27, 1996 – October 10, 2012) was a 15-year-old Canadian student and victim of cyberbullying who hanged herself at her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. Before her death, Todd posted a video on YouTube in which she used a series of flash cards to tell her experience of being blackmailed into exposing her breasts via webcam, and of being bullied and physically assaulted. The video went viral after her death, resulting in international media attention. The video has had more than 14 million views as of February 2022. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and British Columbia Coroners Service launched investigations into the suicide.
In response to her death, Christy Clark, the Premier of British Columbia, made an online statement of condolence and suggested a national discussion on criminalizing cyberbullying. Also, a motion was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons to propose a study of the scope of bullying in Canada, and for more funding and support for anti-bullying organizations. Todd's mother Carol established the Amanda Todd Trust, receiving donations to support anti-bullying awareness education and programs for young people with mental health problems.
Background and suicide
On September 7, 2012, Todd posted a 9-minute YouTube video titled My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self-harm, which showed her using a series of flashcards to tell of her experiences being bullied. The video went viral after her death on October 10, 2012, receiving over 1,600,000 views by October 13, 2012, with news websites from around the world linking to it.
During the video, Todd writes that when she was in grade 7 (2009–10), around the same time she moved in with her father, she used video chat to meet new people over the Internet and received compliments on her looks. A stranger convinced Todd to bare her breasts on a webcam stream, saving frames using screen capturing, after attempting to do so for a year. He later blackmailed her by threatening to give the topless photo to her friends unless she gave him a "show"; she also featured briefly on the faux animated news show Daily Capper on BlogTV in an incident that attracted the vigilante attentions of the group Anonymous after her suicide. An episode of Daily Capper that attempted to take the moral high ground, very different in tone from their usual material, was released a month after her death.
Todd wrote that during the Christmas 2010 break, police informed her at 4:00 a.m. that the photo was circulating on the Internet. She wrote that she experienced anxiety, depression, and panic disorder due to having been sexually exploited online and cyberbullied. Her family moved to a new home, where Todd later said she began using alcohol and other drugs.
A year later, Todd's blackmailer reappeared, creating a Facebook profile that used the topless photo as its profile image and contacting classmates at her new school. Again, Todd was teased, eventually changing schools for a second time. She wrote that she began chatting to "an old guy friend" who contacted her. The friend invited Todd to his house, where they had sex while his girlfriend was on holiday. The following week, the boy's girlfriend and a group of about 15 others confronted Todd at school, shouting insults, with the boy's girlfriend punching her; Todd fell to the ground, then lay in a ditch, where her father found her. After the attack, Todd attempted suicide by drinking bleach, but survived after being rushed to hospital to have her stomach pumped. "It killed me inside and I thought I was gonna actually die", Todd commented in her video.
After returning home, Todd discovered abusive messages about her suicide attempt posted to Facebook. In March 2012, her family moved to another city to start afresh, but Todd was unable to escape the past. According to her mother, "Every time she moved schools he would go undercover and become a Facebook friend. What the guy did was he went online to the kids who went to [the new school] and said that he was going to be a new student — that he was starting school the following week and that he wanted some friends and could they friend him on Facebook. He eventually gathered people's names and sent Todd's video to her new school", including students, teachers and parents. Six months later, further messages and abuse were still being posted to social networking sites. With Todd's mental state worsening, she began to engage in self-mutilation and cutting. Despite taking her prescribed antidepressants and receiving counseling, she overdosed and was hospitalized for two days.
Todd was taunted by other students at her school for her low grades, a consequence of a language-based learning disability, and for the time she spent in hospital to treat her severe depression. "It didn't really help that after she got out of the hospital recently some kids started calling her 'psycho' and saying she had been in the crazy hospital," her mother said. "She went to the hospital, she had therapy, she had counseling, she was on a good track. On the day she gets out, that happens. I shake my head and I think, 'Are kids really that nasty, do they really not think, what if it was them?'"
On October 10, 2012, at about 6:00 PM (PDT), Todd was found hanging at her home. At the time of her death, Todd was a grade 10 student at CABE Secondary in Coquitlam, a school that caters to students who have experienced social and behaviour issues in previous educational settings.
Investigation, arrest and conviction
A preliminary investigation by British Columbia Coroners Service showed that Todd's death was a suicide. The cause of death was reported in some media as hanging, but the exact cause of death had not been released.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and British Columbia Coroners Service put 20 full-time investigators on the case. The Coquitlam and Ridge Meadows serious crime teams cooperated in a full investigation, conducting interviews and examining factors that may have contributed to Todd's death. Investigators are reviewing content at social media sites and actively monitoring pages.
The Canadian national organization Cybertip.ca reported having received a tip about Todd nearly a year before her suicide. The anti-child-exploitation group stated that, in November 2011, a concerned citizen reported that images of Todd were in circulation on the Internet. That information was provided to law enforcement as well as child welfare agencies. According to the CBC news program The Fifth Estate, the RCMP were repeatedly informed that the juvenile was being sexually extorted by an adult male, and in response the RCMP told the family there was "nothing that could be done" about it. According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), however, the crime of sextortion can be investigated quite successfully.
Following an investigation by Facebook's security unit, whose report was forwarded by U.S. authorities to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre attached to the British National Crime Agency, and then to Dutch authorities, in January 2014 Dutch police arrested a man in a case involving multiple victims in the Netherlands, U.K., and Canada, having installed spyware on his computers; "chilling" chat logs of extortion, numerous images of child pornography, and 5,800 bookmarked names that served as a database of potential victims and their social networks were found. In April 2014, it was reported that Dutch authorities charged a 35-year-old man of dual Dutch and Turkish citizenship (identified only as "Aydin C." within the Netherlands in accordance with Dutch privacy laws) with indecent assault and possession of child pornography. That same month, the RCMP announced that the man had been charged with extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and possession and distribution of child pornography for his alleged offenses against Todd and other child victims, both male and female. Todd's mother thanked police, but also said that she believed more than one person was involved. On January 28, 2015, CBC News said that Aydin Coban had written an open letter proclaiming his innocence.
Dutch authorities dropped some child pornography charges in October 2015; Coban's case went to trial in February 2017, and concluded on March 16, 2017. He faced 72 charges of sexual assault and extortion in the Netherlands involving 39 alleged victims (34 young women and five men in countries as various as Britain, Canada, Norway and the United States, some of whom had been harassed for years); eventually convicted and sentenced on the Dutch charges of internet fraud and blackmail, he faces five separate Canadian charges related to Todd (herself not one of the 39), and it was anticipated that he would be extradited to Canada no sooner than the middle of 2018 whilst serving his Dutch sentence of 10 years and 8 months. Carol Todd expressed relief at the sentence. In December 2019, it was reported that Canadian authorities were preparing for the extradition. The extradition was delayed until December 2020, due to problems obtaining travel documents for Coban and his lawyer Robert Malewicz. Coban continues to maintain his innocence; it was reported that he was looking forward to his name being cleared in Canada, despite the strong evidence against him. A pre-trial conference was set to begin on February 12, 2021.
Reaction
Todd's suicide received widespread international media coverage, much of which included a link to her YouTube video and an email address provided by the RCMP appealing for information from the public. Within 24 hours of the appeal, over 400 tips were received. The RCMP has stated that its investigation was hindered by the amount of false information in online postings after Todd's death, and by scams claiming to raise money for her family.
On October 19, 2012, a series of vigils was held across Canada and internationally to remember Todd and other victims of bullying. A minute of silence was observed by a quarter of a million students in the Toronto District School Board district. The same day, Todd's mother was a guest of the 2012 We Day event in Vancouver, a week after Todd's death. Bullying had been scheduled as a topic before Todd's death and was addressed by speakers Magic Johnson, musician and anti-bullying advocate Demi Lovato and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark.
Initially, Todd's mother was denied entry to an anti-bullying conference for fear that her presence would upset other attendees. The family was invited to attend later events.
On November 18, 2012, 600 people gathered at a final farewell ceremony for Todd at Red Robinson Show Theatre in Coquitlam, near her home. Carol Todd told the gathering that her daughter had left behind "a larger-than-life message that has sparked the world and has made it open its eyes, its ears and its hearts".
Internet hacking and activist group Anonymous alleged that a 32-year-old man was Todd's blackmailer and main tormentor. The group published the Vancouver-area man's name and address on the Internet, resulting in the man's receipt of online threats of vigilante justice. After investigating the tip, police determined that the allegations were unfounded, and said that "false information that is being spread by people who appear to be trying to use Amanda's story to do harm or make a profit" was one of the challenges they faced.
According to an interview with the Vancouver Sun, the publication of his identity on social media sites resulted in over 50 emails and thousands of Facebook death threats. A member of Anonymous had attempted to dissuade the group from publishing the information, saying that they had the right person but that the address belonged to someone else, not the target. Slate reported that the person who was responsible turned out to be 19, not 32.
Mainstream media
Michelle Dean of The New Yorker compared Todd's death to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, an LGBT student at Rutgers University who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate encouraged friends to watch a live stream of Clementi kissing another man. In an early piece questioning the assumptions of perpetrators of nonconsensual pornography, she quotes Mary Anne Franks:
and concludes:
Vancouver Magazine titled a piece on Todd "The Girl Who Woke Up the World"; in 2012 she was the third-most Googled person, and by 2013 vigils had been held in 38 countries. Her mother continues to be the subject of cyber-stalking.
Social media
After Todd's suicide, more than one million Facebook users "liked" her Facebook memorial page. Mingled among the positive support and comments are attacks and images from strangers and people claiming to be her former classmates. After one man's derogatory Facebook comments about Todd's death were reported to his employer, the Grafton-Fraser Mr. Big & Tall clothing chain, it confirmed that he was no longer an employee.
On October 19, 2012, police in New Zealand said they were questioning a 17-year-old boy from Raglan who allegedly posted "inappropriate and disturbing images" on a memorial page for Todd. Police removed the images and shut down the boy's Facebook page.
Todd's suicide engendered the Drink Bleach Internet meme almost immediately, a meme her mother regarded as unhelpful to those at risk. Four years after her death, she was associated with the 2016 movie Suicide Squad (along with Adolf Hitler, Robin Williams and Kurt Cobain in one depiction).
Amanda Todd Legacy Society
Carol Todd established the Amanda Todd Trust at the Royal Bank of Canada, receiving donations to support anti-bullying awareness education and programs for young people with mental health problems. (A week after Todd's death, ABC News reported that fraudulent websites had been set up claiming to solicit donations, quoting a statement by RCMP Sergeant Peter Thiessen: "Taking advantage of a family's grief is despicable...We want to get the word out that there is one real account and anyone who is interested can make a donation at any RBC branch to the Amanda Todd Trust Account.") It has since been incorporated as a nonprofit colloquially known as Amanda Todd Legacy, with a particular outreach on the mental health issues of adolescents on occasions such as World Mental Health Day on October 10. The Amanda Todd Legacy Award was established in conjunction with the Douglas College Foundation in 2016; three students are awarded $1,000 annually toward their studies. Amanda Todd Legacy and Carol Todd have also participated in LGBT advocacy under the aegis of Kids Help Phone, Canada's 24-hour hotline for youth in crisis.
Carol Todd is close friends with Leah Parsons, the mother of Rehtaeh Parsons, and they frequently network on cyberbullying issues. The two women often have speaking engagements about their respective daughters with an emphasis on respect, acceptance, forgiveness and dignity.
On March 24, 2018, composer Jocelyn Morlock won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year for a piece inspired by Amanda Todd; she was joined onstage by Carol Todd.
Legislative impact
In 2012 parliamentarian Dany Morin of the New Democratic Party introduced a motion in the House of Commons of Canada in response to Todd's death. The motion proposed a study of the scope of bullying in Canada, and more funding and support for anti-bullying organizations. It was also intended to lay the groundwork for a national strategy to prevent bullying. Morin himself had experienced bullying in school.
In November 2013 Justice Minister Peter MacKay of the Conservative Party introduced Bill C-13, anti-cyberbullying and revenge porn legislation. Carol Todd criticized its warrantless access provisions, saying, "I don't want to see our children victimized again by losing privacy rights". The definition of cyberbullying itself has been a matter of considerable debate, as have the bill's privacy provisions (particularly in regard to encryption technologies). It went into effect on March 9, 2015. It had largely been promoted as protecting minors, but applies to all ages.
See also
Suicide prevention
Suicide intervention
Cyberstalking legislation
Online harassment
Suicide of Megan Meier
References
External links
Amanda Todd Legacy – Official website administered by Todd's family
Transcript of YouTube video
Cyber Bullying: a Prezi Todd made about cyberbullying one month before her death
Carol Todd's oral testimony regarding Bill C-13
English text of Bill C-13
Need Help Now: Resources for subjects of self/peer sexual exploitation incidents
1996 births
2012 deaths
2012 in British Columbia
Bullying and suicide
Deaths by person in Canada
Port Coquitlam
Sexuality and computing
Youth suicides
2012 suicides
Victims of cyberbullying
Suicides by hanging in Canada
Suicides in British Columbia
People from British Columbia
Internet-related activism |
37307697 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TScript | TScript | TScript is an object-oriented embeddable scripting language for C++ that supports hierarchical transient typed variables (TVariable). Its main design criterion is to create a scripting language that can interface with C++, transforming data and returning the result. This enables C++ applications to change their functionality after installation.
Hello world example
The basic "Hello World!" TScript example.
CTScript ts;
ts.SetParameter(CTScript::SOURCE_STRING,0,TEXT("main(){")
TEXT(" System::MessageBox(L\"Hello World!\");")
TEXT("}"));
ts.ExecuteStaticMethod();
TVariables
The standard variable can be formed as fixed data such as a Boolean, Integer or Decimal and a variable length variable such as an ASCII string, wide character string or a binary string. The type of the data can be used to define variable or the type can be explicitly declared, so for example the code - will create a variable called and assign it the value of zero. An Integer type can also be declared as - and its default value will be set to zero.
TVariable are hierarchical in nature and are very similar to XML, JavaScript and PHP variables.
The TVariable type is also transient as an Integer can be changed into an AString by assigning it a string value or by casting the variable to an AString. For example, after an integer variable has been created and used, it can be reassigned by equating it to an AString.
TVariables can also be used to hold an array of TVariables. Once a valid variable has been created, the array index subscripting notation can be used to transform it into an array, so for example the code - will create an array with four elements. The TVariable type for "list.type" will be that of a structure and each element of will be an Integer.
Class in TScript are similar to array in how TVariable handle them, but use strings as array scriptures. For example, the code - will create a structured variable where list. Monday is true and is false. In the native C++ code, structured TVariable elements are accessible in C++ by - or by either or in native code.
Defined variables (classes)
Supporting hierarchical variables, TScript is able to store both primitive and complex variables within the same variable structure. This removes any requirement for any unique difference between primitives and structured data, therefore making the class structure a logical grouping of functionality rather than data storage type.
TScript implements concepts of inheritance and code encapsulation through defined variables. For example, the following code snippet show a defined variables and that supports a constructor.
variable Bar{
Integer minimum, maximum;
Bar(){
this.minimum = 1;
}
}
variable Foo extends Bar{
WString name;
Foo(WString name){
this.name = name;
this.Bar();
}
}
public main(){
Foo foo(L"Goo");
System::MessageBox(foo.ToString());
}
Function declarations
Another striking feature of TScript is the function declarations, which use output parameters rather than return values, and provide syntactic support for these. The standard function in many procedural languages, following Algol, is of the form:
.
In TScript this pattern has been changed to the form:
.
This change has done two things, first it allows multiple output variables and secondly it changed the return statement to an error handling function.
Allowing functions to have a list of input and output variables that are separated by the semi column ":", changed the normal flow of how the function are called and used. This removes some of the need for using reference pointers to return multiple variables that is common in C/C++, and the use of references in most other scripting languages is actually prevented, forcing the use of a structure or array to return multiple values.
The second noticeable thing about the calling conventions is that now all functions have an integrated error handling purpose similar to and of C++ and Java. In TScript since all functions return an error, the return statement operates similar to the throw statement. For example, the statement:- return error = "Have an error message"; will terminate the function and return the error message. Alternatively the blank statement;- return; will terminate the function but not return any error.
Example of multiple return values
public TextExtent(WString text : Integer width, Integer height){
text = text.Fragment(L"\n");
for(height = width = 0; height < text.length; height++){
if(width < text[height].length) width = text[height].length;
}
}
Shorthand notation
For convenience TScript offers a shorthand function calling in the situation where there is only one returned variable. This notation of will substitute the case of . This short notation prevents the calling code from catching any errors and they will automatically be return to the parental calling code.
Error handling
Error handling in many other languages is done through the use of exceptions. TScript uses a similar process of error handling, although slightly different. TScript has a global error variable similar to the traditional errno in C, although the error variable in TScript is capable to holding both an error code and a detailed error message.
In many languages that use the syntax the error is returned via the catch statement and this can make the operational flow of the code awkward in situations where some errors are recoverable. TScript uses the notation that allows calling code to filter the error, potentially recovering from the error and returning to normal operation, or returning the error to its own calling function.
Example of return and handling errors
function(){return error = -1;}
public main(){
if(!function()){
if(error != -1) return error;
}
System::MessageBox(L"function executed correctly");
}
Run-time linking
C++ supports function overloading, which enables functions to have the same name while being differentiated by their input parameters. This causes TScript an issue while supporting loose type variables, as there is no way to tell what the type of a variable is until the software is being executed.
To counter this problem, TScript has been written with run-time linking. This is when the particular function called is dependent on the type of the variables when the function is called.
This is an unusual tactic that has some additional benefits. First it means that there is no need to declare functions before they are used, for example in C++ two functions may call one another, like and . In this situation, the needs to be prototyped in order for the to call it. TScript's run-time linking means the functions can be declared in any order without the need to prototype. This can make writing code much easier for less experienced programmers, allowing them to focus on the logic of the software and not the requirements of the language.
Run-time linking also enables the language to support run-time coding with methods like and . This enables TScript programs to write themselves. For example, when using the SOAP interface, the remote WSDL will be encoded into the script library, allowing the functions within to be called as if they were coded at design time. Additionally it is also possible to write code that can learn for itself, writing new functions when it needs it.
Dynamically linking libraries
TScript is among a small group is scripting languages that provide the functionality to dynamically load and link to existing shared libraries. Java through its JNI and VB6 are two other scripting languages that enable code to be written that would load a third party library and execute through its native interface. This gives TScript the ability to use a wealth of pre-existing functionality and code written in different languages and this can be done without any need to change the shared library's interface or to be compiled with the source code.
Memory management
TScript uses the standard C++ class encapsulation to allocate and de-allocate memory resources. This means that all allocated memory is released when the variable containing it is destroyed and operated differently from the Garbage Collection model of Java or the reference counting model of .NET languages.
Operation system resources such as files, sockets and encryption keys are managed via a reference counting mechanism similar to .NET, so they will be released as soon as there are no variables containing their values.
Pro-active security
With the ability to load existing shared libraries, script can access all privileges granted to the user who executes it. To guard against malicious code, all resources beyond the basic memory allocation are required to be granted to each script. This also includes the ability to use message boxes to prompt the user, read and/or write access to any file or directory, or using the Internet connection.
This security architecture is designed to allow the running of scripts in a similar way to JavaScript while enabling the usefulness of more powerful scripting languages like PERL.
References
External links
Introduction to TScript
Scripting languages
Interpreters (computing) |
37486268 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo%20Alto%20Networks | Palo Alto Networks | Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Its core products are a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to cover other aspects of security. The company serves over 70,000 organizations in over 150 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100. It is home to the Unit 42 threat research team and hosts the Ignite cybersecurity conference.
In 2018, Palo Alto Networks was listed 8th in the Forbes Digital 100. In June 2018, former Google and SoftBank executive Nikesh Arora joined the company as Chairman and CEO.
History
Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 by Israeli-American Nir Zuk, a former engineer from Check Point and NetScreen Technologies, and was the principal developer of the first stateful inspection firewall and the first intrusion prevention system. When asked why he started Palo Alto Networks, Zuk cited his objective of solving a problem enterprises were facing with existing network security solutions: the inability to safely enable employees to use modern applications, which entailed developing a firewall that could identify and provide fine-grained control of applications.
In 2007, the company produced and shipped its first product, an advanced enterprise firewall, which it branded the world's first "next-generation firewall". In 2009, Gartner released a publication defining the next-generation firewall. In contrast to traditional firewalls of the time which relied on simple rules such as port numbers and protocol to block traffic, the authors stated that next-generation firewalls should operate on and inspect all layers of the network stack and be intelligent enough to block threats independently of port numbers or protocols used. In particular, the publication defined this next-generation firewall as containing (in addition to the full capabilities of both traditional firewalls and intrusion prevention systems): Support for in-line deployment without disrupting network operations, application awareness and full stack visibility allowing for fine-grained detection and control of applications, extra-firewall intelligence, and upgrade paths.
Starting in 2011, Gartner began listing Palo Alto Networks as a leader on its enterprise firewall Magic Quadrant. In 2019, they were named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls for an 8th year in a row. The company debuted on the NYSE on July 20, 2012, raising $260 million with its initial public offering, which was the 4th-largest tech IPO of 2012. It remained on the NYSE until October 2021 when the company transferred its listing to Nasdaq.
In 2014, Palo Alto Networks founded the Cyber Threat Alliance with Fortinet, McAfee, and Symantec, a not-for-profit organization with the goal of improving cybersecurity "for the greater good" by encouraging collaboration between cybersecurity organizations by sharing cyber threat intelligence amongst members. By 2018, the organization had 20 members including Cisco, Check Point, Juniper Networks, and Sophos.
The company expanded over the years, offering a wide selection of enterprise cybersecurity services beyond its original next-generation firewall offering, such as Traps endpoint protection and Wildfire malware prevention. In 2017, Palo Alto Networks announced Logging Service, a cloud-based service allowing customers to amass their own data for machine learning and data analytics.
In 2018, the company began opening dedicated cybersecurity training facilities around the world as part of the Global Cyber Range Initiative.
In May 2018, the company announced Application Framework, an open cloud-delivered ecosystem where developers can publish security services as SaaS applications that can be instantly delivered to the company's network of customers.
In 2018, several high-profile tech executives joined Palo Alto Networks. In June 2018, former Google Chief Business Officer and SoftBank President Nikesh Arora joined the company as chairman and CEO. His predecessor, Mark McLaughlin, became vice chairman of the board of directors. Arora received a pay package worth about $128 million, making him one of the highest paid executives in the United States. In September 2018 Liane Hornsey, formerly Chief People Officer at Uber, joined Palo Alto Networks as Chief People Officer. In October 2018, Amit Singh, formerly President of Google Cloud, succeeded Mark Anderson as President of Palo Alto Networks. In August 2021, William (BJ) Jenkins succeeded Singh as president, with Singh assuming the role of Chief Business Officer.
In 2019, the company announced the K2-Series, a 5G-ready next-generation firewall developed for service providers with 5G and IoT requirements in mind. In February 2019, the company announced Cortex, an AI-based continuous security platform. CEO Nikesh Arora described Cortex as "Application Framework 2.0".
Acquisitions
Morta Security was acquired for an undisclosed sum in January 2014.
Cyvera was acquired for approximately $200 million in April 2014.
CirroSecure was acquired for an undisclosed sum in May 2015.
LightCyber was acquired for approximately $100 million in March 2017.
Cloud Security company Evident.io was acquired for $300 million in cash in March 2018, creating the Prisma Cloud division.
Secdo was acquired for an undisclosed sum in April 2018.
Cloud security company RedLock was acquired for $173 million in October 2018.
In February 2019, Palo Alto Networks acquired security orchestration company Demisto for $560 million.
In May 2019, Palo Alto Networks acquired container security startup Twistlock for $410 million.
In June 2019, Palo Alto Networks acquired serverless security startup PureSec for $47 million.
In September 2019, Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire IoT startup Zingbox for $75 million.
In November 2019, Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire machine identity-based micro-segmentation company Aporeto, Inc. for $150 million
In March 2020, Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire SD-WAN company CloudGenix, Inc. for $420 million. This acquisition was completed in April 2020.
In August 2020, Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire Crypsis Group for $265 million.
In November 2020, Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire Expanse for $800 million.
In February 2021, Palo Alto Networks announced it acquired Bridgecrew for around $156 million.
Products
Enterprise Products
Palo Alto Networks offers an enterprise cybersecurity platform which provides network security, cloud security, endpoint protection, and various cloud-delivered security services. Components of the security platform listed on the Palo Alto Networks website include:
Next-generation firewalls, running PAN-OS, offered in multiple forms including:
As a physical appliance through the PA series, which includes small form-factor firewalls such as the PA-220 for small business and offices, to the PA-7000 series built for large enterprises and service providers.
As a virtualized appliance through the VM series, allowing the firewall to be run as a virtual machine to secure virtualized data centers and private clouds. It is also compatible with public cloud environments such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
As a streamlined cloud service provided by Palo Alto Networks through GlobalProtect Cloud Service.
Panorama, a network security control center that allows customers to manage a fleet of firewalls at an enterprise scale from a single console.
Traps advanced endpoint protection. Unlike a traditional antivirus, Traps does not rely on signatures to detect malware. Instead, it focuses on analyzing the behavior of programs to detect zero-day exploits. Threat intelligence is shared with and obtained from Wildfire.
Wildfire, a cloud-based threat-analysis service which uses dynamic analysis, static analysis, machine learning, and bare-metal analysis to discover and prevent unknown threats.
Cloud Storage and Analysis Products
In 2019, Palo Alto Networks reorganized its SaaS offerings under the Cortex branding.
Cortex Data Lake - Cortex data lake provides a cloud-delivered log aggregation service for Palo Alto Networks devices located in on-premise networks, directly from endpoints, or cloud based products such as Prisma Access. This data lake information is then fed into the Hub apps that provide analysis, response, and other added services.
Hub - Hub is an open cloud-delivered ecosystem where customers can subscribe to security applications developed by 3rd-party developers or Palo Alto Networks. Some applications from Palo Alto Networks such as XDR (analytics) and AutoFocus (threat intelligence) are Cortex branded apps on Hub.
Cortex XDR - XDR is the primary tool for data analysis from Palo Alto Networks that leverages modern threat detection and response capabilities on the centralized data collected in the Cortex Data Lake.
AutoFocus - This service provides threat intelligence to enhance the analytic capabilities of the hub applications as an external source of relevant security information.
Cortex XSOAR - Integrating its acquisition of Demisto into the Cortex cloud suite, XSOAR is the Security Orchestration And Response component responsible for automation and integration with other security and network systems for the automation of incident response and intelligence gathering processes.
Prisma Access - Prisma Access is the Palo Alto Networks offering for moving the enterprise network monitoring and analysis functions into the cloud. It is the most comprehensive SASE solution of its kind, secures access, protects users and applications, and controls data for remote users and locations.
Prisma Cloud - Prisma Cloud secures any cloud environment and all compute form factors used to build and run cloud native applications, including multi- and hybrid-clouds environments. It addresses the majority of cloud security use cases a customer might have, such as CSPM, containers, serverless, and identity-based microsegmentation. It is Palo Alto Networks cloud native security solution that integrates with devops continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD) processes for a more holistic control of the security life-cycle of cloud assets.
Threat research
Unit 42 is the Palo Alto Networks threat intelligence and security consulting team. They are a group of cybersecurity researchers and industry experts who use data collected by the company's security platform to discover new cyber threats, such as new forms of malware and malicious actors operating across the world. The group runs a popular blog where they post technical reports analyzing active threats and adversaries. Multiple Unit 42 researchers have been named in the MSRC Top 100, Microsoft's annual ranking of top 100 security researchers. In April 2020, the business unit consisting of Crypsis Group that provided digital forensics, incident response, risk assessment, and other consulting services merged with the Unit 42 threat intelligence team.
According to the FBI, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 has helped solve multiple cybercrime cases, such as the Mirai Botnet and Clickfraud Botnet cases, the LuminosityLink RAT case, and assisted with "Operation Wire-Wire".
In 2018, Unit 42 discovered Gorgon, a hacking group believed to be operating out of Pakistan and targeting government organizations in the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, and the United States. The group was detected sending spear-phishing emails attached with infected Microsoft Word documents using an exploit commonly used by cybercriminals and cyber-espionage campaigns.
In September 2018, the Unit 42 discovered Xbash, a ransomware that also performs cryptomining, believed to be tied to the Chinese threat actor "Iron". Xbash is able to propagate like a worm and deletes databases stored on victim hosts. In October, Unit 42 warned of a new cryptomining malware, XMRig, that comes bundled with infected Adobe Flash updates. The malware uses the victim's computer's resources to mine Monero cryptocurrency.
In November 2018, Palo Alto Networks announced the discovery of "Cannon," a trojan being used to target United States and European government entities. The hackers behind the malware is believed to be Fancy Bear, the Russian hacking group believed to be responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee in 2016. The malware communicates with its command and control server with email and uses encryption to evade detection.
References
External links
2005 establishments in California
2012 initial public offerings
Companies based in Santa Clara, California
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Computer security companies
Networking companies of the United States
Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Technology companies established in 2005 |
37487123 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat%20Broadband%20Network | Bharat Broadband Network | BharatNet, also known as Bharat Broadband Network Limited, is a government-owned broadband infrastructure provider, set up by the Department of Telecommunications, a department under Ministry of Communications of the Government of India for the establishment, management, and operation of the National Optical Fibre Network to provide a minimum of 100 Mbit/s broadband connectivity to all 250,000-gram panchayats in the country, covering nearly 625,000 villages, by improving the middle layer of nation-wide broadband internet in India to achieve the goal of Digital India.
BharatNet Phase-I, connecting 100,000 village councils covering 300,000 villages, was completed by December 2017. BharatNet Phase-II will be completed by 31 March 2023 to connect the remaining 150,000 village councils covering 325,000 villages in 16 states (July 2021 update). The last mile connectivity, with a total of 700,000 Wi-Fi hotspots to cover all 625,000 villages of India by adding 2 to 5 Wi-Fi hotspots per gram panchayat and a minimum of one Wi-Fi hotspot per village, have been created by connecting high-speed 4G base tower stations of commercial telecom operators to BharatNet, whereby commercially non-viable Wi-Fi hotspots will be subsidized by the union government grant of to sustain the operation.
BharatNet is the world's largest rural broadband connectivity program, which is built under the Make in India initiative with no involvement of foreign companies. It is both an enabler and a beneficiary of other key government schemes, such as Digital India, Make in India, the National e-Governance Plan, UMANG, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, the dedicated freight corridors, industrial corridors, and UDAN-RCS.
History
Origin and slow pace of implementation (2011)
On 25 October 2011, the Government of India approved the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) initiative, later renamed as BharatNet, to connect all 250,000 gram panchayats in the country covering nearly 625,000 villages, by utilizing the existing optical fibre network and extending it to the gram panchayats. To achieve this, Bharat Broadband Network was incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) on 25 February 2012 under Companies Act of 1956. Between 2011 and 2014, project did not take off as planned, and only 350 km of optical fibre, out of 300,000 km optical fibre network needed for the Phase-I, was laid. Between 2014 and 2017, the original Phase-I target of laying 300,000 km of optical fibre was completed under the new BJP government.
Implementation boost in 2014
The BharatNet project picked up pace under the Digital India initiative after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, he renamed the project as the "BharatNet", made several changes to expedite the project, significantly enhanced the BharatNet funding to several billion dollars under the Digital India, set ambitious time-bound implementations deadlines, appointed government public sector units (BSNL, RailTel, and PowerGrid Corp) for the swift implementation and monitoring, and to bypass the right of way issues for laying the optical fibre cable network the existing government-owned roads, rail lines, and power lines were used. Bangalore based United Telecoms Limited won the bid, being almost 80% lower than the second-lowest bidder ITI Limited followed by Tejas, STL, etc. BharatNet collaborated with other government entities such as C-DOT, Telecommunications Consultants India Limited and National Informatics Centre for the design and rollout plan of BharatNet NOFN Project. BharatNet assigned the execution work of network roll out to several other Government of India Public Sector Units, namely BSNL, RailTel and Power Grid Corporation of India. Project was rolled out as a collaboration between the Union Government (to provide broadband connectivity at sub-district Block-level), state governments (optical fibre to gram panchayat level) and private sector companies (Wi-Fi hotspots in each village and connections to the individual homes). Union government total share is , the rest will be funded by the respective state governments.
Implementation partners
There are 36 states and union territories of India, including 28 states and 9 UTs. BSNL was awarded work for 18 of these, RailTel received work in 8 and Power Grid Corporation of India in 5. BSNL was awarded work for 18+ states and UTs, namely Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh (divided into two projects, UP East and UP West), Uttarakhand and West Bengal. RailTel was awarded work for 8+ states and UTs, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Puducherry and Tripura. Power Grid Corporation of India was awarded work for 5 states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Telangana. Delhi is included with Phase-I BSNL work for Haryana. Goa is also included with Phase-I BSNL work for Maharastra. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are included with Phase-II work for RailTel. Tripura is likely included with Phase-II RailTel work for the Northeast India.
Project features
Benefits
BharatNet will provide more employment opportunities, improved service delivery (online e-gram panchayat services, e-governance, e-education, e-health, e-medicine, e-grievances, e-agriculture, e-citizen, etc.), and an impetus to the Make in India, Digital India and Startup India initiatives. According to Morgan Stanley's research, of India's 33% internet penetration in November 2017 only 15% and 2% of total internet users use online shopping and retail shopping respectively, estimated to go up to 78% penetration, 62% online shoppers and 15% online retail shopper respectively by 2027.
As per study by the ICRIER, every 10% increase in the usage of internet in India will add leading to a 3.3% increase in GDP of India, a number that will go up after the completion of Phase-II in March 2019. By the end of BharatNet Phase-II in March 2019, the total current fibre optical network will grow by 100% to 10 million kilometres. This 100% increment in the fibre optic network would result in several hundred percent increment in the internet usage when in addition to 625,000 villages (each with minimum 100 Mbit/s), 2,500,000 government institutions and 5,000,000 households will also be connected to the BharatNet broadband by the time it is completed.
To put the potential gains things in perspective, during the early phase of the project in 2018, India had a population of 1.3 billion people (1.36 billion in 2021), 1.23 billion Aadhaar digital biometric identities, 1.21 billion mobile phones, 446 million smartphones, 560 million internet users (800 million in 2021), 35% internet penetration (57% in 2021), and 51% growth in e-commerce. BharatNet has stated goal of 100 Mbit/s internet speed, and in Q1 2020 India ranked 3rd with 15.34 Mbit/s wireless/mobile internet speed and 70th with 55.76 Mbit/s fixed broadband speed (also see countries by Internet connection speed). BharatNet will expedite broadband and smartphone penetration and speed and their multiplier impact on the economy.
Funding
The government has discounted the bulk BharatNet bandwidth rates to the commercial telecom operators by 76% to enable them to offer the highly discounted, affordable, competitive, and commercially viable BharatNet-enabled wireless cellular 4G broadband deals to the rural customers. The union government share of funding will come from the Universal Services Obligation Fund of the Department of Telecommunications. It will be rolled out with the additional funding by state governments to connect all gram panchayats in India.
Make in India
Both the optical fibre and the Gigabit-capable passive optical network broadband equipment, made to account for the dust and power outage issues in the rural areas, are made in India by C-DOT with no involvement of foreign companies. GPON products (see below) supplied by United Telecoms Limited (UTL) which are manufactured in India and the technology is indigenously developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
Bharat Net as middle layer
BharatNet is the "internet" layer in the "Internet Key Layers" diagram and it is designed to provide first four layers of the OSI model, namely the physical layer, data link layer, network layer, and transport layer.
The components of the BharatNet architecture in the concept diagram are as follows.
National level connectivity: GPON technology
The "Gigabit passive optical network: (GPON)technology at the national level: Passive optical network network architecture brings fibre cabling and digital signals to the homes, using the point-to-multipoint communication design that enables a single optical fibre to serve multiple premises. Design based on the ITU standard G.984 and TEC spec GR no.PON-01/02 Apr 2008 provides higher bandwidth and efficiency due to the bigger variable-length network packets, allowing more efficient packaging of user traffic with segmented frame, offering higher quality of service (QoS) and low latency for delay-sensitive voice and video traffic.
A GPON brings fibre cabling and signals to the home using a point-to-multipoint scheme that enables a single optical fibre to serve multiple premises. Encryption maintains data security in this shared environment. The architecture uses passive (unpowered) optical splitters, reducing the cost of equipment compared to point-to-point architectures.
The GPON standard differs from other passive optical network standards in that it achieves higher bandwidth and higher efficiency using larger, variable-length packets. GPON offers efficient packaging of user traffic, with frame segmentation allowing higher quality of service (QoS) for delay-sensitive voice and video communications traffic. The main components of GPON technology are OLT, ONT/ONU, Fiber-optic splitter and Optical Fibre Cables. The ITU standard G-984 series as well as TEC spec GR no.PON-01/02 Apr 2008 define the GPON technology.
C-DOT has also inked technology transfer pacts with six Indian vendors which include Indian Telephone Industries Limited (ITI Ltd), Tejas Networks, VMC, Sai Systems, UTL and SM Creative to manufacture the gear on winning the contracts.
UTL emerged as the competitive bid winner and obtained the GPON supply contract for a value of approximately Rs 1000 Cr. The companies like ITI Ltd, Tejas Networks, Sterlite, ZTE and Larsen & Toubro lost this deal to UTL. The rollout of GPON is being carried out and it is expected that by March 2015 around 60000 villages will be connected.
Community Development Block level connectivity
Optical line terminal at subdistrict block level: OLT device installed at each Block (district subdivision) will serve as the BharatNet's national-level service provider's endpoint of a passive optical network and perform a conversion between the electrical signals used by the service provider's equipment and the fibre optic signals used by the passive optical network.
Gram panchayat level level connectivity
Optical fibre cable to each gram panchayat: The connectivity from OLT at Subdistrict-Block-level to each gram panchayat is provided by the optical fibre point of presence. Optical fibre technology provides high bandwidth, low maintenance, and a scalable network but requires time to roll out the physical network. End-to-end encryption is used to ensure data security in this shared network.
Beam splitters and combiners: The beam splitter (downstream; upstream is called the "combiner") is an optical device that splits a beam of light in two, thus providing the ability to connect multiple gram panchayats along the way to the single optical fibre cable. Use of the "passive" (unpowered) fibre optic splitter reduces the operational cost of equipment compared to the point-to-point technology (Wi-Fi, requires power).
Optical network terminals at gram panchayat level: ONT, also called ONU, are the devices that transmit signals to the customer premises (each gram panchayat in this case) using fibre optic technology in a fibre-to-the-premises system. BharatNet will sign contracts with internet service provider (ISP) telecom companies to set up Wi-Fi hotspots (connected to fibre optic network via ONT), and also to provide optical fibre connections to the individual houses or institutes needing relatively much higher speed dedicated connection. As throughput requirements of a village, institute, or house increase, they will require dedicated fibre optical connections instead of village-level shared Wi-Fi. Each house or institute with a dedicated fibre optical connection will also require its own ONT installed by the service provider, though within the house or institute they can have their own Wi-Fi setup. A Common Service Centre panchayat kiosk for the online government e-services will be provided at each gram panchayat level.
Last mile connectivity
Hotspot (Wi-Fi) at each village-level within the gram panchayat: Each gram panchayat is connected by the low-maintenance fibre optic technology, and each village under the gram panchayat is connected by a Wi-Fi hotspot tower of up to 15-meter height with a range of 5 to 7 km installed by ISP telecom companies by using short-range 5.48 GHz unused radiofrequency. Comparatively easier and faster to deploy higher-maintenance wireless technology, for Wi-Fi Hotspots in each village under the gram panchayat, is used only for the last mile connectivity. Wi-Fi router and Antenna require continuous supply of power, hence an emergency power system is needed during the power blackout, e.g. power inverter with a backup battery that may be recharged by the solar panel. Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular, Airtel, and Vodafone have already connected their 4G Base Towers to BharatNet fibre optic OLT to provide last mile wireless coverage.
Connectivity to the individual homes: The Local service providers provide broadband connections to individual homes, offering employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to village youth.
Once all the gram panchayats have been connected by the dedicated fibre optical network, the last mile connectivity to all villages will be provided by the commercial telecom operators by expanding the current national network of 38,000 Wi-Fi hotspots to 700,000 Wi-Fi hotspots to cover all 625,000 villages in India. , union government subsidy support will be given to the telecom service operators for rolling out Wi-Fi hotspots in commercially non-viable villages. BharatNet has offered the bulk broadband bandwidth at 75% discounted rates to the commercial telecom operators so that they can offer deeply discounted monetised competitive deals to the rural wireless broadband customers. Commercial operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have already connected their 4G-based-broadband base towers to BharatNet at various locations to provide the high speed last mile wireless broadband connectivity.
The central government will set up sufficient Wi-Fi hotspots to cover 100 million citizens by 2020, and tender will be floated for this soon (as of November 2017). Additionally, Indian Railways will provide Wi-Fi hotspots, limited free access, and unlimited paid access, at 600 major stations by March 2018 and all of its 8,500 stations by March 2019 with an outlay of , with 1,200 large stations catering to the rail passengers and the remaining 7,300 stations catering to both rail passengers and local population in remote and rural areas, including facilities to access government services or e-purchase of commercial products (c. 7 Jan 2018).
HRD ministry has instructed 50,000 colleges and technical in India to offer free Wi-Fi to students and staff with capped free data quota, after which data will have to be purchased. Out of these Reliance Jio has offered to deploy free Wi-Fi connectivity to 38,000 colleges, which has been supported by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Some Startups, such as Velmenni Research, under the Startup India, are working on solutions to offer Li-Fi access via LED lights at homes at a speed 100 faster than ordinary WI-FI bandwidth.
Implementation
BharatNet is a middle layer for providing broadband connectivity across all Community Development Blocks (CDB), 250,000 village gram panchayats covering 630,000 inhabited villages of states and union territories of India. As of July 2021, Phase-I was complete and 150,000 Gram Panchayats and associated villages had been service ready with 5.09 lakh km of Optical Fibre Cable already laid, the 29,500 crore (US$4 billion) PPP tender for remaining nearly 100,000 gram panchayats and all the individual inhabited villages under hose panchayats spread across 16 states was floated in 2021 with target date for broadband connectivity of 2023.
BharatNet Phase-I (Completed: Dec 2017)
BharatNet Phase-I, across 13 states and UTs was completed in December 2017 with the Phase-I union government funding share of . It connected 100,000 gram panchayat, covering 300,000 villages by laying 300,000 km of optical fibre network. 13 states and UTs in this phase were: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Puducherry, Sikkim and West Bengal.
To provide the last mile connectivity for the 100,000-gram panchayats in Phase-I, contracts were signed to connect 30,500 village panchayats by Vodafone, 30,000 village panchayats by Reliance Jio. 2,000 by Vodafone and 1,000 by Idea Cellular, these Wi-Fi hotspots were activated after connecting BharatNet fibre optics OLT to commercial operator's cell phone base stations. (Latest weekly update)
BharatNet Phase-II (Target: March 2023)
BharatNet Phase-II, will connect the remaining nearly 145,000 gram panchayats covering 325,000 villages through additional 1 million km of optical fibre. Phase-II commenced with the union government funding share of , with the current 250 km per day pace of optical fibre network roll out which needs to be raised to 500 km per day to achieve the completion target of March 2019.
DoT will invest on BharatNet in Northeast India, including erecting 6,673 towers to connect 8,621 villages at the cost of and additional 4,240 gram panchayats by satellite broadband connectivity.
See also
Internet in India
List of countries by Internet connection speeds
List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions
List of countries by number of Internet users
List of countries by smartphone penetration
References
Citations
External links
Official live current overall summary status report
Official Phase-I status breakdown by state
Phase-II Planning, IIT Bombay
Collection of Scripts to analyse the district wise data of the progress.
Telecommunications companies of India
Government-owned companies of India
Proposed infrastructure in India |
37506594 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapchat | Snapchat | Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to their recipients. The app has evolved from originally focusing on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring users' "Stories" of 24 hours of chronological content, along with "Discover", letting brands show ad-supported short-form content. It also allows users to keep photos in the "my eyes only" which lets them keep their photos in a password-protected space. It has also reportedly incorporated limited use of end-to-end encryption, with plans to broaden its use in the future.
Snapchat was created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, former students at Stanford University. It has become known for representing a new, mobile-first direction for social media, and places significant emphasis on users interacting with virtual stickers and augmented reality objects. As of July 2021, Snapchat had 293 million daily active users, a 23% growth over a year. On average more than four billion Snaps are sent each day. Snapchat is popular among the younger generations, particularly those below the age of 16, leading to many privacy concerns for parents.
History
Prototype
According to documents and deposition statements, Reggie Brown brought the idea for a disappearing pictures application to Evan Spiegel because Spiegel had prior business experience. Brown and Spiegel then pulled in Bobby Murphy, who had experience coding. The three worked closely together for several months and launched Snapchat as "Picaboo" on the iOS operating system on July 8, 2011. Reggie Brown was ousted from the company months after it was launched.
The app was relaunched as Snapchat in September 2011, and the team focused on usability and technical aspects, rather than branding efforts. One exception was the decision to keep a mascot designed by Brown, "Ghostface Chillah", named after Ghostface Killah of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.
On May 8, 2012, Reggie Brown sent an email to Evan Spiegel during their senior year at Stanford, in which he offered to re-negotiate his equitable share regarding ownership of the company. Lawyers for Snapchat responded by insisting that he had never had any creative connection to the product. The attorneys also accused Brown of committing fraud against Spiegel and Murphy by falsely claiming to be a product inventor. On behalf of their clients, the law firm concluded that Reggie Brown had made no contributions of value or worth, and was therefore entitled to a share of nothing. In September 2014, Brown settled with Spiegel and Murphy for $157.5 million and was credited as one of the original authors of Snapchat.
In their first blog post, dated May 9, 2012, CEO Evan Spiegel described the company's mission: "Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. It’s about communicating with the full range of human emotion—not just what appears to be pretty or perfect." He presented Snapchat as the solution to stresses caused by the longevity of personal information on social media, evidenced by "emergency detagging of Facebook photos before job interviews and photoshopping blemishes out of candid shots before they hit the internet.
Growth
As of May 2012, 25 Snapchat images were being sent per second and, as of November 2012, users had shared over one billion photos on the Snapchat iOS app, with 20 million photos being shared per day. That same month, Spiegel cited problems with user base scalability as the reason why Snapchat was experiencing some difficulties delivering its images, known as "snaps", in real time. Snapchat was released as an Android app on October 29, 2012.
In June 2013, Snapchat version 5.0, dubbed "Banquo", was released for iOS. The updated version introduced several speed and design enhancements, including swipe navigation, double-tap to reply, an improved friend finder, and in-app profiles. The name is a reference to the ghostly hero from Shakespeare's Macbeth, a character in the play who is ultimately seen to be victorious over evil. Also in June 2013, Snapchat introduced Snapkidz for users under 13 years of age. Snapkidz was part of the original Snapchat application and was activated when the user provided a date of birth to verify his/her age. Snapkidz allowed children to take snaps and draw on them, but they could not send snaps to other users and could only save snaps locally on the device being used.
According to Snapchat's published statistics, as of May 2015, the app's users were sending 2 billion videos per day, reaching 6 billion by November. By 2016, Snapchat had hit 10 billion daily video views. In May 2016, Snapchat raised $1.81 billion in equity offering, suggesting strong investor interest in the company. By May 31, 2016, the app had almost 10 million daily active users in the United Kingdom. In February 2017, Snapchat had 160 million daily active users, growing to 166 million in May.
Investel Capital Corp., a Canadian company, sued Snapchat for infringement on its geofiltering patent in 2016. They were seeking "monetary compensation and an order that would prohibit California-based Snapchat from infringing on its patent in the future."
In September 2016, Snapchat Inc. was renamed Snap Inc. to coincide with the introduction of the company's first hardware product, Spectacles—smartglasses with a built-in camera that can record 10 seconds of video at a time. On February 20, 2017, Spectacles became available for purchase online.
Snapchat announced a redesign in November 2017, which proved controversial with many of its followers. CNBC's Ingrid Angulo listed some of the reasons why many disliked the update, citing that sending a snap and re-watching stories was more complicated, stories and incoming snaps were now listed on the same page, and that the Discover page now included featured and sponsored content. A tweet sent by Kylie Jenner in February 2018, which criticized the redesign of the Snapchat app, reportedly caused Snap Inc. to lose more than $1.3 billion in market value. Over 1.2 million people signed a Change.org petition asking the company to remove the new app update.
In December 2019, App Annie announced Snapchat to be the 5th most downloaded mobile app of the decade. The data includes figures for iOS downloads starting from 2010 and Android downloads starting from 2012. Snapchat acquired AI Factory, a computer vision startup, in January 2020 to give a boost to its video capabilities.
In November 2020, Snapchat announced it would pay a total of $1 million a day to users who post viral videos. The company has not stated the criteria for a video to be considered viral or how many people the payout would be split between. The promotion, called Snapchat Spotlight, is intended to run until the end of the year, although the company indicated it will continue if it's successful.
Features
Core functionality
Snapchat is primarily used for creating multimedia messages referred to as "snaps"; snaps can consist of a photo or a short video, and can be edited to include filters and effects, text captions, and drawings. Snaps can be directed privately to selected contacts, or to a semi-public "Story" or a public "Story" called "Our Story." The ability to send video snaps was added as a feature option in December 2012. By holding down on the photo button while inside the app, a video of up to ten seconds in length can be captured. Spiegel explained that this process allowed the video data to be compressed into the size of a photo. A later update allowed the ability to record up to 60 seconds, but are still segmented into 10 second intervals. After a single viewing, the video disappears by default. On May 1, 2014, the ability to communicate via video chat was added. Direct messaging features were also included in the update, allowing users to send ephemeral text messages to friends and family while saving any needed information by clicking on it. According to CIO, Snapchat uses real-time marketing concepts and temporality to make the app appealing to users. According to Marketing Pro, Snapchat attracts interest and potential customers by combining the AIDA (marketing) model with modern digital technology.
Private message photo snaps can be viewed for a user-specified length of time (1 to 10 seconds as determined by the sender) before they become inaccessible. Users were previously required to hold down on the screen in order to view a snap; this behavior was removed in July 2015 The requirement to hold on the screen was intended to frustrate the ability to take screenshots of snaps; the Snapchat app does not prevent screenshots from being taken but can notify the sender if it detects that it has been saved. However, these notifications can be bypassed through either unauthorized modifications to the app or by obtaining the image through external means. One snap per day can be replayed for free. In September 2015, Snapchat introduced the option to purchase additional replays through in-app purchases. The ability to purchase extra replays was removed in April 2016.
Friends can be added via usernames and phone contacts, using customizable "Snapcodes", or through the "Add Nearby" function, which scans for users near their location who are also in the Add Nearby menu. Spiegel explained that Snapchat is intended to counteract the trend of users being compelled to manage an idealized online identity of themselves, which he says has "taken all of the fun out of communicating."
In November 2014, Snapchat introduced "Snapcash", a feature that lets users send and receive money to each other through private messaging. The payments system is powered by Square.
In July 2016, Snapchat introduced a new, optional feature known as "Memories." Memories allow snaps and story posts to be saved into a private storage area, where they can be viewed alongside other photos stored on the device, as well as edited and published as snaps, story posts, or messages anytime. When shared with a user's current story, the memory would have a timestamp to indicate its age. Content in the Memories storage area can be searched by date or using a local object recognition system. Snaps accessible within Memories can additionally be placed into a "My Eyes Only" area that is locked with a Personal identification number (PIN). Snapchat has stated that the Memories feature was inspired by the practice of manually scrolling through photos on a phone to show them to others. In April 2017, the white border around old memories was removed. While originally intended to let viewers know the material was old, TechCrunch wrote that the indicator "ended up annoying users who didn’t want their snaps altered, sometimes to the point where they would decide not to share the old content at all."
In May 2017, an update made it possible to send snaps with unlimited viewing time, dropping the previous ten-second maximum duration, with the content disappearing after being deliberately closed by the recipient. New creative tools, namely the ability to draw with an emoji, videos that play in a loop, and an eraser that lets users remove objects in a photo with the app filling in the space with the background, were also released.
In July 2017, Snapchat started allowing users to add links to snaps, enabling them to direct viewers to specific websites; the feature was only available for brands previously. Additionally, the update added more creative tools: A "Backdrop" feature lets users cut out a specific object from their photo and apply colorful patterns to it in order to bring greater emphasis to that object, and "Voice Filters" enable users to remix the sounds of their voices in the snap. Voice Filters was previously available as part of the feature enabling augmented reality lenses, with the new update adding a dedicated speaker icon to remix the audio in any snap.
In June 2020, Snap announced "minis", embeddable apps that live inside the parent Snap app.
Filters, lenses, and stickers
Snaps can be personalized with various forms of visual effects and stickers. Geofilters are graphical overlays available if the user is within a certain geographical location, such as a city, event, or destination. Users can design and create their own geofilters for personal events at a fee of $10–15 USD per hour. They can also subscribe to an annual plan which ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the location, for a permanent filter. A similar feature known as Geostickers was launched in 10 major cities in 2016. Bitmoji are stickers featuring personalized cartoon avatars, which can be used in snaps and messaging. Bitmoji characters can also be used as World Lenses.
The "Lens" feature, introduced in September 2015, allows users to add real-time effects into their snaps by using face detection technology. This is activated by long-pressing on a face within the viewfinder. In April 2017, Snapchat extended this feature into "World Lenses", which use augmented reality technology to integrate 3D rendered elements (such as objects and animated characters) into scenes; these elements are placed and anchored in 3D space.
On October 26, 2018, at TwitchCon, Snap launched the Snap Camera desktop application for macOS and Windows PCs, which enables use of Snapchat lenses in videotelephony and live streaming services such as Skype, Twitch, YouTube, and Zoom. Snapchat also launched integration with Twitch, including an in-stream widget for Snapcodes, the ability to offer lenses to stream viewers and as an incentive to channel subscribers. Several video game-themed lenses were also launched at this time, including ones themed around League of Legends, Overwatch, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.
In August 2020, Snapchat collaborated with four TikTok influencers to launch Augmented Reality (AR) lenses to create a more interactive experience with users. The lenses now incorporate geo-locational mapping techniques to incorporate digital overlays onto real world surfaces. These lenses track 18 joints across the body to identify body movements, and generate effects around the body of the user. Advertising is now also utilizing AR lenses that make users a part of the advert. Coca Cola, Pepsi and Taco Bell are just a select few of the brands now utilizing the tech on Snapchat. Consumers no longer scroll past these adverts, but become a part of them with AR lenses.
Friend emojis
Friend emojis can be customisable, however there are default emojis [see list below]. Snapscore, which states the amount of snaps one has sent and received is recorded and is visible to one's friends. If users tap their own score it shows the ratio of sent and received snaps, the amount of snaps they have sent is on the right and the amount of snaps they have received is on the left, these numbers combined are their Snapchat score. There are multiple synonyms for Snapchat score such as Snapchat points, Snapscore, Snap points and Snap Number. YouTube has a similar rewards system called "Perks".
Stories and Discover
In October 2013, Snapchat introduced the "My Story" feature, which allows users to compile snaps into chronological storylines, accessible to all of their friends. By June 2014, photo and video snaps presented to friends in the Stories functionality had surpassed person-to-person private snaps as the most frequently used function of the service, with over one billion viewed per day—double the daily views tallied in April 2014.
In June 2014, the story feature was expanded to incorporate "Our Stories", which was then changed to "Live Stories" about a year later. The feature allows users on-location at specific events (such as music festivals or sporting events) to contribute snaps to a curated story advertised to all users, showcasing a single event from multiple perspectives and viewpoints. These curated snaps provided by the app's contributors and selected for the "Live" section could also be more localized, but Snapchat eventually scaled back the more personal imaging streams in order to emphasize public events.
An "Official Stories" designation was added in November 2015 to denote the public stories of notable figures and celebrities, similar to Twitter's "Verified account" program.
In January 2015, Snapchat introduced "Discover" an area containing channels of ad-supported short-form content from major publishers, including BuzzFeed, CNN, ESPN, Mashable, People, Vice and Snapchat itself among others. To address data usage concerns related to these functions, a "Travel Mode" option was added in August 2015. When activated, the feature prevents the automatic downloading of snaps until they are explicitly requested by the user.
In October 2016, the app was updated to replace its auto-advance functionality, which automatically moved users from one story to the next, with a "Story Playlist" feature, letting users select thumbnails of users in the list to play only selected stories.
In January 2017, Snapchat revamped its design, adding search functionality and a new global live "Our Story" feature, to which any user can contribute.
