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49126119

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongge%20Wang

Yongge Wang

Yongge Wang (born 1967) is a computer science professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte specialized in algorithmic complexity and cryptography. He is the inventor of IEEE P1363 cryptographic standards SRP5 and WANG-KE and has contributed to the mathematical theory of algorithmic randomness. He co-authored a paper demonstrating that a recursively enumerable real number is an algorithmically random sequence if and only if it is a Chaitin's constant for some encoding of programs. He also showed the separation of Schnorr randomness from recursive randomness. He also invented a distance based statistical testing technique to improve NIST SP800-22 testing in randomness tests. In cryptographic research, he is known for the invention of the quantum resistant random linear code based encryption scheme RLCE. References External links Yongge Wang's homepage Quantum Resistant RLCE Encryption Scheme homepage Modern cryptographers Chinese cryptographers Living people 1967 births

49164263

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUSE%20Enterprise%20Storage

SUSE Enterprise Storage

SUSE Enterprise Storage (SES) is a Linux-based computer data storage product developed by SUSE and built on Ceph technology. The second major release was available in November, 2015, and announced at SUSECon 2015. New features in 2.0 include cross-platform support in addition to the native Linux kernel and other RADOS-powered endpoints. Adding iSCSI, the ability to connect block storage to any system, even Microsoft Windows, meant an enterprise-grade software-defined storage system was now available for every major operating system supporting an iSCSI initiator. Features New features in SES 2.0 were the iSCSI target, encryption, simpler implementation with a Crowbar appliance used for SUSE OpenStack Cloud integration, and relationships with partners to bring Ceph to ARM-based hardware. SUSE Enterprise Storage and Ceph recommend against traditional fault-tolerance technologies, such as RAID. Ceph provides full duplication of all data so that loss of any single copy leaves at least two others (by default) available from which a new copy can be created and clients can continue to be serviced. Because the data are duplicated in their entirety, disk-based duplication via RAID is redundant, reducing overall capacity, and is therefore not encouraged. This design also makes mixing and matching sizes and types of disks possible, and allows for commodity grade hardware to be used cutting costs on the storage environment. The presence of multiple copies of data also provides clients with the ability to achieve greater read performance by pulling data from multiple disks simultaneously. Another feature of Ceph-based storage is the ability to define, via policy, the type of storage used for different types of data. This means that data can be stored more than the default three times providing higher redundancy and performance if deemed important, and it can also be stored on faster or slower disks depending on the business needs. The policies can go as far as to define redundant storage in multiple servers, multiple racks, multiple datacenter, or on different continents, all depending on the needs of the business or system administrator. Cache Tiering can also be used to help write performance by sending writes to cache to faster disks. SUSE Enterprise Storage 5, based on the Ceph Luminous release, broadens the scope and use cases for the SUSE Software Defined Storage solution. BlueStore, a new native object storage backend increases performance by up to a factor of two , whilst a more pervasive support of erasure coding increases the efficiency of a fault tolerant solution. Efficiency is enhanced with compression capabilities. SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 is based on the Ceph Nautilus release and built on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1. SES 6 delivers new features focused on containerized and cloud workload support, improved integration with public cloud, and enhanced data protection capabilities. SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 is based on the Octopus release of the open source Ceph technology and built on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2. It introduces a Windows driver for Ceph. In March 2021 SUSE stated that they were no longer developing or selling support SUSE Enterprise Storage. Existing support for SES7 would expire 31 Jan 2023 History SUSE Enterprise Storage 1.0 was released as an add-on to the popular SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12. As an add-on, it took advantage of the enterprise Linux stack available as part of SLES 12, and then provided highly-available, highly replicated, and high-performing storage which could be exposed via RADOS or iSCSI to other clients. SUSE Enterprise Storage (SES 5) was announced at SUSECon in September, 2017 and released in November, 2017 References SUSE Linux

49226494

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky%20Direct

Sky Direct

Sky Direct was a direct-broadcast satellite subscription television service in the Philippines owned and operated by Sky, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. Sky Cable had been eyeing for a DBS service and considered on acquiring Dream Satellite TV from Antonio O. Cojuangco, Jr. The acquisition of Dream was reported to have reached an advanced stage but for some undisclosed reasons, the deal was not sealed. Sky's entry to the DBS market was hindered by various oppositions from the industry, citing legal issues and the slow growth of the pay TV market in the country. On December 23, 2015, Sky was granted by the NTC a provisional authority to operate and maintain a DBS service in 251 cities and municipalities in the country for a period of 18 months. Sky Direct offered both prepaid and postpaid packages with exclusive channels from ABS-CBN and Creative Programs such as ABS-CBN HD, ABS-CBN News Channel, ABS-CBN Sports+Action HD, Cinema One, Jeepney TV, Metro Channel, Liga, and Myx. As of March 2019, Sky Direct had over 1 million subscribers. On June 30, 2020, Sky Direct currently stopped operations due to the alias cease-and-desist order (ACDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and Solicitor General Jose Calida regarding the expiration of ABS-CBN's legislative franchise. History In May 2015, Sky Cable Corporation applied with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for the roll-out of its DBS service with plans of spending at least 252 million pesos for the purchase of equipment (₱122 million) and working capital (₱130 million). On December 23, 2015, Sky Cable was granted a provisional authority by the NTC to operate and maintain a DBS service in 251 cities and municipalities for 18 months. Sky Cable plans to get 49,500 subscribers in the first year of operations and increase it to 864,600 subscribers in 10 years. NTC approved the application of Sky Cable to offer DBS services despite opposition from 14 companies from the cable and television industry. In January 2016, Sky Direct began the trial period for its prepaid service in three areas through authorized dealers in Metro Manila, province of Cavite and Quezon. Sky Direct had a soft launching on March 18, 2016 by releasing the television commercial advertisement with endorser Kris Aquino. The Sky Direct prepaid subscription package includes a satellite dish antenna, set top box (Integrated Receiver-Decoder) and remote control. Sky Direct uses the DVB-S2 digital television broadcast standard in the Ku band to provide standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) TV broadcasts. For the conditional access, it uses the Verimatrix encryption system to scramble the data and protect its content from signal piracy. On May 24, 2016, Luxembourg-based satellite owner SES S.A. announced a multi-year, multi-transponder capacity agreement with Sky Cable, Sky Direct's parent, to broadcast DTH television channels via the SES-9 and New Skies NSS-11 satellites at 108.2 degrees East. SES-9 is expected to be operational middle of 2016. Sky Direct broadcast In December 2015, Sky Direct began its test broadcast using SES NSS-11 satellite. But in May 2016, Sky Direct moved its full broadcast using SES-9 Satellite. Competition Sky Direct competes with Cignal, the leading DTH provider with more than two million subscribers owned by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) through MediaQuest Holdings, and with G Sat owned by Global Satellite Technology Services. Oppositions The entry of Sky Direct in the DTH service was being opposed by various groups citing violation of the anti-monopoly law, including Cignal and its sister company TV5 Network under the PLDT group, Dream Satellite TV, and the Philippine Cable Television Association. In a filing with the NTC, PMSI said the DTH players in the Philippines are expected to continue incur losses due to tougher competition with the entry of Sky Cable. From 2009 to 2013, Cignal TV incurred an accumulated deficit of 5 billion pesos, Dream with 1.1 billion pesos, and GSat with 173 million pesos. In February 2016, TV5 Network, Inc formally filed a motion for reconsideration with the NTC asking the regulator to dismiss Sky Cable's application to offer DBS and reverse its order from December 2015 that allowed Sky Cable to offer both wired and wireless cable network services nationwide. TV5 argued that DBS or wireless cable service is beyond the scope of Sky Cable’s franchise and articles of incorporation. According to TV5, Sky Cable's amended articles of incorporation states that it can establish and operate a cable television which is wired in nature and not a wireless service like DBS. The regulator emphasized in its December 2015 order that DBS service is within the scope of Sky Cable's congressional franchise. On June 29, during the joint hearing by the House Franchises and Good Government committee, regarding on their operations of ABS-CBN TV Plus, Sky Direct and its blocktime deal with AMCARA Broadcasting Network, the Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP), National Chairperson Estrellita Juliano Tamano has urged the to stop their operations, because of their expired franchise. After that, Telecommunications Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba announced that Sky Direct will cease operations, despite their objections made by Rodante Marcoleta, which he asked him to resign as commissioner and Boying Remulla's threat to face graft charges before the Ombudsman against him. References Sky (cable company) Direct broadcast satellite services Television in the Philippines Entertainment companies of the Philippines Entertainment companies established in 2016 Mass media companies established in 2016 Assets owned by ABS-CBN Corporation

49250163

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtium%20Solid%20State%20Storage%20and%20Memory

Virtium Solid State Storage and Memory

Virtium Solid State Storage and Memory (formerly known as Virtium Technology) is a privately held American maker of semiconductor memory and solid-state disk (SSD) products for data storage in industrial/machine-to-machine designs; embedded systems, including small-footprint designs; and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications. Primary markets the company focuses on are defense, industrial systems, network communications, and transportation. The name Virtium is derived from the word virtue. Description Virtium was co-founded in 1997 by Phu Hoang, a refugee from Vietnam, and Chinh Nguyen. Hoang lived on a boat before immigrating to North America and learned English in a refugee camp. Since co-founding Virtium, Hoang has been acknowledged for his entrepreneurship and innovation. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA, and with operations elsewhere in North America, Europe and Asia, Virtium designs, builds and supports its products in the United States. Virtium's primary products are memory modules and solid-state drives that use flash storage and are designed primarily with the SATA and PCI Express interfaces. Virtium was among the first to apply proprietary programming sequences that “bridge” between single-level-cell (SLC) and multi-level-cell (MLC) types of flash memory used in SSDs, thus drawing on the reliability of the former and the cost efficiencies of the latter. In 2016, Virtium introduced self-encrypting SSDs—the first family of industrial-grade SSDs with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) self-encryption available across all major drive form factors and designed for data security and data integrity. Those self-encrypting SSDs placed first in the Board, Modules & Embedded Systems category of the ECN magazine 2017 Impact Awards. Also in 2016, Virtium became one of the first industry vendors to market eUSB 3.0 storage modules in the ultra-small, 10-pin form factor. Later the same year, Virtium doubled the top capacity of its very-low-profile (VLP) RDIMM and Mini-RDIMM DDR4 memory modules to 64GB—at the time the highest capacity for industrial-embedded memory modules. In early 2021, Virtium introduced three 32GB ultra-low-profile (ULP) DDR4 modules that represent the industry’s first of that capacity in Mini-UDIMM, Mini-RDIMM and SO-UDIMM form factors, as well as the industry's first 64GB ULP RDIMM module. Virtium in September 2017 debuted its StorFly M.2 NVMe SSDs supporting industrial temperatures, or I-Temp (−40 °C to +85 °C), and drawing an industry-low 3 W of power. The company in 2019 expanded its StorFly family of SSDs to include industrial 3D NAND-based drives, followed by the StorFly-XR (for extra rugged) line of highly ruggedized SSDs using 3D NAND flash and XR-DIMM memory modules designed for military and aerospace applications. Virtium expanded the StorFly family further in 2019 with the addition of a four-terabyte SSD with industrial-temperature support and integrated data protection. The company in early 2020 brought to market its free StorKit SSD software suite for SSD qualification, migration from SLC and MLC to higher-density flash, and monitoring and maintenance of drives deployed locally or remotely. Also in 2020, Virtium announced it the StorFly SSD family through the addition of higher-capacity 2.5-inch SATA, M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe drives with I-Temp support. To address industrial-grade storage's increasing role in edge computing, Virtium later in 2020 collaborated with SolidRun to prequalify select Virtium SSDs, memory and SSD software for SolidRun computer-on-module and network computing platforms targeted at 5G communications systems. In early 2021, Virtium further expanded its SSD family with the Series 6 line of NVMe, I-Temp-supported drives focused on data-intensive workloads that was among Electronic Design magazine's Embedded Products and Solutions of the Week. Storage-industry journalist and author Tom Coughlin illustrated the need for durable solid-state storage for industrial-embedded applications in a 2021 Forbes article, which featured Virtium, its SSDs and the drives' applications. In May 2021, Virtium debuted the StorFly CFexpress PCIe Gen 4 Removable NVMe SSDs, the industry's first solid-state drives to incorporate NVMe, the PCI Express 4.0 interface and I-Temp in the highly compact CFexpress form factor. In August 2015, Virtium secured investment from L Squared Capital Partners and added David Bradford and Tim Leyden to its board of directors. Court Square Capital Partners acquired L Squared Capital's investment in Virtium in May 2019. Products and specialization Virtium specializes in memory modules, advanced components, flash-based solid-state drives (for local and remote storage), and supporting software. Those product lines were expanded in 2015 with multiple additions to the company's industrial-embedded systems category. The company's memory and storage products employ a variety of form factors and interfaces, including DIMM memory modules for DDR3L, MiniDIMM and ECC SoDIMM memory modules for DDR3L, and M.2, mSATA, CFast, Slim SATA, CompactFlash, PCI Express Mini Card, and eUSB SLC SSDs. Competitors include SMART Modular Technologies and Swissbit. References External links Official website TEDx video of Virtium founder Phu Hoang Virtium at-a-glance video Companies established in 1997 Companies based in Orange County, California Computer memory companies

49421920

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia%20Hofmann

Marcia Hofmann

Marcia Clare Hofmann () is an American attorney known for her work as an advocate of electronic privacy and free expression, including defending individuals charged with high-profile computer crimes, such as Marcus Hutchins and Weev. Education Hofmann is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the University of Dayton School of Law. Career From 2003 to 2006, Hofmann served as staff counsel and director of the Open Government Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. In 2006, Hofmann joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation as a staff attorney, where she continues to serve as special counsel. In addition to litigating many cases against federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act, Hofmann is known for defending programmers and security researchers against charges related to security disclosures. Between 2010 and 2014, Hofmann was a non-residential fellow with the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Hofmann left the EFF in 2013 to begin a private practice. Since then, she has helped represent Freedom of the Press Foundation in its ongoing lawsuits against the Justice Department, filed amicus briefs on behalf of several entities in Twitter's lawsuit against the Justice Department over the right to reveal surveillance requests, submitted comments on behalf of the EFF, Internet Archive, and Reddit to the New York State Department of Financial Services concerning its proposed BitLicense regulation, and commented to the United States Copyright Office on an exemption for security research to the prohibition of circumventing copyright protection systems in vehicles. In 2020, Hofmann joined Twitter as product counsel. Hofmann has taught as an adjunct professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law and has been a featured speaker at many electronic privacy-related conferences. Notable cases United States v. Auernheimer Hofmann was part of the team that represented Andrew Auernheimer on appeal of his 2012 conviction for identity fraud and hacking conspiracy following his involvement in the exposure of a security flaw in an AT&T website. Among other issues, the defense argued that accessing a publicly available website does not constitute unauthorized access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Auernheimer should not have been charged in New Jersey (he was in Arkansas, while AT&T's servers were in Georgia and Texas during the events described in the indictment). The appeal was successful: the Third Circuit held that bringing the case in New Jersey was improper, vacated his conviction, and ordered him released from prison. United States v. Under Seal Hofmann represented Lavabit, an e-mail service provider, and its founder, Ladar Levison, in their appeal of a contempt order for refusing to hand over the company's private encryption keys to the government. The target of the investigation was widely speculated to be Edward Snowden. References External links American lawyers University of Dayton alumni Mount Holyoke College alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people

49434752

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porton%20Group

Porton Group

The Porton Group is a venture capital group based in the Cayman Islands with offices in Dubai, that specialises in the commercialisation of military technology. It was founded by Harvey Boulter in 2000. Investments Electronic privacy The company has invested in the development of electronic privacy applications, including Seecrypt, a mobile app that encrypts voice calls from smartphones. In 2013 Boulter claimed that Seecrypt is a military encryption technology used by governments and security services in several countries, and that it was impossible for all but the most advanced government agencies to break its encryption. Boulter also claimed that since the company was based in the Cayman Islands, Western security services had no legal right to access any data encrypted by the application. Seecrypt is derived from Cellcrypt, Porton Group's military-grade encryption application which has been certified by GCHQ, and which the company claims is widely deployed by the British military in Afghanistan and by law enforcement and intelligence agencies abroad. One of Porton Group's advisers is Sir Joe French, the former UK Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) from 2000, P2i Through its investment arm Porton Capital, the group was one of the main suppliers in 2004 of initial funds to P2i, a British nanotechnology development company that produce liquid repellent nano-coating protection for use in military and civilian clothing. As of 2012 Porton Group retained a 20% shareholding in P2i. Microvisk Porton Capital was both an initial and subsequent investor in 2013 in Microvisk, the Welsh manufacturers of a home-testing device that allows patients taking anticoagulant medication to check their own blood. Legal dispute with 3M In 2011, Porton Group initiated a lawsuit against the 3M corporation. The dispute centered around the MRSA detection technology BacLite, owned by the company Acolyte, which was in turn comprised the British Ministry of Defence's wholly owned subsidiary Ploughshare Innovations Ltd, and Porton Group. In June 2011 there was a business meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai, attended by Scottish businessman Adam Werritty, UK Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox, Boulter in his role as CEO of Porton Group, and two other Dubai-based businessmen. Werritty had earlier been contacted by a lobbying firm known as Tetra Strategy, whom Boulter had hired at a rate of £10,000 per month, in an attempt to have Fox intervene in a Porton Group legal dispute that indirectly involved the MoD. Tetra are believed to have begun working towards arranging a meeting with Werritty or Fox as early as 25 March 2011. In an email from Lee Petar, Tetra's boss, to Boulter, Werrity is described as the "special adviser to the secretary of state for defence Liam Fox." Werritty's initial meeting with Boulter in April 2011 led to discussions with Fox regarding the sale of Cellcrypt. The 45-minute Dubai meeting in June 2011 was primarily about the possible sale of the voice encryption software to the British MoD. Boulter has claimed that the matter of a legal battle between Porton Group and 3M concerning Acolyte, an EU regulatory approved rapid detection technology for MRSA, and a deal worth £41,000,000, was allocated no more than 5–10 minutes at the end of the meeting. According to The Guardian, details relating to the nature of the visit and the business matters discussed suggest that it was "highly irregular". The MoD has stated that there were no officials present at the meeting but that one of those present claimed to have received the impression that all of those in attendance had been security cleared. Werritty did not have such clearance. In late 2011 the High Court in London found in favor of Porton Group, with 3M being forced to pay damages of $1.3 million for breach of its contractual obligations over their failure to accurately test, actively market and successfully seek regulatory approval in the US. References External links Seecrypt Cellcrypt Venture capital firms Financial services companies of the Cayman Islands Financial services companies established in 2000

49438750

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft%20Lumia%20650

Microsoft Lumia 650

The Microsoft Lumia 650 is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on February 15, 2016. It is the successor to the Microsoft Lumia 640 and is aimed primarily at business users, with support for Microsoft's business applications as well as security features like device encryption and remote wiping. Due to hardware limitations, it does not support Continuum. The phone was available in both single- and dual-SIM variants and is the most recent model in the Lumia series, with Microsoft discontinuing mobile hardware production the following year. Availability In the United Kingdom, the Lumia 650 is available from EE, O2 and Vodafone. In the United States, the Lumia 650 is available from Cricket Wireless. In Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the Lumia 650 was available unlocked from the Microsoft Store. Hardware The Lumia 650 has a 5-inch pentile OLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coating. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage with up to 200 GB expandable storage via microSD cards. It has a removable 2000 mAh Li-Ion battery, 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 5 megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera. It was available in black and white. Unlike its predecessor, the Lumia 650 is built with an anodized metal frame design, which gives it a distinctive premium look and feel compared to its high-end siblings, the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Microsoft Lumia 950 XL. Software The Lumia 650 originally launched with the Windows 10 Mobile November Update (also known as Version 1511). In August 2016, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update (also known as Windows 10 Mobile Version 1607). The rollout of the Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update (Version 1703) began on April 25, 2017, following a rollout to Windows Insiders. Reception The Lumia 650 was generally well-received, with most reviewers commending the design, display quality and low price. The main points of criticism were performance and stability. Richard Devine of Windows Central praised the design of the Lumia 650, calling it "easily the best looking Lumia in the current lineup". While some performance problems were noted, especially in graphically intensive games, overall usability for everyday tasks was found to be acceptable. The reviewer also noted a number of bugs in Windows 10 Mobile, but most of those were fixed in a subsequent operating system update. Steve Litchfield of All About Windows Phone gave the Lumia 650 a score of 83%, regarding it as a considerable upgrade from the Lumia 550, but expressing disappointment at the low-end Snapdragon 212 chipset. The phone was compared favourably to the Lumia 830, with the reviewer noting that it's "the nicest feeling Windows Phone I've ever held" and concluding that it's "the perfect smartphone to hand out in companies". Rich Woods of Neowin gave the Lumia 650 a very favourable review, calling it "a budget device that punches well above its weight". The design was described as "stunning" and the display was said to have "vibrant colors and deep blacks". The reviewer also commended camera performance, noting the lack of 1080p video capture as the only drawback. Overall performance was found to be excellent considering the price tag, with idle battery life being the main point of criticism. GSMArena commended the design as "gorgeous" and described the phone as feeling "almost unnaturally light", while also praising the display's sunlight legibility and colour accuracy. The review also noted multiple performance and stability issues with Windows 10 Mobile and pointed out Continuum and Windows Hello as significant missing features. Alastair Stevenson of Trusted Reviews criticised the performance and described the camera as "uninspired", but considered the design and display to be better than most affordable smartphones. The reviewer also remarked that "for business users the Lumia 650 ticks all the right boxes". Katharine Byrne of IT Pro gave the phone two stars out of five, calling it "A Windows 10 phone that entirely misses the point of Windows 10" due to the lack of Continuum, and criticising the phone's performance in benchmarks. While the design and display were commended, overall verdict for the phone was "rather forgettable". Phone Arena commended the phone's design, build quality and camera performance, but noted a few issues with the out-of-the-box experience as well as the camera. Overall the phone was deemed "a solid choice for an entry-level Windows 10 handset". Tom Warren of The Verge praised the phone's high-end look and aluminum feel as well as its light weight. However, he found many drawbacks such as an underpowered processor and the lack of Continuum. See also Microsoft Lumia Nokia Lumia 630 Nokia Lumia 1320 Microsoft Lumia 640 Microsoft Surface Duo References External links Microsoft Lumia 650 specifications Windows 10 Mobile devices Mobile phones introduced in 2016 Discontinued smartphones Microsoft Lumia Videotelephony Smartphones Microsoft hardware Mobile phones with user-replaceable battery

49533843

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paktor

Paktor

Paktor is a location-based dating and networking mobile application that connects mutually interested users and allows them to chat individually or as a group. Founded in Singapore, the app was launched in June 2013., and has over 5 billion swipes to date (October 2015). In late 2013, Paktor launched a subsidiary called GaiGai, an offline dating service that focuses on matching-making and dating events. The word 'Paktor' originates from the Cantonese word for 'dating' (Chinese character 拍拖). History Founding Paktor was founded by Joseph Phua and Ng Jing Shen. Paktor was first launched in Singapore in June 2013, when online and mobile dating was still in its infancy in Asia. Despite the immature market, there was a lot of interest from consumers and according to a Paktor newsletter, there were 250000 matches in the first 2 weeks of 2014 making Paktor the #1 social networking app for singles in Asia. The company also shared that it had received over 100 million profile ratings at that time. The app is also available in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea. In February 2017, Paktor acquired dating apps DOWN, Goodnight, and Groopify, folding them into Paktor Labs, a social app accelerator. Change of Management In November 2017, Paktor Group appointed co-founder and chief technology officer Ng Jing Shen as CEO of Paktor Group, taking over from current CEO Joseph Phua. Phua remained in the group CEO of M17 Entertainment which was formed after the merger of Paktor and 17 Media. The company also promoted current head of operations Shn Juay to Chief Operating Officer at Paktor Group. In 2018, M17Entertainment sold DOWN, the United States-based dating application, back to its founder Colin Hodge. Company Overview Financials In March 2014, Paktor revealed its first round of funding with a US$500,000 pre-Series-A round that valued the brand at US$6.5 million. At this time, co-founder and CEO Joseph Phua was quoted as saying that the app was “easily 10-20 times ahead of the next player” referring to their main markets; Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines. Series A was secured in November 2014, bringing the total raised to US$5 million. This round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. The funds were reported to be used for expansion into different territories and the introduction of new services under the Paktor group. At this time, the size of the network stood at 1.5 million registered users. The next milestone was the US$7.3 million Series B funding in July 2015. This raised total funding to more than US$12 million and Paktor said its network had five million registered users and 12 million matches a month. There were also 500 million monthly swipes on average across the region. The startup secured another US$10 million in a venture round with its sights set on expansion in Japan and South Korea. YJ Capital — the corporate venture firm belonging to Yahoo Capital — led the round, which included participation from fellow new investors Global Grand Leisure, Golden Equator Capital and Sebrina Holdings, as well as existing backers Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, MNC Media Group, Majuven and Convergence Ventures. In November 2016, Paktor announced another round of funding in the amount of $32.5 million to expand its focus into new kinds of mobile entertainment. This new raise, was led by U.S.-Asia-based K2 Global and Indonesia’s MNC Media Group, with participation from other, undisclosed investors. In December the same year, the company announced that it has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Taiwanese start-up 17 Media. 17 Media owns a photo-sharing and live streaming app that has over 15 million users worldwide. The deal was Paktor's first acquisition and comes as the start-up looks to diversify into the social entertainment space. Paktor announced its next wave of acquisitions in February 2017 with Down, Kickoff, Goodnight and Groopify joining the group and forming the Paktor Labs Division. Paktor Labs will act as an accelerator for social apps with high potential. The dating app next announced its merger with 17 Media, forming a new company called M17 Entertainment and combining all assets and revenue under the new entity. Advertising In 2015, the app appointed Taiwanese actress and social media personality, Ouyang Nini, and Indonesian actor, Junior Liem, as the brand’s ambassadors in Taiwan and Indonesia respectively. A series of visual advertisements were launched with the appointment announcement. At a press conference, Ouyang Nini said that her father, former actor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor, Ouyang Lung, approves of her endorsement to use the app to meet new friends. Reception In the region Beyond Singapore, Paktor is available in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. As of September 2016, an estimated 12 million people in Southeast Asia use the app every month, with an average of 20 million matches per month and over 5 billion swipes to date. There are an estimated 500,000 users in Indonesia alone. The app has its own localised slogan in Taiwan, "友妳選擇 友你選擇", which means ‘to choose your friend yourself’. In January 2015, Paktor created two eye-catching telephone booths near Taipei’s iconic landmark, the Taipei 101, to encourage passers-by to explore the app and provide assurance that the app is a safe and private way to meet new friends across countries In 2013, Paktor set a Guinness World record for The World’s Largest Speed Dating Event held in Vietnam. The event drew 600 participants including local celebrities popular among Vietnamese youth. This record was most recently broken by Calgary Speed Dating Inc. (Canada) at Telus Spark Science Centre in Calgary, Canada, on 14 February 2014 In the media Paktor has received widespread news coverage and been featured on TechCrunch, Bloomberg, CNBC Asia, CNN and others. The app was positively received in Singapore when it was launched gaining over 25,000 users in the first month. There were also comparisons to established mobile dating apps like Tinder and how it was a similar product and had the same mechanics. Global Dating Insights (GDI) publication regarded Paktor as one of the dating apps to watch. With relatively little competition in Southeast Asia, GDI assesses that the app to have huge potential, crediting the CEO for having ‘expertly navigated’ the Southeast Asian market with multiple countries each with different cultures, dating habits and languages. In October 2015, Paktor hired two former Meetic senior marketing executives, Jose Ruano and Miguel Mangas, spearheading overseas expansion efforts outside of Asia. The two speak Spanish, which has strategic global importance as 425 million people in the world use Spanish as their first language. Already available in the two most spoken languages, English and Chinese, the hiring acquisitions would allow Paktor to break into European and South American markets. The conservative nature of Asian cultures has also presented challenges, where regular dating and casual sex is frowned upon. Concerns In 2015, a Reddit post highlighted the vulnerability of the GaiGai website due to the lack of security encryptions GaiGai responded that it has since added SSL/TLS encryption. However, some Reddit users commented that more layers of encryption are necessary in order to provide better security for the clientele database. Paktor and GaiGai have since updated their privacy and data protection policy in August 2015 References External links Mobile social software Geosocial networking Online dating services of Singapore

49541545

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinIO

MinIO

MinIO is a High Performance Object Storage released under GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. It is API compatible with Amazon S3 cloud storage service. It can handle unstructured data such as photos, videos, log files, backups, and container images with (currently) the maximum supported object size of 5TB. History & development MinIO's main developer is MinIO Inc, a Silicon Valley-based technology startup founded by Anand Babu Periasamy, Garima Kapoor, and Harshavardhana in November 2014. MinIO has published a number of benchmarks to disclose both its own performance and the performance of an object storage in general, those include comparisons to an Amazon S3 for Trino, Presto, and Spark as well as throughput results for the S3Benchmark on HDD and NVMe drives. Re-licensing As of April 23 2021 MinIO, Inc submitted a change that re-licensed the project from its previous Apache V2 to GNU Affero Public License Version 3 (AGPLv3). . Architecture MinIO storage stack has three major components: MinIO Server, MinIO Client (a.k.a. mc, which is a command-line client for the object and file management with any Amazon S3 compatible servers), and MinIO Client SDK that can be used by application developers to interact with any Amazon S3 compatible server. MinIO Server MinIO cloud storage server is designed to be minimal and scalable. It is light enough to be bundled along with the application stack, similar to NodeJS, and Redis. Designed for high performance, MinIO offers a suite of features that are specific to large enterprise deployments, these include erasure coding, bitrot protection, encryption/WORM, identity management, continuous replication, global federation, and multi-cloud deployments via gateway mode. MinIO server is hardware agnostic, it can be installed on physical or virtual machines or launched as Docker containers and deployed on container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. MinIO Client MinIO Client (mc) provides an alternative to the standard UNIX commands (e.g. ls, cat, cp, mirror, diff, etc) adding support for an Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage services. It works on Linux, Mac and Windows platforms. MinIO Client SDK MinIO Client SDK provides an API to access any Amazon S3 compatible object storage server. Language bindings are available for Go, Java, Python, JavaScript, Haskell, and languages hosted on top of the .NET Framework. References External links Cloud applications Cloud infrastructure Cloud storage Object storage Free software programmed in Go

49542962

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93Apple%20encryption%20dispute

FBI–Apple encryption dispute

The FBI–Apple encryption dispute concerns whether and to what extent courts in the United States can compel manufacturers to assist in unlocking cell phones whose data are cryptographically protected. There is much debate over public access to strong encryption. In 2015 and 2016, Apple Inc. received and objected to or challenged at least 11 orders issued by United States district courts under the All Writs Act of 1789. Most of these seek to compel Apple "to use its existing capabilities to extract data like contacts, photos and calls from locked iPhones running on operating systems iOS 7 and older" in order to assist in criminal investigations and prosecutions. A few requests, however, involve phones with more extensive security protections, which Apple has no current ability to break. These orders would compel Apple to write new software that would let the government bypass these devices' security and unlock the phones. The most well-known instance of the latter category was a February 2016 court case in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted Apple to create and electronically sign new software that would enable the FBI to unlock a work-issued iPhone 5C it recovered from one of the shooters who, in a December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people and injured 22. The two attackers later died in a shootout with police, having first destroyed their personal phones. The work phone was recovered intact but was locked with a four-digit password and was set to eliminate all its data after ten failed password attempts (a common anti-theft measure on smartphones). Apple declined to create the software, and a hearing was scheduled for March 22. However, a day before the hearing was supposed to happen, the government obtained a delay, saying it had found a third party able to assist in unlocking the iPhone. On March 28, the government announced that the FBI had unlocked the iPhone and withdrew its request. In March 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the FBI eventually found that Farook's phone had information only about work and revealed nothing about the plot." In another case in Brooklyn, a magistrate judge ruled that the All Writs Act could not be used to compel Apple to unlock an iPhone. The government appealed the ruling, but then dropped the case on April 22, 2016, after it was given the correct passcode. Background In 1993, the National Security Agency (NSA) introduced the Clipper chip, an encryption device with an acknowledged backdoor for government access, that NSA proposed be used for phone encryption. The proposal touched off a public debate, known as the Crypto Wars, and the Clipper chip was never adopted. It was revealed as a part of the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden that the NSA and the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) had access to the user data in iPhones, BlackBerry, and Android phones and could read almost all smartphone information, including SMS, location, emails, and notes. As well, the leak stated that Apple had been a part of the government's surveillance program since 2012, however, Apple per their spokesman at the time, "had never heard of it". According to The New York Times, Apple developed new encryption methods for its iOS operating system, versions 8 and later, "so deep that Apple could no longer comply with government warrants asking for customer information to be extracted from devices." Throughout 2015, prosecutors advocated for the U.S. government to be able to compel decryption of iPhone contents. In September 2015, Apple released a white paper detailing the security measures in its then-new iOS 9 operating system. The iPhone 5C model can be protected by a four-digit PIN code. After more than ten incorrect attempts to unlock the phone with the wrong PIN, the contents of the phone will be rendered inaccessible by erasing the AES encryption key that protects its stored data. According to the Apple white paper, iOS includes a Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mode, and that "[r]estoring a device after it enters DFU mode returns it to a known good state with the certainty that only unmodified Apple-signed code is present." Apple ordered to assist the FBI The FBI recovered an Apple iPhone 5C—owned by the San Bernardino County, California government—that had been issued to its employee, Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters involved in the December 2015 San Bernardino attack. The attack killed 14 people and seriously injured 22. The two attackers died four hours after the attack in a shootout with police, having previously destroyed their personal phones. Authorities were able to recover Farook's work phone, but could not unlock its four-digit passcode, and the phone was programmed to automatically delete all its data after ten failed password attempts. On February 9, 2016, the FBI announced that it was unable to unlock the county-owned phone it recovered, due to its advanced security features, including encryption of user data. The FBI first asked the National Security Agency to break into the phone, but they were unable to since they only had knowledge of breaking into other devices that are commonly used by criminals, and not iPhones. As a result, the FBI asked Apple Inc. to create a new version of the phone's iOS operating system that could be installed and run in the phone's random access memory to disable certain security features that Apple refers to as "GovtOS". Apple declined due to its policy which required it to never undermine the security features of its products. The FBI responded by successfully applying to a United States magistrate judge, Sheri Pym, to issue a court order, mandating Apple to create and provide the requested software. The order was not a subpoena, but rather was issued under the All Writs Act of 1789. The court order, called In the Matter of the Search of an Apple iPhone Seized During the Execution of a Search Warrant on a Black Lexus IS300, California License Plate 35KGD203, was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The use of the All Writs Act to compel Apple to write new software was unprecedented and, according to legal experts, it was likely to prompt "an epic fight pitting privacy against national security." It was also pointed out that the implications of the legal precedent that would be established by the success of this action against Apple would go far beyond issues of privacy. Technical details of the order The court order specified that Apple provide assistance to accomplish the following: "it will bypass or disable the auto-erase function whether or not it has been enabled" (this user-configurable feature of iOS 8 automatically deletes keys needed to read encrypted data after ten consecutive incorrect attempts) "it will enable the FBI to submit passcodes to the SUBJECT DEVICE for testing electronically via the physical device port, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other protocol available" "it will ensure that when the FBI submits passcodes to the SUBJECT DEVICE, software running on the device will not purposefully introduce any additional delay between passcode attempts beyond what is incurred by Apple hardware" The order also specifies that Apple's assistance may include providing software to the FBI that "will be coded by Apple with a unique identifier of the phone so that the [software] would only load and execute on the SUBJECT DEVICE" There has been much research and analysis of the technical issues presented in the case since the court order was made available to the public. Apple's opposition to the order The February 16, 2016 order issued by Magistrate Judge Pym gave Apple five days to apply for relief if Apple believed the order was "unreasonably burdensome". Apple announced its intent to oppose the order, citing the security risks that the creation of a backdoor would pose towards customers. It also stated that no government had ever asked for similar access. The company was given until February 26 to fully respond to the court order. On the same day the order was issued, chief executive officer Tim Cook released an online statement to Apple customers, explaining the company's motives for opposing the court order. He also stated that while they respect the FBI, the request they made threatens data security by establishing a precedent that the U.S. government could use to force any technology company to create software that could undermine the security of its products. He said in part: In response to the opposition, on February 19, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a new application urging a federal judge to compel Apple to comply with the order. The new application stated that the company could install the software on the phone in its own premises, and after the FBI had hacked the phone via remote connection, Apple could remove and destroy the software. Apple hired attorneys Ted Olson and Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. to fight the order on appeal. The same day, Apple revealed that in early January it had discussed with the FBI four methods to access data in the iPhone, but, as was revealed by a footnote in the February 19 application to the court, one of the more promising methods was ruled out by a mistake during the investigation of the attack. After the shooter's phone had been recovered, the FBI asked San Bernardino County, the owner of the phone, to reset the password to the shooter's iCloud account in order to acquire data from the iCloud backup. However, this rendered the phone unable to backup recent data to iCloud unless its pass-code was entered. This was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which then added that any backup would have been "insufficient" because they would not have been able to recover enough information from it. Legal arguments The government cited as precedent United States v. New York Telephone Co., in which the Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that the All Writs Act gave courts the power to demand reasonable technical assistance from the phone company in accessing phone calling records. Apple responded that New York Telephone was already collecting the data in question in the course of its business, something the Supreme Court took note of in its ruling. Apple also asserts that being compelled to write new software "amounts to compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. ... What is to stop the government from demanding that Apple write code to turn on the microphone in aid of government surveillance, activate the video camera, surreptitiously record conversations, or turn on location services to track the phone's user?" Apple argued that the FBI had not made use of all of the government's tools, such as employing the resources of the NSA. A hearing on the case was scheduled for March 22, 2016. San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos filed a brief stating the iPhone may contain evidence of a "lying dormant cyber pathogen" that could have been introduced into the San Bernardino County computer network, as well as identification of a possible third gunman who was alleged to have been seen at the scene of the attack by eyewitnesses. The following day, Ramos told the Associated Press that he did not know whether the shooters had compromised the county's infrastructure, but the only way to know for sure was by gaining access to the iPhone. This statement has been criticized by cyber-security professionals as being improbable. Tim Cook's statements In an interview for a Time magazine cover story, Cook said that the issue is not "privacy versus security ... it's privacy and security or privacy and safety versus security." Cook also said, "[T]his is the golden age of surveillance that we live in. There is more information about all of us, so much more than ten years ago, or five years ago. It's everywhere. You are leaving digital footprints everywhere." In a March 21, 2016, Apple press conference, Cook talked about the ongoing conflict with the FBI, saying, "[W]e have a responsibility to protect your data and your privacy. We will not shrink from this responsibility." FBI withdrawal of request On March 21, 2016, the government requested and was granted a delay, saying a third party had demonstrated a possible way to unlock the iPhone in question and the FBI needed more time to determine if it will work. On March 28, 2016, the FBI said it had unlocked the iPhone with the third party's help, and an anonymous official said that the hack's applications were limited; the Department of Justice withdrew the case. The lawyer for the FBI has stated that they are using the extracted information to further investigate the case. On April 7, 2016, FBI Director James Comey said that the tool used can only unlock an iPhone 5C like that used by the San Bernardino shooter, as well as older iPhone models lacking the Touch ID sensor. Comey also confirmed that the tool was purchased from a third party but would not reveal the source, later indicating the tool cost more than $1.3 million and that they did not purchase the rights to technical details about how the tool functions. Although the FBI was able to use other technological means to access the cellphone data from the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5C, without the aid of Apple, law enforcement still expresses concern over the encryption controversy. Some news outlets, citing anonymous sources, identified the third party as Israeli company Cellebrite. However, The Washington Post reported that, according to anonymous "people familiar with the matter", the FBI had instead paid "professional hackers" who used a zero-day vulnerability in the iPhone's software to bypass its ten-try limitation, and did not need Cellebrite's assistance. In April 2021, The Washington Post reported that the Australian company Azimuth Security, a white hat hacking firm, had been the one to help the FBI. Other All Writs Act cases involving iPhones Apple had previously challenged the U.S. Department of Justice's authority to compel it to unlock an iPhone 5S in a drug case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn (In re Order Requiring Apple Inc. to Assist in the Execution of a Search Warrant Issued by the Court, case number 1:15-mc-01902), after the magistrate judge in the case, James Orenstein, requested Apple's position before issuing an order. On February 29, 2016, Judge Orenstein denied the government's request, saying the All Writs Act cannot be used to force a company to modify its products: "The implications of the government's position are so far-reaching – both in terms of what it would allow today and what it implies about Congressional intent in 1789 – as to produce impermissibly absurd results." Orenstein went on to criticize the government's stance, writing, "It would be absurd to posit that the authority the government sought was anything other than obnoxious to the law." The Justice Department appealed the ruling to District Court Judge Margot Brodie. Apple requested a delay while the FBI attempted to access the San Bernardino iPhone without Apple's help. On April 8, after the FBI succeeded, the Justice Department told the Brooklyn court it intended to press forward with its demand for assistance there, but on April 22, the government withdrew its request, telling the court "an individual" (the suspect, according to press reports) had provided the correct passcode. In addition to the San Bernardino case and the Brooklyn case, Apple has received at least nine different requests from federal courts under the All Writs Act for iPhone or iPad products. Apple has objected to these requests. This fact was revealed by Apple in court filings in the Brooklyn case made at the request of the judge in that case. Most of these requests call upon Apple "to use its existing capabilities to extract data like contacts, photos and calls from locked iPhones running on operating systems iOS7 and older" (as in the Brooklyn case), while others "involve phones with more extensive encryption, which Apple cannot break" and presumably seek to order Apple to "design new software to let the government circumvent the device's security protocols and unlock the phone" (as in the San Bernardino case). Reactions National reactions to Apple's opposition of the order were mixed. A CBS News poll that sampled 1,022 Americans found that 50% of the respondents supported the FBI's stance, while 45% supported Apple's stance. Also, 1,002 surveyed Americans who own smartphones were divided into two sides; 51% were against Apple's decision, while 38% supported their stance. Support for Apple The Reform Government Surveillance coalition, which includes major tech firms Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo!, Twitter, and LinkedIn, has indicated its opposition to the order. By March 3, the deadline, a large number of amicus curiae briefs were filed with the court, with numerous technology firms supporting Apple's position, including a joint brief from Amazon.com, Box, Cisco Systems, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Google, Lavabit, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nest Labs, Pinterest, Slack Technologies, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Yahoo!. Briefs from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, and the Center for Democracy and Technology also supported Apple. The think tank Niskanen Center has suggested that the case is a door-in-the-face technique designed to gain eventual approval for encryption backdoors and is viewed as a revival of the Crypto Wars. U.S. Representative Mike Honda, a Democrat who represented the Silicon Valley region, voiced his support for Apple. On February 23, 2016, a series of pro-Apple protests organized by Fight for the Future were held outside of Apple's stores in over 40 locations. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned the FBI of the potential for "extremely damaging implications" on human rights and that they "risk unlocking a Pandora's box" through their investigation. General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency, in a March 7 interview with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Network, supported Apple's position, noting that the CIA considers cyber-attacks the number one threat to U.S. security and saying that "this may be a case where we've got to give up some things in law enforcement and even counter terrorism in order to preserve this aspect, our cybersecurity." Salihin Kondoker, whose wife was shot in the attack but survived, filed a friend of the court brief siding with Apple; his brief said that he "understand[s] that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear." Edward Snowden said that the FBI already has the technical means to unlock Apple's devices and said, "The global technological consensus is against the FBI." McAfee founder and Libertarian Party presidential primary candidate John McAfee had publicly volunteered to decrypt the iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooters, avoiding the need for Apple to build a backdoor. He later indicated that the method he would employ, extracting the unique ID from inside the A7 processor chip, is difficult and risks permanently locking the phone, and that he was seeking publicity. Ron Wyden, Democratic senator for Oregon and a noted privacy and encryption advocate, questioned the FBI's honesty concerning the contents of the phone. He said in a statement, "There are real questions about whether [the FBI] has been straight with the public on [the Apple case]." Support for FBI Some families of the victims and survivors of the attack indicated they would file a brief in support of the FBI. The National Sheriffs' Association has suggested that Apple's stance is "putting profit over safety" and "has nothing to do with privacy." The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and the National Sheriffs' Association filed a brief supporting the FBI. "With Apple's privacy policy for the customers there is no way of getting into a phone without a person's master password. With this policy there will be no backdoor access on the phone for the law enforcement to access the person's private information. This has caused a great dispute between the FBI and Apple's encryption. Apple has closed this backdoor for the law enforcement because they believe that by creating this backdoor it would make it easier for law enforcement, and also make it easier for criminal hackers to gain access to people's personal data on their phone." Former FBI director James Comey says that "We are drifting to a place in this country where there will be zones that are beyond the reach of the law." He believes that this backdoor access is crucial to investigations, and without it many criminals will not be convicted. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, a Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has voiced her opposition to Apple. All candidates for the Republican nomination for the 2016 U.S. presidential election who had not dropped out of the race before February 19, 2016 supported the FBI's position, though several expressed concerns about adding backdoors to mobile phones. On February 23, 2016, the Financial Times reported that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, has sided with the FBI in the case. However, Gates later said in an interview with Bloomberg News "that doesn't state my view on this." He added that he thought the right balance and safeguards need to be found in the courts and in Congress, and that the debate provoked by this case is valuable. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said in an interview: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., said that he wants Apple to unlock 175 iPhones that his office's Cyber-Crime Lab has been unable to access, adding, "Apple should be directed to be able to unlock its phones when there is a court order by an independent judge proving and demonstrating that there's relevant evidence on that phone necessary for an individual case." FBI Director Comey, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, compared Apple's iPhone security to a guard dog, saying, "We're asking Apple to take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock." Apple's iOS 8 and later have encryption mechanisms that make it difficult for the government to get through. Apple provided no backdoor for surveillance without the company's discretion. However, Comey stated that he did not want a backdoor method of surveillance and that "We want to use the front door, with clarity and transparency, and with clear guidance provided by law." He believes that special access is required in order to stop criminals such as "terrorists and child molesters". Many companies such as Apple would not give the U.S. access due to the policies Apple has in place on users' confidentiality. Calls for compromise Both 2016 Democratic presidential candidates—former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders—suggested some compromise should be found. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called for Silicon Valley and the federal government to work together. "We are squarely behind strong data security and strong encryption, no question about it," he said. Carter also added that he is "not a believer in back doors." In an address to the 2016 South by Southwest conference on March 11, President Barack Obama stated that while he could not comment on the specific case, "You cannot take an absolutist view on [encryption]. If your view is strong encryption no matter what, and we can and should create black boxes, that does not strike the balance that we've lived with for 200 or 300 years. And it's fetishizing our phones above every other value. That can't be the right answer." Proposed legislation On April 13, 2016 U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican Chair and senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, released draft legislation that would authorize state and federal judges to order "any person who provides a product or method to facilitate a communication or the processing or storage of data" to provide data in intelligible form or technical assistance in unlocking encrypted data and that any such person who distributes software or devices must ensure they are capable of complying with such an order. Freedom of Information Act lawsuit In September 2016, the Associated Press, Vice Media, and Gannett (the owner of USA Today) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the FBI, seeking to compel the agency to reveal who it hired to unlock Farook's iPhone, and how much was paid. On September 30, 2017, a federal court ruled against the media organizations and granted summary judgment in the government's favor. The court ruled that the company that hacked the iPhone and the amount paid to it by the FBI were national security secrets and "intelligence sources or methods" that are exempt from disclosure under FOIA; the court additionally ruled that the amount paid "reflects a confidential law enforcement technique or procedure" that also falls under a FOIA exemption. Inspector General Investigation Background On August 31, 2016 Amy Hess, the FBI's Executive Assistant Director, raised concerns with the Office of Inspector General alleging there was a disagreement between units of the Operational Technology Division (OTD) of their capability to access Farook's iPhone; namely between the Cryptographic and Electronic Analysis Unit (CEAU) and the Remote Operations Unit (ROU). She also alleged that some OTD officials were indifferent to FBI leadership (herself included) giving possibly misleading testimony to Congress and in court orders that they had no such capability. Findings Ultimately, the Inspector General's March 2018 report found no evidence that the OTD had withheld knowledge of the ability to unlock Farook's iPhone at the time of Director Comey's congressional testimony of February 9 and March 1, 2016. However, the report also found that poor communication and coordination between the CEAU and ROU meant that "not all relevant personnel had been engaged at the outset". The ROU Chief (named by Vice to be Eric Chuang) said he only became aware of the access problem after a February 11 meeting of the Digital Forensics and Analysis Section (DFAS) - of which the ROU is not a member. While the OTD directors were in frequent contact during the investigation, including discussions about Farook's iPhone, Asst. Dir. Stephen Richardson and the Chief of DFAS, John F. Bennett, believed at the time that a court order was their only alternative. Chuang claimed the CEAU Chief didn't ask for their help due to a "line in the sand" against using classified security tools in domestic criminal cases. The CEAU Chief denied such a line existed and that not using classified techniques was merely a preference. Nevertheless, the perception of this line resulted in the ROU not getting involved until after John Bennett's February 11 meeting asking "anyone" in the bureau to help. Once Chuang "got the word out", he soon learned that a trusted vendor was "almost 90 percent of the way" to a solution after "many months" of work and asked they prioritize its completion. The unnamed vendor came forward with their solution on March 16, 2016 and successfully demonstrated it to FBI leadership on March 20. The US Attorneys Office was informed the next day and they withdrew their court action against Apple on March 28. When asked why the ROU was not involved earlier the Chief of Technical Surveillance Section (TSS), Eric Chuang's superior, initially said it was not in his "lane" and it was handled exclusively by the DFAS because "that is their mandate". He later claimed that Farook's phone was discussed from the outset but he did not instruct his unit chiefs to contact outside vendors until after February 11. In either event, neither he nor the ROU were asked to request help from their vendors until mid-February. By the time the Attorneys Office filed their February 16 court order, the ROU had only just begun contacting its vendors. The CEAU Chief was unable to say with certainty that the ROU had been consulted beforehand and that the February 11th meeting was a final "mop-up" before a court action was filed. The CEAU's search for solutions within the FBI was undocumented and was handled informally by a senior engineer that the CEAU Chief personally trusted had checked with "everybody". On the other hand, it's possible that Hess' asking questions is what prompted the February 11 "mop-up" meeting. During the CEAU's search Hess became concerned that she wasn't getting straight answers from the OTD and that unit chiefs didn't know the capabilities of the others. The Inspector General stated further: ... the CEAU Chief may not have been interested in researching all possible solutions and instead focused only on unclassified techniques that could readily be disclosed in court that OTD and its partner agencies already had in-hand. Both Hess and Chuang stated the CEAU Chief seemed not to want to use classified techniques and appeared to have an agenda in pursuing a favorable ruling against Apple. Chuang described the CEAU Chief as "definitely not happy" that they undermined his legal case against Apple and had vented his frustration with him. Hess said the CEAU Chief wanted to use the case as a "poster child" to resolve the larger problem with encrypted devices known as the "Going Dark challenge". The challenge is defined by the FBI as "changes in technology [that] hinder law enforcement's ability to exercise investigative tools and follow critical leads". As The Los Angeles Times reported in March 2018, the FBI was unable to access data from 7,775 seized devices in their investigations. The unidentified method used to unlock Farook's phone - costing more than $1 million to obtain - quit working once Apple updated their operating system. Conclusion The Inspector General's report found that statements in the FBI's testimony before Congress were accurate but relied on assumptions that the OTD units were coordinating effectively from the beginning. They also believe the miscommunication delayed finding a technical solution to accessing Farook's iPhone. The FBI disputed this since the vendor had been working on the project independently "for some time". However, according to Chuang - whom described himself as a "relationship holder" for the vendor - they were not actively working to complete the solution and that it was moved to the "front burner" on his request; to which the TSS Chief agreed. In response to the Inspector General's report, the FBI intended to add a new OTD section to consolidate resources to address the Going Dark problem and to improve coordination between units. Notes See also Bernstein v. United Statesa case on software as speech Key disclosure law Riley v. Californiaholding unconstitutional the warrantless search of a cellphone during an arrest, noting cellphones' unique privacy implications United States v. New York Telephone Co.holding that law enforcement officials may obtain a court order forcing telephone companies to install pen registers in order to record the numbers called from a particular telephone. Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdesanother case holding software is a form of speech Crypto wars References External links Burr Encryption Bill Discussion Draft (leaked version) Burr Encryption Bill Discussion Draft (official version) Apple FAQ on the controversy FBI director's comments on the 2016 dispute Online source for legal filings in the 2016 dispute at Cryptome PR Statement of United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker on Government Request to Vacate Order Directing Apple to Help Access iPhone Hardware hack defeats iPhone passcode security Apple Inc. litigation Federal Bureau of Investigation operations History of cryptography History of telecommunications United States computer case law United States district court cases United States Free Speech Clause case law United States Fourth Amendment case law 2016 in United States case law Digital forensics IPhone Data laws Encryption debate fr:Apple#Sécurité et vie privée

49546977

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United%20States%20v.%20New%20York%20Telephone%20Co.

United States v. New York Telephone Co.

United States v. New York Telephone Co., 434 U.S. 159 (1977), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that law enforcement officials may obtain a court order forcing telephone companies to install pen registers in order to record the numbers called from a particular telephone. Background The Federal Bureau of Investigation suspected that a particular location in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan homed a gambling operation, and asked the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to order the New York Telephone Company to install a pen register. On March 19, 1976 District Court Judge Charles Henry Tenney did, finding probable cause of illegal gambling, authorized the installation of the pen register for up to twenty days, and ordered the telephone company to provide the necessary technical assistance required to install the pen register. The telephone company moved to vacate that order, arguing that a more specific wiretap order was required under Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. On April 2 Judge Tenney denied the motion, and the company assisted in the installation of the pen register, but appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On July 13 the Second Circuit agreed in part, holding that pen registers didn't fall under the provisions of Title III, and that the district court had the power to authorize their use under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. However, Judges Harold Medina and Wilfred Feinberg also concluded that the district court had overstepped in ordering the company to provide technical assistance for their installation, provoking a dissent by Judge Walter R. Mansfield. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On October 3, 1977 the case was argued before the Supreme Court, with Deputy Solicitor General Lawrence G. Wallace appearing for the Government and George E. Ashley appearing for the respondent. Opinion of the Court On December 7, 1977, the Court reversed the lower court. Writing for the Court, Justice Byron White first agreed that pen registers were not subject to the Title III restrictions on wiretap orders and that the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allowed courts to use pen registers. However, the All Writs Act gave the district court the power to order assistance from the telephone company. Under the Act, issuing an extraordinary writ will be necessary or appropriate whenever it prevents the frustration of the court's previous orders. Therefore, this power extends even to third parties if they are in a position to frustrate the court's orders. Ordering assistance from the telephone company was appropriate under the All Writs Act because the company was closely related to the underlying controversy, it was not in any way burdened by providing assistance, and its assistance was necessary to the surveillance. Because the gambling operation was using the telephone to place illegal bets on a continuing basis, Justice White found the company was closely related to the controversy. Justice White found the company was not in any way burdened by providing “meager assistance” to the FBI because the company was a highly regulated public utility that regularly used pen registers, even just for billing. Finally, Justice White found the court's order had been necessary because there was "no conceivable way" the FBI could have successfully accomplished its investigation without assistance from the telephone company and, regardless, the company had received financial compensation. Dissents Justice Potter Stewart wrote a concurrence in part and dissent in part to clarify that he agreed with all of the majority's opinion except for its discussion of the All Writs Act, and that he agreed with that part of Justice Stevens dissent on the All Writs Act. Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall dissented from all of the majority's opinion except for the holding that pen registers are not wiretaps. Justice Stevens believed the only precedence for the court forcing assistance from the telephone company was the reviled writ of assistance. Justice Stevens could not believe the First Congress would have granted federal courts a "roving commission" with “the wide ranging powers of an ombudsman” because writs of assistance were “one British practice that the Revolution was specifically intended to terminate”. Justice Stevens saw the “open-ended grant of authority” in the majority's reading of the All Writs Act as fundamentally inconsistent with federal court's limited jurisdiction. As such, the dissenters believed the All Writs Act would only authorize a court order if its purpose is to aid the court's exercise of jurisdiction and the means selected are analogous to a common-law writ. Justice Stevens remained resolute in his critique; a quarter century later in Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Henson, he was still calling to “expressly overrule that misguided decision”. Subsequent developments The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was passed in 1986 (Pub. L. No. 99-508, 100 Stat. 1848). Title III created the Pen Register Act, which included restrictions on private and law enforcement uses of pen registers. The case has been relied on by the government in the 2016 FBI–Apple encryption dispute, that an All Writs Act order could be granted if it followed three tests: the company's closeness to the case; whether the government's request places an undue burden; and whether the company's assistance was necessary. References External links 1977 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court Gramercy Park

49605366

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus%20Group

Lazarus Group

Lazarus Group (also known by other monikers such as Guardians of Peace or Whois Team) is a cybercrime group made up of an unknown number of individuals run by the North Korean state. While not much is known about the Lazarus Group, researchers have attributed many cyberattacks to them between 2010 and 2021. Originally a criminal group, the group has now been designated as an advanced persistent threat due to intended nature, threat, and wide array of methods used when conducting an operation. Names given by cybersecurity organizations include HIDDEN COBRA (used by the United States Intelligence Community to refer to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government in general) and Zinc (by Microsoft). The Lazarus Group has strong links to North Korea. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation says that the Lazarus Group is a North Korean "state-sponsored hacking organization". According to North Korean defector Kim Kuk-song, the unit is internally known in North Korea as 414 Liaison Office. History The earliest known attack that the group is responsible for is known as "Operation Troy", which took place from 2009 to 2012. This was a cyber-espionage campaign that utilized unsophisticated distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) techniques to target the South Korean government in Seoul. They were also responsible for attacks in 2011 and 2013. It is possible that they were also behind a 2007 attack targeting South Korea, but that is still uncertain. A notable attack that the group is known for is the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures. The Sony attack used more sophisticated techniques and highlighted how advanced the group has become over time. The Lazarus Group were reported to have stolen US$12 million from the Banco del Austro in Ecuador and US$1 million from Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank in 2015. They have also targeted banks in Poland and Mexico. The 2016 bank heist included an attack on the Bangladesh Bank, successfully stealing US$81 million and was attributed to the group. In 2017, the Lazarus group was reported to have stolen US$60 million from the Far Eastern International Bank of Taiwan although the actual amount stolen was unclear, and most of the funds were recovered. It is not clear who is really behind the group, but media reports have suggested the group has links to North Korea. Kaspersky Lab reported in 2017 that Lazarus tended to concentrate on spying and infiltration cyberattacks whereas a sub-group within their organisation, which Kaspersky called Bluenoroff, specialised in financial cyberattacks. Kaspersky found multiple attacks worldwide and a direct link (IP address) between Bluenoroff and North Korea. However, Kaspersky also acknowledged that the repetition of the code could be a “false flag” meant to mislead investigators and pin the attack on North Korea, given that the worldwide WannaCry worm cyber attack copied techniques from the NSA as well. This ransomware leverages an NSA exploit known as EternalBlue that a hacker group known as Shadow Brokers made public in April 2017. Symantec reported in 2017 that it was "highly likely" that Lazarus was behind the WannaCry attack. 2009 Operation Troy The next incident took place on July 4, 2009 and sparked the beginning of "Operation Troy." This attack utilized the Mydoom and Dozer malware to launch a large-scale, but quite unsophisticated, DDoS attack against US and South Korean websites. The volley of attacks struck about three dozen websites and placed the text "Memory of Independence Day" in the master boot record (MBR). 2013 South Korea Cyberattack (Operation 1Mission/ DarkSeoul) Over time, attacks from this group have grown more sophisticated; their techniques and tools have become better developed and more effective. The March 2011 attack known as "Ten Days of Rain" targeted South Korean media, financial, and critical infrastructure, and consisted of more sophisticated DDoS attacks that originated from compromised computers within South Korea. The attacks continued on March 20, 2013 with DarkSeoul, a wiper attack that targeted three South Korean broadcast companies, financial institutes, and an ISP. At the time, two other groups going by the personas ″NewRomanic Cyber Army Team and WhoIs Team″, took credit for that attack but researchers did not know the Lazarus Group was behind it at the time. Researchers today know the Lazarus Group as a supergroup behind the disruptive attacks. Late 2014: Sony breach The Lazarus Group attacks culminated on November 24, 2014. On that day, a Reddit post appeared stating that Sony Pictures had been hacked via unknown means; the perpetrators identified themselves as the "Guardians of Peace". Large amounts of data were stolen and slowly leaked in the days following the attack. An interview with someone claiming to be part of the group stated that they had been siphoning Sony's data for over a year. The hackers were able to access previously unreleased films, emails, and the personal information of around 4,000 employees. Early 2016 Investigation: Operation Blockbuster Under the name ″Operation Blockbuster″, a coalition of security companies, led by Novetta, was able to analyse malware samples found in different cyber-security incidents. Using that data, the team was able to analyse the methods used by the hackers. They linked the Lazarus Group to a number of attacks through a pattern of code re-usage. 2016 Bangladesh Bank cyber heist Bangladesh Bank cyber heist, was a theft that took place in February 2016. Thirty-five fraudulent instructions were issued by security hackers via the SWIFT network to illegally transfer close to US$1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh. Five of the thirty-five fraudulent instructions were successful in transferring US$101 million, with US$20 million traced to Sri Lanka and US$81 million to the Philippines. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York blocked the remaining thirty transactions, amounting to US$850 million, due to suspicions raised by a misspelled instruction. Cybersecurity experts claimed that the North Korea-based Lazarus Group was behind the attack. May 2017 WannaCry Ransomware Attack The WannaCry attack was a massive ransomware cyberattack that hit institutions across the globe ranging all the way from the NHS in Britain, to Boeing, and even to Universities in China on the 12th of May, 2017. The attack lasted 7 hours and 19 minutes. Europol estimates it affected nearly 200,000 computers in 150 countries, primarily affecting Russia, India, Ukraine, and Taiwan. This was one of the first attacks to travel via a cryptoworm. Cryptoworms are a recent form of computer virus that can travel between computers using networks, exploiting TCP port 445). To be infected, there is no need to click on a bad link - the malware can spread autonomously, from a computer to a connected printer, and then beyond to adjacent computers, perhaps connected to the wifi, etc. The port 445 vulnerability allowed the malware to move freely across intranets, and infect thousands of computers rapidly. The Wannacry attack was one of the first large scale uses of a cryptoworm. Attack The virus exploited a vulnerability in the Windows operating system, then encrypted the computer's data in return for a sum of Bitcoin worth roughly $300 to get the key. In order to encourage payment, the ransom demand doubled after three days, and if not paid in a week, the malware deletes the encrypted data files. The malware used a legitimate piece of software called Windows Crypto, made by Microsoft to scramble the files. Once the encryption is completed, the filename has "Wincry" appended, which is the root of the Wannacry name. Wincry was the base of the encryption, but two additional exploits, EternalBlue and DoublePulsar, were used by the malware to make it a cryptoworm. EternalBlue automatically spreads the virus through networks, while DoublePulsar triggered it to activate on a victim's computer. In other words, EternalBlue got the infected link to your computer, and DoublePulsar clicked it for you. Marcus Hutchins brought the attack to an end, when he received a copy of the virus from a friend at a security research company and discovered a kill switch hardcoded into the virus. The malware included a periodic check to see if a specific website was running, and would only proceed with encryption if that website didn't exist. Hutchins identified this check, then promptly registered the relevant domain at 3:03 pm UTC. The malware immediately stopped propagating itself and infecting new machines. This was very interesting, and is a clue as to who created the virus. Usually stopping malware takes months of back and forth fighting between the hackers and security experts, so this easy win was unexpected. Another very interesting and unusual aspect of the attack was that the files were not recoverable after paying the ransom: only $160,000 was collected, leading many to believe that the hackers weren't after the money. The easy kill switch and lack of revenue led many to believe that the attack was state-sponsored; the motive was not financial compensation, but just to cause chaos. After the attack security experts traced the DoublePulsar exploit back to the United States NSA where the exploit had been developed as a cyberweapon. The exploit was then stolen by a Russian backed hacking group, Shadowbrokers, who first tried to auction it off, but after failing to do that simply gave it away for free. The NSA subsequently revealed the vulnerability to Microsoft who issued an update on March 14th 2017,a little under a month before the attack occurred. It wasn't enough. The update wasn't mandatory and the majority of computers with the vulnerability had not resolved the issue by the time May 12th rolled around, leading to the astonishing effectiveness of the attack. Aftermath The US Department of Justice and British authorities later attributed the WannaCry attack on the North Korean hacking gang, the Lazarus group. North Korea is very well placed to conduct cyber operations because of Asymmetric threat, where they can take on an ever more digitalized world, especially South Korea, with a small group of Cyber Warriors. For further, more in depth research on the Wannacry attack, see: WannaCry ransomware attack https://open.spotify.com/10. Kill Switch_Lazurus Heist_BBC World Service 2017 cryptocurrency attacks In 2018, Recorded Future issued a report linking the Lazarus Group to attacks on cryptocurrency Bitcoin and Monero users mostly in South Korea. These attacks were reported to be technically similar to previous attacks using the WannaCry ransomware and the attacks on Sony Pictures. One of the tactics used by Lazarus hackers was to exploit vulnerabilities in Hancom's Hangul, a South Korean word processing software. Another tactic was to use spear-phishing lures containing malware and which were sent to South Korean students and users of cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinlink. If the user opened the malware it stole email addresses and passwords. Coinlink denied their site or users emails and passwords had been hacked. The report concluded that “This late-2017 campaign is a continuation of North Korea’s interest in cryptocurrency, which we now know encompasses a broad range of activities including mining, ransomware, and outright theft...” The report also said that North Korea was using these cryptocurrency attacks to get round international financial sanctions. North Korean hackers stole US$7 million from Bithumb, a South Korean exchange in February 2017. Youbit, another South Korean Bitcoin exchange company, filed for bankruptcy in December 2017 after 17% of its assets were stolen by cyberattacks following an earlier attack in April 2017. Lazarus and North Korean hackers were blamed for the attacks. Nicehash, a cryptocurrency cloud mining marketplace lost over 4,500 Bitcoin in December 2017. An update about the investigations claimed that the attack is linked to Lazarus Group. September 2019 attacks In mid-September 2019, the USA issued a public alert about a new version of malware dubbed ELECTRICFISH. Since the beginning of 2019, North Korean agents have attempted five major cyber-thefts world-wide, including a successful $49 million theft from an institution in Kuwait. Late 2020 pharmaceutical company attacks Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies became major targets for the Lazarus Group. Using spear-phishing techniques, Lazarus Group members posed as health officials and contacted pharmaceutical company employees with malicious links. It is thought that multiple major pharma organizations were targeted, but the only one that has been confirmed was the Angloswedish-owned AstraZeneca. According to a report by Reuters, a wide range of employees were targeted, including many involved in COVID-19 vaccine research. It is unknown what the Lazarus Group's goal was in these attacks, but the likely possibilities include: Stealing sensitive information to be sold for profit. Extortion schemes. Giving foreign regimes access to proprietary COVID-19 research. AstraZeneca has not commented on the incident and experts do not believe any sensitive data has been compromised as of yet. Education North Korean hackers are sent vocationally to Shenyang, China for special training. They are trained to deploy malware of all types onto computers, computer networks, and servers. Education domestically includes the Kim Chaek University of Technology, Kim Il-sung University and Moranbong University, which picks the brightest students from across the country and puts them through six years of special education. Units Lazarus is believed to have two units. BlueNorOff BlueNorOff (also known as: APT38, Stardust Chollima, BeagleBoyz, NICKEL GLADSTONE) is a financially motivated group that is responsible for the illegal transfers of money via forging orders from SWIFT. BlueNorOff is also called APT38 (by Mandiant) and Stardust Chollima (by Crowdstrike). According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Army, Bluenoroff has about 1,700 members carrying out financial cybercrime by concentrating on long-term assessment and exploiting enemy network vulnerabilities and systems for financial gain for the regime or to take control of the system. They target financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, including over 16 organizations in at least 13 countries between 2014 and 2021 Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Chile, and Vietnam. The revenue is believed to go towards the development of missile and nuclear technology. BlueNorOff's most infamous attack was the 2016 Bangladesh Bank robbery in which they tried to use the SWIFT network to illegally transfer close to US$1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh. After several of the transactions went through (US$20 million traced to Sri Lanka and US$81 million to the Philippines), The Federal Reserve Bank of New York blocked the remaining transactions, due to suspicions raised by a misspelling. Malware associated with BlueNorOff include: "DarkComet, Mimikatz, Net, NESTEGG, MACKTRUCK, WANNACRY, WHITEOUT, QUICKCAFE, RAWHIDE, SMOOTHRIDE, TightVNC, SORRYBRUTE, KEYLIME, SNAPSHOT, MAPMAKER, net.exe, sysmon, BOOTWRECK, CLEANTOAD, CLOSESHAVE, DYEPACK, Hermes, TwoPence, ELECTRICFISH, PowerRatankba, PowerSpritz" Tactics commonly used by BlueNorOff include: phishing, backdoors, Drive-by compromise, Watering hole attack, exploitation of insecure out-of-date versions of Apache Struts 2 to execute code on a system, strategic web compromise, and accessing Linux servers. It's reported that they sometimes work together with criminal hackers. AndAriel AndAriel (also spelled Andarial, and also known as: Silent Chollima, Dark Seoul, Rifle, and Wassonite) is logistically characterized by its targeting of South Korea. AndAriel's alternative name is called Silent Chollima due to the stealthy nature of the subgroup. Any organization in South Korea is vulnerable to AndAriel. Targets include government, defense, and any economic symbol. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Army, Andarial has about 1,600 members whose mission reconnaissance, assessment of the network vulnerabilities, and mapping the enemy network for potential attack. In addition to South Korea, they also target other governments, infrastructure, and businesses. Attack vectors include: ActiveX, vulnerabilities in South Korean software, watering hole attacks, spear phishing (macro), IT management products (antivirus, PMS), and supply chain (installers and updaters). Malware used include: Aryan, Gh0st RAT, Rifdoor, Phandoor, and Andarat. Indictments In February 2021, the US Department of Justice indicted three members of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean military intelligence agency, for having participated in several Lazarus hacking campaigns: Jin Hyok, Jon Chang Hyok and Kim Il. Park Jin Hyok had already been indicted earlier in September 2018. The individuals are not in U.S. custody. A Canadian and two Chinese individuals have also been charged with having acted as money mules and money launderers for the Lazarus group. Coverage The group was the subject of a BBC World Service podcast The Lazarus Heist broadcast in 2021. The second season is coming out in mid 2022. See also North Korea–United States relations Ricochet Chollima Kimsuky Park Jin Hyok unit 121 Notes References Sources Virus News (2016). "Kaspersky Lab Helps to Disrupt the Activity of the Lazarus Group Responsible for Multiple Devastating Cyber-Attacks", Kaspersky Lab. RBS (2014). "A Breakdown and Analysis of the December 2014 Sony Hack". RiskBased Security. Cameron, Dell (2016). "Security Researchers Say Mysterious 'Lazarus Group' Hacked Sony in 2014", The Daily Dot. Zetter, Kim (2014). "Sony Got Hacked Hard: What We Know and Don't Know So Far", Wired. Zetter, Kim (2016). "Sony Hackers Were Causing Mayhem Years Before They Hit The Company", Wired. External links Indictment of Park Jin Hyok, September 2018 Indictment of Park Jin Hyok, Jon Chang Hyok and Kim Il, January 2020 The Lazarus Heist 10 part podcast from BBC World Service. Cyberattacks North Korean advanced persistent threat groups Hacking in the 2000s Hacking in the 2010s Cyberattack gangs

49615706

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DROWN%20attack

DROWN attack

The DROWN (Decrypting RSA with Obsolete and Weakened eNcryption) attack is a cross-protocol security bug that attacks servers supporting modern SSLv3/TLS protocol suites by using their support for the obsolete, insecure, SSL v2 protocol to leverage an attack on connections using up-to-date protocols that would otherwise be secure. DROWN can affect all types of servers that offer services encrypted with SSLv3/TLS yet still support SSLv2, provided they share the same public key credentials between the two protocols. Additionally, if the same public key certificate is used on a different server that supports SSLv2, the TLS server is also vulnerable due to the SSLv2 server leaking key information that can be used against the TLS server. Full details of DROWN were announced in March 2016, along with a patch that disables SSLv2 in OpenSSL; the vulnerability was assigned the ID . The patch alone will not be sufficient to mitigate the attack if the certificate can be found on another SSLv2 host. The only viable countermeasure is to disable SSLv2 on all servers. The researchers estimated that 33% of all HTTPS sites were affected by this vulnerability as of March 1, 2016. Details DROWN is an acronym for "Decrypting RSA with Obsolete and Weakened eNcryption". It exploits a vulnerability in the combination of protocols used and the configuration of the server, rather than any specific implementation error. According to the discoverers, the exploit cannot be fixed by making changes to client software such as web browsers. The exploit includes a chosen-ciphertext attack with the use of a SSLv2 server as a Bleichenbacher oracle. SSLv2 worked by encrypting the master secret directly using RSA, and 40-bit export ciphersuites worked by encrypting only 40-bit of the master secret and revealing the other 88-bits as plaintext. The 48-byte SSLv3/TLS encrypted RSA ciphertext is "trimmed" to 40-bit parts and is then used in the SSLv2 ClientMasterKey message which the server treats as the 40-bit part of the SSLv2 master secret (the other 88 bits can be any value sent by the client as plaintext). By brute forcing the 40-bit encryption the ServerVerify message can be used as the oracle. The proof-of-concept attack demonstrated how both multi-GPU configurations and commercial cloud computing could perform part of the codebreaking calculations, at a cost of around $18,000 for the GPU setup and a per-attack cost of $400 for the cloud. A successful attack will provide the session key for a captured TLS handshake. The investigators, who described the attack above as the general DROWN attack also found a specific weakness in the OpenSSL implementation of SSLv2 that allowed what they called a special DROWN attack. This vastly reduced the effort required to break the encryption, making real-time man-in-the-middle attacks possible that required only modest computing resources. The OpenSSL implementation of SSLv2 until 2015 did not check that the clear and encrypted key lengths are correct, allowing for example only 8-bit of the master secret to be encrypted. Until 2015, OpenSSL would also overwrite the wrong bytes in the SSLv2 master secret during their attempt at the Bleichenbacher countermeasure. Until 2016, OpenSSL would also happily negotiate disabled SSLv2 ciphersuites. Unlike SSLv3 and later, in SSLv2 the client was supposed to choose from a list of ciphersuites offered by the server but OpenSSL would allow use of unlisted ciphersuites. The original reporters of the bug were the security researchers Nimrod Aviram and Sebastian Schinzel. Mitigation To protect against DROWN, server operators need to ensure that their private keys are not used anywhere with server software that allows SSLv2 connections. This includes web servers, SMTP servers, IMAP and POP servers, and any other software that supports SSL/TLS. The OpenSSL group has released a security advisory, and a set of patches intended to mitigate the vulnerability by removing support for obsolete protocols and ciphers. However, if the server's certificate is used on other servers that support SSLv2, it is still vulnerable, and so are the patched servers. Numerous sources have recommended that the vulnerability be patched as soon as possible by site operators. References External links Technical paper List of security notices Cryptographic attacks 2016 in computing Transport Layer Security