In May 2017, Snapchat introduced "Custom Stories", letting users collaboratively make stories combining their captures.
In June 2017, "Snap Map" was introduced, which allows users to optionally share their location with friends. A map display, accessible from the viewfinder, can be used to locate stories based on location data, supporting the use of Bitmoji as place markers. Entering a "Ghost Mode" hides the user from the map. The function is based on the app Zenly, which was acquired by Snap Inc. prior to its launch. The map data is supplied from OpenStreetMap and Mapbox, while satellite imagery comes from DigitalGlobe.
In February 2020, Snapchat will globally release a Discover cartoon series called Bitmoji TV, which will star users' avatars.
Original video content
The Wall Street Journal reported in May 2017 that Snap Inc., the company developing Snapchat, had signed deals with NBCUniversal, A&E Networks, BBC, ABC, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and other content producers to develop original shows for viewing through Snapchat's "Stories" format. According to the report, Snap hoped to have several new shows available on a daily basis, with each show lasting between three and five minutes, and the company has sent out detailed reports to its partners on how to produce content for Snapchat. Over 2017 and 2018, Snap and partners launched several shows.
Messaging
In contrast to other messaging apps, Spiegel described Snapchat's messaging functions as being "conversational", rather than "transactional", as they sought to replicate the conversations he engaged in with friends. Spiegel stated that he did not experience conversational interactions while using the products of competitors like iMessage.
Rather than a traditional online notification, a blue pulsing "here" button is displayed within the sender's chat window if the recipient is currently viewing their own chat window. When this button is held down, a video chat function is immediately launched. By default, messages disappear after they are read, and a notification is sent to the recipient only when they start to type. Users can also use messages to reply to snaps that are part of a story. The video chat feature uses technology from AddLive—a real-time communications provider that Snapchat acquired prior to the feature's launch. In regards to the "Here" indicator, Spiegel explained that "the accepted notion of an online indicator that every chat service has is really a negative indicator. It means 'my friend is available and doesn't want to talk to you,' versus this idea in Snapchat where 'my friend is here and is giving you their full attention.'" Spiegel further claimed that the Here video function prevents the awkwardness that can arise from apps that use typing indicators because, with text communication, conversations lose their fluidity as each user tries to avoid typing at the same time.
On March 29, 2016, Snapchat launched a major revision of the messaging functionality known as "Chat 2.0", adding stickers, easier access to audio and video conferencing, the ability to leave audio or video "notes", and the ability to share recent camera photos. The implementation of these features are meant to allow users to easily shift between text, audio, and video chat as needed while retaining an equal level of functionality. In June 2018, Snapchat added the feature of deleting a sent message (including; audio, video, and text) before it is read. A feature introduced in August 2018 allows users to send Musical GIFs, TuneMojis.
Encryption
In January 2018, SnapChat introduced the use of end-to-end encryption in the application but only for snaps (pictures and video), according to a Snapchat security engineer presenting at the January 2019 Real World Crypto Conference. As of the January 2019 conference SnapChat had plans to introduce end-to-end encryption for text messages and group chats in the future.
Business and multimedia
Demographics
From its earliest days, Snapchat's main demographic has consisted of the Generation Z age group. On the app store, the age classification is 12+. In 2014, researchers from the University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University designed a user survey to help understand how and why the application was being used. The researchers originally hypothesized that due to the ephemeral nature of Snapchat messages, its use would be predominantly for privacy-sensitive content including the much talked about potential use for sexual content and sexting. However, it appears that Snapchat is used for a variety of creative purposes that are not necessarily privacy-related at all. In the study, only 1.6% of respondents reported using Snapchat primarily for sexting, although 14.2% admitted to having sent sexual content via Snapchat at some point. These findings suggest that users do not seem to utilize Snapchat for sensitive content. Rather, the primary use for Snapchat was found to be for comedic content such as "stupid faces" with 59.8% of respondents reporting this use most commonly. The researchers also determined how Snapchat users do not use the application and what types of content they are not willing to send. They found that the majority of users are not willing to send content classified as sexting (74.8% of respondents), photos of documents (85.0% of respondents), messages containing legally questionable content (86.6% of respondents), or content considered mean or insulting (93.7% of respondents).
The study results also suggested that Snapchat's success is not due to its security properties, but because the users found the application to be fun. The researchers found that users seem to be well-aware (79.4% of respondents) that recovering snaps is possible and a majority of users (52.8% of respondents) report that this does not affect their behavior and use of Snapchat. Many users (52.8% of respondents) were found to use an arbitrary timeout length on snaps regardless of the content type or recipient. The remaining respondents were found to adjust their snaps' timeout depending on the content or the recipient. Reasons for adjusting the time length of snaps included the level of trust and relationship with the recipient, the time needed to comprehend the snap, and avoiding screenshots.
Communication
Snapchat has often been seen to represent a new direction in social media, with its users craving a more in-the-moment way of sharing and communicating via technology. With less emphasis on the accumulation of an ongoing status involving the presence of permanent material, Snapchat put the focus on the ephemeral nature of fleeting encounters.
Building on this distinction by launching as a mobile-first company, Snapchat, in the midst of the app revolution and the growing presence of cellular communication, did not have to make the transition to mobile in the way other competing social media networks had to do. Evan Spiegel himself described Snapchat as primarily a camera company. Spiegel also dismissed past comparisons to other social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter when he was asked if the 2016 presidential race was going to be remembered as the Snapchat election, although major candidates did occasionally use the app to reach voters. Nevertheless, the growing mobile app moved to offer distinct publication, media, and news content within its Discover channel, as well as with its overall style of presentation. With Snapchat, a clear and identifiable line was drawn between brand content and user-based messaging and sharing, once again distinguishing the popular app from other social media networks, which typically have blended and blurred their different varieties of content.
Monetization
Snapchat's developing features embody a deliberate strategy of monetization.
Snapchat announced its then-upcoming advertising efforts on October 17, 2014, when it acknowledged its need for a revenue stream. The company stated that it wanted to evaluate "if we can deliver an experience that's fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted." Snapchat's first paid advertisement, in the form of a 20-second movie trailer for the horror film Ouija, was shown to users on October 19, 2014.
In January 2015, Snapchat began making a shift from focusing on growth to monetization. The company launched its "Discover" feature, which allowed for paid advertising by presenting short-form content from publishers. Its initial launch partners included CNN, Comedy Central, ESPN and Food Network, among others. In June 2015, Snapchat announced that it would allow advertisers to purchase sponsored geofilters for snaps; an early customer of the offering was McDonald's, who paid for a branded geofilter covering its restaurant locations in the United States. Snapchat made a push to earn ad revenue from its "Live Stories" feature in 2015, after initially launching the feature in 2014. Ad placements can be sold within a live story, or a story can be pitched by a sponsor. Live stories are estimated to reach an average of 20 million viewers in a 24-hour span.
Campaigns
In September 2015, the service entered into a partnership with the National Football League to present live stories from selected games (including a Sunday game, and marquee games such as Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football), with both parties contributing content and handling ad sales. The 2015 Internet Trends Report by Mary Meeker highlighted the significant growth of vertical video viewing. Vertical video ads like Snapchat's are watched in their entirety nine times more than landscape video ads. In 2016, Gatorade came out with an animated filter as part of the Super Bowl ads in 2016. The dunk lens of Gatorade received 165 million views on Snapchat.
In April 2016, NBC Olympics announced that it had reached a deal with Snapchat to allow stories from the 2016 Summer Olympics to be featured on Snapchat in the United States. The content would include a behind-the-scenes Discover channel curated by BuzzFeed (a company which NBCUniversal has funded), and stories featuring a combination of footage from NBC, athletes, and attendees. NBC sold advertising and entered into revenue sharing agreements. This marked the first time NBC allowed Olympics footage to be featured on third-party property. In May 2016, as part of a campaign to promote X-Men: Apocalypse, 20th Century Fox paid for the entire array of lenses to be replaced by those based on characters from the X-Men series and films for a single day. In July 2016, it was reported that Snapchat had submitted a patent application for the process of using an object recognition system to deliver sponsored filters based on objects seen in a camera view. Later that year, in September 2016, Snapchat released its first hardware product, called the Spectacles. Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc., called it “a toy” but saw it as an upside to freeing his app from smartphone cameras.
In April 2017, Digiday reported that Snapchat would launch a self-service manager for advertising on the platform. The feature launched the following month, alongside news of a Snapchat Mobile Dashboard for tracking ad campaigns, which rolled out in June to select countries. Also in 2017, Snapchat introduced a "Snap to Store" advertising tool that lets companies using geostickers to track whether users buy their product or visit their store in a 7-day period after seeing the relevant geosticker. On November 13, 2018, Snapchat announced the launch of the Snap Store, where they sell Bitmoji merchandise personalized by avatars from users and their friends. Items for sale include shirts, mugs, shower curtains, and phone cases.
Development platform
In June 2018, Snapchat announced a new third-party development platform known as Snap Kit: a suite of components that allows partners to provide third-party integrations with aspects of the service. "Login Kit" is a social login platform that utilizes Snapchat accounts. It was promoted as being more privacy-conscious than competing equivalents, as services are only able to receive the user's display name (and, optionally, a Bitmoji avatar) and are subject to a 90-day inactivity timeout, preventing them from being able to collect any further personal information or social graphs through their authorization. "Creative Kit" allows apps to generate their own stickers to overlay into Snapchat posts. "Story Kit" can be used to embed and aggregate publicly posted stories (with for example, Bandsintown using Story Kit to aggregate stories posted by musicians), while "Bitmoji Kit" allows Bitmoji stickers to be integrated into third-party apps.
Snap Originals
In response to industry competition from streaming platforms such as Netflix, Snapchat announced in late 2018 that it would diversify its content by launching Snap Originals (episodic content including both scripted shows and documentaries).
In June 2020, Snapchat announced the creation of its first-ever "shoppable" original show called The Drop, which focused on "exclusive streetwear collage" from celebrities and designers. Each episode explored the relationship between the designer and celebrity collaborator. Viewers would learn about the item for sale and how it came together, as well as what time that day the item would go up for sale. Later that day, at the aforementioned time, the episode would be updated with more content that included a "swipe up to buy" action.
Premium accounts and sexual content
In 2014, Snapchat introduced a new feature called Snapcash which spurred its popularity among adult content creators.
Snapchat allows private premium accounts in which users can monetize their content. This feature is mostly used by models to monetize their adult content. Snapchat is increasingly becoming an integral part of the online porn industry.
Controversies
December 2013 hack
Snapchat was hacked on December 31, 2013. Gibson Security, an Australian security firm, had disclosed an API security vulnerability to the company on August 27, 2013, and then made public the source code for the exploit on December 25. On December 27, Snapchat announced that it had implemented mitigating features. Nonetheless, an anonymous group hacked them, saying that the mitigating features presented only "minor obstacles." The hackers revealed parts of approximately 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and phone numbers on a website named SnapchatDB.info and sent a statement to the popular technology blog TechCrunch saying that their objective had been to "raise public awareness... and... put public pressure on Snapchat" to fix the vulnerability. Snapchat apologized a week after the hack.
Federal Trade Commission
In 2014, Snapchat settled a complaint made by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The government agency alleged that the company had exaggerated to the public the degree to which mobile app images and photos could actually be made to disappear. Under the terms of the agreement, Snapchat was not fined, but the app service agreed to have its claims and policies monitored by an independent party for a period of 20 years. The FTC concluded that Snapchat was prohibited from "misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains the privacy, security, or confidentiality of users' information."
Following the agreement, Snapchat updated its privacy page to state that the company "can't guarantee that messages will be deleted within a specific timeframe." Even after Snapchat deletes message data from their servers, that same data may remain in backup for a certain period of time. In a public blog post, the service warned that "If you've ever tried to recover lost data after accidentally deleting a drive or maybe watched an episode of CSI, you might know that with the right forensic tools, it's sometimes possible to retrieve data after it has been deleted."
Windows app
In November 2014, Snapchat announced a crackdown on third-party apps of its service and their users. Users of the Windows Phone platform were affected, as Snapchat did not have an official client for it, but numerous third-party apps existed, most popularly one called 6snap. In December, Microsoft was forced to remove 6snap and all other third-party apps of Snapchat from the Windows Phone Store; Snapchat however did not develop an official app for the platform, leaving its users on the platform behind. A petition from users requesting an official Snapchat app reached 43,000 signatures in 2015, but the company still refused to respond and to build an app for Windows Phone. Snapchat was criticized once again later in 2015 when it did not develop an app for Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
Lens incidents
In September 2015, an 18-year-old was using a Snapchat feature called "Lens" to record the speed she was driving her Mercedes C230 when she crashed into a Mitsubishi Outlander in Hampton, Georgia. The crash injured both drivers. The driver of the Outlander spent five weeks in intensive care while he was treated for severe traumatic brain injury. In April 2016, the Outlander driver sued both Snapchat and the user of Snapchat, alleging that Snapchat knew its application was being used in unlawful speed contests, yet did nothing to prevent such use so is negligent.
In October 2016, a similar collision while driving at , occurred in Tampa, Florida, killing five people.
"Poor Country" remark
According to former Snapchat employee Anthony Pompliano in a lawsuit filed against Snap Inc., Spiegel made a statement in 2015 that Snapchat is "only for rich people" and that he does not "want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain." The incident sparked a Twitter trend called "#UninstallSnapchat", in which Indian users uninstalled the app, and caused backlash against the company in terms of low "one-star" ratings for the app in the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store. Snapchat's shares fell by 1.5%. In response to the allegation, Snapchat called Pompliano's claim "ridiculous", and elaborated that "Obviously Snapchat is for everyone. It’s available worldwide to download for free."
Pompliano Lawsuit
In January 2017, former employee Anthony Pompliano filed a state lawsuit accusing Snapchat of doctoring growth metrics with the intention of deceiving investors. Pompliano said that CEO Evan Spiegel was dismissive of his concerns and that Pompliano was fired shortly thereafter. The judge dropped Pompliano’s claims that Snapchat violated the Dodd-Frank and Consumer Protection Acts in retaliation against him, citing an arbitration clause in his contract. However, Snap Inc. faced blowback over a lack of disclosure regarding the contents of the lawsuit, resulting in plunging stock prices, several class-action lawsuits, and Federal investigations.
"Snap Map" privacy concerns
The June 2017 release of "Snap Map", a feature that broadcasts the user's location on a map, was met with concerns over privacy and safety. The feature, through an opt-in, delivers a message asking if the user would like to show their position on the map, but reportedly does not explain the ramifications of doing so, including that the app updates the user's position on the map each time the app is opened and not just when actively capturing snaps, potentially assisting stalkers. The map can be zoomed in to feature detailed geographical information, such as street addresses. The Daily Telegraph reported that police forces had issued child safety warnings, while other media publications wrote that safety concerns were also raised for teenagers and adults unaware of the feature's actual behavior. In a statement to The Verge, a Snapchat spokesperson said that "The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents, and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works".
Users have the ability to operate in "Ghost Mode", or select the friends that they wish to share their location with. Although there has been an increase in advertising on Snapchat, Snapchat has stated that they do not plan on running ads on Snap Map stories.
Rihanna controversy
In March 2018, an advertisement containing a poll about Rihanna was posted stating, "Would you rather punch Chris Brown or slap Rihanna?" Rihanna tweeted that Snapchat was "insensitive to domestic violence victims" and urged fans to delete Snapchat.
Body image concerns
The increased use of body and facial reshaping applications such as Snapchat and Facetune has been identified as a potential cause of body dysmorphic disorder. In August 2018, researchers from the Boston Medical Center wrote in a JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery essay that a phenomenon they called 'Snapchat dysmorphia' had been identified, where people request surgery to look like the edited version of themselves as they appear through Snapchat Filters.
Snapchat employees abused data access to spy on users
In May 2019, it was revealed that multiple Snapchat employees used an internal tool called SnapLion, originally designed to gather data in compliance with law enforcement requests, to spy on users.
Mozilla calls for public disclosures related to use of A.I.
Citing "vague, broad language" in Snapchat's privacy policy, Mozilla issued a September 2019 petition calling for public disclosures related to the app's use of facial emotion recognition technology. When reached for comment by Scientific American, representatives for Snapchat declined to share a public response.
Revenge porn
During the 2020 lockdown to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 in France, the app emerged as a hub for the dissemination of revenge porn of underage girls.
In 2020, a woman in North Carolina sued Snapchat (as well as dating app Tinder and the five men named in the attack), claiming features of the app enabled her alleged rapist and his friends to hide evidence of the rape. In particular, the suit alleges that "because of the ways Snapchat is and has been designed, constructed, marketed, and maintained, [the woman's assailants] were able to send these nonconsensual, pornographic photographs and videos of [her] with little to no threat of law enforcement verifying that they did so." The woman told the court that parent company Snap Inc. "specifically and purposely designed, constructed, and maintained Snapchat to serve as a secretive and nefarious communications platform that encourages, solicits, and facilitates the creation and dissemination of illicit and non-consensual sexually explicit content...and allowed Snapchat to operate as a safe-haven from law enforcement."
See also
Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
Timeline of social media
Sobrr, another mobile application which deletes content after a specified time
Purikura, Japanese photo sticker booths which had earlier used Snapchat-like filters
Yahoo!
Picsart
Yubo
Yo (app)
IBeer
References
Further reading
External links
Official website
Snap Inc.
2011 establishments in California
Android (operating system) software
Computer-related introductions in 2011
Instant messaging
IOS software
Internet properties established in 2011
Internet television streaming services
Image sharing websites
Proprietary cross-platform software
Privately held companies based in California
Streaming media systems
Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Vertical video
Video on demand services
Mobile applications |
37509755 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega%20%28service%29 | Mega (service) | MEGA (a recursive acronym standing for MEGA Encrypted Global Access) is a cloud storage and file hosting service offered by MEGA Limited, a company based in Auckland, New Zealand. The service is offered through web-based apps. MEGA mobile apps are also available for Android and iOS. MEGA is known for the largest fully featured free cloud storage in the world with 20 GB storage allocation for free accounts. The website and service was launched on 19 January 2013, by Kim Dotcom, together with chief technical officer, director, and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, chief marketing officer Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk.
Data encryption
Data on Mega services is end-to-end encrypted client-side using the AES algorithm. Since Mega does not know the encryption keys to uploaded files, they cannot decrypt and view the content. Therefore, they cannot be responsible for the contents of uploaded files. By encrypting files MEGA can work with a larger number of data hosting companies around the world, decreasing the likelihood of a Megaupload-style seizure of servers by one government. MEGA also uses CloudRAID technology, which means files are split into roughly equal-sized parts and stored in different countries. They also store another part in yet another country recording whether the number of "1" bits at a certain position within all parts is even or odd. This means that users can reconstruct data even when one of the parts is unavailable.
In the first few weeks after the Mega launch, various security problems were found that researchers said an attacker could use to gain access to a logged-in user's files. In response, Mega started a vulnerability reward program which offers a reward of up to €10,000 for reporting security problems to MEGA.
Account options
Free account users receive:
20 GB of base storage quota (5 GB of bandwidth per day)
Additional storage allowances can be activated through various "achievements", but expire after 365 days. No maximum storage.
Paid account users are provided with four tiers of options:
400 GB storage (1 TB of bandwidth per month)
2 TB storage (2 TB of bandwidth per month)
8 TB storage (8 TB of bandwidth per month)
16 TB storage (16 TB of bandwidth per month)
Business accounts
3 users minimum
3 TB storage (3 TB of bandwidth per month)
Additional TB's of storage or bandwidth can be purchased with no upper limit
Transparency
Mega publishes an SDK as well as source code of all their client applications under the Mega Limited Code Review Licence, a proprietary source-available license which only permits usage of the code "for the purposes of review and commentary". The source code was released after former director Kim Dotcom stated that he would "create a Mega competitor that is completely open source and non-profit" following his departure from Mega Ltd.
MEGA also releases a yearly transparency report that publishes statistics on takedown requests, subscriber information disclosure and related issues. This is intended to provide transparency for users, regulatory bodies and suppliers as to Mega's operating processes relating to privacy and to statutory compliance. According to the latest 2021 report, MEGA now has over 230 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. In total, Mega's users have uploaded more than 100 billion distinct files.
History
MEGA was founded after file-hosting site Megaupload was seized and shut down on 19 January 2012 by the United States Department of Justice, which began criminal cases against its owners. After Gabon denied the new company domain name me.ga, MEGA announced it would instead be registered in the country of residence of its founders New Zealand, under the domain name mega.co.nz. Mega launched on 19 January 2013 – exactly a year after Megaupload was shut down. It was founded by Kim Dotcom, Bram van der Kolk, Finn Batato, and Mathias Ortmann. Dotcom reported on Twitter MEGA had over 100,000 registered users within the first hour, speculating that this may make Mega the fastest-growing startup in history. Kim Dotcom also reported on Twitter that the site was extremely busy, and received thousands of user registrations per minute at the time of the tweet. Kim later reported Mega having more than 1 million registered users, and 60 uploads completed every second. Three days later that number was updated to 500 uploads completed every second.
Early users of the site experienced various issues due to the site's popularity, including slow-to-nonexistent upload speeds and problems logging in. The service improved slightly over the next three days, but remained insufficient for large volumes of uploads. Others said there appeared to be no way to close an account in case it got compromised. Technology commentators blamed the poor performance on the site's popularity, noting it was ranked in the top 150 websites in the world in the first few days of its existence, subsequently dropping a few thousand places.
Mega launched in 2013 as a cloud service with a tagline of "The Privacy Company". On 4 July 2013, the Mega Android application was released on the Google Play marketplace. Four days later, on 8 July 2013, the Mega software development kit (SDK) and affiliate program was released. On 4 September 2013, Kim Dotcom stepped down as Director of Mega so he could pursue his political ambitions with the Internet Party. In a later interview with the Washington Post on 7 September, Kim Dotcom announced Mega was getting 20,000 signups for the service every day. Furthermore, in 2013 Mega was receiving about 100 DMCA takedowns per day. On 26 November 2013, the official Mega iOS application was released on the App Store marketplace. On 20 January 2014, the official MEGAsync application was released for Windows and on 6 September 2014, the official MEGAsync application was released for Linux.
In March 2014, chief executive Stephen Hall announced intentions to list MEGA on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. In September, a report published from the Digital Citizens Alliance – commissioned via brand protection organization NetNames – characterising Mega as a 'shadowy cyberlocker' was branded "grossly untrue and highly defamatory" by Mega's CEO.
In July 2015, in a Q&A session with tech website Slashdot Dotcom mentioned he was no longer involved with Mega. Neither in a managing nor in a shareholder capacity. Dotcom also mentions he will launch an open-source competitor to MEGA. This competitor was supposed to be launched in 2014 but development and launch seem to be delayed indefinitely.
In January 2016, Mega announced that the service has 35 million registered users that have uploaded 12 billion files.
Later in 2016, Mega Ltd. released the source code to their client-side software under the Mega Limited Code Review License, a source-available software license, on GitHub. This allows independent verification of the correctness and integrity of the implementation of MEGA's cryptographic model and service reliability.
In 2020, it reached a user-base of 195 million users. This was also its first year turning a profit.
In 2021, Mega added a domain name to include Mega.io and Mega.nz. The .io domain was chosen to reflect the global nature of MEGA which has more than 200 million registered users in over 215 countries/territories. MEGA continues to say that the .io pages are also more likely to be properly indexed by search engines than the current .nz pages, which are often incorrectly treated as only being relevant to New Zealand searches.
Later in 2021, Mega shared their transparency report where they record 230 million registered users storing 107 billion files.
Limitations
According to Mega, the site works with all major current browsers, but there can be some inconveniences to using browsers other than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi or Microsoft Edge. For example, with Safari, MEGA runs into some limitations due to inferior browser design.
New features
MEGAchat
In February 2013, Mega announced it would be expanding into e-mail, chat, voice, video, and mobile. In December 2014, MEGA said it would "soon" launch a browser-based chat service. In mid-January 2015, Mega launched MegaChat in beta, marketed as a web-based, encrypted alternative to applications like Skype and FaceTime.
Browser extension
Mega released a browser plugin extension called MEGA Chrome Extension in 2015. It was advertised as reducing loading times, improving downloading performance, and strengthening security. Mega also released a browser extension for Firefox.
On 5 September 2018 it was reported that the extension on the Chrome Web Store was compromised by the addition of code designed to steal website credentials and cryptocurrency. The original code on the GitHub page was not affected.
See also
Comparison of file hosting services
Comparison of file synchronization software
Comparison of online backup services
References
External links
Cloud storage
File hosting
File sharing services
Internet properties established in 2013
Kim Dotcom
Internet technology companies of New Zealand
New Zealand brands
New Zealand websites
New Zealand companies established in 2013
Computer companies established in 2013 |
37629216 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petraeus%20scandal | Petraeus scandal | The Petraeus scandal is a series of events that garnered strong media attention when an extramarital affair between retired four-star general and then-Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell became public information. Petraeus had chosen Broadwell to be his official biographer. She co-authored his biography, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, when Petraeus was the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander. On November 9, 2012, she was reported to have been involved in the extramarital affair with Petraeus that triggered his resignation as Director of the CIA when it was discovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Summary and chronology
The case was initiated by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Frederick W. Humphries II after he received a complaint about cyberstalking from Jill Kelley. Humphries reported it to his superiors and then to Republican congressional leaders Dave Reichert and Eric Cantor. He then reported it to FBI Director Robert Mueller after receiving complaints from Kelley that she was being stalked, on the grounds that the stalker "seem[ed] to know the comings and goings of a couple of generals." The FBI investigation uncovered an extramarital affair between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, the latter being Kelley's cyberstalker. FBI agents also searched through emails that General John R. Allen exchanged with Jill Kelley.
An in-depth report in Time magazine provided a chronology of some of the major events and personalities as they unfolded:
Broadwell, then a United States Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, first met Petraeus at Harvard University in 2006. Petraeus attained the rank of four-star general.
Petraeus and Broadwell engaged in a secret extramarital affair—exactly when is not clear—after years of close contact as biographer (Broadwell) and subject (Petraeus).
By the time Petraeus became Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2011, Broadwell had been working closely with him for years. She used nicknames for him such as "Dangerous Dave" and "Peaches".
In May 2012, Jill Kelley filed a complaint with the FBI after receiving disturbing emails from a user identifying as "kelleypatrol". Kelley, her husband Scott, as well as her sister Natalie Khawam also happened to be friends of Petraeus and his wife Holly from the time Petraeus was stationed at CENTCOM in Tampa, Florida.
Petraeus and Broadwell used fake names to create free webmail accounts exchanging messages without encryption tools. They would share an email account, with one saving a message in the drafts folder and the other deleting it after reading it.
The FBI, using electronic metadata that pinpointed the times, places and IP addresses, identified Paula Broadwell as the source of "kelleypatrol".
FBI and intelligence agencies noted information about high-ranking U.S. military personnel and Petraeus and that some of the exchanges were "sexually charged".
From the summer of 2012, FBI Director Robert Mueller and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decided to withhold information until after the U.S. presidential election on November 6. It was two months before Mueller and Holder dispatched FBI Deputy Director Sean M. Joyce to notify the Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper late on November 6 about the discovery of the affair.
Agents had confronted Broadwell on November 2, 2012. The report did not reach headquarters until November 5. Mueller and Holder reviewed it on November 6 (Election Day); he decided that it was time to inform Clapper.
Forensic techniques that discovered Broadwell's identity and the affair with Petraeus also uncovered almost 30,000 pages of messages between Kelley and General John R. Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Allen denied an affair, but officials hinted that the emails raised "questions of impropriety". Allen's nomination as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander was put on hold.
Media focused on the Kelley-Khawam families and found that Generals Petraeus and Allen had both intervened on behalf of Natalie Khawam (Wolfe), the twin sister of Jill (Khawam) Kelley, in a civilian child custody dispute by writing to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
FBI agent Humphries, who was allegedly the one who had initially taken Kelley's case to the FBI's field office in Tampa, Florida, also had a personal friendship with Kelley. Humphries repeatedly intervened to advance the case, to which he was not assigned. In late October 2012 he phoned two US Representatives, Republicans Dave Reichert and Eric Cantor, and said that he believed the US Department of Justice was covering up the case. Humphries became the subject of an ethics probe by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
On November 7, 2012, James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, informed Thomas E. Donilon, the US National Security Advisor, about the Petraeus affair. The United States Department of Justice also informed the White House Counsel about General Allen's correspondence with Jill Kelley.
On November 7, 2012, Petraeus tendered his resignation as CIA chief to President Obama, per directive from James Clapper.
On November 9, 2012, Petraeus resigned as Director of the CIA after admitting having a sexual relationship with his biographer.
On April 23, 2015, Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified materials. He was given a two-year probationary period and a fine of $100,000.
People involved
Major players
David Petraeus
David Petraeus (born November 7, 1952) is an American former military officer and public official. He served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell replaced Director Petraeus in his duties, serving as Acting Director. Petraeus, prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, was a four-star general with over 37 years' service in the United States Army.
Petraeus reportedly began an affair with Paula Broadwell, principal author of his biography, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, after Petraeus left his ISAF command on July 18, 2011, to become CIA director. Petraeus reportedly ended the affair in the summer of 2012, around the time that he learned that Broadwell had been sending harassing emails to a longstanding family friend of the Petraeuses, Jill Kelley.
Kelley, a Lebanese American socialite in Tampa Bay, Florida, had approached an associate who worked for the FBI Tampa Field Office in the late spring about anonymous emails she considered threatening. The Bureau traced the emails to Broadwell and noted that Broadwell appeared to be exchanging intimate messages with an email account belonging to Petraeus, which instigated an investigation into whether that account had been hacked into or was someone posing as Petraeus.
In the wake of his resignation, Petraeus hired influential attorney Robert B. Barnett to represent him. Barnett has represented many influential people including President Barack Obama and has served as a practice debate opponent for many Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Paula Broadwell
Paula Broadwell (born November 9, 1972) is a US Army Intelligence Officer, an American writer, academic, and anti-terrorism professional.
She is the co-author with Vernon Loeb of The New York Times Best Seller, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, a biography of then International Security Assistance Force commander David Petraeus. On November 9, 2012, she was reported to have been involved in the extramarital affair with Petraeus that triggered his resignation as Director of the CIA when it was discovered by the FBI because of her high level targets of cyber-stalking.
In or about May 2012, Jill Kelley, an Honorary Ambassador to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, began to receive anonymous emails which she considered to be threatening and harassing. She contacted the FBI, who traced the emails to Broadwell. The emails reportedly indicated that Broadwell suspected Kelley of starting an affair with General David Petraeus, who was a friend of Kelley's. Although the sending of the emails was deemed to be insufficient grounds for a criminal charge, the FBI called Broadwell in for questioning, at which time she admitted to the affair with Petraeus. After Broadwell turned over her computer, classified documents were found, which led to further FBI scrutiny of her relationship with Petraeus. Although Petraeus was not identified as the provider of the documents, the affair was revealed in early November 2012 and was cited by Petraeus as the reason for his resignation on November 9. On November 14, 2012, Broadwell was stripped of her clearances to access classified information, and her promotion to lieutenant colonel was revoked.
As an officer in the US Army Reserve, Broadwell has been suspended pending the outcome of the FBI investigation. She has cooperated with investigators in their effort to remove classified material in her possession. When the news of the scandal became public, Paula Broadwell spent time away from her husband and family secluded in Washington D.C. Her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, was searched by the FBI, all computers were removed, and some classified documents were found there. She returned home to be with her husband and children. The media has taken note of how Scott and Paula Broadwell have tried to get back to normal life.
Following the revelations about her relationship with Petraeus, Broadwell has retained the services of former Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers with the public relations firm The Glover Park Group. The founders of The Glover Park Group have previously served as officials in the Clinton White House and on the presidential campaign of former vice president Al Gore. The firm's services include public relations, advertising, marketing, government relations and policy counsel, crisis management and opinion research.
Jill Kelley
Jill Kelley (born Gilberte Khawam, June 3, 1975) the Ambassador to General Mattis and confidant to CIA Director Petraeus, who frequently entertained senior officers from nearby MacDill Air Force Base at her Tampa home. Kelley's family is Lebanese-American Maronite Catholic. Kelley's friendships with four star Generals David Petraeus and John R. Allen led to her becoming a key figure in the government investigations into the communications of the two men.
In May 2012, Kelley contacted a local FBI investigator whom she knew, Frederick W. Humphries II, to complain about being cyberstalked. This set off a chain of events that eventually led to Petraeus's resignation on November 9, 2012. The anonymous emailer was identified as Paula Broadwell, who investigators discovered had been having an affair with Petraeus.
On November 13, 2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that General Allen's nomination for the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe would be delayed while the investigation into Allen's extensive communications with Kelley was underway, though both Secretary Panetta and President Obama expressed their confidence in General Allen's ability to lead in his current post and noted that he has not been formally censured.
In the wake of the scandal, Kelley is being represented by defense lawyer Abbe D. Lowell and crisis management expert Judy Smith. Lowell was Chief Minority Counsel to the Democrats in the House of Representatives during the unsuccessful opposition of the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the Lewinsky scandal. Smith is founder, president and CEO of Smith and Company. Smith and her firm advised Monica Lewinsky.
Natalie Khawam
Natalie Khawam (born June 3, 1975) is an attorney in Florida. Khawam holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. She is also the identical twin sister of Jill Kelley. She was reportedly also friends with both General David Petraeus and General John R. Allen. Khawam was born in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to White House sources, both Kelley and Khawam visited the White House three times from September to November 2012. The visits occurred after the FBI had begun investigating allegedly threatening and jealous emails Kelley said she received over her friendship with then-CIA Director Petraeus. Khawam had a relationship with Gerald Harrington, the vice chair of finance for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Harrington is a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and it was Harrington that gave Khawam access to events hosted by Senator John Kerry, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Patrick J. Kennedy.
John R. Allen
John R. Allen (born December 15, 1953) is a United States Marine Corps four-star general. On July 18, 2011, Allen assumed command of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) as Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), succeeding Army General David Petraeus. He has been appointed NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, to take office in early 2013, pending confirmation by the United States Senate. On November 13, 2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that Allen's nomination for SACEUR would be "delayed." News agencies reported that Allen's communications with Jill Kelley, a Tampa woman who was friends with Allen's predecessor as top commander in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, were under investigation. Petraeus had resigned as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency four days earlier.
In November 2012, Allen became embroiled in an inappropriate communication investigation concerning his correspondences with Jill Kelley. According to the FBI, Allen had received anonymous e-mail messages, sent by someone identified as "kelleypatrol" (later found to be Paula Broadwell) advising him to stay away from Jill Kelley. Allen forwarded it to Kelley and they discussed a concern that someone was cyberstalking them.
In response to the investigation, Secretary Panetta moved to speed the nomination of General Joseph Dunford to command of forces in Afghanistan.
As a result of his name emerging as part of the scandal, Allen is reported as being represented by military spokesmen as well as military defense lawyers from the chief defense counsel of the Marine Corps. The United States Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division is the United States Marine Corps's legal arm, and is subordinate to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. The head of the Division is the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) to the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC). Military attorneys (or judge advocates) in the Marine Corps work under the supervision of the SJA to the CMC to advise Marine commanders regarding legal issues. Colonel John G. Baker, the chief defense counsel of the Marine Corps has been speaking for Allen.
On January 22, 2013, General Allen was cleared in a misconduct inquiry.
Frederick W. Humphries II
Frederick Ward Humphries II (born 1965), the FBI agent who started the investigation, was a friend of Jill Kelley.
Humphries had pursued Kelley's cyberstalking complaint after he had reported it, even though he was not assigned to the case. He was admonished by supervisors who thought he was trying to improperly insert himself into the investigation when in late October 2012, fearing that the case was being stalled, he contacted Representative Dave Reichert, a Republican from Washington State, where Humphries had once been stationed, to inform him of the case. Reichert put him in touch with the House majority leader, Eric Cantor, who passed the message to FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Humphries was later barred from taking part in the investigation over concerns that he had become "obsessed" with the case. Officials discovered that he had once sent a shirtless photo of himself posing with dummies at a shooting range to Kelley, although Humphries later told The Seattle Times that dozens of other friends and acquaintances had also received the photo in a "joking" email sent in the fall of 2010, soon after Humphries had transferred to Tampa from Guantánamo Bay.
In November 2012 Humphries remained under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility, the internal-affairs arm of the United States Department of Justice.
Humphries, a University of Tampa graduate, has had a notable FBI career. In December 1999, his familiarity with the French language allowed him to recognize the Algerian accented French of Ahmed Ressam. Skeptical of Ressam's claim to be French Canadian, Humphries had Ressam detained. The Algerian-born Ressam was later found guilty of conspiring to attack Los Angeles International Airport. The trial judge in the Ressam case, John C. Coughenour, praised Humphries' work and integrity. In May 2010 Humphries killed a retired Army Ranger at the MacDill Air Force Base main gate after the retiree brandished a knife and was said to have threatened the lives of base security officials and Humphries. The fatal shooting was later deemed to be justified.
Humphries is being represented by Lawrence Berger, the general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. Berger has stated that: "Humphries only received the information from Ms. Kelley and never played a role in the investigation...Humphries and his wife had been 'social friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband prior to the day she referred the matter to him.' 'They always socialized and corresponded,'...That picture was sent years before Ms. Kelley contacted him about this."
Minor players
Holly Petraeus
Holly Petraeus is the wife of David Petraeus. She is the assistant director of service-member affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Scott Broadwell
Dr. Scott Broadwell was the husband of Paula Broadwell. He is a radiologist in Charlotte, North Carolina. Scott Broadwell and his future wife Paula Kranz met in 2000 when they were both active duty US Army captains. He was then a physician and commander of the Mannheim military clinic in Germany. Paula Kranz was in military intelligence. They were married in Heidelberg Castle with Lt. Col. Ronald Leininger, a Protestant Army chaplain officiating.
Scott Kelley
Dr. Scott Kelley is the husband of Jill Kelley. He is an oncology surgeon in Tampa, Florida. Scott and Jill Kelley hosted social events attended by David and Holly Petraeus, becoming their friends.
Kathy Allen
Kathy (Katherine Glickert) Allen (born February 16, 1954) is the wife of General John R. Allen. They have two adult daughters, singer Bobbie Allen and Betty Allen Wightman. According to some reports Kathy Allen was supposedly good friends with Jill Kelley.
Reactions
The White House and Barack Obama
After being briefed on November 8, President Obama summoned Petraeus to the White House, where Petraeus offered his resignation. After taking some time to consider, Obama chose not to suspend Petraeus but accepted the resignation on November 9. Petraeus cited the affair when announcing that same day that he would be resigning as CIA Director.
In the days following Obama's re-election in November 2012, he had to face the ramifications of the Petraeus scandal. Media reported that angry congressional leaders were demanding answers about the Petraeus affair and "why they were given zero advance notice of the spymaster’s lively love life." An article in TIME probed "The Petraeus Affair: Why Was Obama Kept in the Dark?"
CIA and intelligence community
Although US Attorney General Eric Holder was aware early on that the FBI had discovered an affair, it was not until November 6, 2012, that Petraeus' nominal superior, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, was advised. The same evening that Clapper was informed, Clapper called Petraeus and urged him to resign. Clapper notified the White House the next day, November 7.
FBI and law enforcement
Officials say the FBI knew of Petraeus' affair in the summer of 2012. According to an Associated Press report, rather than sending emails to each other's inbox which would have left a more obvious email trail, messages were left in a draft folder which were then read when the other person logged into the same account.
Congressional involvement
Although the Tampa FBI agent familiar with Kelley, Fred Humphries, was not put on the case as he was not part of the cybersquad, the agent was said to have become obsessed with the investigation. After being instructed by his superiors to steer clear of the case, Humphries reportedly became convinced that the investigation had been stalled because of a politically motivated desire to protect U.S. President Barack Obama. The agent then contacted Republican Congressman Dave Reichert, and was able to relay information to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Cantor's office raised the matter with FBI Director Robert Mueller on October 31.
After news of the affair between Petraeus and Broadwell broke, several members of Congress stated that they felt they should have been informed about the FBI investigation earlier.
U.S. military
On November 13, it emerged that Kelley had a connection to General John R. Allen, Petraeus' successor as top commander in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Panetta, Petraeus' predecessor at the CIA, said that Allen's nomination for Supreme Allied Commander Europe would be "delayed." News agencies reported that Allen's communications with Kelley were under investigation.
Former colleagues and acquaintances
James Marks, a retired General and CNN military analyst thinks the scandal is mainly a personal tragedy for the involved parties. Broadwell worked for Marks and therefore, unlike many others, Marks was not surprised that Broadwell was able to gain access to Petraeus' inner circle. Petraeus had tested Broadwell by going on a long run, a test Broadwell was able to pass, eventually leading Petraeus to let his guard down. On a security level, Marks saw no significant problems. As to the motives for Petraeus to get involved in the relationship, Marks feels that the departure from the military may have played a role.
Peter Mansoor, retired colonel, executive officer and friend to Petraeus, in an interview discussed his view and Petraeus' reaction to the scandal. Mansoor recalled that during their first meeting Broadwell struck him as confident, physically fit, and ambitious. However, he was also surprised that Petraeus let Broadwell into his inner circle despite existing rules of no embeds and personality profiling. He later said that Petraeus told him that he "screwed up big time". Mansoor speculates that Petraeus may have stayed at the CIA had the scandal not come out.
Jack Keane, a former general who supported Petraeus during his takeover as commander of the allied forces in Iraq, expressed sadness over the situation. He felt that the accomplishments of Petraeus would be forgotten.
List of key U.S. officials dealing with the scandal
FBI Special Agent Frederick Humphries II
FBI Director Robert Mueller
Attorney General Eric Holder
FBI Deputy Director Sean M. Joyce
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper
Representative Dave Reichert
Former Representative Eric Cantor
National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
U.S. President Barack Obama
List of defense teams
Robert B. Barnett representing David Petraeus.
Dee Dee Myers and The Glover Park Group representing Paula Broadwell.
Abbe D. Lowell representing Jill Kelley.
Gloria Allred representing Natalie Khawam.
John G. Baker, chief defense counsel of the Marine Corps and the Defense counsel of the Marine Corps representing John R. Allen.
Lawrence Berger, general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association representing Frederick Humphries II.
See also
Cyberstalking
Lewinsky scandal
List of federal political scandals in the United States
Political scandal
Sex scandal
External links
FBI file on the Petraeus investigation at the Internet Archive
References
Political sex scandals in the United States
2012 in the United States
2012 scandals |
37704260 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft%20Communications%20Data%20Bill | Draft Communications Data Bill | The Draft Communications Data Bill (nicknamed the Snoopers' Charter or Snooper's Charter) was draft legislation proposed by then Home Secretary Theresa May in the United Kingdom which would require Internet service providers and mobile phone companies to maintain records of each user's internet browsing activity (including social media), email correspondence, voice calls, internet gaming, and mobile phone messaging services and store the records for 12 months. Retention of email and telephone contact data for this time is already required by the Data Retention Regulations 2014. The anticipated cost was £1.8 billion.
May originally expected the bill to be introduced in the 2012–13 legislative session, carried over to the following session, and enacted as law in 2014. However, the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg withdrew his support for this bill in April 2013, saying "a law which means there would be a record kept of every website you visit, who you communicate with on social media sites ... it is certainly not going to happen with Liberal Democrats in government", and his Liberal Democrat party blocked it from being reintroduced during the 2010-2015 Parliament. Shortly after the Conservative victory in May 2015, May vowed to introduce the Communications Data Bill in the next parliament. In November 2015, May announced a new Investigatory Powers Bill similar to the Draft Communications Data Bill, although with more limited powers and additional oversight.
History
Intercept Modernisation
The powers and intent of the Bill were preceded by plans under the last Labour administration to improve access to communications traffic data, under the Interception Modernisation Programme. The plans did not become a firm legislative proposal and were strongly opposed by both Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition parties.
The new coalition agreement in 2010 committed to ending the storing of email and Internet records "without good reason". The IMP was not entirely abandoned however, and the Home Office under the new coalition committed to examining the problem of access to communications data under the Communications Capabilities Development Programme.
Queen's Speech
The government announced its intention to legislate in order to "maintain capability" of law enforcement access to communications traffic data in 2012.
Joint Committee
As the result of public reaction to the proposed Bill and internal Liberal Democrat opposition to the Bill, Nick Clegg asked for the Bill to be referred to a Joint Committee to scrutinise the proposal. The Committee reported in December 2012.
Counter Terrorism Bill 2015
In 2015 a cross-party group of lords — Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater, former Conservative Defence Secretary; Ian Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, former Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and crossbench peer; Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, former Independent Reviewer of counter-terrorism legislation and Lib Dem peer; and Alan West, Baron West of Spithead, former Labour Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism — attempted to add the text of the Communications Data Bill to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, which became the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. However this was dropped before going to a vote due to opposition.
Powers
The bill would amend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Data collection
The bill would create a wide-ranging power to compel any 'communications service provider' to collect and retain additional information about their users. Current data retention obligations require ISPs to retain data collected for business purposes for longer than normal. Under the new bill, any organisation that interacts with users and produces or transmits electronic communications could be compelled to collect and retain information about them, even if it is entirely irrelevant to their business needs.
Deep Packet Inspection
One technique that may be used to collect user data could be Deep Packet Inspection.
According to Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism Charles Farr, formerly of MI6, so-called "black boxes" – DPI – probes are not the "central plank" of the 2012 Communications Data Bill. The boxes would be used when communications service providers refuse to submit data, but he anticipated that most would maintain data about users in unencrypted form from which contact information could readily be separated from content. This would circumvent SSL encryption during transmission. He said that the DPI boxes were already "used as a matter of course" by ISPs. The Mastering the Internet system was described in 2009 by The Register and The Sunday Times as the replacement for scrapped plans for a single central database, involving thousands of DPI "black boxes" at ISPs in association with the GCHQ base in Cheltenham, funded out of a Single Intelligence Account budget of £1.6 bn, including a £200m contract with Lockheed Martin and a contract with BAE Systems Detica. In 2008 the black box infrastructure was operated by Detica, which had been expected to win additional contracts for its proposed expansion in the Communications Data Bill 2008.
Filtering arrangements
The bill creates arrangements to interrogate and match data from different data sources. The justification is that only relevant data would be returned, thus improving personal privacy. Additionally, police cite problems matching data from for instance different cell phone masts.
However, the bill has been said to provide the legislative basis for a "giant database" that would allow "quite complicated questions" about "communications behaviors and patterns" which could become a "honeypot for casual hackers, blackmailers, criminals large and small from around the world, and foreign states", as Lord Strasburger described it, as the bill was scrutinised by the Joint Committee of MPs and peers.
The BBC reported that the Home Office stressed that the bill was intended for targeted surveillance rather than "fishing expeditions", but quoted opponent Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch: "The filtering provisions are so broadly worded and so poorly drafted that it could allow mining of all the data collected, without any requirement for personal information, which is the very definition of a fishing trip."
Open Rights Group campaigner Jim Killock told the BBC that officials 'would be able to build up a complex map of individuals' communications by examining records of "their mobile phone, their normal phone, their work email, their Facebook account and so on",' which 'could compromise journalistic sources, deter whistleblowers and increase the risk of personal details being hacked'. The human rights organization Liberty also called for rejection of what is being called the "Snoopers' Charter".
Changes to oversight
The bill would change the authorisations given to police officers under RIPA. Instead of individual data requests being granted by a senior officer, the senior officer would grant powers once a month to investigating officers to conduct data requests on a topic they were investigating.
Additional changes to the role of Interception of Communications Commissioner and Information Commissioner are argued to improve oversight to the current arrangements under RIPA.
Justification
The basic justification is that communications traffic data is needed for investigations into serious crime, but access is declining. The Home Office cites that they expect access to decline from about 80% to around 60% of traffic data over the next decade if no action is taken. They also state, however, that the quantity of traffic data available is expected to grow by around 1000% in the same decade.
May stated that police made urgent requests for communications data in 30,000 cases last year and between 25% and 40% of them had resulted in lives being saved. She said that "There is a limited scope for the data we want to have access to. We have been very clear about that at every stage. The police would have to make a clear case for requesting access to data when there was an investigation that required it.... The aim of this is to ensure our law enforcement agencies can carry on having access to the data they find so necessary operationally in terms of investigation, catching criminals and saving lives"
Though the bill had been mentioned in the context of terrorism and child sexual abuse, the powers could be used against minor crimes such as fly tipping.
Reactions
A survey by YouGov, commissioned by Big Brother Watch, found that 71% of Britons "did not trust that the data will be kept secure", and half described the proposal as "bad value for the money" as opposed to 12% calling it "good value". At the RSA Conference Europe 2012, Jimmy Wales said the bill "will force many relatively small companies to hang on to data that they would not otherwise retain, which puts the data at risk". Wales told MPs that Wikipedia would take action to hinder monitoring of users' interests by encrypting all communication to the UK by default if UK ISPs are mandated to track which pages on the site are visited.
Speaking at the launch of the World Wide Web Foundation's Web Index Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) talking about the bill stated "In Britain, like in the US, there has been a series of Bills that would give government very strong powers to, for example, collect data. I am worried about that." He added, "If the UK introduces draconian legislation that allows the Government to block websites or to snoop on people, which decreases privacy, in future indexes they may find themselves farther down the list".
Controversy
There are several main areas of controversy.
Patient and doctor private communication
As of November 2015, no ISP has announced or made public how they will handle and store information securely.
Physical limitations
From costs to how to power the machines, there are incredibly tough technical issues facing ISPs and some they might not be able to overcome. The sheer volume of data will push hardware software and network technologies beyond their design.
ISPs to retain logs for 12 months
The bill proposed that the obligation imposed on ISP providers to retain data about their clients online activities is vastly expanded. The current legislation allows ISP providers to retain information on clients for business purposes with a maximum time limit of 12 months. The proposed legislation will oblige communication service providers (CSPs) to retain a variety of information for 12 months and make this information available to state authorities upon request. The UK Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) have issued a statement raising concerns about the impact on the competitiveness of UK CSPs as it creates a less attractive and more onerous environment in which companies have to work. The ISPA also question whether there is a need to expand the scope of data retention requirements and requested a more detailed explanation of what, in practice, will be required of them.
Weakening encryption
Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron openly expressed a desire for encryption to be weakened or encrypted data to be easily accessible to legal forces in order to tackle terrorism and crime. This viewpoint has been widely addressed as uninformed and greatly dangerous to the privacy and information of the general public because of the dangers that this initiative would entail.
A ban on encryption would result in all information stored online to be openly visible to anyone, this information would include data such as bank details that might be input on online shopping websites, addresses, personal details as well as private messages sent on messaging services such as iMessage and WhatsApp that all use encryption in order to protect the identity and information of their users.
The encryption measures currently in place work on the basis that no third party would be able to access the data and banning this practice would mean that it would open not only to the government but also to anyone interested because encryption measures are not set to be sensitive to certain access requests, they are fully protective of all data stored under those measures.
Experts have made it clear that weakening or banning encryption would be extremely dangerous and damaging to the safety of the economic Internet environment and could have great repercussion on the information stored online and how it is used.
Oversight
The UK is unusual in the arrangement that Ministers sign off on warrants when the inspection of bulk collected data is requested by the security services. Just under 3 thousand warrants were requested and authorized in 2014 by the Secretary of State. Typically, in most democracies, independent judges decide and sign off police warrants in the cases where surveillance is of an intrusive nature.
Recently published Independent Review of Terrorism Legislation calls for UK to adopt the judicial authorisation as it is practised by other developed democracies.
There is a concern that No 10 will disregard the request for the reform of the oversight and the call for independent judges handling the sign off in the cases of highly intrusive surveillance.
Costs
Costs have been estimated at £1.8bn over the next ten years. However the basis of the calculations used to reach this figure have not been made public.
See also
Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 § Part 11 (Retention of communications data)
Internet censorship in the United Kingdom
Mass surveillance in the United Kingdom
Telecommunications data retention § United Kingdom
References
External links
Bill text including: Foreword by the Home Secretary, Introduction, Draft Communications Data Bill and Explanatory Notes (interleaved), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Memorandum and Delegated Powers Memorandum.
Open Rights Group wiki article on this subject
Save the Internet group
Declaration of Internet Freedom
Fight for the future
Surveillance
Government databases in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement techniques
Counter-terrorism
Mass surveillance
National security policies
Proposed laws of the United Kingdom
Surveillance databases
2012 in British law
Home Office (United Kingdom)
GCHQ
2012 in British politics
Data laws of the United Kingdom
Articles containing video clips |
37714336 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft%20Office%20password%20protection | Microsoft Office password protection | Microsoft Office password protection is a security feature to protect Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) documents with a user-provided password. As of Office 2007, this uses modern encryption; earlier versions used weaker systems and are not considered secure.
Office 2007–2013 employed 128-bit key AES password protection which remains secure.
Office 2016 employed 256-bit key AES password protection which also remains secure.
The Office 97–2003 password protection used 40-bit key RC4 which contains multiple vulnerabilities rendering it insecure.
Types
Microsoft Office applications offer the use of two main groups of passwords that can be set to a document depending on whether they encrypt a password-protected document or not.
Passwords that do not encrypt a password-protected document have different security level features for each of Microsoft Office applications as mentioned below.
In Microsoft Word and in Microsoft PowerPoint passwords restrict modification of the entire document or presentation.
In Microsoft Excel passwords restrict modification of the workbook, a worksheet within it, or individual elements in the worksheet.
The password that encrypts a document also restricts the user from opening the document. It is possible to set this type of password in all Microsoft Office applications. If a user fails to enter a correct password to the field which appears after an attempt to open a password-protected document, viewing and editing the document will not be possible. Due to the encryption of a document protected by a password to open it, a hacker needs to decrypt the document to get access to its contents. To provide improved security, Microsoft has been consistently enhancing the Office encryption algorithm strength.
History of Microsoft Encryption password
In Excel and Word 95 and prior editions a weak protection algorithm is used that converts a password to a 16-bit key. Hacking software is now readily available to find a 16-bit key and decrypt the password-protected document instantly.
In Excel and Word 97 and 2000 the key length was increased to 40 bits. This protection algorithm is also currently considered to be weak and presents no difficulties to hacking software.
The default protection in Office XP and 2003 was not changed, but an opportunity to use a custom protection algorithm was added. Choosing a non-standard Cryptographic Service Provider allows increasing the key length. Weak passwords can still be recovered quickly even if a custom CSP is on.
In Office 2007 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), protection was significantly enhanced since a modern protection algorithm named Advanced Encryption Standard was used. At present there is no software that can break this encryption. With the help of the SHA-1 hash function, the password is stretched into a 128-bit key 50,000 times before opening the document; as a result, the time required to crack it is vastly increased.
Excel and Word 2010 still employ AES and a 128-bit key, but the number of SHA-1 conversions has doubled to 100,000 further increasing the time required to crack the password.
Office 2013 (Access, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Project, and Word) uses 128-bit AES, again with hash algorithm SHA-1 by default.
Office 2016 (Access, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Project, and Word) uses 256-bit AES, the SHA-1 hash algorithm, and CBC (Cipher Block Chaining) by default.
Excel Worksheet and Macro protection
The protection for worksheets and macros is necessarily weaker than that for the entire workbook as the software itself must be able to display or use them. In Excel it is particularly weak, and an equivalent password can easily be found of the form ABABABABABAx where the first 11 chars are either A or B and the last is an ASCII character.
Password recovery attacks
There are a number of attacks that can be employed to find a password or remove password protection from Excel and Word documents.
Password removal can be done with the help of precomputation tables or a guaranteed decryption attack.
Attacks that target the original password set in Microsoft Excel and Word include dictionary attack, rule-based attack, brute-force attack, mask attack and statistics-based attack.
The efficiency of attacks can be considerably enhanced if one of the following means is applied: multiple CPUs (distributed attack), GPGPU (applicable only to Microsoft Office 2007–2010 documents) and cloud computing. Due to weak passwords, at the moment, cloud computing facilities are capable of unlocking as many as ca. 80% of the files saved in the Office 2007–2010 format. Passwords of sufficient length and complexity typically cannot be brute-forced.
Office 2013 introduces SHA-512 hashes in the encryption algorithm, making brute-force and rainbow table attacks slower. However, note that SHA hash algorithms are faster to calculate than certain other, slower hashes such as PBKDF2, scrypt or other KDFs, which makes them relatively easier to brute-force. These have not yet been implemented in Office.
For xlsx files that can be opened but not edited, there is another attack, as the file format is a group of XML files within a zip, unzipping editing and replacing the workbook.xml file, and/or the individual worksheet XML files with identical copies, except that the unknown key and salt are replaced with a known pair, or removing the key altogether allows the sheets to be edited.