49632288

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locklizard

Locklizard

LockLizard Limited is a British software company that specializes in digital rights management security for PDF documents, USB flash drives and eBooks. It was founded in 2004 by Trevor Mathews to provide Document Digital Rights Management (DRM) software that uses encoding and encryption to protect against unauthorized copying, sharing, unlimited printing or printing on virtual devices, and screen grabbing on PCs or mobile devices. Locklizard's most notable customers include NASA, Microsoft, HP, SAP, Yamaha, BBC, Symantec, AMD, and McGraw-Hill Education. Technology Locklizard implements a range of technologies accessible on PC or on the Cloud in order to achieve the features and functions necessary to protect a document. These technologies are DRM controls, document watermarking, US Government encryption, license control, and a proprietary secure PDF viewer. Additional DRM protection includes documents locking to specific devices or locations. Locklizard does not make use of password mechanisms, digital signatures, plug-ins, and temporary files. It delivers license codes and keys through secure online registration procedures with user-friendly PKI class technology. See also List of PDF software References External links British companies established in 2004 PDF software Business software companies Software companies of the United Kingdom Computer companies of the United Kingdom 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom Software companies established in 2004

49702054

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android%20Nougat

Android Nougat

Android Nougat (codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, 2016, with Nexus devices being the first to receive the update. The LG V20 was the first smartphone released with Nougat. Nougat introduces notable changes to the operating system and its development platform, including the ability to display multiple apps on-screen at once in a split-screen view, support for inline replies to notifications, and an expanded Doze power-saving mode that restricts device functionality once the screen has been off for a period of time. Additionally, the platform switched to an OpenJDK-based Java environment and received support for the Vulkan graphics rendering API, and seamless system updates on supported devices. Nougat received positive reviews. The new app notification format received particular praise; while the multitasking interface was seen as a positive change, reviewers experienced that several apps were incompatible with the feature. Critics had mixed experiences with the Doze power-saving mode, but faster app installs and tweaks to the user interface were also reviewed positively. , 5.15% of Android devices run Nougat (no longer receiving security updates), with 3.04% on Android 7.0 and 2.11% using Android 7.1. Relatively higher proportion is using those versions on tablets than on smartphones. Google has stopped supporting Android Nougat upon release of Android 10. History The release was internally codenamed "New York Cheesecake". On March 9, 2016, ahead of the Google I/O developer conference, Google released the first alpha version of Android "N" as part of a new "Android Beta Program" intended for testing by developers and enthusiasts before official its release "this summer". The developer preview builds were compatible with only current Google Nexus devices; the 5X, 6P, 6, 9, Pixel C, and Nexus Player. The "Android Beta Program" that was introduced allowed testers to opt-in for over-the-air updates to new beta versions as they were released. On April 13, 2016, Android N Beta Preview 2 was released. Google further discussed Android "N" during the I/O keynote on May 18, 2016, and unveiled its new virtual reality platform, Daydream. Beta Preview 3, the first preview release deemed suitable for wider public beta testing, was released at this time. Google also announced that it would hold a contest to determine the official release name of the operating system. Beta Preview 4 was released on June 15, 2016. On June 30, 2016, Google announced that N's release name would be "Nougat"; it was also confirmed that Nougat would be version 7.0 of Android. The final Beta Preview, 5, was released on July 18, 2016. Android 7.0 was officially released on August 22, 2016, with the Nexus 6, 5X, 6P, 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and General Mobile 4G as the first devices to receive the update. Dave Burke, Android's Vice President of Engineering, stated in August 2016 that updates to Nougat would be released quarterly as maintenance releases focusing on "continued refinements and polish". On September 6, 2016, LG announced the V20, the first smartphone to ship with Nougat pre-installed. Google unveiled the first-party Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones during a hardware-focused event on October 4, 2016, with the Pixel phones replacing the Nexus series. Updates to existing devices vary by manufacturer and carrier, and driver support for the version by the manufacturer of a device's respective system-on-chip. Major manufacturers, including HTC, Sony, and Motorola announced intents to update a range of their recent devices to Nougat. Qualcomm stated that it would not support Nougat on devices using its Snapdragon 800 and 801 system-on-chips for undisclosed reasons. Although developer preview builds of Nougat were released for the device, Sony stated that it would not upgrade the Xperia Z3 (which uses the Snapdragon 801) to the final version due to "unforeseen platform limitations". It was reported that the Google Compatibility Test Suite (whose tests must be passed in order to receive official certification) specified that all devices running Nougat must support either Vulkan or OpenGL ES 3.1 graphics APIs—neither of which are supported by the device's Adreno 330 graphics core. The Fairphone 2 is purported to be the only device with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset to provide official support for Android 7.1.2, delivering on their effort towards increased longevity for a more sustainable device. A post-release update known as Android 7.1 was pre-loaded onto Google's Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones released in October 2016; the new version added support for the Google Daydream VR platform, image keyboards, expanded emoji support (including male and female versions), support for actions to be displayed in menus on home screen app shortcuts, and other new features. A preview of 7.1 for existing Nexus devices was released via Android Beta Program later in the month, and officially released as Android 7.1.1 on December 5, 2016. As of 7.1.1, the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 were considered end-of-life, and did not receive any further updates. Android 7.1.2 was released in April 2017, providing various improvements and minor functionality improvements to Nexus and Pixel-branded devices. Features User experience Nougat redesigns the notification shade, which now features a smaller row of icons for settings, replacing notification cards with a new "sheet" design, and allowing inline replies for notifications. Multiple notifications from a single app can also be "bundled", and there is greater per-app control over notifications. A split-screen display mode was introduced for phones, in which two apps can be snapped to occupy halves of the screen. An experimental multi-window mode is also available as a hidden feature, where multiple apps can appear simultaneously on the screen in overlapping windows. The "Doze" power saving mechanism introduced in Android Marshmallow was expanded to include a state activated when the device is running and the screen has been off for a period of time but is not stationary. In this state, network activity is restricted, and apps are granted "maintenance windows" in which they can access the network and perform background tasks. As in Marshmallow, the full Doze state is activated if the device is stationary with its screen off for a period of time. A new "Data Saver" mode restricts background mobile data usage, and can trigger internal functions in apps that are designed to reduce bandwidth usage, such as capping the quality of streaming media. Platform In December 2015, Google announced that Android Nougat would switch its Java Runtime Environment from the defunct Apache Harmony to OpenJDK—the official open source implementation of the Java platform maintained by Oracle Corporation and the Java community. The Android Runtime (ART) now incorporates a profile-guided compilation system, utilizing a JIT compiler and profiling alongside its current ahead-of-time compiler to further optimize apps for a device's hardware and other conditions in the background. Nougat introduces a system for enabling "seamless", automatic system updates, based upon and sharing some code with the implementation of similar functionality on Chrome OS. The system uses a pair of partitions. During the pre-release phase of development, SquashFS had been considered as the filesystem, to help offset the extra storage overhead of maintaining two copies of these partitions. However, for performance reasons, in the public release of Nougat, designers ultimately chose to continue using Android's traditional ext4 filesystem. The Android system executes from an "online" partition, while updates are applied in the background to a redundant "offline" partition. On the next boot following the installation of an update, the redundant partition is designated as active to boot into the updated OS. This system removes the requirement for the device to reboot into the system recovery environment to apply the update (which prevents the device from being used until the update is complete), and also provides a backup of the existing OS in case of failure. Google chose to enable seamless updates only for devices shipped with Nougat (or later), rather than enabling earlier devices to support the feature after repartitioning. Additionally, due to the ART changes on Nougat, apps no longer need to be re-compiled upon the first boot after a system update. Developer Preview 2 added platform support for Vulkan, a new low-level 3D-rendering API alternative to OpenGL ES with higher graphics performance. Nougat is the first version featuring Unicode 9.0 support, and comes with updated emoji, plus support for emoji skin tones. Android 7.1 adds native API support for implementing image keyboards; multi-endpoint telephones; shortcut menus and rounded icon assets for apps on launchers; and support for the Google Daydream virtual reality platform. The Daydream environment includes a "sustained performance mode" to assist developers in optimizing apps to a device's thermal profile, a new head tracking algorithm which combines the input from various device sensors, and integration of system notifications into the VR user interface. Security In response to the Stagefright family of bugs disclosed and fixed in 2015, several changes were made to harden the media stack against future vulnerabilities. Runtime integer overflow detection was implemented, preventing the majority of Stagefright-like programming bugs from becoming vulnerabilities, in addition to helping fix and prevent such bugs. Android's monolithic MediaServer process was redesigned to better adhere to the principle of least privilege. MediaServer is now split into several separate processes, each running in its own unprivileged sandbox, and granted only the permissions required for its task. For example, only the AudioServer can access Bluetooth, and libstagefright now runs within the MediaCodecService sandbox, which is only granted GPU access. Further constraints were placed on the media stack through seccomp. Various mechanisms were enabled to reduce the possibility of malicious code being injected and/or executed inside the Linux kernel, including dividing kernel memory into logical segments for code and data, with page access permissions of read-only and no-execute as appropriate. The kernel was also restricted from directly accessing user space memory, and stronger stack protection was enabled in the GCC compiler to reduce stack smashing. To limit exposure of the kernel to potentially malicious code, perf was disabled by default, ioctl commands were restricted by SELinux, and seccomp-bpf was enabled to grant processes the ability to restrict system calls. On devices shipping with Android Nougat, the "Verified Boot" policy (introduced partially on KitKat, and displaying notifications on startup on Marshmallow) must be strictly enforced. If system files are corrupted or otherwise modified, the operating system will only allow operation in a limited-use mode or will refuse to boot at all. Android Nougat supports an alternative drive encryption scheme known as "file-based encryption". As opposed to full disk encryption, it allows less-sensitive contents of the storage—such as operating system files—to be encrypted using only a hardware key rather than requiring credentials. Sensitive user data remains encrypted using credentials. File-based encryption removes the requirement for pre-boot authentication: instead, Android boots normally without additional intervention, but access to credential-protected data is restricted until the user unlocks the device for the first time ("Direct boot"). In the meantime, background services can access data they store in the device-encrypted context (such as alarms or messaging notifications, particularly after automatic reboots due to updates or crashes) to maintain limited functionality until the user unlocks the credential-encrypted storage. Reception Dieter Bohn of The Verge praised the new multitasking interface in Android Nougat, calling it "long overdue" for Android tablets. Although he initially found the implementation "confusing", he wrote that it worked well once he understood it properly, though he noted that "some apps don’t fully support split screen, while others work fine but pop up a warning anyway". Bohn also liked the new way to reply to any message notification, stating "Android has long had an advantage in useful and consistent notifications" versus iOS, and added "now that quick replies are standard on it I don't see that lead diminishing". He also noted "tweaks" throughout the OS as welcome changes, including quick toggles in the notification drawer, a Settings menu with more visual information, and a Camera app that has been "cleaned up a bit". Bohn stated that he didn't notice any significant battery improvements despite the Doze power-saving feature in Nougat. He also wrote extensively about the fact that, even though Nougat is "great", "it’s a shame it will take so long for anybody to see it", writing about the lack of updates to most Android devices, and that "unless you have a Nexus, it could be a few months, it could be a , before it becomes available on your phone". Chris Velazco of Engadget also praised the new, bundled app notifications, writing that prior Android versions' notifications "just sort of sit there" until interaction, but Nougat "does a much better job of bundling them by app and letting you get things done". He highlighted the ability to expand a bundled Gmail notification to see subjects and senders of individual messages. Velazco stated that split-screen multitasking was a "big deal", but he also encountered non-compatible apps. Visual elements in the Settings app, quick toggles in the notification dropdown, and new language and emoji support were also positive highlights in the review. Velazco did note a battery improvement from the Doze power-saving feature, stating his "Nexus 6P seemed to gain about an hour or two of standby battery life". He also wrote that installing and launching apps might be "a little faster than usual" thanks to Nougat's new app compiler, and he hoped game developers would utilize the new Vulkan API for some "seriously good-looking mobile gaming". See also Android version history References External links 2016 software Android (operating system)

49707456

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KeRanger

KeRanger

KeRanger (also known as OSX.KeRanger.A) is a ransomware trojan horse targeting computers running macOS. Discovered on March 4, 2016, by Palo Alto Networks, it affected more than 7,000 Mac users. KeRanger is remotely executed on the victim's computer from a compromised installer for Transmission, a popular BitTorrent client downloaded from the official website. It is hidden in the .dmg file under General.rtf. The .rtf is actually a Mach-O format executable file packed with UPX 3.91. When users click these infected apps, their bundle executable Transmission.app/Content/MacOS/Transmission will copy this General.rtf file to ~/Library/kernel_service and execute this "kernel_service" before any user interface appearing. It encrypts the files with RSA and RSA public key cryptography, with the key for decryption only stored on the attacker's servers. The malware then creates a file, called "readme_to_decrypt.txt", in every folder. When the instructions are opened, it gives the victim directions on how to decrypt the files, usually demanding a payment of one bitcoin. The ransomware is considered to be a variant of the Linux ransomware Linux.Encoder.1. Discovery On March 4, 2016, Palo Alto Networks added Ransomeware.KeRanger.OSX to their virus database. Two days after, they published a description and a breakdown of the code. Propagation According to Palo Alto Research Center, KeRanger was most commonly infected into Transmission from the official website being compromised, then the infected .dmg was uploaded to look like the "real" Transmission. After it was reported, the makers of Transmission issued a new download on the website and pushed out a software update. The only way the malware infected the victim's computer was by using a valid developer signature issued by Apple, which allowed it to bypass Apple's built-in security. Encryption process The first time it executes, KeRanger will create three files ".kernel_pid", ".kernel_time" and ".kernel_complete" under ~/Library directory and write the current time to ".kernel_time". It will then sleep for three days. After that, it will collect information about the Mac, which includes the model name and the UUID. After it collects the information, it uploads it to one of its Command and Control servers. These servers’ domains are all sub-domains of onion[.]link or onion[.]nu, two domains that host servers only accessible over the Tor network. After it connects with the Command and Control servers, it returns the data with a "README_FOR_DECRYPT.txt" file. It then tells the user that their files have been encrypted, etc. and that they need to pay a sum of one bitcoin, which used to be roughly $400 in United States dollar. KeRanger encrypts each file (e.g. Test.docx) by first creating an encrypted version that uses the .encrypted extension (i.e. Test.docx.encrypted.) To encrypt each file, KeRanger starts by generating a random number (RN) and encrypts the RN with the RSA key retrieved from the C2 server using the RSA algorithm. It then stores the encrypted RN at the beginning of resulting file. Next, it will generate an Initialization Vector (IV) using the original file’s contents and store the IV inside the resulting file. After that, it will mix the RN and the IV to generate an AES encryption key. Finally, it will use this AES key to encrypt the contents of the original file and write all encrypted data to the result file. Encrypted files After connecting to the C2 server, it will retrieve the encryption key, then start the process. It will first encrypt the "/Users" folder, then after that "/Volumes" There are also 300 file extensions that are encrypted, such as: Documents: .doc, .docx, .docm, .dot, .dotm, .ppt, .pptx, .pptm, .pot, .potx, .potm, .pps, .ppsm, .ppsx, .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .txt, .csv, .rtf, .te Images: .jpg, .jpeg Audio and video: .mp3, .mp4, .avi, .mpg, .wav, .flac Archives: .zip, .rar., .tar, .gzip Source code: .cpp, .asp, .csh, .class, .java, .lua Database: .db, .sql Email: .eml Certificate: .pem References Trojan horses Ransomware MacOS malware

49764386

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subgraph%20%28operating%20system%29

Subgraph (operating system)

Subgraph OS is a Linux distribution designed to be resistant to surveillance and interference by sophisticated adversaries over the Internet. It is based on Debian. The operating system has been mentioned by Edward Snowden as showing future potential. Subgraph OS is designed to be locked down and with features which aim to reduce the attack surface of the operating system, and increase the difficulty required to carry out certain classes of attack. This is accomplished through system hardening and a proactive, ongoing focus on security and attack resistance. Subgraph OS also places emphasis on ensuring the integrity of installed software packages through deterministic compilation. Features Some of Subgraph OS's notable features include: Linux kernel hardened with the grsecurity and PaX patchset. Linux namespaces and xpra for application containment. Mandatory file system encryption during installation, using LUKS. Resistance to cold boot attacks. Configurable firewall rules to automatically ensure that network connections for installed applications are made using the Tor anonymity network. Default settings ensure that each application's communication is transmitted via an independent circuit on the network. GNOME Shell integration for the OZ virtualization client, which runs apps inside a secure Linux container, targeting ease-of-use by everyday users. Security The security of Subgraph OS (which uses sandbox containers) has been questioned in comparison to Qubes (which uses virtualization), another security focused operating system. An attacker can trick a Subgraph user to run a malicious unsandboxed script via the OS's default Nautilus file manager or in the terminal. It is also possible to run malicious code containing .desktop files (which are used to launch applications). Malware can also bypass Subgraph OS's application firewall. Also, by design, Subgraph does not isolate the network stack like Qubes OS. See also Tails (operating system) Qubes OS References External links Debian-based distributions Operating system security Linux distributions

49834008

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xor%20DDoS

Xor DDoS

XOR DDoS is a Linux Trojan malware with rootkit capabilities that was used to launch large-scale DDoS attacks. Its name stems from the heavy usage of XOR encryption in both malware and network communication to the C&Cs. It is built for multiple Linux architectures like ARM, x86 and x64. Noteworthy about XOR DDoS is the ability to hide itself with an embedded rootkit component which is obtained by multiple installation steps. It was discovered in September 2014 by MalwareMustDie, a white hat malware research group. From November 2014 it was involved in massive brute force campaign that lasted at least for three months. In order to gain access it launches a brute force attack in order to discover the password to Secure Shell services on Linux. Once Secure Shell credentials are acquired and login is successful, it uses root privileges to run a script that downloads and installs XOR DDoS. It is believed to be of Asian origin based on its targets, which tend to be located in Asia. See also References Cyberwarfare Botnets Denial-of-service attacks Trojan horses Linux malware

49938755

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Hay%20un%20traidor%20en%20la%20T.I.A.%21

¡Hay un traidor en la T.I.A.!

¡Hay un traidor en la T.I.A.! (English: There is a traitor in the T.I.A.!) is a 1983 comic written and drawn by Francisco Ibañez for the Mortadelo y Filemón (Mort & Phil) comic series. Publication history The comic strip was first published in the Super Mortadelo magazine in 1983, issues #145 to #150. Plot As of late, the T.I.A. operations' failure rate has suddenly increased exponentionally because somehow their secret plans are becoming known to the enemy before they are even executed. When the latest undertaking - protecting a secret embassadorial courier - fails because his undercover guardians are purposefully taken out beforehand, and the courier is subsequently massacred down to his left ear, El Super finally comes to the conclusion that there must be a traitor within the T.I.A.'s ranks. To flush him out, he assigns Mortadelo and Filemón to the case. However, Mortadelo and Filemon have to find out to their chagrin that detecting a traitor in an organisation where handling secret documents is a part of everyday's work is not as easy as it seems, and they end up running afoul of several colleagues, including Ofelia, Professor Bacterio, and - at one point - even each other. Meanwhile, the T.I.A.'s field losses continue to mount; El Super loses even more of his already fragile patience and subjects Mortadelo and Filemon to a series of gruesome disciplinary actions in order to "dedicate" them to their assignment. In the end, Mortadelo and Filemón begin to suspect El Super himself, and after some chaotic mishaps during their attempts to expose him, they finally think of asking him about what is done with the secret plans before they are implemented. El Super states that they are regularly delivered to the T.I.A. encryption department in the building next door, but since he distrusts the internal mail and the phone, he conveys the plans in what he considers a completely fool-proof manner: by leaning out of the window and yelling them, uncoded, across the street! (This method, of course, gives interested eavesdroppers ample opportunities to intercept the plans to their advantage.) Angered at having been ordered to clean up this self-inflicted mess, Mortadelo and Filemon lash El Super to a scoop wheel and a piece of cactus to their boss' rear side, marking him as the jackass of the day. In other media This comic's plot was adapted into an episode of the same name for the Mortadelo y Filemón cartoon series. References Bibliography DE LA CRUZ PÉREZ, Francisco Javier. Los cómics de Francisco Ibáñez. Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla–La Mancha Cuenca, 2008. FERNÁNDEZ SOTO, Miguel. El mundo de Mortadelo y Filemón. Medialive Content, 2008. GUIRAL, Antoni. El gran libro de Mortadelo y Filemón: 50 aniversario. Ediciones B. Mort & Phil comic books 1983 in comics 1983 graphic novels

49938759

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless%20Conference%20Microphone

Wireless Conference Microphone

Wireless Conference Microphone is the conference microphone or conference terminal evolved from the wired one to the wireless one. The main frequency range of wireless conference microphone is various: the mostly applied one is 2.4 GHz based on Wifi. 5.8GHz is also applied in the wireless conference microphone communication system. The traditional conference microphone is connected to the control unit or PC with some cables to modularize the signal or encrypt the signal. The encryption technology of wireless conference system is various. AES is frequently applied to encrypt the signal communication between wireless conference microphone. AES is available in many different encryption packages, and is the first (and only) publicly accessible cipher approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) for top secret information The signal exchange and encryption between wireless conference microphones is based on the central control unit. The deployment of wireless conference system do not require cable. Meanwhile, the wireless environment of the operation site is important for the wireless conference microphone. With co-channel distortion from mobile phones or other Wifi, the communication of the wireless conference microphone would be disturbed. References Wireless

49970177

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20submarines%20of%20World%20War%20II

List of submarines of World War II

This is a list of submarines of World War II. Germany used submarines to devastating effect in the Battle of the Atlantic, where it attempted to cut Britain's supply routes by sinking more merchant ships than Britain could replace. While U-boats destroyed a significant number of ships, the strategy ultimately failed. Although U-boats had been updated in the interwar years, the major innovation was improved communications and encryption; allowing for mass-attack naval tactics. By the end of the war, almost 3,000 Allied ships (175 warships, 2,825 merchantmen) had been sunk by U-boats. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated the most varied fleet of submarines of any navy, including Kaiten crewed torpedoes, midget submarines ( and es), medium-range submarines, purpose-built supply submarines and long-range fleet submarines. They also had submarines with the highest submerged speeds (s) and submarines that could carry multiple aircraft (s). They were also equipped with one of the most advanced torpedoes of the conflict, the oxygen-propelled Type 95. The submarine force was the most effective anti-ship weapon in the US Navy arsenal. While only about 2 percent of the U.S. naval force they destroyed over 30 percent of the Japanese Navy, and over 60 percent of the Japanese merchant fleet, The Royal Navy Submarine Service was used primarily to blockade trade and military supply routes to Africa and the Near and Far East, but also obtained the only mutually submerged submarine to submarine combat kill. This occurred when the crew of engaged the manually computed a successful firing solution against a three-dimensional moving target using techniques which became the basis of modern torpedo computer targeting systems. During World War II, 52 U.S. Navy submarines were sunk. Submarines show submerged displacement. See also Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy List of specifications of submarines of World War II List of ships of World War II List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons References Bibliography Submarines World War II

50018370

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-device%20tracking

Cross-device tracking

Cross-device tracking refers to technology which enables the tracking of users across multiple devices such as smartphones, television sets, smart TVs, and personal computers. More specifically, cross-device tracking is a technique in which technology companies and advertisers deploy trackers, often in the form of unique identifiers, cookies, or even ultrasonic signals, to generate a profile of users across multiple devices, not simply one. For example, one such form of this tracking uses audio beacons, or inaudible sounds, emitted by one device and recognized through the microphone of the other device. This form of tracking is used primarily by technology companies and advertisers who use this information to piece together a cohesive profile of the user. These profiles inform and predict the type of advertisements the user receives. Background There are many ways in which online tracking has manifested itself. Historically, when companies wanted to track users' online behavior, they simply had users sign in to their website. This is a form of deterministic cross-device tracking, in which the user's devices are associated with their account credentials, such as their email or username. Consequently, while the user is logged in, the company can keep a running history of what sites the user has been to and which ads the user interacted with between computers and mobile devices. Eventually, cookies were deployed by advertisers, providing each user with a unique identifier in his or her browser so that the user's preferences can be monitored. This unique identifier informs the placement of relevant, targeted ads the user may receive. Cookies were also used by companies to improve the user experience, enabling users to pick up where they left off on websites. However, as users began using multiple devices––up to around five––advertisers became confused as to how to track, manage, and consolidate this data across multiple devices as the cookie-based model suggested that each device––whether a phone, computer, or tablet––was a different person. Other technologies such as supercookies, which stay on computers long after the user deletes his or her cookies, and web beacons, which are unique images from a URL, are also used by trackers and advertisers to gain increased insight into users' behavior. However, advertisers were still limited in that only one device was able to be tracked and associated with a user. Thus, cross-device tracking initially emerged as a means of generating a profile of users across multiple devices, not simply one. One such tactic for cross-device tracking is called browser fingerprinting, and occurs when browsers, which are modifiable to the users' tastes, produce a unique signal that companies or advertisers can use to single out the user. Browser fingerprinting has been a cause for concern because of its effectiveness and also since it does not allow for users to opt-out of the tracking. Another tactic used by Google is called AdID and works on smartphones in tandem with cookies on a user's computer to track behavior across devices. Now, cross-device tracking has evolved into a new, radical form of surveillance technology which enables users to be tracked across multiple devices, including smartphones, TVs, and personal computers through the use of audio beacons, or inaudible sound, emitted by one device and recognized through the microphone of the other device, usually a smartphone. In addition, cross-device tracking may presage the future of the Internet of things (IoT), in which all types of devices––such as offices, cars, and homes––are seamlessly interconnected via the internet. Ultrasonic tracking Humans interpret sound by picking up on different frequencies. Given the variety of sound waves that exist, humans can only hear frequencies that are within a certain range––generally from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. By the age of 30, most humans cannot hear sounds above 18 kHz. Ultrasound, which is shorter wavelengths greater than or equal to 20 kHz, enables the rapid transmission of data necessary for cross-device tracking to occur. Another integral component of cross-device tracking is the usage of audio beacons. Audio beacons are beacons that are embedded into ultrasound, so they cannot be heard by humans. These audio beacons are used to surreptitiously track a user's location and monitor online behavior by connecting with the microphone on another device without the user's awareness. In October 2015, the Center for Democracy and Technology submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding cross-device tracking technology, specifically mentioning SilverPush. Audio "beacons" can be embedded into television advertisements. In a similar manner to radio beacons, these can be picked up by mobile apps. This allows the behavior of users to be tracked, including which ads were seen by the user and how long they watched an ad before changing the channel. In March 2016, the FTC issued warning letters to 12 app developers using cross-device tracking in their apps. The FTC warned these developers that they may be violating the FTC Act if they state or imply that their apps are not tracking television viewing habits when they in fact are. Applications Studies have shown that 234 Android applications are eavesdropping on these ultrasonic channels without the user's awareness. Applications such as SilverPush, Shopkick, and Lisnr are part of an "ultrasonic side-channel" in which the app, often unbeknownst to the user, intercepts ultrasonic signals emitted from the user's environment, such as from a TV, to track which advertisements the user has heard and how long the person listened to them. SilverPush––the leading company using this technology––patented software enabling them to track TV ads based on audio stream above Shopkick, another popular application, gives discounts to users who shop at stores which emit these ultrasonic beacons, allowing them to create a profile of the user Lisnr uses a user's location data in tandem with ultrasonic beacons to give users coupons related to their activities Another study suggested that Apple, Google, and Bluetooth Special Interest groups need to do more to prevent cross-device tracking. Privacy and surveillance concerns Ultrasonic tracking Cross-device tracking has privacy implications and allows for more detailed tracking of users than traditional tracking methods. Data can be collected from multiple devices used by a single user and correlated to form a more accurate picture of the person being tracked. Moreover, malicious actors may use variants of the technology to de-anonymize anonymity network users. Ultrasonic tracking technologies can pose massive threats to a user's privacy. There are four primary privacy concerns associated with this new form of tracking: The first is media tracking: audio from the user's television may be detected by the microphone in the user's mobile device, allowing malicious actors to gain access to what the user is watching––particularly if it is salacious. Advertisers can similarly gain insight into what a user typically watches. In both scenarios, a user's real-world behavior is linked to their online identity and used for tracking. Another form of tracking permitted by ultrasonic tracking is cross-device tracking, which enables a user's profile to be connected across multiple devices based on proximity. This form of tracking, in linking different devices, can help advertisers show more targeted ads or open individuals to attacks by malicious actors. Location tracking is yet another privacy concern. Indeed, ultrasonic signals can convey location information via a location identifier, often placed in stores or businesses. Lastly, this new ultrasonic tracking poses a threat to users of Bitcoin and Tor because it de-anonymizes a user's information, since ultrasonic signals associate the user's mobile phone with the Bitcoin or Tor account. Panoptic surveillance and the commodification of users' digital identity From cookies to ultrasonic trackers, some argue that invasive forms of surveillance underscore how users are trapped in a digital panopticon, similar to the concept envisioned by Jeremy Bentham: a prison in which the prisoners were able to be seen at all times by guards but were unable to detect when, or even if, they were being watched at all, creating a sense of paranoia that drove prisoners to carefully police their own behavior. Similarly, scholars have drawn parallels between Bentham's panopticon and today's pervasive use of internet tracking in that individuals lack awareness to the vast disparities of power that exist between themselves and the corporation to which they willingly give their data. In essence, companies are able to gain access to consumers' activity when they use a company's services. The usage of these services often is beneficial, which is why users agree to exchange personal information. However, since users participate in this unequal environment, in which corporations hold most of the power and in which the user is obliged to accept the bad faith offers made by the corporations, users are operating in an environment that ultimately controls, shapes and molds them to think and behave in a certain way, depriving them of privacy. In direct response to the panoptic and invasive forms of tracking manifesting themselves within the digital realm, some have turned to sousveillance: a form of inverse surveillance in which users can record those who are surveilling them, thereby empowering themselves. This form of counter surveillance, often used through small wearable recording devices, enables the subversion of corporate and government panoptic surveillance by holding those in power accountable and giving people a voice––a permanent video record––to push back against government abuses of power or malicious behavior that may go unchecked. The television, along with the remote control, is also argued to be conditioning humans into habitually repeating that which they enjoy without experiencing genuine surprise or even discomfort, a critique of the television similar to that of those made against information silos on social media sites today. In essence, this technological development led to egocasting: a world in which people exert extreme amounts of control over what they watch and hear. As a result, users deliberately avoid content they disagree with in any form––ideas, sounds, or images. In turn, this siloing can drive political polarization and stoke tribalism. Plus, companies like TiVO analyze how TV show watchers use their remote and DVR capability to skip over programming, such as advertisements––a privacy concern users may lack awareness of as well. Some scholars have even contended that in an age of increased surveillance, users now participate online through the active generation and curation of online images––a form of control. In so doing, users can be seen as rejecting the shame associated with their private lives. Other scholars note that surveillance is fundamentally dependent upon location in both physical and virtual environments. This form of surveillance can be seen in travel websites which enable the user to share their vacation to a virtual audience. The person's willingness to share their personal information online is validated by the audience, since the audience holds the user accountable and the user vicariously experiences pleasure through the audience. Further, users' mobile data is increasingly being shared to third parties online, potentially underscoring the regulatory challenges inherent in protecting users' online privacy. In addition, scholars argue that users have the right to know the value of their personal data. Increasingly, users' digital identity is becoming commodified through the selling and monetizing of their personal data for profit by large companies. Unfortunately, many people appear to be unaware of the fact that their data holds monetary value that can potentially be used towards other products and services. Thus, scholars are arguing for users' to have increased awareness and transparency into this process so that users can become empowered and informed consumers of data. Surveillance capitalism The increased usage of cross-device tracking by advertisers is indicative of the rise of a new era of data extraction and analysis as a form of profit, or surveillance capitalism, a term coined by Shoshana Zuboff. This form of capitalism seeks to commodify private human experience to create behavioral futures markets, in which behavior is predicted and behavioral data is harvested from the user. Zuboff suggests that this new era of surveillance capitalism eclipses Bentham's panopticon, becoming far more encroaching and invasive as, unlike a prison, there is no escape, and the thoughts, feelings, and actions of users are immediately extracted to be commodified and resold. Thus, since cross-device tracking seeks to create a profile of a user across multiple devices, big tech companies, such as Google, could use this behavioral data to make predictions about the user's future behavior without the user's awareness. Scholars are beginning to discuss the possibility of quantifying the monetary value of users' personal data. Notably, the algorithms used to extract and mine user data are increasingly seen as business assets and thus protected via trade secrets. Indeed, the usage of free online services, such as public Wi-Fi, often comes at the unknown cost to the user of being tracked and profiled by the company providing the service. In essence, a transaction is occurring: users' personal data is being exchanged for access to a free service. Increasingly, scholars are advocating for users' right to understand the fundamental value of their personal data more intimately so as to be more savvy, informed consumers who have the ability to protect the privacy of their online information and not be manipulated into unwittingly giving away personal information. Health and wellness applications In addition, health and wellness applications also have a dearth of privacy protections as well: a study found that many health apps lacked encryption and that regulators should enforce stronger Data privacy protections. The study stated that of the 79 apps they tested, none of the applications locally encrypted the users' personal information and 89% of the applications pushed the data online. The lack of adequate privacy and security measures surrounding users' personal medical data on mobile applications underscores the lessening degree to which users can trust mobile app developers to safeguard their personal information online. While mobile application developers continue to confront privacy and security concerns, users are increasingly looking to ways to visualize their data through wearable devices and applications that track their workout and exercise routines. Indeed, researchers discovered that these self-tracking devices play a role as a tool, a toy, and a tutor in users' lives. In the tool role, the self-tracking device functions as a mechanism to help the user in some capacity, often to achieve personal health goals. The toy role underscores how some self-tracking users see it as a fun game, particularly with regard to rewards and viewing the visualized data. Lastly, the tutor role reflects how users gain insights from and motivation about their activity from the apps themselves. Other scholars have characterized self-tracking as performing for the system, or controlling what is (or isn't) recorded, performing for the self, tracking themselves to gain insight into their behavior, and performing for other people, or the importance of how other people viewed the person being tracked, as well as the control the person being tracked had over their data and thus how they are perceived. Cookies, flash cookies, and web beacons Additionally, privacy concerns surround cookies, flash cookies, and web beacons on websites today. Ultimately, five main concerns surround the usage of cookies, flash cookies, and web beacons, according to a study: Firstly, the authors note that users lack anonymity online, with cookies using unique identifiers and flash cookies enabling recognition of website visits Another concern the authors note is unintended uses of cookies, since cookies were initially designed to benefit the user's experience and engagement online, but have since morphed into a business run by advertisers in which personal data is sold for profit Users are likely unaware of how their personal information is being used, reflecting the surreptitious nature of data collection Some cookies trespass into the web users' own resources and are downloaded to the user's computer often without the user's awareness Lastly, the authors note that the threat of cookie sharing underscores how web users' personal information can become combined with other data from websites and even a social security number to create a more cohesive picture of the user Data capitalism Other scholars have defined a similarly extractive and destructive phenomenon called data capitalism. Data capitalism is an economic system enabling the redistribution of power towards those who have access to the information––namely, big corporations. There are three fundamental theories of how large companies engage users in virtual communities, reflecting the power of data capitalism on users today: The free and open network: in making products free, large companies make their products more accessible to a larger audience from which they can extract valuable data in exchange. The connection between people and machines: data capitalism promotes a connection between people and machines which is derived from the user's relationship to the technology itself. Increasingly, tracking and surveillance technology is profiling users and learning their preferences, users become more comfortable with their devices and a self-fulfilling prophecy continues. The value placed on data: new information asymmetries are proliferating that exacerbate inequality of information and allow only the most powerful access to most people's data. Increasingly, a scholar suggests that the lack of transparency over users' data reflects the tension between privacy and community online. Solutions Scholars are convinced the current notice-and-consent model for privacy policies is fundamentally flawed because it assumes users intuitively understand all of the facts in a privacy policy, which is often not the case. Instead, scholars emphasize the imperative role of creating a culture in which privacy becomes a social norm. In effect, users of online technologies should identify the social activities they use on the internet and start questioning websites' governing norms as a natural outgrowth of their web browsing. In effect, these norms need to prevent websites from collecting and sharing users' personal information. In addition, starting with a user's personal values and seeing how these values correlate with online norms may be another way to assess whether or not privacy norms are being violated in odd cases. Ultimately, scholars believe these privacy norms are vital to protecting both individuals and social institutions. Legal and ethical issues While the United States lacks extensive privacy rights, the Fourth Amendment provides some privacy protections. The Fourth Amendment states that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated", suggesting that while individuals are protected from all levels of the government, they are not legally protected from private companies or individuals with malicious intent. There are large implications for this technology within the legal field. Legally, The Federal Trade Commission has a responsibility to prevent deceptive practices by technology companies, such as those that could lead to consumer injury. The FTC has made efforts to prevent invasive web tracking, tracking in physical space, malware, insecure and poorly designed services, and the use of deception to engage in surveillance. For instance, in the realm of invasive web tracking, the FTC has brought lawsuits against companies who engage in 'history sniffing'––a technique that enables companies to ascertain which links a user clicked on based on the color of the link. Concerning tracking in physical space, the FTC has also cracked down on Nomi, a company that scans the MAC addresses of customers' phones in stores. MAC addresses function as a unique identifier, enabling the connection to wireless networks. In the case of malware, the FTC has placed pressure on companies such as CyberSpy, a self-proclaimed email attachment company that claimed to secretly record users' key presses. The FTC has also cracked down on companies like Compete, a browser toolbar, because it decrypted users' personal information on the internet, putting users at risk. Lastly, in cases during which deception is used to engage in surveillance, the FTC has investigated private investigators, who surveil individuals on another person's behalf. In addition, audio beacon technology, used by an application called Silverpush, could violate the FTC's policies because users were not made aware as to when the ultrasonic signals were being recorded. Another scholar believes that the convergence between lived experience and online technology is creating a term called Mixed reality, in which people and things are replaced with virtual experiences. Mixed Reality technologies can pose legal challenges in that laws which govern the online world will also extend to the real world. In addition, data tagging––often through GPS, location-based services, or even near-field communication (NFC)––is the new technology at the heart of mixed reality, since people's data is determined in part by their location. Near-field communication enables devices to transmit data to each other with a certain range. Virtual reality can become a privacy issue because it attempts to immerse users into the virtual environment by recording a user's every sensation. In turn, mixed reality's amalgamation with daily tasks suggest that it will be implicated in numerous legal issues ranging from copyright law to intellectual property law. Customers are also being denied a voice in contracts, since only corporations set the rules by which individuals' private information is mined and extracted. The solution to these issues, according to scholars, are opt-in controls to police users' privacy that enable balance to be restored to the law, particularly as it stands regarding contracts. Ethically, Zuboff points to the extraction, commodification, and analysis of private human experiences as well as increased surveillance––which is sometimes hidden––in everyday life as violating users' rights to privacy. The usage of surreptitious methods, in which the user is unaware of the extent to which he or she is being tracked, brings tracking mechanisms––such as cookies, flash cookies, and web beacons––into the ethical realm as well since users are not being informed of this tracking perhaps as often as they should. See also Behavioral analytics Behavioral targeting Internet privacy Privacy concerns with social networking services Surveillance Website visitor tracking References External links Center for Democracy and Technology's letter to the FTC Internet privacy

50023868

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert%20Horn%20Sr.