There is specialized software designed to recover lost Microsoft Office passwords on pre-AES encryption.
Ultimately, the security of a password-protected document is dependent on the user choosing a password of sufficient complexity. If the password can be determined through guesswork or social engineering, the underlying cipher is not important.
References
Microsoft Office
Cryptographic attacks
Password authentication |
37721748 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lektz | Lektz | Lektz is an eBook business platform developed by AEL Data, operating from UK and India. The solutions available in the Lektz platform include DRM, ebook reader applications, virtual book store, ebook conversion, elending, consumer analytics, and digital marketing solutions for small, medium-sized publishers and independent authors. Dr. M.S. Mohammed Sadiq, Sr. Vice President of AEL Data, is the chief architect of the Lektz platform and it draws support from AEL Data's ePublishing, digitization, accessibility solutions and application development services.
The Lektz platform was launched as a SaaS based solution and as an on-premises solution using the publisher's infrastructure. This solution was presented as an ebook ecosystem at the London Book Fair 2013, by Dr.Sadiq and Lindsay MacLeod, Executive Director at AEL Data.
Lektz eBook Reader is a reader application for Android, iOS devices, and PC reader (web-based/Google Chrome Extension).It supports PDF, EPUB2 and EPUB3 ebook formats. It was launched by AEL Data Services in May, 2012. The Lektz reader provides full support to Non-DRM ebooks while the DRM support is limited to ebooks that are secured using the Lektz Proprietary DRM. The Lektz eBook Reader supports both Fixed Layout and Freeflow EPUB across varied platforms.
How it works
The Lektz SaaS based solution is where publishers sign up and avail their own branded ebook stores, upload PDF and EPUB ebooks to it, encrypt them using Lektz DRM, configure their own payment gateway and start selling their ebooks on the Lektz platform. The on-premises solution is where the ebookstore, elending, DRM and payment gateway solutions are integrated to a publisher website.
DRM
Lektz DRM is a proprietary eBook DRM technology of AEL Data. Lektz DRM secures eBooks from being copied and transmitted without appropriate rights and permissions. When publishers upload their eBooks in the Lektz platform, they can choose to enable DRM security for their eBooks which is decrypted when synced with the Lektz reader.
There are three levels of protection:
eBook encryption
eBook accessing device control
User account credentials verification
The Lektz DRM mechanism is designed as a closed system, is implemented by protecting the eBooks with the system software, which also acts as an eBook reader (Lektz reader). To secure the eBooks, all the eBooks that are sold via publisher's website are embedded with a security mechanism, and will only be permitted to open using Lektz e-reader software. Lektz DRM can be integrated with publishers’existing websites or portals to secure their eBooks from piracy and to provide a secured platform to sell and distribute their books online.
Ebook reader
Lektz eBook Reader is a reader application for Android, iOS and PC (stand-alone and Google Chrome Extension).It supports PDF, EPUB2 and EPUB3 ebook formats. It was launched by AEL Data Services in May, 2012. The Lektz reader provides full support to Non-DRM ebooks while the DRM support is limited to ebooks that are secured using the Lektz Proprietary DRM. The Lektz eBook Reader supports freeflow EPUB across varied platforms.
An exclusive variant of the Lektz reader is Al-Lektz, which is developed distinctively for the Middle-East and North African ebook users. It has a default RTL (Right to Left) orientation and Arabic compatible user interface.
Dyslektz eBook reader is another exclusive application that was launched during the first week of June 2013 on Google Play and Apple App store. This reader is intended to enable users with dyslexia to read ebooks on their smartphones and tablets. Any ebook imported into the Dyslektz Reader is converted into OpenDyslexic font that makes digital content more accessible to dyslexics.
Elending
The eLending solution developed by Lektz adds the online library functionality to a publisher's website where ebooks can be borrowed through a reader application for a periodic subscription. Lektz incorporates this component as a standalone as well as an integrated solution to a publisher website.
Ebook store
The ebook store is one of the major components of the Lektz ebook business solution. Publishers can set up their own virtual e-book store in Lektz platform to upload and manage their e-books and make it available for sales. It also provides a back-end content management system where the publishers can track and manage their sales and view consumer analytics.
References
EPUB readers
Android (operating system) software
IOS software
Digital rights management |
37766195 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-time%20estimation%20of%20system%20and%20sub-system%20level%20power%20consumption | Run-time estimation of system and sub-system level power consumption | Electronic systems’ power consumption has been a real challenge for Hardware and Software designers as well as users especially in portable devices like cell phones and laptop computers. Power consumption also has been an issue for many industries that use computer systems heavily such as Internet service providers using servers or companies with many employees using computers and other computational devices. Many different approaches (during design of HW, SW or real-time estimation) have been discovered by researchers to estimate power consumption efficiently. This survey paper focuses on the different methods where power consumption can be estimated or measured in real-time.
Measuring real time power dissipation is critical in thermal analysis of a new design of HW like processors (CPU) just as it is important for OS programmers writing process schedulers. Researchers discovered that knowing the real-time power consumption on a subsystem level like CPU, hard drives, memory and other devices can help power optimizations in applications such as storage encryption, virtualization, and application sandboxing, as well as application tradeoffs.
Different technologies have been discovered that can enable measuring power consumption in real-time. They can be ranked in two main categories: direct measurement using subsystem power sensors and meters or indirect estimation based on provided information like temperature or performance counters. There are also different methods within each category; for example, different models are discovered to use performance counters for power estimation. Each one of these methods has its own benefits and disadvantages. The goal of this paper is to survey that different methods in each category.
Run-time Estimation of System and Sub-system Level Power Consumption
Power consumption can be different for the same type of system because of differences in manufacturing of Hardware and in temperature conditions in which the device is going to operate. Real-Time power management can be used to optimize the system or subsystems to minimize the energy consumption which may, for example, extend the battery lifetime of mobile devices or result in energy savings for Internet companies operating with many computer servers. The following sections are technologies discovered to enable real-time power estimation.
Indirect Power measurement
Indirect power measurement such as using a CPU performance monitoring unit (PMU), or performance counters to estimate run-time CPU and memory power consumption are widely used for their low cost.
Performance counters
Hardware performance counters (HPCs) are a set of special purpose registers built into modern microprocessors to store the counts of hardware-related activities for hardware and software related events. Different models of processors have limited numbers of hardware counters with different events that will satisfy the CPU requirement. These performance counters are usually accurate and provide important detailed information about processor performance at the clock cycle granularity. Researchers were able to create different models that use the HPCs event to estimate the system power consumption in real-time.
First-order, linear power estimation model using performance counters
The first-order linear model was developed by G. Contreras and M. Martonosi at Princeton University using Intel PXA255 processor to estimate CPU and memory power consumption. This is distinct from previous work that uses HPCs to estimate power because the Intel PXA255 processor power requirement was tighter and it offered fewer available performance events compared to mid and high-end processors. This method is also not tied to specific processor technology and HPCs layout for power estimation but rather can be used for any type of processor with HPCs.
This linear power model uses five performance events as follows: Instruction Executed, Data Dependencies, Instruction Cache Miss, Data TLB Misses, and Instruction TLB Misses. A linear model expression is derived (equation 1) as follows assuming a linear correlation between performance counters values and power consumption.
(1)
Where, are power weights and is a constant for processor power consumption during idle time.
One can also estimate power consumption of memory (external RAM) by tracking the performance events if they are available on the designed processor. PXA255 processor, for example, does not have direct performance events accounting for external RAM but Instruction Cache Miss, Data Cache Miss, and Number of Data Dependencies on processor can be used to estimate the memory power consumption. Again, a linear model is derived from the given information (equation 2) to estimate the memory power consumption.
(2)
Where, are power weights and is a power consumption constant during idle time.
The main challenging issue with this method is computing the power weights using a mathematical model (ordinary Least Squares Estimation) at different voltage/frequency points. These constant values in equations 1 and 2 are voltage and frequency depends and they must be computed during benchmark testing. After building such a table for the power weights parameters, then the table can be implemented in software or hardware to estimate the real-time power. The other challenge is in accessing HPCs; for example, in this case they are being read at the beginning of the main OS timer interrupt which requires a software modification. A software program can be written using the equations 1 and 2 and the estimated power weights derived from the table to estimate the power consumption at run-time. For equation 1 the program also needs 5 samples of HPCs but in this example the PXA255 processor can only sample 2 events at any given time therefore multiple code execution is required as well as aligning the data.
In summary, the main benefits of this approach are that it is easy to implement, low cost, and does not require special hardware modification. Software designers can benefit from this model by having a quick power estimate for their applications without any extra hardware requirement.
The main disadvantage of this method is that: real world processors are not perfect and this model does not account for non-linear relationships in those processors. Another issue is also the software overhead running on the processor that consumes power. This approach also does not provide detailed information about power consumption in each architectural functional unit so designers can not see the difference between each module by executing different parts of the software. This method can not be used by OS scheduler or software developers executing multi threaded programs because it needs to gather data by running benchmarks several times. This work is also good for single core processors but not multi-core processors.
Piece-wise linear power estimation model using performance counters
The piece-wise model was developed to estimate power consumption accurately using performance counters. This method was developed by K.Singh, M.Bhadauria at Cornell University and S.A.McKee at Chalmers University of Technology independently of program behavior for SPEC 2006, SPEC-OMP and NAS benchmark suits. This method was developed to analyze the effects of shared resources and temperature on power consumption for chip multiprocessors.
This method used 4 performance counters of AMD Phenom processor. The performance counters are as follows: : L2_CACHE_MISS: ALL, : RETRIED_UOPS, : RETIRED_MMX_AND_FP_INSTRUCTIONS: ALL, : DISPATCH_STALLS. These performance counters are architecturally specific to AMD Phenom and may be different for other processors. AMD allows collecting data from those four HPCs simultaneously. A microbenchmarks, which is a small program, attempts to collect data from the above selected HPCs. Collected data on each processor core are used in the following equation.
(3)
Where
(4)
Equation 4 transformation can be linear, inverse, logarithmic, exponential, or square root; it depends on what makes the power predication more accurate. Piece wise linear function was chosen to analyze equation 4 from collected data because it will capture more detail about each processor core power. Finally, analyzing the collected HPCs data with piece wise linear method gives the detailed power consumption (for example, L2 cache misses has the highest contribution in power consumption versus L3).
The above method was used to schedule each AMD Phenom processor core in a defined power envelope. The processors core gets suspended when the core exceeds the available power envelope and it becomes available again when enough power becomes available.
There are some restrictions and issues with this method; for example, this method does not account for temperature effect. There is a direct relationship between temperature and total power consumption (because as temperature increases the leakage power goes up) that this model does not account for because AMD Phenom does not have per-core temperature sensors. A second disadvantage is that mictobenchmarks is not complete to get a better power estimate (for instance, it does not cover the DISPATCH_STALLS HPC). A more complete microbenchmark will cause timing issues. Future work needs to be done to incorporate thermal data into the model and thread scheduling strategies as well as to reduce frequency (DVFS) of each core versus suspending the core. This method only covers processors but there are other subsystems, like memory, and disks, that also need to be considered in total power.
This method is different from many other methods using performance counters because all the cores in multi core processors are considered, the performance counters being used do not individually have high effect with power consumption and it estimates the power consumption for each core that can be used for real time scheduling of each core to be under power envelope.
Adaptive power estimation model using performance counters
Most models like the above do not have the capability to measure power consumption at a component or subsystem level. DiPART (Disaggregated Power Analysis in Real Time) developed by Professor M. Srivastava, Y. Sun, and L. Wanner at University of California, Los Angeles enables this capability to estimate power consumption based on hardware performance counters and using only one power sensor for the whole system. Models are required to estimate power consumption based on performance counters. These models correlate the data for different performance counters with power consumption and static models like above examples (First-order and Piece-wise linear) have different estimation errors due to variations across identical hardware. DiPART is a solution to this problem because it is a self-adaptive model that can be calibrated once and be applied across different platforms.
The linear estimation model for DiPART requires a power sensor capable of acquiring dissipated power consumption and current measurement at run time. There are different embedded sensors like Atom-LEAP system or Qualcomm's Snapdragon Mobil Development Platforms that can do the job for DiPART. One single power sensor can be used to calibrate the subsystem level estimation model DiPART.
Total power of the system is the summation of the power consumption by each subsystem shown in equation 5.
(5)
For each subsystem, power performance counters are being used. For CPU power, ten performance counters are required as follows: Task counts, Context Switch counts, CPU Migration counts, Page Fault counts, Cycles counts, Instruction counts, Branches counts, Cache Refer counts, and Cache Miss Counts. Then a linear model is used to compute the total power of CPU and coefficient values are computed with a liner regression algorithm using performance counter data and monitored power consumption data.
(6)
The above performance counters can also be used for RAM power consumption model and the memory coefficient vector and the constant value is also computed during training phase with performance counter data and monitored power consumption data.
(7)
Disk power consumption model is based on input counter and output counter correlated with Input/Output events counters.
The same approach is taken as for CPU and RAM to estimate the coefficient and constant for disk power during training phase.
(8)
During training the total power measured from the sensor is subtracted from the initial CPU, RAM, and Disk power model predication. Then 10% from the delta result is taken to compensate in individual subsystems CPU, RAM and disk models. This iteration will continue until estimation error for total system power is smaller than some threshold, or it hits the specified number of iterations. During this training process with some number of iteration process each subsystem model gets adjusted accordingly base on the delta percentage. Once the subsystems are trained the total system does not need to be trained.
The CPU, RAM, and Disk power model modification and system-level variation is required if the total delta is not less than 10%. The iteration process will continue until the individual subsystem power model prediction gets close to the monitored total power. When subsystem power consumption model has been trained the total system level power consumption model does not need to train again for the same system.
This method is beneficial compared to static models because of its adaptability to the variations among different systems even with exactly the same hardware. The experimental results show that estimated errors are high before training the DiPART, and that the error decreases as the number of iteration increases.
One major issue with this model is the dependency on power sensors to measure the total power. The other issue is the number of performance counters being used for DiPART model. These performance counters might not be available for all processors. This method was also used for CPU, RAM and disk subsystem but there are other subsystems that need to be considered in total power consumption. The main problem with adding more subsystems will be the adaptive mechanism because as the number of subsystems increases, the accuracy and training speed will decrease. Another issue is that the CPU, Disk and RAM are also not perfect and have some non-linearity part that was not considered in this method.
Dynamic Thermal Management
As the Integrated Circuit (IC) technology size is getting smaller in nanometer scale and more transistors are put together in that small area, the total power and temperature on chip are also increasing. The high temperature on the chip, if not controlled, can damage or even burn the chip. The chip high temperature also has impacts on performance and reliability. High chip temperature causes more leakage power consumption, higher interconnect resistance and slower speed of transistors. Therefore, Dynamic Thermal Management (DTM) is required for high performance embedded systems or high-end microprocessors. Thermal sensors are also not perfect for the job because of their accuracy and long delay to capture the temperature. The DTM idea is to detect and reduce the temperature of hot units spots in a chip using different techniques like activity migration, local toggling, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling.
A new method was developed by H. Li, P. Liu, Z. Qi, L. Jin, W. Wu, S.X.D Tan, J. Yang at University of California Riverside based on observing the average power consumption of low level modules running typical workload. There is a direct correlation between the observation and temperature variations. This new method was a solution to replace the old technologies such as on-line tracking sensors on the chip like CMOS-based sensor technology that are less accurate and requires hardware implementation.
This method is based on observing the average power in a certain amount of time which determines the temperature variations. This idea can be implemented with a fast run-time thermal simulation algorithm at architectural level. This method also presents a new way to compute the transient temperature changes based on the frequency domain moment matching concept. The moment matching concept is basically said that the transient behaviors of a dynamic system can be accurately described by a few dominant poles of the systems. The moment matching algorithm is required to compute the temperature variation response under initial temperature conditions and average power inputs for a given time. This method also follows circuit level thermal RC modeling at the architectural level as described in reference. The unit temperature variation during run-time is because of the irregular power trance generated by each unit in their architectural blocks. This power input is consistent of DC and small AC oscillation. It was also shown and proven that most of the energy in the power trace concentrates on the DC component. Therefore, the average power can be described as a constant DC input to thermal circuit. After all a thermal moment marching (TMM) with initial condition and DC input is required to be implemented. The TMM model is as follows:
(9)
G and C are conductive and capacitive circuit matrices, and x is the vector of node temperature. u is the vector of independent power source and B is the input selector matrix. This equation will be solved in frequency domain and the initial condition is required which will be the initial temperature at each node.
The main idea is to implement the TMM algorithm which provides better reliable on-line temperature estimation for DTM applications.
In summary, the TMM algorithm is much faster than the previous work in this area to estimate the thermal variation because this method is using frequency domain moment matching method. The other work (like HotSpot) uses the integration method where it needs all previous points to obtain the temperature at certain running point. This will make the simulation time longer.
This work can also be improved by computing the average power real-time using performance counters. This method can be added to the above models using performance counters to estimate on the fly temperature variation as the programs are getting executed.
PowerBooter and PowerTutor
This power model technique was developed by collaboration between L. Zhang, B. Tiwana, Z. Qian, Z. Wang, R.P. Dick, Z.Mao from University of Michigan and L. Yang from Google Inc. to accurately estimate power estimation online for Smartphones. PowerBooter is an automated power model that uses built-in battery voltage sensors and behavior of battery during discharge to monitor power consumption of total system. This method does not require any especial external measurement equipment. PowerTutor is also a power measurement tool that uses PowerBooter generated data for online power estimation. There is always a limitation in Smartphone technology battery life span that HW and SW designers need to overcome. Software designers do not always have the best knowledge of power consumption to design better power optimized applications therefore end users always blame the battery lifespan. Therefore, there is a need for a tool that has the capability to measure power consumption on Smartphones that software designers could use to monitor their applications in real-time. Researchers have developed specific power management models for specific portable embedded systems and it takes a huge effort to reuse those models for a vast variety of modern Smartphone technology. So the solution to this problem is PowerBooter model that can estimate real-time power consumption for individual Smartphone subsystems such as CPU, LCD, GPS, audio, Wi-Fi and cell phone communication components. Along with PowerBooter model an on-line PowerTutor utility can use the generated data to determine the subsystem level power consumption. The model and PowerTutor utility can be used across different platforms and Smartphone technologies.
This model is different from the other models discovered because it relies only on knowledge of the battery discharge voltage curve and access to battery voltage sensor which is available in all modern Smartphones. The basic idea for this model technique is to use battery state of discharge with running training software programs to control phone component power and activity states. Each individual Smartphone component is held in a specific state for a significant period of time and the change in battery state of discharge is captured using built-in battery voltage sensors. The first challenging idea is to convert battery voltage readings into power consumption. This is determined by state of discharge (which is total consumed energy by battery) variation within a testing interval captured by voltage sensors that will eventually drive the following equation.
(10)
Where E is the rated battery energy capacity and SOD (Vi) is the battery state of discharge at voltage Vi and P is the average power consumption in the time interval t1 and t2. The state of discharge can be estimated using look up table where the relationship between present voltage and SOD is captured. Determining the energy is also an issue because the energy is changing as the battery gets old. The new batteries have the total energy written on their back but the value can not be true for all time. It can estimate the energy at highest and lowest discharge rate to decrease the error. The internal resistance also has significant impact on the discharged current. To decrease the effect of internal resistance all the phone components can be switched to their lowest power modes to minimize the discharge current when taking a voltage reading. Finally, this method uses a piece-wise linear function to model the non-linear relationship between SOF and battery voltage.
The above battery model can be all automated with 3 steps which are described in. In conclusion, this method is beneficial because all Smartphones can use this method and for new Smartphones this model needs to be constructed only once and after automating the process there would be no need for any extra equipment to measure power consumption. Once the model is generated automatically or manually the PowerTutor utility can use the data to estimate power consumption in real time. Software engineers can use this utility to optimize their design or users can use this tool to make their decision about buying applications based on the power consumption.
The main issues are in computing the energy which adds up to accuracy of the power model. Another issue is also considering the internal resistor to read the voltage. This can be resolved in newer versions of Smartphones that provide current measurement instead of voltage. The above model needs to be modified using the current measurement.
Appscope and DevScope are similar work to estimate Smartphone power consumptions.
Run- time modeling and estimation of operating system power consumption
The operating system (OS) is the main software running on most computing systems and contributes a major component in dissipating power consumption. Therefore, operating system model was developed by T. Li and L.K John from University of Texas at Austin to estimate the power consumption by OS that helps power management and software applications power evaluation.
It has been computed that software execution on hardware components can dissipate a good portion of power consumption. It is also been shown that the choice of algorithm and other higher level software code decisions during the design of software could significantly affect system power. Many of these software applications rely on operating system; therefore, overlooking the estimated power consumption by OS could cause huge error in energy estimation. Estimating OS power consumption could help software designers optimize their code design to be more energy efficient. For example, software engineer; can observe the power consumption when using different compiling techniques to handle TLB misses and paging. A good OS model needs to have the following properties to be good enough for thermal or power management tools. The model needs to be highly reliable, fast, and it also should have run-time estimation capability that does not increase overhead. The model should be simple and easily adoptable across different platforms.
The purposed run-time power estimation requires a first order linear operation on a single power metric, reducing estimation overhead. The Instruction per Cycle (IPC) can be used as the metric to characterize the performance of modern processors. In paper shows how various components in the CPU and memory systems contributes to the total OS routine power. Data-path and pipeline structure along with clocks are consuming the most power. A linear model can be derived from IPC that tracks the OS routine power. A simple Energy equation can be used to estimate a given piece of software energy consumption, where P is the average power and T is the execution time of that program.
The challenging part is to compute the average power P for each individual routine of operation system. One can use the correlation between IPC and OS routine average power or hardware performance counters can be used. The profiling method (data gathered from benchmark testing) can also be used to predict the energy consumption. The linear power model in is as follows:. This is a simple linear model that shows a strong correlation between IPC and OS routine power. In this approach profiling is also required to generate data needed to build the model. After the model is generated for one system, then it is not needed again for the same system.
Virtual Machine Power Metering and Provisioning
Joulemeter is a proposed solution by Aman Kansal, Feng Zhao, and Jie Liu from Microsoft Inc. and Nupur Kothari from University of Southern California, Los Angeles and Arka Bhattacharya from Indian Institute of Technology to measure virtual machine power which cannot be measured directly in hardware. This method is used for power management for virtualized data centers. Most servers today have power metering and the old servers use power distribution units (PDUs). This method uses those individual power meters to save significant reduction in power provisioning costs.
This method uses power models in software to track VM energy usage on each significant hardware resource, using hypervisor-observable hardware power states. Joulemeter can also solve the power capping problem for VMs which will reduce power provisioning costs significantly. The largest power consuming subsystems in computer servers are the processor, memory and disk. Servers also have idle energy consumption which sometimes can be large, but it is static and it can be measured. Power models are presented for each of subsystems CPU, memory and disk in reference in detail. This power model is the core technique for Joulemeter. Figure 4 in reference shows the block diagram of Joulemeter where System Resource & Power Tracing module reads the full server CPU, disk and power usage. The VM resource tracking module tracks all the work load using hypervisor counters. The base model training module implements the learning methods described in as well as refinement module. The energy calculation module finally takes the out of base model training module and model refinement module to output the VM energy usage using the energy equations described in reference.
The benefits of this method are safe isolation of co-located workloads, enabling multiple workloads to be consolidated on fewer servers, resulting in improved resource utilization and reduced idle power costs. Joulemeter can also be used to solve the power capping problem for VMs which will saved significant amount of power provisioning costs in data centers.
Direct Power measurement
One can use different types of sensors to gather voltage, current, frequency or temperature and then use those data to estimate power consumption.
Low Power Energy Aware Processing embedded sensor system
The LEAP (Low Power Energy Aware Processing) has been developed by D. McIntire, K. Ho, B. Yip, A. Singh, W. Wu, and W.J. Kaiser at University of California Los Angeles to make sure the embedded network sensor systems are energy optimized for their applications. The LEAP system as described in reference offers a detailed energy dissipation monitoring and sophisticated power control scheduling for all subsystems including the sensor systems. LEAP is a multiprocessor architecture based on hardware and software system partitioning. It is an independent energy monitoring and power control method for each individual subsystem. The goal of LEAP is to control microprocessors to achieve the lowest per task operating energy. Many modern embedded networked sensors are required to do many things like image processing, statistical high performance computing and communication. To make sure all of these applications are working efficiently a real-time energy monitoring and scheduling feature is required and LEAP can offer this feature for those systems.
LEAP (ENS) system was designed to offer high accuracy and low overhead energy measurement capability. LEAP enables energy aware applications through scheduling and energy profiling of high energy efficiency components including multiple wireless network interfaces, storage elements, and sensing capabilities. The biggest advantage of LEAP system is its Energy Management and Preprocessing (EMAP) capability. The experimental results shows that the optimal choice of sensor systems, processor, wireless interface, and memory technology is not application dependent but it could be hardware allocation issue. EMAP has the capability to partition devices into many power domains with the capability to monitor, enable or disable power to each domain, as well as to respond to trigger events or conditions that restore or remove power in each domain. EMAP collects data periodically and transfers them to the host process and power management schedule is then provided by host processor to EMAP.
Figure 1 in reference shows the LEAP architecture and EMAP architecture. The LEAP and EMAP are complex platforms which require hardware and software. All of the detailed design approaches are described in reference.
In conclusion, LEAP differs from previous methods like PowerScope because it provides both real-time power consumption information and a standard application execution environment on the same platform. As a result, LEAP eliminates the need for synchronization between the device under test and an external power measurement unit. LEAP also provides power information of individual subsystems, such as CPU, GPU and RAM, through direct measurement, thereby enabling accurate assessments of software and hardware effects on the power behavior of individual components.
Power model validation through thermal measurements
One of the challenges for HW or SW designers is to validate their simulation data with empirical data. They require some type of utility or tool to measure power consumption and compare with their simulation data. One of these methods to capture real time data to validate power or thermal models is an infrared measurement setup developed by F.J. Mesa-Martinez, J.Nayfach-Battilana and J. Renau at University of California Santa Cruz. Their approach is to capture thermal maps using infrared cameras with high spatial resolution and high frame rate. Then a genetic algorithm finds a power equation for each floorplan block of processor that produces the capture thermal map to give detailed information about power breakdown (leakage and dynamic). They also developed an image processing filter to increase the thermal image accuracy. The biggest challenge for this approach is to obtain a detailed power map from the thermal measurements. There is no direct mapping between measured information and power. A genetic algorithm was developed described in reference that iterates multiple thermal traces and compares them with the results from thermal simulator to find the best power correlation.
The first step is to measure the temperature using IR camera and within the oil coolant that flows over the top of the chip surface, the detailed setup information is described in reference. Oil is chosen because of ease in modeling and accuracy. The infrared cameras must be calibrated to compensate for different material thermal emissions, lens configurations, and other factors in reference. A second filter is also applied to compensate for the optical distortion induced by lens setup. A very accurate thermal model is required in this approach to account for effects of the liquid cooling setup accurately. The model equations are described in reference.
Designers can use this method to validate their simulation or optimize their design especially because this method provides the breakdown information about leakage and dynamic power consumption. This method is also helpful in chip packaging design, heat sink, and cooling system. This method also shows designers which part of floorplan blocks propagates heat faster or slower.
Conclusion
Estimating power consumption is critical for hardware, software developers, and other computing system users like Internet companies to save energy or to optimize their HW/SW to be more energy efficient. It is also critical because one can use the available resources accordingly. Simulators are only good during design but their estimation also needs to be verified. Simulators in general have high errors due to manufacturing of hardware components. Power meters measure power consumption for the whole system but does not give detailed breakdowns about dissipated power so designers can optimize their application or hardware. This paper analyzed different methods that researchers have discovered in recent years to resolve some of the issues above.
References
Energy consumption |
37836799 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed%20Chau | Ed Chau | Edwin “Ed” Chau (born September 17, 1957) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly as a Democrat representing the 49th state assembly District from 2012 to 2021. On November 29, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Chau to be a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Biography
Ed Chau (Chinese name: 周本立 ) was born in Hong Kong in 1957 and grew up in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in sociology and a B.S. in computer science from the University of Southern California. He also received a J.D. degree from Southwestern University School of Law.
Chau was a member of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he was a Montebello Unified School District trustee from 2000 to 2012, serving as its President three times. In addition to being an attorney who owned his own law firm, Chau was a systems engineer for IBM, and, previously, a computer programmer for Unisys Corporation.
In 2008, Chau ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in the 42nd congressional district, losing to Gary Miller.
California State Assembly
In June, 2021, Chau was appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly to serve as the Assistant Majority Leader. Prior to the appointment, Chau served as the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection from 2016 to 2021. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development. Chau also served as a member of the following standing committees: Appropriations, Judiciary, Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy, Natural Resources, and Privacy and Consumer Protection.
In addition, Chau was the Chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Emerging Technologies and Innovation. As Chair, he had convened informational hearings on the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, Facial Recognition Technology, 5-G Technology, and Mobile Applications, among others. He was also a member of the following Select Committees: Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion, California's Clean Energy Economy, Cybersecurity, and Regional Transportation Solutions.
In 2018, Chau introduced and passed the landmark privacy law, alongside Senator Robert Hertzberg, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), giving California consumers significant control over the collection, use and processing of their personal information. The law, considered the most comprehensive privacy law in the nation, has frequently been compared to the European Union landmark privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In addition, Chau passed a law that would require data brokers to publicly register with the Attorney General's office, providing Californians transparent information about who is collecting their personal information. Other laws passed by Chau include prohibiting the sale, purchase and use of hacked data; making it a crime to assist in soliciting another to commit hacking; requiring credit reporting agencies to fix vulnerabilities regarding data breaches; protecting individuals' privacy from devices like drones; authorizing the California Military Department to conduct cybersecurity assessments in schools; requiring disclosure of a data breach to California residents when the encryption key is lost; and authorizing local governments to provide broadband services, while adhering to “net neutrality rules”. Chau also introduced legislation to safeguard personal data collected by digital health trackers. as well as address biases in the use of automated artificial intelligence systems.
Moreover, Chau passed laws to help curb climate change; protect water resources through groundwater cleanup funding; combat wild fires through forest management; protect seniors against elder abuse; require Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to receive training on how to interact with dementia patients and their caregivers; mandate advance notice before increasing life insurance costs on consumers; ensure that students in California receive instruction on the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the contributions made by Chinese Americans in establishing the Transcontinental Railroad; protect students by removing from classrooms teachers charged with a sex offense; safeguard children from cyber sexual bullying; prohibit the online marketing of cannabis products or services to minors; and legally protect Good Samaritans that break into hot vehicles to rescue children.
Chau also passed a number of legislative measures to address the housing crisis; assist with language access in hospital settings and the language accessibility needs of voters; and to help small business owners facing frivolous lawsuits.
Electoral history
2012 California State Assembly
2014 California State Assembly
2016 California State Assembly
2018 California State Assembly
2020 California State Assembly
References
External links
Join California Edwin Chau
Members of the California State Assembly
1957 births
Living people
American politicians of Hong Kong descent
California politicians of Chinese descent
People from Arcadia, California
California Democrats
University of Southern California alumni
Southwestern Law School alumni
21st-century American politicians |
37890504 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical%20device%20connectivity | Medical device connectivity | Medical device connectivity is the establishment and maintenance of a connection through which data is transferred between a medical device, such as a patient monitor, and an information system. The term is used interchangeably with biomedical device connectivity or biomedical device integration. By eliminating the need for manual data entry, potential benefits include faster and more frequent data updates, diminished human error, and improved workflow efficiency.
Medical devices may be connected on wireless and wired networks. Wireless networks, including Wi-Fi, Wireless Medical Telemetry Service, and Bluetooth, provide more ubiquitous coverage of connectivity, allowing uninterrupted monitoring of patients in transit. Wired networks are fast, stable, and highly available. Wired networks are usually more costly to install at first and require ongoing costs for maintenance, but allow connectivity of the organization in a closed environment.
Interoperability of Devices
Adherence to Standards ensures interoperability within a network of medical devices. In most cases, the clinical environment is heterogenous; devices are supplied by a variety of vendors, allowing for different technologies to be utilized. Achieving interoperability can be difficult, as data format and encryption varies among vendors and models.
The following standards enable interoperability between connected medical device.
CEN ISO/IEEE 11073* enables the communication between medical devices and external information systems. This standard provides plug-and-play interoperability between devices, and facilitates the efficient exchange of data acquired at the point of care in all care environments.
IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n are standards for implementing a wireless local area network (WLAN) in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, utilizing the same basic protocol.
Regulatory organizations and industrial associations, such as Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative and Continua Health Alliance, are working towards standardized vendor-neutral device integration systems. The IHE provides a single set of internationally harmonized medical device informatics and interoperability standards as a unitary reference point for the industry. The IHE collaborates with Continua Health Alliance regarding data exchange protocol and device specializations.
The IHE Patient Care Device (PCD) Technical Framework Volumes 1-3 defines the established standards profiles, such as the integration, transaction and semantic content profiles respectively for complete, enterprise-wide integration and interoperability of health information systems.
Several profiles have applications in medical device connectivity including the following:
[DEC] Device Enterprise Communication - supports publication of information from point-of-care medical devices to applications such as clinical information systems and electronic health record systems, using a consistent Health Level Seven version 2 (HL7 v.2) messaging format and device semantic content or DICOM profile.
[ACM] Alarm Communication Management - ensures the right alarm with the right priority to the right individuals with the right content.
[DEC-SPD] Subscribe to Patient Data - supports a filtering mechanism for data transaction.
[PIV] Point-of-care Infusion Verification - supports communication of a 5-Rights validated medication delivery / infusion order (from Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) system, also known as Barcode Point of Care (BPOC) system, to an infusion pump or pump management system
[RTM] Rosetta Terminology Mapping - is based on the ISO/IEEE 11073 semantic standards converting vendor specific terms into harmonized standard terms. It uses a set of tools (Excel spreadsheets & XML files) to map the proprietary semantics communicated by medical devices to a standard representation using ISO/IEEE 11073 semantics.
[IDCO] Implantable Device – Cardiac – Observation (IDCO)* profile - specifies a mechanism for transmission, and processing of discrete data elements and report attachments associated with cardiac device observations.
Medical Device Integration Software
Hospitals have many different makes and models of medical devices. Each department has different types of devices, and rarely does an entire hospital run the same brand device. Because of the large number of devices, and the varying formats that data is exchanged (RS-232, HL7, Bluetooth, WiFi), Medical Device Integration software has become a critical component to integrating this vital patient data. Software such as MediCollector, Picis Hawkeye or ENOVACOM Patient Connect connects with virtually any device via HL7, Serial (RS-232), Bluetooth, WiFi, etc., and shares this data to any other software platform across a hospital network. This allows hospitals to continue to use their older devices, in a more modern network.
Positive Patient Identification and Connectivity
Patient confidentiality can be compromised when the device data is transmitted to the wrong electronic health record. A positive patient identification at the point of care can be ensured through bar-code identifiers and radiofrequency identifiers.
Bar-code Identification - Patient data is encoded within a bar-code on the patient's identification bracelet. Device identifying data is encoded within a bar-code attached to the device. Scanning the patient bar-code in conjunction with the medical device bar-code, ensures a patient-device association.
Radiofrequency Identification - Patient and device identifying information is encoded within an RFID tag. This information is detected, and the clinician is prompted to confirm the patient-device association. RFID is a more efficient method of positive patient identification when there are multiple devices in use.
Security Issues in Medical Device Connectivity
Security issues may arise in medical networking for many reasons. The following is a list of security challenges particular to medical devices:
Medical devices often operate with commercial central processing units, operating systems, or off-the-shelf software, which place them at risk of cyber threat.
Due to tight regulations surrounding medical devices, upgrades to software and security installations must be approved by the manufacturer, resulting in delays.
Device operating systems are often early generation and may no longer be supported.
Homogenous device environments facilitate rapid spread of computer virus.
Devices may have limited memory, necessitating the use of scaled back versions of operating systems, making it more difficult to utilize common security software.
Relevant Organizations
Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation(AAMI)
Health Level 7(HL7)
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)
CEN ISO/IEEE 11073 (Health Informatics, Point-of-care Medical Device Communication)
CEN/TC 251
ISO/TC 215 (Health Informatics)
U.S National Institute of Standards and Technology Medical Devices Communication Test Program
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE)
Medical Device "Plug and Play" Interoperability Program
Personal Connected Health Alliance
ITU: Committed to connecting the world
References
Medical devices
Health informatics |
37925944 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enli%20Health%20Intelligence | Enli Health Intelligence | Enli Health Intelligence was a privately held software company based in Beaverton, Oregon, and previously in Hillsboro, Oregon. Founded in 2001 as Kryptiq Corporation, the company specialized in electronic medical records and secure communications between physicians and patients. The 125-employee company was purchased by Surescripts in 2012, which was a previous investor in the company. Annual revenues at the time of the sale were approximately $25 million. In January 2015, the company announced that it was splitting from Surescripts and becoming independent again. Later in 2015 it was renamed Enli Health Intelligence later. In 2021, it was acquired by Cedar Gate Technologies, which discontinued use of the Enli name.
History
The company was founded in 2001 by Luis Machuca, Jeff Sponaugle, and Murali Karamchedu, with the company first housed in Machuca’s home. Kryptiq opened its first office in Beaverton, Oregon, in October 2001 after securing $2 million in capital. Kryptiq was founded largely by former employees of Intel Corporation as well as those from eFusion looking to use their encryption experience and expertise to provide secure email for the health care field.
By September 2002, the company had grown to 15 employees and had a board of directors heavy on those with Intel ties, such as Andy Bryant. The company’s original production was a subscription-based email add-on that allowed physicians to securely communicate with patients and others and data protected by HIPAA. In July 2003, the company purchased software company RosettaMed, with plans to incorporate their software into Kryptiq’s existing programs. In August of that year, Kryptiq finished raising $7.9 million in venture capital from investors such as Voyager Capital and SmartForest Ventures. The company continued with acquisitions in November when it purchased MedShape LLC, allowing Kryptiq to expand into the medical records field. Kryptiq retained all six employees who had developed DocuTrak and RosettaStone. By December 2003 the company had grown to 50 employees and projected to be cash flow positive by the end of 2004.
Kryptiq launched CareManager in 2004, a disease management software program. CareManager was developed with Providence Health System, and the program was awarded the e-Health Leadership Award in 2004 by the Disease Management Association of America. Then in January 2004, Kryptiq acquired This Computer Solution Inc. in an all-stock deal. The Vancouver, Washington, company had developed software for managing contracts for health insurers. In January 2005, the company moved from Beaverton to Hillsboro and finished the prior year with 200% growth. By February of that year, Kryptiq had expanded to 60 employees, become a member of the Center for Health Transformation, and added GE Healthcare as a partner.
The company raised $7.1 million in capital in 2005, with investors including SmartForest Ventures, Voyager Capital, and Shelter Capital Partners, with the round closing in April. At the time, Kryptiq was then 65 percent owned by investors. In July 2005, the company announced they would move from the AmberGlen Business Center to a space in the Rock Creek Corporate Center along U.S. 26, both in Hillsboro. Shelter Capital Partners, SmartForest Ventures, the Oregon Investment Fund, and others invested another combined $6.6 million in Kryptiq in September 2006.
In March 2007, Kryptiq licensed their Choreo medical records system to The Regence Group in an effort to further penetrate the BlueCross and BlueShield marketplace, with implementation starting in June 2007. Microsoft teamed up with Kryptiq later in 2007 to launch HealthVault, a Microsoft product the later was using to enter the consumer healthcare market. The company sold off its software division that focused on health plan management to Porticio Systems in April 2009. In August 2008, the company bought Secure Network Solutions.
The company announced in June 2010 they would move to the AmberGlen business park into a space. In October 2010, Surescripts invested in Kryptiq and signed-on to use Kryptiq’s secure technology in Surescripts’ products. At the time, Kryptiq had climbed to 90 employees, and the next month secured an $8 million investment related to the Surescripts deal. Growth from the Surescripts deal led to an increase of employees to 120 and a need to add of office space.
Surescripts acquired all of Kryptiq in August 2012, which exercised such an option from the prior deal that brought Surescripts in with a 21% ownership stake. At the time of the purchase, Kryptiq had revenues of about $25 million annually and 125 employees.
In January 2015, the company announced that it was splitting from Surescripts and becoming independent again. The company changed its name to Enli Health Intelligence in September 2015. In August 2016, Enli was still headquartered on Amberglen Parkway, in eastern Hillsboro, but by October 2016 it had relocated its corporate headquarters to NW 167th Avenue, in northern Beaverton (a little more than one mile to the east).
In January 2021, Enli was acquired by Cedar Gate Technologies, based in Connecticut. For an unknown period, the new owner retained the Enli name and referred to it as "a Cedar Gate company", but later in 2021 all references to Enli, other than historical references, were removed from Cedar Gate's website.
Products
Kryptiq licensed a variety of healthcare related software to both healthcare providers and health insurers. These products included CareManager, DocuSign for Patients, Secure Messaging, Automated Clinical Messaging, Patient Portal, ePrescribing, and others that provided services such as document management. The Secure Messaging program was the backbone of the network utilized by parent company Surescripts, which was used by doctors to share patient records and information electronically. Kryptiq’s Patient Portal allowed providers to accept payments from patients over the internet, which totaled almost $10 million in 2011. Customers included Providence Health System, MeritCare Health System, GE Healthcare, and MedStar Health, among others.
References
Companies based in Beaverton, Oregon
Companies based in Hillsboro, Oregon
Defunct companies based in Oregon
Privately held companies based in Oregon
Software companies established in 2001
2001 establishments in Oregon
Software companies based in Oregon
Business software companies
Defunct software companies of the United States |
37974599 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Scott%20%28Royal%20Navy%20officer%29 | David Scott (Royal Navy officer) | Rear-Admiral Sir David Scott, KBE, CB (5 April 1921 – 20 January 2006) was an officer in the Royal Navy from 1937 to 1980. He was second in command and served as a first lieutenant aboard during Operation Mincemeat. Scott served on ten submarines in peace and war, commanding five of them. Scott was a popular officer noted for his gentlemanly way with subordinates and his sharp sense of humour.
The Second World War
Scott was at sea in the battleship at the outbreak of war, he took part in convoy operations and the bombardment of Cherbourg, during the period when invasion threatened. Transferring to submarines, he served in three small and old-fashioned boats before his time in . His first command was the submarine , training new commanding officers, and then, towards the end of the war, Vulpine and Satyr.
Operation Mincemeat
With lieutenant Bill Jewell in command, had not only a successful record in sinking shipping in dangerous Mediterranean waters but also a reputation for clandestine operations. It was Seraph that landed General Mark Clark on the Algerian coast for consultations with French authorities prior to the North African invasion, and smuggled General Giraud out of the South of France to join the Allies in Algiers. She made several supply drops for Italian partisans and survived many depth charge attacks, including one direct hit.
But Operation Mincemeat in 1943 provided the most unconventional and dramatic story, indeed one that has featured in novel and film as The Man Who Never Was. Scott believed that a large canister embarked at Holy Loch in Scotland was "optical instruments", as marked, until, off the Spanish port of Huelva, it was revealed that it contained a body dressed as a major of Royal Marines. The body, of a man who had died of pneumonia, exhibited, Mincemeat’s planners were assured by the renowned pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury, exhibited all the characteristics of drowning. On it were carefully devised high-level documents purporting to show that the Allies were planning to invade Southern Europe through Greece, while holding Sardinia and Corsica.
With Scott on the bridge and Jewell on the upper-deck casing with two officers to assist — the remainder of the crew being kept in ignorance — Seraph crept close inshore in the dark and launched this "courier" together with a half-inflated RAF life raft. The documents found their way to the Nazi Headquarters, altering their plans to reinforce Sicily, the true invasion point.
Post Second World War
In 1946, as second-in-command of the destroyer , he received a C-in-C’s commendation for his courage and coolness when his ship was mined by the Albanians in the Corfu Channel disaster. In May a force of British warships had passed between Corfu and the mainland and had been fired on by Albanian shore batteries, prompting an angry diplomatic response. A second force of two cruisers and two destroyers was consequently sent through the channel in order to demonstrate legal rights.
While in international waters, the destroyer struck a mine which blew off her bow and started an enormous fire which accounted for most of her 36 killed. Saumarez was taken in tow, stem first, by Volage, who herself hit a mine shortly afterwards, her crew sustaining eight deaths. By superb seamanship, Volage managed to tow Saumarez to Corfu. At the International Court at The Hague, Britain was awarded damages of £843,000 — which have never been paid.
Scott next commanded , an ex-German U-boat driven by high test peroxide (or HTP) which conferred high underwater speed with no need for air, but which was, in sober terms, a death trap. A number of explosions eventually proved that HTP was not a suitable propellant for submarines or torpedoes.
In 1948 he was appointed flag lieutenant to the C-in-C Far East Fleet and was on the fringes of the famous escape of the frigate Amethyst from under the guns of the Chinese Communists on the Yangtse river. This unfortunate entanglement resulted in damage and casualties to four naval ships before Amethyst made her exit. Because she had destroyed all her secret radio codes against capture, Scott’s contribution was to devise and signal to Amethyst a " one-time pad" encryption system based on her nominal crew list which was fortunately available at both ends.
In the next ten years Scott led the midget submarine development unit, undertook staff and training duties and commanded a frigate and two submarines. He achieved the first submerged transatlantic crossing by a diesel submarine in in 1953, a protracted test of snort mast breathing and of the crew’s patience — near-surface dived passages are not comfortable in submarines.
In 1962 his course at the US Naval War College was the start of a warm relationship with the US Navy. He then commanded a submarine squadron and the depot ship and, after a tour in the Admiralty, the guided missile destroyer HMS Fife. While in Fife, he made a circumnavigation of the globe.
Promotion and work in Washington
Promoted rear-admiral in 1971, he was posted to Washington D.C. as the head of the British naval mission, forming useful relations with politicians, with Pentagon officials and a friendship with the charismatic US Navy chief, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt.
Polaris
On return home in 1973 he was appointed deputy controller of the UK Polaris programme, Britain’s submarine-borne nuclear deterrent. At this time, the post reported to the Navy Board member responsible for equipment procurement, the Controller of the Navy, and had no oversight of scientific aspects.
After exhausting other avenues, Scott blew the whistle on the Chevaline development to the First Sea Lord on the grounds that cost and time had not been properly evaluated and that certain facts had been concealed. By 1976 the cost had doubled to £600 million; it was eventually to cost over £1billion at contemporary values.
As a result, the department was reorganised; Scott became the chief Polaris programme executive, reporting to the First Sea Lord and with responsibility for both scientific and naval aspects. His involvement with the Polaris programme would last for seven years. He was appointed C.B. in 1974 and K.B.E in 1977.
Retirement from the Navy and death
Retiring in 1980, he became a director of Civil and Marine, a sea-dredged aggregates company, with which he remained involved up to his death. Scott was loved by so many of the people who knew him, some of the men who Scott commanded over decided to name a street after him, David Scott Avenue, located in Midlothian, Scotland.
Sir David Scott died on 20 January 2006. He had a wife, Pamela, and three children.
Timeline of positions
Education – Tonbridge
Ranks held
References
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205218691
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=david+scott+avenue&aq=f&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl
http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersS1a.html
http://www.maritimequest.com/misc_pages/david_scott_collection/radm_sir_david_scott_collection_page_1.htm
Papers and naval signals concerning the "Amethyst Incident" [also known as the "Yangtze Incident"] and writings, speeches, photographs and family memorabilia of Rear Admiral Sir David Scott
1921 births
2006 deaths
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Royal Navy submariners
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Royal Navy admirals |
37986494 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom%20of%20the%20Press%20Foundation | Freedom of the Press Foundation | Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 to fund and support free speech and freedom of the press. The organization originally managed crowd-funding campaigns for independent journalistic organizations, but now pursues technical projects to support journalists' digital security and conducts legal advocacy for journalists.
The foundation's SecureDrop platform aims to allow confidential and secure communication between journalists and their sources, and has been adopted by more than 65 news organizations globally. It also manages the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a database of press freedom violations in the United States.
The organization's board of directors has included prominent journalists and whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Xeni Jardin, as well as activists, celebrities, and filmmakers. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden joined FPF's board of directors in 2014 and began serving as its president in early 2016. Jardin left the board in 2016.
Crowdfunding
The organization's founding was inspired by the WikiLeaks financial blockade. In late 2012, FPF's launch re-enabled donations to WikiLeaks via Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal, after the payment processors cut off WikiLeaks in late 2010. In December 2017, after five years of processing donations on behalf of WikiLeaks, FPF's board unanimously found that the blockade was no longer in effect, and severed ties with WikiLeaks as of January 8, 2018.
FPF has also crowd-funded support for a variety of other transparency journalism organizations, as well as encryption tools used by journalists, including: WikiLeaks, MuckRock, the National Security Archive, The UpTake, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the Center for Public Integrity, Truthout, the LEAP Encryption Access Project, Open Whisper Systems, Tails, and the Tor Project.
In May 2013, FPF raised over $100,000 in online donations to hire a professional court stenographer to take transcripts during the trial of whistleblower Chelsea Manning after the government refused to make its transcripts available to the public. They posted the transcripts online at the end of each day of the trial for members of the media to use in their reports. Secrecy expert Steven Aftergood later called the crowd-funding effort "unprecedented", saying "it eloquently demonstrated public expectations of openness...the court and the prosecutors may have been shamed into reconsidering their habitual secrecy."
In October 2014, FPF raised over $28,000 for New Zealand independent journalist Nicky Hager to fund his legal challenge against the government of New Zealand after his house was raided by police. The raid reportedly was an attempt to uncover one or more of Hager's anonymous sources used in his book Dirty Politics. A court later ruled the raid of Hager's house was illegal.
In 2015, FPF raised more than $125,000 in online donations for Chelsea Manning's legal defense stemming from her conviction under the Espionage Act for leaking information to WikiLeaks. Notwithstanding the January 2017 commutation of her sentence and May 2017 release from prison, Manning's military appeal is ongoing.
As of June 2018, FPF accepts donations with crypto-currencies. On April 16, 2021, Edward Snowden raised 2,224 ETH (around $5.4 million) to benefit Freedom of the Press Foundation through the sale of an NFT on foundation.app. This signed work, titled "Stay Free", combines the entirety of a landmark court decision ruling the National Security Agency's mass surveillance violated the law, with the portrait of the whistleblower by Platon. This is the largest donation in the history of the organization.
Technical projects
In October 2013, FPF took over the development of SecureDrop, a free software whistleblower submission system developed in part by the late programmer and transparency activist Aaron Swartz. Swartz developed SecureDrop with Kevin Poulsen and James Dolan. Dolan moved it to FPF upon the death of Swartz. The SecureDrop system facilitates anonymous communication between two parties using the Tor Network, and allows whistleblowers to contact journalists without ever exchanging one another's identities or contact information.
The system is now in use at more than 65 news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, ProPublica, HuffPost, NBC News, and The Intercept. According to a study done by the Columbia Journalism School, it has since successfully led to the publication of many stories at the news organizations that use it.
FPF also teaches journalists how to use other encryption methods and digital security tools to better protect their sources.
In collaboration with The Guardian Project, FPF released a free and open-source mobile app named Haven in 2017. Haven turns an Android device into a security sensor and, optionally, alerts the device owner to activity occurring in its vicinity.
Legal activism
Freedom of the Press Foundation has been involved in several Freedom of Information Act cases surrounding journalists' rights and government transparency.
In January 2016, FPF's lawsuit against the Justice Department revealed that the US government has secret rules for targeting journalists with National Security Letters (NSLs) and FISA court orders.
In March 2016, another FPF lawsuit showed that the Obama administration secretly lobbied against bipartisan Freedom of Information Act reform in Congress, despite the bill being based word-for-word on the Obama administration's supposed transparency guidelines.
Awards
FPF co-founders Daniel Ellsberg, John Perry Barlow, Trevor Timm, and Rainey Reitman won the 2013 Hugh Hefner First Amendment award for their role in founding FPF. The organization was the recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists' James Madison award in 2016.
See also
Committee to Protect Journalists
Citizen journalism
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Journalism ethics and standards
Open Technology Fund
Reporters Without Borders
References
External links
2012 establishments in the United States
Freedom of the press
WikiLeaks
Freedom of expression organizations
Foundations based in the United States
Organizations established in 2012 |
37994832 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan%20Leigh%20Fermor | Joan Leigh Fermor | Joan Leigh Fermor (5 February 1912 – 4 June 2003) was an English photographer and wife of author Patrick Leigh Fermor.
Early life
She was born Joan Elizabeth Eyres Monsell in Dumbleton, Worcestershire, the second of three daughters of Bolton Eyres Monsell and his wife Sybil (née Eyres). Her father was Conservative Member of Parliament for Evesham from 1910 to 1935. He served as Conservative Chief Whip from 1923 to 1929, and First Lord of the Admiralty from 1931 to 1936. He became Viscount Monsell in 1935. Her brother Graham inherited the viscountcy on her father's death in 1969. Her family home was Dumbleton Hall in Worcestershire, inherited by her mother. She was educated at St James's School in Malvern and before travelling in Europe, attended finishing schools in Paris and Florence
She dabbled with several possible careers. She was a talented photographer of landscapes and architecture, with pictures published in Architectural Review and Horizon. She married John Rayner, features editor of the Daily Express, in 1939.
Second World War
During the Second World War, she was commissioned to photograph buildings that were likely to be bombed. She also worked as a nurse at the start of the war, but then trained in encryption, and worked in the British embassies in Madrid and Algiers before being posted to Cairo, where she first met her future husband Patrick Leigh Fermor in 1944. He was then an SOE officer famed for his part in the kidnapping of General Kreipe from Crete. Joan and he quickly fell in love, although she was still married to Rayner. Her marriage to Rayner was dissolved in 1947. She and Leigh Fermor remained close companions (although not exclusively) and were married in 1968, by which time he had published several books. Her private income allowed him to concentrate on his writing.
With Patrick in Greece
Joan had joined Leigh Fermor in Athens in 1946, where he was deputy director of the British Council's Institute, and joined him on a lecture tour of Greece. She was also secretary to the cartoonist Osbert Lancaster. She travelled in France with Cyril Connolly in 1948, taking photographs to accompany a guidebook that was never finished; Connolly later said that he was distracted by her beauty. Connolly described her in 1949 as "very beautiful: tall, fair, slanting eyes, yellow skin".
She accompanied Patrick to the Caribbean after he was invited to write text for a travel book to accompany images by a Greek artist named Costas, published as The Traveller's Tree in 1950. She also accompanied Patrick on visits to remote parts of Greece that were published in his book in Mani (1958) about southern Greece and Roumeli (1966) about northern Greece, accompanied in the original editions by her photographs.
Joan and Patrick lived together in a house designed and built by Patrick in an olive grove on a cliff top at Kardamyli, on the Mani Peninsula, the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese. Their circle of friends included Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, Lawrence Durrell, Stephen Spender, Giorgos Seferis, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas and many others.
She loved cats and enjoyed playing chess. After suffering a fall, she died in Mani, and was buried in Dumbleton, where Patrick joined her after his death in 2011. They had no children.
A biography by Simon Fenwick, Joan, was published in 2017.
Exhibitions: 2018 Benaki Museum, Athens Greece. https://www.benaki.gr/index.php?option=com_events&view=event&id=5601&lang=en
Further reading
Simon Fenwick Joan: the remarkable life of Joan Leigh Fermor, London: Macmillan, 2017,
References
Obituary, The Independent, 10 June 2003 (from patrickleighfermor.wordpress.com) (see also )
Obituary, The Guardian, 17 June 2003
Obituary, The Telegraph, 5 July 2003
Joan Leigh Fermor (nee Eyres-Monsell), Dumbleton Village
1912 births
2003 deaths
Photographers from Worcestershire
People from Dumbleton
Daughters of viscounts
Wives of knights |
38068657 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU%20fcrypt | GNU fcrypt | GNU fcrypt was a disk encryption software project intended to offer multiple hidden partitions, "on the fly encryption" (automatic and transparent encryption), and "plausible deniability." The now disbanded project was part of the GNU project. In November 2012 Richard Stallman, dubbed fcrypt as an official GNU project, after that the program was called GNU fcrypt.
The software's encryption was intended to prove resistant to being cracked by quantum computers.
References
Disk encryption
Cryptographic software |
38072780 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January%201917 | January 1917 | The following events occurred in January 1917:
Monday, January 1, 1917
British troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by German submarine , with the loss of 125 lives.
University of Oregon defeated University of Pennsylvania 14–0 in the third annual U.S. college football Rose Bowl Game, in front of a crowd of 27,000 at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California.
The Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force) disbanded three Kampfgeschwader (bomber wings) and redesignated their squadrons as Schutzstaffeln (escort squadrons). Operating two-seat Albatros, Rumpler, Gotha Taube, and Fokker aircraft, the new "Schusta" squadrons are tasked with escorting two-seat observation planes of the Feldflieger Abteilungen (field flying detachments) and Artillerieflieger Abteilungen (artillery flying detachments) during their reconnaissance flights, and are based with them.
The 5th Guards Infantry Division for the Imperial German Army was established to support the Western Front. It was dissolved in 1919.
The Great Falls Dam for Caney Fork River in central Tennessee began operations.
The Leipzig Transport Authority was established through a merger of two other transit companies in Leipzig.
The Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company merged with the Morse Chain Works to form Thomas-Morse Aircraft in Ithaca, New York.
The Istanbul University State Conservatory was established as the Darülelhan (House of Melodies), a four-year academy that focused mainly on Turkish music.
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia was formed as part of the Bell System for service in West Virginia. It is now known as Frontier West Virginia.
The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation was established through the merger of three British industrial trade unions.
The Ise Electric Railway extended the Nagoya Line in the Mie Prefecture, Japan, with stations Chisato and Edobashi serving the line.
The comic opera Eileen, written by Victor Herbert and Henry Blossom, premiered at the Colonial Theatre in Cleveland as Hearts of Erin before moving to Boston and changing to its current title.
The Argentine football club Los Andes was established in Lomas de Zamora, Argentina.
Born: Zainab al Ghazali, Egyptian activist, founder of the Muslim Women's Association in Egypt (d. 2005); Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer, best known for her stage work in Damn Yankees, The Golden Apple, Take Me Along, The Little Foxes and Desire Under the Elms, in Spencer, South Dakota (d. 2016); Ruzi Nazar, Uzbek-American spy, leading CIA agent in Turkey and Germany during the 1950s and 1960s, in Margilan, Uzbekistan (d. 2015)
Tuesday, January 2, 1917
The Royal Bank of Canada took over Quebec Bank.
The Maduro Bank was established in the Curaçao and Dependencies Dutch Caribbean colony, and later merged to become Maduro & Curiel's Bank in 1932.
Southeastern High School opened its doors to secondary students in Detroit.
Born: Vera Zorina, German ballet dancer and actress, best known for her performance work with Gaiety Theatre, London and Original Ballet Russe, in Berlin (d. 2003)
Died: Léon Flameng, French cyclist, three-time medalist (including gold) at the 1896 Summer Olympics (killed in action) (b. 1877); Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist, founder of cultural anthropology (b. 1832)
Wednesday, January 3, 1917
Dmitry Shuvayev was replaced by Mikhail Belyaev as Minister of War in the Russian Government.
Two trains collided at Ratho Station in Scotland, killing 12 people and injuring 46 others. An inquiry found inadequate signaling procedures led to the crash.
Born: Roger Williams Straus Jr., American publisher, co-founder of publishing company Farrar, Straus and Giroux, in New York City (d. 2004); Jesse White, American actor, best known as the Maytag repairman in television commercials from 1967 to 1988, in Buffalo, New York (d. 1997); Vernon A. Walters, American army officer and diplomat, 19th Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations, in New York City (d. 2002)
Thursday, January 4, 1917
Russian battleship struck two mines and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt, with the loss of 167 of her 771 crew.
An earthquake measuring 6.5 in magnitude struck Pingtung County, Taiwan, killing 54 people, injuring another 85, and destroying 130 homes.
Battle of Behobeho – A colonial British unit led by Captain Frederick Selous encountered and fought a German column on the Rufiji River in German East Africa (now Tanzania). In the ensuing firefight, Selous was killed by a German sniper.
Chilean news publisher Eliodoro Yáñez founded Empresa Periodística as a news company which included the daily newspaper La Nación. It was expropriated by the state during the dictatorship of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and remained part of the Chilean government since then.
The Patent and Trademark Office Society was established to address ongoing standards and processes of the U.S. patent system.
Died: Carl Ludwig Jessen, German painter, known for works including The Blue Living Room and A Knitting Italian Woman (b. 1833)
Friday, January 5, 1917
Christmas Battles – Russian forces launched a surprise attack against German defenses on near Riga, Latvia in what was supposed to be Christmas in the Julian calendar.
British cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by German submarine . All crew survived, but the captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
The first prototype of the Sage aircraft took flight.
Born: Adolfo Consolini, Italian discus thrower, gold medalist in the 1948 Summer Olympics and silver medalist in the 1952 Summer Olympics, in Costermano sul Garda, Italy (d. 1969); Lucienne Day, British textile designer, best known for her award-winning contemporary designs, such as Calyx for fashion and interior, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, in Surrey, England (d. 2010)
Born: Jane Wyman, American actress, best known for her role as Angela Channing in the television soap opera Falcon Crest, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actress for Johnny Belinda, first wife of Ronald Reagan, in St. Joseph, Missouri (d. 2007)
Saturday, January 6, 1917
Born: Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese business leader, head of the Koos Group, in Taihoku Chō, Taiwan (d. 2005); Maeve Brennan, Irish writer, known for her The Long-Winded Lady articles in The New Yorker and her novella The Visitor, in Dublin (d. 1993); Sydney Banks, Canadian broadcaster, founder and director of CUC Broadcasting, in Toronto (d. 2006)
Died: Frederick William Borden, Canadian politician, 15th Minister of Militia and Defence, in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia (b. 1847); Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian, author of De socialisten: Personen en stelsels ("The socialists: persons and systems") (b. 1834)
Sunday, January 7, 1917
Mikhail Rodzianko, Chairman of the State Duma (Russian Parliament), warned Tsar Nicholas that the constant changes in the Russian cabinet was weakening the government: "All the best men have been removed or have retired. There remain those of ill repute."
The Royal Flying Corps established air squadrons No. 81, No. 82, No. 83, and No. 84.
Born: Alfred Freedman, American psychiatrist, advocate to the American Psychiatric Association in removing homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders, in Albany, New York (d. 2011)
Monday, January 8, 1917
Born: Sylvia Agnes Sophia Tait, British chemist, known for her collaborations with husband James Francis Tait on the discovery of the hormone aldosterone, in Tyumen, Russia (d. 2003)
Died: George Warrender, British naval officer, commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron during World War I (b. 1860); Mary Arthur McElroy, American socialite, sister to U.S. President Chester A. Arthur and acting First Lady of the United States (b. 1841); Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen, German army officer, one of the figures involved in the Dreyfus affair (b. 1850)
Tuesday, January 9, 1917
Battle of Rafa – The Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force captured the last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula. Ottoman casualties included 1,434 prisoners, 200 killed and 168 wounded. British casualties were 71 killed and 415 wounded.
Royal Navy battleship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by German submarine , with the loss of 15 of her 720 crew.
Pete Herman defeated Kid Williams over 20 rounds at New Orleans to take the World Bantamweight Championship, which he held until 1920.
Born: Abdullah al-Sallal, Yemeni state leader, first President of the Yemen Arab Republic, in Sanaa, Ottoman Empire (now part of Yemen) (d. 1994); Roland J. Barnick, American air force officer, commander of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing during World War II and the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing in the 1960s, recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal and Order of the Sword, in Max, North Dakota (d. 1996)
Died: Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist, known for his editorial cartoons for the Chicago Daily News (d. 1853)
Wednesday, January 10, 1917
The opening of the Duma (Russian Parliament) was postponed to February 25, furthering upping tensions between the monarchy and the Russian government.
Ross Sea party – The last seven marooned members of the second arm of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition were rescued at Cape Evans, Antarctica by polar ship SY Aurora, with expedition leader Ernest Shackleton in command. They learned of the overall failure of expedition due to the wreck of the polar ship Endurance in 1915 as well as having to report to Shackleton the deaths of three of its expedition members.
The suffragist group known as the Silent Sentinels, organized by Alice Paul of the National Woman's Party, began holding daily demonstrations in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.
The Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army, established air squadron Jagdstaffel 37.
Born: Jerry Wexler, American record producer, celebrated producer for Atlantic Records and Warner Records, in New York City (d. 2008); Saul Cherniack, Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1962 to 1981 and Manitoba Minister of Finance from 1973 to 1975, in Winnipeg (d. 2018)
Died: Buffalo Bill, American frontiersman, famous for this Buffalo Bill's Wild West circus, recipient of the Medal of Honor (b. 1846)
Thursday, January 11, 1917
The British began raids on German-held territory around the Ancre Valley in France.
Christmas Battles – The German 8th Army abandoned a key defense position south of Riga, Latvia and retreated, leaving behind a seven-kilometer gap in the German line that the Imperial Russian Army failed to exploit.
Kingsland explosion – A massive explosion destroyed a munitions plant at Kingsland (now Lyndhurst, New Jersey). Evidence of the blast suggested sabotage, with suspected links to Germany.
Royal Navy seaplane tender was shelled and sunk by Ottoman shore artillery while in harbor at Castelorizo Island, Greece, becoming the only aviation ship of any nationality sunk by enemy action during World War I.
The Luftstreitkräfte established air squadron Jagdstaffel 36.
The Sacred Heart Institute opened in Yorkton, Saskatchewan by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, and was later changed to Sacred Heart High School in 1973.
Born: John Robarts, Canadian politician, 17th Premier of Ontario, in Banff, Alberta (d. 1982); Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician, leader of the National Awami Party during a movement to return democracy to Pakistan, in Utmanzai, Charsadda, British India (d. 2006)
Friday, January 12, 1917
German [flying ace] Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the "Red Baron", received the Pour le Mérite (the "Blue Max") for having shot down 16 Allied aircraft since September 1916.
Born: Jimmy Skinner, Canadian sports executive, head coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, coached the team to winning the 1955 Stanley Cup, in Selkirk, Manitoba (d. 2007)
Saturday, January 13, 1917
U.S. Navy cruiser ran aground at Eureka, California, with all 438 crew rescued. The naval vessel broke in two in November 1918 and was a total loss.
Born: Khoo Teck Puat, Singaporean business leader, founder of the Goodwell Group which included the Goodwell hotel chain, in Singapore (d. 2004)
Died: Albert Niemann, German opera singer, most famous as the lead tenor in The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner (b. 1831); Matthew Arlington Batson, American army officer, founder of the Philippine Scouts, recipient of the Medal of Honor for action during the Philippine–American War (b. 1866)
Sunday, January 14, 1917
A rail accident at Ciurea train station in Romania killed between an estimated 600 to 1,000 people, making it the third worst rail accident in world history.
Japanese cruiser exploded and sank at Yokosuka, Japan with the loss of 305 of her 879 crew.
The Kingdom of Poland was established as a puppet state of the German Empire, marking the third time it was restored to the country.
Russian noble Prince Georgy Lvov proposed to Grand Duke Nicholas, Viceroyal for the Caucasus, that he should take control of the Russian government from Tsar Nicholas.
Royal Navy destroyer shelled and sunk German submarine in the English Channel with the loss of all 21 crew.
The 231st Brigade of the British Army was established.
The first edition of the Chilean daily newspaper El Marino was released in Pichilemu, Chile but shut down within two months.
A meeting between Leon Trotsky and Ludwig Lore in New York City lay the groundwork to publishing the Marxist magazine The Class Struggle which ran from 1917 to 1919.
Died: Elisha Hunt Rhodes, American soldier, his diaries during the American Civil War were published as All For the Union and featured prominently in the Ken Burns PBS documentary series The Civil War (b. 1842); Ben Viljoen, Boer army officer, noted commander during the First and Second Boer Wars (b. 1869)
Monday, January 15, 1917
Jones County, South Dakota, was established with its county seat in Murdo, South Dakota.
German football club 1st Haßfurt was established in Haßfurt, Germany.
Died: William De Morgan, English artist, best known for his collaborations with William Morris for window, furniture and ornamental designs for Morris & Co. (b. 1839)
Tuesday, January 16, 1917
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson formally ratified the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, allowing the United States to purchase the Danish West Indies for $25 million.
Zimmermann Telegram – Arthur Zimmermann, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs for the German Empire, sent a coded telegram to Heinrich von Eckardt, German ambassador to Mexico, with instructions to propose to Mexico that the country and Germany "make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
The 242nd Infantry Division was established as part of the last wave of new divisions created for the Imperial German Army. It was dissolved in 1919.
Born: Muhammad Mansur Ali, Bangladeshi state leader, third Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in Kuripara, British India (d. 1975, assassinated); Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, Beninese state leader, Premier of Dahomey (now Benin) from 1964 to 1965, in Abomey, Dahomey (d. 2002)
Born: Carl Karcher, American business leader, founder of the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, in Upper Sandusky, Ohio (d. 2008); Ibrahim Shams, Egyptian weightlifter, bronze medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics and gold medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympics, in Alexandria (d. 2001)
Died: George Dewey, American naval officer, only officer to attain the rank of Admiral of the Navy (b. 1837)
Wednesday, January 17, 1917
Zimmermann Telegram – British intelligence monitoring German telegraph communications intercepted a coded telegram between German Foreign Affairs and the German embassy in Mexico through American diplomat James W. Gerard. It was sent to Room 40 at the British Admiralty where codebreaker Nigel de Grey solved the encryption and uncovered evidence of Germany's plans to spread World War I to North America.
Born: M. G. Ramachandran, Indian politician and actor, known for romantic leads in films including Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum and Aayirathil Oruvan, third Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in Kandy, British Ceylon (d. 1987)
Born: Amelia Piccinini, Italian athlete, silver medalist in shot put at the 1948 Summer Olympics, in Turin (d. 1979); Jocko Thompson, American baseball player, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1948 to 1951, in Beverly, Massachusetts (d. 1988)
Thursday, January 18, 1917
Ottoman forces under command of Fakhri Pasha began to retreat from the Arabian port of Medina.
Pancho Villa Expedition – The United States Army was ordered to end its search for Pancho Villa and return to the United States.
Royal Navy destroyer was torpedoed and damaged in the English Channel southeast of Isle of Wight by German submarine , with the loss of one crew member. She was repaired and returned to service.
The city of El Segundo, California, was incorporated.
Born: Kenneth Mayhew, British army officer, recipient of the Military Order of William of the Netherlands for action at the Battle of Overloon during World War II, in Helmingham, England (d. 2021); Lin Wang, military elephant, served the Chinese Expeditionary Force during World War II, lead attraction at the Taipei Zoo (d. 2003)
Died: Victor Bruce, British noble and state leader, 14th Viceroy of India, 25th Secretary of State for the Colonies, son of Lord James Bruce (b. 1849)
Friday, January 19, 1917
A blast at a munitions factory in London killed 73 and injured over 400 workers, with the resulting fire causing over £2,000,000 worth of damage.
British submarines and collided with each other in the North Sea. sank with the loss of all 30 crew.
Born: Graham Higman, British mathematician, leading contributor to group theory, in Louth, Lincolnshire, England (d. 2008)
Died: Edward Robert Robson, English architect, chief architect for the London School Board from 1871 to 1876 (b. 1836)
Saturday, January 20, 1917
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck Bali, causing landslides that killed 1,500 people.
Died: Amédée Bollée, French inventor, known for his steam car prototypes including L'Obéissante and La Mancelle (b. 1844)
Sunday, January 21, 1917
Senussi campaign — A British column under command of Brigadier-General Henry Hodgson was dispatched to raid the oasis Siwa in North Africa and capture Senussi rebel leader Sayed Ahmed.
Tipperary beat Kilkenny 5–4 and 3–2 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship before a crowd of 5,000 at Croke Park in Dublin.
Born: Erling Persson, Swedish business leader, founder of H&M, in Borlänge, Sweden (d. 2002)
Monday, January 22, 1917
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson made his famous "peace without victory" speech before a joint session with United States Congress, maintaining that while the United States would remain neutral during World War I, it could play a role as a major peace broker in the near future.
German submarine collided with a Russian trawler and sank in the Arctic Ocean with the loss of a crew member.
The sorority Kappa Beta Gamma was established at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The Charlie Chaplin comedy Easy Street premiered, with Chaplin's The Tramp playing a beat cop assigned to the roughest neighborhood in the city. Edna Purviance, a regular lead in his films, played a damsel in distress.
Born: Michael Elkins, American journalist, foreign correspondent for CBS News and BBC News, in New York City (d. 2001); Bruce Shand, British noble and army officer, father to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, commander of the 12th Royal Lancers during World War II, in London (d. 2006)
Died: Emma Miller, Australian political activist, leading suffragist leader in Australia and co-founder of the Australian Labor Party (b. 1839); Bérenger Saunière, French clergy, his refusal to leave the parish Rennes-le-Château in France and continuing to practice priestly duties after being defrocked led to conspiracy theories that featured prominently in the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (b. 1852)
Tuesday, January 23, 1917
British cargo ship was launched by W Harkness & Sons Ltd in Middlesbrough, England. It would serve Ellerman Lines until 1944 when it was purchased by the British Ministry of War Transport for Operation Pluto.
A partial solar eclipse occurred that was visible through much of the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Born: Charles J. Girard, American army officer, three time recipient of the Legion of Merit, commander of the Capital Military Assistance Command during the Vietnam War, in Sumter, South Carolina (d. 1970)
Wednesday, January 24, 1917
An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude struck Anhui Province, China, causing 101 deaths.
Born: Ernest Borgnine, American actor, best known for his film roles in From Here to Eternity, The Wild Bunch, and The Poseidon Adventure, and television roles including McHale's Navy, Airwolf, and SpongeBob SquarePants, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for Marty, in Hamden, Connecticut (d. 2012)
Born: L. Fletcher Prouty, American air force officer, Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under U.S. President John F. Kennedy and noted contributor of conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination, in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2001); Howard Sims, American tap dancer, best known for his collaboration with the Apollo Theater, in Fort Smith, Arkansas (d. 2003); Marcel Hansenne, French runner, bronze medalist in the 1948 Summer Olympics (d. 2002)
Born: Hans-Ekkehard Bob, German air force officer, commander of the Luftwaffe squadrons Jagdgeschwader 3 and 51 during World War II, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (d. 2013); Archibald Winskill, British air force officer, commander of various squadrons during World War II including No. 17 Squadron, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, Distinguished Flying Cross and Royal Victorian Order, in Penrith, Cumbria, England (d. 2005)
Died: Sophia Morrison, English preservationist, promoter and preserver of the culture of the Isle of Man (b. 1859)
Thursday, January 25, 1917
British merchant ship struck a mine and sank off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 354 of the 475 passengers and crew on board.
The U.S. Navy battleship was launched by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. The battleship was most famous for supporting the major amphibious operations during World War II against the Japanese in the Pacific before it was decommissioned in 1956.
An anti-prostitution drive by police closed about 200 prostitution houses in Barbary Coast, San Francisco.
Born: Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research into dissipative systems, author of The End of Certainty, in Moscow (d. 2003); Jânio Quadros, Brazilian state leader, 22nd President of Brazil, in Campo Grande, Brazil (d. 1992); Edna Andrade, American artist, one of the original op art members in the United States, in Portsmouth, Virginia (d. 2008)
Died: Nokutela Dube, South African educator, co-founder with husband John Langalibalele Dube of Ohlange High School, the first school founded by native South Africans (b. 1873)
Friday, January 26, 1917
Pancho Villa Expedition — A border skirmish between a Utah Army National Guard unit and Mexican rebels resulted in 10 Mexican casualties, the last military engagement before American forces pulled out of Mexico.
A violent storm breached sea defenses at the English village of Hallsands, leading to all but one of the houses becoming uninhabitable.
Born: Louis Zamperini, American runner and air force officer, top-10 competitor in the 1936 Summer Olympics, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, his experiences as a prisoner of war for the Japanese during World War II became the subject of the film Unbroken, in Olean, New York (d. 2014); William Verity Jr., American politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce, in Middletown, Ohio (d. 2007)
Saturday, January 27, 1917
Alfredo González Flores, President of Costa Rica, was overthrown in a military coup by his fellow cabinet member Federico Tinoco Granados and his brother José Joaquín, resulting in a two-year dictatorship in Costa Rica.
Born: Tufton Beamish, British politician, Member of Parliament for Lewes from 1945 to 1974, recipient of the Military Cross for actions during the Battle of France in World War II (d. 1989); John Pattison, New Zealand air force officer, commander of the No. 485 Squadron during the World War II, recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross and Legion of Honour, in Waipawa, New Zealand (d. 2009)
Sunday, January 28, 1917
Pancho Villa Expedition – U.S. forces in Mexico under command of John J. Pershing began their return to the United States.
French troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by German submarine with the loss of 203 lives.
Riots broke out at the El Paso–Juárez border crossing between Mexico and the United States over issues of treatment of Mexicans by U.S. immigrant officials, especially for allegations of abuse during health screenings.
The first test flight of the Junkers aircraft was conducted.
Died: Prince Qing, Chinese noble, first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet (b. 1838); Christian Streit White, American army officer, commander of the 13th and 23rd Virginia Infantry during the American Civil War (b. 1839)
Monday, January 29, 1917
British submarine sank in Gare Loch, Scotland with the loss of 32 of the 80 people on board. She was subsequently salvaged, repaired and returned to service as HMS K22.
Riots at the El Paso–Juárez border crossing between Mexico and the United States intensified, forcing Mexican authorities in Juárez to crack down with arrests.
French artist Auguste Rodin married his mistress Rose Beuret, but she died two weeks later. Rodin became seriously ill himself and died in November.
The Swedish film drama A Man There Was, directed by Victor Sjöström, was released, and would later be considered the start of the Golden Age of Swedish Cinema.
Born: John Raitt, American actor and singer, best known for his leading man roles in musicals including Carousel, Oklahoma!, and The Pajama Game, in Santa Ana, California (d. 2005); David Rubitsky, American soldier, campaigned that he was denied the Medal of Honor for action during the New Guinea campaign in World War II because he was Jewish (d. 2013)
Died: Evelyn Baring, British noble and state leader, first Consul-General of Egypt (b. 1841)
Tuesday, January 30, 1917
Riots at the El Paso–Juárez border crossing between Mexico and the United States ended with three arrests. Changes were made to processing migrants, including having an observing Mexican official on the U.S. side and allowing Mexican health certificates to be recognized.
The one-act opera Eine florentinische Tragödie by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky premiered at the Staatsoper Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Genealogical Society of Finland was founded in Helsinki and has grown to its current roster of 6,000 members.
Born: Sam LoPresti, American ice hockey player, goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1937 to 1951, in Elcor, Minnesota (d. 1984)
Wednesday, January 31, 1917
Germany announced it was rescinding the 'Sussex pledge' and would resume unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic Ocean.
Born: Frank Gill, New Zealand air force officer and politician, member of the No. 75 Squadron during the Battle of Britain and recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, Member of New Zealand Parliament from 1969 to 1980, 27th Minister of Defence and 24th Minister of Health, in Wellington (d. 1982)
Born: Fred Bassetti, American architect, known for many Seattle landmarks including the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building and Seattle Municipal Tower, in Seattle (d. 2013); Jini Dellaccio, American photographer, best known for her portraits of rock and pop acts in the 1960s including Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and The Who (d. 2014)
Died: Henry Bracy, Welsh opera singer, known for his work with the Gaiety Theatre, London and the J. C. Williamson organization (b. 1846)
References
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38104075 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%20Data%20Protection%20Regulation | General Data Protection Regulation | The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and of human rights law, in particular Article 8(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas. The GDPR's primary aim is to enhance individuals' control and rights over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business. Superseding the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, the regulation contains provisions and requirements related to the processing of personal data of individuals (formally called data subjects in the GDPR) who are located in the EEA, and applies to any enterprise—regardless of its location and the data subjects' citizenship or residence—that is processing the personal information of individuals inside the EEA.
The GDPR was adopted on 14 April 2016 and became enforceable beginning 25 May 2018. As the GDPR is a regulation, not a directive, it is directly binding and applicable, and provides flexibility for certain aspects of the regulation to be adjusted by individual member states.
The regulation became a model for many other laws across the world, including in Turkey, Mauritius, Chile, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, Argentina and Kenya. the United Kingdom retains the law in identical form despite no longer being an EU member state. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), adopted on 28 June 2018, has many similarities with the GDPR.
Contents
The GDPR 2016 has eleven chapters, concerning general provisions, principles, rights of the data subject, duties of data controllers or processors, transfers of personal data to third countries, supervisory authorities, cooperation among member states, remedies, liability or penalties for breach of rights, and miscellaneous final provisions.
General provisions
The regulation applies if the data controller (an organisation that collects data from EU residents), or processor (an organisation that processes data on behalf of a data controller like cloud service providers), or the data subject (person) is based in the EU. Under certain circumstances, the regulation also applies to organisations based outside the EU if they collect or process personal data of individuals located inside the EU. The regulation does not apply to the processing of data by a person for a "purely personal or household activity and thus with no connection to a professional or commercial activity." (Recital 18)
According to the European Commission, "Personal data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. If you cannot directly identify an individual from that information, then you need to consider whether the individual is still identifiable. You should take into account the information you are processing together with all the means reasonably likely to be used by either you or any other person to identify that individual." The precise definitions of terms such as "personal data", "processing", "data subject", "controller", and "processor" are stated in Article 4 of the Regulation.
The regulation does not purport to apply to the processing of personal data for national security activities or law enforcement of the EU; however, industry groups concerned about facing a potential conflict of laws have questioned whether Article 48 of the GDPR could be invoked to seek to prevent a data controller subject to a third country's laws from complying with a legal order from that country's law enforcement, judicial, or national security authorities to disclose to such authorities the personal data of an EU person, regardless of whether the data resides in or out of the EU. Article 48 states that any judgement of a court or tribunal and any decision of an administrative authority of a third country requiring a controller or processor to transfer or disclose personal data may not be recognised or enforceable in any manner unless based on an international agreement, like a mutual legal assistance treaty in force between the requesting third (non-EU) country and the EU or a member state. The data protection reform package also includes a separate Data Protection Directive for the police and criminal justice sector that provides rules on personal data exchanges at State level, Union level, and international levels.
A single set of rules applies to all EU member states. Each member state establishes an independent supervisory authority (SA) to hear and investigate complaints, sanction administrative offences, etc. SAs in each member state co-operate with other SAs, providing mutual assistance and organising joint operations. If a business has multiple establishments in the EU, it must have a single SA as its "lead authority", based on the location of its "main establishment" where the main processing activities take place. The lead authority thus acts as a "one-stop shop" to supervise all the processing activities of that business throughout the EU (Articles 46–55 of the GDPR). A European Data Protection Board (EDPB) co-ordinates the SAs. EDPB thus replaces the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. There are exceptions for data processed in an employment context or in national security that still might be subject to individual country regulations (Articles 2(2)(a) and 88 of the GDPR).
Principles
Personal data may not be processed unless there is at least one legal basis to do so. Article 6 states the lawful purposes are:
(a) If the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data;
(b) To fulfil contractual obligations with a data subject, or for tasks at the request of a data subject who is in the process of entering into a contract;
(c) To comply with a data controller's legal obligations;
(d) To protect the vital interests of a data subject or another individual;
(e) To perform a task in the public interest or in official authority;
(f) For the legitimate interests of a data controller or a third party, unless these interests are overridden by interests of the data subject or her or his rights according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights (especially in the case of children)
If informed consent is used as the lawful basis for processing, consent must have been explicit for data collected and each purpose data is used for (Article 7; defined in Article 4). Consent must be a specific, freely-given, plainly-worded, and unambiguous affirmation given by the data subject; an online form which has consent options structured as an opt-out selected by default is a violation of the GDPR, as the consent is not unambiguously affirmed by the user. In addition, multiple types of processing may not be "bundled" together into a single affirmation prompt, as this is not specific to each use of data, and the individual permissions are not freely given. (Recital 32)
Data subjects must be allowed to withdraw this consent at any time, and the process of doing so must not be harder than it was to opt in. (Article 7(3)) A data controller may not refuse service to users who decline consent to processing that is not strictly necessary in order to use the service. (Article 7(4)) Consent for children, defined in the regulation as being less than 16 years old (although with the option for member states to individually make it as low as 13 years old (Article 8(1)), must be given by the child's parent or custodian, and verifiable (Article 8).
If consent to processing was already provided under the Data Protection Directive, a data controller does not have to re-obtain consent if the processing is documented and obtained in compliance with the GDPR's requirements (Recital 171).
Rights of the data subject
Transparency and modalities
Article 12 requires that the data controller provides information to the "data subject in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language, in particular for any information addressed specifically to a child."
Information and access
The right of access (Article 15) is a data subject right. It gives people the right to access their personal data and information about how this personal data is being processed. A data controller must provide, upon request, an overview of the categories of data that are being processed (Article 15(1)(b)) as well as a copy of the actual data (Article 15(3)); furthermore, the data controller has to inform the data subject on details about the processing, such as the purposes of the processing (Article 15(1)(a)), with whom the data is shared (Article 15(1)(c)), and how it acquired the data (Article 15(1)(g)).
A data subject must be able to transfer personal data from one electronic processing system to and into another, without being prevented from doing so by the data controller. Data that has been sufficiently anonymised is excluded, but data that has been only de-identified but remains possible to link to the individual in question, such as by providing the relevant identifier, is not. In practice, however, providing such identifiers can be challenging, such as in the case of Apple's Siri, where voice and transcript data is stored with a personal identifier that the manufacturer restricts access to, or in online behavioural targeting, which relies heavily on device fingerprints that can be challenging to capture, send, and verify.
Both data being 'provided' by the data subject and data being 'observed', such as about behaviour, are included. In addition, the data must be provided by the controller in a structured and commonly used standard electronic format. The right to data portability is provided by Article 20 of the GDPR.
Rectification and erasure
A right to be forgotten was replaced by a more limited right of erasure in the version of the GDPR that was adopted by the European Parliament in March 2014. Article 17 provides that the data subject has the right to request erasure of personal data related to them on any one of a number of grounds within 30 days, including noncompliance with Article 6(1) (lawfulness) that includes a case (f) if the legitimate interests of the controller are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject, which require protection of personal data (see also Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González).
Right to object and automated decisions
Article 21 of the GDPR allows an individual to object to processing personal information for marketing or non-service related purposes. This means the data controller must allow an individual the right to stop or prevent controller from processing their personal data.
There are some instances where this objection does not apply. For example, if:
Legal or official authority is being carried out
"Legitimate interest", where the organisation needs to process data in order to provide the data subject with a service they signed up for
A task being carried out for public interest.
GDPR is also clear that the data controller must inform individuals of their right to object from the first communication the controller has with them. This should be clear and separate from any other information the controller is providing and give them their options for how best to object to the processing of their data.
There are instances the controller can refuse a request, in the circumstances that the objection request is "manifestly unfounded" or "excessive", so each case of objection must be looked at individually. Other countries such as Canada are also, following the GDPR, considering legislation to regulate automated decision making under privacy laws, even though there are policy questions as to whether this is the best way to regulate AI.
Controller and processor
Data controllers must clearly disclose any data collection, declare the lawful basis and purpose for data processing, and state how long data is being retained and if it is being shared with any third parties or outside of the EEA. Firms have the obligation to protect data of employees and consumers to the degree where only the necessary data is extracted with minimum interference with data privacy from employees, consumers, or third parties. Firms should have internal controls and regulations for various departments such as audit, internal controls, and operations. Data subjects have the right to request a portable copy of the data collected by a controller in a common format, as well as the right to have their data erased under certain circumstances. Public authorities, and businesses whose core activities consist of regular or systematic processing of personal data, are required to employ a data protection officer (DPO), who is responsible for managing compliance with the GDPR. Businesses must report data breaches to national supervisory authorities within 72 hours if they have an adverse effect on user privacy. In some cases, violators of the GDPR may be fined up to €20 million or up to 4% of the annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year in case of an enterprise, whichever is greater.
To be able to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR, the data controller must implement measures that meet the principles of data protection by design and by default. Article 25 requires data protection measures to be designed into the development of business processes for products and services. Such measures include pseudonymising personal data, by the controller, as soon as possible (Recital 78). It is the responsibility and the liability of the data controller to implement effective measures and be able to demonstrate the compliance of processing activities even if the processing is carried out by a data processor on behalf of the controller (Recital 74).
When data is collected, data subjects must be clearly informed about the extent of data collection, the legal basis for the processing of personal data, how long data is retained, if data is being transferred to a third-party and/or outside the EU, and any automated decision-making that is made on a solely algorithmic basis. Data subjects must be informed of their privacy rights under the GDPR, including their right to revoke consent to data processing at any time, their right to view their personal data and access an overview of how it is being processed, their right to obtain a portable copy of the stored data, their right to erasure of their data under certain circumstances, their right to contest any automated decision-making that was made on a solely algorithmic basis, and their right to file complaints with a Data Protection Authority. As such, the data subject must also be provided with contact details for the data controller and their designated data protection officer, where applicable.
Data protection impact assessments (Article 35) have to be conducted when specific risks occur to the rights and freedoms of data subjects. Risk assessment and mitigation is required and prior approval of the data protection authorities is required for high risks.
Article 25 requires data protection to be designed into the development of business processes for products and services. Privacy settings must therefore be set at a high level by default, and technical and procedural measures should be taken by the controller to make sure that the processing, throughout the whole processing lifecycle, complies with the regulation. Controllers should also implement mechanisms to ensure that personal data is not processed unless necessary for each specific purpose.
A report by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security elaborates on what needs to be done to achieve privacy and data protection by default. It specifies that encryption and decryption operations must be carried out locally, not by remote service, because both keys and data must remain in the power of the data owner if any privacy is to be achieved. The report specifies that outsourced data storage on remote clouds is practical and relatively safe if only the data owner, not the cloud service, holds the decryption keys.
Pseudonymisation
According to the GDPR, pseudonymisation is a required process for stored data that transforms personal data in such a way that the resulting data cannot be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information (as an alternative to the other option of complete data anonymisation). An example is encryption, which renders the original data unintelligible in a process that cannot be reversed without access to the correct decryption key. The GDPR requires for the additional information (such as the decryption key) to be kept separately from the pseudonymised data.
Another example of pseudonymisation is tokenisation, which is a non-mathematical approach to protecting data at rest that replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive substitutes, referred to as tokens. While the tokens have no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value, they allow for specific data to be fully or partially visible for processing and analytics while sensitive information is kept hidden. Tokenisation does not alter the type or length of data, which means it can be processed by legacy systems such as databases that may be sensitive to data length and type. This also requires much fewer computational resources to process and less storage space in databases than traditionally-encrypted data.
Pseudonymisation is a privacy-enhancing technology and is recommended to reduce the risks to the concerned data subjects and also to help controllers and processors to meet their data protection obligations (Recital 28).
Records of processing activities
According to Article 30, records of processing activities have to be maintained by each organisation matching one of following criteria:
employing more than 250 persons;
the processing it carries out is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects;
the processing is not occasional;
processing includes special categories of data as referred to in Article 9(1) or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10.
Such requirements may be modified by each EU country. The records shall be in electronic form and the controller or the processor and, where applicable, the controller's or the processor's representative, shall make the record available to the supervisory authority on request.
Records of controller shall contain all of the following information:
the name and contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the joint controller, the controller's representative and the data protection officer;
the purposes of the processing;
a description of the categories of data subjects and of the categories of personal data;
the categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed including recipients in third countries or international organisations;
where applicable, transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, including the identification of that third country or international organisation and, in the case of transfers referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), the documentation of suitable safeguards;
where possible, the envisaged time limits for erasure of the different categories of data
where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).
Records of processor shall contain all of the following information:
the name and contact details of the processor or processors and of each controller on behalf of which the processor is acting, and, where applicable, of the controller's or the processor's representative, and the data protection officer;
the categories of processing carried out on behalf of each controller;
where applicable, transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, including the identification of that third country or international organisation and, in the case of transfers referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), the
documentation of suitable safeguards;
where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).
Security of personal data
Controllers and processors of personal data must put in place appropriate technical and organizational measures to implement the data protection principles. Business processes that handle personal data must be designed and built with consideration of the principles and provide safeguards to protect data (for example, using pseudonymization or full anonymization where appropriate). Data controllers must design information systems with privacy in mind. For instance, using the highest-possible privacy settings by default, so that the datasets are not publicly available by default and cannot be used to identify a subject. No personal data may be processed unless this processing is done under one of the six lawful bases specified by the regulation (consent, contract, public task, vital interest, legitimate interest or legal requirement). When the processing is based on consent the data subject has the right to revoke it at any time.
Article 33 states the data controller is under a legal obligation to notify the supervisory authority without undue delay unless the breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of the individuals. There is a maximum of 72 hours after becoming aware of the data breach to make the report. Individuals have to be notified if a high risk of an adverse impact is determined (Article 34). In addition, the data processor will have to notify the controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach (Article 33).
However, the notice to data subjects is not required if the data controller has implemented appropriate technical and organisational protection measures that render the personal data unintelligible to any person who is not authorised to access it, such as encryption (Article 34).
Data protection officer
Article 37 requires appointment of a data protection officer. If processing is carried out by a public authority (except for courts or independent judicial authorities when acting in their judicial capacity), or if processing operations involve regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale, or if processing on a large scale of special categories of data and personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences (Articles 9 and Article 10,) a data protection officer (DPO)—a person with expert knowledge of data protection law and practices—must be designated to assist the controller or processor in monitoring their internal compliance with the Regulation.
A designated DPO can be a current member of staff of a controller or processor, or the role can be outsourced to an external person or agency through a service contract. In any case, the processing body must make sure that there is no conflict of interest in other roles or interests that a DPO may hold. The contact details for the DPO must be published by the processing organisation (for example, in a privacy notice) and registered with the supervisory authority.
The DPO is similar to a compliance officer and is also expected to be proficient at managing IT processes, data security (including dealing with cyberattacks) and other critical business continuity issues associated with the holding and processing of personal and sensitive data. The skill set required stretches beyond understanding legal compliance with data protection laws and regulations. The DPO must maintain a living data inventory of all data collected and stored on behalf of the organization. More details on the function and the role of data protection officer were given on 13 December 2016 (revised 5 April 2017) in a guideline document.
Organisations based outside the EU must also appoint an EU-based person as a representative and point of contact for their GDPR obligations (Article 27). This is a distinct role from a DPO, although there is overlap in responsibilities that suggest that this role can also be held by the designated DPO.
Remedies, liability and penalties
Besides the definitions as a criminal offence according to national law following Article 83 GDPR the following sanctions can be imposed:
a warning in writing in cases of first and non-intentional noncompliance
regular periodic data protection audits
a fine up to €10 million or up to 2% of the annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year in case of an enterprise, whichever is greater, if there has been an infringement of the following provisions: (Article 83, Paragraph 4)
the obligations of the controller and the processor pursuant to Articles 8, 11, 25 to 39, and 42 and 43
the obligations of the certification body pursuant to Articles 42 and 43
the obligations of the monitoring body pursuant to Article 41(4)
a fine up to €20 million or up to 4% of the annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year in case of an enterprise, whichever is greater, if there has been an infringement of the following provisions: (Article 83, Paragraph 5 & 6)
the basic principles for processing, including conditions for consent, pursuant to Articles 5, 6, 7, and 9
the data subjects' rights pursuant to Articles 12 to 22
the transfers of personal data to a recipient in a third country or an international organisation pursuant to Articles 44 to 49
any obligations pursuant to member state law adopted under Chapter IX
noncompliance with an order or a temporary or definitive limitation on processing or the suspension of data flows by the supervisory authority pursuant to Article 58(2) or failure to provide access in violation of Article 58(1)
Exemptions
These are some cases which are not addressed in the GDPR specifically, thus are treated as exemptions.
Personal or household activities
Law enforcement
National security
When the GDPR was being created, it was strictly created for the regulation of personal data which goes into the hands of companies. What is not covered by the GDPR is non-commercial information or household activities. An example of these household activities may be emails between two high school friends.
Conversely, an entity or more precisely an "enterprise" has to be engaged in "economic activity" to be covered by the GDPR. Economic activity is defined broadly under European Union competition law.
Applicability outside of the European Union
The GDPR also applies to data controllers and processors outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) if they are engaged in the "offering of goods or services" (regardless of whether a payment is required) to data subjects within the EEA, or are monitoring the behaviour of data subjects within the EEA (Article 3(2)). The regulation applies regardless of where the processing takes place. This has been interpreted as intentionally giving GDPR extraterritorial jurisdiction for non-EU establishments if they are doing business with people located in the EU.
EU Representative
Under Article 27, non-EU establishments subject to GDPR are obliged to have a designee within the European Union, an "EU Representative", to serve as a point of contact for their obligations under the regulation. The EU Representative is the Controller's or Processor's contact person vis-à-vis European privacy supervisors and data subjects, in all matters relating to processing, to ensure compliance with this GDPR. A natural (individual) or moral (corporation) person can play the role of an EU Representative. The non-EU establishment must issue a duly signed document (letter of accreditation) designating a given individual or company as its EU Representative. The said designation can only be given in writing.
An establishment's failure to designate an EU Representative is considered ignorance of the regulation and relevant obligations, which itself is a violation of the GDPR subject to fines of up to €10 million or up to 2% of the annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year in case of an enterprise, whichever is greater. The intentional or negligent (willful blindness) character of the infringement (failure to designate an EU Representative) may rather constitute aggravating factors.
An establishment does not need to name an EU Representative if they only engage in occasional processing that does not include, on a large scale, processing of special categories of data as referred to in Article 9(1) of GDPR or processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10, and such processing is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, taking into account the nature, context, scope and purposes of the processing. Non-EU public authorities and bodies are equally exempted.
Third countries
Chapter V of the GDPR forbids the transfer of the personal data of EU data subjects to countries outside of the EEA — known as third countries — unless appropriate safeguards are imposed, or the third country's data protection regulations are formally considered adequate by the European Commission (Article 45). Binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses for data protection issued by a Data Processing Agreement (DPA), or a scheme of binding and enforceable commitments by the data controller or processor situated in a third country, are among examples.
United Kingdom implementation
The applicability of GDPR in the United Kingdom is affected by Brexit. Although the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020, it remained subject to EU law, including GDPR, until the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. The United Kingdom granted royal assent to the Data Protection Act 2018 on 23 May 2018, which augmented the GDPR, including aspects of the regulation that are to be determined by national law, and criminal offences for knowingly or recklessly obtaining, redistributing, or retaining personal data without the consent of the data controller.
Under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, existing and relevant EU law was transposed into local law upon completion of the transition, and the GDPR was amended by statutory instrument to remove certain provisions no longer needed due to the UK's non-membership in the EU. Thereafter, the regulation will be referred to as "UK GDPR". The UK will not restrict the transfer of personal data to countries within the EEA under UK GDPR. However, the UK will become a third country under the EU GDPR, meaning that personal data may not be transferred to the country unless appropriate safeguards are imposed, or the European Commission performs an adequacy decision on the suitability of British data protection legislation (Chapter V). As part of the withdrawal agreement, the European Commission committed to perform an adequacy assessment.
In April 2019, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a proposed code of practice for social networking services when used by minors, enforceable under GDPR, which also includes restrictions on "like" and "streak" mechanisms in order to discourage social media addiction and on the use of this data for processing interests.
In March 2021, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden stated that the UK was exploring divergence from the EU GDPR in order to "[focus] more on the outcomes that we want to have and less on the burdens of the rules imposed on individual businesses".
Reception
As per a study conducted by Deloitte in 2018, 92% of companies believe they are able to comply with GDPR in their business practices in the long run.
Companies operating outside of the EU have invested heavily to align their business practices with GDPR. The area of GDPR consent has a number of implications for businesses who record calls as a matter of practice. A typical disclaimer is not considered sufficient to gain assumed consent to record calls. Additionally, when recording has commenced, should the caller withdraw their consent, then the agent receiving the call must be able to stop a previously started recording and ensure the recording does not get stored.
IT professionals expect that compliance with the GDPR will require additional investment overall: over 80 percent of those surveyed expected GDPR-related spending to be at least US$100,000. The concerns were echoed in a report commissioned by the law firm Baker & McKenzie that found that "around 70 percent of respondents believe that organizations will need to invest additional budget/effort to comply with the consent, data mapping and cross-border data transfer requirements under the GDPR." The total cost for EU companies is estimated at around €200 billion while for US companies the estimate is for $41.7 billion. It has been argued that smaller businesses and startup companies might not have the financial resources to adequately comply with the GDPR, unlike the larger international technology firms (such as Facebook and Google) that the regulation is ostensibly meant to target first and foremost. A lack of knowledge and understanding of the regulations has also been a concern in the lead-up to its adoption. A counter-argument to this has been that companies were made aware of these changes two years prior to them coming into effect and should have had enough time to prepare.
The regulations, including whether an enterprise must have a data protection officer, have been criticized for potential administrative burden and unclear compliance requirements. Although data minimisation is a requirement, with pseudonymisation being one of the possible means, the regulation provide no guidance on how or what constitutes an effective data de-identification scheme, with a grey area on what would be considered as inadequate pseudonymisation subject to Section 5 enforcement actions. There is also concern regarding the implementation of the GDPR in blockchain systems, as the transparent and fixed record of blockchain transactions contradicts the very nature of the GDPR. Many media outlets have commented on the introduction of a "right to explanation" of algorithmic decisions, but legal scholars have since argued that the existence of such a right is highly unclear without judicial tests and is limited at best.
The GDPR has garnered support from businesses who regard it as an opportunity to improve their data management. Mark Zuckerberg has also called it a "very positive for the Internet", and has called for GDPR-style laws to be adopted in the US. Consumer rights groups such as The European Consumer Organisation are among the most vocal proponents of the legislation. Other supporters have attributed its passage to the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Free software advocate Richard Stallman has praised some aspects of the GDPR but called for additional safeguards to prevent technology companies from "manufacturing consent."
Impact
Academic experts who participated in the formulation of the GDPR wrote that the law "is the most consequential regulatory development in information policy in a generation. The GDPR brings personal data into a complex and protective regulatory regime."
Despite having had at least two years to prepare and do so, many companies and websites changed their privacy policies and features worldwide directly prior to GDPR's implementation, and customarily provided email and other notifications discussing these changes. This was criticised for resulting in a fatiguing number of communications, while experts noted that some reminder emails incorrectly asserted that new consent for data processing had to be obtained for when the GDPR took effect (any previously-obtained consent to processing is valid as long as it met the regulation's requirements). Phishing scams also emerged using falsified versions of GDPR-related emails, and it was also argued that some GDPR notice emails may have actually been sent in violation of anti-spam laws. In March 2019, a provider of compliance software found that many websites operated by EU member state governments contained embedded tracking from ad technology providers.
The deluge of GDPR-related notices also inspired memes, including those surrounding privacy policy notices being delivered by atypical means (such as an Ouija board or Star Wars opening crawl), suggesting that Santa Claus's "naughty or nice" list was a violation, and a recording of excerpts from the regulation by a former BBC Radio 4 Shipping Forecast announcer. A blog, GDPR Hall of Shame, was also created to showcase unusual delivery of GDPR notices, and attempts at compliance that contained egregious violations of the regulation's requirements. Its author remarked that the regulation "has a lot of nitty gritty, in-the-weeds details, but not a lot of information about how to comply", but also acknowledged that businesses had two years to comply, making some of its responses unjustified.
Research indicates that approximately 25% of software vulnerabilities have GDPR implications. Since Article 33 emphasizes breaches, not bugs, security experts advise companies to invest in processes and capabilities to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, including coordinated vulnerability disclosure processes. An investigation of Android apps' privacy policies, data access capabilities, and data access behaviour has shown that numerous apps display a somewhat privacy-friendlier behaviour since the GDPR was implemented, although they still retain most of their data access privileges in their code. An investigation of the Consumer Council of Norway (called Forbrukerrådet in Norwegian) into the post-GDPR data subject dashboards on social media platforms (such as Google dashboard) has concluded that large social media firms deploy deceptive tactics in order to discourage their customers from sharpening their privacy settings.
On the effective date, some international websites began to block EU users entirely (including Instapaper, Unroll.me, and Tribune Publishing-owned newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times) or redirect them to stripped-down versions of their services (in the case of National Public Radio and USA Today) with limited functionality and/or no advertising so that they will not be liable. Some companies, such as Klout, and several online video games, ceased operations entirely to coincide with its implementation, citing the GDPR as a burden on their continued operations, especially due to the business model of the former. The volume of online behavioural advertising placements in Europe fell 25–40% on 25 May 2018.
In 2020, two years after the GDPR began its implementation, the European Commission assessed that users across the EU had increased their knowledge about their rights, stating that "69% of the population above the age of 16 in the EU have heard about the GDPR and 71% of people heard about their national data protection authority." The commission also found that privacy has become a competitive quality for companies which consumers are taking into account in their decisionmaking processes.
Enforcement and inconsistency
Facebook and subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as Google LLC (targeting Android), were immediately sued by Max Schrems's non-profit NOYB just hours after midnight on 25 May 2018, for their use of "forced consent". Schrems asserts that both companies violated Article 7(4) by not presenting opt-ins for data processing consent on an individualized basis, and requiring users to consent to all data processing activities (including those not strictly necessary) or would be forbidden from using the services. On 21 January 2019, Google was fined €50 million by the French DPA for showing insufficient control, consent, and transparency over use of personal data for behavioural advertising. In November 2018, following a journalistic investigation into Liviu Dragnea, the Romanian DPA (ANSPDCP) used a GDPR request to demand information on the RISE Project's sources.
In July 2019, the British Information Commissioner's Office issued an intention to fine British Airways a record £183 million (1.5% of turnover) for poor security arrangements that enabled a 2018 web skimming attack affecting around 380,000 transactions. British Airways was ultimately fined a reduced amount of £20m, with the ICO noting that they had "considered both representations from BA and the economic impact of COVID-19 on their business before setting a final penalty".
In December 2019, Politico reported that Ireland and Luxembourg – two smaller EU countries that have had a reputation as a tax havens and (especially in the case of Ireland) as a base for European subsidiaries of U.S. big tech companies – were facing significant backlogs in their investigations of major foreign companies under GDPR, with Ireland citing the complexity of the regulation as a factor. Critics interviewed by Politico also argued that enforcement was also being hampered by varying interpretations between member states, the prioritisation of guidance over enforcement by some authorities, and a lack of cooperation between member states.
While companies are now subject to legal obligations, there are still various inconsistencies in the practical and technical implementation of GDPR. As an example, according to the GDPR's right to access, the companies are obliged to provide data subjects with the data they gather about them. However, in a study on loyalty cards in Germany, companies did not provide the data subjects with the exact information of the purchased articles. One might argue that such companies do not collect the information of the purchased articles, which does not conform with their business models. Therefore, data subjects tend to see that as a GDPR violation. As a result, studies have suggested for a better control through authorities.
According to the GDPR, end-users' consent should be valid, freely given, specific, informed and active. However, the lack of enforceability regarding obtaining lawful consents has been a challenge. As an example, a 2020 study, showed that the Big Tech, i.e. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft (GAFAM), use dark patterns in their consent obtaining mechanisms, which raises doubts regarding the lawfulness of the acquired consent.
In March 2021, EU member states led by France were reported to be attempting to modify the impact of the privacy regulation in Europe by exempting national security agencies.
After around 160 million Euros in GDPR fines were imposed in 2020, the figure was already over one billion Euros in 2021.
Influence on international laws
Mass adoption of these new privacy standards by international companies has been cited as an example of the "Brussels effect", a phenomenon wherein European laws and regulations are used as a baseline due to their gravitas.
The U.S. state of California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act on 28 June 2018, taking effect on 1 January 2020; it grants rights to transparency and control over the collection of personal information by companies in a similar means to GDPR. Critics have argued that such laws need to be implemented at the federal level to be effective, as a collection of state-level laws would have varying standards that would complicate compliance. Two other U.S. states have since enacted similar legislation: Virginia passed the Consumer Data Privacy Act on 2 March 2021, and Colorado enacted the Colorado Privacy Act on 8 July 2021.
The Republic of Turkey, a candidate for European Union membership, has adopted the Law on The Protection of Personal Data on 24 March 2016 in compliance with the EU acquis.
In China, the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), "China's first comprehensive law designed to regulate online data and protect personal information" came into force in 2021.
Timeline
25 January 2012: The proposal for the GDPR was released.
21 October 2013: The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) had its orientation vote.
15 December 2015: Negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission (Formal Trilogue meeting) resulted in a joint proposal.
17 December 2015: The European Parliament's LIBE Committee voted for the negotiations between the three parties.
8 April 2016: Adoption by the Council of the European Union. The only member state voting against was Austria, which argued that the level of data protection in some respects falls short compared to the 1995 directive.
14 April 2016: Adoption by the European Parliament.
24 May 2016: The regulation entered into force, 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
25 May 2018: Its provisions became directly applicable in all member states, two years after the regulations enter into force.
20 July 2018: the GDPR became valid in the EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), after the EEA Joint Committee and the three countries agreed to follow the regulation.
EU Digital Single Market
The EU Digital Single Market strategy relates to "digital economy" activities related to businesses and people in the EU. As part of the strategy, the GDPR and the NIS Directive all apply from 25 May 2018. The proposed ePrivacy Regulation was also planned to be applicable from 25 May 2018, but will be delayed for several months. The eIDAS Regulation is also part of the strategy.
In an initial assessment, the European Council has stated that the GDPR should be considered "a prerequisite for the development of future digital policy initiatives".
See also
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) (China)
Convention on Cybercrime
Data Governance Act, proposed EU law from 2020
Data portability
Do Not Track legislation
ePrivacy Regulation
EU–US Privacy Shield
European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD)
Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002
Privacy Impact Assessment
Notes
Citations
External links
General Data Protection Regulation text
Data protection, European Commission
Procedure 2012/0011/COD, EUR-Lex
Handbook on European data protection law, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
GDPRhub - A free and open wiki that allows anyone to find and share GDPR insights across Europe.
Privacy law
Information privacy
European Union regulations
Data laws of Europe
Data protection
2016 establishments in Europe
2018 in Europe |
38156312 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qubes%20OS | Qubes OS | Qubes OS is a security-focused desktop operating system that aims to provide security through isolation. Virtualization is performed by Xen, and user environments can be based on Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Microsoft Windows, among other operating systems.
Systems like Qubes are referred to in academia as Converged Multi-Level Secure (MLS) Systems. Other proposals of similar systems have surfaced and SecureView is a commercial competitor, however Qubes OS is the only system of the kind actively being developed under a FOSS license.
Security goals
Qubes implements a Security by Isolation approach.
The assumption is that there can be no perfect, bug-free desktop environment: such an environment counts millions of lines of code and billions of software/hardware interactions.
One critical bug in any of these interactions may be enough for malicious software to take control over a machine.
To secure a desktop a Qubes user takes care to isolate various environments, so that if one of the components gets compromised, the malicious software would get access to only the data inside that environment.
In Qubes, the isolation is provided in two dimensions: hardware controllers can be isolated into functional domains (e.g. network domains, USB controller domains), whereas the user's digital life is divided into domains with different levels of trust.
For instance: work domain (most trusted), shopping domain, random domain (less trusted). Each of those domains is run in a separate virtual machine.
Qubes virtual machines, by default, have passwordless root access (e.g. passwordless sudo). UEFI Secure Boot is not supported out of the box, but this is not considered a major security issue.
Qubes is not a multiuser system.
Installation and requirements
Qubes was not intended to be run as part of a multi-boot system because if an attacker were to take control of one of the other operating systems then they'd likely be able to compromise Qubes (e.g. before Qubes boots).
However, it is still possible to use Qubes as part of a multi-boot system and even to use grub2 as the boot loader/boot manager.
A standard Qubes installation takes all space on the storage medium (e.g. hard drive, USB flash drive) to which it is installed (not just all available free space) and it uses LUKS/dm-crypt full disk encryption.
It is possible (although not trivial) to customize much of the Qubes OS installation but for security reasons, this is discouraged for users that are not intimately familiar with Qubes.
Qubes 4.x needs at least 32 GiB of disk space and 4 GB of RAM.
However, in practice it typically needs upwards of 6-8 GB of RAM since although it is possible to run it with only 4 GB of RAM, users will likely be limited to running no more than about three Qubes at a time.
Since 2013, Qubes has not had support for 32-bit x86 architectures and now requires a 64-bit processor.
Qubes uses Intel VT-d/AMD's AMD-Vi, which is only available on 64-bit architectures, to isolate devices and drivers.
The 64-bit architecture also provides a little more protection against some classes of attacks.
Since Qubes 4.x, Qubes requires either an Intel processor with support for VT-x with EPT and Intel VT-d virtualization technology or an AMD processor with support for AMD-V with RVI (SLAT) and AMD-Vi (aka AMD IOMMU) virtualization technology.