Gilbert Horn Sr.

Gilbert Horn Sr. (May 12, 1923 – March 27, 2016) was an American military veteran who served as an Assiniboine code talker during World War II. Horn, a member of the Merrill's Marauders during the war, utilized the Assiniboine language to encode communications by the U.S. military in the Pacific theater. In 2014, Horn was named an honorary chief by the Fort Belknap Assiniboine Tribe, becoming the first person to be awarded the title since the 1890s. Horn was born on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation of Montana on May 12, 1923, to Melvina (Tall Youth) and Jesse Iron Horn Sr. He was raised on the reservation and attended school in Dodson, Montana, until he completed 8th grade. Later in life, Horn had one child with his first wife, Elizabeth Bradley, and eleven children with his second wife, Elizabeth Jackson. Horn enlisted in the United States Army 1940, when he was 17 years old, and was assigned to the 163rd Infantry Battalion. He was trained in both Army communications and encryption. Horn, a code talker who spoke Assiniboine, an indigenous language of Montana, used his linguistic abilities to encrypt U.S. communications against the Japanese during World War II. Horn volunteered for an assignment with Merrill's Marauders, a U.S. Army special operations led by General Frank Merrill in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, beginning in 1943. As a member of the Marauders, Horn completed an 800-mile march across the mountains of Burma and southern China to cut off Japanese supply lines in the region. Fewer than 1,200 troops survived Merrill's Marauders' campaign. Horn and the surviving Maurauders were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for "gallantry, determination and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions." Horn also received a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart. Horn was honorably discharged from the United States Army after the war. He returned to his grandparents' farm on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, where he became involved in the reservation's tribal politics and judiciary. He served on the Fort Belknap Community Council for nineteen years. Horn also wrote the first regulations to govern the Fort Belknap Tribal Juvenile Court and served as a judge for eight years. Horn, who served as the former chairman of the National Congress of American Indians' Rocky Mountain Region chapter, successfully lobbied the U.S. federal government for a new health clinic on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Montana State University–Northern awarded Horn an honorary doctorate in humanitarian services in 2013. In 2014, Fort Belknap Assiniboine Tribe named him the honorary chief, becoming the first person to receive the title since the 1890s. The recently constructed early learning center on the Fort Belknap Reservation has also been named in Horn's honor. Gilbert Horn died at the Northern Montana Care Center in Havre, Montana, on March 27, 2016, at the age of 92. He was survived by eleven children, thirty-seven grandchildren, and almost ninety great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. He was buried at a family cemetery, located on the reservation east of Fort Belknap Agency. See also List of Native American jurists References 1923 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Assiniboine code talkers Montana politicians Native American judges Native American politicians People from Blaine County, Montana People from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation 20th-century American judges

50063067

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokan%20Library

Dokan Library

Dokan (, "earthen pipe") is a software interface for Windows that lets programmers create virtual file systems without writing a kernel-level driver. This is achieved by running file system code in user space while the Dokan kernel driver translates the request for Windows Kernel. It offers compatibility with the FUSE file system by using a wrapper that can be built with Cygwin and MinGW. Dokan is free software released under the terms of the LGPL and MIT License. History The Dokan project was originally created and maintained by Hiroki Asakawa from 2007 to 2011, up to version 0.6.0. It was hosted on Google Code. Asakawa was supported by a 2006 grant from the Japanese on a related subject. Since then it was maintained by the community on a fork called DokanX. As the development of DokanX slowed in 2014, the French company ISLOG took over with its own fork called Dokany, actively maintained by Adrien J. and Maxime C. The drivers are now code signed by this company. Uses Dokan is particularly useful for writing to a Virtual File System without requiring Windows Kernel knowledge. It gives one the ability to mount a virtual hard drive that contains whatever the developer wants to show, making it an alternative to the professionally developed CBFS Connect library. It can be absolutely virtual using memory like a ramdisk or show remote data like FTP, SSH, Samba, and databases as local storage that can be listed, read, written, and deleted. Dokan is written in C. It provides bindings in .NET, Java, Ruby, and Delphi. References External links The now-defunct Dokan Google Forum Example uses DokanCloudFS: Access to different cloud storage services as virtual driver (OneDrive, Google Drive, MEGA, ...). Dokan SSHFS: SSH File System MLVFS: Magic Lantern Video File System Win-SSHFS: SSH with SSH.NET File System encfs4win: Encryption File System Opendedup CDFS: Deduplication Based File System Dokan NFC: RFID / NFC File System vramfs on Windows: VRAMFS on Windows - Create a file system in VRAM kbfs: Keybase Filesystem (KBFS), a distributed filesystem with end-to-end encryption and a global namespace. Free software programmed in C Userspace file systems

50077408

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital%20Guardian

Digital Guardian

Digital Guardian is an American data loss prevention software company that produces products designed to detect and stop malicious actions by users and malware on endpoints. Digital Guardian provides software both at the end-user level and in corporate networks, servers, databases, and the cloud. These products are designed to detect and stop malicious actions by users and malware on endpoints. It puts data events into context and applies a granular set of rules to protect it against threats. The company holds 20 patents for its technology. Its customers include about 300 Global 2000 companies, as well as seven of the 10 largest brands in the world. It is considered to be a leader in the global data loss prevention market. History The company was founded in 2003 under the name Verdasys. From the start, its flagship product was Digital Guardian, a data-centric security platform monitoring and encrypting all proprietary or sensitive information passing through a desktop, laptop, or enterprise server. In 2008, Verdasys launched SiteTrust, an encryption software service for banks, brokerages, and other big companies that served customers over the Internet and were legally liable for losses from online fraud. Its client-side software package turned on whenever the user visited a website protected by the SiteTrust service and spawned a new instance of the user's Web browser, shutting out malware and creating a secure space around all communications with the protected site. An agreement between Verdasys and Fidelis Security Systems (now Fidelis Cybersecurity) in 2010 enabled customers to acquire and implement an integrated solution consisting of Fidelis XPS network appliances and Digital Guardian enterprise information protection in a single offering from Verdasys. In early 2012, Verdasys expanded its data leak prevention portfolio to the cloud to help enterprises protect their data stored on its networks and reduce costs. When one of its customers, a large insurance company, requested Verdasys to take over the job of monitoring and protecting the data, Verdasys introduced two new offerings: Managed Service for Information Protection (MSIP) and Information Protection as a Service (IPaaS), offering data protection as a managed service. The Digital Guardian platform completed EAL2+ evaluation under the Communications Security Establishment's Common Criteria Evaluation and Certification Scheme in December 2012. Verdasys introduced a data connector in 2013 that contained malware threats detected by FireEye's platform. Before Verdasys' connector, the malware had to be handled manually. In December, Gartner's Magic Quadrant placed Digital Guardian among the five leaders of the global data loss prevention market. Ken Levine, previously a McAfee executive, joined the company as CEO in 2014 and focused on simplifying its product. In March, Verdasys raised $12 million in a venture funding, bringing the company's total raised capital to $69 million. The funding round was led by existing investors GE Pension Trust and Fairhaven Capital, with a new, individual investment from Brookline Venture Partners. 2014 was also a year of several major partnerships and acquisitions. In March, Identity Finder LLC partnered with Verdasys, bringing its Sensitive Data Manager, capable of automatically finding, classifying and securing sensitive information. In August, Verdasys changed its name to Digital Guardian and increased its staff to 150. At the time, its security software had been installed on about two million servers, laptops or other devices. In October, the company acquired Armor5, a provider of cloud control solutions focusing specifically on preventing employees who bring their own mobile device to work from copying and removing company files or data. In May 2015, the company acquired Savant Protection, enabling IT organizations to deploy a unique agent for whitelisting the applications that can be used on any particular endpoint. When Blue Coat Systems launched the Alliance Ecosystem of Endpoint Detection and Response in July 2015, Digital Guardian was among the alliance-founding members. The ecosystem allows sharing of actionable intelligence gathered from endpoint security solutions. Also in July, IT consulting firm Atos and Digital Guardian partnered up to deliver Atos’ cloud-based data loss prevention service. In October, the company bought Code Green Networks, based in Silicon Valley, which contributed its True DLP gear. The acquisition of Code Green Networks provided Digital Guardian with network, discovery, and cloud data loss prevention. The company added 100 customers in 2015, bringing the total count to nearly 500, including General Electric and DuPont. At the end of the year, Digital Guardian announced $66 million in new funding, the firm's largest round since it was founded. Returning investors in the round were GE Pension Trust (advised by GE Asset Management), Fairhaven Capital Partners, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge, Special Situation Funds and Brookline Venture Partners. New investors were LLR Partners, Mass Mutual Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company) and the venture unit of Siemens Financial Services. The company raised $135 million since its founding. In January 2016, Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Data Loss Prevention placed Digital Guardian among the four leaders of the global data loss prevention market for the fourth consecutive time. BostInno included Digital Guardian among 16 Boston tech firms to watch in 2016. The company was placed 148th on the list of top 500 cybersecurity firms in the world, released by Cybersecurity Ventures in 2015. Products and services A data loss prevention software platform, Digital Guardian integrates content, context and location awareness along with encryption and data level controls to reduce the risk of information loss or misuse, and purposeful data theft. Its host-based security technology empowers organizations to monitor, control, audit and prevent data from wrongful disclosure or malicious theft, while automatically enforcing data security policies and procedures. This scalable platform provides multiple, independent layers of protection to enable secure data sharing across physical, virtual, mobile and cloud environments. The architecture of the platform has three parts: Digital Guardian for Data Visibility and Control enables users to understand where an organization's sensitive data is and how it's being used with kernel-level data visibility, while also delivering device control and encryption. Digital Guardian for Data Loss Prevention adds deeper data visibility and fine-grained control and protection to stop insider threats, and includes advanced classification by context, content and user with email and file control and encryption. Digital Guardian for Advanced Threat Protection provides real-time threat protection by following the attack sequence from initial contact through many attack stages, while offering flexible controls to defend in a manner commensurate with the customer's risk tolerance. It also extends the existing security ecosystem with integrations with network solutions, like FireEye, and SIEM technologies, such as Splunk. Digital Guardian allows businesses to host and manage on premise or choose managed security programs. When deployed as a managed service, Digital Guardian does not collect the actual data itself. Rather, it aggregates the metadata about the files and documents and watches for patterns of activity. Metadata is encrypted, hashed and digitally signed before being transferred to Digital Guardian's hosting facilities via FIPS 140-2 certified messaging protocol. Digital Guardian then provides updated analytics, alerts and reports. Administrators can continuously monitor data, application and system access and usage, whether end users are online, offline or in virtual environments. Organizations can apply specific risk-based policy controls to adhere to data governance and compliance rules. For example, the health service organization Cigna uses Digital Guardian software to monitor all ports and encrypt data transfers. When employees try to transfer files to a USB flash drive, they are prompted to type in the reasons for the transfer. The data they actually transferred is compared to those reasons. Digital Guardian also provides support for the ShareFile file sharing and storage systems, extending data loss prevention capabilities to organizations that support virtual desktops. References External links Computer security software companies Software companies established in 2003 Software companies of the United States Companies based in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

50138401

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Old%20Path%20%28TOP%29%20Channel

The Old Path (TOP) Channel

The Old Path (TOP) Channel (branded as TOP Channel) is a religious broadcast station owned and operated by the Members Church of God International (MCGI), an international Christian organization with headquarters in the Philippines. The station carries the 24/7 English broadcast of Ang Dating Daan (English: The Old Path), the longest-running religious program in the Philippines, hosted by international televangelist and MCGI's Overall Servant Bro. Eli Soriano for English-speaking countries in North America, Middle East, Europe and Asia. History The church began its foray into North America airwaves via a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcast in 2004. GlobeCast World TV On October 7, 2004, MCGI signed an agreement with GlobeCast World TV, a direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) provider using the Galaxy 19 satellite, to air the TOP Channel in the United States and Canada. The TOP Channel aired MCGI's flagship program, "The Old Path", the English version of Ang Dating Daan hosted by Bro. Eli Soriano. Program line-up also includes the program's question and answer segment "Ask Soriano, the Bible will Answer" (Tagalog: Itanong Mo Kay Soriano, Biblia ang Sasagot). Dream Satellite TV In 2010, MCGI launched the 24/7 TOP Channel in the Asia-Pacific region via Dream Satellite TV. Owned by Philippine Multi-Media System, Inc., Dream Satellite was the first all-digital DTH television provider in the Philippines using the Mabuhay Agila 2 satellite in the Ku band. On March 24, 2010, Daniel Razon in his morning show Good Morning Kuya, led the TOP Channel's live switch-on ceremony held at the Dream Broadcast Center located at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. The TOP Channel showcased 10 new programs and was assigned at Dream channel 10 along with sister station UNTV Channel 37 at Dream channel 9 and exclusively available to Dream Satellite subscribers. It also carries the Mandarin version of The Old Path in the whole of the Philippines and nearby countries. The church aims to reach coastal areas where analog terrestrial free-to-air broadcast signals are weak and where cable television is not available. In 2010, Dream Satellite started closing its transponders in Agila 2 satellite, reaching its end-of-life within 2 years, and transferred all its channels including the TOP Channel to Koreasat 5 satellite in 2011. In 2013, Dream Satellite removed both the TOP Channel and UNTV from its channel line-up. In the same year also, Cignal Digital TV, a direct-to-home satellite television provider owned by MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Group and a direct competitor of Dream, added UNTV in its lineup at channel 92 (now reassigned to Channel 182). The TOP Channel however, was not included. Thaicom 5 satellite On November 1, 2011, The TOP Channel began airing in larger parts of India, Australia, Africa, Middle East and Europe through direct-to-home satellite broadcast via Thaicom 5 satellite. Galaxy 19 and Hotbird satellite When Globecast discontinued its pay television service in 2013, TOP Channel continues to air in the Galaxy 19 satellite. The church also tapped Intelsat to air the TOP Channel in the Ku band through the Hotbird satellite. Measat 3A Global satellite In November 2011, the TOP Channel started airing on Measat 3A, a communications satellite operated by Malaysian firm MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd with a global footprint which covers Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe and Africa. It uses the DVB-S standard and MPEG-2 video format, primarily to broadcast MCGI gatherings such as worship services and live thanksgiving celebrations. However, this channel is using "Viewcypt" encryption system, wherein access is limited to 1,935 MCGI local congregations (also known as satellite monitoring centers) worldwide, equipped with a proprietary Integrated Receiver-Decoder (IRD) box and a C band satellite dish to receive live broadcast feed from its headquarters in Apalit, Pampanga. The Truth Channel Early 2016, the free-to-air TOP Channel for English-speaking countries was rebranded as "The Truth Channel" to align its name with the other stations of MCGI, "TV Verdade" (English: Truth TV) for Portuguese-speaking countries and "TV La Verdad" (English: Truth TV) for Spanish-speaking countries. References External links Television networks in the Philippines Members Church of God International Religious television networks

50158212

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuznyechik

Kuznyechik

Kuznyechik (, literally "grasshopper") is a symmetric block cipher. It has a block size of 128 bits and key length of 256 bits. It is defined in the National Standard of the Russian Federation GOST R 34.12-2015 in English and also in RFC 7801. The name of the cipher can be translated from Russian as grasshopper, however, the standard explicitly says that the English name for the cipher is Kuznyechik (). The designers claim that by naming the cipher Kuznyechik they follow the trend of difficult to pronounce algorithm names set up by Rijndael and Keccak. There is also a rumor that the cipher was named after its creators: A. S. Kuzmin, A. A. Nechaev and Company (Russian: Кузьмин, Нечаев и Компания). The standard GOST R 34.12-2015 defines the new cipher in addition to the old GOST block cipher (now called Magma) as one and does not declare the old cipher obsolete. Kuznyechik is based on a substitution–permutation network, though the key schedule employs a Feistel network. Designations — Finite field . — () — . — . — ''' Description For encryption, decryption and key generation, the following functions: , where , are binary strings of the form … ( is string concatenation). … is a reversed transformation of . …… — reversed transformation of , …… , where — composition of transformations and etc. The nonlinear transformation Non-linear transformation is given by substituting S = Bin8 S' Bin8−1. Values of the substitution S' are given as array S' = (S'(0), S'(1), …, S'(255)): Linear transformation : … operations of addition and multiplication are carried out in the field . Key generation The key generation algorithm uses iterative constant , i=1,2,…32 and sets the shared key as follows: …. Iterated keys: … … … Encryption algorithm … where a — 128-bit string. Decryption algorithm … Cryptanalysis Riham AlTawy and Amr M. Youssef describe a meet-in-the-middle attack on the 5-round reduced Kuznyechik which enables recovery of the key with a time complexity of 2140, memory complexity of 2153, and data complexity of 2113. Alex Biryukov, Leo Perrin, and Aleksei Udovenko published a paper in which they show that the S-boxes of Kuznyechik and Streebog were not created pseudo-randomly but by using a hidden algorithm which they were able to reverse engineer. Later Leo Perrin and Aleksei Udovenko published two alternative decompositions of the S-box and proved its connection to the S-box of the Belarusian cipher BelT. The authors of the paper note that while the reason for using such a structure remains unclear, generating S-boxes by a hidden algorithm contradicts the concept of nothing-up-my-sleeve numbers which could prove that no weaknesses were intentionally introduced in their design. Riham AlTawy, Onur Duman, and Amr M. Youssef published two fault attacks on Kuznyechik which show the importance of protecting the implementations of the cipher. Adoption VeraCrypt (a fork of TrueCrypt) included Kuznyechik as one of its supported encryption algorithms. Source code https://web.archive.org/web/20160424051147/http://tc26.ru/standard/draft/PR_GOSTR-bch_v4.zip https://web.archive.org/web/20180406230057/https://fossies.org/windows/misc/VeraCrypt_1.22_Source.zip/src/Crypto/kuznyechik.c (alternative link in case the first link is not working) References GOST standards

50169875

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kounta%20%28software%20company%29

Kounta (software company)

Kounta is an Australian software company founded in 2012.The company's flagship product, Kounta, comprises a cloud based point of sale mobile app. History Kounta was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Nick Cloete. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. In 2012, the company launched its flagship product, Kounta, a hospitality-focused point of sale (POS) mobile app for iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows. The app was initially a web-based application, and later developed into an online cash register and inventory management system that allows businesses to take payments from customers via mobile devices. The app has been made available for iPad, iPhone, and Android devices; as well as iOS, Windows, and other peripherals. In 2012, Kounta partnered with Epson, providing a cloud-based POS platform for Epson printers. In 2013, the company formed a partnership with PayPal, integrating cashless and cardless transaction options via PayPal's mobile app. In 2014, MYOB (company) made an undisclosed investment towards Kounta. This partnership led to the development of MYOB Kounta, a co-branded application merging Kounta's POS with MYOB's application software. MYOB Kounta launched in October of the same year. In 2016, Kounta announced a partnership with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to include the Kounta app onto "Albert", the bank's EFTPOS tablet. This allowed the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to become the first bank to manage all customers operations from a single device and mobile application. Technology The Kounta POS is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that runs as an application in web browsers as well as natively on iOS and Android operating systems. It can also run in a wide variety of peripherals including receipt printers, remote displays, and cash drawers. Through Web Cache and IndexedDB, Kounta can be used in both on and offline modes. The application allows automated inventory management, purchase ordering, customer relationship management (CRM), multiple location support, employee monitoring, recipe creation for ingredient tracking, table layouts, reporting, and analytics; as well as managing customer orders, split bills, accounting, and rostering payroll applications. Kounta also incorporates an Open API, making it possible for other software providers to integrate complementary apps, further extending the software's use. The company operates and maintains an online community with knowledge base articles, forums, and feature request submissions. Traditional IT tasks, such as data backup and encryption, hardware maintenance, and server upgrades are handled by Kounta's data center. Kounta is made accessible via paid monthly subscription licenses. Acquisition by Lightspeed In October 2019, Kounta was acquired by Lightspeed – a leading omnichannel point of sale platform based in Montreal, Canada. Kounta was Lightspeed’s third acquisition in 2019, and was acquired for $35.3 million USD. Lightspeed is an advanced commerce platform for retail, hospitality, and golf businesses across the world. With their headquarters in Montreal, Canada – they also have offices across North America, EMEA, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. The company was listed in the New York Stock Exchange in September 2020 under the same symbol, (), which was used for their initial listing in the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Lightspeed announced that their intention for their net proceeds is to ‘pursue...growth strategies.' The company continues to grow and expand in APAC with the acquisition of Vend – a cloud-based retail management software company based in Auckland, New Zealand. See also Software companies References External links Reviews on Kounta Reviews on Kounta from Capterra Kounta on the App Store Kounta on Google Play Software companies of Australia Point of sale companies Web applications Business software companies Business software for Windows Business software for MacOS CRM software companies Customer relationship management software Workflow applications Australian companies established in 2012 Software companies established in 2012 Companies based in Sydney

50171156

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger%20Lake

Tiger Lake

Tiger Lake is Intel's codename for the 11th generation Intel Core mobile processors based on the new Willow Cove Core microarchitecture, manufactured using Intel's third-generation 10 nm process node known as 10SF ("10 nm SuperFin"). Tiger Lake replaces the Ice Lake family of mobile processors, representing an Optimization step in Intel's process–architecture–optimization model. Tiger Lake processors launched on September 2, 2020, are part of the Tiger Lake-U family and include dual-core and quad-core 9 W (7–15 W) TDP and 15 W (12–28 W) TDP models. They power 2020 "Project Athena" laptops. The quad-core 96 EU die measures 13.6 × 10.7 mm (146.1 mm2), which is 19.2% wider than the 11.4 × 10.7 mm (122.5 mm2) quad-core 64 EU Ice Lake die. The 8-core 32 EU die used in Tiger Lake-H is around 190 mm2. According to Yehuda Nissan and his team, the architecture is named after a lake across Puget Sound, Washington. Laptops based on Tiger Lake started to sell in October 2020. The Tiger Lake-H35 processors were launched on January 11, 2021. These quad-core processors are designed for "ultraportable gaming" laptops with 28-35 W TDP. Intel also announced that the Tiger Lake-H processors with 45 W TDP and up to eight cores will become available in Q1 2021. Intel officially launched 11th Gen Intel Core-H series on May 11, 2021 and announced 11th Gen Intel Core Tiger Lake Refresh series on May 30, 2021. Features CPU Intel Willow Cove CPU cores Full memory (RAM) encryption Indirect branch tracking and CET shadow stack Intel Key Locker GPU Intel Xe-LP ("Gen12") GPU with up to 96 execution units (50% uplift compared to Ice Lake, up from 64) with some yet to be announced processors using Intel's discrete GPU, DG1 Fixed-function hardware decoding for HEVC 12-bit, 4:2:2/4:4:4; VP9 12-bit 4:4:4 and AV1 8K 10-bit 4:2:0 Support for a single 8K 12-bit HDR display or two 4K 10-bit HDR displays Hardware accelerated Dolby Vision Sampler Feedback support Dual Queue Support IPU Image Processing Unit, a special co-processor to improve image and video capture quality Not available on embedded models Initially there were 1165G7, 1135G7, 1125G4 and 1115G4 models with no IPU but later embedded processors were introduced instead I/O PCI Express 4.0 (Pentium and Celeron CPUs are limited to PCI Express 3.0) Integrated Thunderbolt 4 (includes USB4) LPDDR4X-4267 memory support LPDDR5-5400 "architecture capability" (Intel expected Tiger Lake products with LPDDR5 to be available around Q1 2021 but never released them) Miniaturization of CPU and motherboard into an M.2 SSD-sized small circuit board Hardware telemetry Add Intel Platform Monitoring Technology List of Tiger Lake CPUs Mobile processors (Tiger Lake-H) All models support DDR4-3200 memory All models support 20 reconfigurable PCI Express 4.0 lanes, allowing x16 Gen 4 link for discrete GPU and x4 Gen 4 link for M.2 SSDs Mobile processors (Tiger Lake-H35) All models support DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4X-4267 memory Mobile processors (UP3-class) Embedded mobile processors (UP3-class) Mobile processors (UP4-class) Desktop/tablet processors (Tiger Lake-B) Socket: FCBGA1787, a BGA socket, thus these CPUs are meant only for system integrators Intel Xe UHD Graphics Up to 128 GB DDR4-3200 memory See also Process-Architecture-Optimization model List of Intel CPU microarchitectures References Intel products Intel microarchitectures Transactional memory

50174704

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft%20v.%20United%20States%20%282016%29

Microsoft v. United States (2016)

Microsoft Corporation v. United States of America was a complaint for declaratory judgment action filed in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington. At issue was the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. with Microsoft arguing that secrecy orders were preventing them from disclosing warrants to customers in violation of the company's and customers' rights. The case was started in April 2016 and although the government bid for dismissal of the suit, in February 2017 a federal judge set a trial date set for June 2018. Microsoft was supported in its lawsuit by companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Dropbox and Salesforce. The case was dropped by Microsoft in October 2017 after policy changes at the Department of Justice. Although no laws were changed, the new DOJ policy "changed data request rules on alerting Internet users about agencies accessing their information," and mandated defined periods of time for secrecy orders from the government. Although the change represented "most of what Microsoft was asking for," Microsoft did not rule out future litigation. History Filing of the lawsuit In April 2016 in Seattle, Microsoft sued the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing that secrecy orders were preventing the company from disclosing warrants to customers in violation of the company's and customers' rights. Microsoft also had the backing of companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Dropbox and Salesforce in the lawsuit. The company claimed that over the 18 months prior, federal judges had approved 2,600 secret searches of Microsoft customers' data, with 68 percent of those cases involving secrecy orders with no expiration date banning Microsoft from notifying customers about the searches. Microsoft argued that "the future of cloud computing is in jeopardy if customers can't trust that their data will remain private." Legal argument The lawsuit concerned the portion of federal law that deals with delayed notice, 18 USC 2705(b) of the Stored Communications Act. At issue was the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. which predated the internet. Although normally a person must be told by police that their homes are searched, via a warrant, the 1986 law allows police to get a special exemption to check computers without a warrant. Microsoft argued that "People do not give up their rights when they move their private information from physical storage to the cloud. The government, however, has exploited the transition to cloud computing as a means of expanding its power to conduct secret investigations." Microsoft noted that those secret searches often remain undisclosed after cases were closed. Microsoft alleged that it has the right to inform customers when the United States government obtains a warrant to read their emails or access their information in the cloud. The company alleged that it is unconstitutional "to force the company to remain silent and not inform customers when their cloud data has been searched or inspected by authorities." Microsoft contended in the case that while some cases might require secrecy, the practice of indefinite gag orders had become far too common. Microsoft argued that it was unconstitutional for the government to indefinitely ban Microsoft from informing its users that the government was requesting their emails and other documents, and that the Fourth Amendment made it so people or businesses had the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property. It also argued that First Amendment was violated by not allowing Microsoft to speak to its customers. CNN explained that the case "also notes the odd, modern distinction that the government makes between searching your computer -- and searching your information on a company's computer." According to the lawsuit, law enforcement took advantage of an exception to the Fourth Amendment called "third-party doctrine," where a person can't reasonably expect privacy when information is disclosed to a third party. However, up till that point, the courts had ruled that a person's Fourth Amendment rights still applied to their email, regardless of where the email was stored. Lawsuit dropped The government bid for dismissal of the suit. In February 2017, a federal judge in Seattle ruled in Microsoft's favor, and the case went forward with a trial date set for June 2018. The judge did not rule on the merits of the case. In September 2017, Microsoft announced new cloud encryption technology which "could offer an end-run around government secretive snooping by enabling customers to control access to content stored in Microsoft data centers." On October 19, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein released a three-page memo directing prosecutors to keep gag orders to a year or shorter, barring "exceptional circumstances." He also wrote that gagging clauses should only be used in search orders if there was a "real need for secrecy," for example when there is a danger a person will flee, tamper with evidence, or tip off other suspects. The DoJ had "changed data request rules on alerting internet users about agencies accessing their information." The new policy mandated defined periods of time for secrecy orders from the government. However, the policy wasn't extended to apply to orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or to national security letters. On October 23, 2017, Microsoft said it would drop the lawsuit as a result of a policy change by the Department of Justice (DoJ) that represented "most of what Microsoft was asking for." Microsoft said the changes would ensure secrecy order requests were "carefully and specifically tailored to the facts in the case." No laws were changed with the shift in DOJ policy, and Microsoft did not rule out future litigation. Microsoft did say it still wanted to see changes to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), similar to those proposed in the ECPA Modernization Act. The ECPA Modernization Act, introduced in July 2017, would require law enforcement to get "a warrant in order to access emails, location data and other sensitive information - and would force the government to notify individuals when their location and content information was requested." References External links Court docket from PACER in the Internet Archive (RECAP) 2016 in United States case law Microsoft litigation United States privacy case law

50180288

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipbet

Tipbet

Tipbet is a Malta-based gambling company. Its headquarters are in Gzira and the company has grown significantly since its inception in 1995. With a business heavily focused on the online market, there are also fully branded physical betting shops that are run by franchisers. The land-based operation has been active for 20 years in Germany. Tipbet offers odds on all major sporting events around the world and are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA/CL2/1119) since 2014; as well as hosting a wide variety of casino games with regular promotions. New additions to their offering include eSports betting. Based in the hub of the Mediterranean on the island of Malta, the office hosts various departments of the Tipbet operation. Sponsorship Tipbet previously had a sponsorship agreement with football club SV Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga. This deal was valid for the 2016/17 season. The company are currently Premium Partners of Fortuna Düsseldorf. Similarly, Tipbet's local side, Gzira United FC, wear the company's logo on their shirt. Away from football, Tipbet was the Official Betting and Premium Sponsor of the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga, which involved a major advertising and marketing agreement. Tipbet successfully participated in the Excellence in iGaming in Berlin and ICE in London conferences, whilst the SiGMA closing party in Malta on 18 November 2016 was sponsored by the company. For the 2015/2016 season Tipbet was the official Betting Partner for Bayer Leverkusen of the Bundesliga. Live Casino Tipbet released a major update to their website in April 2017 which included the release of a cash-out feature, virtual sports, and a Live Casino. The Live Casino is powered by major providers including NetEnt and has full mobile device functionality. eSports In 2016 Tipbet greatly expanded their range. This included venturing into the popular emerging and fast-growing eSports market by sponsoring the AD Finem team. In addition, an agreement has been reached that allows Tipbet to stream ESL eSports events. Free live streaming To differentiate from other leading betting companies, Tipbet offers free streams of sporting events to their customers. By registering, users are able to access streams from around the world without having to deposit money or place a bet. This is complemented by live statistics. Security The online services of Tipbet are licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (license numbers: MGA/CL2/1119/2015 and MGA/CL1/1149/2015), Tipbet's website also includes SSL encryption for personal data and transactions. TipBet is also using its MGA license to target markets where specific regulation is now into place. References Gambling companies of Malta Online gambling companies of Malta

50218929

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social%20cloud%20computing

Social cloud computing

Social cloud computing, also peer-to-peer social cloud computing, is an area of computer science that generalizes cloud computing to include the sharing, bartering and renting of computing resources across peers whose owners and operators are verified through a social network or reputation system. It expands cloud computing past the confines of formal commercial data centers operated by cloud providers to include anyone interested in participating within the cloud services sharing economy. This in turn leads to more options, greater economies of scale, while bearing additional advantages for hosting data and computing services closer to the edge where they may be needed most. Research Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing and networking to enable decentralized cloud computing has been an area of research for sometime. Social cloud computing intersects peer-to-peer cloud computing with social computing to verify peer and peer owner reputation thus providing security and quality of service assurances to users. On demand computing environments may be constructed and altered statically or dynamically across peers on the Internet based on their available resources and verified reputation to provide such assurances. Applications Social cloud computing has been highlighted as a potential benefit to large-scale computing, video gaming, and media streaming. The tenets of social cloud computing has been most famously employed in the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC), making the service the largest computing grid in the world. Another service that uses social cloud computing is Subutai. Subutai allows peer-to-peer sharing of computing resources globally or within a select permissioned network. Challenges Many challenges arise when moving from a traditional cloud infrastructure, to a social cloud environment. Availability of computational resources In the case of traditional cloud computing, availability on demand is essential for many cloud customers. Social Cloud Computing doesn't provide this availability guarantee because in a P2P environment, peers are mobile devices which may enter or leave the P2P network at any time, or PCs which have a primary purpose that can override the P2P computation at any time. The only relatively successful use cases as of recent years are those which do not require real time results, only computation power for a small subset or module of a larger algorithm or data set. Trust and security Unlike large scale data centers and company brand image, people may be less likely to trust peers vs. a large company like Google or Amazon. Running some sort of computation with sensitive information would then need to be encrypted properly and the overhead of that encryption may reduce the usefulness of the P2P offloading. When resources are distributed in small pieces to many peers for computations, inherent trust must be placed in the client, regardless of the encryption that may be promised to the client. Reliability Similar to availability, reliability of computations must be consistent and uniform. If computations offloaded to the client are continuously interrupted, some mechanism for detecting this must be in place such that the client may know the computation is tainted or needs to be completely re-run. In P2P social computing, reliable expected computation power is difficult to achieve because the speed of the client calculation may depend on how much the client is using the end device. Some ways of overcoming this may be to only allow computations to occur at night, or during specified times the client resources will not be in use. See also Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing Subutai P2P Edge Cloud Platform References Cloud computing Social media