Qubes targets the desktop market.
This market is dominated by laptops running Intel processors and chipsets and consequently, Qubes developers focus on Intel's VT-x/VT-d technologies.
This is not a major issue for AMD processors since AMD IOMMU is functionally identical to Intel's VT-d.
User experience
The users interact with Qubes OS very much the same way they would interact with a regular desktop operating system. But there are some key differences:
Each security domain (qube) is identified by a different colored window border
Opening an application for the first time in that session for a particular security domain will take around 30s (depending on hardware)
Copying files and clipboard is a little different since domains don't share clipboard or filesystem
The user can create and manage security compartments
System architecture overview
Xen hypervisor and administrative domain (Dom0)
The hypervisor provides isolation between different virtual machines. The administrative domain, also referred to as Dom0 (a term inherited from Xen), has direct access to all the hardware by default. Dom0 hosts the GUI domain and controls the graphics device, as well as input devices, such as the keyboard and mouse. The GUI domain runs the X server, which displays the user desktop, and the window manager, which allows the user to start and stop the applications and manipulate their windows.
Integration of the different virtual machines is provided by the Application Viewer, which provides an illusion for the user that applications execute natively on the desktop, while in fact they are hosted (and isolated) in different virtual machines. Qubes integrates all these virtual machines onto one common desktop environment.
Because Dom0 is security-sensitive, it is isolated from the network. It tends to have as little interface and communication with other domains as possible in order to minimize the possibility of an attack originating from an infected virtual machine.
The Dom0 domain manages the virtual disks of the other VMs, which are actually stored as files on the dom0 filesystem(s). Disk space is saved by virtue of various virtual machines (VM) sharing the same root file system in a read-only mode. Separate disk storage is only used for userʼs directory and per-VM settings. This allows software installation and updates to be centralized. It is also possible to install software only on a specific VM, by installing it as the non-root user, or by installing it in the non-standard, Qubes-specific /rw hierarchy.
Network domain
The network mechanism is the most exposed to security attacks. To circumvent this it is isolated in a separate, unprivileged virtual machine, called the Network Domain.
An additional firewall virtual machine is used to house the Linux-kernel-based firewall, so that even if the network domain is compromised due to a device driver bug, the firewall is still isolated and protected (as it is running in a separate Linux kernel in a separate VM).
Application Virtual Machines (AppVM)
AppVMs are the virtual machines used for hosting user applications, such as a web browser, an e-mail client or a text editor. For security purposes, these applications can be grouped in different domains, such as "personal", "work", "shopping", "bank", etc. The security domains are implemented as separate, Virtual Machines (VMs), thus being isolated from each other as if they were executing on different machines.
Some documents or applications can be run in disposable VMs through an action available in the file manager. The mechanism follows the idea of sandboxes: after viewing the document or application, then the whole Disposable VM will be destroyed.
Each security domain is labelled by a color, and each window is marked by the color of the domain it belongs to. So it is always clearly visible to which domain a given window belongs.
Reception
Security and privacy experts such as Edward Snowden, Daniel J. Bernstein, and Christopher Soghoian have publicly praised the project.
Jesse Smith wrote review of Qubes OS 3.1 for DistroWatch Weekly:
Kyle Rankin from Linux Journal reviewed Qubes OS in 2016:
In 2014, Qubes was selected as a finalist of Access Innovation Prize 2014 for Endpoint Security, run by the international human rights organization Access Now.
See also
Whonix
Tails (operating system)
References
External links
Qubes OS on DistroWatch
Operating system security
RPM-based Linux distributions
X86-64 Linux distributions
2012 software
Linux distributions |
38188867 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle%20Cloud%20File%20System | Oracle Cloud File System | Oracle Cloud File System (CloudFS) is a storage management suite developed by Oracle Corporation. CloudFS consists of a cluster file system called ASM Cluster File System (ACFS), and a cluster volume manager called ASM Dynamic Volume Manager (ADVM) initially released in August 2007.
Features
ACFS is a standard-based POSIX (Linux, UNIX) and Windows cluster file system with full cluster-wide file and memory mapped I/O cache coherency and file locking. ACFS provides direct I/O for Oracle database I/O workloads. ACFS implements indirect I/O however for general purpose files that typically perform small I/O for better response time. CloudFS is designed to scale to billions of files and supports very large file and file systems sizes (up to exabytes of storage).
CloudFS is built on top of Oracle Automatic Storage Management (ASM) and Oracle clustering technologies to provide cluster volume and file services to clients. ADVM and ACFS leverage ASM striping, mirroring and automatic I/O rebalancing features to manage volumes that are dynamically resizable.
Starting with the latest release in Oracle Database 12c, ACFS supports Oracle database files as well as general purpose files.
ACFS supports space efficient read-write snapshots, asynchronous file system replication, tagging for aggregate operations, fine grain security and encryption for higher security.
Version history
CloudFS in Oracle Database 11g Release 1, August 2007
CloudFS in Oracle Database 11g Release 2, September 2009
CloudFS in Oracle Database 12c Release 1, January 2013
References
External links
Oracle Web Site - CloudFS (ACFS/ADVM)
Oracle Cloud File System Overview White Paper
Oracle software |
38198168 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee%20for%20State%20Security%20%28Ukraine%29 | Committee for State Security (Ukraine) | KGB of the Ukrainian SSR () was a state committee of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and a regional predecessor of the Security Service of Ukraine, a republican part of All-Union Committee for State Security. After the adaptation of the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR (1978), it possessed a ministerial authority.
History
Created on May 30, 1954, according to the ukase of Verkhovna Rada Presidium, the committee completely corresponded to the authority and organizational structure of KGB (created on March 13, 1954). Procedural powers of KGB, and its investigative jurisdiction were identified with adoption of the Criminal (1960) and the Criminal Procedural (1961) Codes of the Ukrainian SSR.
With the creation of the Security Service of Ukraine on September 20, 1991, the committee was dissolved according to the Verkhovna Rada statement "About creation of the Service of National Security of Ukraine". According to the bullet three of the statement KGB of Ukraine was liquidated, while its employees archives, and documents were now under control of Security Service of Ukraine except for materiel technical subdivisions for encryption communications and guard service. The encryption communication service were subordinated to the Verkhovna Rada, while the guard service was transferred under the jurisdiction of National Guard of Ukraine.
Chairmen
Timofei Strokach (1953 – 1954)
Vitali Nikitchenko (April 16, 1954 – July 16, 1970)
Vitali Fedorchuk (July 16, 1970 – May 26, 1982)
Stepan Mukha (May 26, 1982 – 1987)
Nikolai Golushko (1987 – September 20, 1991)
See also
State Committee of the Soviet Union
State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus
KGB
Further reading
Lubyanka. Handbook. VChK-OGPU-NKVD-NKGB-MGB-MVD-KGB 1917-1960. Moscow, 1997.
Korovin, V. The history of domestic security agencies. Moscow, 1998.
Kolpakidi, A., Prokhorov, D. Foreign intelligence of Russia. Saint Petersburg, 2001.
External links
Land Administration building. Web Encyclopedia of Kiev (WEK).
Committee for State Security of the Ukrainian SSR
Okipnyuk, V. Committee for State Security of the USSR and Committee for State Security of the URSR. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. "Naukova dumka". Kiev, 2007.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies
Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine
Defunct intelligence agencies
KGB
1954 establishments in Ukraine
Government of Ukraine
1991 disestablishments in Ukraine
State Committees of the Soviet Union |
38213001 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS-based%20Authentication%20of%20Named%20Entities | DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities | DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) is an Internet security protocol to allow X.509 digital certificates, commonly used for Transport Layer Security (TLS), to be bound to domain names using Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
It is proposed in as a way to authenticate TLS client and server entities without a certificate authority (CA). It is updated with operational and deployment guidance in . Application specific usage of DANE is defined in for SMTP and for using DANE with Service (SRV) records.
Rationale
TLS/SSL encryption is currently based on certificates issued by certificate authorities (CAs). Within the last few years, a number of CA providers suffered serious security breaches, allowing the issuance of certificates for well-known domains to those who don't own those domains. Trusting a large number of CAs might be a problem because any breached CA could issue a certificate for any domain name. DANE enables the administrator of a domain name to certify the keys used in that domain's TLS clients or servers by storing them in the Domain Name System (DNS). DANE needs the DNS records to be signed with DNSSEC for its security model to work.
Additionally DANE allows a domain owner to specify which CA is allowed to issue certificates for a particular resource, which solves the problem of any CA being able to issue certificates for any domain.
DANE solves similar problems as:
Certificate Transparency Ensuring that rogue CAs cannot issue certificates without the permission of the domain holder without being detected
DNS Certification Authority Authorization Limiting which CAs can issue certificates for a given domain
However, unlike DANE, those technologies have wide support from browsers.
Email encryption
Until recently, there has been no widely implemented standard for encrypted email transfer. Sending an email is security agnostic; there is no URI scheme to designate secure SMTP. Consequently, most email that is delivered over TLS uses only opportunistic encryption. Since DNSSEC provides authenticated denial of existence (allows a resolver to validate that a certain domain name does not exist), DANE enables an incremental transition to verified, encrypted SMTP without any other external mechanisms, as described by . A DANE record indicates that the sender must use TLS.
Additionally, a draft exists for applying DANE to S/MIME, and standardises bindings for OpenPGP.
Support
Applications
Google Chrome does not support DANE, since Google Chrome wishes to eliminate the use of 1024-bit RSA within the browser (DNSSEC previously used a 1024-bit RSA signed root, and many zones are still signed with 1024-bit RSA, although the modern default is 256-bit ECDSA). According to Adam Langley the code was written and, although it is not in Chrome today, it remains available in add-on form.
Mozilla Firefox (before version 57) had support via an add-on.
GNU Privacy Guard Allows fetching keys via OpenPGP DANE (--auto-key-locate). New option --export-options export-dane. (version 2.1.14)
Servers
Postfix
PowerMTA
Halon
Exim
Services
Posteo
Tutanota
Libraries
OpenSSL
GnuTLS
TLSA RR
The TLSA RR (Resource Record) for a service is located at a DNS name that specifies certificate constraints should be applied for the services at a certain TCP or UDP port. At least one of the TLSA RRs must provide a validation (path) for the certificate offered by the service at the specified address.
Not all protocols handle Common Name matching the same way. HTTP requires that the Common Name in the X.509 certificate provided by the service matches regardless of the TLSA asserting its validity. SMTP does not require the Common Name matches, if the certificate usage value is 3 (DANE-EE), but otherwise does require a Common Name match. It is important to verify if there are specific instructions for the protocol being used.
RR data fields
The RR itself has 4 fields of data, describing which level of validation the domain owner provides.
the certificate usage field
the selector field
the matching type field
the certificate association data
E.g. _25._tcp.somehost.example.com. TLSA 3 1 1 0123456789ABCDEF
Certificate usage
The first field after the TLSA text in the DNS RR, specifies how to verify the certificate.
A value of 0 is for what is commonly called CA constraint (and PKIX-TA). The certificate provided when establishing TLS must be issued by the listed root-CA or one of its intermediate CAs, with a valid certification path to a root-CA already trusted by the application doing the verification. The record may just point to an intermediate CA, in which case the certificate for this service must come via this CA, but the entire chain to a trusted root-CA must still be valid.
A value of 1 is for what is commonly called Service certificate constraint (and PKIX-EE). The certificate used must match the TLSA record exactly, and it must also pass PKIX certification path validation to a trusted root-CA.
A value of 2 is for what is commonly called Trust Anchor Assertion (and DANE-TA). The certificate used has a valid certification path pointing back to the certificate mentioned in this record, but there is no need for it to pass the PKIX certification path validation to a trusted root-CA.
A value of 3 is for what is commonly called Domain issued certificate (and DANE-EE). The services uses a self-signed certificate. It is not signed by anyone else, and is exactly this record.
Selector
When connecting to the service and a certificate is received, the selector field specifies which parts of it should be checked.
A value of 0 means to select the entire certificate for matching.
A value of 1 means to select just the public key for certificate matching. Matching the public key is often sufficient, as this is likely to be unique.
Matching type
A type of 0 means the entire information selected is present in the certificate association data.
A type of 1 means to do a SHA-256 hash of the selected data.
A type of 2 means to do a SHA-512 hash of the selected data.
Certificate association data
The actual data to be matched given the settings of the other fields. This is a long "text string" of hexadecimal data.
Examples
The TLSA record for www.ietf.org specifies to check the SHA-256 hash of the public key of the certificate provided, ignoring any CA.
_443._tcp.www.ietf.org. TLSA 3 1 1 0C72AC70B745AC19998811B131D662C9AC69DBDBE7CB23E5B514B56664C5D3D6
Their mail service has the same exact certificate and TLSA.
ietf.org. MX 0 mail.ietf.org.
_25._tcp.mail.ietf.org. TLSA 3 1 1 0C72AC70B745AC19998811B131D662C9AC69DBDBE7CB23E5B514B56664C5D3D6
Finally, the following example, does the same as the others, but does the hash calculation over the entire certificate.
_25._tcp.mail.alice.example. TLSA 3 0 1 AB9BEB9919729F3239AF08214C1EF6CCA52D2DBAE788BB5BE834C13911292ED9
Standards
Use Cases and Requirements for DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE)
The DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol: TLSA
Adding Acronyms to Simplify Conversations about DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE)
The DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Protocol: Updates and Operational Guidance
SMTP Security via Opportunistic DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Using DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) TLSA Records with SRV Records
DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Bindings for OpenPGP
Using DNS to Securely Publish Secure Shell (SSH) Key Fingerprints
Using Secure DNS to Associate Certificates with Domain Names for S/MIME
Draft: Opportunistic Encryption with DANE Semantics and IPsec: IPSECA
See also
DNS Certification Authority Authorization
Notes
References
External links
DNSSEC is unnecessary - Against DNSSEC
For DNSSEC - A rebuttal to the points in "Against DNSSEC"
List of DANE test sites
Online tool to check mail servers for DNSSEC and DANE support
Illustrated DANE advocacy with links to howtos and tools
Domain Name System Security Extensions
Domain Name System
Internet Standards
Key management
Public-key cryptography
Transport Layer Security |
38252993 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XAP%20%28file%20format%29 | XAP (file format) | XAP is the file format used to distribute and install application software and middleware onto Microsoft's Windows Phone 7/8/8.1/10 operating system, and is the file format for Silverlight applications. Beginning with Windows Phone 8.1, XAP was replaced by APPX as the file format used to install WinRT apps on the Windows Phone platform, a move which was done by Microsoft in order to unify the app development platforms for Windows Store apps and Windows Phone apps.
XAP files are ZIP file formatted packages, however Microsoft has enabled XAP file encryption, meaning the file can no longer be opened with a standard ZIP extractor. The MIME type associated with XAP files is application/x-silverlight-app.
The Windows Phone Marketplace allows users to download XAP files to an SD card and install them manually.
XAP is also the extension for XACT Audio Projects, openable with the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool.
Silverlight XAP Files are not openable with the Audio Creation Tool, and XACT XAP files are not archives.
Contents
An XAP file is a ZIP archive that usually contains the following files:
AppManifest.xaml file
DLLs required
See also
APK (file format)
.ipa (file extension)
Cabinet (file format) or Zip (file format), for older PocketPC/Windows Mobile devices
HTML Application (HTA)
XAML Browser Applications (XBAP)
APPX
References
Computer file formats |
38256395 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infineon%20AURIX | Infineon AURIX | AURIX (Automotive Realtime Integrated NeXt Generation Architecture) is a 32-bit Infineon microcontroller family, targeting the automotive industry in terms of performance and safety. Its multicore architecture, based on up to three independent 32-bit TriCore CPUs.
Applications
Powertrain applications
Infineon AURIX covers several applications in Automotive Powertrain such as:
Gasoline Direct Injection
Gasoline Multi-Port Injection
Diesel Direct Injection
Automatic Transmission – Hydraulic Control
Dry Double Clutch Transmission – Hydraulic/Electrical Control
Integrated (H)EV Control
(H)EV Battery Management System
Safety applications
Chassis Domain Control: The AURIX multicore architecture includes encapsulation features to support freedom of interference of multiple applications
Electric Power Steering (EPS)
Active Suspension Control System
Advanced Airbag System
Braking ECU
Multi-purpose Camera Configuration
Short Range RADAR (24 GHz) System
Long Range RADAR (76/77 GHz) System
Body applications
Body Domain Controller
Gateway
Advanced Body Applications
Technical features
System performance
The AURIX family devices range in the ultra high-end from a 300 MHz triple-core device with 8MB of embedded Flash to a 200 MHz triple core with 4MB of embedded Flash to a 200 MHz dual-core device with 2.5MB of embedded Flash right down to 130 MHz and 80 MHz single-core and single core lockstep devices with 1.5MB, 1MB and 0.5MB of embedded Flash. The package portfolio includes a BGA-516 package with a ball-compatible BGA-292 package (I/O subset), and compatible QFP-176, QFP-144, QFP‑100 to QFP-64 packages.
TriCore DSP functionality
MultiCore
TriCore with up to 300 MHz per core
1.7-2.4 DMIPS/MHz
DSP with up to 1.8 GFLOPS
Supports floating point and fixed point operations with all cores
Fast Fourier accelerator
Pixel Preprocessor
Embedded EEPROM
Generic Timer Module (GTM)
Advanced timer unit for totally flexible PWM generation and hardware input capture
Redundant flexible 12-bit ADC
Delta sigma converters
Single supply 5V or 3.3V
Availability of AUTOSAR 4.x and 3.2.1
Ta = -40 °C ... 145 °C
Safety
The AURIX architecture has been developed according to an audited ISO26262 compliant process and designed to meet ASIL-D on an application level. The platform uses up to 2 cores in TriCore lockstep mode, a lockstep architecture combined with safety technology such as safe internal communication buses or distributed memory protection systems. Hardware level encapsulation techniques allow integration of software with various safety levels (QM to ASIL-D) from different sources, reducing the system complexity of implementing those safety levels.
The AURIX architecture offers the following features that help in achieving a given safety level:
Hardware-focused safety concepts for reduced SW overhead
Lockstep with clock delay
Access permission system
Safety management unit
Safe DMA
I/O, clock and voltage monitors
Safety Software for checking the functionality of the core
ISO 26262 conformance to support safety requirements up to ASIL-D
Security
Infineon has integrated a programmable Hardware Security Module (HSM) into the AURIX family in line with EVITA (E-safety vehicle intrusion protected applications). The security module was implemented by the market leader in chipcard technology using state-of-the art encryption technology. This “embedded chipcard” protects against attacks of IP infringement, fraud and software hijacking.
Hardware Security Module (HSM)
Secure software updates, Secure Boot, Secure Key Update, Secure Communication
Immobilizer
Tuning protection
Mileage protection
Component protection
IP protection
Scalability
From Single Core to Triple Lockstep Core
80-300 MHz
256KB-8MB Flash
48KB-2.7MB SRAM
ASIL Level from QM up to ASIL D
HOT Package Option
Connectivity
Ethernet 100Mbit
FlexRay
High Speed Serial Link IF
SPI, CAN (FD), LIN, UART
Hardware SENT interface for low CPU load
Camera Interface (up to 16-bit)
External ADC IF (up to 16-bit)
External Bus Interface for Memory Extension
Supply security
Infineon has set up dual-fab manufacturing using two local separated Frontend production sites. Both sites are using identical certified processes and tooling. All products from both sides will be AEC-Q100 qualified and are manufactured in a 65 nm technology.
Tools and software
Infineon has several full-featured evaluation boards for their TriCore product line. Development tools for evaluation such as compilers, debuggers and AURIX Development Studio IDE are included, as well as technical documentation: user manuals, architecture manuals, application notes, data sheets, board documentation.
References
External links
Infineon Microcontroller Page
Infineon Aurix Page
Microcontrollers |
38279132 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent%20encryption | Convergent encryption | Convergent encryption, also known as content hash keying, is a cryptosystem that produces identical ciphertext from identical plaintext files. This has applications in cloud computing to remove duplicate files from storage without the provider having access to the encryption keys. The combination of deduplication and convergent encryption was described in a backup system patent filed by Stac Electronics in 1995. This combination has been used by Farsite, Permabit, Freenet, MojoNation, GNUnet, flud, and the Tahoe Least-Authority File Store.
The system gained additional visibility in 2011 when cloud storage provider Bitcasa announced they were using convergent encryption to enable de-duplication of data in their cloud storage service.
Overview
The system computes a cryptographic hash of the plaintext in question.
The system then encrypts the plaintext by using the hash as a key.
Finally, the hash itself is stored, encrypted with a key chosen by the user.
Known Attacks
Convergent encryption is open to a "confirmation of a file attack" in which an attacker can effectively confirm whether a target possesses a certain file by encrypting an unencrypted, or plain-text, version and then simply comparing the output with files possessed by the target. This attack poses a problem for a user storing information that is non-unique, i.e. also either publicly available or already held by the adversary - for example: banned books or files that cause copyright infringement. An argument could be made that a confirmation of a file attack is rendered less effective by adding a unique piece of data such as a few random characters to the plain text before encryption; this causes the uploaded file to be unique and therefore results in a unique encrypted file. However, some implementations of convergent encryption where the plain-text is broken down into blocks based on file content, and each block then independently convergently encrypted may inadvertently defeat attempts at making the file unique by adding bytes at the beginning or end.
Even more alarming than the confirmation attack is the "learn the remaining information attack" described by Drew Perttula in 2008. This type of attack applies to the encryption of files that are only slight variations of a public document. For example, if the defender encrypts a bank form including a ten digit bank account number, an attacker that is aware of generic bank form format may extract defender's bank account number by producing bank forms for all possible bank account numbers, encrypt them and then by comparing those encryptions with defender's encrypted file deduce the bank account number. Note that this attack can be extended to attack a large number of targets at once (all spelling variations of a target bank customer in the example above, or even all potential bank customers), and the presence of this problem extends to any type of form document: tax returns, financial documents, healthcare forms, employment forms, etc. Also note that there is no known method for decreasing the severity of this attack -- adding a few random bytes to files as they are stored does not help, since those bytes can likewise be attacked with the "learn the remaining information" approach. The only effective approach to mitigating this attack is to encrypt the contents of files with a non-convergent secret before storing (negating any benefit from convergent encryption), or to simply not use convergent encryption in the first place.
See also
Salt (cryptography)
Deterministic encryption
References
Cryptography |
38289699 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-collection | Cyber-collection | Cyber-collection refers to the use of cyber-warfare techniques in order to conduct espionage. Cyber-collection activities typically rely on the insertion of malware into a targeted network or computer in order to scan for, collect and exfiltrate sensitive information.
Cyber-collection started as far back as 1996, when widespread deployment of Internet connectivity to government and corporate systems gained momentum. Since that time, there have been numerous cases of such activities.
In addition to the state sponsored examples, cyber-collection has also been used by organized crime for identity and e-banking theft and by corporate spies. Operation High Roller used cyber-collection agents in order to collect PC and smart-phone information that was used to electronically raid bank accounts. The Rocra, aka Red October, collection system is an "espionage for hire" operation by organized criminals who sell the collected information to the highest bidder.
Platforms and functionality
Cyber-collection tools have been developed by governments and private interests for nearly every computer and smart-phone operating system. Tools are known to exist for Microsoft, Apple, and Linux computers and iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows phones. Major manufacturers of Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) cyber collection technology include Gamma Group from the UK and Hacking Team from Italy. Bespoke cyber-collection tool companies, many offering COTS packages of zero-day exploits, include Endgame, Inc. and Netragard of the United States and Vupen from France. State intelligence agencies often have their own teams to develop cyber-collection tools, such as Stuxnet, but require a constant source of zero-day exploits in order to insert their tools into newly targeted systems. Specific technical details of these attack methods often sells for six figure sums.
Common functionality of cyber-collection systems include:
Data scan: local and network storage are scanned to find and copy files of interest, these are often documents, spreadsheets, design files such as Autocad files and system files such as the passwd file.
Capture location: GPS, WiFi, network information and other attached sensors are used to determine the location and movement of the infiltrated device
Bug: the device microphone can be activated in order to record audio. Likewise, audio streams intended for the local speakers can be intercepted at the device level and recorded.
Hidden Private Networks that bypass the corporate network security. A compute that is being spied upon can be plugged into a legitimate corporate network that is heavy monitored for malware activity and at same time belongs to a private wifi network outside of the company network that is leaking confidential information off of an employee's computer. A computer like this is easily set up by a double-agent working in the IT department by install a second Wireless card in a computer and special software to remotely monitor an employee's computer through this second interface card without them being aware of a side-band communication channel pulling information off of his computer.
Camera: the device cameras can be activated in order to covertly capture images or video.
Keylogger and Mouse Logger: the malware agent can capture each keystroke, mouse movement and click that the target user makes. Combined with screen grabs, this can be used to obtain passwords that are entered using a virtual on-screen keyboard.
Screen Grabber: the malware agent can take periodic screen capture images. In addition to showing sensitive information that may not be stored on the machine, such as e-banking balances and encrypted web mail, these can be used in combination with the key and mouse logger data to determine access credentials for other Internet resources.
Encryption: Collected data is usually encrypted at the time of capture and may be transmitted live or stored for later exfiltration. Likewise, it is common practice for each specific operation to use specific encryption and poly-morphic capabilities of the cyber-collection agent in order to ensure that detection in one location will not compromise others.
Bypass Encryption: Because the malware agent operates on the target system with all the access and rights of the user account of the target or system administrator, encryption is bypassed. For example, interception of audio using the microphone and audio output devices enables the malware to capture to both sides of an encrypted Skype call.
Exfiltration: Cyber-collection agents usually exfiltrate the captured data in a discrete manner, often waiting for high web traffic and disguising the transmission as secure web browsing. USB flash drives have been used to exfiltrate information from air gap protected systems. Exfiltration systems often involve the use of reverse proxy systems that anonymize the receiver of the data.
Replicate: Agents may replicate themselves onto other media or systems, for example an agent may infect files on a writable network share or install themselves onto USB drives in order to infect computers protected by an air gap or otherwise not on the same network.
Manipulate Files and File Maintenance: Malware can be used to erase traces of itself from log files. It can also download and install modules or updates as well as data files. This function may also be used to place "evidence" on the target system, e.g. to insert child pornography onto the computer of a politician or to manipulate votes on an electronic vote counting machine.
Combination Rules: Some agents are very complex and are able to combine the above features in order to provide very targeted intelligence collection capabilities. For example, the use of GPS bounding boxes and microphone activity can be used to turn a smart phone into a smart bug that intercepts conversations only within the office of a target.
Compromised cellphones. Since, modern cellphones are increasingly similar to general purpose computer, these cellphones are vulnerable to the same cyber-collect attacks as computer systems, and are vulnerable to leak extremely sensitive conversational and location information to an attackers. Leaking of cellphone GPS location and conversational information to an attacker has been reported in a number of recent cyber stalking cases where the attacker was able to use the victim's GPS location to call nearby businesses and police authorities to make false allegations against the victim depending on his location, this can range from telling the restaurant staff information to tease the victim, or making false witness against the victim. For instance if the victim were parked in large parking lot the attackers may call and state that they saw drug or violence activity going on with a description of the victim and directions to their GPS location.
Infiltration
There are several common ways to infect or access the target:
An Injection Proxy is a system that is placed upstream from the target individual or company, usually at the Internet service provider, that injects malware into the targets system. For example, an innocent download made by the user can be injected with the malware executable on the fly so that the target system then is accessible to the government agents.
Spear Phishing: A carefully crafted e-mail is sent to the target in order to entice them to install the malware via a Trojan document or a drive by attack hosted on a web server compromised or controlled by the malware owner.
Surreptitious Entry may be used to infect a system. In other words, the spies carefully break into the target's residence or office and install the malware on the target's system.
An Upstream monitor or sniffer is a device that can intercept and view the data transmitted by a target system. Usually this device is placed at the Internet service provider. The Carnivore system developed by the U.S. FBI is a famous example of this type of system. Based on the same logic as a telephone intercept, this type of system is of limited use today due to the widespread use of encryption during data transmission.
A wireless infiltration system can be used in proximity of the target when the target is using wireless technology. This is usually a laptop based system that impersonates a WiFi or 3G base station to capture the target systems and relay requests upstream to the Internet. Once the target systems are on the network, the system then functions as an Injection Proxy or as an Upstream Monitor in order to infiltrate or monitor the target system.
A USB Key preloaded with the malware infector may be given to or dropped at the target site.
Cyber-collection agents are usually installed by payload delivery software constructed using zero-day attacks and delivered via infected USB drives, e-mail attachments or malicious web sites. State sponsored cyber-collections efforts have used official operating system certificates in place of relying on security vulnerabilities. In the Flame operation, Microsoft states that the Microsoft certificate used to impersonate a Windows Update was forged; however, some experts believe that it may have been acquired through HUMINT efforts.
Examples of operations
Stuxnet
Flame
Duqu
Bundestrojaner
Rocra
Operation High Roller
See also
Cyberwarfare
Computer surveillance
Computer insecurity
Chinese intelligence operations in the United States
Cyber-security regulation
Industrial espionage
GhostNet
Proactive Cyber Defence
Surveillance
Chaos Computer Club
Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)
Tailored Access Operations
References
Espionage
Hacking (computer security)
Cyberwarfare
Military intelligence collection
Cybercrime
Information sensitivity
Sabotage
Spyware
Mass intelligence-gathering systems
Security engineering
Social engineering (computer security)
National security
Computer security procedures
Computing terminology |
38300161 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMPLE%20%28military%20communications%20protocol%29 | SIMPLE (military communications protocol) | The Standard Interface for Multiple Platform Link Evaluation (SIMPLE) is a military communications protocol defined in NATO's Standardization Agreement STANAG 5602.
Purpose
The SIMPLE defines a communications protocol to provide the means for geographically (national and international) separated Tactical Data Link (TDL) equipment (C4ISR, C2 and non-C2 test facilities) to exchange environment data and TDL messages in order to conduct detailed TDL Interoperability (IO) testing. It is intended to provide specifications for a common standard to interconnect ground rigs of all types, such as simulation and integration facilities. The SIMPLE allows transmission of M-Series and J-Series messages over IP-based protocols. Previously J-Series messages could be sent using the Link 16 protocol. However, Link 16 is a radio protocol with a frequency range that limits the exchange of information to within line-of-sight. Use of flexible bearer protocols, such as IP, makes it easier to exchange such J-Series data, particularly for simulations and integration. However, the SIMPLE is not limited to use for simulation and integration, and is finding applications beyond its original purpose wherever transmission of J-Series data is not amenable over radio protocols such as Link 16.
Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocols
The SIMPLE standard specifies the distributed transfer of a simulated scenario/synthetic environment using the IEEE Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocols. DIS is a government/industry initiative to define an infrastructure for linking simulations of various types at multiple locations to create realistic, complex, virtual worlds for the simulation of highly interactive activities. A new Protocol Data Unit (PDU) definition, the DIS PDU was added to the baseline protocol to support the exchange of DIS PDUs for simulated entities. The content of the SIMPLE DIS PDU packet is related to the DIS PDUs defined in the IEEE 1278.1 standard. As such, most Transmitter and Signal PDU fields require no translation.
Structure of the SIMPLE protocol
The SIMPLE standard consists of several elements. These are:
the communications bearer (e.g. telephone lines, digital WANs)
the encryption methods to be used to protect the secure information transmitted between sites
the protocols/data formats for the data transfer process
additional aspects such as time co-ordination
The SIMPLE is an application layer protocol that is designed to be independent of the transport layer. It can run using the following transport layer protocols:
UDP broadcast
UDP multicast
TCP
Serial
TDL message exchange
In SIMPLE, the method for exchanging TDL messages is to take the host generated message traffic from the MIDS/JTIDS terminal interface and repackage it for transmission across the SIMPLE network. The receiving SIMPLE node extracts the TDL message traffic from the received packet and presents it to the host interface as if it had been received from a MIDS/JTIDS terminal.
History
The development of SIMPLE resulted from the requirement in February 1996 of the Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) on NATO Common Interoperability Standards (NCIS) Testing for a single interface standard to support the interconnection of NATO resources.
See also
Link 16
M-Series messages
J-Series messages
Tactical Data Links (TDLs)
S-TADIL J (J-Series messages over satellite links)
JREAP (M-Series and J-Series messages over long-distance networks)
Global Information Grid
Network-centric warfare
References
NATO STANAG 5602: Edition 3
SISO J to SIMPLE Translation Advice and Lexicon for Enabling Simulations (SIMPLE TALES), Joe Sorroche, ASRC Communications, Ltd.
Military communications
Modeling and simulation
Application layer protocols |
38309019 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RainStor | RainStor | RainStor was a software company that developed a database management system of the same name designed to manage and analyze big data for large enterprises. It uses de-duplication techniques to organize the process of storing large amounts of data for reference. The company's origin traces back to a special project conducted by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence with the purpose of storing volumes of data from years of field operations for ongoing analysis and training purposes.
RainStor was headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States with R&D in Gloucester, United Kingdom.
The company was acquired by Teradata in 2014.
History
RainStor was founded in 2002 in the United Kingdom. Originally it was named Clearpace. The company was originally created to exploit technology that was developed by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to store big data under the brand name DeX. The company rebranded DeX as NParchive, which deduplicated and archived rarely used data, in 2008.
The company and product were renamed to RainStor (a portmanteau of relational archiving infrastructure storage) in December 2009, coinciding with a move of the management office from the United Kingdom to San Francisco. The release of version 3.5 of RainStor software, announced in May 2009, coincided with the company's rebranding. RainStor received $7.5 million in venture funding from Storm Ventures, Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, Informatica, and The Dow Company in March 2010.
In 2011, it received some marketing awards.
In October 2012, RainStor received $12 million in venture funding from Credit Suisse, Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, Storm Ventures, the Dow Chemical Company, and Rogers Venture Partners.
In October 2012, the company reported over 100 clients. RainStor worked with companies in the telecommunications and finance industries, as well as with government agencies.
Teradata acquired RainStor in December 2014.
Teradata dropped the RainStor product from its portfolio in January 2016 and it is no longer developed or marketed.
Product
RainStor provided software for query and analysis against large volumes of machine generated data and an online data archive for regulatory compliance data retention.
In October 2012, RainStor held two patents and was pursuing five additional patents.
The database uses a row/columnar hybrid repository. The archived data is accessed using Structured Query Language (SQL). RainStor software uses partition filtering, which excludes certain records from processing.
RainStor runs on Apache Hadoop. In June 2013, RainStor released version 5.5 of its software. The release added user authentication protocols, access controls and policies, data encryption and user activity logs.
In May 2014, the company announced protection for data from manipulation, malicious attacks, breaches, or deletion.
In December 2016, Teradata has removed Rainstor from its portfolio and it is no longer being developed or marketed.
References
Software companies established in 2004
Software companies of the United States
Companies based in San Francisco
Teradata |
38328989 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket%20U2 | Rocket U2 | Rocket U2 is a suite of database management (DBMS) and supporting software now owned by Rocket Software. It includes two MultiValue database platforms: UniData and UniVerse. Both of these products are operating environments which run on current Unix, Linux and Windows operating systems. They are both derivatives of the Pick operating system. The family also includes developer and web-enabling technologies including SystemBuilder/SB+, SB/XA, U2 Web Development Environment (WebDE), UniObjects and wIntegrate.
History
UniVerse was originally developed by VMark Software and UniData was originally developed by the Unidata Corporation. Both Universe and Unidata are used for vertical application development and are embedded into the vertical software applications. In 1997, the Unidata Corporation merged with VMark Systems to form Ardent Software. In March 2000, Ardent Software was acquired by Informix. IBM subsequently acquired the database division of Informix in April 2001, making UniVerse and UniData part of IBM's DB2 product family. IBM subsequently created the Information Management group of which Data Management is one of the sub-areas under which the IBM U2 family comprised UniData and UniVerse along with the tools, SystemBuilder Extensible Architecture (SB/XA), U2 Web Development Environment (U2 Web DE) and wIntegrate.
On 1 October 2009 it was announced that Rocket Software had purchased the entire U2 portfolio from IBM. The U2 portfolio is grouped under the name RocketU2.
System structure
Accounts
Systems are made of one or more accounts. Accounts are directories stored on the host operating system that initially contain the set of files needed for the system to function properly. This includes the system's VOC (vocabulary) file that contains every command, filename, keyword, alias, script, and other pointers. Each of these classes of VOC entries can also be created by a user.
Files
Files are similar to tables in a relational database in that each file has a unique name to distinguish it from other files and zero to multiple unique records that are logically related to each other.
Files are made of two parts: a data file and a file dictionary (DICT). The data file contains records that store the actual data. The file dictionary may contain metadata to describe the contents or to output the contents of a file.
Hashed files
For hashed files, a U2 system uses a hashing algorithm to allocate the file's records into groups based on the record IDs. When searching for data in a hashed file, the system only searches the group where the record ID is stored, making the search process more efficient and quicker than searching through the whole file.
Nonhashed files
Nonhashed files are used to store data with little or no logical structure such as program source code, XML or plain text. This type of file is stored as a subdirectory within the account directory on the host operating system and may be read or edited using appropriate tools.
Records
Files are made of records, which are similar to rows within tables of a relational database. Each record has a unique key (called a "record ID") to distinguish it from other records in the file. These record IDs are typically hashed so that data can be retrieved quickly and efficiently.
Records (including record IDs) store the actual data as pure ASCII strings; there is no binary data stored in U2. For example, the hardware representation of a floating-point number would be converted to its ASCII equivalent before being stored. Usually these records are divided into fields (which are sometimes called "attributes" in U2). Each field is separated by a "field mark" (hexadecimal character FE).
Thus this string:
might represent a record in the EMPLOYEE file with 123-45-6789 as the Record ID, JOHN JONES as the first field, [email protected] as the second field and $4321.00 as a monthly salary stored in the third field. (The up-arrow (^) above is the standard Pick notation of a field mark; that is, xFE).
Thus the first three fields of this record, including the record ID and trailing field mark, would use 49 bytes of storage. A given value uses only as many bytes as needed. For example, in another record of the same file, JOHN JONES (10 bytes) may be replaced by MARJORIE Q. HUMPERDINK (21 bytes) yet each name uses only as much storage as it needs, plus one for the field mark.
Fields may be broken down into values and even subvalues. Values are separated by value marks (character xFD); subvalues are separated by subvalue marks (character xFC). Thus, if John Jones happened to get a second email address, the record may be updated to:
where the close bracket (]) represents a value mark.
Since each email address can be the ID of a record in separate file (in SQL terms, an outer join; in U2 terms, a "translate"), this provides the reason why U2 may be classified as a MultiValued database.
Data
Raw information is called Data. A record is a set of logical grouped data. e.g. an employee record will have data stored in the form of fields/attributes like his name, address etc.
Programmability
Both UniVerse and UniData have a structured BASIC language (UniVerse Basic and UniBasic, respectively), similar to Pick/BASIC which naturally operates on the structures of the MultiValue database. They also have a structured database query language (RetrieVe and UniQuery) used to select records for further processing and for ad hoc queries and reports.
RocketU2 provides a set of Client Tools to allow software developers to access U2 databases from other software languages.
Client Tool interfaces include:
ODBC / JDBC
Intercall (C/C++)
UniOLEDB - OLEDB Driver
UniObjects (COM)
UniObjects (.NET)
UniObjects (Java)
Native XML
U2 Web Services
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
Python (available as of UniVerse 11.3 and UniData 8.2)
Security
Both UniVerse and UniData support TLS transport level data encryption and record and file level encryption of data at rest using OpenSSL. Additional API encryption functionality is also available to allow custom solutions or meet specific regulatory requirements.
Professional certification
RocketU2 offers three professional certification designations related to the U2 product family.
Rocket U2 Application Developer
Rocket UniVerse Administration
Rocket UniData Administration
Web-based applications for U2 data
Rocket Software Universe and Unidata have limited ability to create web-based front-ends to Universe/UniData content. Since Rocket Software provides SQL access to its database products, a SQL-based product can be used to build a web-based UI to the databases; regardless of using Files or Tables in U2. A third-party application framework, can be used to build such web interfaces.
See also
Pick operating system
OpenInsight
Reality
Notes
External links
U2UG, a recognized international user group
Proprietary database management systems
1990s software
NoSQL companies
Big data companies
Database companies
Data companies
NoSQL
Divested IBM products |
38339377 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspecsys | Perspecsys | Perspecsys Inc. is a cloud computing security company that provides cloud data protection software. Perspecsys has offices in the Toronto area; Tysons Corner, Virginia; San Francisco, California; London, England; Paris, France; and Berlin, Germany.
Perspecsys specializes in cloud data privacy, data residency/sovereignty, and data security software that enables compliance with industry regulations and directives, and security requirements when adopting cloud. Banking and financial services, healthcare, retail, and government entities must adhere to strict guidelines when handling sensitive personal data in cloud applications that include: PCI DSS, ITAR, FERPA, HIPAA, and HITECH.
Technology
The AppProtex Cloud Data Protection Gateway secures data in software as a service and platform as a service provider applications through the use of encryption or tokenization. Gartner refers to this type of technology as a cloud encryption gateway, and categorizes providers of this technology as cloud access security brokers. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Perspecsys U.S. Patent No. 9,021,135 for its System and Method for Tokenization of Data for Storage in a Cloud.
The main component of the cloud encryption gateway is the AppProtex Cloud Data Protection Gateway Server, which acts as an intercepting software proxy. The gateway server provides the core data privacy, residency, and security services for the gateway. AppProtex Discovery & Analyze capabilities allow visibility into information users are sharing with cloud applications.
Users may define encryption, and tokenization options at the field-level. The cloud data protection gateway allows encryption with any third-party JCA/JCE-compliant cryptographic module, including FIPS 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard) validated modules. Cloud data is secured, and end-users maintain full functionality, such as the ability to search, sort, and e-mail using data that has been either encrypted or tokenized.
The data that flows between the cloud application, and the end user is interpreted by the Gateway. For cloud applications that feature email, the AppProtex Communications Server can enable the secure transfer of email. Additionally, AppProtex Server facilitates the deployment of the cloud security gateway via IaaS partners such as Amazon Web Services, CSC, and Fujitsu.
Perspecsys is a Salesforce AppExchange Partner and provides tokenization or encryption of Salesforce.com, Chatter, Force.com, and Wave Analytics Cloud Data. The AppProtex Cloud Data Protection Gateway secures cloud data across cloud applications, including Oracle CRM on Demand, Oracle Fusion CRM, ServiceNow, SuccessFactors, AppExtremes, and Xactly Incent.
Standards
Perspecsys cloud encryption gateway uses either tokenization or encryption for cloud security. Its tokenization option was evaluated by Coalfire, a PCI DSS Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and a FedRAMP-accredited Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO), to ensure that it adheres to industry guidelines. The gateway also allows encryption modules from other third-party providers (such as McAfee, Voltage Security, SafeNet, and Symantec) to encrypt cloud data, including modules that are FIPS 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard) validated, issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Funding & Acquisition
In May 2013, Perspecsys secured $12 million in Series B funding, co-led by Paladin Capital Group and Ascent Venture Partners and joined by return backer Intel Capital and other existing institutional investors. Together with Series A funding, this new round of financing brings the total investment in Perspecsys to over $20 million. Perspecsys’ Series A round of funding totaled $8 million and was led by Intel Capital, the global investment branch of technology company, Intel in May, 2011. GrowthWorks, and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund have also invested in Perspecsys.
On July 30, 2015 Blue Coat Systems announced it had acquired Perspecsys in order to expand its cloud security offerings. The acquisition price is estimated to be $180–200M.
Subsequently on the 12th of June 2016, Symantec Corporation announced that it would be acquiring Blue Coat Systems for approximately $4.65 Billion in cash. Greg Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Coat, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Symantec.
References
External links
Cloud computing providers
Cloud storage gateways
Cloud applications
Software companies of Canada |
38347065 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus%20Data | Nimbus Data | Nimbus Data is an American computer data storage software and systems company.
Company
Nimbus Data develops flash memory solutions. Customers include eBay, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Digital River, Raytheon, Citrix Systems, Lockheed Martin, WWE, and DreamWorks. The company was rumored to have deals with Apple Inc. and Thomson Reuters. The privately held company is led by CEO and founder Thomas Isakovich.
Products
In April 2010, Nimbus Data announced the S-Class system, a multi-protocol all-flash array with up to 100 TB of solid state storage supporting Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand networks.
In January 2012, Nimbus Data announced the E-Class system. It offers redundant controllers and up to 500 TB of solid-state storage. Each controller supports the same interfaces: Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand. Nimbus Data software detects controller and path failures, providing failover as well as online software updates and online capacity expansion.
In August 2012, Nimbus Data announced the Gemini system, with an available 10-year warranty. Gemini includes dual controllers for no single point of failure and non-disruptive software updates. In a 2U form factor, the Gemini array supports 48 TB of capacity, 1 million IOps, 12 GB/s, and less than 0.1 ms latency. Certified benchmark results of over 4,032 simultaneous virtual desktop (VDI) users has been achieved on a single Gemini system.
In August 2013, Nimbus Data announced the Gemini F400 and F600 systems with increased performance of up to 2 million read IOps at less than 0.05 ms latency (4 KB block I/O rates). Nimbus Data's HALO software, embedded in its flash memory systems, handles both block storage (storage area network) and file systems (network attached storage) by supporting several protocols. Data management features include thin provisioning, automatic capacity reclamation, encryption, replication, snapshots, inline deduplication, compression, and automatic self-healing capabilities.
In August 2016, Nimbus Data unveiled a new all-flash array platform called ExaFlash.
In August 2017, Nimbus Data launched ExaDrive, a software-defined multiprocessor SSD architecture.
In March 2018, Nimbus Data launched the world's highest capacity and most energy-efficient solid state drive, the ExaDrive DC100, at 100 terabytes.
In May 2020, Nimbus Data unveiled a new solid state storage-optimized operating system called AFX. Nimbus Data AFX supports over a dozen block, file, and object storage protocols on one platform, with fine-grain QoS controls to optimize storage behavior for specific workloads. The company also announced a new all-flash storage array called ExaFlash One and a new support subscription program called Tectonic.
In August 2020, Nimbus Data launched the ExaDrive NL series SSD, the world's highest capacity QLC flash SSD (at 64 TB), as well as the world's first QLC flash SAS SSD.
References
External links
Computer storage companies
Computer storage media
Electronics companies of the United States
Irvine, California |
38366406 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute-based%20encryption | Attribute-based encryption | Attribute-based encryption is a type of public-key encryption in which the secret key of a user and the ciphertext are dependent upon attributes (e.g. the country in which they live, or the kind of subscription they have). In such a system, the decryption of a ciphertext is possible only if the set of attributes of the user key matches the attributes of the ciphertext.
A crucial security aspect of attribute-based encryption is collusion-resistance: An adversary that holds multiple keys should only be able to access data if at least one individual key grants access.
History
The concept of attribute-based encryption was first proposed by Amit Sahai and Brent Waters and later by Vipul Goyal, Omkant Pandey, Amit Sahai and Brent Waters. Recently, several researchers have further proposed attribute-based encryption with multiple authorities who jointly generate users' private keys.
Types of attribute-based encryption schemes
There are mainly two types of attribute-based encryption schemes: Key-policy attribute-based encryption (KP-ABE) and ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE).
In KP-ABE, users' secret keys are generated based on an access tree that defines the privileges scope of the concerned user, and data are encrypted over a set of attributes. However, CP-ABE uses access trees to encrypt data and users' secret keys are generated over a set of attributes.
Relationship to Role-based Encryption
The related concept of role-based encryption refers exclusively to access keys having roles that can be validated against an authoritative store of roles. In this sense, Role-based encryption can be expressed by Attribute-based encryption and within that limited context the two terms can be used interchangeably. Role-based Encryption cannot express Attribute-based encryption.
Usage
Attribute-based encryption (ABE) can be used for log encryption. Instead of encrypting each part of a log with the keys of all recipients, it is possible to encrypt the log only with attributes which match recipients' attributes. This primitive can also be used for broadcast encryption in order to decrease the number of keys used. Attribute-based encryption methods are also widely employed in vector-driven search engine interfaces.
Challenges
Although ABE concept is very powerful and a promising mechanism, ABE systems suffer mainly from two drawbacks: non-efficiency and non-existence of attribute revocation mechanism.
Other main challenges are:
Key coordination
Key escrow
Key revocation
Attribute revocation mechanism
Revocation of users in cryptosystems is a well-studied but nontrivial problem. Revocation is even more challenging in attribute-based systems, given that each attribute possibly belongs to multiple different users, whereas in traditional PKI systems public/private key pairs are uniquely associated with a single user. In principle, in an ABE system, attributes, not users or keys, are revoked. The following paragraph now discusses how the revocation feature can be incorporated.
A simple but constrained solution is to include a time attribute. This solution would require each message to be encrypted with a modified access tree , which is constructed by augmenting the original access tree with an additional time attribute. The time attribute, represents the current ‘time period’. Formally, the new access structure is as follows: . For example, can be the ‘date’ attribute whose value changes once every day. It is assumed that each non-revoked user receives his fresh private keys corresponding to the ‘date’ attribute once each day directly from the mobile key server MKS (which is the central authority) or via the regional delegates. With a hierarchical access structure, the key delegation property of CP-ABE can be exploited to reduce the dependency on the central authority for issuing the new private keys to all users every time interval. There are significant trade-offs between the extra load incurred by the authority for generating and communicating the new keys to the users and the amount of time that can elapse before a revoked user can be effectively purged. This above solution has the following problems:
Each user X needs to periodically receive from the central authority the fresh private key corresponding to the time attribute, otherwise X will not be able to decrypt any message.
It is a lazy revocation technique the revoked user is not purged from the system until the current time period expires.
This scheme requires an implicit time synchronization (a loose time synchronization may be sufficient) among the authority and the users.
Other concepts called 'attribute-based encryption'
A manuscript of Ari Juels and Michael Szydlo dated 2004 proposed a different, non-collusion-resistant notion of attribute-based encryption.
See also
ID-based encryption
References
Further reading
Herranz, Javier; Laguillaumie, Fabien; Ràfols, Carla (2010), Nguyen, Phong Q.; Pointcheval, David (eds.), "Constant Size Ciphertexts in Threshold Attribute-Based Encryption", Public Key Cryptography – PKC 2010, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 6056, pp. 19–34, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-13013-7_2, , retrieved 2020-05-13
Public-key cryptography |
38407340 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard%20Evers | Richard Evers | Richard Evers (born May 31, 1959) is a Canadian publisher, programmer, technology consultant and author. Evers was editor and publisher of The Transactor and Transactor for the Amiga. He has worked for a number of Canadian technology companies, including Research in Motion, where he edited the BlackBerry Developer Journal. He is president of Northern Blue Publishing in Waterloo, Ontario, and co-author of Professional BlackBerry (Wrox) and co-author of The Trackers. He later founded Kryptera, an encryption technology for data at rest.
Evers has served as technical editor of BlackBerry for Dummies (2011; ); BlackBerry Pearl 3G for Dummies (2011; ); BlackBerry Java Application Development (2010; ); BlackBerry ALL-IN-ONE for Dummies (2010; ); BlackBerry Curve for Dummies (2010; ); BlackBerry Storm for Dummies (2009; ); and Mobile Guide to BlackBerry (2005).
Bibliography
The Inner Space Anthology (1985)
Transactor Book of Bits and Pieces (1986)
Professional BlackBerry (2005)
The Trackers (2013)
References
External links
The Transactor: The Tech/News Journal for Commodore Computers
1957 births
Living people
American technology writers
Canadian technology writers
Canadian book publishers (people)
Writers from Ontario |
38423379 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIRACL%20%28security%20firm%29 | MIRACL (security firm) | MIRACL (formerly known as CertiVox) is a London-based web 2.0 security firm that develops information security infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and encryption based software as a service (SaaS) solutions for enterprises and individuals. The company provides on-demand encryption key management and multi-factor authentication both on and off the cloud, and specializes in elliptical curve cryptography. Red Herring selected MIRACL as a finalist for the 2012 Europe Top 100.
History
Brian Spector founded CertiVox. The company opened its offices in Shoreditch in 2011.
The company partnered with low-power customer specific standard product (CSSP) provider QuickLogic in February 2012, in efforts to jointly develop data security solutions across platforms. Also in February, the company acquired Shamus Software, the creator of the MIRACL cryptographic library.
In 2011, CertiVox received $1.46 million in Series A funding led by Pentech Ventures and Octopus Investments.
In 2012 it launched a service called PrivateSky allowing users to encrypt messages and large files up to 5GB. Its design offered Government, businesses, and individuals one-click security in Microsoft Outlook. and HTML5 web browsers. However PrivateSky was taken offline by the company following a RIPA warrant from GCHQ's National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC) who wanted decryption keys for customer data.
CertiVox launched its M-Pin Strong Authentication System in July 2013.
In January 2016, the company changed its name to MIRACL. The name is an acronym for Multiprecision Integer and Rational Arithmetic Cryptographic Library, which was created at Dublin City University School of Computing in 1988 and which the company acquired with its purchase of Shamus Software in 2012. The reason given for the name change was to reflect “a pivot in our mission and business, from providing individual products to offering complete solutions that have the potential to transform an industry”.
References
Computer security software companies
Software companies of the United Kingdom |
38430977 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XigmaNAS | XigmaNAS | XigmaNAS is network-attached storage (NAS) server software with a dedicated management web interface (written in PHP). It is free software under the terms of the Simplified BSD license.
XigmaNAS is a continuation of the original FreeNAS code, which was developed between 2005 and late 2011. It was released under the name NAS4Free on 22 March 2012. The name was changed to XigmaNAS in July 2018. On SourceForge, it was elected “'Community Choice' Project of the Month” twice, in August 2015 and March 2017.
Technology
XigmaNAS is an embedded open-source NAS software distribution based on the latest release of FreeBSD. It developed from original FreeNAS 7 code and updated to work with the current latest FreeBSD releases. However, "XigmaNAS preserves FreeNAS’s original m0n0wall/PHP architecture and introduces experimental support for the ARM architecture."
XigmaNAS supports sharing across Windows, Apple, and UNIX-like systems. It includes ZFS v5000, Software RAID (0,1,5), disk encryption, S.M.A.R.T. and email reports etc., with the following protocols: SMB, Samba Active Directory Domain Controller AD, FTP, NFS, TFTP, AFP, rsync, Unison (file synchronizer), iSCSI (initiator and target), HAST, CARP, Bridge, UPnP, and BitTorrent. All of this is configurable by its web interface.
Features
All XigmaNAS versions
Multiple architectures: i386 or amd64 and ARM-based versions
Full Web Management Interface (WebGUI)
Hard drive and volume management
Software RAID
Disk encryption (using cryptographic accelerator card if present)
Partition
MBR, GPT
iSCSI initiator
Filesystems
ZFS v5000, UFS
Ext2, Ext3
FAT, NTFS
Networking
802.1q VLAN tagging
Wireless
Network link aggregation
Wake On Lan
Network Bridge
CARP (Common Address Redundancy Protocol)
HAST (Highly Available Storage)
Network Protocols
Server Message Block (SMB, one never used version was known as CIFS) (Samba)
Active Directory Domain controller (Samba)
Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) (Netatalk)
Network File System (NFS)
FTP (ProFTPD)
TFTP (tftp-hpa)
rsync (client/server)
Unison
SCP (SSH)
iSCSI target
Extra services
UPnP server (FUPPES)
UPnP server (MiniDLNA)
iTunes/DAAP server (Firefly)
Lighttpd (Webserver)
Iperf Iperf3 Network Bandwidth measure
Syncthing File synchronization application
Transmission BitTorrent client
VirtualBox Virtualbox included and managed by phpVirtualBox and noVNC on GUI
Monitoring
S.M.A.R.T. (smartmontools)
Alert by E-mail
SNMP
Syslog
UPS (NUT)
Installation
XigmaNAS is installable on almost any boot medium including LiveCD optionally with a small USB flash drive for config storage if necessary, both for x86-64 and x86-32 computer platforms up to version 10.3. As of version 11.0, XigmaNAS no longer supports x86-32, but version 10.3 is still getting updates. XigmaNAS can be installed on Compact Flash, USB flash drive, SSD, hard drive or other bootable devices, and supports advanced formatted drives using 4 kB sectors. The software distribution is currently distributed as in ISO image (.iso, ~370 MB) or USB flash drive image (.img, ~320 MB) format, and in source form.
Preferred Embedded Installation
A special small footprint embedded image is also available (.img, ~150 MB).
The preferred method is the embedded installation onto a USB stick, Compact Flash card (CF), or hard disk HDD/SSD, for which XigmaNAS was designed. The XigmaNAS OS will load into system memory, eliminating system writes to a drive except for configuration changes written to an archive. Flash devices are more energy efficient, and the updating process can be done by WebGUI in the browser, downloading and installing a new firmware image.
History
The original FreeNAS project derives from m0n0wall.
The FreeNAS 0.7 branch was end-of-life'd in late 2011 after the FreeNAS name was legally acquired by iXsystems, Inc. Starting with version 8.x, new iXsystems developers rewrote FreeNAS and legacy FreeNAS 0.7 was no longer available for download.
The legacy FreeNAS 0.7 code was unable to be developed any longer under the same name, and a name change was necessary. The founder of FreeNAS (Olivier Cochard-Labbé) donated the original FreeNAS source code to the NAS4Free project. With the support of the former developers, namely Daisuke Aoyama and Michael Zoon, it carries on the original FreeNAS code base. FreeNAS 8.x.y and up is a software fork of the original FreeNAS with a new rewritten code-base, continuing the old branded name. In 2018, the project applied for the XigmaNAS trademark in order to protect the brand prior to the release of v11.2.
Awards
SourceForge.net — Project of the Month, March 2017
SourceForge.net — Project of the Month, August 2015
SourceForge.net — Project of the Week, May 2015
VMware — "Ultimate Virtual Appliance Challenge, Consumer" (2008)
SourceForge.net — Project of the Month, January 2007
InfoWorld — Best of open source in storage (2008)
See also
OpenMediaVault
Nexenta
Openfiler
FreeNAS
Zentyal
List of NAS manufacturers
Comparison of iSCSI targets
File area network
Disk enclosure
OpenWRT
References
Further reading
External links
Free file transfer software
Free software
FreeBSD
Home servers
Network-attached storage
Software using the BSD license |
38438073 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venafi | Venafi | Venafi, Inc. is a privately held cybersecurity company that develops software to secure and protect cryptographic keys and digital certificates. Its enterprise key and certificate management and security products are certificate authority (CA) independent and manage security instruments such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) digital certificates and Secure Shell (SSH) keys. Venafi does not sell encryption and it is not a Certificate Authority (CA).
Venafi reports a customer base of public- and private-sector entities, mostly Global 5000 organizations that operate in a variety of industries. Venafi is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has offices in California and the United Kingdom.
History
Russell Thornton and Ben Hodson, both University of Washington graduates, cofounded Venafi's predecessor company in 1998 after recognizing that a recent consulting project had broader commercial application. The cofounders incorporated the company as IMCentric in Washington State on October 26, 2000.
Seeking an infusion of angel capital, Hodson and Thornton moved the company to Utah where they were joined by Jayson Seegmiller. Hodson led engineering while Thornton and Seegmiller focused on business and operations. An application was filed to conduct business as IMCentric, Inc. in Orem, Utah on March 18, 2003. Thornton filed to change IMCentric's state of incorporation (home state) from Washington to Delaware on April 1, 2004.
Early 2005 saw the company's leadership and name change: its name from IMCentric to Venafi and its leadership from Thornton (president and chief executive officer) and Seegmiller (vice president, secretary, and treasurer) to Trell Rohovit (president and chief executive officer), William Clay Epstein (vice president), and Darren Denning (secretary). The company also moved its headquarters to Sandy, Utah in 2005. Jeff Hudson (current chief executive officer) replaced Rohovit in October, 2010, and the company moved to Salt Lake City, UT in 2013.
Company name
Venafi is a made-up word created by combining two Latin roots—Vena (vein or root) and Fides (trust or faith). Venafi secures the root of trust—the encryption keys and certificates.
Industry affiliations
Venafi is a participating organization with the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), which issues the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Venafi submitted Cryptographic Keys and Digital Certificate Security Guidelines as a Special Interest Group (SIG) topic for consideration as both a 2015 and 2016 PCI SSC SIG. The topic was selected as a finalist for both a 2015 SIG (1 of 7 finalists, not selected) and a 2016 SIG (1 of 5 finalists, not selected). Venafi is also a member of the Financial Services - Information Sharing and Analysis group (FS-ISAC).
In July, 2012, Paul Turner, then Venafi's vice president of product and strategy, co-authored a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) bulletin (“ITL Bulletin for July 2012: Preparing for and Responding to Certification Authority Compromise and Fraudulent Certificate Issuance”) that provides best practices-based information. In 2015, Turner teamed again with NIST to document best practices for "Security of Interactive and Automated Access Management Using Secure Shell (SSH).".
Recognition, honors, and awards
In April 2014, SC Magazine Awards 2014 Europe named Venafi a finalist in its Best Encryption Solution and Best Risk/Policy Management Solution categories.
In 2013, global media company, Red Herring, included Venafi software on its 2013 Top 100 North America: Winners, listing Venafi in the top North American private companies.
In February 2013, SC Magazine Awards Europe 2013 named Venafi Director a finalist in its Best Encryption Solution and Best Security Management categories.
In 2013, Info Security awarded Venafi Encryption Director Certificate Manager a Bronze Winner in the Risk Management category.
In May 2012, Venafi Director won a Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) Codie award for the Best Security Solution category (Business Software).
In February 2012, Venafi was nominated by eWeek Labs as one of thirteen “Hottest Security Vendors” at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.
In February 2012, Venafi Encryption Director 6: Certificate Manager won Info Security's Global Excellence award in the Risk Management category.
In 2011, Venafi Encryption Director won a spot in the Info Security's 2011 Global Excellence Award's finalist list in the Policy Management category.
In 2011, SC Magazine awarded Venafi Encryption Director a place on its SC Magazine Awards 2011 Europe finalist list.
In November 2011, Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company, acknowledged in its research note “X.509 Certificate Management: Avoiding Downtime and Brand Damage” that “Venafi is the leader in X.509 certificate management for internal and external systems and applications. Unlike certificate authority certificate management solutions, Venafi supports virtually all certificate issuers natively and can renew certificates from nearly any type of certificate issuer, providing flexibility for complex heterogeneous environments composed of certificates issued by various certificate authorities.”
In 2010, SC Magazine awarded Venafi its 2010 Industry Innovator distinction.
In April 2010, Gartner named Venafi a “Cool Vendor in Data and Infrastructure Protection.”
In 2009, Venafi Director won Info Security's 2009 Global Excellence award in the Best New Software Product category.
In October 2007, Venafi was listed as one of the 10 IT security companies to watch by InfoWorld.
In October 2004, IMCentric, Venafi's predecessor, was recognized as one of Utah's top 20 High-Tech companies by Utah Business Magazine.
References
Computer security companies
Software companies based in Utah
Computer security software companies
Software companies of the United States
2000 establishments in Utah |
38470685 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter%20Combat%20Support%20Squadron%20Seven | Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Seven | Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Seven (HC-7) was a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy established on 1 September 1967 and disestablished on 30 June 1975.
History
Helicopter Combat Support Squadron ONE, (HC-1) was reorganized to create several additional helicopter squadrons. The existing HC-1 Detachments based at NAS Atsugi and NAAF Ream Field, Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach were redesignated Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (HC-7). Established with sixteen officers and seventy-five enlisted men on 1 September 1967. Upon establishment, HC-7 was tasked with multiple missions including Logistics, Vertical Replenishment, Seventh Fleet Flagship, Aerial Mine Countermeasure, Oceanographic, home station search and rescue (SAR) and combat search and rescue (CSAR).
Volunteer crewmen attended Combat Aircrewman Rescue School which included training in “JEST”, SERE (search, evasion, resistance, and escape), combat swim school, aerial gunnery/weapons, medical, hand-to-hand combat, 10’-10 mph helo rescue swimmer deployment. HC-7 owed its success to the establishment of the training instructors of “Paramedic Rescue Team ONE”, NAS Cubi Point, Republic of Philippines.
During Operation Rolling Thunder the Navy maintained units in the Gulf of Tonkin to retrieve downed fliers from the sea and from North Vietnam and Laos. Normally, two destroyers were deployed to the forward, North SAR Station () and another two to the South SAR Station (). To carry out rescues in North Vietnam's lethal environment, one UH-2 Seasprite helicopter equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks, machine guns, and armor was placed on board a ship at each station. Another four similarly armed and armored SH-3A Sea Kings (the primary rescue helicopter) were based on one of the Yankee Station carriers.
As the Vietnam War intensified the squadron deployed 16 separate detachments, constantly on the move, branded with the nickname “The Orphans of the Seventh Fleet”. HC-7 helicopters Cross-decked to a new ship on an average of 14 day to a new home as the host ships departed the Gulf of Tonkin. HC-7 was continuously stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin (Squadron, 2216 days – Det 110, 2046 days). HC-7 crews rescued 150 persons, 130 of which were within the Vietnam Combat zone. Two pilots were rescue twice. Five successful rescues took place deep within North Vietnam (feet dry), many rescues occurred along the coast (feet wet) within range of heavy enemy artillery. One of its members, Lieutenant (junior grade) Clyde Everett Lassen received the Medal of Honor. In July 1971 HC-7 was awarded Presidential Unit Citation for the period 1 September 1967 to 30 April 1969 for Extraordinary Heroism.
Detachments
Beginning with two detachments, increasing to high of sixteen during 1969 then in 1971 as the requirements changed HC-7 condensed to one detachment (110).
Detachment 101 – UH-2A/B – (1970 UH-2C) Seasprite – Blackbeard One – aboard flag ships and primary flights for Commander of Seventh Fleet. VIP, non-VIP, mail transfer flights 10 crewmen, rotation of 30–60 days from 1 September 1967 to 1971.
Detachment 102 – UH-46 Sea Knight – Vertical Replenishment – aboard , two UH-46s, 22-24 crewmen, rotation of 30–60 days. Continued operations 1 September 1967, departed 27 April 1970 to HC-3. Recorded operations of a 1968 cruise, 79 ships supplied with 943 tons of stores. Also, transporting supplies to inland bases located at Vung Tau, South Vietnam.
Detachment 103 – 1 October 1967, HC-7 assumed duties from HC-1 Detachment Cubi, 1 January 1968- Det 103 Cubi assumed station SAR for NAS Cubi Point. 1 September 1968 redesignated “HC-7 Det Cubi” (configuration / repair / training center, staging area for CSAR detachments). The only permanent detachment. Beginning with 2 officers and 25 enlisted men. Last muster entry 8 August 1974.
Detachments 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 and 109 – UH-2A later HH-2C Seasprite Clementine – Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). 1 September 1967 to 1971 Stationed aboard DLGs and DDs – North and South CSAR stations. 8-10 crewmen, 30-60 day rotation. Cross-decking on a minimal time frame. Also deployed during the North Korea 1969 EC-121 shootdown incident 15 April 1969.
Detachments 110 and 111 stationed aboard the Yankee Station host carrier. From 18 February 1968 to 24 September 1973, these detachments were continuously (2045 days) stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin. Formed from HS-6's six helicopters aboard . Normally 5-6 helicopters and 35-55 men, with all repair equipment, tools, gear, taking four to five flights each. Det 110/111 completed 142 cross decks. Big Mothers pre-positioned prior to air strikes and co-existed with the Clementine crews aboard North and South SAR.
Detachment 110 – HH-3A Sea King – Big Mothers – Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), approximately 35-55 crewmen and 5 helos, (3 CSAR and 2 Logistic) From 18 February 1968 to 25 September 1973.
Detachment 111 – SH-3A Sea King – Protector – logistics flights aboard host carriers (with Big Mothers). Also deployed from 23 January 1968 to 4 March 1968 as a separate crew in response to the North Korean seizure of the .
Detachment 112 – UH-46 Sea Knight– Vertical Replenishment – aboard , two UH-46s, 22-24 crewmen, rotation of 40–60 days. Commenced operations 1 January 1969, departed 6 September 1970 to HC-3.
Detachment 113 -RH-3A Sea King – Aerial Mine Counter Measures – aboard , two RH-3As, 32-36 crewmen, rotation of 30–60 days. Mine Manglers arrived 19 February 1969, departed for HC-5 12 August 1970. Provided aerial mine sweeping operation throughout Southeast Asia, and SEATO exercises.
Detachment 114 – No record data.
Detachment 115 – H-34 SeaHorse - logistic support aboard oceanographic ship, , South Korea, three deployments during the Spring and Summer of 1969.
Detachment 116 – SH-3A Sea King EC-121 shootdown incident
Chronology
1967
14 rescues (3 combat, 11 others), 7 helicopters (1220 flight hours)
4 October diverted from an inland attempt, Clementine crew rescues a pilot amongst the cargo ships within Haiphong harbor. The next day, 5 October three attempts to grab inland pilot, code word “LAMB”, pilot captured, crew shot down helicopter ditched and crew rescued.
14 October just off of the coast helicopter crew beats out many sampans, second still in raft, helo pilot uses rotor wash to trap raft, crewman drops horse-collar in his lap.
1968
42 rescues (17 combat, 25 others). Staffing (July) 66 officers, 399 enlisted. 12 helicopters (6950 flight hours)
15 April heavy artillery, four crewman rescued, swimmers use D ring, hoist pilot and self with one lift.
28 April Combat Night Rescue offshore Clem observes day smoke, both pilots in rafts, pick-up, use M-60 to sink rafts.
8 May inland 45 minutes feet dry, over dense jungle, pilot could hear helicopter, all hell broke loose, suppressive fire, no forest penetrator, several tries with horse collar, added tight-down chain.
14 May Lieutenant Terry Lee Smith, AE1 Robert Harold Dabel and AO3 Carl Delbert Martin perished when their UH-2A helicopter crashed at HC-7 Det Cubi - NAS Cubi Point
19 June inland – 58 minutes feet dry, dense jungle, mountain side, continuous enemy fire, two low hovers in rice paddy, one attempt in tree tops, hit tree, flares cease, again to rice paddy, lights on, success – missile launch, aboard ship, 5 minutes of fuel remaining.
30 August round trip ( from Laos) inland (straight) 70 minutes feet dry flight along ridge tops, avoid SAM sites, heavy AAA fire entire flight, heavy jungle, crewman held M-16 on hoist cable, M-60s jam several times. Co-pilot M-16s expended rounds hit pilot in face. A-4s suppress flak.
6 September inland – 20 minutes feet dry, power descent, find strobe, first pilot in river off island, area well lighted by nearby military base, green tracers everywhere, second pilot upon island, helo turns on light, enemy has him, two more attempts, heavy automatic fire, intensifies
1969
No command report available 13 rescues (0 combat, 13 others)
Staffing – (July) 105 Officers – 562 Enlisted – 24 helos
16 January LT Clyde E. Lassen presented Congressional Medal of Honor by President Lyndon Johnson.
January 1969 HC-7 developed “CSAR Operations and Procedures”; check list, team effort, prepared for unexpected – should not be committed into hostile environment until survivor is located, identified and information, RESCAP available throughout the entire mission. Fly no lower than the highest column that may result from exploding enemy ordnance. “Swimmer in the water” technique ( altitude/10 knots). Deploy smoke canister as a diversion for artillery shelling, Jinking will reduce the possibility of battle damage. Today, this documentation is supplementing CSAR training within Navy helicopter squadrons. October 1974, HC-7's experiences were compiled within a manual “Combat Search and Rescue Tactics”.
1970
19 rescues (13 combat (classified), 6 others) Staffing (July) 80 officers, 492 enlisted, 35 helicopters (2660 flight hours)(1017 VIPS)
20 February AZ3 Scott Ferris Moore Jr passenger, perished when an SH-3A helicopter crashed near on Yankee Station.
12 August first (and only) rescue by HC-7 HH-2C, helicopter airborne before pilot hit the water
Naval helicopter squadrons utilize maintenance facilities at HC-7 Det Cubi. HH-3A helos arrive at Det Cubi, having design problems, were not operational by years’ end.
Date unknown inland (classified) rescue/recovery of nine Republic of Vietnam Navy Nasty boat crewmen – sunk boat. Three wounded, three dead.
1971
One rescue (1 combat, 0 other). Staffing (July) 54 officers, 306 enlisted, 47 helicopters.
30 December heavy shelling – badly injured pilot just off enemy island, deploy swimmer, assist pilot, North Vietnamese boats, RESCAP strafed, exploding artillery, large track gun appears from cave on island, rescue hoist cable broke, was debris field, helicopter lands in water – recover swimmer, pull him in, vertical lift, dodging explosions. Search for second pilot unsuccessful, many boats, forced to exit.
1972
58 rescues (45 combat, 13 others). Staffing (July) 49 officers, 277 enlisted, 25 helicopters (4951 flight hours)
9 April CSAR flights doubled – 2-4 helicopters launched to preposition locations for each air strike
12 April mini detachment sent from USA to Tonkin Gulf aboard
9 May Operation Linebacker begins. Within ten days four helicopters and 138 personnel deployed to Western Pacific. All Navy HH-3As transferred to HC-7. To expedite a United States Air Force C-5A air-lifts two helicopters to Det Cubi.
10 May aces Duke Cunningham and William P. Driscoll rescued, three Big Mothers launch from , bad vectors, RESCAP good vectors, visual two smokes, fin broke-no fins, swimmer away, cut survivor loose of raft, hook hard to open, 8-10 SAMs fired at RESCAP, second pilot hooked up wrong, hoist manual over-ride only.
24 May found wreckage, RESCAP gave vector 50/1, continued, day smoke, swimmer dropped, drop coiled cable, “D” rings attached, pick-up, frayed cable seriously injured crewman's hand, directed to nearest ship for medical attention.
May–June Operation Thunderhead potential POW recovery flight path along North Vietnam coast line, within estuaries, searching for AGENTS, two weeks, lost SEAL teams from found and rescued no POWs. Canceled.
7 August inland- 45 minutes feet dry, five hours evading the enemy, give a strobe, intense barrage of ground fire, enemy fires pencil flares, helo lands, crewmen fire on advancing troops, 50 feet distant, pilot puts on horse collar, then runs to helicopter, crewman yank him in, full power vertical lift off, 21 miles to feet wet, 2 missiles streak by.
HC-7 maintained 2 helicopters for worldwide CSAR to be dispatched on a 48-hour notice
Continued development of rescue technics (Special Projects): chaff and flare dispensing systems, N2 Laser/Dye Marker search system, Emergency Low Visibility Approach System, new snap link and rescue swimmer check list, mini gun syllabus, anti-aircraft fire control warning, voice encryption, electronic location finder.
1973
2 rescues (0 combat, 2 other). Staffing (July) 56 officers, 242 enlisted, 25 helicopters.
14 January last CSAR mission.
February–March Det 110 provided SAR backup for Operation End Sweep the demining of Haiphong harbor and plane guard flights for host carrier.
24 September the last cross-deck , departs the war zone, steaming east to Naval Base Subic Bay. Det Cubi continued CSAR contingency readiness training.
1974
0 rescues. Staffing (January) 53 officers, 262 enlisted, 23 helicopters.
21 May Det Cubi sends aircraft and personnel to Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach closing HC-7's part in the Vietnam War. HC-7 continues mission readiness and training.
1975
1 rescue. Staffing (January) 31 officers, 167 enlisted, 8 helicopters.
8 April Last rescue NAS Fallon, Nevada, While conducting SAR training an F-8 Crusader pilot had ejected. The Big Mother crew, a joint squadron team, HC-7, HC-1 and HC-2.
May HC-7 to be disestablished.
June transfers of men and equipment completed.
HC-7 lost six helicopters, Three UH-2A/Bs (1 combat shot down, 1 self shot down, 1 fuel starvation) Two H-46s (each having engine failure) and one SH-3A (tail system failure).
Commanding officers
CDR Lloyd L. Parthemer 1 September 1967 to 24 September 1968
CDR Ronald N. Hipp 24 September 1968 to 16 September 1969
CDR Donald G. Gregory 16 September 1969 to 11 September 1970
CDR Gerald L. Glade 11 September 1970 to 4 August 1971
CDR John E. Woolam 4 August 1971 to 6 July 1972
CDR David J. McCracken 6 July 1972 to 27 July 1973
CDR Billy C. Lamberth 27 July 1973 to 26 July 1974
CDR Walter B. Lester 26 July 1974 to 30 June 1975
Insignia
HC-7's insignia has a central focal point Cerberus who acclaimed as one of the most feared creatures in Greek and Roman mythology. The three heads attached to a single body symbolize the three basic missions of the squadron: rescue, vertical replenishment and utility. The gold circle surrounding the insignia represents a halo, hence the downed aviators reference to the rescue helicopter an “angel”. The insignia was approved in August 1968.
Aircraft
19 Kaman UH-2A/B (Sea Sprite)
5 Kaman UH-2C (Sea Sprite)
7 Kaman HH-2C-D (Sea Sprite)
33 Sikorsky SH-3A-G (Sea King)
12 Sikorsky HH-3A (Sea King)
3 Sikorsky RH-3A (Sea King)
12 Boeing UH-46A-D (Sea Knight)
1 Sikorsky UH-34 (Sea Horse)
92 aircraft in total
HC-7 helicopter armament included M16 rifles, M79 grenade launchers, M60 machine guns. In 1970 Big Mother H-3s were modified installing a GAU-2B/A minigun upon armor plated mount in right rear aft cargo door. The HH-2Cs arrived having a chin mounted minigun turret system, no guns were ever received. With essential CSAR equipment installed, to remain below the 12,500-pound max., the turret system was removed. Fuel and CSAR equipment had priority over the minigun. M60 machine guns were mounted in the cargo doors. The H-3s were tested with minigun pods mounded exterior aft, which proved to be too heavy for the existing climate of the war zone.
References
Aircraft squadrons of the United States Navy
Helicopter combat support squadrons of the United States Navy |
38472580 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypt%20%28C%29 | Crypt (C) | crypt is a POSIX C library function. It is typically used to compute the hash of user account passwords. The function outputs a text string which also encodes the salt (usually the first two characters are the salt itself and the rest is the hashed result), and identifies the hash algorithm used (defaulting to the "traditional" one explained below). This output string forms a password record, which is usually stored in a text file.
More formally, crypt provides cryptographic key derivation functions for password validation and storage on Unix systems.
Relationship to Unix crypt utility
There is an unrelated crypt utility in Unix, which is often confused with the C library function. To distinguish between the two, writers often refer to the utility program as crypt(1), because it is documented in section 1 of the Unix manual pages, and refer to the C library function as crypt(3), because its documentation is in manual section 3.
Details
This same crypt function is used both to generate a new hash for storage and also to hash a proffered password with a recorded salt for comparison.
Modern Unix implementations of the crypt library routine support a variety of hash schemes. The particular hash algorithm used can be identified by a unique code prefix in the resulting hashtext, following a de facto standard called Modular Crypt Format.
The crypt() library function is also included in the Perl, PHP, Pike, Python, and Ruby programming languages.
Key derivation functions supported by crypt
Over time various algorithms have been introduced. To enable backward compatibility, each scheme started using some convention of serializing the password hashes that was later called the Modular Crypt Format (MCF). Old crypt(3) hashes generated before the de facto MCF standard may vary from scheme to scheme. A well-defined subset of the Modular Crypt Format was created during the Password Hashing Competition. The format is defined as:
$<id>[$<param>=<value>(,<param>=<value>)*][$<salt>[$<hash>]]
where
id: an identifier representing the hashing algorithm (such as 1 for MD5, 5 for SHA-256 etc.)
param name and its value: hash complexity parameters, like rounds/iterations count
salt: Base64-like encoded salt
hash: Base64-like encoded result of hashing the password and salt
The PHC subset covers a majority of MCF hashes. A number of extra application-defined methods exist.
Original implementation using the password as a key
The original implementation of the crypt() library function in Third Edition Unix mimicked the M-209 cipher machine. Rather than encrypting the password with a key, which would have allowed the password to be recovered from the encrypted value and the key, it used the password itself as a key, and the password database contained the result of encrypting the password with this key.
Traditional DES-based scheme
The original password encryption scheme was found to be too fast and thus subject to brute force enumeration of the most likely passwords. In Seventh Edition Unix, the scheme was changed to a modified form of the DES algorithm. A goal of this change was to make encryption slower. In addition, the algorithm incorporated a 12-bit salt in order to ensure that an attacker would be forced to crack each password independently as opposed to being able to target the entire password database simultaneously.
In detail, the user's password is truncated to eight characters, and those are coerced down to only 7-bits each; this forms the 56-bit DES key. That key is then used to encrypt an all-bits-zero block, and then the ciphertext is encrypted again with the same key, and so on for a total of 25 DES encryptions. A 12-bit salt is used to perturb the encryption algorithm, so standard DES implementations can't be used to implement crypt(). The salt and the final ciphertext are encoded into a printable string in a form of base64.
This is technically not encryption since the data (all bits zero) is not being kept secret; it's widely known to all in advance. However, one of the properties of DES is that it's very resistant to key recovery even in the face of known plaintext situations. It is theoretically possible that two different passwords could result in exactly the same hash. Thus the password is never "decrypted": it is merely used to compute a result, and the matching results are presumed to be proof that the passwords were "the same."
The advantages of this method have been that the hashtext can be stored and copied among Unix systems without exposing the corresponding plaintext password to the system administrators or other users. This portability has worked for over 30 years across many generations of computing architecture, and across many versions of Unix from many vendors.
Weaknesses of the traditional scheme
The traditional DES-based crypt algorithm was originally chosen because DES was resistant to key recovery even in the face of "known plaintext" attacks, and because it was computationally expensive. On the earliest Unix machines it took over a full second to compute a password hash. This also made it reasonably resistant to dictionary attacks in that era. At that time password hashes were commonly stored in an account file (/etc/passwd) which was readable to anyone on the system. (This account file was also used to map user ID numbers into names, and user names into full names, etc.).
In the three decades since that time, computers have become vastly more powerful. Moore's Law has generally held true, so the computer speed and capacity available for a given financial investment has doubled over 20 times since Unix was first written. This has long since left the DES-based algorithm vulnerable to dictionary attacks, and Unix and Unix-like systems such as Linux have used "shadow" files for a long time, migrating just the password hash values out of the account file (/etc/passwd) and into a file (conventionally named /etc/shadow) which can only be read by privileged processes.
To increase the computational cost of password breaking, some Unix sites privately started increasing the number of encryption rounds on an ad hoc basis. This had the side effect of making their crypt() incompatible with the standard crypt(): the hashes had the same textual form, but were now calculated using a different algorithm. Some sites also took advantage of this incompatibility effect, by modifying the initial block from the standard all-bits-zero. This did not increase the cost of hashing, but meant that precomputed hash dictionaries based on the standard crypt() could not be applied.
BSDi extended DES-based scheme
BSDi used a slight modification of the classic DES-based scheme. BSDi extended the salt to 24 bits and made the number of rounds variable (up to 224-1). The chosen number of rounds is encoded in the stored password hash, avoiding the incompatibility that occurred when sites modified the number of rounds used by the original scheme. These hashes are identified by starting with an underscore (_), which is followed by 4 characters representing the number of rounds then 4 characters for the salt.
The BSDi algorithm also supports longer passwords, using DES to fold the initial long password down to the eight 7-bit bytes supported by the original algorithm.
MD5-based scheme
Poul-Henning Kamp designed a baroque and (at the time) computationally expensive algorithm based on the MD5 message digest algorithm. MD5 itself would provide good cryptographic strength for the password hash, but it is designed to be quite quick to calculate relative to the strength it provides. The crypt() scheme is designed to be expensive to calculate, to slow down dictionary attacks. The printable form of MD5 password hashes starts with $1$.
This scheme allows users to have any length password, and they can use any characters supported by their platform (not just 7-bit ASCII). (In practice many implementations limit the password length, but they generally support passwords far longer than any person would be willing to type.) The salt is also an arbitrary string, limited only by character set considerations.
First the passphrase and salt are hashed together, yielding an MD5 message digest. Then a new digest is constructed, hashing together the passphrase, the salt, and the first digest, all in a rather complex form. Then this digest is passed through a thousand iterations of a function which rehashes it together with the passphrase and salt in a manner that varies between rounds. The output of the last of these rounds is the resulting passphrase hash.
The fixed iteration count has caused this scheme to lose the computational expense that it once enjoyed and variable numbers of rounds are now favoured. In June 2012, Poul-Henning Kamp declared the algorithm insecure and encouraged users to migrate to stronger password scramblers.
Blowfish-based scheme
Niels Provos and David Mazières designed a crypt() scheme called bcrypt based on Blowfish, and presented it at USENIX in 1999. The printable form of these hashes starts with $2$, $2a$, $2b$, $2x$ or $2y$ depending on which variant of the algorithm is used:
$2$ Obsolete.
$2a$ The current key used to identify this scheme. Since a major security flaw was discovered in 2011 in a non-OpenBSD implementation of the algorithm, hashes indicated by this string are now ambiguous and might have been generated by the flawed implementation, or a subsequent fixed, implementation. The flaw may be triggered by some password strings containing non-ASCII (8th-bit-set) characters.
$2b$ Used by recent OpenBSD implementations to include a mitigation to a wraparound problem. Previous versions of the algorithm have a problem with long passwords. By design, long passwords are truncated at 72 characters, but there is a byte integer wraparound problem with certain password lengths resulting in weak hashes.
$2x$ A flag added after the bug discovery. Old hashes can be renamed to be $2x$ to indicate that they were generated with the broken algorithm. These hashes are still weak, but at least it's clear which algorithm was used to generate them.
$2y$ A flag in to unambiguously use the new, corrected algorithm. On an older implementation suffering from the bug, $2y$ simply won't work. On a newer, fixed implementation, it will produce the same result as using $2b$.
Blowfish is notable among block ciphers for its expensive key setup phase. It starts off with subkeys in a standard state, then uses this state to perform a block encryption using part of the key, and uses the result of that encryption (really, a hashing) to replace some of the subkeys. Then it uses this modified state to encrypt another part of the key, and uses the result to replace more of the subkeys. It proceeds in this fashion, using a progressively modified state to hash the key and replace bits of state, until all subkeys have been set.
The number of rounds of keying is a power of two, which is an input to the algorithm. The number is encoded in the textual hash, e.g. $2y$10...
NT hash scheme
FreeBSD implemented support for the NT LAN Manager hash algorithm to provide easier compatibility with NT accounts via MS-CHAP. The NT-Hash algorithm is known to be weak, as it uses the deprecated md4 hash algorithm without any salting. FreeBSD used the $3$ prefix for this. Its use is not recommended, as it is easily broken.
SHA2-based scheme
The commonly used MD5 based scheme has become easier to attack as computer power has increased. Although the Blowfish-based system has the option of adding rounds and thus remain a challenging password algorithm, it does not use a NIST-approved algorithm. In light of these facts, Ulrich Drepper of Red Hat led an effort to create a scheme based on the SHA-2 (SHA-256 and SHA-512) hash functions. The printable form of these hashes starts with $5$ (for SHA-256) or $6$ (for SHA-512) depending on which SHA variant is used. Its design is similar to the MD5-based crypt, with a few notable differences:
It avoids adding constant data in a few steps.
The MD5 algorithm would repeatedly add the first letter of the password; this step was changed significantly.
Inspired by Sun's crypt() implementation, functionality to specify the number of iterations (rounds) the main loop in the algorithm performs was added
The number of iterations is 5000 by default, with a minimum of 1000, and a maximum of 999,999,999.
The specification and sample code have been released into the public domain; it is often referred to as "SHAcrypt".
Other hashes
$y$
yescrypt is an extension of scrypt ($7$) and a PHC finalist. It is used in several Linux distributions as an alternative to the existing schemes. To use this hash, the from glibc is replaced with a backward-compatible one from the "libxcrypt" project.
$argon2d$, $argon2i$, $argon2ds$
These are PHC-assigned names for the Argon2 algorithm, but do not seem to be widely used.
Additional formats, if any, are described in the man pages of implementations.
Archaic Unix schemes
BigCrypt is the modified version of DES-Crypt used on HP-UX, Digital Unix, and OSF/1. The main difference between it and DES is that BigCrypt uses all the characters of a password, not just the first 8, and has a variable length hash.
Crypt16 is the minor modification of DES, which allows passwords of up to 16 characters. Used on Ultrix and Tru64.
Support in operating systems
Linux
The GNU C Library used by almost all Linux distributions provides an implementation of the crypt function which supports the DES, MD5, and (since version 2.7) SHA-2 based hashing algorithms mentioned above.
Ulrich Drepper, the glibc maintainer, rejected bcrypt (scheme 2) support since it isn't approved by NIST. A public domain crypt_blowfish library is available for systems without bcrypt. It has been integrated into glibc in SUSE Linux. In addition, the aforementioned libxcrypt is used to replace the glibc crypt() on yescrypt-enabled systems.
The musl C library supports schemes 1, 2, 5, and 6, plus the tradition DES scheme. The traditional DES code is based on the BSD FreeSec, with modification to be compatible with the glibc UFC-Crypt.
macOS
Darwin's native crypt() provides limited functionality, supporting only DES and BSDi. OS X uses a few systems for its own password hashes, ranging from the old NeXTStep netinfo to the newer directory services (ds) system.
See also
Key derivation function
Salt (cryptography)
References
External links
Source code for crypt(3) from Seventh Edition Unix (implements proposed DES)
Sample password hash encoding strings
.NET crypt implementation
Password authentication
Broken cryptography algorithms
Cryptographic hash functions
Computer access control protocols
Key derivation functions
cs:Crypt (Unix) |
38503539 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent%20Circle%20%28software%29 | Silent Circle (software) | Silent Circle is an encrypted communications firm based in Washington DC. Silent Circle provides multi-platform secure communication services for mobile devices and desktop. Launched October 16, 2012, the company operates under a subscription business model. The encryption part of the software used is free software/open source and peer-reviewed. For the remaining parts of Silent Phone and Silent Text, the source code is available on GitHub, but under proprietary software licenses.
History
In November 2011, Mike Janke called Phil Zimmermann with an idea for a new kind of private, secure version of Skype. Zimmermann agreed to the project and called Jon Callas, co-founder of PGP Corporation and Vincent Moscaritolo. Janke brought in security expert Vic Hyder, and the founding team was established. The company was founded in the Caribbean island of Nevis, but moved its headquarters to Le Grand-Saconnex near Geneva, Switzerland in 2014 in search of a country with "stronger privacy laws to protect its customers' information."
On August 9, 2013, through their website, Silent Circle announced that the Silent Mail service would be shut down, because the company could "see the writing on the wall" and felt it was not possible to sufficiently secure email data with the looming threat of government compulsion and precedent set by the Lavabit shutdown the day before.
In January 2015, Silent Text had a serious vulnerability that allowed an attacker to remotely take control of a Blackphone device. A potential attacker only needed to know the target’s Silent Circle ID number or phone number. Blackphone and Silent Circle patched the vulnerability shortly after it had been disclosed.
In March 2015 there was a controversy when Information Security specialist and hacker Khalil Sehnaoui identified that Silent Circle's warrant canary had been removed from their site.
In January 2017 Gregg Smith was named CEO with a renewed focus on serving the large business space as well as Government entities. At the same time Tony Cole, VP and Global Government CTO of FireEye, was named to the Board of Directors. Shortly after Smith became CEO, the company moved back from Switzerland to the United States.
Reception
In November 2014, Silent Phone and Silent Text received top scores on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard, along with "ChatSecure + Orbot", Cryptocat, TextSecure, and "Signal / RedPhone". They received points for having communications encrypted in transit, having communications encrypted with keys the providers don't have access to (end-to-end encryption), making it possible for users to independently verify their correspondent's identities, having past communications secure if the keys are stolen (forward secrecy), having their code open to independent review (open source), having their security designs well-documented, and having recent independent security audits.
However, as of August 2020, the page for the secure messaging scorecard states that it is out of date and should not be used in privacy- and security-related decision-making.
Products
The company's products enable encrypted mobile phone calls, text messaging, and video chat.
Current
Its current products include the following:
Silent Phone: Encrypted voice calls, video calls and text messages on mobile devices. Currently available for iOS, Android, and Silent Circle’s Silent OS on Blackphone. It can be used with Wi-Fi, EDGE, 3G or 4G cellular anywhere in the world.
Discontinued
Its discontinued products include the following:
Blackphone: A smartphone designed for privacy created by Silent Circle and built by SGP Technologies, a joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone. There have been no more news nor updates since 2018. PrivatOS was Discontinued June 30, 2016.
GoSilent: Personal Firewall with integrated VPN and Cloud Analytics. The product was introduced after Silent Circle acquired Maryland start-up Kesala. It was sold by Silent Circle's new owner in 2018
Silent Text: Discontinued September 28, 2015. A stand-alone application for encrypted text messaging and secure cloud content transfer with “burn notice” feature for permanently deleting messages from devices. Its features were merged into Silent Phone.
Silent Mail: Discontinued August 9, 2013. Silent Mail used to offer encrypted email on Silent Circle’s private, secure network and compatibility with popular email client software.
Business model
The company is privately funded and operates under a subscription business model.
See also
Comparison of instant messaging clients
Comparison of VoIP software
Silent Circle Instant Messaging Protocol
Crypto phone
References
Further reading
External links
Cryptographic software
Cryptography companies
Swiss brands |
38556048 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network%20function%20virtualization | Network function virtualization | Network functions virtualization (NFV) is a network architecture concept that leverages the IT virtualization technologies to virtualize entire classes of network node functions into building blocks that may connect, or chain together, to create and deliver communication services.
NFV relies upon traditional server-virtualization techniques such as those used in enterprise IT. A virtualized network function, or VNF, is implemented within one or more virtual machines or containers running different software and processes, on top of commercial off the shelf (COTS) high-volume servers, switches and storage devices, or even cloud computing infrastructure, instead of having custom hardware appliances for each network function thereby avoiding vendor lock-in.
For example, a virtual session border controller could be deployed to protect a network without the typical cost and complexity of obtaining and installing physical network protection units. Other examples of NFV include virtualized load balancers, firewalls, intrusion detection devices and WAN accelerators to name a few.
The decoupling of the network function software from the customized hardware platform realizes a flexible network architecture that enables agile network management, fast new service roll outs with significant reduction in CAPEX and OPEX.
Background
Product development within the telecommunication industry has traditionally followed rigorous standards for stability, protocol adherence and quality, reflected by the use of the term carrier grade to designate equipment demonstrating this high reliability and performance factor. While this model worked well in the past, it inevitably led to long product cycles, a slow pace of development and reliance on proprietary or specific hardware, e.g., bespoke application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). This development model resulted in significant delays when rolling out new services, posed complex interoperability challenges and significant increase in CAPEX/OPEX when scaling network systems & infrastructure and enhancing network service capabilities to meet increasing network load and performance demands. Moreover, the rise of significant competition in communication service offerings from agile organizations operating at large scale on the public Internet (such as Google Talk, Skype, Netflix) has spurred service providers to look for innovative ways to disrupt the status quo and increase revenue streams.
History
In October 2012, a group of telecom operators published a white paper at a conference in Darmstadt, Germany, on software-defined networking (SDN) and OpenFlow. The Call for Action concluding the White Paper led to the creation of the Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Industry Specification Group (ISG) within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The ISG was made up of representatives from the telecommunication industry from Europe and beyond. ETSI ISG NFV addresses many aspects, including functional architecture, information model, data model, protocols, APIs, testing, reliability, security, future evolutions, etc.
The ETSI ISG NFV has announced the Release 5 of its specifications since May 2021 aiming to produce new specifications and extending the already published specifications based on new features and enhancements.
Since the publication of the white paper, the group has produced over 100 publications, which have gained wider acceptance in the industry and are being implemented in prominent open source projects like OpenStack, ONAP, Open Source MANO (OSM) to name a few. Due to active cross-liaison activities, the ETSI NFV specifications are also being referenced in other SDOs like 3GPP, IETF, ETSI MEC etc.
Framework
The NFV framework consists of three main components:
Virtualized network functions (VNFs) are software implementations of network functions that can be deployed on a network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVI).
Network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) is the totality of all hardware and software components that build the environment where NFVs are deployed. The NFV infrastructure can span several locations. The network providing connectivity between these locations is considered as part of the NFV infrastructure.
Network functions virtualization management and orchestration architectural framework (NFV-MANO Architectural Framework) is the collection of all functional blocks, data repositories used by these blocks, and reference points and interfaces through which these functional blocks exchange information for the purpose of managing and orchestrating NFVI and VNFs.
The building block for both the NFVI and the NFV-MANO is the NFV platform. In the NFVI role, it consists of both virtual and physical processing and storage resources, and virtualization software. In its NFV-MANO role it consists of VNF and NFVI managers and virtualization software operating on a hardware controller. The NFV platform implements carrier-grade features used to manage and monitor the platform components, recover from failures and provide effective security – all required for the public carrier network.
Practical aspects
A service provider that follows the NFV design implements one or more virtualized network functions, or VNFs. A VNF by itself does not automatically provide a usable product or service to the provider's customers. To build more complex services, the notion of service chaining is used, where multiple VNFs are used in sequence to deliver a service.
Another aspect of implementing NFV is the orchestration process. To build highly reliable and scalable services, NFV requires that the network be able to instantiate VNF instances, monitor them, repair them, and (most important for a service provider business) bill for the services rendered. These attributes, referred to as carrier-grade features, are allocated to an orchestration layer in order to provide high availability and security, and low operation and maintenance costs. Importantly, the orchestration layer must be able to manage VNFs irrespective of the underlying technology within the VNF. For example, an orchestration layer must be able to manage an SBC VNF from vendor X running on VMware vSphere just as well as an IMS VNF from vendor Y running on KVM.
Distributed NFV
The initial perception of NFV was that virtualized capability should be implemented in data centers. This approach works in many – but not all – cases. NFV presumes and emphasizes the widest possible flexibility as to the physical location of the virtualized functions.
Ideally, therefore, virtualized functions should be located where they are the most effective and least expensive. That means a service provider should be free to locate NFV in all possible locations, from the data center to the network node to the customer premises. This approach, known as distributed NFV, has been emphasized from the beginning as NFV was being developed and standardized, and is prominent in the recently released NFV ISG documents.
For some cases there are clear advantages for a service provider to locate this virtualized functionality at the customer premises. These advantages range from economics to performance to the feasibility of the functions being virtualized.
The first ETSI NFV ISG-approved public multi-vendor proof of concept (PoC) of D-NFV was conducted by Cyan, Inc., RAD, Fortinet and Certes Networks in Chicago in June, 2014, and was sponsored by CenturyLink. It was based on RAD's dedicated customer-edge D-NFV equipment running Fortinet's Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) and Certes Networks’ virtual encryption/decryption engine as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) with Cyan's Blue Planet system orchestrating the entire ecosystem. RAD's D-NFV solution, a Layer 2/Layer 3 network termination unit (NTU) equipped with a D-NFV X86 server module that functions as a virtualization engine at the customer edge, became commercially available by the end of that month. During 2014 RAD also had organized a D-NFV Alliance, an ecosystem of vendors and international systems integrators specializing in new NFV applications.
NFV modularity benefits
When designing and developing the software that provides the VNFs, vendors may structure that software into software components (implementation view of a software architecture) and package those components into one or more images (deployment view of a software architecture). These vendor-defined software components are called VNF Components (VNFCs). VNFs are implemented with one or more VNFCs and it is assumed, without loss of generality, that VNFC instances map 1:1 to VM Images.
VNFCs should in general be able to scale up and/or scale out. By being able to allocate flexible (virtual) CPUs to each of the VNFC instances, the network management layer can scale up (i.e., scale vertically) the VNFC to provide the throughput/performance and scalability expectations over a single system or a single platform. Similarly, the network management layer can scale out (i.e., scale horizontally) a VNFC by activating multiple instances of such VNFC over multiple platforms and therefore reach out to the performance and architecture specifications whilst not compromising the other VNFC function stabilities.
Early adopters of such architecture blueprints have already implemented the NFV modularity principles.
Relationship to SDN
Network Functions Virtualisation is highly complementary to Software-Defined Networking (SDN). In essence, SDN is an approach to building data networking equipment and software that separates and abstracts elements of these systems. It does this by decoupling the control plane and data plane from each other, such that the control plane resides centrally and the forwarding components remain distributed. The control plane interacts both northbound and southbound. In the northbound direction the control plane provides a common abstracted view of the network to higher-level applications and programs using high-level APIs and novel management paradigms, such as Intent-based networking. In the southbound direction the control plane programs the forwarding behavior of the data plane, using device level APIs of the physical network equipment distributed around the network.
Thus, NFV is not dependent on SDN or SDN concepts, but NFV and SDN can cooperate to enhance the management of a NFV infrastructure and to create a more dynamic network environment. It is entirely possible to implement a virtualized network function (VNF) as a standalone entity using existing networking and orchestration paradigms. However, there are inherent benefits in leveraging SDN concepts to implement and manage an NFV infrastructure, particularly when looking at the management and orchestration of Network Services (NS), composed of different type of Network Functions (NF), such as Physical Network Functions (PNF) and VNFs, and placed between different geo-located NFV infrastructures, and that's why multivendor platforms are being defined that incorporate SDN and NFV in concerted ecosystems.
An NFV system needs a central orchestration and management system that takes operator requests associated with an NS or a VNF, translates them into the appropriate processing, storage and network configuration needed to bring the NS or VNF into operation. Once in operation, the VNF and the networks it is connected to potentially must be monitored for capacity and utilization, and adapted if necessary.
All network control functions in an NFV infrastructure can be accomplished using SDN concepts and NFV could be considered one of the primary SDN use cases in service provider environments. For example, within each NFV infrastructure site, a VIM could rely upon an SDN controller to setup and configure the overlay networks interconnecting (e.g. VXLAN) the VNFs and PNFs composing an NS. The SDN controller would then configure the NFV infrastructure switches and routers, as well as the network gateways, as needed. Similarly, a Wide Area Infrastructure Manager (WIM) could rely upon an SDN controller to setup overlay networks to interconnect NSs that are deployed to different geo-located NFV infrastructures. It is also apparent that many SDN use-cases could incorporate concepts introduced in the NFV initiative. Examples include where the centralized controller is controlling a distributed forwarding function that could in fact be also virtualized on existing processing or routing equipment.
Industry impact
NFV has proven a popular standard even in its infancy. Its immediate applications are numerous, such as virtualization of mobile base stations, platform as a service (PaaS), content delivery networks (CDN), fixed access and home environments. The potential benefits of NFV is anticipated to be significant. Virtualization of network functions deployed on general purpose standardized hardware is expected to reduce capital and operational expenditures, and service and product introduction times. Many major network equipment vendors have announced support for NFV. This has coincided with NFV announcements from major software suppliers who provide the NFV platforms used by equipment suppliers to build their NFV products.
However, to realize the anticipated benefits of virtualization, network equipment vendors are improving IT virtualization technology to incorporate carrier-grade attributes required to achieve high availability, scalability, performance, and effective network management capabilities. To minimize the total cost of ownership (TCO), carrier-grade features must be implemented as efficiently as possible. This requires that NFV solutions make efficient use of redundant resources to achieve five-nines availability (99.999%), and of computing resource without compromising performance predictability.
The NFV platform is the foundation for achieving efficient carrier-grade NFV solutions. It is a software platform running on standard multi-core hardware and built using open source software that incorporates carrier-grade features. The NFV platform software is responsible for dynamically reassigning VNFs due to failures and changes in traffic load, and therefore plays an important role in achieving high availability. There are numerous initiatives underway to specify, align and promote NFV carrier-grade capabilities such as ETSI NFV Proof of Concept, ATIS Open Platform for NFV Project, Carrier Network Virtualization Awards and various supplier ecosystems.
The vSwitch, a key component of NFV platforms, is responsible for providing connectivity both VM-to-VM (between VMs) and between VMs and the outside network. Its performance determines both the bandwidth of the VNFs and the cost-efficiency of NFV solutions. The standard Open vSwitch's (OVS) performance has shortcomings that must be resolved to meet the needs of NFVI solutions. Significant performance improvements are being reported by NFV suppliers for both OVS and Accelerated Open vSwitch (AVS) versions.
Virtualization is also changing the way availability is specified, measured and achieved in NFV solutions. As VNFs replace traditional function-dedicated equipment, there is a shift from equipment-based availability to a service-based, end-to-end, layered approach. Virtualizing network functions breaks the explicit coupling with specific equipment, therefore availability is defined by the availability of VNF services. Because NFV technology can virtualize a wide range of network function types, each with their own service availability expectations, NFV platforms should support a wide range of fault tolerance options. This flexibility enables CSPs to optimize their NFV solutions to meet any VNF availability requirement.
Management and orchestration (MANO)
ETSI has already indicated that an important part of controlling the NFV environment be done through automated orchestration. NFV Management and Orchestration (NFV-MANO) refers to a set of functions within an NFV system to manage and orchestrate the allocation of virtual infrastructure resources to virtualized network functions (VNFs) and network services (NSs). They are the brains of the NFV system and a key automation enabler.
The main functional blocks within the NFV-MANO architectural framework (ETSI GS NFV-006 ) are:
Network Functions Virtualisation Orchestrator (NFVO);
Virtualised Network Function Manager (VNFM);
Virtualised Infrastructure Manager (VIM).
The entry point in NFV-MANO for external operations support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS) is the NFVO, which is in charge of managing the lifecycle of NS instances. The management of the lifecycle of VNF instances constituting an NS instance is delegated by the NFVO to one more or VNFMs. Both the NFVO and the VNFMs uses the services exposed by one or more VIMs for allocating virtual infrastructure resources to the objects they manage. Additional functions are used for managing containerized VNFs: the Container Infrastructure Service Management (CISM) and the Container Image Registry (CIR) functions. The CISM is responsible for maintaining the containerized workloads while the CIR is responsible for storing and maintaining information of OS container software images
The behavior of the NFVO and VNFM is driven by the contents of deployment templates (a.k.a. NFV descriptors) such as a Network Service Descriptor (NSD) and a VNF Descriptor (VNFD).
ETSI delivers a full set of standards enabling an open ecosystem where Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) can be interoperable with independently developed management and orchestration systems, and where the components of a management and orchestration system are themselves interoperable. This includes a set of Restful API specifications as well as the specifications of a packaging format for delivering VNFs to service providers and of the deployment templates to be packaged with the software images to enable managing the lifecycle of VNFs. Deployment templates can be based on TOSCA or YANG.
An OpenAPI (a.k.a. Swagger) representation of the API specifications is available and maintained on the ETSI forge server, along with TOSCA and YANG definition files to be used when creating deployment templates.
The full set of published specifications is summarized in the table below.
An overview of the different versions of the OpenAPI representations of NFV-MANO APIs is available on the ETSI NFV wiki.
The OpenAPI files as well as the TOSCA YAML definition files and YANG modules applicable to NFV descriptors are available on the ETSI Forge.
Additional studies are ongoing within ETSI on possible enhancement to the NFV-MANO framework to improve its automation capabilities and introduce autonomous management mechanisms (see ETSI GR NFV-IFA 041 )
Performance study
Recent performance study on NFV focused on the throughput, latency and jitter of virtualized network functions (VNFs), as well as NFV scalability in terms of the number of VNFs a single physical server can support.
Open source NFV platforms are available, one representative is openNetVM. openNetVM is a high performance NFV platform based on DPDK and Docker containers. openNetVM provides a flexible framework for deploying network functions and interconnecting them to build service chains. openNetVM is an open source version of the NetVM platform described in NSDI 2014 and HotMiddlebox 2016 papers, released under the BSD license. The source code can be found at GitHub:openNetVM
Cloud-native Network Functions
From 2018, many VNF providers began to migrate many of their VNFs to a container-based architecture. Such VNFs also known as Cloud-Native Network Functions (CNF) utilize many innovations deployed commonly on internet infrastructure. These include auto-scaling, supporting a continuous delivery / DevOps deployment model, and efficiency gains by sharing common services across platforms. Through service discovery and orchestration, a network based on CNFs will be more resilient to infrastructure resource failures. Utilizing containers, and thus dispensing with the overhead inherent in traditional virtualization through the elimination of the guest OS can greatly increase infrastructure resource efficiency.
See also
Hardware virtualization
Network management
Network virtualization
OASIS TOSCA
Open Platform for NFV
Software-defined networking
References
External links
NFV basics
Open Platform for NFV (OPNFV)
The ETSI NFV FAQ
What are the benefits of NFV?
Emerging technologies
Network architecture |
38589054 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent%20Moscaritolo | Vincent Moscaritolo | Vincent Moscaritolo is semi-retired American computer security expert known for work in encryption applications for mobile devices. From 2012 to 2015, he was the Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Silent Circle, where he designed the original messaging technologies Silent Circle uses. In 2015, he left Silent Circle to co-found 4th-A Technologies, LLC with Robbie Hanson. 4th-A Technologies develops technologies to restore to people their inalienable right to be “secure in their documents”. They designed ZeroDark.cloud a framework that simplifies the development of apps that interact with the cloud, and performs tasks such as syncing, messaging & collaboration. It uses zero-knowledge encryption, ensuring the data in the cloud cannot be compromised. They also produced the Storm4 secure cloud storage service.
Vincent has been involved in the design, invention, and production of system software and network applications for more than 30 years. In addition to producing cryptographic products, his concern about the use of encryption technology by criminal and terrorist actors has compelled him to offer assistance and training to both law enforcement and the intelligence community on cryptographic issues. He has participated at specialized venues such as with federal as well as local law enforcement agencies and the Cloud Security Alliance.
Career
Vincent Moscaritolo's experience includes roles as Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Silent Circle, Principal Cryptographic Engineer for PGP Corporation, Senior Operating System engineer for Apple Computer, and Principal Software Specialist at Digital Equipment Corporation.
Vincent was one of the co founders of Silent Circle, and developer of the secure messaging technology used by Silent Circle / Blackphone. He designed the Silent Circle Instant Messaging Protocol (SCIMP) and was the inventor of Progressive Encryption used by the Silent Text app.
While at PGP, he focused on the engineering of cryptographic products on the OS X platform including the cross platform core crypto library, secure file deletion, virtual disk client, network kernel engine redirection module. He was also responsible for obtaining and maintaining NIST FIPS-140 validation for PGP cryptographic core.
At Apple, he was notable for founding the Mac-Crypto Conference, where key Mac developers, industry leaders and legends met to discuss topics ranging from Cryptosystems, Digital Cash and Security issues to feedback sessions where developers were able to directly discuss their requirements with Apple engineers. He was also involved in the original Cypherpunk group.
In the mid 1980s he founded a startup called DataVox, which produced BankTalk, one of the first voice response systems for the financial marketplace. This included a user-tailorable audio menu system that provided general information, balance, account transactions and was able to communicate with bank mainframes over the existing ATM network.
Works
Vincent is currently actively publishing about zero-trust on Medium
latest project is the ZeroDark.cloud framework
Moscaritolo published an article about the S4 open-source crypto library and Verifying Authenticity of Public Keys.
Moscaritolo designed the Silent Circle Instant Messaging Protocol (SCIMP), which uses a new progressive encryption technology.
Other cryptographic projects include the development of a public key authentication extension for file servers, authoring of IETF draft for a secure authorization protocol for distributed systems, development of code and technotes for PGP cryptographic toolkit, and a number of presentations and tutorials on modern cryptosystems and security. He was also a contributor to the Vanish, Self destructing Data project at University of Washington
He holds patents related to cryptographic techniques and designs.
Quotes
"If we can just pass a few more laws, we could all be criminals”
Personal life
As an avid outdoorsman, Vincent usually spends his weekends hiking or snowshoeing in the deep woods of Southern Oregon with his daughter and son. He has a background in a variety of fields, including motorcycle racing, a number of martial arts and trauma medicine.
References
External links
Cypherpunks
Living people
Computer security specialists
Computer systems engineers
Modern cryptographers
Year of birth missing (living people) |
38604549 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard%20Willson | Bernard Willson | Harold Bernard Willson (25 February 1919–1994) was a British linguist and noted academic, who during the Second World War was the first person to decrypt the Italian Navy Hagelin C-38 code machine. He was the father of television presenter and motoring journalist Quentin Willson.
Life
Willson graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with a degree in modern languages, having studied under J. R. M. Butler.
On entering the Second World War in June 1940, the Italian military were using book codes for most of their military messages. The exception was the Italian Navy which, early in 1941, started using the C-38 version of the Hagelin rotor-based cipher machine, which they used to route their navy and merchant marine convoys to the conflict in North Africa.
Willson was recruited in 1941 by J. R. M. Butler to join a team with two others in Hut 4 at Bletchley Park, the Italian subsection of the GC&CS. Dedicated to cracking the Italian Navy Hagelin code, the team were working in partnership with the Cairo-based team of the Eighth Army Intelligence Chief Brigadier Edgar Williams, who reported to General Bernard Montgomery. In June 1941 Willson became the first of the team to decode the Hagelin system, thus enabling military commanders to direct the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to sink Axis ships carrying supplies from Europe to Libya. With shipping losses increasing, from reading the resultant Ultra traffic the team learn that between May and September 1941 the stock of fuel for the Luftwaffe in North Africa fell by 90 per cent. The cracking of Hagelin is considered to have been "hugely significant", so much that Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Hut 4 on a visit to Bletchley Park to thank the team for their endeavours. After an intensive language course, in March 1944 Willson switched to Japanese language-based codes.