50238679

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen%20T.%20Cobb

Stephen T. Cobb

Stephen Cobb (born 17 October 1952 in Coventry) is an expert on security, privacy, and the risks related to digital technology. Widely published as a technical author in the 1980s, Cobb became known for his efforts to educate consumers and companies in data privacy and information security. In 1996, Cobb became one of the first people to earn the Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) qualification. He later co-founded two information security startups, one of which developed innovative anti-spam technology that is still in use today (both firms were sold to NASDAQ listed companies). Cobb has been cited as an information security expert by national media and in congressional testimony. Since September 2019, he has been pursuing independent research from his home town of Coventry, U.K. Written work After authoring more than a dozen textbooks on how to use software applications like spreadsheets, databases, and word processors, mostly through McGraw Hill Cobb's first book on PC and LAN Security was published in 1991. In 2002, Cobb published a primer on privacy for businesses. As co-author and editor of the Trusted Email Open Standard Cobb helped present this proposal for securing email to the Federal Trade Commission in 2003. After a brief hiatus from privacy and security research, during which he produced an independent documentary on racial inequality in America (Dare Not Walk Alone, 2006), Cobb co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on the dangers of malicious code use by governments, which he termed "righteous malware". Published by IEEE, the paper was presented by Cobb at NATO CCDCOE's CyCon 2014, the 6th International Conference On Cyber Conflict. Cobb's historical analysis of cybercrime surveys was presented at Virus Bulletin 2015. Entrepreneurial activities Cobb co-founded two information security startups that were sold to NASDAQ listed companies. The first was InfoSec Labs, acquired in 1999 by Rainbow Technologies, a maker of encryption products such as the CryptoSwift Hardware Security Module (HSM). The second was ePrivacy Group, the company that created the TurnTide anti-spam technology. This technology was acquired by Symantec in 2004 was still in use a decade later as the Symantec Traffic Shaper. Security awareness and education Cobb served for four years on the IT Security Executive Council of CompTIA (2012-2015). He frequently worked with Security Our eCity, a non-profit community-wide security awareness organization based in San Diego. In that role, he helped organize annual Cyber Boot Camps for middle school and high school students that received national attention. Cobb has been an invited speaker on information security and data privacy issues in a dozen countries. He is also a TEDx speaker. Cobb's dissertation for his master of science degree in security and risk management at the University of Leicester addressed aspects of the cybersecurity skills gap. As a security researcher with ESET, Cobb tracked the effects of security breaches on economic activity. For example, in the wake of the Snowden revelations he documented a drop in online shopping and banking. In 2018 he fielded a public opinion survey in North America that paralleled prior studies conducted by the European Union (EU), published as the “Special Eurobarometer: Cyber Security.” This revealed that nine out of 10 Americans surveyed agreed that cybercrime was “an important challenge to the internal security of the USA." The study also revealed high levels of concern about cybercrime in Canada. In an effort to spread awareness of emerging threats Cobb has coined words for two related digital security problems: jackware and siegeware. He described jackware as "ransomware meets car jacking." Siegeware is "the code-enabled ability to make a credible extortion demand based on digitally impaired building functionality." Awards In 2019, CompTIA presented Cobb with the Tech Champion Award for Industry. The Tech Champion Awards are presented to "leaders focused on driving innovation, job growth and advancements for the information technology (IT) industry." Previous Tech Champion Award recipients include U.S. Senator Cory Booker and U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo. References External links Quoted by Newsweek on FBI-Apple encryption debate Cited by American Banker on FBI-Apple encryption debate Quoted by the Washington Post on post-Snowden drop in Internet commerce Interviewed by Bank InfoSecurity Cited by Marketplace on Snowden leaks Cited on healthcare data breach by the NY Times Quoted by Forbes on state data breach Articles by Stephen Cobb on healthcare IT security Cited by NBC on Instagram vulnerability Collected cybersecurity articles by Stephen Cobb Security website, S. Cobb on Security Cited by fellow expert on antivirus technology Cited by Dell on security of wearables Speaking at DEF CON 3, 1995 Writers about computer security Living people 1952 births People from Coventry

50245705

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrium%20Reflect

Macrium Reflect

Macrium Reflect is a backup utility for Microsoft Windows developed by Paramount Software UK Ltd in 2006. It creates disk images and file backup archives using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service to ensure 'point in time' data accuracy. Macrium Reflect can back up whole partitions or individual files and folders into a single compressed, mountable archive file, which can be used to restore exact images of the partitions on the same hard disk for disaster recovery, or a new hard disk for data migration. It has received numerous favorable reviews, and is often recommended and used as an example program for cloning and backup tutorials. Overview Macrium Reflect can create full, incremental and differential backup images, or selectively back up individual files and folders. Data is compressed and encrypted in real time using LZ-based compression and AES encryption algorithms. Images can be mounted as a drive letter in Windows Explorer and restored using a custom Macrium Reflect Rescue CD. In the event of a partial or complete system loss, this image can be used to restore the entire disk, one or more partitions, or individual files and folders. Macrium Reflect can clone one disk onto another, and restore an image to new hardware. Using pre-created Macrium Reflect Rescue media (CD, DVD or USB memory stick), critical drivers required by the new system can be inserted into the image taken from the old system, making it compatible with the new hardware. Macrium Reflect image backups created with any older version (Free or paid editions) can be restored with any later version. Macrium Site Manager A central management console is available which enables scheduling, restore and monitoring of multiple networked computers running Macrium Reflect using a Web browser user interface. Free edition An unsupported free edition is available for home and commercial use. It lacks some features of the full versions, such as incremental backup (though it includes differential backup), but still has some features found only in expensive commercial products. References Disk image emulators Microsoft software Freeware Disk cloning Backup software

50265069

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic%20attack

Electromagnetic attack

In cryptography, electromagnetic attacks are side-channel attacks performed by measuring the electromagnetic radiation emitted from a device and performing signal analysis on it. These attacks are a more specific type of what is sometimes referred to as Van Eck phreaking, with the intention to capture encryption keys. Electromagnetic attacks are typically non-invasive and passive, meaning that these attacks are able to be performed by observing the normal functioning of the target device without causing physical damage. However, an attacker may get a better signal with less noise by depackaging the chip and collecting the signal closer to the source. These attacks are successful against cryptographic implementations that perform different operations based on the data currently being processed, such as the square-and-multiply implementation of RSA. Different operations emit different amounts of radiation and an electromagnetic trace of encryption may show the exact operations being performed, allowing an attacker to retrieve full or partial private keys. Like many other side-channel attacks, electromagnetic attacks are dependent on the specific implementation of the cryptographic protocol and not on the algorithm itself. Electromagnetic attacks are often done in conjunction with other side-channel attacks, like power analysis attacks. Background All electronic devices emit electromagnetic radiation. Because every wire that carries current creates a magnetic field, electronic devices create some small magnetic fields when in use. These magnetic fields can unintentionally reveal information about the operation of a device if not properly designed. Because all electronic devices are affected by this phenomenon, the term ‘device’ can refer to anything from a desktop computer, to mobile phone, to a smart card. Electromagnetic radiation Electromagnetic waves are a type of wave that originate from charged particles, are characterized by varying wavelength and are categorized along the electromagnetic spectrum. Any device that uses electricity will emit electromagnetic radiation due to the magnetic field created by charged particles moving along a medium. For example, radio waves are emitted by electricity moving along a radio transmitter, or even from a satellite. In the case of electromagnetic side-channel attacks, attackers are often looking at electromagnetic radiation emitted by computing devices, which are made up of circuits. Electronic circuits consist of semiconducting materials upon which billions of transistors are placed. When a computer performs computations, such as encryption, electricity running through the transistors create a magnetic field and electromagnetic waves are emitted. Electromagnetic waves can be captured using an induction coil and an analog to digital converter can then sample the waves at a given clock rate and convert the trace to a digital signal to be further processed by computer. The electronic device performing the computations is synced with a clock that is running at frequencies on the order of mega-hertz (MHz) to giga-hertz (GHz). However, due to hardware pipelining, and complexity of some instructions, some operations take multiple clock cycles to complete. Therefore, it is not always necessary to sample the signal at such a high clock rate. It is often possible to get information on all or most of the operations while sampling on the order of kilo-hertz (kHz). Different devices leak information at different frequencies. For example, Intel's Atom processor will leak keys during RSA and AES encryption at frequencies between 50 MHz and 85 MHz. Android version 4.4's Bouncy Castle library implementation of ECDSA is vulnerable to key extraction side channel attacks around the 50 kHz range. Signal processing Every operation performed by a computer emits electromagnetic radiation and different operations emit radiation at different frequencies. In electromagnetic side-channel attacks, an attacker is only interested in a few frequencies at which encryption is occurring. Signal processing is responsible for isolating these frequencies from the vast multitude of extraneous radiation and noise. To isolate certain frequencies, a bandpass filter, which blocks frequencies outside of a given range, must be applied to the electromagnetic trace. Sometimes, the attacker does not know which frequencies encryption is performed at. In this case, the trace can be represented as a spectrogram, which can help determine which frequencies are most prevalent at different points of execution. Depending on the device being attacked and the level of noise, several filters may need to be applied. Attack methods Electromagnetic attacks can be broadly separated into simple electromagnetic analysis (SEMA) attacks and differential electromagnetic analysis (DEMA) attacks. Simple electromagnetic analysis In simple electromagnetic analysis (SEMA) attacks, the attacker deduces the key directly by observing the trace. It is very effective against asymmetric cryptography implementations. Typically, only a few traces are needed, though the attacker needs to have a strong understanding of the cryptographic device and of the implementation of the cryptographic algorithm. An implementation vulnerable to SEMA attacks will perform a different operation depending on whether the bit of the key is 0 or 1, which will use different amounts of power and/or different chip components. This method is prevalent in many different types of side-channel attacks, in particular, power analysis attacks. Thus, the attacker can observe the entire computation of encryption and can deduce the key. For example, a common attack on asymmetric RSA relies on the fact that the encryption steps rely on the value of the key bits. Every bit is processed with a square operation and then a multiplication operation if and only if the bit is equal to 1. An attacker with a clear trace can deduce the key simply by observing where the multiplication operations are performed. Differential electromagnetic analysis In some cases, simple electromagnetic analysis is not possible or does not provide enough information. Differential electromagnetic analysis (DEMA) attacks are more complex, but are effective against symmetric cryptography implementation, against which SEMA attacks are not. Additionally unlike SEMA, DEMA attacks do not require much knowledge about the device being attacked. Known attacks While the fact that circuits that emit high-frequency signals may leak secret information was known since 1982 by the NSA, it was classified until 2000, which was right around the time that the first electromagnetic attack against encryption was shown by researchers. Since then, many more complex attacks have been introduced. Devices Smart cards Smart cards, often colloquially referred to as “chip cards", were designed to provide a more secure financial transaction than a traditional credit card. They contain simple embedded integrated circuits designed to perform cryptographic functions. They connect directly to a card reader which provides the power necessary to perform an encrypted financial transaction. Many side-channel attacks have been shown to be effective against smart cards because they obtain their power supply and clock directly from the card reader. By tampering with a card reader, it is simple to collect traces and perform side-channel attacks. Other works, however, have also shown that smart cards are vulnerable to electromagnetic attacks. FPGAs A field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) have been commonly used to implement cryptographic primitives in hardware to increase speed. These hardware implementations are just as vulnerable as other software based primitives. In 2005, an implementation of elliptic curve encryption was shown vulnerable to both SEMA and DEMA attacks. The ARIA block cipher is a common primitive implemented with FPGAs that has been shown to leak keys. Personal computers In contrast to smart cards, which are simple devices performing a single function, personal computers are doing many things at once. Thus, it is much more difficult to perform electromagnetic side-channel attacks against them, due to high levels of noise and fast clock rates. Despite these issues, researchers in 2015 and 2016 showed attacks against a laptop using a near-field magnetic probe. The resulting signal, observed for only a few seconds, was filtered, amplified, and digitized for offline key extraction. Most attacks require expensive, lab-grade equipment, and require the attacker to be extremely close to the victim computer. However, some researchers were able to show attacks using cheaper hardware and from distances of up to half a meter. These attacks, however, required the collection of more traces than the more expensive attacks. Smartphones Smartphones are of particular interest for electromagnetic side-channel attacks. Since the advent of mobile phone payment systems such as Apple Pay, e-commerce systems have become increasingly commonplace. Likewise, the amount of research dedicated to mobile phone security side channel attacks has also increased. Currently most attacks are proofs of concept that use expensive lab-grade signal processing equipment. One of these attacks demonstrated that a commercial radio receiver could detect mobile phone leakage up to three meters away. However, attacks using low-end consumer grade equipment have also shown successful. By using an external USB sound card and an induction coil salvaged from a wireless charging pad, researchers were able to extract a user's signing key in Android's OpenSSL and Apple's CommonCrypto implementations of ECDSA. Examples of vulnerable encryption schemes Widely used theoretical encryption schemes are mathematically secure, yet this type of security does not consider their physical implementations, and thus, do not necessarily protect against side-channel attacks. Therefore, the vulnerability lies in the code itself, and it is the specific implementation that is shown to be insecure. Luckily, many of the vulnerabilities shown have since been patched. Vulnerable implementations include, but are definitely not limited to, the following: Libgcrypt – cryptographic library of GnuPG, implementation of ECDH public-key encryption algorithm (since patched) GnuPG implementation of 4096-bit RSA (since patched) GnuPG implementation of 3072-bit ElGamal (since patched) GMP implementation of 1024-bit RSA OpenSSL implementation of 1024-bit RSA Feasibility The attacks described thus far have mainly focused on the use of induction to detect unintended radiation. However, the use of far-field communication technologies like that of AM radios can also be used for side-channel attacks, although no key extraction methods for far-field signal analysis have been demonstrated. Therefore, a rough characterization of potential adversaries using this attack range from highly educated individuals to low to medium funded cartels. The following demonstrates a few possible scenarios: Mobile payment systems Point of sale systems that accept payment from mobile phones or smart cards are vulnerable. Induction coils can be hidden on these systems to record financial transactions from smart cards or mobile phone payments. With keys extracted, a malicious attacker could forge his own card or make fraudulent charges with the private key. Belgarric et al. propose a scenario where mobile payments are performed with bitcoin transactions. Since the Android implementation of the bitcoin client uses ECDSA, the signing key can be extracted at the point of sale. These types of attacks are only slightly more complex than magnetic card stripe skimmers currently used on traditional magnetic strip cards. Wireless charging pads Many public venues such as Starbucks locations are already offering free public wireless charging pads. It was previously shown that the same coils used in wireless charging can be used for detection of unintended radiation. Therefore, these charging pads pose a potential hazard. Malicious charging pads might attempt to extract keys in addition to charging a user’s phone. When coupled with packet sniffing capabilities of public Wi-Fi networks, the keys extracted could be used to perform man-in-the-middle attacks on users. If far-field attacks are discovered, an attacker only needs to point his antenna at a victim to perform these attacks; the victim need not be actively charging their phone on one of these public pads. Countermeasures Several countermeasures against electromagnetic attacks have been proposed, though there is no one perfect solution. Many of the following countermeasures will make electromagnetic attacks harder, not impossible. Physical countermeasures One of the most effective ways to prevent electromagnetic attacks is to make it difficult for an attacker to collect an electromagnetic signal at the physical level. Broadly, the hardware designer could design the encryption hardware to reduce signal strength or to protect the chip. Circuit and wire shielding, such as a Faraday cage, are effective in reducing the signal, as well as filtering the signal or introducing extraneous noise to mask the signal. Additionally, most electromagnetic attacks require attacking equipment to be very close to the target, so distance is an effective countermeasure. Circuit designers can also use certain glues or design components in order to make it difficult or impossible to depackage the chip without destroying it. Recently, white-box modeling was utilized to develop a low-overhead generic circuit-level countermeasure against both electromagnetic as well as power side-channel attacks. To minimize the effects of the higher-level metal layers in an IC acting as more efficient antennas, the idea is to embed the crypto core with a signature suppression circuit, routed locally within the lower-level metal layers, leading towards both power and electromagnetic side-channel attack immunity. Implementation countermeasures As many electromagnetic attacks, especially SEMA attacks, rely on asymmetric implementations of cryptographic algorithms, an effective countermeasure is to ensure that a given operation performed at a given step of the algorithm gives no information on the value of that bit. Randomization of the order of bit encryption, process interrupts, and clock cycle randomization, are all effective ways to make attacks more difficult. Usage in the government The classified National Security Agency program TEMPEST focuses on both the spying on systems by observing electromagnetic radiation and the securing of equipment to protect against such attacks. The Federal Communications Commission outlines the rules regulating the unintended emissions of electronic devices in Part 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 47. The FCC does not provide a certification that devices do not produce excess emissions, but instead relies on a self-verification procedure. References Side-channel attacks

50305655

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee%20Jae-myung

Lee Jae-myung

Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician, author and former civil rights lawyer who served as the 35th Governor of Gyeonggi Province between 2018 and 2021. Lee is the nominee of the ruling Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidential election. He became a civil rights lawyer after being influenced by Roh Moo-hyun, who later became president of South Korea. After entering politics, Lee was defeated in the Seongnam mayoral election in 2006 and the South Korean legislative election in 2008, but was elected in the Seongnam mayoral election in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. He served as Mayor of Seongnam until 15 March 2018, before running in and winning the election to become Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lee resigned as Governor of Gyeonggi Province on 25 October 2021 to run for president. Early life Lee was Born in 1964 in Andong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, the fifth of seven children. According to the report card for the first grade of elementary school that Lee Jae-myung himself released, he was quite stubborn and his grades were normal, but he played well with his classmates and was courageous. He also said that he couldn't go to school on rainy or snowy days because the school is about 5 km away from his house and he had to cross a stream in the middle. When Lee was in 5th grade, he said he couldn't go on a school trip because he was born to a poor farming family, so his teacher came and convinced him to take him for hours. It was thanks to the consideration of the principal at the time. Due to his family's financial difficulties, he couldn't prepared drawing paper or crayons, so when his friends went to an art contest, he cleaned the school bathroom instead. He did not attend middle and high school because the South Korean public school system only covered up to primary education at the time. To make matters worse his father squandered all his fortune on gambling, so Lee's family left Andong, their hometown, and move to Seongnam, when Lee graduated from elementary school. Child factory worker In his early teenage years he began work in a factory located in the city of Seongnam, an industrial planned city built during the administration of Park Chung-hee to concentrate industry outside of Seoul. At that time, Seongnam was mostly populated by the lower class, who were often moved there through political coercion. Like other children from poor families, who had a difficult family situation, Lee went to a handmade necklace factory instead of middle school. However, after the necklace factory went bankrupt and he did not receive a salary, he moved to a place called 'Dongma Rubber', which was a fairly stable company. Lee at this time was not old enough to work in South Korea, so he worked under various pseudonyms. Meanwhile, Lee suffered his first industrial accident in which he injured his finger at Dongma Rubber. After the accident, Lee left Dongma Rubber and entered the 'Daeyang Industry'. Here he suffered his second industrial accident, that press machine crushed his wrist and crushed his joint. At that time, the factory had frequent accidents, so Lee continued to work with a sore arm without going to the hospital. However, by the time he was sixteen, the problem became serious as he grew 15 centimeters tall and the bones of his wrists and arms grew. As his broken bones couldn't keep up with the growth of other bones, so the arm was twisted and the growth plate was damaged in the part where the joint was crushed. In the end, he was judged to be disabled grade 6 and was exempted from military service. He is a contemporary registered disabled person. When Lee was on his way to work at Daeyang Industry, he came across a group of students wearing school uniforms and he developed a desire to study. After that, he enrolled in the GED academy. In this process, he received the consideration of the GED academy teacher. When Lee said that he could no longer attend the academy due to lack of money, the teacher gave him a free class. Then, in 1978, he passed the high school entrance examination and obtained a middle school diploma. Two years later, in 1980, he passed the university entrance examination and obtained a high school diploma. This kind of poverty that he suffered as a child became the basis for forming the political philosophy of 'Eokgang Buyak', which intends to moderate the privilege and foul play-driven desires of the powerful and embracing the lives of the weak through politics. Civil rights attorney Through self-study Lee received a high school equivalency degree Lee was accepted into Chung-Ang University on a scholarship and studied law. In 1986, upon graduating from college, he passed the bar exam and entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Like many members of the Democratic Party of South Korea, Lee aligned himself against the authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, the general who seized power via a coup in 1980 and stepped down when South Korea democratized in 1987. By the time Lee graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he listened to a lecture by lawyer Roh Moo-hyun, who would later become the President of the Republic of Korea. Before listening to Roh's lecture, he tried to choose a judge or prosecutor who could enjoy various benefits, but he was impressed by Roh's lecture and chose the path of a human rights and labor lawyer, setting up his practice in Seongnam. In that, he followed the late Roh Moo-hyun (president from 2003-2008) and Roh’s disciple, Moon Jae-in (who took power in 2017 and leaves office in 2022). After opening his own lawyer's office, Lee worked with the heads of labour counseling centers in Incheon and Gwangju to engage in 'Lawyers for a Democratic Society', mainly in charge of advocating for labour and human rights. In 1995, he also started a civic movement as a founding member of the 'Seongnam Citizens' Association'. After that, he raised the suspicion of 'change of use of Bundang Baekgung and Jeongja district' and made a name for himself as a lawyer and social activist by digging into the 'Park View preferential sale case in Bundang'. Meanwhile, two general hospitals in Seongnam were closed. Accordingly, Lee acted as a co-representative of the 'Seongnam Municipal Hospital Establishment Promotion Committee' and started the movement to establish Seongnam Municipal Hospital with the citizens of Seongnam. However, the city council, which was then controlled by the conservative Grand National Party, rejected the residents' initiative ordinance in just 47 seconds. Lee protested to the Grand National Party city councilors and was wanted on charges of obstructing the execution of special duties. Afterwards, Lee realized that he could not change the society through social movements, and he decided to enter politics. Political career In 23 August 2005, he joined then-ruling Uri Party, a predecessor of the Democratic Party of Korea and declared his candidacy for mayor of Seongnam. He ran as a candidate in the local elections in 2006 and ran for mayor of Seongnam, but was defeated by 23.75% of the votes due to poor public opinion about the Uri Party and Roh administration at the time. In the 2007 presidential election, Lee Jae-myung served as the senior deputy chief of the Office of the Presidential Candidate Chung Dong-young of the Grand Unified Democratic New Party. In the 2008 general election, he applied for a nomination in the constituency of Seongnam Jungwon A, Gyeonggi, but was defeated by Cho Sung-jun in the primary election, and was nominated in the Seongnam Bundang A, Gyeonggi. However, Lee suffered from another defeat, recording 33.23% of the votes, in many unfavorable circumstances. Such as the fact that the election was held immediately after the inauguration of conservative president Lee Myung-bak and Bundang A was a traditional home turf of the conservative party. After losing the general election, he served as the Democratic Party's deputy spokesperson at the request of the Democratic Party's leader Chung Sye-kyun, who later served as the Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister of korea. Mayor of Seongnam Lee earned his political reputation during his tenure as Seongnam's mayor. As Mayor of Seongnam, he gained recognition for creating Seongnam's social welfare program, widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive social welfare programs in the nation for the city's elderly citizens and youth. He significantly improved the city's financial situation. Shortly after his 2010 inauguration as the mayor of Seongnam, Lee announced a moratorium on payments of debt incurred from developing Pangyo Techno Valley. At the end of his first term in 2014, he announced that the city was no longer under moratorium. While Lee was praised by some for this announcement, others criticized Lee and accused him of pulling a political stunt. Critics called the initial moratorium declaration unnecessary because the city had never been forced to repay the debt immediately, and the most of the debt had been largely covered by the significant 2.5-fold increase the city's municipal bond assets. At the same time, he used the money saved to expand social welfare programs, such as offering a universal basic income for young people, free school uniforms and free postnatal care. These programs later became the foundation of Lee's key political principle of a universal basic income for all. In addition, he is noted for his decision to ban dogmeat and to shut down dog slaughtering facilities in the Moran Market. The dog slaughtering facilities had long been a subject of heated debate, as opinions clashed over their morality, the rights of animals, and their environmental impact, as well as over the survival of farms breeding dogs for meat, making the issue a long-fought problem for the city government. In 2016, Lee, who is an animal rights advocate, pushed ahead with the shutdown after signing an agreement with shop owners in the market that prohibited the display and slaughter of live dogs at the market. In doing so, the city also helped dog meat shop owners transition to engaging in other types of business, but did not offer any direct compensation for their closure. Buoyed by favorable responses in his constituency, he served another four-year term as Seongnam's mayor until 2018. 2017 Presidential Campaign While serving as Mayor, Lee made a presidential bid in 2017 after former President Park Geun-hye was impeached on corruption allegations but lost to current President Moon Jae-in, then-former Democratic Party Chairman, in the Democratic Party's primary for President of South Korea in the 2017 South Korean presidential election. However, he was considered one of the three most important potential candidates in the run-up to the election, Lee received third place in the Democratic primary behind former party chair and National Assembly member (and eventual winner) Moon Jae-in and Ahn Hee-jung, the Governor of South Chungcheong Province. Lee is known to belong to the progressive-wing within the Democratic Party. Governor of Gyeonggi Province Following his loss in the presidential election, Lee ran for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, which encompasses much of the Seoul Capital Area and has population over 13 million.Lee has received acclaim for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic as Governor. In March 2020, when the nation's first COVID-19 wave took place, following an infection cluster among followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Christian cult, Lee himself visited the residence of the organization's founder in Gyeonggi Province, whom had been refusing to get a coronavirus test or submit correct information about who had attended the church's gatherings for contact tracing. The governor warned the founder of the potential legal and administrative actions that would be taken against him, an action that led to the cult leader's surrender. He also announced a special order for all foreigners working in Gyeonggi Province to be tested for COVID-19 Seoul also announced similar policies but changed them to recommendation - practically withdrew them - after facing criticism. Nonetheless, Lee's special order went on mandating its 340 thousands foreign workers to get tested - resulted in finding 329 new positive cases among them. In February 2021, a year after the first Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting was held to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revealed that Lee attended three of these meetings, well below 68.5 the averaged number of other heads of provinces and metropolitan cities attended the meetings. In response to the criticisms rising from this, Lee said in April 2021 that he used his time effectively in addressing more critical issues and an hour of Gyeonggi provincial governor is 13.8 million hours (just like its population). Chung Sye-kyun publicly shared his frustration that Lee would not have made such statement if he is well aware of government's efforts in contaminating the virus and vaccinating the public. This year, Lee was partially at odds with the central government over his plan to provide COVID-19 disaster relief funds to all residents of Gyeonggi Province. Lee himself is also proud of his drive to carry out government projects that he commits to. Lee often said, "I have kept an average of 95 percent of my campaign promises while serving the public", "Even if I might have to experience a political loss, I believe in the collective intelligence of the public, and push forward on the right things in order to bring about results. That is my style". 2022 presidential campaign Lee declared his bid in the 2022 presidential election in July 2021, and emphasized policies that would ensure equality for people of all backgrounds in the nation, and heighten Korea's standing abroad as a nation that provides public goods for global communities. "We are situated in a time of a great transformation," Lee said in a televised address immediately following his nomination. "My first objective, if I am elected president, would be to help Korea take the lead in fighting climate change, the global pandemic and the ever-speedy technological revolution. My second objective would be to help this nation achieve economic growth during this time of great struggle. When it comes to policies to boost the people's welfare and well-being, there is no left or right; there is no ideological differences. I am ready to try anything and everything if it means the people can lead better livelihoods." Lee became the nominee of the Democratic Party of Korea on 10 October 2021. Lee won a majority of the votes in the primary and made it directly to the presidential election without a runoff. In his acceptance speech, Lee expressed his ambition to create a new Republic of Korea through reform and practice. Political positions Economic and Social policy Lee is a politician with a prominent centre-left tendency within DPK. Lee advocates New Deal liberalism economically. Lee has shown strong respect for Franklin D. Roosevelt. On 10 October 2021, Lee said "We will change the graph of economic growth upward with a strong state-led economic revival policy. I'll learn from Roosevelt, who overcame the Great Depression with left-wing policy". Lee announced his overarching economic policy vision as "Transformative and Fair Growth". Lee's view on the Korean economy is that many problems have arisen from the slowdown of economic growth. Low growth leads to fewer opportunities for younger generations, causing fiercer competition and social unrest. This is especially relevant for Korea, as the rules and institutions that have been designed for a high-growth catch-up economy no longer work well for an advanced economy. Lee asserts that the slowdown of economic growth is related to the unfairness and polarization in many areas of the economy, for example, unfair transactions and the large gap between big monopolies and SMEs, platforms and irregular workers, inequalities in the real estate market, etc. Unfair conventions distort people's economic incentives in a way that encourages rent-seeking activities, causing serious inefficiency in resource allocation. Another aspect that Lee sees vital for the Korean economy is recent global trends in technological progress, such as the energy and digital transformation, which could cause crises or provide new opportunities depending on policy responses. Following theses views, Lee proposes a new growth strategy, namely, Transformative and Fair Growth, which comprises a set of policies to make the economy fairer and more transformative. Innovations and transformation can be expedited on the basis of right incentives and fairer institutions. This strategy includes industrial policies for a "Green New Deal" and digital transformation, education reforms to help people adopt to the new environment, reforms to rebalance market power among economic entities, measures for fair competition and labor market justice, and social safety nets to share risks related to the transformation. The overall policy stance is close to social liberal and populist, but there are also some economic liberal tendencies, such as real estate tax cuts and partial corporate deregulation. Universal Basic Income One of Lee's signature 2022 presidential campaign pledges is his promise to implement universal basic income. He has implemented various basic income programs for residents during his time as mayor and governor. During the 2022 campaign, Lee promised to introduce basic income schemes for young people, farmers and fishermen first, and then expand it to a universal income, with a plan to gradually increase the amount that the government pays. As part of this plan, Lee seeks to link the income to a carbon tax and land tax. Lee promised to introduce a universal basic income scheme at the national level for the first time in the world. He pledged to distribute 1 million won (about US$900) per year to all citizens and 2 million won (about US$1,800) per year to the youth aged between 19 and 29. Basic income schemes for farmers, children, elderly, and the disabled would be also considered. Although the basic income program will start at a modest level, he has indicated that the long-term goal is to increase the amount of basic income to 0.5 million won (about US$450) per month, or 6 million won (about US$5,400) per year. He proposes that the budget for basic income will be largely financed by land value tax and carbon tax. He stresses that introduction of these taxes is necessary to curb real estate speculations and to reduce carbon emissions. Public housing Lee has promised to provide at least 1 million "basic home" public housing units offered at lower prices. Lee believes in strengthening the concept of public land ownership in order to battle Korea's rising housing costs stemming from rampant real estate speculation. Government-backed loans Lee advocates for "basic loans," which will allow all citizens to take out government loans of up to 10 million won ($8,570) at an interest rate of around 3 percent, regardless of their credit status. Lee advocates for these government-backed loan to the public as a safer alternative to borrowing money from loan sharks or private money lenders. Technology Lee emphasises the importance of data in digital transformation. While working as a Governor of Gyeonggi Province, he ordered that administrative official document should be used official and open document format, ODF, instead of the previous Hangeul software. He also implemented the world's first data dividend, which returns the portion of the profit created by data related business to the consumers who actually created the data. Also, he used a data analysis to crack down on African swine fever and illegal construction companies, and provided the mobile app that informs the movement COVID-19 confirmed patients without violating privacy and revealing personal information, using data encryption technology. He argues that the monopoly situation of big platform companies with network effects could be as an obstacle for fair growth of digital sector, and argues that workers employed by platform enterprises should have new types of employment contracts so that they could be better protected in the digital era. Lee states that South Korea should have future-oriented economic policies that take into account the role of artificial intelligence and its effect on society. He has stated that this shift will require government support to alleviate difficulties that might arise from the economic adjustment. Education According to Lee's election promise, Lee plans to avoid lining up with grades and numbers, and proceed in the direction of strengthening students capabilities. In middle school, Lee said that teachers will figure out what is lacking through summative evaluation, and that he planned to launch basic math curriculum through the 'high school credit system' in high school to make up for the underachievement. He is also considering introducing AI-based personalized learning and evaluation in some subjects, such as mathematics, to strengthen individualized learning and evaluation throughout elementary and middle school. In addition, he proposed an 'outdoor school' that fosters the challenges, adventures, cooperation, and curiosity necessary for adolescent growth. It promised to prepare and introduce a curriculum of about 10 hours per semester. Youth policy Lee promises universal basic income and universal basic loans specifically for youth. Also, he plans to provide employment benefits to youth that voluntarily resigned from work once for a lifetime, in order to support youth in job searching and career development. He also plans to lower student loan interest rates, and allow university tuition to be proportional to the credits students take each semester. Lastly, he plans to provide universal basic housing to youth and reform the housing market to help low income youth purchase their own housing. LGBT rights Lee Jae-myung said on November 29, 2021, that homosexuality should be recognized as it is, and that discrimination against homosexuals is no different from discrimination against skin color or disability. He also acknowledged the need for anti-discrimination laws and said legislation should be made through social consensus. Feminism South Korean media criticize (even though he is a centre-left social liberal politician) Lee Jae-myung for being hostile to feminism, no different from Yoon Seok-youl. In fact, Lee Jae-myung, the 2022 Democratic presidential candidate, distributed an article to participants of the National Election Commission on 8 November 2021, saying, "If Lee Jae-myung differentiates himself from the Moon Jae-in government's feminist-first policy, he can gain support from young men". In addition, on 10 November, he shared a post written by his supporter on DC Inside on his Facebook page, which read, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung, please stop the 'feminism of madness' (of the Moon Jae In government and liberals), If you promise to do so, I will vote with great pleasure". South Korea's progressive politician Sim Sang-jung, who opposes social conservatism, criticized Lee Jae-myung as a clear "anti-feminist". Ahn Cheol Soo, a centre-right conservative liberal, also criticized Lee Jae-myung's pledge on gender as "misogyny". However, some point out that Lee Jae-myung's remarks on feminism are more of a populist investigation than a real policy objection to women's rights. Lee Jae-myung supported pro-choice and advocated expanding the rights of abortion women in medical insurance. In this regard, it received positive reviews from feminists. Foreign policy Lee announced a comprehensive foreign policy plan on 22 August 2021. Lee emphasized that the aim of foreign policy should be focused on improving the quality of the people and it should be practical to enhance national interest. North Korea Lee has stated that he will continue the efforts of previous liberal presidents to conduct peace talks with North Korea, citing President Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy, President Roh Moo-hyun's summit with Kim Jong-il, and President Moon Jae-in's peace talks with North Korea. Lee favors the approach of conditional rollback of sanctions on North Korea in attempting to denuclearize North Korea. While he believes in easing of sanctions, he also advocates immediate restoration of sanctions if North Korea fails to keep promises of denuclearization. United States Lee supports good trade relations with the US. He also believes in good relations with the US military, which has its main bases in his province. However, he has criticized the US-deployed THAAD anti-missile system for drawing Chinese economic retaliation. Later, he said that as the THAAD is already deployed, we need to make a new decision considering the US-ROK alliance and the progress of denuclearization of North Korea. China Lee has stated that while the United States is South Korea’s only ally, China is also a strategic partner. He has said that “There is no reason to narrow our range of movement by choosing one or the other side. It is competent diplomacy to make the U.S. and China choose to cooperate with us.” Japan In relations with Japan, Lee promotes a "two track strategy" to actively promote economic, social, and diplomatic exchange and cooperation while also resolutely dealing with historical issues, territorial sovereignty, and the life and safety of the people. Criticism Unlike ordinary South Korean liberals, Lee Jae-myung often speaks favorably of former dictator Park Chung-hee. Lee Jae-myung said on 2 November 2021, "President Park Chung-hee created the Gyeongbu Expressway to open the way for manufacturing-oriented industrialization," adding, "The Lee Jae-myung administration will build an 'energy highway' that will open a new future while speeding through the decarboned era." The Dong-A Ilbo, a conservative media outlet in South Korea, said Lee Jae-myung's state-led policies are closer to Park Chung-hee's authoritarianism than left-wing populism based on social equality. Lee Jae-myung evaluated Chun Doo-hwan's economic performance favorably on December 11, 2021, which was greatly criticized by South Korea's liberal camp. Justice Party's Sim Sang-jung criticized Lee Jae-myung's remarks, saying, "You seem to have become a presidential candidate for the PPP while trying to differentiate yourself from the Moon Jae In government", and PPP presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl also sarcastically said, "You can be our party's presidential candidate". In an editorial, Hankyoreh, a South Korean centre-left liberal journalist who was critical of the dictatorship in the past, strongly criticized Lee Jae-myung for forgetting his (liberal) "values" to win the votes of conservative voters. Controversies "Unanswered Questions," an investigative journalism television programme run by Seoul Broadcasting System, aired an episode questioning the links between the local Mafia organisation in Seongnam city and Lee and Eun Su-mi, current mayor of the city. Lee was accused of giving up "Happiness," the dog he adopted during his time as a mayor of the city, when moving into his new-residency as Gyeonggi provincial governor leaving the dog to Seongnam city hall. Lee explained that the dog was adopted by the city not by an individual and later re-adopted to a new family. During the 2018 gubernatorial election, he received scrutiny following the confirmation of a long-rumored affair with actress Kim Boo-sun. The real name of his corresponding Twitter account (08_hkkim) is "For Justice." Rep. Jeon Hae-chul sued the account, claiming it was run by Lee Jae-myung's wife during the party's primary for the Gyeeonggi governor's race. The initials are the same as Kim Hye-kyung, and various other personal information matched, raising suspicions that she was the person in question. Hyegyeonggung Kim is also nicknamed for this reason. In July 2020 the Supreme Court found Lee not guilty of breaching campaign law during a television debate for Gyeonggi provincial governor. However, the Court and its lower courts found the allegation that Lee had attempted to admit his brother to a psychiatric hospital true, but Lee was not indicted for this. Citing freedom of expression and maximum respect for free, active discussions during political campaigns, the Supreme Court did not find Lee "actively" distorted the facts - and therefore did not breach campaign law - when he said no to the question asked about attempting to admit his brother to a mental hospital by an opposition candidate in a televised debate. Lee was represented by several lawyers including two former Supreme Court justices. Prosecution's investigation On 11 December 2018, the prosecution indicted Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who was suspected of circulating false information under the Public Official Election Act of the Republic of Korea. His wife Kim Hye-kyung was not indicted, citing a lack of evidence. Two days before the expiration of the statute of limitations on the seventh election, the case against the couple was closed. After the police concluded that they believed the account belonged to Lee's spouse Kim, the case was transferred to and later struck down by the prosecution, citing a lack of evidence. Electoral history Primary election Authored books References External links Lee Jae-myung on Twitter |- 1964 births Chung-Ang University alumni Living people Mayors of Seongnam Minjoo Party of Korea politicians People from Andong Populism in South Korea South Korean lawyers South Korean Protestants Universal basic income in South Korea South Korean politicians with physical disabilities