Exactly what Willson did and most importantly how he did it remains confidential. After the war, Hagelin founded Crypto AG, which made new versions of his coding machine based on the same logic of encryption. In 1957 the National Security Agency engaged William Friedman to negotiate a deal with Hagelin to give the United States and its ally the United Kingdom access to the coding system. This was later extended to the new electronic based versions of the Hagelin system, which gave the two countries a backdoor into all Hagelin machines distributed to allies and enemies, including: the Vatican; the Iranian Islamic regime; Saddam Hussein; Muammar Gaddafi; Ferdinand Marcos; Idi Amin. Access continued until at least 1983, when US Naval Intelligence officer Jonathan Pollard, sold the information to Mossad (the Israeli Intelligence Service), who traded it to the Soviet Union in return for more exit visas being given to Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. The KGB (the Soviet Intelligence Service) probably already knew of the backdoor, via their US-based spies, Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. In 1946 Willson returned to civilian life as an academic, rising to become Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Leicester University. Like many of those who served at Bletchley Park, he was never awarded a medal and never discussed his work.
Posthumous celebration
Willson's work at Bletchley Park was featured in the 2011 Channel 5 documentary Hero in my Family in 2011, in which his son Quentin Willson commented:
Footnotes
References
J. Reeds, D. Ritchie, R. Morris, The Hagelin Cipher Machine (M-209): Cryptanalysis from Ciphertext Alone, unpublished technical memorandum, Bell Laboratories, 1978. Submitted to Cryptologia.
Wayne G. Barker, Cryptanalysis of the Hagelin Cryptograph, Aegean Park Press, 1977
1919 births
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Linguists from the United Kingdom
British cryptographers
Pre-computer cryptographers
Bletchley Park people
Academics of the University of Leicester
1994 deaths
20th-century linguists |
38612235 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QUIC | QUIC | QUIC (pronounced "quick") is a general-purpose transport layer network protocol initially designed by Jim Roskind at Google, implemented, and deployed in 2012, announced publicly in 2013 as experimentation broadened, and described at an IETF meeting. QUIC is used by more than half of all connections from the Chrome web browser to Google's servers. Microsoft Edge (a derivative of Chrome) and Firefox support it. Safari implements the protocol, however it is not enabled by default.
Although its name was initially proposed as the acronym for "Quick UDP Internet Connections", IETF's use of the word QUIC is not an acronym; it is simply the name of the protocol. QUIC improves performance of connection-oriented web applications that are currently using TCP. It does this by establishing a number of multiplexed connections between two endpoints using User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and is designed to obsolete TCP at the transport layer for many applications, thus earning the protocol the occasional nickname "TCP/2".
QUIC works hand-in-hand with HTTP/2's multiplexed connections, allowing multiple streams of data to reach all the endpoints independently, and hence independent of packet losses involving other streams. In contrast, HTTP/2 hosted on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) can suffer head-of-line-blocking delays of all multiplexed streams if any of the TCP packets are delayed or lost.
QUIC's secondary goals include reduced connection and transport latency, and bandwidth estimation in each direction to avoid congestion. It also moves congestion control algorithms into the user space at both endpoints, rather than the kernel space, which it is claimed will allow these algorithms to improve more rapidly. Additionally, the protocol can be extended with forward error correction (FEC) to further improve performance when errors are expected, and this is seen as the next step in the protocol's evolution.
In June 2015, an Internet Draft of a specification for QUIC was submitted to the IETF for standardization. A QUIC working group was established in 2016. In October 2018, the IETF's HTTP and QUIC Working Groups jointly decided to call the HTTP mapping over QUIC "HTTP/3" in advance of making it a worldwide standard. In May 2021, the IETF standardized QUIC in , supported by , and .
QUIC over UDP currently uses UDP port 443.
Background
Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP, aims to provide an interface for sending streams of data between two endpoints. Data is handed to the TCP system, which ensures the data makes it to the other end in exactly the same form, or the connection will indicate that an error condition exists.
To do this, TCP breaks up the data into network packets and adds small amounts of data to each packet. This additional data includes a sequence number that is used to detect packets that are lost or arrive out of order, and a checksum that allows the errors within packet data to be detected. When either problem occurs, TCP uses automatic repeat request (ARQ) to tell the sender to re-send the lost or damaged packet.
In most implementations, TCP will see any error on a connection as a blocking operation, stopping further transfers until the error is resolved or the connection is considered failed. If a single connection is being used to send multiple streams of data, as is the case in the HTTP/2 protocol, all of these streams are blocked although only one of them might have a problem. For instance, if a single error occurs while downloading a GIF image used for a favicon, the entire rest of the page will wait while that problem is resolved.
As the TCP system is designed to look like a "data pipe", or stream, it deliberately contains little understanding of the data it transmits. If that data has additional requirements, like encryption using TLS, this must be set up by systems running on top of TCP, using TCP to communicate with similar software on the other end of the connection. Each of these sorts of setup tasks requires its own handshake process. This often requires several round-trips of requests and responses until the connection is established. Due to the inherent latency of long-distance communications, this can add significant overhead to the overall transmission.
Characteristics
QUIC aims to be nearly equivalent to a TCP connection but with much-reduced latency. It does this primarily through two changes that rely on the understanding of the behaviour of HTTP traffic.
The first change is to greatly reduce overhead during connection setup. As most HTTP connections will demand TLS, QUIC makes the exchange of setup keys and supported protocols part of the initial handshake process. When a client opens a connection, the response packet includes the data needed for future packets to use encryption. This eliminates the need to set up the TCP connection and then negotiate the security protocol via additional packets. Other protocols can be serviced in the same way, combining together multiple steps into a single request-response. This data can then be used both for following requests in the initial setup, as well as future requests that would otherwise be negotiated as separate connections.
The second change is to use UDP rather than TCP as its basis, which does not include loss recovery. Instead, each QUIC stream is separately flow controlled and lost data retransmitted at the level of QUIC, not UDP. This means that if an error occurs in one stream, like the favicon example above, the protocol stack can continue servicing other streams independently. This can be very useful in improving performance on error-prone links, as in most cases considerable additional data may be received before TCP notices a packet is missing or broken, and all of this data is blocked or even flushed while the error is corrected. In QUIC, this data is free to be processed while the single multiplexed stream is repaired.
QUIC includes a number of other more mundane changes that also improve overall latency and throughput. For instance, the packets are encrypted individually, so that they do not result in the encrypted data waiting for partial packets. This is not generally possible under TCP, where the encryption records are in a bytestream and the protocol stack is unaware of higher-layer boundaries within this stream. These can be negotiated by the layers running on top, but QUIC aims to do all of this in a single handshake process.
Another goal of the QUIC system was to improve performance during network-switch events, like what happens when a user of a mobile device moves from a local WiFi hotspot to a mobile network. When this occurs on TCP, a lengthy process starts where every existing connection times out one-by-one and is then re-established on demand. To solve this problem, QUIC includes a connection identifier which uniquely identifies the connection to the server regardless of source. This allows the connection to be re-established simply by sending a packet, which always contains this ID, as the original connection ID will still be valid even if the user's IP address changes.
QUIC can be implemented in the application-space, as opposed to being in the operating system kernel. This generally invokes additional overhead due to context switches as data is moved between applications. However, in the case of QUIC, the protocol stack is intended to be used by a single application, with each application using QUIC having its own connections hosted on UDP. Ultimately the difference could be very small because much of the overall HTTP/2 stack is already in the applications (or their libraries, more commonly). Placing the remaining parts in those libraries, essentially the error correction, has little effect on the HTTP/2 stack's size or overall complexity.
This organization allows future changes to be made more easily as it does not require changes to the kernel for updates. One of QUIC's longer-term goals is to add new systems for forward error correction (FEC) and improved congestion control.
One concern about the move from TCP to UDP is that TCP is widely adopted and many of the "middle-boxes" in the internet infrastructure are tuned for TCP and rate-limit or even block UDP. Google carried out a number of exploratory experiments to characterize this and found that only a small number of connections were blocked in this manner. This led to the use of a rapid fallback-to-TCP system; Chromium's network stack opens both a QUIC and traditional TCP connection at the same time, which allows it to fallback with negligible latency.
Google QUIC (gQUIC)
The protocol that was created by Google and taken to the IETF under the name QUIC (already in 2012 around QUIC version 20) is quite different from the QUIC that has continued to evolve and be refined within the IETF. The original Google QUIC was designed to be a general purpose protocol, though it was initially deployed as a protocol to support HTTP(S) in Chromium. The current evolution of the IETF QUIC protocol is a general purpose transport protocol. Chromium developers continued to track the evolution of IETF QUIC's standardization efforts to adopt and fully comply with the most recent internet standards for QUIC in Chromium.
Adoption
Browser support
The QUIC code was experimentally developed in Google Chrome starting in 2012, and was announced as part of Chromium version 29 (released on August 20, 2013). It is currently enabled by default in Chromium and Chrome.
Support in Firefox arrived in May 2021.
Apple added experimental support in the WebKit engine through the Safari Technology Preview 104 in April 2020. Official support was added in Safari 14, included in macOS Big Sur and iOS 14, but the feature must be turned on manually.
Client support
The cronet library for QUIC and other protocols is available to Android applications as a module loadable via Google Play Services.
cURL 7.66, released 11 September 2019, supports HTTP/3 (and thus QUIC).
In October 2020, Facebook announced that it has successfully migrated its apps, including Instagram, and server infrastructure to QUIC, with already 75% of its Internet traffic using QUIC. All mobile apps from Google support QUIC, including YouTube and Gmail. Uber's mobile app also uses QUIC.
Server support
, there are several actively maintained implementations. Google servers support QUIC and Google has published a prototype server. Akamai Technologies has been supporting QUIC since July 2016. A Go implementation called quic-go is also available, and powers experimental QUIC support in the Caddy server. On July 11, 2017, LiteSpeed Technologies officially began supporting QUIC in their load balancer (WebADC) and LiteSpeed Web Server products. , 88.6% of QUIC websites used LiteSpeed and 10.8% used Nginx. Although at first only Google servers supported HTTP-over-QUIC connections, Facebook also launched the technology in 2018, and Cloudflare has been offering QUIC support on a beta basis since 2018. , 5.0% of all websites use QUIC. Microsoft Windows Server 2022 supports both HTTP/3 and SMB over QUIC protocols via MsQuic. The Application Delivery Controller of Citrix (Citrix ADC, NetScaler) can function as a QUIC proxy since version 13.
In addition, there are several stale community projects: libquic was created by extracting the Chromium implementation of QUIC and modifying it to minimize dependency requirements, and goquic provides Go bindings of libquic. Finally, quic-reverse-proxy is a Docker image that acts as a reverse proxy server, translating QUIC requests into plain HTTP that can be understood by the origin server.
.NET 5 introduces experimental support for QUIC using the MsQuic library.
Source code
See also
Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) – a UDP-based protocol utilizing REST model
Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP)
Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS)
Fast and Secure Protocol
HTTP/3
LEDBAT (Low Extra Delay Background Transport)
Micro Transport Protocol (µTP)
Multipurpose Transaction Protocol (MTP/IP) – an alternative to QUIC from Data Expedition, Inc.
Real-Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP)
Reliable User Datagram Protocol (RUDP)
SPDY
Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP UDP Encapsulation; RFC 6951)
Structured Stream Transport
UDP-based Data Transfer Protocol (UDT) – a UDP-based transport protocol
References
External links
– Version-Independent Properties of QUIC
– QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed and Secure Transport
– Using TLS to Secure QUIC
– QUIC Loss Detection and Congestion Control
Chromium: QUIC, a multiplexed stream transport over UDP
QUIC: Design Document and Specification Rationale, Jim Roskind's original document (2012/2013)
Daniel Stenberg: HTTP/3 explained
Linux Weekly News: Connecting on the QUIC (2013)
QUIC:, IETF-88 TSV Area Presentation (2013-11-07)
Chromium Blog: Experimenting with QUIC (2013)
QUIC: next generation multiplexed transport over UDP (Google Developers, 2014)
HTTP over UDP: an Experimental Investigation of QUIC
Multipath QUIC (extension to QUIC)
Innovating Transport with QUIC: Design Approaches and Research Challenges (2017)
Transport layer protocols
Internet protocols
Computer networking |
38615971 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen%20Seidel | Kathleen Seidel | Kathleen Seidel is a researcher and weblog publisher from Peterborough, New Hampshire, best known for investigations and writing on autism. Her inquiries into the work and conduct of Mark Geier and his son David Geier regarding chelation therapy and a hormone-altering drug called Lupron, led to medical board actions in multiple states that suspended Mark Geier from medical practice, and caused David Geier to be arraigned for allegedly practising medicine without a license.
Early life
The oldest of seven children, Seidel grew up in Anaheim, California, the daughter of a chemical engineer father and a mother who taught severely disabled children. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she majored in English and Russian literature and book arts, and then attended Columbia University to receive a masters' degree in library science.
Pre-blogging career
Seidel then worked at a children's library in Asheville for three years before she returned to New York City, where she met Dave, whom she would later marry. She then worked for a few years at Orbis International and the Taconic Foundation before moving with her husband to New Hampshire in 1995 to raise their family. One of their children was diagnosed with autism in 2000.
Blogging
She is known for running the website Neurodiversity.com, whose goal has been described as "honoring the variety of human wiring." She is known for criticizing those who argue that vaccines cause autism. For instance, in 2007, with regard to claims of a mercury-autism link, she said, "Some people say, 'My child is a toxic waste dump,' People don't understand the stigma. I don't want someone looking at my family member that way." One of Seidel's most influential submissions was to the editors of the journal Autoimmunity Reviews, after the Geiers published a paper in that journal. She received no response, but the paper was subsequently retracted. She has been called "the Erin Brockovich of autism spectrum disorders," (specifically, by Irving Gottesman) and has been called "vicious" by the Geiers themselves. She and her husband, Dave, have two children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. She has also criticized Boyd Haley for marketing OSR#1 as a dietary supplement (it has since been pulled from the shelves).
Subpoena
Seidel was the subject of a subpoena from Clifford Shoemaker, a vaccine-injury lawyer, requiring her to be deposed and to produce documents production in a case in which she was not involved, Sykes v. Bayer, and was defended by Public Citizen. The subpoena seems to have been motivated by a post on her blog, neurodiversity.com, about the lawsuit. As David Ardia at PBS's Idea Lab blog put it: "Seidel's post mainly focused on developments in the lawsuit, but some of her language was critical of the Sykes and their case. For example, she indicated that the Sykes have "aggressively promoted the overwhelmingly discredited scientific hypothesis that autism is a consequence of mercury poisoning" and called their lawsuit "a hydra-headed quest for revenge, for compensation, and for judicial validation of autism causation theories roundly rejected by the greater scientific community, by numerous courts, and by a great number of individuals and families whose interests they purport to represent."
One of the other criticisms revolved around her husband Dave Seidel, a Wikipedia editor, making edits to Geier's Wikipedia page and the pages of other autism-associated figures. David Gorski wrote on his blog, Respectful Insolence, "Reading the subpoena makes it mind-numbingly obvious that Shoemaker hopes to turn up evidence that Kathleen has accepted support from the federal government or vaccine manufacturers, which, I’m guessing, he hopes to use to slime her and destroy her credibility. There’s nothing there, but Shoemaker thinks there is, and that’s enough." She described the subpoena as "very broad" and filed a motion to quash. Shoemaker was sanctioned as a result. Her role in exposing the Geiers' quackery is explained by Seth Mnookin as follows: "The Geiers’ use of Lupron on autistic children first received widespread attention in 2006, when Kathleen Seidel put together a blockbuster 16-part series on her website, neurodiversity.com." She is mentioned in an article in New York by Andrew Solomon, which also discusses the subpoena, which it says was served on March 26, 2008.
Encryption survey
In 2016, along with Bruce Schneier and Saranya Vijayakumar, Seidel co-authored a survey regarding the effectiveness of restrictions on the exports of encryption products from the United States on their availability in other countries, as well as laws requiring encryption software to be made with a backdoor that the government can access. In their survey, the authors stated that such bans still leave those who want to keep the government from accessing their data through a backdoor with many foreign alternatives to American or British software.
References
External links
Neurodiversity Main Page
Sykes v. Seidel
The Blogger and the Doctor, an article in The Baltimore Sun pertaining to her investigation into Mark Geier's activities.
Olmsted on Autism: Is Kathleen Seidel Toxic?, by Dan Olmsted
Living people
American bloggers
People from Peterborough, New Hampshire
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
American librarians
American women librarians
Autism activists
Columbia University School of Library Service alumni
Disability rights activists from the United States
Activists from New Hampshire
People from Anaheim, California
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women |
38621045 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline%20of%20computing%202010%E2%80%932019 | Timeline of computing 2010–2019 |
2010
April 6
Apple releases the original iPad.
June 24
Apple releases the iPhone 4.
2011
May 4
Intel announces the commercialisation of 3D transistors, a variant of the FinFET.
May 17
Lenovo releases first ThinkPad X1.
June 15
The first Chromebooks, by Acer and Samsung, go on sale.
September 7
The first 4 terabyte hard drive is released by Seagate.
2012
February 29
Raspberry Pi, a bare-bones, low-cost credit-card sized computer created by volunteers mostly drawn from academia and the UK tech industry, is released to help teach children to code.
September 11
Intel demonstrates its Next Unit of Computing, a motherboard measuring only .
October 4
TDK demonstrates a 2 terabyte hard drive on a single 3.5-inch platter.
October 26
Microsoft releases the operating system Windows 8.
November 18
Nintendo releases the Wii U in North America.
2013
June 11
Apple releases the first Retina Display MacBook Pro.
September 20
Apple releases the iPhone 5S, powered by the Apple A7 SoC which the company proclaimed to be the first 64 bit processor to be used on a smartphone.
November 15
Sony releases the PlayStation 4 in the United States.
November 22
Microsoft releases Xbox One.
November 29
Sony releases the PlayStation 4 in Europe.
2014
August 26
The first 8 terabyte hard drive is released by Seagate.
Google releases the 64-bit version of Chrome for Windows.
August 29
Intel unveiled its first eight-core desktop processor, the Intel Core i7-5960X.
2015
July 29
Microsoft releases the operating system Windows 10.
October 15
AlphaGo was the first Go AI computer program developed by Google to defeat a professional human opponent on a full-sized board without handicap.
2016
January 12
The High Bandwidth Memory 2 standard is released by JEDEC.
January 13
Fixstars Solutions releases the world's first 13 TB SSD.
March 4
Scientists at MIT created the first five-atom quantum computer with the potential to crack the security of traditional encryption schemes.
2017
March 2
AMD launches the Ryzen CPU architecture.
March 3
Nintendo releases the hybrid gaming console Nintendo Switch.
2018
2019
January 9
Lexar announces the first SD card which can store 1 terabyte.
September 20
Google claims to have achieved quantum supremacy.
References
2010
2010s in technology |
38676216 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/ARC-210 | AN/ARC-210 | The ARC-210 is a family of radios for military aircraft that provides two-way, multi-mode voice and data communications over a 30 to 512+ MHz frequency range. It covers both Ultra High Frequency (UHF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) bands with AM, FM and SATCOM capabilities. The ARC-210 radio also includes embedded anti-jam waveforms, including Havequick and SINCGARS, and other data link and secure communications features, providing total battlefield interoperability and high-performance capabilities in the transfer of data, voice and imagery. It features a separate guard receiver for monitoring 121.5 and 243 MHz while simultaneously monitoring the active channel selected. Transmitter power ranges from 5 to 23 watts, depending on frequency and mode. The radios communicates with other avionics over a MIL-STD-1553 data bus.
The ARC-210s are manufactured by Rockwell Collins and are installed in a wide range of aircraft, helicopters and ships across all five U.S. military services. The ARC-210 program began in 1990; it is installed on more than 180 platforms and is operating in more than 40 countries. As of 2010, 30,000 have been produced and by October 2016, 40,000 delivered. The radios have generated over $2 billion in sales for the company.
There are six generations of the radios. Models include the
RT-1556, RT-1794, RT-1824, RT-1851, RT-1851A, and RT-1939, RT-1939A, RT-1990, RT-1990A and the RT-2036. The earliest model covered 30-400 MHz. The fifth generation RT-1939 is one of the first military radios to have software-programmable encryption under the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Cryptographic Modernization Initiative. Its frequency range is extended and includes the following bands:
VHF 30-88 MHz close air support
VHF 108-118 MHz navigation
VHF 118-137 MHz air traffic control
VHF 137-156 MHz land mobile
VHF 156-174 MHz maritime
UHF 225-512 MHz military/homeland defense
UHF 806-824, 851-869, 869-902, 935-941 MHz public safety bands
Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System (CTCSS), used by many public safety agencies, is available above 400 MHz and below 88 MHz.
The transceiver weighs about 12.2 lb (5.53 kg). Available accessories include remote controls, transmit power amplifiers, receive low noise amplifiers, and ground support equipment.
See also
AN/ARC-231, similar radio produced by Raytheon
List of military electronics of the United States
References
Equipment of the United States Air Force
Military radio systems of the United States
Military electronics of the United States
Goods manufactured in the United States |
38740284 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%20Hong%20Kong%20Chief%20Executive%20election | 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election | The 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held on 26 March 2017 for the 5th term of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE), the highest office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Former Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam beat former Financial Secretary John Tsang and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, receiving 777 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee.
The two front-runners, Lam and Tsang, emerged after incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying surprisingly announced he would not run for a second term. Both resigned from their posts in the government. Despite leading in the polls, Tsang struggled to receive nominations from the pro-Beijing electors and had to rely heavily on pro-democrats. Lam, with the PRC's Liaison Office actively lobbying for her, attracted 580 nominations, almost half in the Election Committee and only 21 votes short of winning the final election, while Tsang and Woo received 165 and 180 nominations respectively, most of which came from the pro-democracy camp which consisted of about 320 members.
As a result, Lam received 777 electoral votes, beating Tsang's 365 and Woo's 21 votes, higher than Leung's 689 votes in the last election, becoming the first female Chief Executive.
Background
The highest government office of Hong Kong, the Chief Executive, is selected by a 1,200-member Election Committee (EC) which is divided into various subsectors and dominated by pro-Beijing politicians and tycoons. Since the terms of Article 45 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong requiring "selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures" have not been implemented, the progress to universal suffrage has been the dominant issue in Hong Kong politics since the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.
In 2004, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) had ruled out universal suffrage in the 2012 Chief Executive election, but in 2007 ruled that the 2017 Chief Executive election "may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage". On 31 August 2014, however, the NPCSC imposed the nebulous condition that "the Chief Executive shall be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong" and that the process of selection of two or three candidates by an undemocratic nominating committee continue. The pan-democrats viewed the restrictive nominating process as a violation of international standards for free elections, as candidates unsupportive of the central government would likely be screened out. The "831 decision", as it was called, triggered a class boycott in Hong Kong which escalated into an unprecedented 79-day large-scale occupy movement, internationally known as the "Umbrella Revolution".
On 18 June 2015, the Legislative Council rejected the electoral reform proposal 28 votes to 8, with 33 principally pro-Beijing legislators absent in a whip failure. The selection method and procedure thus remained unchanged from that employed in 2012.
Candidates
Nominees
Withdrawn
Other minor candidates included insurer Jenny Kan Wai-fun, Vincent Lau Chi-wing, barrister Albert Leung Sze-ho, ex-DAB member Wu Sai-chuen and Professor Yu Wing-yin.
Expressed interest but did not run
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, former President of Legislative Council
Other potential candidates
Individuals listed below were mentioned as potential 2017 Chief Executive candidates in at least two reliable media sources.
Norman Chan Tak-lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Antony Leung Kam-chung, businessman and former Financial Secretary
Declined
Bernard Charnwut Chan, businessman and member of the Executive Council
Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, director-general of the World Health Organization
Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, former chairwoman of the Civic Party and former member of Legislative Council
Emily Lau Wai-hing, former chairwoman of Democratic Party and former member of Legislative Council
Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and member of Legislative Council
Leung Chun-ying, incumbent Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, chairman of the Council of the University of Hong Kong
Frederick Ma Si-hang, chairman of the MTR Corporation
Henry Tang Ying-yen, former Chief Secretary for Administration and 2012 Chief Executive candidate
James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of Liberal Party and former member of Legislative Council
Peter Woo Kwong-ching, former chairman of Wharf Holdings and 1996 Chief Executive candidate
Pre-nomination events
October 2016: Emergence of potential candidates
The Chief Executive race started as early on 27 October 2016 when retired judge Woo Kwok-hing became the first candidate to declare his campaign. He launched an offensive campaign against incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, questioning his achievements during his term, while Woo was being questioned for his lack of experience in public administration.
Around the same time, New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip, a 2012 candidate who did not receive enough nominations, expressed her interest in running for the second time. She criticised a potential candidate, Financial Secretary John Tsang, for not doing much in the last decade. Tsang responded by saying that "if one can be idle at it for 10 years, [he] has quite a bit of talent." He refused to clarify if he would run, only stating that it was "heaven's secret". Leung Chun-ying, who was expected to seek a second term, also unleashed a thinly-veiled attack on Tsang, suggesting ministers should be "responsible" and focus on the upcoming policy address and budget rather than thinking about joining the race. Leung also argued, "will those pushing for the city's independence stop what they are doing? Will those insulting their own country shut up?", referring to the Legislative Council oath-taking controversy. He went on by asking "will the land and housing problems that have accumulated become easier to solve under a new leader or government? Will the cabinet continue to touch on vested interests in the property market with courage and determination, and amid difficulties, to solve the housing problems?"
November to December 2016: Pro-democrats' ABC campaign
Professionals and activists formed a loose coalition called "Democrats 300+" hoping to snatch over 300 seats in the Election Committee Subsector elections based on the common platform of opposing Leung Chun-ying's second term, many of whom adopted the slogan "ABC" (Anyone but CY). The camp decided not to field a candidate in the election, but rather boost the chances of an alternative establishment candidate. On 9 December, two days before the election, Leung surprisingly announced he would not seek re-election, citing his daughter's ill health, which made him the first Chief Executive to serve only one term. After Leung's announcement, Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam, who previously said she would retire, expressed that she would have to reconsider running for Chief Executive in order to continue Leung's policies.
Despite Leung's announcement, the pro-democrats still managed to win record 325 out of 1,200 seats in the Election Committee election, more than a quarter of seats with a surge of the turnout nearly 20 percentage points higher than that in the last committee election in 2011. After the election, the two potential candidates, John Tsang and Regina Ip, resigned from their Financial Secretary and Executive Councillor posts on 12 and 15 December respectively, being expected to run.
On 14 December, Woo Kwok-hing became the first one to unveil his electoral platform under the slogan of "Good Heart, Right Path, Bright Future for Hong Kong". He proposed to expand the electorate base for choosing the Election Committee from the current 250,000 to one million in 2022, rising to three million by 2032 and eventually quasi-universal suffrage. His attendees included Andy Ho On-tat, former information coordinator during the Donald Tsang administration from 2006 to 2012.
Regina Ip received the New People's Party's endorsement on 14 December and resigned from the Executive Council on the next day. She announced her candidacy on 15 December under the campaign slogan "Win Back Hong Kong", the same one used in her 2016 Legislative Council campaign. She called for a relaunch of the electoral reform process under Beijing's restrictive framework as decreed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on 31 August 2014. She also pledged to enact controversial Basic Law Article 23 with "suitable measures". Her campaign launching rally was attended by former colonial Chief Secretary Sir David Akers-Jones and businessman Allan Zeman as special advisers to Ip's campaign office.
In late December, Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), laid out four basic criteria for the next Chief Executive in an interview with a pro-Beijing magazine: loves China, loves Hong Kong, who Beijing can trust, and capable of governing and supported by the Hong Kong people, in that order.
Mid January 2017: Carrie Lam and John Tsang enter the race
On 12 January 2017, Carrie Lam resigned from her Chief Secretary post (having at some point previously renounced her British citizenship, which would have excluded her from running) and announced her plan to run for Chief Executive if her resignation was approved. In a closed-door meeting, she laid out an eight-point "achievable new vision" for Hong Kong and told participants that God had called on her to run. On 16 January, the two Secretaries' resignations were simultaneously approved by the central government. Some pro-Beijing politicians saw this as a sign that Lam was the central government's favoured candidate, as Tsang had resigned a full month before Lam. Lam officially declared her candidacy on the same day, promising good governance with greater transparency and "new blood" in her cabinet, at a press conference in which she was joined by Executive Councillor Bernard Chan, director of her campaign office. The chairman's council of her campaign office included prominent figures, former Hong Kong Stock Exchange chairman Ronald Arculli among them.
As Lam declared her candidacy and Tsang was expected to run, political analysts observed that Regina Ip's chances of getting the minimum 150 nominations were reduced. Ip revealed that two or three electors, including Allan Zeman, had turned their backs on her to support Lam. A teary-eyed Ip told a media gathering on 17 January, "[i]n the past ten years I started from nothing, working hard bit by bit, splashing out my own money, putting in much mental and physical effort. Can you say I had not taken on responsibilities for Hong Kong society? When I handled Article 23, I did not perform satisfactorily?" Ip's remarks came after Leung Chun-ying praised Lam for her "ability and willingness to take on responsibility".
John Tsang officially declared his candidacy on 19 January with a slogan of "Trust, Unity, Hope", after more than a month-long delay in the acceptance of his resignation by the central government, which put his campaign in limbo. To contrast himself with Lam, who was perceived to follow Leung Chun-ying's hardline and divisive policies, Tsang described himself as a good listener accepting of different views. He appealed to "all 7.35 million Hongkongers so that together we can make Hong Kong a better place." Retired senior civil servant former Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee and former Permanent Secretary for Food and Health Sandra Lee Suk-yee became director and officer of Tsang's campaign office respectively, despite a number of his supporters switching to Lam's camp amid reports suggesting he failed to get endorsement from Beijing. Tsang also launched his election Facebook page, which drew more than 100,000 likes in a day.
In a closed-door meeting with senior media executives on 20 January, Lam reportedly said she decided to run to prevent the election from being won by someone not accepted by Beijing, which would cause "constitutional crisis". Woo Kwok-hing criticised Lam for using a "despicable tactic" to attack her opponents. Lam's campaign office later clarified that Lam was only making a general comment without targeting anybody in particular. She was also criticised for being out of touch with ordinary people after she appeared unfamiliar with how to use an Octopus card to pass through a turnstile in the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). A similar gaffe followed shortly thereafter when it was reported that Lam did not know convenience stores do not sell toilet paper and had to take a cab back to her former official residence to get one, which was dubbed "loo paper-gate" by English media. She was further under criticism for being ignorant after giving HK$500 to an illegal beggar who was allegedly "trafficked" from China.
Late January to early February 2017: Canvassing nominations
After days of candidates meeting with the Election Committee members from different sectors to canvass at least 150 nominations in order to enter the race, by 27 January multiple reports speculated that Carrie Lam had already secured 300 to 400 nominations. Heung Yee Kuk and the New Territories Association of Societies (NTAS) stated that they inclined to nominate Lam. Together with pro-Beijing parties Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), and Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), as well as Import and Export subsector and Sports and Culture sub-subsectors, Lam was estimated to grab more than 500 nominations. In contrast, despite topping the public opinion polls, John Tsang was speculated to have secured fewer than 100 nominations. Tsang stated "[t]here is no reason for me to believe that the central government does not trust me," as pro-Beijing electors felt pressured if nominate him amid the speculation that he was not Beijing's choice. Regina Ip was speculated to hold about 20 nominations from her New People's Party, while Woo Kwok-hing, who had not revealed any electors' endorsement, repeatedly said he was confident in receiving enough nominations.
Hours before Carrie Lam's large-scale election rally on 3 February, John Tsang launched a crowdfunding website. The website went down within minutes due to overloading. The public responded actively, with more than one million Hong Kong dollars being raised in just the first few hours. Former Secretary for Development Mak Chai-kwong, despite being the former top aide to Carrie Lam, also showed support for Tsang in a Facebook video. Under the campaign slogan of "We Connect", including the catchphrases "We Care, We Listen, We Act", Lam's campaign rally was attended by nearly 800 pro-Beijing figures and tycoons from both the Henry Tang and Leung Chun-ying camps in the last election. She also revealed a star-studded campaign team, which included a council of chairpersons consisting of Ronald Arculli, Laura Cha, Moses Cheng, Jonathan Choi Koon-sum, Timothy Fok, Lam Tai-fai, Eddy Li Sau-hung, Victor Lo, Lo Man-tuen, Anthony Wu, Yu Kwok-chun and Allan Zeman; senior advisers consisting of heavyweights including senior pro-Beijing politicians including Chan Wing-kee, Cheng Yiu-tong, Hung Chao-hong and Rita Fan, tycoons such as Robin Chan, Aron Harilela, Xu Rongmao, Robert Kuok, Peter Lam, Lee Shau-kee, Vincent Lo, Robert Ng, Peter Woo and Charles Yeung and others such as Lawrence Lau, Lau Chin-shek, Li Fung-ying and Joseph Yam.
On 5 February, Woo Kwok-hing updated his election platform, including the implementation of the Basic Law Article 22, which states that no mainland authorities can interfere in Hong Kong internal affairs. On the next day, John Tsang unveiled his 75-page election platform entitled "Convergence of Hearts, Proactive Enablement", with the promise of revisiting Article 23 national security legislation and political reform. Other policies included introducing a progressive profit tax, developing New Territories North and East Lantau and abolishing all Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) and Basic Competency Assessment (BCA) tests, among others.
Legislator "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) formally announced his Chief Executive bid on 8 February through a "civil nomination" mechanism conducted by post-Occupy group Citizens United in Action, in which he would seek to secure 37,790 votes from members of the public, one per cent of the city's registered voters before he would canvass for the nominations from the Election Committee. He explained his decision was to urge the pro-democrat electors not to vote for any pro-establishment candidate who could not represent the pro-democracy camp at all even if they view as "lesser evil", as some democrats had inclined to support John Tsang, the relatively liberal pro-establishment candidate to prevent hardliner Carrie Lam from winning. He also aimed to reflect the spirit of the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the voice of those low-income people. His bid was supported by four radical democrat legislators People Power's Raymond Chan, Demosisto's Nathan Law, Lau Siu-lai and Eddie Chu, while the mainstream pro-democrats cast doubt over Leung's candidacy, believing it would contribute to the victory to Carrie Lam.
Being the only one of the four candidates who had not published an election platform, Carrie Lam held a press conference titled "WeConnect: Manifesto Step 2" on 13 February, one day before the nomination period, to reveal some details of her manifesto, including boosting education spending to HK$5 billion, tax cut to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and creating more land for housing through reclamation, urban redevelopment, and developing brownfield sites or country parks.
Allegations of Beijing manipulation
There were reports that central government officials had given a "red light" to John Tsang running in the election and had allegedly asked John Tsang not to run more than ten times, including rumours of him being offered the deputy governor post at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in return for not running. Tsang refuted such claims, only saying that there were "friends" who supported him and some who did not.
On 17 January, New People's Party deputy chairman Michael Tien complained the election had "lost its shape" due to the increasing interference of "an invisible hand". He revealed that many of the 1,194 Election Committee members had received phone calls asking them to nominate certain candidates. Tien did not disclose the name of the candidate backed by the "invisible hand", even though the Liaison Office had reportedly informed senior editors of the local pro-Beijing newspapers that Carrie Lam was Beijing's preferred candidate, and had actively lobbied for Lam. The senior editors were told to "gradually devote more extensive coverage" to Lam. However, several political observers, as well as the pro-Beijing Sing Pao Daily News who has launched months-long headline editorial attacks on the Liaison Office, said the Liaison Office does not reflect Beijing's wishes on the matter as the election has become part of the power struggle within the Chinese Communist Party in which the Liaison Office tries to keep its grip on Hong Kong. In late February, Sing Pao staff began to be harassed and stalked by unknown individuals. A residence of a staff member was also splashed with red paint and threatening leaflets were thrown around the staff members' homes.
Carrie Lam dismissed speculation that the Liaison Office had been canvassing for her behind the scenes, saying that she did not see any evidence or the need for the Liaison Office to lobby for her. Lam later added that she has no power to tell the Liaison Office not to lobby the electors to vote for her in an interview. She admitted that it would be counterproductive if the public believed a "visible hand" was behind the election.
On 6 February, multiple media reports said National People's Congress (NPC) chairman Zhang Dejiang, who was also head of the Communist Party's Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, and Sun Chunlan, head of the party's United Front Work Department, were in Shenzhen to meet with some Election Committee members from the major business chambers and political groups. It was reported that Zhang told the electors that the Politburo of the Communist Party that had decided to support Carrie Lam in the election.
During the nomination period, it was reported that HKMAO director Wang Guangya told the electors at a meeting in Shenzhen that John Tsang was the contender with the least support from the central government. Few days later, Hong Kong Economic Journal cited unnamed sources that Tung Chee-hwa, former Chief Executive and vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said in a closed-door meeting that Beijing may not appoint Tsang as Chief Executive even if he wins the election. He said this was the reason he asked Carrie Lam to run in the election in order to prevent an "embarrassing situation". 30 electors of the Legal subsector in the Election Committee expressed "deep concerns" about Tung's comments in a joint statement, stating that "such action undermines the fairness of our Chief Executive election and shows a callous disregard for the aspirations of most Hong Kong people to have free and fair elections without ignorant and insensitive interference."
Regina Ip also said in an interview that someone claiming to have close relations with Beijing had offered to compensate her with top posts at the NPC or the CPPCC if she quit the race, but she had refused the offers, stating that she was not interested in any "consolation prize".
Nominations
The nomination period ran from 14 February to 1 March 2017. A minimum number of 150 nominations from members of the Election Committee must be acquired in order to stand in the election.
On 25 February, John Tsang became the first candidate to submit his nominations. Amid the alleged pressure from the Liaison Office which actively lobbied for Carrie Lam, Tsang struggled to seek nominations from the pro-Beijing camp and had to rely heavily on the pro-democrats. Liberal Party honorary chairman James Tien was one of the few pro-Beijing electors to publicly endorse John Tsang earlier on 19 January, stating that he would nominate Tsang. Liberal Party's Selina Chow and leader Chung Kwok-pan also nominated Tsang, making Liberal Party the only pro-Beijing party to nominate Tsang. Thomas Wu, son of tycoon Gordon Wu of the Hopewell Holdings, was among the only tycoon to nominate Tsang, although his father nominated Carrie Lam. Film director Derek Yee became the only elector from his subsector to nominate Tsang.
Out of Tsang's total of 165 nominations, 127 came from the pro-democracy camp. Five pro-democracy electors from the High Education subsector became the first pro-democrats to nominate Tsang, followed by Democratic Action Accountants, handing 17 nominations to Tsang. On 16 February, the Democratic Party announced its seven legislators would nominate Tsang, making it the first time a pro-democratic party nominated an establishment candidate. Pro-democrat Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU) also backed Tsang with its 35 nominations from the Education and Higher Education subsectors. The other sectors where Tsang received the most nominations included Information Technology, where he bagged 21 of the 30 nominations. He also received half of the nominations from the Medical subsector. Tsang was criticised by pro-Beijing media and politicians for accepting support from the pro-democracy camp. Tam Yiu-chung said that Tsang now clearly represented the pan-democrats while an editorial in the Beijing mouthpiece Ta Kung Pao attacked Tsang for "making a deal with the devils".
Woo Kwok-hing made an emergency plea for support after getting just three nominations on the first day of the nomination period. As the "Democrats 300+" planned to nominate John Tsang and Woo Kwok-hing to boost the competitiveness of the election, Woo gradually received nominations from pro-democrat electors. Six electors from the Higher Education subsector including Civic Party founding chairman Kuan Hsin-chi became the first pro-democrats to decide to nominate Woo, on 15 February. Forty-six pro-democracy members also decided to nominate Woo subsequently. After Tsang received enough nominations, pro-democrat electors turned to nominate Woo. On 27 February, Woo became the second candidate to be nominated, with 180 of nominations, almost all of them came from the pro-democracy camp.
Carrie Lam submitted a total of 579 nominations on 28 February, and submitted an extra one on the next day, just 21 votes short of the final number needed to win the race. Although she was widely seen to have secured more than a minimum number of 150 nominations in the early stage, she reportedly aimed at securing more than 600 nominations to project herself as a clear winner before the secret ballot. Lam dominated in the business and politics sectors, winning three-quarters of the votes in the business sector, but failed to receive any nomination from the pro-democracy camp. The pro-Beijing Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGGC) which commanded the 18-seat Commercial (Second) subsector became the first chamber to declare it would hand all its nominations to Lam on 8 January. The two pro-Beijing parties Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), which commanded over 100 votes, also endorsed Lam. However, instead of bundling their votes the two parties allowed their electors to freely nominate any candidate. Some DAB legislators did not nominate Lam at the end, including Holden Chow and Elizabeth Quat. Contrary to observers’ expectations, the Labour subsector, which is dominated by the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), also returned only five out of its 60 nominations to Lam as its legislator Wong Kwok-kin earlier expressed reservations about Lam's proposed labour policies, although it was seen as Lam's strategy to reserve her strength. The same happened with the pro-Beijing-dominated Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association and Hong Kong and Kowloon District Councils subsectors, which commanded 73 votes combined but handed only two nominations to Lam.
Other political sectors such as the 27-seat Heung Yee Kuk and 51-seat Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), including deputy chairman of the CK Hutchison Holdings Victor Li, also decided they would hand in all their nominations to Lam, although Li's father, Hong Kong most influential tycoon Li Ka-shing, had refused to back any candidate despite alleged Liaison Office pressure. "But I would definitely cast my vote," Li said. "You would offend people by nominating [a specific candidate] but no one would know who I voted for [in the secret ballot]."
In response to controversy surrounding her lack of a full election platform, Lam revealed a manifesto titled "Connecting for Consensus and A Better Future" on 27 February, two days before the nomination period ended. The platform focused on reforming the government structure and boosting the economy, including expanding the Central Policy Unit, establishing a Culture Bureau and a new Tourism Bureau, and dividing Transport and Housing Bureau into two, but did not make any promise on relaunching electoral reform or Article 23 legislation.
Regina Ip withdrew from the election, conceding the number of nominations hours before the nomination deadline on 1 March, for the second time after her 2012 bid. She received a number of nominations "far behind what was needed", despite backing from her New People's Party and a few electors from business sectors. Ip also gained a nomination from a pro-democrat elector from the Accountancy subsector, who wished to send Ip into the race to split Lam's votes. However, as Lam aimed to grab more than 600 nominations, Ip faced an uphill battle to secure her nominations. She urged "a certain candidate" not to ask for additional backing since that person had secured more than enough nominations already. She attributed her failure to the restrictive selection process of the 1,200 structure of the Election Committee membership as she was "squeezed out" by the Beijing-supported Lam and democrat-supported Tsang and Woo.
Pro-democrats' civil nomination
The pro-democracy group Citizens United in Action, which was formed to promote Occupy Central initiator Benny Tai's "ThunderGo" plan in the 2016 Legislative Council election, launched the "CE Civil Referendum 2017" to engage the general Hong Kong population, who had no vote in the election. It conducted a "civil nomination" online, from 7 to 22 February, in co-operation with the University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme (HKUPOP) and the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Any candidate that secured 37,790 votes, one per cent of Hong Kong's registered voters, from the general public would be a "civil candidate" in a "civil referendum" to be held from 10 to 19 March. On 13 February, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data issued a statement concerning the "existing privacy risks" of the organisers collecting personal data. In response to that, the organisers updated their system afterward and extended the nomination period until 28 February.
On 25 February, Leung Kwok-hung who pledged to only enter the race if he received enough civil nominations announced he would not run for the Chief Executive, as he only secured 20,234 nominations from the general public, about 17,000 fewer than the threshold. Among the 20,234 nominations, 13,440 were collected in public while the rest of them online. Leung stated that his being able to collect more than 20,000 nominations with personal contact information and identity card numbers had proved that "civil nomination" is achievable. None of the candidates received the minimum number of 37,790 in the "civil nomination" as a result.
Debates and forums
There were a few forums organised during the nomination period, including a public forum organised by D100 Radio on 19 February attended by Leung Kwok-hung and Woo Kwok-hing and a forum organised by Power for Democracy on 25 February and attended by Regina Ip and Woo Kwok-hing.
5 March 2017 – Path of Democracy
The first election forum after the nomination period was held on 5 March 2017 by think tank Path of Democracy. John Tsang was absent from the debate, as it was speculated that Tsang saw convenor of Path of Democracy Ronny Tong as Carrie Lam’s supporter. In the debate, Lam tried to distance herself from unpopular current Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, dismissing suggestions by Woo that she was "Leung Chun-ying 2.0", while Woo Kwok-hing was targeted for his lack of experience in finance.
12 March 2017 – Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union
An election forum was organised by the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU) in which all three candidates met on the same stage for the first time. The candidates took turns to answer questions from the electors as well as some 400 educators in the audience. Carrie Lam said she is a victim of "white terror" in response to online attacks on her, as well as on her supporter actress Josephine Siao. John Tsang refuted Lam, saying that online comments are not "white terror" but suppression on dissent.
14 March 2017 – Seven media outlets
A two-hour televised debate co-organised by seven electronic media outlets took place at TVB City on 14 March 2017. All three candidates received questions from members of the audience and journalists and also directed their questions at each other. Tsang criticised Lam for being "CY 2.0", the second version of the divisive incumbent Leung Chun-ying, saying that people fear society will have "split 2.0" if Lam wins. Lam challenged Tsang for advocating a progressive profits tax, an idea he had opposed during his office as Financial Secretary. Lam also dropped a bombshell by stating that she would resign if her position was contrary to mainstream public opinion. Former candidate Regina Ip and political scientist Ma Ngok said that Tsang won the debate while Woo was clearly not prepared. On the other hand, commentator Michael Chugani said none of the three was able to deliver a knock-out blow to emerge the winner.
19 March 2017 – Election Committee
A two-hour forum was co-organised by a group of Election Committee members from both the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps on 19 March 2017 at AsiaWorld-Expo. Some 507 of the 1,194 election committee members attended the forum. The three candidates took 21 questions from the floor, 19 of which were from the democrats as the pro-Beijing electors did not submit their questions. Lam made a dig at John Tsang's "paperless office" when he was in office as Financial Secretary – an implication of Tsang's laid-back working style. Tsang retorted by saying that it was more important to "work smart" than "work hard". John Tsang also mocked Lam by stating that she would be a "three-low" Chief Executive with low popularity, low energy and low legitimacy. Woo criticised Tsang and Lam for passing the buck on the incumbent government's mistakes. Political scientist Ivan Choy said Tsang was the best performer although Lam also made big progress. According to a poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme (HKUPOP) after the forum, 62 per cent out of the 717 respondents said they would vote for Tsang if eligible after watching the forum, against 24 per cent for Lam and seven per cent for Woo.
Pro-democrats' civil referendum
Following the experience of conducting the "civil referendum" in the previous election in 2012, the pro-democracy group Citizens United in Action led by Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai again launched a "civil referendum" for this election, ranging from 10 to 19 March through online app Telegram or at physical booths at the campuses of the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University on 12 and 19 March. The referendum was said to engage the general public, which lacks the right to vote. The public was asked to pick "support, oppose or abstain" for each of the three candidates. The 325-member "Democrats 300+" on the Election Committee agreed to take either "major reference" from the result or to completely follow it. On 12 March, Tai's team received a last-minute notification that Polytechnic University Students' Union couldn't provide room for the polls due to pressure from the university. Tai called it a "political decision". About 65,000 people voted with 96.1 per cent of respondents opposing Carrie Lam, while John Tsang received 91.9 per cent of the votes.
Final campaign
After the election debates and forums, John Tsang further expanded his lead over Carrie Lam in the polls. Tsang continued becoming a social media sensation, posting videos of his supporters from the sectors endorsing him including a clip where he cooked and had meal with his core supporters directed by film director Johnnie To, as well as reading out negative comments made about him, a tactic reminiscent of the popular American show Jimmy Kimmel Live, where celebrities are invited to read mean tweets targeting them. Tsang also met with the general public while campaigning in the streets. On contrary, Lam received largely negative comments on social media. According to analysis by the WiseNews electronic data base, 57.8 per cent of internet comments about Tsang were supportive, with only 10.7 per cent were against him. As for comments on Lam, 83.4 per cent were against her. She was criticised for manipulating the University of Hong Kong’s Emeritus Professor Nelson Chow Wing-sang after posting a video of her visiting elderly people in Sham Shui Po with Chow, despite Chow having not endorsed Lam's candidacy. She was also criticised after one of her campaign staffers said she was "too tired" to make the trip to visit the community in Tin Shui Wai, a New Territories new town with a high proportion of lower-income residents.
Ahead of the 26 March election, Tsang held a rally on the evening of 24 March at Edinburgh Place, Central, the final stop on his half-day bus parade on Hong Kong Island. Around 3,500 showed support at the rally, while some 449,000 people watched the rally on his Facebook page and more than 18,700 comments were left on the page. Film director Johnnie To, Tsang's wife Lynn and his former political assistant Julian Law Wing-chung were among the six guests who spoke at the rally. In Tsang's speech, he said: "We are here to show our love for this city of ours ... I hope the Election Committee members, who have the power to vote, would heed our call and heal the rift, and make Hong Kong the home we imagined it should be." He also made a reference to the 2014 Occupy protests: "Here we stand near Lung Wo Road and Connaught Road – Occupy happened near this place in more than two years ago, but I hope our rally today can give a new meaning to this place. I hope you will remembere that on 24 March 2017, we gathered here for the unity of Hong Kong."
The rally was held after Tsang faced a fresh round of criticism from veteran Beijing loyalist Lo Man-tuen, who was vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference’s (CPPCC) subcommittee on foreign affairs and member of Carrie Lam's campaign office. He accused Tsang of being "an agent of [the] pan-democrats" with United States backing when he chose to ignore Beijing's signals against his running for the Chief Executive. Lo also wrote that Beijing does not trust Tsang because of his "lack of principle on major issues", namely the Occupy protests and 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest. He said Tsang failed to join the Chief Executive and other principal officials in a signature campaign organised by the Alliance for Peace and Democracy against the Occupy Central movement that challenged Beijing's authority" and even expressed appreciation for the local film Ten Years, which was considered a smear on "one country, two systems", in addition to his "laid-back" working style. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also slammed his former subordinate's lack of concrete plans for housing.
On 24 March, National People's Congress (NPC) chairman Zhang Dejiang and head of the United Front Work Department Sun Chunlan reportedly arrived in Shenzhen to meet with electors from different sectors to lobby for Lam.
Opinion polling
Post-nomination period
Before nomination period ends
Two-way contest
Voting intentions
Some 98 per cent of the 325-member "Democrats 300+" coalition, consisting of around 290 votes, decided on voting for John Tsang as he was the most popular candidate in the polls, many of whom supported Woo Kwok-hing in the nomination period including the 11 Progressive Engineering electors. The pro-democracy parties Civic Party and Democratic Party also decided to vote for Tsang. The 24 pro-democracy legislators also issued a statement saying they had "no basis of mutual trust" with Carrie Lam. Liberal Party honorary chairwoman Selina Chow also declared her backing for Tsang, while the other party honorary chairman James Tien had been the most vocal supporter of Tsang since the beginning of the election.
Hong Kong's richest man and an influential figure in the Hong Kong business circle Li Ka-shing and his sons Victor Li and Richard Li, previously believed to be Tsang supporters, reportedly shared a meal with National People's Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang in Shenzhen where Zhang persuaded the Lis to back Carrie Lam. Richard Li subsequently endorsed Lam in an interview published in three Chinese-language newspapers – Ming Pao, Hong Kong Economic Journal and Wen Wei Po. Li Ka-shing, following his son, broke his silence to express support for Carrie Lam, saying he would vote for a candidate trusted by Beijing. He said he was optimistic that the split in the city could be healed, like the Chinese goddess Nüwa who mended the heaven with coloured stones.
Pro-Beijing sectors such as 60-seat Agriculture and Fisheries and 26-seat Heung Yee Kuk which nominated Lam declared they would also vote for Lam in the final election. 14 electors of the 15-member Performing Arts sub-subsector, except for Derek Yee who nominated Tsang, decided to vote for Lam. The largest pro-Beijing party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) also endorsed Lam in the final election. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), although refused to nominate Lam for her unsatisfying labour policies, decided they would all vote for Lam. Financial Services elector Ricky Chim Kim-lun who nominated Tsang switched side to Lam a day before the election, endorsing Lam with 16 other electors of the subsector. Another Tsang supporter, Thomas Wu, son of tycoon Gordon Wu of the Hopewell Holdings also reportedly decided to vote for Lam. One day before the election, Lam had already looked assured of winning on paper, by securing about 750 ballots from the 1,194-member Election Committee.
Results
The election was held at the Grand Hall, 3/F, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 9 to 11 a.m. on 26 March 2017. Carrie Lam became the first female Chief Executive by winning 777 votes in the 1,194-member Election Committee, 197 votes more than the nominations she received from the EC and 88 more votes than Leung Chun-ying's 689 votes from the last election. She also became the first Chief Executive elected without being the most popular candidate and the first to be graduated from the University of Hong Kong (HKU). John Tsang received 365 votes, 200 more than he received in the nomination period. Woo Kwok-hing received only 21 votes, receiving the lowest votes a Chief Executive candidate ever had. The turnout rate was 99.33 per cent. Of the 1,186 ballots cast, 19 were blank votes and four ballots were spoilt. Eight electors did not cast their votes.
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Candidates
! style="text-align:left;" | Parties
! width="75" | Votes
! width="30" | %
|-
| width=4px style="background-color:" |
| style="text-align:left;" | Carrie Lam
| style="text-align:left;" | Nonpartisan
|
| %
|-
| style="background-color:" |
| style="text-align:left;" | John Tsang
| style="text-align:left;" | Nonpartisan
|
| %
|-
| style="background-color:" |
| style="text-align:left;" | Woo Kwok-hing
| style="text-align:left;" | Nonpartisan
|
| %
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9;"
! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total
! style="text-align:right;" |
! style="text-align:right;" | 100%
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Valid votes || || %
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Invalid votes || || %
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Votes cast / turnout || || %
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Eligible voters
|
| style="background-color:#E9E9E9;" |
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Source: Election result Turnout rate
|}
Aftermath
After the announcement of Lam winning with 777 votes, citizens ridiculed the number on social media as the word "seven" in Cantonese, pronounced as tsat, is often used as a vulgar term associated with stupidity. Some pro-democracy members of the Election Committee protested in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and demanded genuine universal suffrage. Organised by the Civil Human Rights Front, around 200 protesters also gathered outside the venue protested against the "small-circle election". A group of protesters from People Power proceeded to protest outside of the Liaison Office.
There was also a counter-protest of about 1,200 pro-Beijing supporters clad in red outside the HKCEC to voice their support for Lam and the government. Many of them mingled and chatted in Mandarin and various dialects, displaying banners bearing the names of the organisers, the residents associations of their mainland home cities, such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shanwei. A Cable TV news programme filmed many of these pro-government protesters being paid to attend the rally.
At the AsiaWorld-Expo, the unused backup polling station, two notebook computers storing the name list of the 1,194 Election Committee members and personal data of all 3.78 million registered voters were reported as lost. The incident was investigated by the police as theft, but the whereabouts of the lost computers remained unknown. The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) posted letters of apology to all affected voters, stating the personal data was "protected by multiple encryptions" which were "extremely difficult to break through". Nevertheless, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data received more than 900 complaints in the following days. When questioned by legislators, Chief Electoral Officer Wong See-man explained that the full database was to confirm the eligibility of the 1,194 electors and admitted that the computers were left unattended.
One day after the election, the Department of Justice charged nine Occupy protests leaders of public nuisance offences, including the three Occupy Central founders – academics Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man, and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, legislators Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun, former student leaders Tommy Cheung Sau-yin and Eason Chung Yiu-wah, League of Social Democrats (LSD) vice-chairman Raphael Wong and former legislator Lee Wing-tat. Asked if the prosecutions would embarrass Chief Executive-elect Lam – who said her top task was to heal the social divide in her victory speech – incumbent Leung Chun-ying reiterated that the decision was independently made by the Department of Justice.
After the election, the chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of the U.S. Congress, Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Christopher Smith, issued a critical statement, warning that Beijing's clear interference in the election demonstrated the precipitous erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy. "If Hong Kong is to become just another mainland Chinese city under the new Chief Executive's leadership, we will have to reassess whether Hong Kong warrants special status under U.S. law," the statement said.
Lam received the appointment from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on 11 April 2017. She was sworn in by General Secretary of the Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, on 1 July 2017, the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Special Administrative Region.
See also
Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Democratic development in Hong Kong
Notes
References
External links
Government websites
The Fifth Chief Executive Election Official Website
Electoral Affairs Commission Official Website
Campaign websites
Regina Ip's Official Campaign Website
Carrie Lam's Official Campaign Website
John Tsang's Official Campaign Website
Woo Kwok-hing's Official Campaign Website
Election platforms
Regina Ip's Election Platform
Carrie Lam's Election Platform
John Tsang's Election Platform
Woo Kwok-hing's Election Platform
Hong Kong Chief Executive elections
2017 elections in China
2017 in Hong Kong
March 2017 events in China |
38785046 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CineAsset | CineAsset | CineAsset is a complete mastering software suite by Doremi Labs that can create and playback encrypted (Pro version) and unencrypted DCI compliant packages from virtually any source. CineAsset includes a separate "Editor" application for generating Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs). CineAsset Pro adds the ability to generate encrypted DCPs and Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) for any encrypted content in the database.
Features
CineAsset DCP Editor
Convert popular video files to DCI compliant digital cinema packages (DCPs)
Multi-reel support
Multiple Filters (Scale, XYZ Colorspace Conversion, Timecode Burn-in, Logo Overlay, Audio Delay, Trimmer)
Create and playback DCPs with subtitles
Generate encrypted DCPs (Pro version only)
Support for still picture import (create DCPs from a single image)
Custom Luts and Matrix values for color conversion (.csv and .3dl files)
High Frame Rate support (47.95, 48, 50, 59.94, 60, 72 and 96)
Supplemental DCP support
Load/save project capability
Command line support
API Available
Support for Projector Certificates
KDM and Certificate Manager – database of KDMs and certificates creates an easy way to see properties make modifications to selected items
CineInspect DCP validation tool
Event Cinema support with H.264 encoding, MPEG2 encoding and VC1 wrapping
DCP import with DKDM support
Archive framerate support (16, 18.18, 20 and 21.82fps)
CineAsset Render Nodes (optional)
Increases processing speed by distributing JPEG2000 encoding across multiple computers on a network
Supports up to 5 render nodes per CineAsset
CineAsset Database
Build clip databases
Generate KDM's for encrypted content (Pro version only)
Dropin folder for automated transfer of image sequences and other media files
Multimedia Export (Image Sequence, WAV, QuickTime, MPEG)
CinePlayer DCP Player
Real time XYZ to RGB color correction
Playback encrypted DCPs
Playback DCPs with subtitles
Playback other multimedia formats (MXF, MOV, etc.)
VU meter
Adjustable playback framerate
CineInspect DCP validation tool
SDI output with third party I/O card
CineAsset Device Control
Device KDM manager allows management of KDMs on selected device
Convert, transfer, schedule and playback 2D or 3D video clips
Ingest content via Ethernet or FTP and automate file transfer to servers
Transport controls for the connected servers
Retrieve Media Block certificates
CineAsset Task View
Monitor and control tasks in the queue
View detailed information about processes and incomplete tasks
CineExport DCP Export Plug-in for Compressor
Compatible with Apple Compressor 3.5.3 and 4.0
Standard version without encryption and Pro version with encryption and KDM generation
Supported formats
Input
Containers
AVI
MOV
MXF
MPG
TS
WMV
M2TS
MTS
MP4
MKV
Video Codecs
JPEG2000
ProRes 422
DNxHD®
YUV Uncompressed 8-10 bits
DIVX®
XVID®
MPEG4
AVC / H-264
VC-1
MPEG2
Supported Image Sequences
BMP
TIFF
TGA
DPX
JPG
J2C
Supported Audio Files
WAV
MP3
WMA
MP2
Output
JPEG2000
2D and 3D at up to 4K resolution
Bit Rate: 50–250 Mbit/s (500Mbit/s for frame rates above 30 fps)
Speed: Faster than real-time processing when using optional render nodes
MPEG2
I-Only or Long GOP
1080p up to 80 Mbit/s
H264
1080p up to 50 Mbit/s
VC1
DCP wrapping only (no transcode)
See also
CineExport
CinePlayer
Non-linear video editing
List of video editing software
Comparison of video editing software
References
External links
CineAsset: Product page
CineAsset: User Manual
Download CineAsset (evaluation version)
Instructional Videos on Youtube
Doremi Labs website
Video editing software
Film and video technology
Dolby Laboratories |
38877811 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/CYZ-9 | AN/CYZ-9 | The AN/CYZ-9 is a hardware random number generator fielded by the US National Security Agency in the 1990s. It was used in initial phases of the US military's Electronic Key Management System (EKMS) Tier 2. These systems employ a commercial or militarized personal computer running MS-DOS to generate cryptographic keys and signal operating instructions (SOI/CEOI), with the CYZ-9 producing the needed random bits. The CYZ-9 connects to the PC through an RS-232 port and is powered by five D cell (BA-30) batteries. In later phases of EKMS, the random data functionality is included in an NSA key processor (KP).
References
Random number generation
Key management
Encryption device accessories
National Security Agency encryption devices
Military electronics of the United States |
38878690 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIK-30 | KIK-30 | The KIK-30 "Really Simple Key loader" (RASKL) is a fill device made by Sypris Electronics and approved by the US National Security Agency for the distribution of NSA Type 1 cryptographic keys. It can also store and transfer related communications security material, including control data ("load sets") for frequency hopping radios, such as SINCGARS and Have Quick. It can store up to 40 cryptographic keys and has male and female U-229 connectors for the NSA DS-101 and 102 fill protocol, allowing it to be plugged into most other NSA fill devices and EKMS equipment. It is 6.14 inches (159 mm) long, weighs less than one pound (454 g) and is powered by four AAA batteries. The operator interface has an 8 line of 20 characters and 6 buttons, with what Sypris calls "1-button key squirt" and 2-button zeroize (clear memory).
A simpler device than the AN/CYZ-10, the KIK-30 is now planned to replace the venerable KYK-13 fill devices, with up to $200 million budgeted in 2009 to procure the newer units in quantity.
References
Key management
Encryption device accessories
National Security Agency encryption devices
Military electronics of the United States
Military equipment introduced in the 2000s |
38883877 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyTrust | HyTrust | HyTrust, an Entrust company, is an American company specializing in security, compliance and control software for virtualization of information technology infrastructure. The company was founded in 2007, and is based in Mountain View, California. It was acquired by Entrust Corp. in January 2021.
History
HyTrust was founded in 2009, partnered by VMware, Symantec, Cisco Systems, and Citrix Systems, and backed by $5.5 million funding from Trident Capital and Epic Ventures. A further $10.5 million funding was raised from Granite Ventures and Cisco Systems in 2010.
In summer 2013, the company raised $18.5 million in an oversubscribed C round with investments from Intel Capital, In-Q-Tel, Carahsoft, Fortinet, and previous investors. The web site also mentions McAfee, Trend Micro, CA Technologies, RSA, and VCE.
HyTrust was founded by the company's president, Eric Chiu, vice president Renata Budko, vice president Boris Strongin, and engineer Boris Belov. Before Hytrust, both Chiu and Budko worked for Cemaphore Systems – a company specialising in disaster recovery for Microsoft Exchange. HyTrust's CEO and chairman is John De Santis – formerly vice president of Cloud Services at VMware, and chairman and CEO of TriCipher, a software security infrastructure company.
In November 2013, HyTrust acquired HighCloud Security, a cloud encryption and management software provider. This acquisition added encryption and key management to HyTrust's products. In spring 2015, the company raised $33 million in Series D funding. HyTrust was acquired by Entrust in January 2021.
Products and services
HyTrust's products are based on the company's patented intelligent security control system for virtualized ecosystems.
HyTrust CloudControl is a VMware vSphere-compatible virtual appliance that sits between the virtual infrastructure and its administrators. Whenever an administrative request is submitted to the infrastructure, the appliance determines whether that request complies with the organization's security policies, before permitting or denying it accordingly.
By logging all requests, records are produced that can be used for regulatory compliance and auditing, troubleshooting, and forensic analysis.
The company also provides private cloud, logging, active directory, root access, two-factor authentication, VI segmentation, host hardening, multi-tenant policy enforcement, secondary approval services, encryption, and key management, and advises organizations on how to manage their virtualized and cloud computing environments.
HyTrust partnered with Intel in 2014 to create HyTrust BoundaryControl. The technology lets companies set policies to control access to cloud and virtualized IT and where data can be stored. BoundaryCountrol is designed to work with the Intel TXT technology.
The company released HyTrust DataControl 3.0 in 2015. The technology encrypts data on virtual machines while they are at rest and keeps the data secure until being used.
References
Cloud computing providers
Companies based in Mountain View, California
Online advertising |
38896666 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounts%20%26%20SSO | Accounts & SSO | Accounts & SSO, accounts-sso, or lately gSSO is a single sign-on framework for computers.
Originating as part of Maemo 5 Accounts-SSO is free software licensed under LGPL 2.1. Accounts-SSO was deployed as a standard component of Nokia N900, Nokia N9, Tizen, and Ubuntu. Later it was integrated in KDE Plasma Workspaces.
History
Accounts-SSO was originally developed by Nokia who eventually shipped it as part of Maemo 5 on .
It was later integrated into MeeGo 1.2 Handset software platform which was formally released on .
After the MeeGo project ended, Accounts-SSO was transferred into an independent project by Intel. Canonical Ltd then adopted Accounts-SSO for Ubuntu 12.10 (later also Ubuntu Touch) and KDE integrated it in November 2012.
Features
Among Accounts-SSO's features are a plugin-based architecture, working with diverse user interfaces, storage back-ends, and varying levels of security.
While Accounts-SSO is primarily being used for centralized login management to social networking services, e.g. sharing photos to a service from an image managing application and chatting on the same service from an instant messenger, its plugin-based architecture also allows for local usage, such as disk encryption for which a cryptsetup plugin for Accounts-SSO was developed.
The Accounts-SSO framework consists of several individually released components:
signond: A daemon providing the SSO service over D-Bus – originally Qt-based, it's being rewritten by Intel using only GLib.
libaccounts-glib: GLib-based client library for managing the accounts database.
libaccounts-qt: Client library for managing the accounts database for Qt-based applications – implemented as wrapper around libaccounts-glib.
libsignon-glib: GLib-based client library for applications handling account authentication through the signond Single Sign-On service.
signon plugins: A handful of signond authentication plugins are developed within the Accounts-SSO project. Among them plugins for Digest access, OAuth, SASL, and X.509.
account plugins: The Accounts-SSO project leaves development of plugins for specific services to 3rd parties. Open source plugins for various services (Facebook, Google, Twitter,...) are being developed by Canonical.
See also
List of single sign-on implementations
External links
on Gitlab.com
on Launchpad.net
References
Identity management
Intel products
Nokia services
Free software programmed in C++ |
38914995 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuxera | Tuxera | Tuxera Inc. is a Finnish software company that develops and sells file systems software. Its most popular products are Tuxera NTFS and Tuxera exFAT, both available on a number of platforms including Linux, Android, QNX and macOS. Tuxera's customers include a number of consumer electronics manufacturers in mobile phones, tablets, TVs, set-top boxes, automotive infotainment and storage markets. Tuxera NTFS for Mac provides read/write connectivity to Windows-formatted hard drives for macOS.
The company was founded in 2008 and is currently headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Tuxera's other offices are located in the US, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and China.
History
The origin of the company dates back to the open-source NTFS development in the late 1990s. NTFS had been introduced in 1993 by Microsoft as the file system for Windows NT. At that time Anton Altaparmakov emerged as the lead developer and maintainer of the Linux NTFS kernel driver. Meanwhile, Szabolcs Szakacsits continued to lead a platform-independent project under the name NTFS-3G. In 2006, NTFS-3G became the first driver to gain full read and write support. Commercial activity started in 2007 and the company was founded next year. In 2009 the company signed agreements with Microsoft, which was followed by global expansion and establishing the collaboration with chipset vendors and software platform companies.
In February 2011 Tuxera joined the Linux Foundation, which was an expected step as for many years Tuxera has contributed to the Linux kernel.
In July 2019 Tuxera acquired Datalight, to strengthen its internal storage offering and expertise in flash memory and flash management software.
Embedded products
Microsoft NTFS by Tuxera (formerly Tuxera NTFS)
Tuxera NTFS is a performance optimized, fail-safe, fully compatible NTFS file system driver. It ships for example in smart TVs, set-top boxes, smartphones, tablets, routers, NAS and other devices. It is available for Android and other Linux platforms, QNX, WinCE Series 40, Nucleus RTOS and VxWorks. Supported architectures are ARM architecture, MIPS architecture, PowerPC, SuperH and x86.
Microsoft exFAT by Tuxera (formerly Tuxera exFAT)
Tuxera exFAT technology is used for SDXC memory card support. Tuxera was the first independent vendor to receive legal access to exFAT and TexFAT specifications, source code and verification tools from Microsoft. Tuxera exFAT can be found in automotive infotainment systems, Android phones and tablets from ASUS, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Pantech and others.
Microsoft FAT by Tuxera (formerly Tuxera FAT)
Tuxera FAT software provides interoperability and support for storage types such as SD memory card, CF card, Memory Stick, SSD, HDD via USB, SATA, eSATA, MMC and others. It is used by chipset and hardware manufacturers, and software and system integrators for full compliance with Microsoft patent licenses and GPL.
NTFS-3G
NTFS-3G is the original free-software "community edition" driver used widely in Linux distributions, including Fedora, Ubuntu, and others. On April 12, 2011 it was announced that Ntfsprogs project was merged with NTFS-3G.
VelocityFS by Tuxera (formerly Tuxera Flash File System)
Tuxera also develops and commercializes its own proprietary Flash file system. Due to its fail-safe technology it can be found for instance in vehicles and cars, integrated with the event data recorder to make sure the data recorded from sensors is consistent even in case of a crash.
Tuxera FAT+
In 2017, Tuxera introduced FAT+, a file system implementation for Universal Flash Storage cards and removable storage that is compatible with FAT32 but without the file size limitation of 4 GiB. It is royalty free for UFS card host devices and a standard recommended by the Universal Flash Storage Association.
Consumer products
AllConnect
AllConnect is a mobile app that allows to stream music, photos and videos from Android devices to DLNA receivers (smart TVs, set-top-boxes, wireless speakers, etc.). It was launched on November 12, 2013 under the name of Streambels.
Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Tuxera (formerly Tuxera NTFS for Mac)
Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Tuxera allows macOS computers to read and write NTFS partitions. By default, macOS provides only read access to NTFS partitions. The latest stable version of the driver is 2020.1, which added support for Apple silicon Macs. With the introduction of System Integrity Protection (SIP) by Apple in OS X El Capitan, usage of third-party software in Disk Utility is no longer possible. As a workaround, Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Tuxera ships together with Tuxera Disk Manager to facilitate the format and maintenance of NTFS volumes in macOS. Currently the software supports 13 languages: Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. The software supports 64-bit kernels, including OS X El Capitan. It supports NTFS extended attributes and works with virtualization and encryption solutions including Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion.
SD Memory Card Formatter
Tuxera, in association with SD Association, developed the official formatting application for Secure Digital memory cards, which is available as a free download for Windows and macOS.
See also
NTFS
exFAT
NTFS-3G
FAT
References
Software companies of Finland |
38920191 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columnar%20%28disambiguation%29 | Columnar (disambiguation) | Columnar (or epithelium) is a type of epithelial cell.
Columnar may also refer to:
Columnar cacti, a descriptive term for smaller cacti
Columnar database, a type of database which stores data tables by column rather than by row
Columnar disposition, a technique in encryption
Columnar jointing, a geological structure shaped as a regular array of polygonal prisms
Columnar basalt, a type of rock formed during the cooling of a thick lava flow
Columnar Peak, a subsidiary peak of Mount Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada
Columnar phase, a class of floating crystals which can exist in a cylindrical shape
Columnar Valley, a valley in Victoria Land, eastern Antarctica
See also
Column (disambiguation)
Columnaria, an extinct genus of rugose coral
Columnarios, silver coins that were minted by Spain from 1732 to 1773
Columnaris, a symptom of disease in fish caused by the Flavobacterium columnare bacterium |
38927681 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payanywhere | Payanywhere | Payanywhere is a payments platform and app that allows merchants in the United States to accept credit and debit card payments while building customer relationships in-store, online, or on the go. Merchants may accept payments on their smartphone via a Bluetooth card reader or on an in-store “Storefront” solution featuring a tablet and stand, which was introduced on April 8, 2014. PayAnywhere offers credit card readers and apps that are compatible with both Apple and Android devices.
Announced in late August 2015, a new Payanywhere reader for iOS phones and tablets added Apple Pay support, as well as NFC, EMV and magnetic stripe acceptance. It was available exclusively from Apple’s retail and online store(s). Android tablet support was added in early October of that year.
A key feature of the solution platform beyond payment acceptance is Payanywhere Inside, an online merchant portal that enables businesses to access reporting, manage employee permissions, accept phone and online payments via a virtual terminal, send and manage invoices, take action on chargebacks, and access additional business management tools.
History
North American Bancard developed the Payanywhere app internally. Payanywhere officially launched in January 2011 on the iOS platform. In May 2011, Payanywhere made its app available for Android devices. Payanywhere launched an app for BlackBerry smartphones in May 2012, supporting BlackBerry models OS 4.7 or later.
In June 2012, Payanywhere released its Android SDK to complement its iOS SDK, which was made available in December 2011. The SDKs, available in Basic and Advanced, allow developers to embed credit card processing functionality into their own apps.
Payanywhere Storefront, a tablet and stand designed for retail payment acceptance, was launched in April 2014.
In August 2015, Payanywhere introduced a new version of its Payanywhere mobile credit card reader that would accept both EMV chip card and Apple Pay transactions. Then, in October of that same year, Payanywhere began offering the only mobile NFC reader on the market that accepted Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay.
In September 2017, Payanywhere became the first payment processor to offer Bluetooth EMV credit card readers without a monthly fee. As of December 2017, Payanywhere users are able to use a camera or barcode scanner to accept Alipay through both the mobile app and Payanywhere Storefront.
Overview
Payanywhere’s payments platform allows merchants to accept credit and debit card payments on a smartphone or tablet (Storefront) while also enabling them to view reporting, send and receive invoices, accept online payments through a virtual terminal, and manage employees, customers, and inventory. Merchants may accept traditional magstriped credit and debit cards, along with EMV chip cards, and NFC payments like ApplePay – all with next-day funding, access to Payanywhere Inside, a secure, online merchant portal, and live customer and technical support.
Business model
Payanywhere offers Standard (as low as 1.69% per swipe), Pay-As-You-Go (as low as 2.69% per swipe) and Custom pricing models. Up-to-date versions of the app can be downloaded, at no cost, in the App Store and Google Play. Merchants can accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express credit and debit cards. As of December 2015, Payanywhere charges inactivity fees for idle accounts; otherwise they claim there are no monthly fees or cancellation fees.
The Payanywhere platform also includes security features like data encryption, tokenization, and fraud protection. Additionally, in-app and online reporting provide small and medium-sized business owners with analysis tools. Users can monitor their daily sales, create inventories and generate customized reports of all sales activity in real time. This enables users to track sales immediately or over the long term and evaluate sales based on time of day, week or month to assess inventory orders and product promotions.
Features
Payanywhere offers the following features:
Accept credit and cash transactions in store or on-the-go.
Accept magstripe, EMV chip cards, and contactless payments like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay
Three different pricing plans
Invoicing and dispute management tools
Access to in-depth reports in-app and online
Employee and customer management
Online payment acceptance via a virtual terminal
PCI-compliant equipment
Custom discounts, tips, and tax by location
Emailable receipts
Cash drawer and printer connectivity and QuickBooks integration
Access to SDKs, APIs, code samples, test accounts, hosted ecommerce solutions, and PC-based middleware
Live customer support through live chat, phone, and email
Access to Payanywhere Inside, a secure, online merchant portal
Retail
At CTIA Wireless 2012, Payanywhere announced its intention to expand into the retail channel, making its mobile payment solution available in stores and online from retailers nationwide.
In November 2012 the company announced its nationwide retail rollout was live. Nationwide retailers include Walmart, OfficeMax and The Home Depot. Specialty retailers include Pep Boys and Hastings. Regional retailers include Fred Meyer and Meijer. Payanywhere is also available for purchase online at Walmart, OfficeMax, and Amazon.com.
Awards and reception
PayAnywhere was a finalist for the Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards under the Mobile Applications: Mobile Commerce, Shopping & Rewards category.
Black Enterprise named PayAnywhere the “Most Dynamic Mobile App” at the 2012 Black Enterprise Best in Show Awards at CTIA Wireless 2012.
J.P. Morgan analyst Tien-tsin Huang commented that “being born out of a top merchant processor gives PayAnywhere an advantage in understanding the complex needs of businesses looking to accept card-based payments.”
In a mobile payment roundup, Eric Geier of PCWorld advised “PayAnywhere’s system is a good choice if you’re looking for a simple processor or even a POS-like system that supports cash drawers and can print receipts.”
Jessica Dolcourt of CNET reviewed PayAnywhere at CTIA Wireless 2012 and said “Payanywhere is taking swipes at Square’s credit card reader with a strong offering of its own and national distribution.”
References
Companies based in Troy, Michigan
Credit cards in the United States
Mobile payments |
38947394 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical%20image%20sharing | Medical image sharing | Medical image sharing is the electronic exchange of medical images between hospitals, physicians and patients. Rather than using traditional media, such as a CD or DVD, and either shipping it out or having patients carry it with them, technology now allows for the sharing of these images using the cloud. The primary format for images is DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine). Typically, non-image data such as reports may be attached in standard formats like PDF (Portable Document Format) during the sending process. Additionally, there are standards in the industry, such as IHE Cross Enterprise Document Sharing for Imaging (XDS-I), for managing the sharing of documents between healthcare enterprises. A typical architecture involved in setup is a locally installed server, which sits behind the firewall, allowing secure transmissions with outside facilities. In 2009, the Radiological Society of North America launched the "Image Share" project, with the goal of giving patients control of their imaging histories (reports and images) by allowing them to manage these records as they would online banking or shopping.
Uses
Care Facilities: Institutions use medical image sharing to facilitate transfers between other facilities that may or may not be on the same network. They are also able to instantly send results to referring physicians in the community, as well as directly to patients.
Physicians: Doctors use the technology to have immediate access to images, as opposed to waiting for physical media to arrive. Having access to a patient's medical history improves the point of care service.
Patients: In conjunction with recent US government initiatives, patients are able to receive their imaging exams electronically, without needing to carry and store physical media. It allows for the ability to see physicians in multiple locations and have their imaging at the ready.
Benefits
Improved access to patients’ medical imaging histories
Ability to view images instantly
Real-time collaboration by specialists
Avoiding duplicate care reduces costs
Decreased radiation exposure for patients
Expertise and specialized opinion is remotely accessible to patients
Health
Medical Image Sharing contributes to many of the "Health" initiatives across the industry. Being able to instantly and electronically exchange medical information can improve communication between physicians, as well as with patients.
Meaningful Use: The goal of meaningful use is to promote the spread of electronic health records to improve health care in the United States, which is to be rolled out in 3 stages through 2015. Some benefits of the initiative include better access to medical information and patient empowerment. Medical image sharing helps achieve meaningful use by improving access to medical images to patients and physicians.
Telehealth: The practice of delivering healthcare services utilizing telecommunication technologies is known as Telehealth. A major goal is to support long-distance health care for patients who are unable to easily travel to the point of care. Patients and professionals are also able to obtain further knowledge on health topics. As a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) promotes the use of telehealth technologies. Sharing medical images over long distances can happen instantaneously with these technologies, allowing a physician to review a patient's images during the conference.
Patient Engagement: Recent changes in the healthcare industry have placed more emphasis on empowering patients to control and have access to more of their medical information. The use of tools such as Electronic health records will help patients take a more active role in their health. With medical image sharing, patients can receive their medical imaging electronically, and then be able to share that information with the next physician they are seeing.
Cloud Computing: Using software that is delivered as a service over the internet is referred to as Cloud computing. Typically, medical image sharing will be rolled out as a service for hospitals, clinicians and patients.
Mobile: The use of mobile electronic devices has been rising across many industries, with healthcare included. As a physician, having access to medical images on the go is an important development in the field.
Architecture
A typical architecture for a medical image sharing platform includes transmitting data from a system installed directly on the hospital network and behind the firewall, to and from an outside entity. Some of the standard architectural pieces involved include:
Data transmission is the physical transfer of data through a communication channel, such as wires, wireless technologies or physical media. The most common use case for image sharing would be transmitting the image files using the cloud, allowing for instant access and exchange with anyone, anywhere. A Virtual private network (VPN) can be set up to enable exchange, but this is typically requires more to maintain for the facilities involved.
Data compression is used to help facilitate the exchange of large files by encoding using smaller bits than the original version. This process helps reduce the resources being used and improves the transmission capabilities.
Security: One widely utilized security tool is TSL/SSL, or Transport Layer Security. The Transport Layer Security (TLS)/Secure Sockets Layer (SSLv3) is used to secure electronic communications. TLS/SSLv3 helps to secure transmitted data using encryption. TLS/SSLv3 authenticates clients to prove the identities of parties engaged in secure communication, as well as authenticates servers. The TLS/SSLv3 security protocol can protect against data disclosure, masquerade attacks, bucket brigade attacks, rollback attacks, and replay attacks.
Data Centers: A Data center is used to house computer systems and associated pieces. The main use of these facilities in medical image sharing is to provide backup. The infrastructure commonly includes redundant power, redundant generators, redundant Internet connections, redundant firewalls, redundant network switches, and redundant storage. This is a vital piece to ensure that medical images are safe and secure in the cloud.
Integrations
Image sharing platforms can integrate directly with many hospital systems, such as:
Active Directory - Link to a hospital Active Directory for seamless use by staffed physicians.
Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) - A medical imaging technology that provides economical storage of, and convenient access to, images from multiple modalities within a facility.
Electronic medical record (EMR) - A computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or physician's office.
Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) - A medical imaging technology in which images and documents (and potentially any file of clinical relevance) are stored (archived) in a standard format with a standard interface, such that they can be accessed in a vendor-neutral manner by other systems.
Decision support system - A computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities.
Health information exchange (HIE) - The mobilization of healthcare information electronically across organizations within a region, community or hospital system.
Personal health record (PHR) - A health record where health data and information related to the care of a patient is maintained by the patient.
Standards
DICOM - A standard for handling, storing, printing, and transmitting information in medical imaging.
Cross Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS) - Focused on providing a standards-based specification for managing the sharing of documents between any healthcare enterprise, ranging from a private physician office to a clinic to an acute care in-patient facility and personal health record systems.
Cross-enterprise Document Sharing for Imaging (XDS-I) - Extends XDS to share images, diagnostic reports and related information across a group of care sites.
HL7
Privacy
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - Enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.
Government Initiatives
HITECH Act: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was instituted on February 17, 2009, in hopes of raising the overall meaningful use of health IT. It was created as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It also addressed security and privacy issues related to electronic exchange of medical information.
Blue Button: A patient is provided with a highly visible, clickable button to download his or her medical records in digital form from a secure website offered by their doctors, insurers, pharmacies or other health-related service. People can log into this secure website to view and have the option to download their health information, so they can examine it, check it, and share it with their doctors and others as they see fit. The Blue Button download capability is a tool that can help individuals get access to their information so they can more effectively participate in and manage their health and health care. It is mainly being used by the Department of Veteran Affairs in the United States.
RSNA Image Share Project
RSNA Image Share is a network created to enable radiologists to share medical images with patients using personal health record (PHR) accounts. This pilot project, funded by the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (Nibib) and administered by RSNA, began enrolling patients in 2011.
Currently, there are five participating medical centers in the program - Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, UCSF Medical Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, University of Chicago Medical Center, and Mayo Clinic. Patients at these sites are able to receive and access their medical images electronically. As of January 2017, there were seven software companies who have completed the RSNA Image Share Validation, Agfa Healthcare, Ambra Health (formerly DICOM Grid), GE Healthcare, Lexmark Healthcare, LifeImage, Inc., Mach7 Technologies and Novarad.
There are three main architectural pieces to the project:
A clearinghouse in the cloud
An Edge Server at each local radiology site
A PHR to receive the images and reports
See also
Medical imaging
DICOM
Medical software
Telemedicine
Electronic health record (EHR)
Radiology
Radiology Information System
Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA)
Picture Archiving & Communications System (PACS)
Imaging Informatics
Cloud computing
References
Health informatics
Medical imaging
Image sharing websites |
38993942 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows%208.1 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 8.1 is a release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its predecessor, and succeeded by Windows 10 on July 29, 2015. Windows 8.1 was made available for download via MSDN and Technet and available as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows RT users via the Windows Store. A server counterpart was released on October 18, 2013, entitled Windows Server 2012 R2. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 8.1 on January 9, 2018, and extended support will end on January 10, 2023.
Windows 8.1 aimed to address complaints of Windows 8 users and reviewers on launch. Visible enhancements include an improved Start screen, additional snap views, additional bundled apps, tighter OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) integration, Internet Explorer 11 (IE11), a Bing-powered unified search system, restoration of a visible Start button on the start menu, and the ability to restore the previous behavior of opening the user's desktop on login instead of the Start screen. IE11 was also included with the release of its successor, Windows 10, on July 29, 2015, but Microsoft Edge is the default browser in this version of Windows, and there, Internet Explorer is configured to run websites based on legacy HTML technologies. Windows 8.1 also added support for such emerging technologies as high-resolution displays, 3D printing, Wi-Fi Direct, and Miracast streaming, as well as the ReFS file system. After January 12, 2016, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 users would need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 for continued support.
Windows 8.1 received more positive reception than Windows 8, with critics praising the expanded functionality available to apps in comparison to Windows 8, its OneDrive integration, its user interface tweaks, and the addition of expanded tutorials for operating the Windows 8 interface. Despite these improvements, Windows 8.1 was still criticized for not addressing all issues of Windows 8 (such as poor integration between Metro-style apps and the desktop interface), and the potential privacy implications of the expanded use of online services. , 2.94% of traditional PCs running Windows were running Windows 8.1, making it 4th most popular Windows since Windows 11 surpassed it.
History
In February 2013, ZDNet writer Mary Jo Foley disclosed potential rumors about "Blue", the codename for a wave of planned updates across several Microsoft products and services, including Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Outlook.com, and SkyDrive. In particular, the report detailed that Microsoft was planning to shift to a more "continuous" development model, which would see major revisions to its main software platforms released on a consistent yearly cycle to keep up with market demands. Lending credibility to the reports, Foley noted that a Microsoft staff member had listed experience with "Windows Blue" on his LinkedIn profile, and listed it as a separate operating system from 8.
A post-RTM build of Windows 8, build 9364, was leaked in March 2013. The build, which was believed to be of "Windows Blue", revealed a number of enhancements across Windows 8's interface, including additional size options for tiles, expanded color options on the Start screen, the expansion of PC Settings to include more options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel, the ability for apps to snap to half of the screen, the ability to take screenshots from the Share charm, additional stock apps, increased SkyDrive integration (such as automatic device backups) and Internet Explorer 11. Shortly afterward on March 26, 2013, corporate vice president of corporate communications Frank X. Shaw officially acknowledged the "Blue" project, stating that continuous development would be "the new normal" at Microsoft, and that "our product groups are also taking a unified planning approach so people get what they want—all of their devices, apps and services working together wherever they are and for whatever they are doing."
In early May, press reports announcing the upcoming version in Financial Times and The Economist negatively compared Windows 8 to New Coke. The theme was then echoed and debated in the computer press. Shaw rejected this criticism as "extreme", adding that he saw a comparison with Diet Coke as more appropriate.
On May 14, 2013, Microsoft announced that "Blue" was officially unveiled as Windows 8.1. Following a keynote presentation focusing on this version, the public beta of Windows 8.1 was released on June 26, 2013, during Build. Build 9600 of Windows 8.1 was released to OEM hardware partners on August 27, 2013, and became generally available on October 17, 2013. Unlike past releases of Windows and its service packs, volume license customers and subscribers to MSDN Plus and TechNet Plus were unable to obtain the RTM version upon its release; a spokesperson stated that the change in policy was to allow Microsoft to work with OEMs "to ensure a quality experience at general availability." Microsoft stated that Windows 8.1 would be released to the general public on October 17, 2013. However, after criticism, Microsoft reversed its decision and released the RTM build on MSDN and TechNet on September 9, 2013. Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1, along with Windows Server 2012 R2, was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013. Prior to the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft premiered a new television commercial in late-September 2013 that focused on its changes as part of the "Windows Everywhere" campaign.
Shortly after its release, Windows RT 8.1 was temporarily recalled by Microsoft following reports that some users had encountered a rare bug which corrupted the operating system's Boot Configuration Data during installation, resulting in an error on startup. On October 21, 2013, Microsoft confirmed that the bug was limited to the original Surface tablet, and only affected 1 in 1000 installations. The company released recovery media and instructions which could be used to repair the device, and restored access to Windows RT 8.1 the next day.
It was also found that changes to screen resolution handling on Windows 8.1 resulted in mouse input lag in certain video games that do not use the DirectInput API's—particularly first-person shooter games, including Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Hitman: Absolution, and Metro 2033. Users also found the issues to be more pronounced when using gaming mice with high resolution and/or polling rates. Microsoft released a patch to fix the bug on certain games in November 2013, and acknowledged that it was caused by "changes to mouse-input processing for low-latency interaction scenarios".
Update
On April 8, 2014, Microsoft released the Windows 8.1 Update, which included all past updates plus new features. It was unveiled by Microsoft vice president Joe Belfiore at Mobile World Congress on February 23, 2014, and detailed in full at Microsoft's Build conference on April 2. Belfiore noted that the update would lower the minimum system requirements for Windows, so it can be installed on devices with as little as 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. Unlike Windows 8.1 itself, this cumulative update is distributed through Windows Update, and must be installed in order to receive any further patches for Windows 8.1.
At the 2014 Build conference, during April, Microsoft's Terry Myerson unveiled further user interface changes for Windows 8.1, including the ability to run Metro-style apps inside desktop windows, and a revised Start menu, which creates a compromise between the Start menu design used by Windows 7 and the Start screen, by combining the application listing in the first column with a second that can be used to display app tiles, whereas Windows 8.0 used a screen hotspot ("hot corner"). Myerson stated that these changes would occur in a future update, but did not elaborate further. A distinction is the removal of the tooltip with the preview thumbnail of the Start screen.
Microsoft also unveiled a concept known as "Universal Windows apps", in which a Windows Runtime app can be ported to Windows Phone 8.1 and Xbox One while sharing a common codebase. While it does not entirely unify Windows' app ecosystem with that of Windows Phone, it will allow developers to synchronize data between versions of their app on each platform, and bundle access to Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox One versions of an app in a single purchase.
Microsoft originally announced that users who did not install the update would not receive any other updates after May 13, 2014. However, meeting this deadline proved challenging: The ability to deploy Windows 8.1 Update through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) was disabled shortly after its release following the discovery of a bug which affects the ability to use WSUS as a whole in certain server configurations. Microsoft later fixed the issue but users continued to report that the update may fail to install. Microsoft's attempt to fix the problem was ineffective, to the point that Microsoft pushed the support deadline further to June 30, 2014. On 16 May, Microsoft released additional updates to fix a problem of BSOD in the update.
Distribution
Microsoft markets Windows 8.1 as an "update" for Windows 8, avoiding the term "upgrade." Microsoft's support lifecycle policy treats Windows 8.1 similar to previous service packs of Windows: It is part of Windows 8's support lifecycle, and upgrading to Windows 8.1 is required to maintain access to support and Windows updates after January 12, 2016.
Retail and OEM copies of Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT can be upgraded through Windows Store free of charge. However, volume license customers, TechNet or MSDN subscribers and users of Windows 8 Enterprise must acquire standalone installation media for Windows 8.1 and install through the traditional Windows setup process, either as an in-place upgrade or clean install. This requires a Windows 8.1-specific product key.
Upgrading through Windows Store requires each machine to download an upgrade package as big as 2–3.6 GB. Unlike the traditional Windows service packs, the standalone installer, which could be downloaded once and installed as many times as needed, requires a Windows 8.1-specific product key. On July 1, 2014, acknowledging difficulties users may have had through the Windows Store update method, Microsoft began to phase in an automatic download process for Windows 8.1.
Windows 8 was re-issued at retail as Windows 8.1 alongside the online upgrade for those who did not currently own a Windows 8 license. Retail copies of Windows 8.1 contain "Full" licenses that can be installed on any computer, regardless of their existing operating system, unlike Windows 8 retail copies, which were only available at retail with upgrade licenses. Microsoft stated that the change was in response to customer feedback, and to allow more flexibility for users. Pricing for the retail copies of Windows 8.1 remained the same.
Windows 8.1 with Bing is a reduced-cost SKU of Windows 8.1 that was introduced by Microsoft in May 2014 in an effort to further encourage the production of low-cost Windows devices, whilst "driving end-user usage of Microsoft Services such as Bing and OneDrive". It is subsidized by Microsoft's Bing search engine, which is set as the default within Internet Explorer and cannot be changed by OEMs. However, this restriction does not apply to end-users, who can still change the default search engine freely. It is otherwise and functionally identical to the base edition of Windows 8.1.
New and changed features
Many of the changes on Windows 8.1, particularly to the user interface, were made in response to criticisms from early adopters and other critics after the release of Windows 8.
User interface and desktop
The Start screen received several enhancements on Windows 8.1, including an extended "All Apps" view with sort modes (accessed by clicking a new down arrow button or swiping upward), small and extra-large sizes for tiles, and colored tiles for desktop program shortcuts. Additional customization options were also added, such as expanded color options, new backgrounds (some of which incorporate animated elements), and the ability for the Start screen to use the desktop background instead. Applications were no longer added to the Start screen automatically when installed, and all applications now have colored tiles (desktop programs were previously shown in a single color). The app snapping system was also extended; up to four apps can be snapped onto a single display depending on screen size, apps can be snapped to fill half the screen, and can also be used on any display in a multi-monitor configuration. Apps can also launch other apps in a snapped view to display content; for example, the Mail app can open a photo attachment in a picture viewer snapped to another half of the screen. Improved support is also provided by apps for using devices in a portrait (vertical) orientation. The lock screen offers the ability to use a photo slideshow as its backdrop, and a shortcut to the Camera app by swiping up. The on-screen keyboard has an improved autocomplete mechanism which displays multiple word suggestions, and allows users to select from them by sliding on the spacebar. The autocomplete dictionary is also automatically updated using data from Bing, allowing it to recognize and suggest words relating to current trends and events. Similarly to Windows Phone, certain apps now display a narrow bar with three dots on it to indicate the presence of a pop-up menu accessible by swiping, clicking on the dots, or right-clicking.
To improve the usability of the desktop interface, a visible Start button was restored to the taskbar for opening the Start screen, and the Quick Links menu (accessed by right-clicking the Start button or pressing ) now contains shutdown and sign-out options. Users can also modify certain user interface behaviors, such as disabling the upper hot corners for using the charms and recent apps list, going to the desktop instead of the Start screen on login or after closing all apps on a screen, automatically opening the "All Apps" view on the Start screen when opened, and prioritizing desktop programs on the "Category" sort mode on "All Apps". To assist users in learning the Windows 8 user interface, an interactive tutorial was also offered, along with a new Help + Tips app for additional information. In contrast, Windows RT 8.1 downplays the desktop interface further by not displaying the Desktop tile on its default Start screen at all (however, it can still be manually added to the Start screen).
Windows manager Chaitanya Sareen stated that the restoration of the visible Start button was intended to be a "warm blanket" for users who had become confused by the removal of the button on 8; the Start button was originally removed to reflect Windows 8's treatment of the desktop as an "app" rather than the main interface.
Further interface behavior changes are made on the April 2014 "Windows 8.1 Update", which are oriented towards non-touch environments (such as desktop and laptop PCs) that use a keyboard and mouse, and improve integration between Windows Store apps and the desktop. When a mouse is in use, the Desktop is shown on startup by default, the Start screen uses context menus instead of a toolbar across the bottom of the screen for manipulating tiles, an autohiding title bar with minimize and close buttons is displayed within apps at the top of the screen, the taskbar can display and pin apps alongside desktop programs and be accessed from within apps, and visible search and power buttons are added to the Start screen. In non-touch environments, the default image viewer and media player programs were changed back to Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Media Player in lieu of the Xbox Video and Photos apps.
Apps
The suite of pre-loaded apps bundled with Windows 8 were changed in Windows 8.1; PC Settings was expanded to include options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel, Windows Store was updated with an improved interface for browsing apps and automatic updates, the Mail app includes an updated interface and additional features, the Camera app integrates Photosynth for creating panoramas, and additional editing tools were added to the Photos app (while integration with Flickr and Facebook was completely removed). A number of additional stock apps were also added, including Calculator, Food and Drink, Health and Fitness, Sound Recorder, Reading List (which can be used to collect and sync content from apps through OneDrive), Scan, and Help + Tips. For Windows RT users, Windows 8.1 also adds a version of Microsoft Outlook to the included Office 2013 RT suite. However, it does not support data loss protection, Group Policy, Lync integration, or creating emails with information rights management. Windows Store is enabled by default within Windows To Go environments. On January 31, 2020, Microsoft released the new Microsoft Edge web browser for Windows 8.1.
Online services and functionality
Windows 8.1 adds tighter integration with several Microsoft-owned services. OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is integrated at the system level to sync user settings and files. Files are automatically downloaded in the background when they are accessed from the user's OneDrive folder, unless they are marked to be available offline. By default, only file metadata and thumbnails are stored locally, and reparse points are used to give the appearance of a normal directory structure to provide backwards compatibility. The OneDrive app was updated to include a local file manager. OneDrive use on Windows 8.1 requires that a user's Windows account be linked to a Microsoft account; the previous SkyDrive desktop client (which did not have this requirement) is not supported on Windows 8.1.
A Bing-based unified search system was added; it can analyze a user's search habits to return results featuring relevant local and online content. Full-screen "hero" displays aggregate news articles, Wikipedia entries, multimedia, and other content related to a search query; for instance, searching for a music performer would return photos of the performer, a biography, and their available songs and albums on Xbox Music. The messaging app from Windows 8 has been replaced by Skype, which also allows users to accept calls directly from the lock screen. Windows 8.1 also includes Internet Explorer 11, which adds support for SPDY and WebGL, and expanded developer tools. The Metro-style variant of IE11 also adds tab syncing, the ability to open an unlimited number of tabs, and Reading List integration.
Due to Facebook Connect service changes, Facebook support is disabled in all bundled apps effective June 8, 2015.
Security and hardware compatibility
On compatible hardware, Windows 8.1 also features a transparent "device encryption" system based on BitLocker. Encryption begins as soon as a user begins using the system; the recovery key is stored to either the user's Microsoft account or an Active Directory login, allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all editions of Windows 8.1 unlike BitLocker (which is exclusive to the Pro and Enterprise editions), device encryption requires that the device meet the Connected Standby specification and have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 chip. Windows 8.1 also introduces improved fingerprint recognition APIs, which allows user login, User Account Control, Windows Store and Windows Store apps to use enrolled fingerprints as an authentication method. A new kiosk mode known as "Assigned Access" was also added, allowing a device to be configured to use a single app in a restricted environment. Additionally, Windows Defender includes an intrusion detection system which can scan network activity for signs of malware. Windows 8.1 also allows third-party VPN clients to automatically trigger connections.
For enterprise device management, Windows 8.1 adds support for the Workplace Join feature of Windows Server 2012 R2, which allows users to enroll their own device into corporate networks with finer control over access to resources and security requirements. Windows 8.1 also supports the OMA Device Management specifications. Remote Data Control can be used to remotely wipe specific "corporate" data from Windows 8.1 devices.
The 64-bit variants of Windows 8.1 no longer support processors which do not implement the double-width compare and exchange (CMPXCHG16B) CPU instruction (which the installer reports as a lack of support for "CompareExchange128"). A Microsoft spokesperson noted that the change primarily affects systems with older AMD 64-bit processors, and that "the number of affected processors are extremely small since this instruction has been supported for greater than 10 years." It mostly concerns Socket 754 and Socket 939 Athlon 64 from 2004 and 2005; the Socket AM2 CPUs should all have the instruction. Brad Chacos of PC World also reported a case in which Windows 8.1 rejected Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 and a Q9550S despite their support for this instruction, because the associated Intel DP35DP motherboard did not. These changes do not affect the 32-bit variants of Windows 8.1.
Hardware functionality
Windows 8.1 adds support for 3D printing, pairing with printers using NFC tags, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast media streaming, tethering, and NVMe. In response to the increasing pixel density in displays, Windows 8.1 can scale text and GUI elements up to 200% (whereas Windows 8 supported only 150%) and set scaling settings independently on each display in multi-monitor configurations.
Removed features
Backup and Restore, the backup component of Windows that had been deprecated but was available in Windows 8 through a Control Panel applet called "Windows 7 File Recovery", was removed.
Windows 8.1 also removes the graphical user interface for the Windows System Assessment Tool, meaning that the Windows Experience Index is no longer displayed. The command line variant of the tool remains available on the system. Microsoft reportedly removed the graphical Windows Experience Index in order to promote the idea that all kinds of hardware run Windows 8 equally well.
Windows 8.1 removed the ability of several Universal Windows Platform apps to act as "hubs" connecting similar services within a single interface:
The Photos app lost the ability to view photos from Facebook, Flickr or SkyDrive (branded as OneDrive since February 2014). Instead, each service provider is expected to create its own app;
The Messaging app, which was interoperable with Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat, was deprecated in favor of a Skype app that is not compatible with Facebook Chat;
The Calendar app can only connect to Microsoft services such as Outlook.com and Microsoft Exchange, with support for Google Calendar removed.
Since October 2016, all future patches are cumulative as with Windows 10; individual patches can no longer be downloaded.
Reception
Windows 8.1 received more positive reviews than Windows 8. Tom Warren of The Verge still considered the platform to be a "work in progress" due to the number of apps available, the impaired level of capabilities that apps have in comparison to desktop programs, and because he felt that mouse and keyboard navigation was still "awkward". However, he touted many of the major changes on Windows 8.1, such as the expanded snapping functionality, increased Start screen customization, SkyDrive and Bing integration, improvements to stock apps, and particularly he considered the Mail app to be "lightyears ahead" of the original version from 8. He concluded that "Microsoft has achieved a lot within 12 months, even a lot of the additions feel like they should have been there from the very start with Windows 8."
Joel Hruska of ExtremeTech criticized continuing integration problems between the Desktop and apps on Windows 8.1, pointing out examples such as the Photos app, which "still refuses to acknowledge that users might have previous photo directories", and that the Mail app "still can’t talk to the desktop—if you try to send an email from the Desktop without another mail client installed, Windows will tell you there’s no mail client capable of performing that action." However, he praised the improvements to other apps, such as People and News (pointing out UI improvements, and the News app using proper links when sharing stories, rather than non-standard links that can only be recognized by the app). Although praising the more flexible snapping system, he still pointed out flaws, such as an inability to maintain snap configurations in certain situations. Windows 8.1's search functionality was met with mixed reviews; while noting the Bing integration and updated design, the system was panned for arbitrarily leaving out secondary storage devices from the "Everything" mode.
Peter Bright of Ars Technica praised many of the improvements on Windows 8.1, such as its more "complete" touch interface, the "reasonable" tutorial content, the new autocomplete tools on the on-screen keyboard, software improvements, and the deep SkyDrive integration. However, he felt that the transition between the desktop and apps "still tends to feel a bit disjointed and disconnected" (even though the option to use the desktop wallpaper on the Start screen made it feel more integrated with the desktop interface rather than dissimilar), and that the restoration of the Start button made the two interfaces feel even more inconsistent because of how different it operates between the desktop and apps.
Certain aspects of Windows 8.1 were also cause for concern because of their privacy implications. In his review of Windows 8.1, Joel Hruska noted that Microsoft had deliberately made it harder for users to create a "Local" account that is not tied to a Microsoft account for syncing, as it "[makes] clear that the company really, really, wants you to share everything you do with it, and that’s not something an increasing number of people and businesses are comfortable doing." Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld noted that by default Windows 8.1's "Smart Search" system sends search queries and other information to Microsoft, which could be used for targeted advertising. Leonhard considered this to be ironic, given that Microsoft had criticized Google's use of similar tactics with its "Scroogled" advertising campaign.
Market share
According to Net Applications, the adoption rate in March 2015 for Windows 8.1 was at 10.55%, three times that of the original Windows 8 at 3.52%. Windows 8.1 reached a peak adoption rate of 13.12% in June 2015 compared with Windows 8 peak adoption rate of 8.02% in September 2013.
End-of-life
In May 2019, Microsoft announced that it will end support for Windows 8.1 on January 10, 2023.
See also
Comparison of operating systems
History of operating systems
List of operating systems
Microsoft Windows version history
References
Further reading
External links
Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355)
Windows 8.1 update history
Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals - Technical Overview Bott, Ed. (2013)
2013 software
IA-32 operating systems
Windows 8
8.1
X86-64 operating systems
Tablet operating systems |
39025766 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COMINT%20%28The%20Americans%29 | COMINT (The Americans) | "COMINT" is the fifth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on February 27, 2013.
Plot
Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), posing as a security company inspector, goes to the home of Adam Dorwin (Michael Countryman), an anti-ballistics program contractor who has recently lost his wife. Elizabeth asks if he had received communications from foreign agents, and he assures her he hadn't even told his wife about his job. Dorwin is revealed to be a KGB agent, whom Elizabeth was subtly prompting to call his handler. After she leaves, Dorwin proceeds to call his handler, Vasili Nikolaevich (Peter Von Berg) from the Soviet embassy. Dorwin says that he is losing it and Vasili says that they will meet soon. The FBI hears that Dorwin may be ready to spy for them, as he is becoming uneasy.
Elizabeth meets Claudia (Margo Martindale) and tells her that, if pressed harder, Dorwin would have told her everything. Claudia tells her that Dorwin had sent four signals for a meet in the last week, but no meet took place because FBI surveillance teams are using new encryption on their radios, so Russian agents can't tell when they're being followed. Claudia then tells Elizabeth about an agent she ran in West Germany – a loner whom she befriended. One day, they didn't need him any more, so he killed himself.
Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) convinces Nina (Annet Mahendru) to find out what is going on with Dorwin. Nina performs fellatio on Vasili for information. He tells her that Dorwin simply has the "jitters." Stan is hurt when Nina tells him how she got Vasili to talk. Elizabeth finds and seduces the FBI contractor of the encryption cards hidden in the trunks of FBI vehicles. He begins to beat her with his belt and Elizabeth, pretending to be scared, begs him to stop. When Philip (Matthew Rhys) sees the marks on her back, he is furious and tells Elizabeth that he'll deal with the contractor. Elizabeth is insulted, stating: "If I wanted to deal with him, you don't think he'd be dealt with?"
On their mission, Philip and Elizabeth argue in the car about the FBI contractor. Elizabeth confirms that FBI agents are tailing them two cars behind. Philip brakes suddenly, causing the FBI vehicle to rear-end an elderly woman's car in between them. The FBI agents go to a garage to get their car repaired, while Philip pretends to need repairs on his vehicle. His car is placed on an adjacent lift. While both cars are on lifts and Philip is distracting the mechanic and FBI agents below the cars, Elizabeth, hiding in the trunk of Philip's car, gets out and, out of view, climbs into the FBI agents' trunk. She finds the encryption card she needs, but is unable to leave as the car has been fixed. She is driven in the trunk to the FBI headquarters, but escapes and meets Philip outside.
Stan is at home learning Russian by tape when his wife, Sandra (Susan Misner), tries to bring him to bed, but he declines. She reminds him of happier times, but he declines again and continues to listen to the tape. The next day, Nina, in Vasili's office giving him oral sex under his desk, overhears Arkady Ivanovich (Lev Gorn) tell Vasili that they have the encryption codes. Vasili tells him to organize a meet for the next day with Dorwin. Nina tells Stan this and the FBI has the codes changed.
Hearing static, Arkady tells Vasili that the FBI must have changed the codes and that Dorwin may be leading him into a trap. Vasili goes anyway, leading the FBI to follow him. At the same time, Dorwin is in another location. He is shot in the head and killed by Elizabeth. Philip meets Claudia, who tells him that there is a mole working for the FBI.
Production
The episode was written by Melissa James Gibson and directed by Holly Dale.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 27, 2013, "COMINT" was watched by 1.44 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.
References
External links
The Americans (season 1) episodes
2013 American television episodes |
39036556 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon%20counting | Photon counting | Photon counting is a technique in which individual photons are counted using a single-photon detector (SPD). A single-photon detector emits a pulse of signal for each detected photon, in contrast to a normal photodetector, which generates an analog signal proportional to the photon flux. The number of pulses (but not their amplitude) is counted, giving an integer number of photons detected per measurement interval. The counting efficiency is determined by the quantum efficiency and the system's electronic losses.
Many photodetectors can be configured to detect individual photons, each with relative advantages and disadvantages. Common types include photomultipliers, geiger counters, single-photon avalanche diodes, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, transition edge sensors, and scintillation counters. Charge-coupled devices can be used.
Advantages
Photon counting eliminates gain noise, where the proportionality constant between analog signal out and number of photons varies randomly. Thus, the excess noise factor of a photon-counting detector is unity, and the achievable signal-to-noise ratio for a fixed number of photons is generally higher than the same detector without photon counting.
Photon counting can improve temporal resolution. In a conventional detector, multiple arriving photons generate overlapping impulse responses, limiting temporal resolution to approximately the fall time of the detector. However, if it is known that a single photon was detected, the center of the impulse response can be evaluated to precisely determine its arrival time. Using time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), temporal resolution of less than 25 ps has been demonstrated using detectors with a fall time more than 20 times greater.
Disadvantages
Single-photon detectors are typically limited to detecting one photon at a time and may require time between detection events to reset. Photons that arrive during this interval may not be detected. Therefore, the maximum light intensity that can be accurately measured is typically low. Images/measurements composed of small numbers of photons intrinsically have a low signal to noise ratio due to shot noise caused by the randomly varying numbers of emitted photons. This effect is less pronounced in conventional detectors that can concurrently detect large numbers of photons, mitigating shot noise. Therefore the signal to noise ratio with photon counting is typically much lower than conventional detection, and obtaining usable images may require long acquisition times.
Applications
Single-photon detection is useful in fields such as:
fiber-optic communication
quantum information science
quantum encryption
medical imaging
light detection and ranging
DNA sequencing
astrophysics
materials science
Medicine
In radiology, one of the major disadvantages of X-ray imaging modalities is the negative effects of ionising radiation. Although the risk from small exposures (as used in most medical imaging) is thought to be small, the radiation protection principle of "as low as reasonably practicable" (ALARP) is always applied. One way of reducing exposures is to make X-ray detectors as efficient as possible, so that lower doses can be used for a given diagnostic image quality. Photon counting detectors could help, due to their ability to reject noise more easily. Photon counting is analogous to color photography, where each photon's differing energy affects the output, as compared to charge integration, which considers only the intensity of the signal, as in black and white photography.
Photon-counting mammography was introduced commercially in 2003. Although such systems are not widespread, some evidence supports their ability to produce comparable images at an approximately 40% lower dose than other digital mammography systems with flat panel detectors. Spectral imaging technology was subsequently developed to discriminate between photon energies, with the possibility to further improve image quality and to distinguish tissue types. Photon-counting computed tomography is another interest area, which is rapidly evolving and is approaching clinical feasibility.
Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy
Time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) precisely records the arrival times of individual photons, enabling measurement of picosecond time-scale differences in the arrival times of photons generated by fluorescent, phosphorescence or other chemical processes that emit light, providing additional molecular information about samples. The use of TCSPC enables relatively slow detectors to measure extremely minute time differences that would be obscured by overlapping impulse responses if multiple photons were incident concurrently.
LIDAR
Some pulse LIDAR systems operate in single photon counting mode using TCSPC to achieve higher resolution.
Measured quantities
The number of photons observed per unit time is the photon flux. The photon flux per unit area is the photon irradiance if the photons are incident on a surface, or photon exitance if the emission of photons from a broad-area source is being considered. The flux per unit solid angle is the photon intensity. The flux per unit source area per unit solid angle is photon radiance. SI units for these quantities are summarized in the table below.
See also
Single-photon source
Visible Light Photon Counter
Transition edge sensor
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector
Time-correlated single photon counting
Oversampled binary image sensor
References
Optical metrology
Photonics
Particle detectors |
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