50346295

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera%20Security

Vera Security

Vera is an enterprise data security and information rights management platform that provides encryption and tracks and controls digital information shared across users, devices, applications, and platforms. Vera gives developers access to its IRM-as-a-service (IRMaaS) platform via a REST API and downloadable software development kit. History Vera launched its product in April 2015. Within the first year of operations, Vera announced partnerships with Dropbox, Okta, and Centrify, as well as strategic integrations with Box, VMware, and Microsoft Office. Vera focuses its sales and marketing efforts on large enterprises in industries such as financial services, media & entertainment, manufacturing, and technology sectors. Awards Vera was nominated as a top 10 finalist for the Innovation Sandbox competition at RSA Conference 2016, and CRN Magazine named Vera one of the "10 Coolest Security Startups of 2015". Funding Vera is a privately funded company with $31 million in venture financing. The company announced a $14 million Series A round in November 2014, which included the hiring of Robin Daniels as CMO. In February 2016, Vera announced a $17 million Series B round, led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from existing investors, Battery Ventures, Amplify Partners, and other private investors. In May 2016, Capital One Growth Ventures joined the company's Series B round of financing and founding CEO of Veritas Software, Mark Leslie, joined Vera's board of directors. Roger Lee (Battery Ventures) and Stefan Dyckerhoff (Sutter Hill Ventures) also serve on the company's board. Product architecture In March 2016, Vera announced its SDK, which allows developers to add encryption, tracking, policy enforcement, and access control to custom and legacy business applications. References Data security

50363355

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitport

Bitport

Bitport, also known as Bitport.io, is a freemium browser-based cloud BitTorrent downloader providing users with the ability to stay anonymous. Bitport allows downloading Torrent files without the need to use private internet connection. Seeding and leeching of files runs on the server side of the client. Users are then able to download files as a direct link download. This direct download is in the case of Bitport further encrypted using SSL providing a further layer of privacy protection. It features File streaming, mass zip downloading, FTP access, CDN servers IDM support, antivirus check, and SSL encryption. References BitTorrent Browsers

50365379

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short%20Weather%20Cipher

Short Weather Cipher

The Short Weather Cipher (, abbreviated WKS), also known as the weather short signal book, was a cipher, presented as a codebook, that was used by the radio telegraphists aboard U-boats of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was used to condense weather reports into a short 7-letter message, which was enciphered by using the naval Enigma and transmitted by radiomen to intercept stations on shore, where it was deciphered by Enigma and the 7-letter weather report was reconstructed. History During World War II, during various times, different versions of the cipher were in operation. The first issue carried the codename Weimar. It was replaced by the edition Eisenach on 20 January 1942. On 10 March 1943, the third edition of the weather key, bearing the codename Naumburg, entered into force. On May 9, 1941, during Operation Primrose, the operation to occupy Åndalsnes and create a diversion south of Trondheim in Norway as part of the Norwegian Campaign, an intact Naval Enigma (M3) cipher machine, a copy of the "Weimar" version of the short weather cipher and a copy of the short signal book ( or Kurzsignale for short) was recovered from the submarine U-110, that was captured in the North Atlantic east of Cape Farewell, Greenland. This enabled the cryptanalysts in Bletchley Park to break the encryption of the M3 and to decipher the German submarine radio messages. The Short Weather Cipher was critical in the cryptanalysis of the Naval Enigma M4 and yielded excellent cribs. On 30 October 1942, a copy of the Wetterkurzschlüssel, the short weather cipher, and of the short signal book, the Kurzsignale, were recovered as part of a daring raid on the U-boat U-559, when three Royal Navy sailors, Lieutenant Anthony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, then boarded the abandoned submarine, and recovered the documents after a 90-minute search. They reached the Government Code and Cypher at Bletchley Park after a three-week delay, on 24 November 1942. The documents which cost the lives of Fasson and Grazier proved to be particularly important in breaking the Naval Enigma M4. The version of the short weather cipher recovered was the Eisenach version. Unlike the first version Weimar, the Eisenach did not list the 26 rotor positions that were indicated by a letter, to be used in enciphering weather reports. Thus, Hut 8 cryptanalysts thought that all four rotors were used to encipher weather reports. Testing on the Bombes began to surface weather kisses (identical messages in two cryptosystems). On 13 December 1942, a crib obtained using the Short Weather Cipher gave a key with the Naval Enigma M4 rotatable Umkehrwalze (reversing roller or reflector) in the neutral position, making it equivalent to a standard Enigma and thus making B-Dienst messages potentially breakable on existing bombes. Hut 8 learned that the 4-letter indicators for regular U-boat messages were the same as 3-letter indicators for weather messages the same day, except for one extra letter. This meant that once the key was found for a weather message on any day, the fourth rotor had to be only tested in 26 positions to find the full 4-letter key. By the end of the day on Sunday 13 December, Rodger Winn of the Submarine Tracking Room at Bletchley Park knew that Shark Enigma Cipher was broken. When the third edition of the short signal book was introduced on 10 March 1943, Hut 8 was immediately deprived of cribs. However, by the 19 March, cribs were again being used by Hut 8 personnel, using the method of employing short signal sighting reports. These were reports made by U-boats when contact was made with Kurzsignalheft code book. Hut 8 managed to solve Shark for 90 out of 112 days before the end of June. Kurzsignalheft short sighting reports also used M4 in M3 mode. By the end of June, four-rotor bombes had entered service at Bletchley Park, and by August had been introduced by the US Navy. From September onwards, Shark was generally solved within 24 hours. Operation The U-boat encoded weather reports using the Short Weather Cipher, before being enciphered on the Naval Enigma. The shore patrol of the Kriegsmarine, deciphered the message and decoded it, then forwarding it to a central meteorological station, which rebroadcast the data as ship synoptics, after enciphering it with additive tables using a cipher, which was called Germet 3 by Hut 8 personnel. The short weather cipher coded weather reports using a polyphonic single-letter code with X missing. A = +28° ◦ B = +27° ◦ C = +26° ◦ D = +25° ◦ . . . ◦ W = +6° ◦ Y= +5° ◦ Z = +4° ◦ A = +3° ◦ B = +2° ◦ C = +1° ◦ D = 0° ◦ E =−1° ◦ F =−2° ◦ . . . ◦ Z = −21° ◦ In a similar way, water temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind direction, wind velocity, visibility, degree of cloudiness, geographic latitude, and geographic longitude had to be coded in a prescribed order with the weather report consisted of a single short word. Based on the approximate knowledge of the position of the submarine, the Kriegsmarine telegraphist who received the message could translate the letter "S", according to the above table, which could mean 10 °C or −15 °C, back to the correct temperature. Similarly, the direction and the type of swell was also coded with only a single letter: ----------------------------------------------------- Direction from which | Type of swell the swell comes | low | middle high | high | ----------------------------------------------------- N | a | i | q | NE | b | j | r | E | c | k | s | SE | d | l | t | S | e | m | u | SW | f | n | v | W | g | o | w | NW | h | p | x | No swelling | | | | y Intermittent | | | | z As an example of the cipher, a weather report for 68° North latitude, 20° West longitude (north of Iceland) with atmospheric pressure 972 millibars, temperature minus 5 °C, wind northwest Force 6 (on the Beaufort scale), 3/10 cirrus cloud cover, visibility 5 nautical miles, would be coded as MZNFPED. Publications References Cryptography History of telecommunications in Germany World War II military equipment of Germany Signals intelligence of World War II

50368633

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security%20First%20Corp

Security First Corp

Security First Corp is a Rancho Santa Margarita, CA information assurance and data security company. The company holds over 250 patents for software defined data security, including its Secure Parser Extended (SPx) technology, which encrypts and randomly splits data into multiple segments, storing them in different locations. This technology is also called bitsplitting. History Security First Corp was founded in 2002 by Mark O'Hare, a 26-year navy veteran who had served as Program Executive Officer of the US Navy Aircraft Carrier Program. In 2008, information technology company Unisys integrated Security First's Secure Parser technology into its Stealth brand software for Windows servers and desktops. In June 2009, the company acquired Silicon Valley-based DRC Computer Corporation (DRC), a developer of acceleration coprocessors. Security First was reportedly using DRC's products for an information security appliance, and planned to operate DRC as a wholly owned subsidiary. In August 2011, IBM announced they were integrating three of Security First's cryptographic technologies into its next generation of chips, to increase their security. In December 2014, Security First released SPxSHARC for VMware's vCenter Server, running on VMWare's ESXi hypervisor. In 2015, IBM announced it was using Security First's SPxBitFiler-IPS encryption technology to allow IBM's PureApplication System virtual pattern deployers to encrypt on-disk data. The technology is also licensed by IBM for its Cloud Data Encryption Service (ICDES). Products Security First's core product is Secure Parser Extended (SPx) technology, which encrypts data, scrambles it randomly and disperses it to different locations. The technology combines AES-256 certified encryption, multi-factor secret sharing with keyed information dispersal, and cryptographic random bit-splitting. The solution is compliant with common government and industry data protection standards and security requirements. The company offers SPx SHARC, a security suite designed for multi-site data protection, SPx Gateway, a data protection solution designed to protect data stored across multiple cloud computing service providers, a process the company calls "Cloud Spanning", and ParsedCloud, a file transfer application that encrypts, splits and transfers data between multiple sites, available in free and fee-based versions. Media coverage In December 2014, former Apple CEO John Sculley was interviewed on Fox News and called Security First's bitsplitting technology a "gamechanger". Funding In a December 2014 SEC filing, the company announced it had raised $29 Million from sales of debt and equity, from undisclosed investors. In an April 2016 SEC filing, the company announced it had raised an additional $36 Million from sales of debt and equity, also from undisclosed investors. Subsidiaries The company operates DRC Computer corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary. References External links Companies based in Orange County, California 2002 establishments in California Information governance Data security

50380799

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul%20Le%20Roux

Paul Le Roux

Paul Calder Le Roux (born 24 December 1972) is a former programmer, former criminal cartel boss, and informant to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 1999, he created E4M, a free and open-source disk encryption software program for Microsoft Windows, and is sometimes credited for open-source TrueCrypt, which is based on E4M's code, though he denies involvement with TrueCrypt. Le Roux was arrested on 26 September 2012 for conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States, and agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for a lesser sentence and immunity to any crimes he might admit to later. He subsequently admitted to arranging or participating in seven murders, carried out as part of an extensive illegal business empire. Le Roux was sentenced to 25 years in prison in June 2020. Early life Le Roux was born on 24 December 1972, at Lady Rodwell Maternity Home in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and given up for adoption. His birth certificate gives his first name as "unknown" and makes no mention of his father. His biological mother's identity has not been disclosed; one source claims she was a poor teenager, while another states that his maternal grandmother was married to a US senator. Aged two months, he was adopted by a couple living in the asbestos-mining town of Mashava and given his future name, Paul Calder Le Roux. His parents never told him about his adoption, although various family members learned of it over the years and Le Roux himself found out in 2002. Le Roux also had a younger sister. Following political events in 1980 that ended the Rhodesian Bush War and Robert Mugabe assuming power and ending white minority rule, Le Roux's family relocated to South Africa in 1984 for better schooling opportunities. They found a new home in the mining town of Krugersdorp, where Le Roux's father started a company managing coal-mining operations, soon bringing wealth to the family. Shortly after, Le Roux was given his first computer in exchange for washing his father's car. As a teenager, he was described as tall, trim and handsome, though not very social and not interested in sport. He was obsessed with the video game Wing Commander, which he played on his gaming console connected to the family TV. Around age 15 or 16, Le Roux was arrested for selling pornography after police searched the family home. The family managed to keep the incident private. Following his arrest, Le Roux became even more reclusive. An excellent student, he refused to learn Afrikaans, mandatory in South African schools, calling it a "dead language" and eventually dropping out of school at age 16. He enrolled in a local programming course, in which he excelled, completing the one-year course in eight weeks. Upon returning from a family holiday trip to the US, 17-year-old Le Roux decided to leave South Africa, and departed to the UK eight months later. He found work as a programmer, and, in 1994, met his future wife, Michelle. After six months in the US, he followed Michelle to Australia in 1995. The couple married and Le Roux acquired Australian citizenship. They lived in Perth and Sydney. It is unclear whether the couple had any children – some sources mention a son, while others claim Le Roux's first child (a son) was with his second wife. Le Roux has revealed little about his early life, and most of it was uncovered by journalist Evan Ratliff, relying mainly on an initially unnamed source close to Le Roux. He would later name Le Roux's cousin and former employee Mathew Smith as a source. Internet activity and encryption software Various Usenet newsgroup postings made by Le Roux are known from the second half of the 1990s. Some of them are highly technical encryption discussions, while others can be summarized as trolling. Le Roux would frequently post angry, sarcastic and offensive messages, including harsh verbal attacks against Australia as well as racist comments. On various occasions, he would later express his amusement at the reactions of other users. In 1995, Le Roux appears as the owner of a business, World Away Pty. Around 1997–1998, Le Roux began to develop E4M (Encryption for the Masses), which was first released on December 18, 1998. The product is capable of encrypting entire disks, and optionally of plausible deniability (denying the existence of an encrypted volume). Le Roux claimed the software had been written "from scratch". The software was released free of charge and with source code. In the "Politics" section of the E4M website, Le Roux published a kind of manifesto stating that governments are increasingly relying on electronic data gathering. Citing projects such as Echelon, linked to the five nation states which would become known as the "Five Eyes" more than a decade later, he stated that encryption is the only way to preserve civil liberties. With no income from his previous two years of labour, Le Roux was struggling financially. He was divorced from his first wife in Brisbane in 1999. Sources close to Le Roux describe the divorce as "violent", while another states the couple parted ways amicably. Le Roux relocated to Hong Kong, then to Rotterdam, where he married a Dutch citizen named Lilian Cheung Yuen Pui. The couple had a son soon after. To monetize E4M, he launched SW Professionals in 2000. Based in South Africa, the company offered offshore programming, including E4M customization. According to its website, it had 5 to 6 employees. Le Roux himself was reportedly rarely seen in South Africa, and was still in a precarious financial situation. In 2001 Le Roux was approached by Wilfried Hafner, a client with whom he had corresponded for several years about E4M. Hafner offered him a position in his newly founded company SecurStar. Le Roux was to build the engine for its upcoming DriveCrypt product, based on E4M and another product, Scramdisk (whose inventor, Shaun Hollingworth, had also joined SecurStar, where he still worked as of mid-2019). Both Hafner and Hollingworth describe him as a gifted programmer who would contribute innovative ideas. He was dismissed in 2002 upon Hafner discovering that Le Roux continued to work on E4M, incorporating some of the work he had done for SecurStar. Nonetheless, Hafner and Le Roux reconciled personally and stayed in touch for some time. Around the same time, Le Roux was working on a gaming engine for an online casino he intended to launch in Canada and Romania. Hafner would later describe Le Roux as "not a marketer" and that he "didn't see how he could bring in the gamers to play." In 2001, Le Roux appears listed as a director of a company named SSD Software. SW Professionals went out of business in October 2002 and Le Roux solicited contract work with a Usenet post. TrueCrypt release and controversy In February 2004 the first version of TrueCrypt was released by anonymous developers who called themselves "the TrueCrypt Team", built on E4M code. As its developers remained anonymous, some of Le Roux's former SecurStar colleagues, including Hafner, suspected Le Roux of being involved but could not find any corroborating evidence. The actual authors remain unknown as of 2017. According to Matthew Green, a computer science professor at the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute and leader of the TrueCrypt audit in 2014, TrueCrypt "was written by anonymous folks; it could have been Paul Le Roux writing under an assumed name, or it could have been someone completely different." Hafner sent a cease-and-desist letter to an email address associated with the TrueCrypt developers. The TrueCrypt Team immediately stopped development and distribution of TrueCrypt, which they announced on Usenet. Team member David Tesařík stated that Le Roux informed the team that there was a legal dispute between himself and SecurStar, and that he had received legal advice not to comment on the case. Because of this, he was unable to confirm or deny the legitimacy of TrueCrypt, keeping its development in limbo. A new version was released in June, but with a different digital signature and the developers now being referred to as "the TrueCrypt Foundation". The project received funding, the source of which is equally unclear. Responding to the TrueCrypt controversy, Le Roux sent his last Usenet post, in which he wrote "the pure speculation here (often stated as fact) is damaging and in some cases libelous." This appears to be the last online appearance he made using his real name. Le Roux's involvement with TrueCrypt still remains unclear as of 2016. Le Roux himself has denied developing TrueCrypt in a court hearing in March 2016, in which he also confirmed he had written E4M. On the other hand, he reportedly ordered employees around 2007 to encrypt their hard disks with E4M and later with TrueCrypt. RX Limited In 2003, Le Roux sent out a request to various Usenet groups, in which he solicited business contacts in the US: Around 2004, at the advice of a lawyer in Costa Rica, Le Roux abandoned his online gambling activities and launched several web sites and call centers for the online sale of prescription drugs. To place an order on these sites, customers would fill out questionnaires about their medical history and symptoms, order their chosen medication and pay by credit card. The questionnaires would get forwarded to doctors in the US, who would in turn write prescriptions for the drugs ordered, despite never having examined the patient in person. The prescription, along with the customer's order, would go to a pharmacy in the US, which would then ship the drug. Both the doctor and the pharmacy would receive a commission for the order. Prosecution in the case alleged in 2014 that "some of [RX Limited's] customers' hands are cold and 6 feet under right now." RX Limited advertised its services through spam email. As messages pointing to one particular web site would quickly get blocked by spam filters, RX Limited would open up new sites. Initially the new domains were purchased individually from domain sellers such as GoDaddy, until RX Limited set up its own domain seller, ABSystems, allowing RX Limited to spawn new domains on a much larger scale. By 2012, LegitScript estimated that more than half the rogue online pharmacies in the world were registered through ABSystems. The business operated in a legal gray area, but many employees and pharmacists had the impression that it was acting legally. Each order came with a prescription, and the system would keep track of customers' orders and block unusually large orders arriving within a short period of time. The system also seemed to adapt to apparent changes in regulation. Pharmacists were shown the licenses of the doctors writing the prescriptions and recruiters would stress the fact that the business was not selling controlled substances. In at least one instance, a pharmacist was given the contact details of a former DEA agent, who confirmed there would be no legal issues in shipping any of the medications offered by RX Limited. The business was highly profitable. The US Internal Revenue Service calculated that RX Limited owed more than $1.5m in tax from 2005 alone. The debt is still outstanding. Medications Medications offered through RX Limited's web sites included: Fioricet (active ingredients: butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine), a treatment for tension headaches and migraine Propecia (active ingredient: finasteride), a treatment for hair loss Soma (active ingredient: carisoprodol), a muscle relaxant to treat back problems Ultram (active ingredient: tramadol), a synthetic opioid painkiller Viagra (active ingredient: sildenafil), a treatment for erectile dysfunction Call centres Call centres were initially set up in Israel, checking orders and handling customer complaints. Employees in these call centres were told to adopt American-sounding names in customer contacts and tell customers they were located in Utah. One such operation was Beit Oridan (later renamed to IBS Systems and finally to SCSM). The Jerusalem-based business was registered in 2005 by two Israeli brothers, with Le Roux acting as a silent partner. One of the brothers left the company in July 2006, the other in the fall of 2007, with no official explanation, and Le Roux oversaw the operation directly, with the two Israeli managers now reporting directly to him. In the autumn of 2008, the two managers of the Jerusalem call centre were tasked with overseeing the opening of a new call center in Tel Aviv. The new call centre opened in 2009 under the name CSWW (Customer Service World-Wide) and took over customer service, while Jerusalem-based SCSM would handle accounting and company infrastructure. As RX Limited continued to grow, Le Roux began opening call centres in the Philippines, staffing manager positions with Israelis recruited by the SCSM managers. Le Roux paid Israeli-level salaries despite the cost of living being much lower in Manila, making his job offers seem an attractive opportunity. He provided the Israeli expats with apartments in various neighbourhoods of Manila but would frequently relocate them, stating he needed their apartment. By 2010, he had at least ten call centers with more than 1,000 employees. In 2011 the US government restricted the distribution of Soma, banning its distribution across state borders and requiring pharmacies to obtain special DEA approval to dispense it. As Soma was among RX Limited's best-selling drugs, the company lost around one third of its business and was forced to downsize. Le Roux decided to close the Tel Aviv call center and downsize the Jerusalem office. He began smuggling pharmaceuticals from Mexico into the US to fulfill orders. Mock execution of a call centre manager Realizing the rapid expansion of RX Limited and its constant search of new pharmacies in late 2008, two managers of the Israeli call centre started casually discussing the possibility of opening their own pharmacy in the US. They believed they could open a flourishing business while at the same time helping Le Roux's operations. A few months after this casual conversation, one of the two managers was dispatched to the Philippines for what he believed to be a business meeting with three partners he did not know, one of whom was Dave Smith. He was thrown off a yacht and shot at while Smith accused him of stealing from Le Roux. Upon learning that he had merely discussed plans which would have been beneficial for both sides, Smith pulled him back on board. Le Roux later warned him that he would be killed if he were even suspected of stealing, and made similar threats if he were to leave. Farmland leases in Zimbabwe Between September 2007 and 2008, Le Roux spent $12 m to secure 99-year leases on farmland the Zimbabwean government had seized from white farmers, and to lobby Mugabe with the help of Ari Ben-Menashe, lobbyist and former Israeli intelligence officer. His plan was to bring back white farmers to the land. It is alleged that he "wanted to see Zimbabwe back under the control of the whites". In his only known media statement, Le Roux told the Washington, DC newspaper The Hill: "We want recognition that injustice was done in the past and that the land-reform program corrects that." Rumors existed that the farmland leases were only part of a bigger plan going as far as removing Mugabe from power. Le Roux eventually abandoned his plans around 2008. Logging In 2007, Le Roux also took up logging operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also around 2007–2008, Le Roux hired Ben-Menashe to lobby the government of Vanuatu to allow the logging of kauri trees. The deal was arranged, but Le Roux disappeared. Between late 2008 and early 2009 Le Roux withdrew from all of his logging operations. Expansion into illegal business In 2007, Le Roux relocated his family to Manila, into a house in the upscale gated community of Dasmariñas, and oversaw his business from there. Realizing the commercial success of his online pharmacy business, a legal gray area at the time, Le Roux decided to diversify and expand into illegal activities around 2007. These included logging, precious metals mining, gold smuggling, land deals, drug shipments, arms trafficking and money laundering. He operated in a number of places, including Manila, Hong Kong, Colombia, Africa and Brazil. Numerous Israelis were recruited through RX Limited during that time, invited to the Philippines and assigned to operations outside RX Limited. These included a logging business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, procuring gold directly from African mines or guarding houses owned by Le Roux in Hong Kong. Many of Le Roux's organizations were staffed with former soldiers. Hong Kong was the financial hub of Le Roux's organization. Proceeds from Le Roux's various operations would be invested in gold bars, diamonds and silver grain and stored in Hong Kong in one of several houses and apartments which Le Roux owned for that purpose. A number of Israelis, many of them former elite soldiers, had been recruited to guard them. Ultimately, the goods would be transferred to Le Roux's base in Manila by boat or private plane. Payments to RX Limited's call centers and suppliers would be wired from Hong Kong. Several of the shell companies registered by or on behalf of Le Roux were based in Hong Kong. Le Roux kept his operations highly compartmentalized. Few people in his organization were aware of the full extent of its activities. In one instance, when Le Roux was already acting as an informant, he dispatched one team to Mauritius for a series of meetings, while another was to provide surveillance. Neither team knew of the other, and it was not until the surveillance team returned from its mission that its head, Hunter, recognized the members of the other team in the surveillance photos. Beginning in or before 2008, Le Roux started covering his tracks. He operated through several shell companies in various countries and used multiple false identities, some backed with false papers. Among these were a legitimate Congolese diplomatic passport, issued in August 2008 (with his name listed as Solotshi Calder Le Roux, Paul, and his birth date as 1982-12-24), and a Zimbabwean passport, issued in 2009, under the name Bernard John Bowlins, born 1964-06-20. In a 2008 online chat transcript he discussed staging his own death and disappearing into a new identity, and getting a birth certificate under a new name. Around the same time, he is first reported to have used violence to intimidate opponents: in 2008, he ordered the house of his cousin and employee Mathew Smith firebombed over a financial dispute. Around 2011 Le Roux began to disappear for long periods of time, with none of his employees knowing his whereabouts. As US authorities were closing in on him, Le Roux took up temporary residence in Rio de Janeiro and planned his move there. Accounts on the timeframe vary: depending on the source, he first arrived in Rio sometime between 2010 (two years before his arrival in May 2012) and November 2011. Le Roux had a Brazilian lover in Rio, with whom he had a son, thus being protected from extradition under Brazilian law. Le Roux arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 19 May 2012, with Cayanan and their daughter, posing as tourists. Three Israeli associates would oversee his operations during his absence. Notable figures Dave Smith Smith was a British native and allegedly carried an American passport. He had done security work in Iraq and then for a risk-management company in the Philippines. Le Roux hired Smith in or before 2008, making him his de facto deputy and head of security. Smith gave Le Roux access to a network of former security contractors who had previously served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Hit man Ronald Baricuatro, apprehended in February 2012 and connected to the assassination of Mike Lontoc in September 2011, stated he was hired by Smith to conduct surveillance on journalist Mar T. Supnad in preparation of a planned hit. Both hits were in connection with the seizure of the Captain Ufuk in 2009. In 2011, Le Roux began suspecting Smith of skimming off drugs and gold from shipments, and had him assassinated. According to one source, Smith was kidnapped outside a bar while drunk, and placed in a shallow grave. Then he was shot and buried. Another source claims that Smith was thrown off a boat and shot in a manner similar to the Israeli call center manager. Le Roux himself supposedly fired at least some of the shots. In a court hearing in March 2016, Le Roux admitted his involvement. The judge did not allow questions on how Smith was murdered. Joseph Hunter Joseph Hunter, who would later become Le Roux's top hit man, was hired between 2007 and 2009. Raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, Hunter had enlisted in the army in 1983 and joined the Rangers in 1985. Eight months later, in 1986, Hunter was discharged for medical reasons, after the death of a friend in his unit during a training exercise left him traumatized. He spent the rest of his military career as a drill sergeant and sniper instructor. Over the course of 18 years he was posted in Germany, Panama and Puerto Rico. He was retired in mid-2004, holding the rank of sergeant first class. He received multiple honors for his service in the Army. After retiring from the Army, Hunter returned to Owensboro. He planned to join the police, but never did. Sources are inconclusive about the reasons: Hunter either passed the New York City Police exam but decided the city was too expensive, or he was rejected due to his age, despite being in excellent physical condition. In 2005 Hunter became an inmate counselor at the Green River Correctional Complex. Dissatisfied with his job, he quit it after 15 months in 2006, and subsequently signed up with a private security firm. He was dispatched to Iraq, taking fingerprints and DNA swabs from company employees. Two years later he joined another firm, protecting US embassy staff and investigating suicide bombings. According to his family, Hunter had become increasingly short-tempered during his time in the army. Hunter himself stated that his time in Iraq exacerbated these traits. He became moody, irritable and aggressive. Later, while in custody following his arrest in 2013, he was diagnosed with PTSD. Between 2007 and 2009, Hunter was introduced to Le Roux by a colleague. He was initially tasked with buying and selling gold in Mali. Le Roux offered Hunter a job as his bodyguard in 2009. According to Hunter's own accounts, he began to realize in mid-2009 that he was involved in illegal operations and, due to his name being used in various operations, suspected he was being set up to be "sacrificed" to law enforcement, but claimed to fear for his life if he were to quit. In 2010 Dave Smith dismissed Hunter, considering him "too hot headed". Hunter lived in the US for a year and returned following Smith's assassination in 2011, taking Smith's former position. His exit from and return to the organization would later prompt the court to reject his duress defense. Hunter carried out or oversaw multiple murders for Le Roux, which the organization referred to as "bonus jobs". He apparently recruited hit men through contacts from his days as a defense contractor. Many of the hit men Hunter recruited for Le Roux were, like him, former soldiers who had had trouble settling into civilian life. Iran arms deal A 2014 court document revealed that Le Roux was also charged with exporting "goods, technology and services" to the Iranian government between 2009 and 2012. The goods are believed to be a missile guidance system. Somali arms and drug deals Through his company Southern Ace, Le Roux supplied AK-47 assault rifles and light machine guns to Somali militias starting in April 2009, in violation of an existing arms embargo. Rumors exist that Le Roux was planning to build a militia to invade the Seychelles. His enforcer Hunter is known to have bragged about such plans, but the head of the UN investigative team concerned with Le Roux's activities in Somalia dismissed it. According to him, Le Roux intended to set up a security firm specialized in protecting commercial ships from pirate attacks. In March 2010, Le Roux had plans to import a large quantity of heavy weapons to Somalia by air, though the delivery never took place. In mid-2010 Le Roux discovered he was paying militiamen almost twice the market rate, and a dispute with his partner in the operation, known only by his alias "Ottavio", erupted. Following the dispute with "Ottavio", most of Southern Ace's international staff left Somalia by early 2011, with only two remaining. "Ottavio" took over local operations, the two foreigners appear to have handled administrative tasks. One of them, a Zimbabwean national named Jirat Taeko, is reported to have been killed in January 2011 following an argument over financial issues. Altogether, Le Roux's organisation spent an estimated $3m on the operation, including almost $1m in militia salaries and over $150,000 worth in arms and ammunition. "Ottavio" was alleged by the UN to also be involved in experiments to cultivate narcotic plants including opium, coca and cannabis near the Ethiopian border. The involvement of Philippine, Zimbabwean and South African nationals in the operation was implied. Some sources claim Le Roux had plans to start a cocaine plantation in Somalia. The Captain Ufuk According to his own accounts, Bruce Jones was hired by Dave Smith in 2008 to purchase a ship in Turkey and sail it from there to the Philippines via Indonesia, with Manila-based company La Plata Trading (one of Le Roux's companies) paying expenses and supplying the crew. Jones completed the purchase of the Captain Ufuk and sailed to Jakarta, Indonesia. There he picked up a shipment of guns from a company called PT Pindad, bound for Manila-based Red White and Blue Arms Inc., and continued his journey to the Philippines. Jones had been supplied with an end-user certificate, according to which the guns were meant for Mali's Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection, and the pickup was guarded by Indonesian police and soldiers, thus Jones later claimed he believed the shipment to be legitimate. Journalist Evan Ratliff, citing a leaked document, claims the Indonesian Ministry of Defense had approved the sale. In reality, however, the guns were intended to be delivered to La Plata Trading and subsequently sold to rebels in the south of the country, including Islamist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Seizure As Jones approached his final destination, he was ordered by his employers to delay bringing the ship into port. The ship remained anchored for several days near the coast of Mariveles, Bataan, three hours west of Manila. On 19 August 2008, Jones told his boss he wanted to get on land, as his wife was pregnant and due to deliver. His employers sent out a yacht, the Mou Man Tai, with Smith, replacement captain Lawrence Burne and a rubber speedboat on board. Sixteen boxes of guns were transferred to the yacht, accompanied by Hunter, who had been on board the Captain Ufuk. Jones returned to Subic Bay in the smaller boat. During the day, a local fisherman had become suspicious of the ship and alerted authorities. The next day Philippine Coast Guard and customs officials motored out to the Captain Ufuk and discovered 20 unmarked wooden crates, for which the captain was unable to produce a cargo manifest. Officials discovered the guns in the crates, among them Pindad SS1 assault rifles. Replacement captain Burne was arrested but jumped bail. Later, in December 2014, he was sentenced in absentia to eight years of imprisonment for tax evasion related to the shipment. He remains at large as of early 2016. The crew, all of them Georgian citizens, were detained and indicted in 2010. They were eventually deported to Georgia. Assassination of Bruce Jones The press implicated Jones in its coverage of the case. Jones went into hiding and in early September surrendered to the authorities. He agreed to cooperate, on the condition of being placed on a witness protection program. He received numerous death threats and observed individuals apparently surveying him. He was never given the witness protection his lawyer requested. One year after the incident, he started to become confident that his former employers were no longer after him. On 21 September 2010, he and his wife and son met a friend, known to him as John Nash, and his wife for lunch in a mall in Angeles City, north of Manila. On his way back from the mall, Jones was shot fatally by two assassins on a motorcycle. His wife was struck by one bullet but survived. The assassination took place next to a shooting range, which provided ideal cover. Le Roux has never been formally accused in connection with Jones's death, although he allegedly admitted to ordering the hit in a private conversation. The case was archived between 2012 and 2013, and remains unsolved as of October 2015, with no suspect ever arrested over it. Raid of Herbert Tan Tiu's home In early October 2010 the Philippine National Police searched the home of Herbert Tan Tiu and discovered several Indonesian-made assault rifles, suspected to come from the Captain Ufuk. Tan Tiu disappeared later and is still missing. Assassination of Michael Lontoc Lontoc, general manager of Red White and Blue Arms Inc., was on his way back from a shooting competition in a Manila suburb in September 2011. As he slowed down at a busy intersection, he received a mobile phone call. At the same time, four men surrounded his car and fired into it. Lontoc died on the scene. His widow later told reporters he had become involved with an arms smuggling cartel and tried to get out. A year after the assassination of Lontoc, a man named Jimmy Pianiar confessed to killing him. He stated he and three other men had been paid to carry out the murder and made at least five attempts to carry it out. The identity of the person behind the killings was not disclosed, he was referred to only as the "mastermind". Arrest of Ronald Baricuatro Baricuatro was arrested in the Manila neighborhood of Dasmariñas while trying to redeem a motorcycle previously confiscated from an alleged financier of a gun smuggling syndicate, British national Cristopher Leruef. Found in his possessions were a wig, camera, various false ID cards and a "hit list". Mar Supnad, an investigative journalist who had reported on the Captain Ufuk case, was at the top of the list. Being wanted for previous charges of arson and a murder he committed over a family dispute, he was detained. Witnesses later claimed to have seen Baricuatro conducting surveillance on Lontoc's car hours prior to his assassination. Baricuatro later stated that he was hired by Dave Smith to conduct surveillance on Supnad but somebody else would have carried out the actual killing. Disappearance of Joe Zuñiga Lawyer Joe Frank Zuñiga had represented Jones in the Captain Ufuk case. On 20 June 2012, he left his home to meet with a client. He was last seen at 11:45 in the Subic Bay area in the company of Timothy Desmond, CEO of the Ocean Adventure water park, and John Nash, its head of security. Around the same time, a witness reported a man being dragged into a van near Zuñiga's car. A call between Zuñiga's cell phone and a family member appears to have taken place at 2 pm. His car was discovered on the afternoon of the following day. Zuñiga has since been missing and police presume him dead. The case was archived between 2012 and 2014, without any suspects ever being arrested over it. John Nash Nash ran a security firm in the Subic Bay area. A close friend of both Bruce Jones and Joe Zuñiga, he was the last to see both men alive. As the National Bureau of Investigation started investigating him in connection with Zuñiga's case, they discovered he was using the identity of a deceased person and arrested him on 2 May 2014. He refused to disclose his identity and, despite inquiries to the US, UK, Australia and South Africa, no state can give any clue to his citizenship or identity, nor can any of his acquaintances. He remains in custody in the Philippines as of November 2015, thus far only accused of an immigration violation. His identity, citizenship, possible connection to Le Roux or role in the cases of Jones and Zuñiga, remain unclear. Aftermath All open cases related to the Captain Ufuk were archived between 2012 and 2014. Paul Le Roux has never been formally accused in any of them. Journalist Evan Ratliff, citing sources in law enforcement and Le Roux's organization, implies that he avoided charges through bribery and intimidation. The JeReVe Following his relocation to Rio de Janeiro, Le Roux started planning two drug shipments from Ecuador via yacht. One of the two yachts to be used for the shipment, the JeReVe (from French je rêve "I dream"), arrived in Ecuador in August 2012. The JeReVe would travel to Australia, the other yacht to the Philippines, each carrying approximately 200 kg of cocaine. DEA agents managed to place a tracking device on the JeReVe and follow her movements. She briefly anchored off the coast of Peru, then began her crossing. The tracking device failed into the journey. Its last reported position dated to late September, near the Cook Islands. The boat headed for the Philippines completed its journey but the JeReVe failed to arrive at her destination. On 7 November, she was found washed up on a reef off the shore of , an uninhabited atoll in the northern part of Tonga, north of the main island. The yacht had apparently run into a storm off the coast and capsized. A corpse, believed to be second mate Milan Rindzák (35), a Slovak citizen, was found inside. Several passports, money in various European and American currencies and several hundred packets of cocaine, the latter having a street value of $120 million, were also found. There was no trace of the captain of the boat. An autopsy failed to establish the cause of death, which had occurred several days, possibly weeks, earlier. Tongan police tried to locate relatives of Rindzák in Slovakia, but Rindzák's parents claimed that the body was not their son's. Slovak media speculated that the body could be Maroš Deák, but this remains unconfirmed. Slovak police refused to comment on the speculations, citing ongoing investigations. The body remained unclaimed and was eventually buried in January 2013 at a local cemetery. Assassination of Noimie Edillor Part-time real estate broker Noimie Edillor was married to a Filipino customs officer (because of this, some sources incorrectly refer to her as a customs agent) and allegedly worked for La Plata Trading. She allegedly accepted a bribe to help smuggle goods through customs, but did not keep her part of the deal. Hunter hired assassins who put her under surveillance at home, thus discovering she worked as a real estate agent. They posed as potential customers looking for rental property, selecting the one where they believed the murder would be easiest to carry out. They then asked to see that property again and shot her at the door on 23 June 2011. Her husband and sister refused to cooperate with authorities or answer questions from journalists. Following his arrest, Le Roux admitted to ordering the murder in court, but, due to a proffer agreement he has signed following his arrest, he cannot be prosecuted in the US. However, the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation have announced that they will seek Le Roux's extradition and charge him with the crimes he committed under their jurisdiction. Assassination of Catherine Lee Around 2011, Le Roux enlisted real estate broker Catherine Lee from Las Piñas, Philippines, to purchase vacation property in Batangas for him and paid her an advance of 50 million Philippine pesos (about $1.15 million). Lee enlisted an unnamed associate to fix the deal; however, that associate disappeared with the money. In early February 2012 Lee received an e-mail from two men, who had been hired by Hunter. They introduced themselves as Bill Maxwell and Tony, claiming to be Canadians living in Manila and seeking to invest in real estate. She met the two men and, over the course of three days, showed them various properties. She was last seen alive at 4:30 pm of February 12, their third day, by the owners of a property they had visited and three other brokers. She departed in a car with her clients. Her body was found at 6:30 am the next day in a field in Taytay, Rizal, an industrial city an hour east of Manila. She had been shot four times, a gunshot wound under each eye, which the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspected to be a signature killing. Dissatisfied with the way the killing was carried out, Hunter dismissed the two hit men. The NBI drew parallels to the case of Noimie Edillor, who was killed in a similar way, unsolved as her family had refused to cooperate with the authorities. The NBI believes the associate was also assassinated, although no body was ever found. Following their arrests in 2012 and 2013, neither Le Roux nor Hunter have been formally accused of the case, despite Le Roux having admitted to ordering the murder in court. (Le Roux signed a proffer agreement, which would give him immunity against prosecution in the US but leaves open the possibility of him being extradited to the Philippines and facing charges there). Hunter and the two hit men were eventually charged and sentenced to life in prison in 2019. Investigation, arrest and prosecution US authorities began investigations against RX Limited in September 2007. In 2009, US authorities came across Le Roux's name and a phone number believed to be his, and started monitoring it. Following the Captain Ufuk, the DEA immediately suspected Le Roux's involvement in the case, as the websites of the two companies involved (La Plata Trading and Red White and Blue Arms) were registered through ABSystems, the domain registrar Le Roux set up for RX Limited. US authorities also became suspicious because of numerous calls to Somalia made from the phone number they had previously linked to Le Roux, but his activities were only revealed in a 2011 UN report. In March 2012 the DEA searched a pharmacy in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Its owner had signed up in the summer of 2006 after a recruiter had assured him about the legitimacy of the business, and over the years had evolved into the main supplier for RX Limited. The owner immediately admitted his involvement and agreed to cooperate with the authorities. He maintained his contacts with the company to help the DEA identify key figures in the operation. US and Brazilian authorities managed to survey Le Roux in Brazil starting in early 2012. Among others, they recorded phone calls between him and his wife Lilian Cheung Yuen Pui. In these, he warned her not to invest into real estate in the Netherlands, as it would be too easy to seize if he were arrested, pointing out that his business was illegal. Arrests in Hong Kong Through the wiretaps set up in Rio, DEA agents learned about a large shipment of fertilizer passing through Hong Kong. They informed authorities in Hong Kong, who searched the warehouse, finding of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, enough to create an explosive ten times the size of the one used in the Oklahoma City bombing. The office of a Le Roux-owned company in Hong Kong and the apartment of its manager were searched on April 30, providing clues to further parts of the organization. Several employees of Le Roux's, most of them Israelis, were arrested over the following days as they tried to liquidate his assets, mostly gold bars, and attempted to move money out of the country. Among those arrested was Maroš Deák, operating under the name Ivan Vaclavik, wanted in the EU in connection with the murder of his brother Roman in 1999. He later jumped bail and escaped to Rio de Janeiro. A Filipino citizen was also arrested and jumped bail later. Le Roux's wife, Lilian Cheung Yuen Pui, was arrested upon entering Hong Kong on May 10 but appears to have been released without charges. The fertilizer was later revealed to be of a quality unsuitable for explosives, indicating Le Roux's partner in the deal betrayed him. No one has ever been charged in relation to the explosives. The Israelis were later sentenced in Hong Kong, receiving sentences from four to over five years in prison on charges of possession of "property known or reasonably believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offence". At least two of them were released early and returned to Israel. Arrest of Le Roux Authorities learned through the Rio wiretaps that Le Roux was making arrangements for two drug shipments via yacht from Ecuador. This was when US authorities first learned of Le Roux's involvement with drugs. Previously wanted only for unlawful sale of prescription drugs, he now became a target of the DEA's narco-terrorism investigators. An associate of Le Roux approached him about a representative of a Colombian cartel that wanted to build a methamphetamine operation in Liberia, and flew to Rio de Janeiro for a meeting on 11 May 2012. Le Roux would supply precursor chemicals, a facility and a chemist. In return, he would be offered 100 kg of cocaine for each 100 kg of methamphetamine produced, after letting the Colombians test a sample. Le Roux would meet the cartel representative in Liberia to finalize the deal. Unknown to Le Roux, the Colombian cartel representatives were DEA agents and the operation was an attempt to apprehend him. As he could not be extradited under Brazilian law, being the father of a Brazilian child, the DEA had chosen to lure him into Liberia, which would allow them to bring him to the US without an extradition proceeding. The associate had collaborated with the DEA and been carefully instructed to make Le Roux aware of the fact that the methamphetamine was to be sold in New York, providing the foundation for accusing Le Roux in the US. Le Roux flew to Monrovia, Liberia, on 25 September to meet the representative of the Colombian cartel. The day after his arrival he was arrested by Liberian police. He tried to offer a bribe but the officers rejected it and handed him over to DEA agents, who took him to the US. During the flight back to the US, Le Roux agreed to cooperate with authorities. Upon arrival he was assigned an attorney and placed in secret custody in New York City. He was charged with conspiracy to import narcotics into the US and violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The day after his arrival, Le Roux signed a proffer agreement, agreeing to plead guilty to these two charges in exchange for immunity against prosecution for any other crimes he might admit to. Immediately after, he admitted to arranging or participating in seven murders for which he thus could not be prosecuted. Le Roux may thus have evaded an impending death sentence, converting it to a prison sentence of 25 years according to Folha de São Paulo, "around 12 years" by his own account. Le Roux's arrest, whereabouts and cooperation were kept confidential and all papers related to the case were sealed. Authorities attempted to give the impression that Le Roux was still at large in Brazil. Le Roux modified his own email service, fast-free-email.com, through which all his personal mail passed, to preserve copies of his messages (the system had previously been set up to periodically destroy them). He continued to direct his former associates until at least mid-2014, leading them into stings set up by DEA agents. His cooperation has resulted in the arrest of at least 11 people. Another 7 were arrested by the DEA without his direct involvement. Sting operation against Le Roux associates Starting in late 2012, Le Roux ordered his associates Scott Stammers and Allan Kelly Reyes Peralta to provide methamphetamine from Ye Tiong Tan Lim, who had worked with Le Roux before. Peralta and Lim met the fake Colombian cartel representatives in January. The Colombians asked to see the labs, which, according to Lim, were located in North Korea. Lim declined the request as the presence of foreigners would have raised suspicions. Lim provided samples of meth in February, sending it to Philip Shackels, another Le Roux associate. Shackels and Stammers forwarded it to Monrovia, as requested by their clients. The samples tested at 96% and 98%. Around the same time, Hunter was directed by Le Roux to assemble a team of hit men for the fake Colombian cartel. Hunter recruited three military veterans, two Germans (Michael Filter and Dennis Gögel) and one Pole (Slawomir Soborski). He arranged a meeting with them and the "clients" in a house belonging to Le Roux in Phuket. The DEA agents recorded the conversations between all of them. In the recordings, Hunter was heard boasting of having carried out two murders in the Philippines, as well as the mock execution of the call center manager in 2009. He claimed to have assassinated nine people in one year. The team was dispatched to their first task, determining whether Thai police were watching a shipment of drugs from Koh Samui. In April 2014, Stammers and Shackels met with the Colombians and a prospective arms buyer in Mauritius. A second meeting was with Stammers, Shackels, the Colombians and two Serbians from whom they sought to obtain between 700 and 1,000 kg of cocaine to make up for the loss of the JeReVe. Hunter's three new hires provided security. In mid-May, Stammers and Shackels again met with the Colombians about logistics of the methamphetamine shipment. Due to the political situation, Lim claimed, he could not ship any methamphetamine from North Korea but had one ton stockpiled in the Philippines, from where it would be shipped to Thailand and on to Liberia. Adrian Valkovic, sergeant-at-arms for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Bangkok, would provide security and logistics in Thailand with eight armed club members. Timothy Vamvakias, already a member of Le Roux's organization, was added to Hunter's team of hit men in May. The team received another task: providing counter-surveillance for a plane in Bahamas due to deliver 200 kg of cocaine to the US. In late May, Le Roux notified Hunter of an alleged informant in the organization and a DEA agent, ordering the assassination of both and offering a total of $800,000 in reward. The hit would be carried out in Liberia. The Colombians insisted that Soborski and Filter be involved in the operation, together with Vamvakias. Hunter met with his hit men and the Colombians in August in Le Roux's house in Phuket. The assassinations in Liberia would be carried out by Gögel and Vamvakias. In the meantime, Soborski and Filter would do reconnaissance in preparation for meeting about a weapons deal in Estonia. On September 25, Hunter was apprehended in Le Roux's house in Phuket, extradited to the US and flown to New York. Gögel and Vamvakias landed in Liberia later the same day to carry out the supposed hit. They were arrested by Liberian police upon arrival, transferred into DEA custody and flown to New York. Soborski and Filter were arrested in Estonia. Both men were transported to a former Soviet prison. Soborski was severely injured in the operation and would later require abdominal surgery. Both were extradited to New York City on drug charges related to the Bahamas cocaine shipment for which they had provided surveillance. Lim, Peralta, Stammers, Shackels and Valkovic met in Thailand to discuss logistics of the shipment with the Colombians. All five were arrested by officers of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. They were extradited to New York City on charges of conspiring to import methamphetamine to the United States. Sources disagree on the date of the arrest: one source states that the Stammers group was arrested on November 19 and 20 (Valkovic being apprehended one day earlier than the others), another states that the arrests took place on the same day as the other arrests, September 25, but were not reported to the media for two months. No official connection was made between the arrests of the two groups. Hunter was later connected to the 2012 murder of Catherine Lee, for which he received an additional life sentence in 2019. Trial of Le Roux Le Roux pleaded guilty to being involved with RX Limited in January 2014. In December 2014, he pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine into the US, selling technology to Iran, ordering or participating in seven murders, as well as fraud and bribery. In March 2016 it was revealed that US authorities had taken unspecified steps to protect Le Roux's family. On 12 June 2020, Le Roux was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the presiding judge, Ronnie Abrams, "the scope and severity of Mr. Le Roux's criminal conduct is nothing short of breathtaking. I have before me a man who has engaged in conduct in keeping with the villain in a James Bond movie." However, she also added that the sentence reflected Le Roux's cooperation and the danger he faced. Upon his release, Le Roux is expected to be deported to the Philippines to stand trial for the murders committed in the Philippines, as well as in relation to an arms shipment intercepted by the government in 2009. Trial of Hunter and four hit men The charges against Hunter, Gögel and Vamvakias included conspiracy to murder a federal agent and import narcotics. Filter and Soborski were indicted only on drug-related charges. After Hunter's connection with Le Roux became publicly known in December 2014, his defence lawyer argued in January 2015 that Hunter acted out of fear of Le Roux. The court dismissed the motion. Hunter pleaded guilty in late January. All of his co-defendants followed over the course of 2015. Hunter faced between 10 years and life in prison, with federal guidelines recommending between 24 and 30 years. His defence attorney asked for the minimum of 10 years, arguing Hunter is suffering from PTSD resulting from his time in the military and as a security contractor. On 31 May 2016, Hunter was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Co-defendants Gögel and Vamvakias also received 20-year sentences. In 2019, Hunter received an additional life sentence for the murder of Catherine Lee. Trial of RX Limited key figures In October/November 2013, eleven individuals linked to RX Limited were indicted in Minnesota. These included five RX Limited managers, a pharmacist who had supplied RX Limited and helped it set up its credit card processing in the US, as well as a physician who had issued prescriptions to patients he had never examined in person. Le Roux lured two of the call center managers to Romania in early 2014, in one case under the pretense of arranging for the transfer of money still owed to laid-off employees. Both were arrested by local police and extradited to the US. One of them skipped bail and presumably returned to Israel. The other was acquitted in Minnesota federal court in March 2017. Le Roux made his first public court appearance testifying in the case in March 2016, despite his lawyers arguing that media coverage of the proceedings would put his family in danger and filing several motions to prevent a public hearing. A fake arrest report, dated February 29, 2016, was produced, apparently to conceal the circumstances of his arrest. Arrest of Catherine Lee's suspected killers The DEA's investigations into Lee's murder eventually led them to two men in Roxboro, North Carolina. After five witnesses in the Philippines identified them on photographs, testifying to have seen Lee in their company in the days before the murder, Adam Samia and Carl David Stillwell were arrested in their hometown and transferred to New York to be prosecuted with Joseph Hunter. They were reportedly paid $70,000 for the assassination. Both men pleaded not guilty. Court documents revealed in early March 2016 that photos were found on Stillwell's cell phone, dated the day of Lee's murder and "appear[ing] to depict, among other things, a white van similar to the one in which (according to witness accounts) Lee was murdered, and a wounded human head." Samia, Stillwell and Hunter received life sentences for the murder of Catherine Lee in 2019. Media coverage Le Roux's arrest was initially kept secret. The arrests of his associates were reported in the media but initially not connected to each other or to Le Roux. A first report of Le Roux's arrest surfaced in December 2013 in a Brazilian newspaper, but still did not mention a connection with the other arrests. The article was in Portuguese and did not spread widely. It would take another year, until December 2014, before The New York Times reported about Hunter's arrest, revealing that it was facilitated by Le Roux's cooperation with authorities. Still, Le Roux's case file, and large portions of those of the other defendants, remained sealed. Le Roux was the subject of Gimlet Media's Reply All podcast episode 136. In 2019, Evan Ratliff, who wrote a series of articles about Le Roux for The Atavist Magazine, published The Mastermind, a 446-page account of Le Roux's ventures. Also in 2019, investigative journalist Elaine Shannon published Hunting Le Roux, a book covering the DEA's efforts to capture Le Roux. Identities used Paul Le Roux operated under numerous pseudonyms: Paul Solotshi Calder Le Roux, backed with a Congolese diplomatic passport John Bernard Bowlins (or Bernard John Bowlins) confirmed in court statement and backed with a Zimbabwean passport Johan aka John Paul Leroux (or Leraux) Johan William Smit, confirmed in court statement Benny, confirmed in Evan Ratliff's original investigative account Satoshi Nakamoto candidate In a Wired magazine article, Ratliff opined that it is possible that Le Roux could be Satoshi Nakamoto, following mounting evidence. However, he admitted that, while the possibility could not be ruled out, there wasn't enough direct evidence to substantiate it. In a book written by Evan Ratliff about Le Roux he admitted that a "former employee of Le Roux's, now in prison" suggested Le Roux had been the inventor of bitcoin. The arrest of Le Roux, and the last posts by Satoshi Nakamoto to the original Bitcoin repository, occurred around the same time. Personal life Adoption Le Roux's parents never told him about his adoption, despite various family members learning of it over the years. Only in 2002, on a trip to Zimbabwe to retrieve a copy of his birth certificate, did Le Roux's aunt and uncle reveal the truth to him. An unnamed relative recalls this discovery sent Le Roux into a deep personal crisis. Most of all, he is reported to have been upset about "the 'unknown' part" (which could refer to his first name being listed as "unknown", the fact that he never knew his biological mother, the fact that his birth certificate does not state who his biological father is, or all of these). Family Le Roux met his first wife, an Australian citizen, in London in 1994, and married her in 1995. The couple divorced in Brisbane in 1999. Sources close to Le Roux describe the divorce as "violent", while another states the couple parted ways amicably. It is unclear whether the couple had any children, some sources mention a son while others claim Le Roux's first child (a son) was with his second wife. Between 2000 and 2001, Le Roux married a Dutch citizen named Lilian Cheung Yuen Pui. The couple had a son soon after. She appears to have been involved in his business, managing some of his assets, until Le Roux's arrest.<ref name=ref17 During his stays in Rio de Janeiro, Le Roux began an affair with a local citizen. He fathered a son with her, preventing Brazil from extraditing him. The timeframe of the relationship and birth of the child is unclear. Character Reports about Le Roux's personal image vary: while one former associate describes him as "not a soft, gentle person", another claims he was extraordinarily friendly to newly hired employees, often buying gifts for people. According to him, this way in which Le Roux presented himself made him seem more legitimate, and many of his staff joined his organization believing they were doing legitimate work. The highly compartmentalized nature of Le Roux's operations helped this, as few, if any, employees were aware of the full extent of the activities Le Roux was involved in. As rumors of Le Roux's expansion into organized crime and ordered killings started surfacing in 2009, many employees stayed out of fear he might have them killed or otherwise harm them, should they try to leave. Evan Ratliff attributes Le Roux's criminal inclination to his youth in politically unstable southern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. While enjoying a comparatively sheltered childhood amid the civil war in Zimbabwe, the chaotic conditions of the time, in which smuggling or operating in legal gray areas were widely considered acceptable, may have influenced his notions of right and wrong, possibly explaining why at least initially Le Roux had no moral concerns about conducting illegal business. Investigative journalist Elaine Shannon believes he was consistently drawn to Africa, which he considered "a place where he could do whatever he wanted […] obey no rules, make his own rules, make his own life, make his own empire." Ratliff, while cautious about attributing neo-colonialist tendencies to Le Roux, stated that he did repeatedly express such ideas in conversations. A former target on Le Roux's hit list describes him as highly inclined to exploit corruption, as "he believes everybody has a price." Le Roux became increasingly indifferent to using violence. In one instance he reportedly asked in a casual manner whether somebody who owed him money had any children. On several occasions, he would intimidate people, threatening to have them killed if they were even suspected of betraying him. In 2008, he ordered the house of his cousin and employee Mathew Smith firebombed, following a financial dispute. In the time leading up to his arrest, Le Roux was described as a megalomaniac whose appetite exceeded his caution on one hand, while on the other hand taking care of crucial details, such as fathering a child in Brazil in order to avoid extradition. DEA agents have stated that on the wiretaps, Le Roux gave the impression that "he felt like he was not going to get away forever." Le Roux was known for his racist views, which he expressed in Usenet postings and towards his employees. He employed numerous Israelis in key positions, although one former call centre manager states this was mostly because he considered Israelis to be the "cheapest, honest, smartest labor that he could find" rather than fondness. References 1972 births Living people 21st-century criminals Arms traders Australian computer programmers Australian drug traffickers Australian expatriates in the Philippines Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Drug Enforcement Administration informants Drug traffickers Naturalised citizens of Australia Naturalised citizens of South Africa People extradited from Liberia People extradited to the United States People from Bulawayo People from Masvingo Province Pharmaceutical company founders Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government South African computer programmers South African drug traffickers South African emigrants to Australia South African expatriates in the Philippines White South African people White Zimbabwean people Zimbabwean computer programmers Zimbabwean criminals Zimbabwean drug traffickers Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa Zimbabwean expatriates in the Philippines

50448848

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short%20integer%20solution%20problem

Short integer solution problem

Short integer solution (SIS) and ring-SIS problems are two average-case problems that are used in lattice-based cryptography constructions. Lattice-based cryptography began in 1996 from a seminal work by Ajtai who presented a family of one-way functions based on SIS problem. He showed that it is secure in an average case if the shortest vector problem (where for some constant ) is hard in a worst-case scenario. Average case problems are the problems that are hard to be solved for some randomly selected instances. For cryptography applications, worst case complexity is not sufficient, and we need to guarantee cryptographic construction are hard based on average case complexity. Lattices A full rank lattice is a set of integer linear combinations of linearly independent vectors , named basis: where is a matrix having basis vectors in its columns. Remark: Given two bases for lattice , there exist unimodular matrices such that . Ideal lattice Definition: Rotational shift operator on is denoted by , and is defined as: Cyclic lattices Micciancio introduced cyclic lattices in his work in generalizing the compact knapsack problem to arbitrary rings. A cyclic lattice is a lattice that is closed under rotational shift operator. Formally, cyclic lattices are defined as follows: Definition: A lattice is cyclic if . Examples: itself is a cyclic lattice. Lattices corresponding to any ideal in the quotient polynomial ring are cyclic: consider the quotient polynomial ring , and let be some polynomial in , i.e. where for . Define the embedding coefficient -module isomorphism as: Let be an ideal. The lattice corresponding to ideal , denoted by , is a sublattice of , and is defined as Theorem: is cyclic if and only if corresponds to some ideal in the quotient polynomial ring . proof: We have: Let be an arbitrary element in . Then, define . But since is an ideal, we have . Then, . But, . Hence, is cyclic. Let be a cyclic lattice. Hence . Define the set of polynomials : Since a lattice and hence an additive subgroup of , is an additive subgroup of . Since is cyclic, . Hence, is an ideal, and consequently, . Ideal latticeshttp://web.cse.ohio-state.edu/~lai/5359-aut13/05.Gentry-FHE-concrete-scheme.pdf Let be a monic polynomial of degree . For cryptographic applications, is usually selected to be irreducible. The ideal generated by is: The quotient polynomial ring partitions into equivalence classes of polynomials of degree at most : where addition and multiplication are reduced modulo . Consider the embedding coefficient -module isomorphism . Then, each ideal in defines a sublattice of called ideal lattice. Definition: , the lattice corresponding to an ideal , is called ideal lattice. More precisely, consider a quotient polynomial ring , where is the ideal generated by a degree polynomial . , is a sublattice of , and is defined as: Remark: It turns out that for even small is typically easy on ideal lattices. The intuition is that the algebraic symmetries causes the minimum distance of an ideal to lie within a narrow, easily computable range. By exploiting the provided algebraic symmetries in ideal lattices, one can convert a short nonzero vector into linearly independent ones of (nearly) the same length. Therefore, on ideal lattices, and are equivalent with a small loss. Furthermore, even for quantum algorithms, and are very hard in the worst-case scenario. Short integer solution problem SIS and Ring-SIS are two average case problems that are used in lattice-based cryptography constructions. Lattice-based cryptography began in 1996 from a seminal work by Ajtai who presented a family of one-way functions based on SIS problem. He showed that it is secure in an average case if (where for some constant ) is hard in a worst-case scenario. SISn,m,q,β Let be an matrix with entries in that consists of uniformly random vectors : . Find a nonzero vector such that: A solution to SIS without the required constraint on the length of the solution () is easy to compute by using Gaussian elimination technique. We also require , otherwise is a trivial solution. In order to guarantee has non-trivial, short solution, we require: , and Theorem: For any , any , and any sufficiently large (for any constant ), solving with nonnegligible probability is at least as hard as solving the and for some with a high probability in the worst-case scenario. Ring-SIS Ring-SIS problem, a compact ring-based analogue of SIS problem, was studied in. They consider quotient polynomial ring with and , respectively, and extend the definition of norm on vectors in to vectors in as follows: Given a vector where are some polynomial in . Consider the embedding coefficient -module isomorphism : Let . Define norm as: Alternatively, a better notion for norm is achieved by exploiting the canonical embedding. The canonical embedding is defined as: where is the complex root of for . R-SISm,q,β Given the quotient polynomial ring , define . Select independent uniformly random elements . Define vector . Find a nonzero vector such that: Recall that to guarantee existence of a solution to SIS problem, we require . However, Ring-SIS problem provide us with more compactness and efficacy: to guarantee existence of a solution to Ring-SIS problem, we require . Definition: The nega-circulant matrix of is defined as: When the quotient polynomial ring is for , the ring multiplication can be efficiently computed by first forming , the nega-circulant matrix of , and then multiplying with , the embedding coefficient vector of (or, alternatively with , the canonical coefficient vector). Moreover, R-SIS problem is a special case of SIS problem where the matrix in the SIS problem is restricted to negacirculant blocks: . See also Lattice-based cryptography Homomorphic encryption Ring learning with errors key exchange Post-quantum cryptography Lattice problem References Number theory Lattice-based cryptography Post-quantum cryptography Computational problems Computational hardness assumptions

50480957

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCP%20Engineering

NCP Engineering

NCP Engineering (styled 'NCP engineering') is Nuremberg-based company produces software for remote access, industrial Internet of things security and information security. NCP's products use virtual private network (VPN) and other technologies like encryption, personal firewalls and electronic certificates in a public key infrastructure (PKI) to secure data communication. NCP has made its IPsec VPN client compatible with the Windows 8, Windows 10, iOS, OS X, Linux and Android operating systems. Name NCP is the abbreviation of "Network Communications Products". The supplement "Engineering" describes that the company produces software for in-house data processing. History NCP Engineering was founded in Nuremberg, Germany in 1986. The company produces software for secure data communication through the Internet, networks) via 3G/4G and wireless LANs. At the core of NCP's business is provisioning secure communication connections between stationary and mobile end-devices as well as affiliate and branch networks to a company's headquarters. In 2007, NCP partnered with WatchGuard Technologies. In January 2010, NCP-E established a North American affiliate, NCP Engineering, Inc. In February 2010, NCP Engineering was awarded US Patent 8811397 B2 for a "System and method for data communication between a user terminal and a gateway via a network node". NCP Engineering has been involved in the ESUKOM project for the development of a real-time security solution that protects corporate networks using integrated security solutions based on a unified metadata format since 2010. As a SIMU project partner (security information and event management for small SMEs), NCP Engineering is focused on optimizing IT security in corporate networks. After many years of working together, in 2017 NCP Engineering and Juniper Networks have intensified their collaboration in a technology partnership. References Companies based in Nuremberg Virtual private networks Companies established in 1986 Software companies of Germany

50518856

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TorrentLocker

TorrentLocker

TorrentLocker is a ransomware trojan targeting Microsoft Windows. It was first observed in February 2014, with at least five of its major releases made available by December 2014. The malware encrypts the victim's files in a similar manner to CryptoLocker by implementing symmetric block cipher AES where the key is encrypted with an asymmetric cipher. TorrentLocker scans the system for programs and files, and conceals the contents through AES encryption leaving ransom instructions to the victim on what has to be done, and how to pay the decryption ransom. The operator demands from the victim an amount that usually starts around within 3 days. The victim is told to pay the amount in Bitcoins, and is sent a unique Bitcoin address that differs for each infected user. See also CryptoLocker Command and control (malware) Cyber spying Identity theft Malvertising Phishing Targeted threat References Web security exploits

50575148

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%20Allo

Google Allo

Google Allo was an instant messaging mobile app by Google for the Android and iOS mobile operating systems, with a web client available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. It closed on March 12, 2019. The app used phone numbers as identifiers, allowing users to exchange messages, files, voice notes, and images. It included a virtual assistant that generated automatic reply suggestions and an optional encrypted mode known as incognito mode. Users could also resize messages and add doodles and stickers on images before sending them. Before launch, Google touted strong privacy in the app, with particular emphasis on messages stored "transiently and in non-identifiable form". However, at launch, privacy was significantly rolled back, with Google keeping logs of messages indefinitely (or until the user deletes messages) in an effort to improve the app's "smart reply" feature. History Allo was announced at Google's developer conference on May 18, 2016. At the time, Google said that it would release Allo in summer 2016, and they launched it on September 21, 2016. During the unveiling of Google's Pixel smartphone in October 2016, it announced that Allo would be pre-installed on the Pixel phones, along with its sister app, Google Duo. In February 2017, a tweet by Google's Vice President of Communications Nick Fox showed a screenshot of Allo running as a web app, along with the words: "Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you..." A further tweet from Fox in May stated that the web client was "a month or two from public release." In August, Google Allo for web went live for Android users using Google Chrome, while Firefox, Opera and iOS support was rolled out in October. In April 2018, it was reported that Google would be "pausing" development of Allo. Anil Sabharwal, the new head of the communications group at Google, stated that its employees would work primarily on its implementation of the carrier-based Rich Communication Services (RCS) Universal Profile, under the branding "Chat". This was implemented within the Android Messages app used for SMS. In December 2018, Google announced they would end support for Allo in March 2019. A final update to the app allowed users to export chat messages from Allo. The Allo service shut down completely on March 14, 2019, with its homepage recommending users to try Google's Messages app as an alternative. Features Allo was based on phone numbers, not by social media or email accounts. Allo's "Smart reply" feature used Google's machine learning technology to suggest a reply to the last message, which could be selected from a few options. The feature also analyzed images sent to the user in order to suggest responses. Similar to the smart reply feature seen in Google's Inbox app, it learnt from the user's behavior to adapt its suggestions over time. Allo was one of the apps that supported Google Assistant, a virtual assistant that allows users to ask questions and receive answers in a two-way conversational nature. Additional features include "Whisper Shout", which allows the user to increase or decrease the size of a message to represent volume, and the ability to draw on photos before sending them. In November 2016, Google introduced Smart Smiley, a feature that suggested emojis and stickers depending on the mood of the message. Smart Smiley also showed suggestions when starting a new conversation. In addition, background themes for chats were added at the same time. In March 2017, a GIF library was added in the compose bar, as well as easier one-tap access to the Google Assistant, and animated emoji. Also in March was an update that let Android users send various types of files, including PDFs, documents, APKs, ZIP archives, and MP3 tracks through Allo. In May, the app was updated to allow users to backup and restore chats, it added an Incognito mode for group chats, and introduced previews for links. Later the same month, Fast Company reported that Google updated Allo to add cartoon stickers on selfie photos, powered by artificial intelligence technology capable of producing "563 quadrillion face" animations. Complementing selfie stickers, Google also launched "selfie clips", short looped videos of the user's face. In June, the ability to make Google Duo video or audio calls directly from Allo chats was included. The following month saw message reactions being added, where users could tap on a heart below messages received. An in-chat translation feature appeared to some users in version 17 and rolled out to all in version 18, the latter of which was released in September. Group chat controls, which could be switched on for new group chats, were added in November 2017. In version 25, automatic transcriptions for audio messages appeared, though this could be disabled in settings. Incognito mode Incognito mode was an optional mode that included expiring chats, private notifications, and end-to-end encryption. For encryption, the app used the Signal Protocol. Incognito mode did not include any Smart Reply or Google Assistant features. When the user received a sticker from a sticker pack that they did not already have installed on their device, the app retrieved the sticker from Google's servers using security, but not end-to-end encryption. Reception Virtual assistant PC Worlds Mark Hachman gave a favorable review of Allo's virtual assistant, saying that it was a "step up on Cortana and Siri". Optional encryption Following Allo's introduction at Google I/O, Google was criticized by security experts and privacy advocates for having the end-to-end encryption turned off by default, which they argue leaves the app open to government surveillance. Edward Snowden, whistleblower and former NSA contractor, criticized the app on Twitter, saying that "Google's decision to disable end-to-end encryption by default in its new #Allo chat app is dangerous, and makes it unsafe." Thai Duong, a co-lead of Google's product security team, wrote in a personal blog post that he would push for the addition of a setting that would let users have the encryption on all the time. However, he later retracted the statement. Message retention When Allo was first introduced, its developers talked about storing non-incognito messages only "transiently and in non-identifiable form". At launch, Google revealed that they would instead store all non-incognito messages indefinitely (or until the user deleted them) in order to improve the built-in "smart reply" feature. Russell Brandom of The Verge commented that "the decision will have significant consequences for law enforcement access to Allo messages. By default, Allo messages will now be accessible to lawful warrant requests, the same as message data in Gmail and Hangouts". Other privacy issues Reports surfaced in March 2017 that a bug with the Google Assistant in the Allo app would accidentally share results in a conversation from an individual's search history, despite the search not being previously mentioned by the other chat participant or previously in the conversation. Google acknowledged the issue, and stated that it had been fixed. See also Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients Messages (Google) Google Duo Google Hangouts Google Chat Google Spaces References Allo Google instant messaging software Android (operating system) software IOS software Cross-platform software 2016 software

50575229

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%20Duo

Google Duo

Google Duo is a video chat mobile app developed by Google, available on the Android and iOS operating systems. It was announced at Google's developer conference on May 18, 2016, and began its worldwide release on August 16, 2016. It is also available to use via Google's Chrome web browser on desktop and laptop computers. Google Duo lets users make video calls in high definition. It is optimized for low-bandwidth networks. End-to-end encryption is enabled by default. Duo is based on phone numbers, allowing users to call someone from their contact list. The app automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. A "Knock Knock" feature lets users see a live preview of the caller before answering. An update in April 2017 lets users worldwide make audio-only calls. As of December 1, 2016, Google Duo replaced Hangouts within the suite of Google apps device manufacturers must install in order to gain access to the Google Play Store, with Hangouts instead becoming optional. In August 2020, it was reported that Google was planning to eventually replace Google Duo with Google Meet, but would continue to support Duo and "invest in building new features" in the long term; this was no longer the case by December 2021. Features Google Duo video calls are in 720p HD video. It is optimized for low-bandwidth mobile networks through WebRTC and uses QUIC over UDP. Optimization is further achieved through the degradation of video quality through monitoring network quality. "Knock Knock" shows a live preview of the caller before the recipient picks up, which Google says is to "make calls feel more like an invitation rather than an interruption". End-to-end encryption is enabled by default. Duo is based on phone numbers, allowing users to call people from their contact list. The app automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. For packet loss concealment Duo uses WaveNetEQ, a generative model based on DeepMind/Google AI’s WaveRNN. In March 2017, it was announced that Google Duo would let users make audio-only calls. The feature was first launched in Brazil, with a global rollout in April. A year later in March 2018, video and voice messages were added to Duo. Users can leave messages up to 30 seconds long for contacts who are unavailable. These messages can then be viewed by the other party, with the option of calling afterwards. Support for eight-person video calls in both the iOS and Android versions of the app was added in May 2019. In line with similar group calling offerings from FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger, participants can join or leave the conversation at any time. Google Duo expanded group sizes from 8 to 12 at the end of March 2020 and has announced plans to increase the limit to 32 callers. See also Google Allo Google Meet Messages (Google) List of video telecommunication services and product brands References External links Duo Android (operating system) software iOS software Cross-platform software 2016 software Videotelephony

50607084

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal%20Protocol

Signal Protocol

The Signal Protocol (formerly known as the TextSecure Protocol) is a non-federated cryptographic protocol that can be used to provide end-to-end encryption for voice calls and instant messaging conversations. The protocol was developed by Open Whisper Systems in 2013 and was first introduced in the open-source TextSecure app, which later became Signal. Several closed-source applications have implemented the protocol, such as WhatsApp, which is said to encrypt the conversations of "more than a billion people worldwide" or Google who provides end-to-end encryption by default to all RCS-based conversations between users of their Messages app for one-to-one conversations. Facebook Messenger also say they offer the protocol for optional Secret Conversations, as does Skype for its Private Conversations. The protocol combines the Double Ratchet algorithm, prekeys, and a triple Elliptic-curve Diffie–Hellman (3-DH) handshake, and uses Curve25519, AES-256, and HMAC-SHA256 as primitives. History The Signal Protocol's development was started by Trevor Perrin and Moxie Marlinspike (Open Whisper Systems) in 2013. The first version of the protocol, TextSecure v1, was based on Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR). On 24 February 2014, Open Whisper Systems introduced TextSecure v2, which migrated to the Axolotl Ratchet. The design of the Axolotl Ratchet is based on the ephemeral key exchange that was introduced by OTR and combines it with a symmetric-key ratchet modeled after the Silent Circle Instant Messaging Protocol (SCIMP). It brought about support for asynchronous communication ("offline messages") as its major new feature, as well as better resilience with distorted order of messages and simpler support for conversations with multiple participants. The Axolotl Ratchet was named after the critically endangered aquatic salamander Axolotl, which has extraordinary self-healing capabilities. The developers refer to the algorithm as self-healing because it automatically disables an attacker from accessing the cleartext of later messages after having compromised a session key. The third version of the protocol, TextSecure v3, made some changes to the cryptographic primitives and the wire protocol. In October 2014, researchers from Ruhr University Bochum published an analysis of TextSecure v3. Among other findings, they presented an unknown key-share attack on the protocol, but in general, they found that it was secure. In March 2016, the developers renamed the protocol as the Signal Protocol. They also renamed the Axolotl Ratchet as the Double Ratchet algorithm to better differentiate between the ratchet and the full protocol because some had used the name Axolotl when referring to the full protocol. , the Signal Protocol is based on TextSecure v3, but with additional cryptographic changes. In October 2016, researchers from the UK's University of Oxford, Australia's Queensland University of Technology, and Canada's McMaster University published a formal analysis of the protocol, concluding that the protocol was cryptographically sound. Another audit of the protocol was published in 2017. Properties The protocol provides confidentiality, integrity, authentication, participant consistency, destination validation, forward secrecy, post-compromise security (aka future secrecy), causality preservation, message unlinkability, message repudiation, participation repudiation, and asynchronicity. It does not provide anonymity preservation and requires servers for the relaying of messages and storing of public key material. The Signal Protocol also supports end-to-end encrypted group chats. The group chat protocol is a combination of a pairwise double ratchet and multicast encryption. In addition to the properties provided by the one-to-one protocol, the group chat protocol provides speaker consistency, out-of-order resilience, dropped message resilience, computational equality, trust equality, subgroup messaging, as well as contractible and expandable membership. Authentication For authentication, users can manually compare public key fingerprints through an outside channel. This makes it possible for users to verify each other's identities and avoid a man-in-the-middle attack. An implementation can also choose to employ a trust on first use mechanism in order to notify users if a correspondent's key changes. Metadata The Signal Protocol does not prevent a company from retaining information about when and with whom users communicate. There can therefore be differences in how messaging service providers choose to handle this information. Signal's privacy policy states that recipients' identifiers are only kept on the Signal servers as long as necessary in order to transmit each message. In June 2016, Moxie Marlinspike told The Intercept: "the closest piece of information to metadata that the Signal server stores is the last time each user connected to the server, and the precision of this information is reduced to the day, rather than the hour, minute, and second." In October 2018, Signal Messenger announced that they had implemented a "sealed sender" feature into Signal, which reduces the amount of metadata that the Signal servers have access to by concealing the sender's identifier. The sender's identity is conveyed to the recipient in each message, but is encrypted with a key that the server does not have. This is done automatically if the sender is in the recipient's contacts or has access to their Signal Profile. Users can also enable an option to receive "sealed sender" messages from non-contacts and people who do not have access to their Signal Profile. A contemporaneous wiretap of the user's device and/or the Signal servers may still reveal that the device's IP address accessed a Signal server to send or receive messages at certain times. Usage Open Whisper Systems first introduced the protocol in their TextSecure app. They later merged an encrypted voice calling application called RedPhone into the TextSecure app and renamed it as Signal. In November 2014, Open Whisper Systems announced a partnership with WhatsApp to provide end-to-end encryption by incorporating the Signal Protocol into each WhatsApp client platform. Open Whisper Systems said that they had already incorporated the protocol into the latest WhatsApp client for Android and that support for other clients, group/media messages, and key verification would be coming soon after. On April 5, 2016, WhatsApp and Open Whisper Systems announced that they had finished adding end-to-end encryption to "every form of communication" on WhatsApp, and that users could now verify each other's keys. In February 2017, WhatsApp announced a new feature, WhatsApp Status, which uses the Signal Protocol to secure its contents. In October 2016, WhatsApp's parent company Facebook also deployed an optional mode called Secret Conversations in Facebook Messenger which provides end-to-end encryption using an implementation of the Signal Protocol. In September 2015, G Data Software launched a new messaging app called Secure Chat which used the Signal Protocol. G Data discontinued the service in May 2018. In September 2016, Google launched a new messaging app called Allo, which featured an optional Incognito Mode that used the Signal Protocol for end-to-end encryption. In March 2019, Google discontinued Allo in favor of their Messages app on Android. In November 2020, Google announced that they would be using the Signal Protocol to provide end-to-end encryption by default to all RCS-based conversations between users of their Messages app, starting with one-to-one conversations. In January 2018, Open Whisper Systems and Microsoft announced the addition of Signal Protocol support to an optional Skype mode called Private Conversations. Influence The Signal Protocol has had an influence on other cryptographic protocols. In May 2016, Viber said that their encryption protocol is a custom implementation that "uses the same concepts" as the Signal Protocol. Forsta's developers have said that their app uses a custom implementation of the Signal Protocol. The Double Ratchet algorithm that was introduced as part of the Signal Protocol has also been adopted by other protocols. OMEMO is an XMPP Extension Protocol (XEP) that was introduced in the Conversations messaging app and approved by the XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) in December 2016 as XEP-0384. Matrix is an open communications protocol that includes Olm, a library that provides for optional end-to-end encryption on a room-by-room basis via a Double Ratchet algorithm implementation. The developers of Wire have said that their app uses a custom implementation of the Double Ratchet algorithm. Messaging Layer Security, an IETF proposal, uses Asynchronous ratcheting trees to efficiently improve upon security guarantees over Signal's Double Ratchet. Implementations Signal Messenger maintains the following Signal Protocol libraries under the GPLv3 license on GitHub: libsignal-protocol-c: A library written in C with additional licensing permissions for Apple's App Store. libsignal-protocol-java: A library written in Java. libsignal-protocol-javascript: A library written in JavaScript. There also exist alternative libraries written by third-parties in other languages, such as TypeScript. See also Comparison of instant messaging protocols Comparison of cryptography libraries References Literature External links "TextSecure Protocol: Present and Future", talk by Trevor Perrin at NorthSec 2015 (video) Application layer protocols Cryptographic protocols

50647279

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIGAINT

SIGAINT

SIGAINT was a Tor hidden service offering secure email services. According to its FAQ page, its web interface used SquirrelMail which does not rely on JavaScript. Passwords couldn't be recovered. Users received two addresses per inbox: one at sigaint.org for receiving clearnet emails and the other at its .onion address only for receiving emails sent from other Tor-enabled email services. Free accounts had 50 MB of storage space and expired after one year of inactivity. Upgraded accounts had access to POP3, IMAP, SMTP, larger size limits, full disk encryption, and never expired. The service was recommended by various security specialists as a highly secure email service. In April 2015, a number of user accounts were compromised in what was speculated at the time to be a government-sponsored de-anonymization attack from 70 different exit nodes. A SIGAINT administrator said that the hidden service was not hacked but malicious exit nodes had modified their clearnet page so that its link to the hidden service pointed to an imposter hidden service, effectively tricking users with a phishing attack that harvested login credentials. SIGAINT has since added SSL to their gateway to protect against such attacks. The service is currently down. Both its ".org" website and its onion link return error code 500. See also Comparison of webmail providers References Tor onion services Dark web Webmail

50652428

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zemra

Zemra

Zemra is a DDoS Bot which was first discovered in underground forums in May 2012. Zemra is capable of HTTP and SYN Flood flooding and also has a simple Command & Control panel that is protected with 256-bit DES encryption for communicating with its command and control (C&C) server. Zemra also sends information such as Computer name, Language settings, and Windows version. It will send this data to a remote location on a specific date and time. It also opens a backdoor on TCP port 7710 to receive commands from a remote command-and-control server, and it is able to monitor devices, collect system information, execute files, and even update or uninstall itself if necessary. See also References Botnets Denial-of-service attacks

50670667

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USBKill

USBKill

USBKill is anti-forensic software distributed via GitHub, written in Python for the BSD, Linux, and OS X operating systems. It is designed to serve as a kill switch if the computer on which it is installed should fall under the control of individuals or entities against the desires of the owner. It is free software, available under the GNU General Public License. The program's developer, who goes by the online name Hephaest0s, created it in response to the circumstances of the arrest of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, during which U.S. federal agents were able to get access to incriminating evidence on his laptop without needing his cooperation by copying data from its flash drive after distracting him. It maintains a whitelist of devices allowed to connect to the computer's USB ports; if a device not on that whitelist connects, it can take actions ranging from merely returning to the lock screen to encrypting the hard drive, or even deleting all the data on it. However, it can also be used as part of a computer security regimen to prevent the surreptitious installation of malware or spyware or the clandestine duplication of files, according to its creator. Background When law enforcement agencies began making computer crime arrests in the 1990s, they would often ask judges for no knock search warrants, to deny their targets time to delete incriminating evidence from computers or storage media. In more extreme circumstances where it was likely that the targets could get advance notice of arriving police, judges would grant "power-off" warrants, allowing utilities to turn off the electricity to the location of the raid shortly beforehand, further forestalling any efforts to destroy evidence before it could be seized. These methods were effective against criminals who produced and distributed pirated software and movies: the primary large-scale computer crime of the era. By the 2010s, the circumstances of computer crime had changed along with legitimate computer use. Criminals were more likely to use the Internet to facilitate their crimes, so they needed to remain online most of the time. To do so, and still keep their activities discreet, they used computer security features like lock screens and password protection. For those reasons, law enforcement now attempts to apprehend suspected cybercriminals with their computers on and in use, all accounts both on the computer and online open and logged in, and thus easily searchable. If they fail to seize the computer in that condition, there are some methods available to bypass password protection, but these may take more time than police have available. It might be legally impossible to compel the suspect to relinquish their password; in the United States, where many computer-crime investigations take place, courts have distinguished between forcing a suspect to use material means of protecting data such as a thumbprint, retinal scan, or key, as opposed to a password or passcode, which is purely the product of the suspect's mental processes and is thus protected from compelled disclosure by the Fifth Amendment. The usual technique for authorities - either public entities such as law enforcement or private organizations like companies - seizing a computer (usually a laptop) that they believe is being used improperly is first to physically separate the suspect user from the computer enough that they cannot touch it, to prevent them from closing its lid, unplugging it, or typing a command. Once they have done so, they often install a device in the USB port that spoofs minor actions of a mouse, touchpad, or keyboard, preventing the computer from going into sleep mode, from which it would usually return to a lock screen which would require a password. Agents with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigating Ross Ulbricht, founder of the online black market Silk Road, learned that he often ran the site from his laptop, using the wireless networks available at branches of the San Francisco Public Library. When they had enough evidence to arrest him, they planned to catch him in the act of running Silk Road, with his computer on and logged in. They needed to ensure he was unable to trigger encryption or delete evidence when they did. In October 2013, a male and female agent pretended to have a lovers' quarrel near where Ulbricht was working at the Glen Park branch. According to Business Insider, Ulbricht was distracted and got up to see what the problem was, whereupon the female agent grabbed his laptop while the male agent restrained Ulbricht. The female agent was then able to insert a flash drive into one of the laptop's USB ports, with software that copied key files. According to Joshuah Bearman of Wired, a third agent grabbed the laptop while Ulbricht was distracted by the apparent lovers' fight and handed it to agent Tom Kiernan. Use In response to the circumstances of Ulbricht's arrest, a programmer known as Hephaest0s developed the USBKill code in Python and uploaded it to GitHub in 2014. It is available as free software under the GNU General Public License and currently runs under both Linux and OS X. The program, when installed, prompts the user to create a whitelist of devices that are allowed to connect to the computer via its USB ports, which it checks at an adjustable sample rate. The user may also choose what actions the computer will take if it detects a USB device not on the whitelist (by default, it shuts down and erases data from the RAM and swap file). Users need to be logged in as root. Hephaest0s cautions users that they must be using at least partial disk encryption along with USBKill to fully prevent attackers from gaining access; Gizmodo suggests using a virtual machine that will not be present when the computer reboots. It can also be used in reverse, with a whitelisted flash drive in the USB port attached to the user's wrist via a lanyard serving as a key. In this instance, if the flash drive is forcibly removed, the program will initiate the desired routines. "[It] is designed to do one thing," wrote Aaron Grothe in a short article on USBKill in 2600, "and it does it pretty well." As a further precaution, he suggests users rename it to something innocuous once they have loaded it on their computers, in case someone might be looking for it on a seized computer to disable it. In addition to its designed purpose, Hephaest0s suggests other uses unconnected to a user's desire to frustrate police and prosecutors. As part of a general security regimen, it could be used to prevent the surreptitious installation of malware or spyware on, or copying of files from, a protected computer. It is also recommended for general use as part of a robust security practice, even when there are no threats to be feared. Variations and modifications With his 2600 article, Grothe shared a patch that included a feature that allowed the program to shut down a network when a non-whitelisted USB is inserted into any terminal. Nate Brune, another programmer, created Silk Guardian, a version of USBKill that takes the form of a loadable kernel module, since he "[felt] that it could be implemented better than it already is." In the issue of 2600 following Grothe's article, another writer, going by the name Jack D. Ripper, explained how Ninja OS, an operating system designed for live flash drives, handles the issue. It uses a bash script resident in memory that cycles a loop through the boot device (i.e., the flash drive) three times a second to see if it is still mounted and reboots the computer if it is not. See also List of data-erasing software List of free and open-source software packages References External links Anti-forensic software Software using the GPL license Computer security software USB 2014 establishments

50681467

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS%20malware

MacOS malware

macOS malware includes viruses, trojan horses, worms and other types of malware that affect macOS, Apple's current operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS (previously Mac OS X and OS X) is said to rarely suffer malware or virus attacks, and has been considered less vulnerable than Windows. There is a frequent release of system software updates to resolve vulnerabilities. Utilities are also available to find and remove malware. History Early examples of macOS malware include Leap (discovered in 2006, also known as Oompa-Loompa) and RSPlug (discovered in 2007). An application called MacSweeper (2009) misled users about malware threats in order to take their credit card details. The trojan MacDefender (2011) used a similar tactic, combined with displaying popups. In 2012, a worm known as Flashback appeared. Initially, it infected computers through fake Adobe Flash Player install prompts, but it later exploited a vulnerability in Java to install itself without user intervention. The malware forced Oracle and Apple to release bug fixes for Java to remove the vulnerability. Bit9 and Carbon Black reported at the end of 2015 that Mac malware had been more prolific that year than ever before, including: Lamadai – Java vulnerability Appetite – Trojan horse targeting government organizations Coin Thief – Stole bitcoin login credentials through cracked Angry Birds applications A trojan known as Keydnap first appeared in 2016, which placed a backdoor on victims' computers. Adware is also a problem on the Mac, with software like Genieo, which was released in 2009, inserting ads into webpages and changing users' homepage and search engine. Malware has also been spread on Macs through Microsoft Word macros. Ransomware In March 2016 Apple shut down the first ransomware attack targeted against Mac users, encrypting the user's confidential information. It was known as KeRanger. After completing the encryption process, KeRanger demanded that victims pay one bitcoin (about at the time, about as of February 18, 2021) for the user to recover their credentials. References Malware by platform

50696877

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS%2010

IOS 10

iOS 10 is the tenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 9. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 13, 2016, and was released on September 13, that year. It was succeeded by iOS 11 on September 19, 2017. iOS 10 incorporates changes to 3D Touch and the lock screen. There are new features to some apps: Messages has additional emojis and third-party apps can extend functionality in iMessage, Maps has a redesigned interface and additional third-party functions, the Home app manages "HomeKit"-enabled accessories, Photos has algorithmic search and categorization of media known as "Memories," and Siri is compatible with third-party app-specific requests, such as starting workouts apps, sending IMs, using Lyft or Uber or to use payment functions. iOS 10 is the final version to support 32-bit devices and apps. In iOS 10.3, Apple introduced its new file system, APFS. Reviews of iOS 10 were positive. Reviewers highlighted the significant updates to iMessage, Siri, Photos, 3D Touch, and the lock screen as welcome changes. The third-party extension support to iMessage meant it was "becoming a platform," although the user interface was criticized for being difficult to understand. Third-party integration in Siri was "great," although the voice assistant was criticized for not having become smarter than before. Reviewers were impressed with the image recognition technology in Photos, although noting it was still a "work in progress" with a higher error rate than the competition. 3D Touch "finally feels useful" and "works in almost every part of the OS." The lock screen was "far more customizable than before," and reviewers enjoyed that notification bubbles could be expanded to see more information without needing to unlock the phone. A month after release, iOS 10 was installed on 54% of iOS devices, a "slightly slower migration" than for the release of iOS 9, speculated as being caused by an early release issue that may have "put some users off downloading the update." User adoption of iOS 10 steadily increased in the following months, eventually totaling 89% of active devices in September 2017. History Introduction and initial release iOS 10 was introduced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 13, 2016. The first beta release was made available to registered developers following the keynote. Apple released the first public beta release on July 7, 2016. iOS 10 was officially released on September 13, 2016. The initial release was problematic, with reports of people having their devices in recovery mode after updating. Updates System features Control Center The Control Center has been redesigned and split into three pages: one for general settings, such as quick toggles for airplane mode and orientation lock, one for audio controls and one for controlling HomeKit (internet of things) appliances, if used. 3D Touch capabilities have been added to several toggles. Home screen Apps can show a widget when their home-screen icon is accessed with 3D Touch. Most default apps included with iOS devices can be hidden from the home screen and 're-downloaded' from the App Store. Upon doing this, the sandbox of the respective app is removed, which contains user data, settings and caches. The app is also hidden from other places, such as the "Today" view, the Settings app and "Share Sheets", through which the user can interact with the app from within another app. This feature was first hinted at during an interview in September 2015, in which Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple was "looking at" allowing customers to remove unused stock apps. iOS 10 allows users to prioritize certain app downloads by using 3D Touch. Keyboard QuickType virtual keyboards, which provide word-completion capabilities, can predict likely responses to questions and suggest relevant information based on location, calendar availability or contacts. The "Define" feature in previous iOS versions has been replaced by "Look Up," and now expands its utility from just providing definitions to retrieving information from locations, web browsing history, downloaded apps, suggested websites, and more. The QuickType keyboard will allow the user to type in multiple languages if the user selects the desired languages in the "Dictionary" and "Keyboard" settings menus. The user has the ability to change keyboard settings specifically for physical keyboards (such as autocorrect and auto-capitalization). Lock screen The "slide to unlock" mechanism on the lock screen has been removed in favor of pressing the home button. Similar to the feature on the Apple Watch, "Raise to Wake" wakes up the device when the user lifts it. This function requires a device with an M9 motion coprocessor or newer. The "Today" view of Notification Center has been replaced by widgets, and is accessible by swiping from left to right. On the iPad, widgets can be displayed in a two-column layout. Notification Center The Notification Center no longer has a "Today" view. Notifications, now larger, can expand to display more information and all unread notifications can be cleared at once, using 3D Touch. Apps that need to be updated frequently can now have notifications that update live. The Notification Center contains a Spotlight search bar. Settings A new Magnifier setting was added which allows users to triple-click the home button to launch the Camera app with magnification enabled. There are also new "Color Filters" settings to compensate for a user's color blindness. Color Filters options include grayscale, red/green filter for protanopia, green/red filter for deuteranopia, and blue/yellow filter for tritanopia. For the Messages application, users can now turn on Low Quality Image mode, which saves "your poor iPhone from stuffing itself full of images" based on new animated stickers and GIFs that can be sent in iMessage. The Wi-Fi menu in Settings now shows warnings about the security of a network and whether a network lacks Internet connectivity. This is shown to the user as small subtext under the Wi-Fi's network's name. "Raise to Wake" can be enabled or disabled in Settings. In iOS 10.2, a "Preserve Settings" feature allows users to set the Camera app to launch with certain settings by default. Options include launching with the Video or Square mode rather than the Photo mode, preserving the last-used filter, and preserving the capture settings for Live Photos. Music added to Apple Music on one device can now be automatically downloaded to other devices using the "Automatic Downloads" setting. The Settings allows the user the option to have routes in the Maps app avoid toll roads and/or highways. In iOS 10.3, Settings was updated to feature information relating to a user's Apple ID account in the main menu, and features a section that allows users to see which old, unmaintained apps won't work in future versions of iOS. Additionally, users can now see a breakdown of their iCloud storage. The user can enable a setting to have Siri announce incoming callers, with options for "Always," "Headphones & Car," "Headphones Only," and "Never". CarPlay iOS 10 now allows users to rearrange and remove apps from their CarPlay display, through Settings. In iOS 10.3, Maps on CarPlay added electric vehicle charging stations. Universal Clipboard As part of the overall Continuity features introduced in iOS 8, a new Universal Clipboard feature allows users of Mac personal computers running macOS Sierra and iOS devices running iOS 10 to easily copy material to and from different devices through iCloud. As part of Continuity, a new "Continuity Keyboard" feature allows users to type text on an iPhone and have the text appear on an Apple TV running tvOS 10, avoiding the Siri Remote for text input. Other changes iOS 10 features new sound effects for locking the device and for keyboard clicks. In the event that a device detects liquid in the Lightning port, a notice warns the user to disconnect the Lightning cable and allow the port to dry. iOS 10 also allows TTY calls to be made without any additional hardware. iOS 10 allows users to find their Apple Watch using Find My iPhone. Spotlight can now search the contents of the user's iCloud Drive. Storage is reported to the user in the base 10 (1 kilobyte equals 1000 bytes) format instead of base 2, which was used in older iOS versions. App features App Store iOS 10 allows developers to buy advertisement spots in the App Store when users search for content. It also brings back the "Categories" section, which replaces the "Explore" section introduced in iOS 8. In iOS 10.3, developers gained the ability to respond to user reviews, and "Helpful" and "Not Helpful" review labels can help surface the most relevant customer reviews. Calendar In iOS 10, users can now change what day of the week the calendar starts on, as well as alert settings for birthdays and events, and calendar type (Gregorian, Chinese, Hebrew, Islamic). Camera Music will no longer stop playing when the Camera app is launched, unless the user decides to record a video or take a Live Photo. Live Photos can be taken with filters (previously only available for still photos). In iOS 10.1, the iPhone 7 Plus received a new depth of field portrait camera mode, using both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses on the phone to "create shallow depth of field portrait photos with blurred backgrounds". Clock The Clock app now employs a dark theme. A new "Bedtime" feature reminds the user when to go to bed to get the desired amount of sleep. There is also a new stopwatch face, accessed by swiping to the left. Contacts The Contacts app in iOS 10 allows users to set default phone numbers and email addresses for contacts who have multiple numbers or addresses. The app also allows the user to add and remove contacts from the Favorite Contacts list. Home Home is a new app that allows users to manage appliances compatible with HomeKit, Apple's API for home automation. In the app, users can add compatible HomeKit accessories, such as locks, lights, and thermostats, and then directly control the appliances through the app. A "Scenes" panel allows many devices to be controlled at once to fit a mood or setting. Geo-fencing activates scheduled sequences following the user's location. Mail The Mail app now allows users to unsubscribe from mailing lists with an Unsubscribe button. Users can dismiss the message to unsubscribe for a particular mailing list by tapping the "X" at the top right corner, preventing the Mail app from displaying the unsubscribe button for that mailing list again later. Apple has added back support for HTML5 video in Mail, which was previously stopped in iOS 8. Mail can filter messages, either by unread/read, or by categories. iOS 10 also changes how email threading works, by placing the oldest email at the top by default. An option in Settings lets users revert to the previous threading system with the most recent message on top. Additionally, the new threaded conversations allow users to tap a message to see a scrollable stream of messages inside the thread. Maps Maps has been redesigned and updated with additional features, including scanning calendar events for locations, learning from a user's typical actions, and a redesigned driving view. A marker can be automatically placed to indicate the user's parked car. The marker can also tell the user when they last parked their car, and a Notes field allows the user to enter information, such as parking garage number, in the app. The app now helps users find the nearest gas station, fast-food restaurant or coffee shop, by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Maps also estimates how long the detour will take. Users can add third-party extensions to the Maps app, which enable additional functionality, such as a restaurant-booking extension can help the user reserve a table from inside the Maps app. Users can now pan and zoom while in navigation mode. The app displays the current temperature and weather conditions in the bottom right corner. In iOS 10.3, the app also allows the user to see a weather forecast by using 3D Touch on the current temperature. This functionality allows users to see an hour-by-hour breakdown of the area that they are looking at. Messages The Messages app incorporates its own App Store, which lets users download third-party iMessage apps that can be accessed within iMessage conversations. Users can use them to send stickers, play games or send rich content, such as media previews, to recipients. The Messages App Store has three navigation fields: Featured, Categories, and Manage. The app has been updated to include many visual effects. Chat bubbles, for example, can be sent with a "loud" or "gentle" animation that the recipient sees upon receiving. "Invisible ink" effect obscures the message until the recipient swipes across it. Full-screen effects like balloons, confetti or fireworks can be sent. There is also support for interactions similar to the Apple Watch, such as sending quick sketches and recording and sending the user's heartbeat. In order to use the screen and bubble effects, the Reduce Motion setting needs to be turned off. Messages now allows users to send handwritten notes. This is done by turning the device to landscape mode for iPhones (landscape or portrait for iPad users) and then tapping the handwriting squiggle. The Messages app automatically saves recently used notes, to make it easier to send them again. A handwritten message can be deleted in the same way an app is deleted; by holding down on the message and pressing Delete. The message can also be saved as a picture file. New emojis have been added, as well as additional features related to emoji. Emojis appear 3x bigger if messages are sent with up to three emojis and no text, the keyboard can now predict emojis to use, and an emoji replacement feature attempts to match words in messages and replace them with emojis of the same meaning. Since the Game Center app has been removed, Messages now handles actions such as inviting friends to a game. Read receipts can now be turned on or off for individual contacts rather than for all contacts. Music The Music app has been redesigned, with an emphasis placed on usability. The "For You" section has been reorganized, with a playlist offering daily music recommendations. The "New" tab has been renamed "Browse". A new tab for music that has been downloaded called "Downloaded Music" has been added. Lyrics are viewable for songs in-app in iOS 10. The "Search" tab includes recent and trending searches. An "Optimized Storage" option removes downloaded music that the user hasn't played in a while. News The News app, taking cues from the Music layout, has been redesigned to incorporate bold headings and a newspaper-esque layout in the redesigned "For You" tab. News also features support for subscriptions and provides notifications for breaking news. Notes Notes now has a collaboration feature. This allows users to share a note and collaborate with other users, who can add and remove text from a note. Users tap a "round yellow badge with a person and a plus sign" and can then send invitations through text, email, or by link. Photos Apple added deep learning capabilities for sorting and searching in the Photos app. A new "Memories" feature can automatically recognize and compile related photos and create short, shareable music videos. local facial recognition functionality was added to bundle together pictures of certain people. iOS 10 allows users to add doodles and text on a photo, using a new "Markup" feature. If the user edits a Live Photo using Markup, the image will be turned into a still image. Live Photos can now be edited by the Photos app. This allows users to trim the clip, change the still frame, add a filter and add digital image stabilization to the Live Photo so it is "buttery smooth". The app also has an upgraded auto-enhance feature and adds a "Brilliance" slider. Phone The Phone app can transcribe received visual voicemails. Siri can announce the name and phone number of incoming calls. The system can mark suspected spam callers on the call screen upon incoming calls. Contacts can be enabled for "Emergency Bypass", in which the phone will always make sounds and vibrations when receiving notifications from the chosen contacts, even during Do Not Disturb mode. In the Favorites screen, users can customize what action each favorited contact will enable from a click, including call, FaceTime, SMS, or email. Users can save voicemails through AirDrop, iMessage, iCloud Drive, and other apps through a share menu. Safari Apple Pay is now available through the Safari app. There is no limit to how many tabs users can have open at the same time. On supported iPads, Safari has a unique "Split View" for viewing two Safari browser tabs in 50/50 mode next to each other. Users can also search for keywords in specific tabs, close all tabs with a single click, and reopen recently closed tabs by long-pressing on the plus icon. Users can also search for items in the Bookmarks and Reading List. TV Included in the iOS 10.2 update is a "TV" app. The app, which is only available in the United States, offers a simple, unified experience of content from different video apps, as long as each service supports the feature. The new app replaces the Videos app found in previous iOS versions. Developer APIs iOS 10 gives third-party developers access to APIs to three major iOS system apps and services: Siri, iMessage, and Maps. Developers can: Turn certain activities into Siri voice commands, allowing users to speak voice queries into the Siri personal assistant and Siri returning results from the respective apps. Apps that can integrate with Siri are limited to: sending messages, starting calls, sending and requesting payments, search for photos and videos, ordering taxicab or ride-sharing services, and managing workouts. Add dedicated apps to the iMessage App Store, that lets users add unique sticker packs, share rich content, or interact with certain app functions entirely within an iMessage conversation. Add extensions to Apple Maps, so apps with specific functionality useful in a map, such as a restaurant-booking app, can integrate with the mapping service to handle app functionality directly in the Maps app. iOS 10 allows third-party camera apps to capture RAW image format pictures. Support for shooting photos in Adobe's DNG RAW format is limited to devices with at least a 12MP camera and a third-party app that supports it, as Apple did not enable the feature in the native Camera app. iOS 10 allows VoIP apps to have the same functionality and interface as the Phone and FaceTime apps have, through the use of a CallKit API. Removed functionality Native support for the VPN protocol PPTP was removed. Apple recommends alternatives which it considers to be more secure. The options to group notifications by app in Notification Center and customize the order of notifications were removed. The Game Center app has been removed, as is the case on macOS Sierra. The service was not discontinued, and remained accessible through games. Reception In his review, The Verges Dieter Bohn wrote that the new features introduced in iOS 10 are "an evolution of some of the design and interaction ideas that Apple has been working on for a couple of years". He wrote that iMessage is "becoming a platform all its own", and although he liked that extensions mean access to information from apps without needing to open the respective apps, he wrote that new iMessage interface is difficult to understand and that the use of "third-party apps, stickers, crazy confetti effects, and emoji all over the place" is a "nightmare", although finishing with "Or maybe that's a wonderland, not a nightmare. Your call." Regarding third-party support in Siri, he called it "great", while noting the limited class of apps ("calls, messaging, payments, photos, ride-sharing apps, some CarPlay systems, and workouts"), and that sometimes a button press was required to complete the process. Beyond app integrations, he criticized Siri, writing "Siri doesn't seem to have gotten a whole lot smarter than you remember". Bohn enjoyed the new machine learning technology present in the Photos app, writing that he was "impressed" by Apple's image recognition technology, which he noted is done locally on the device, but did criticize the error rate, where he compares the technology to Google Photos as a step ahead. Bohn liked the new designs for the Music and Maps apps, saying both the redesigns were "for the better". Bohn particularly enjoyed the new lock screen, where he highlighted that notification bubbles can be 3D Touch-ed to access more information, all without needing to unlock the phone. Other small bits of new features he liked included "deletable" apps, upgraded "widgets" when 3D Touch-ing a home screen icon, and breaking news notifications in Apple News. Overall, Bohn referred to iOS 10 as "Still a walled garden, but with more doors". Engadgets Devindra Hardawar wrote that iOS 10 is Apple "basically polishing a pearl." Hardawar noted that the major changes in the release focus on features rather than the visual interface. He wrote that the lock screen is now "far more customizable than before." He praised the new features added to 3D Touch, writing that it "finally feels useful," where he likes that "3D Touch works in almost every part of the OS." In regard to iMessage, he wrote that it has new features that are "particularly useful", including "Invisible ink" that obscures text in a conversation when others might be looking, but criticized the user interface, writing that it "needs some work". The "Memories" feature in the new Photos app "usually turned out well", but wrote that "they're still clearly a work in progress." Hardawar praised the new Apple Music app, but added that "really, anything is better than the last iteration." He also liked lyrics support. He wrote that Siri's third-party support was "actually starting to get useful," but did run into accuracy issues. He finished by writing that although iOS 10 does add features seen in Google's Android operating system before, the mobile industry is "shamelessly getting "inspired" by the competition". His summary states that "iOS 10 is a collection of useful changes to an already solid OS". In October 2016, a month after its initial release, 54% of iOS devices were running iOS 10, a "slightly slower migration" than for the release of iOS 9 in the preceding year, a result speculated by MacRumorss Tim Hardwick as being caused by an early release issue that disabled some devices and may have "put some [users] off downloading the update." User adoption increased to 76% of active devices in January 2017, 79% in February 2017, 86% in June 2017, 87% in July 2017, and 89% in September 2017 before the release of iOS 11. Problems Recovery mode issues The initial public release of iOS 10 on September 13, 2016 saw many iPhones and iPads sent into recovery mode, by the over-the-air update, requiring devices to be connected to a Mac or PC with iTunes in order to retry the update or restore the device to factory settings. Apple shortly after released iOS 10.0.1, and issued an apology. Local backup encryption issue In September 2016, it was discovered that the encryption of local iOS backups made with iTunes is weaker for iOS 10 devices than for devices running iOS 9. Russian software firm ElcomSoft discovered that the iOS 10 backup process skips several security checks, making it "approximately 2,500 times" faster to try passwords, enabling 6 million password tries per second compared to the 2,400 password tries per second for the same process ElcomSoft has used on iOS 9. The firm stated that the impact is "severe". Apple acknowledged the problem, said it planned to issue a security update, but also stated that iCloud backups were not affected. The iOS 10.1 update subsequently fixed the issue. Battery shutdowns and throttling Some iOS 10.1.1 users reported that their devices were prone to unexpectedly shutting down at or around 30% battery charge (with one user describing the battery percentage as dropping unexpectedly from 30% to 1% before doing so, but still registering as 30% when plugging it in to charge it). Apple began the process of diagnosing this bug in iOS 10.2, and stated following the release of iOS 10.2.1 that it had reduced the occurrence of these shutdowns by "more than 80%" on iPhone 6S models and "over 70%" on iPhone 6 models. It also became possible to reboot the device after an unexpected shutdown without plugging it into power. In December 2017, speculation emerged that Apple had been intentionally throttling the performance of older iPhone models based on battery health, especially on the iPhone 6S (which, in a separate issue, also had isolated incidents of a battery manufacturing issue that was also causing system instability), after a user benchmark showed a variance in performance after a battery replacement. The developers of Geekbench confirmed that there had been sizable decreases on benchmark scores on iPhone 6 devices running iOS 10.2.1 and later, and iPhone 7 devices since iOS 11.2 and later. These led to concerns that Apple was instituting planned obsolescence policies in order to encourage sales of newer iPhone models, a controversy dubbed Batterygate. Later that month, Apple admitted that since iOS 10.2.1, it had been implementing performance management techniques on older iPhone models to preserve system stability, especially in situations where their batteries are "less capable of supplying peak current demands," such as cold weather, age, or low charge. Apple stated that these measures were intended to help "deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices." The company announced that it would offer a discount on out-of-warranty battery replacements during 2018. Supported devices With this release, Apple dropped support for devices with either an A5 or an A5X chip: the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Mini (1st generation), and iPod Touch (5th generation). It is also the last version of iOS to support devices with a 32-bit processor, such as the iPhone 5 and 5C, or the iPad (4th generation), and it is also the last version of iOS to support 32-bit apps. iPhone iPhone 5 iPhone 5C iPhone 5S iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus iPhone 6S iPhone 6S Plus iPhone SE (1st generation) iPhone 7 iPhone 7 Plus iPod Touch iPod Touch (6th generation) iPad iPad (4th generation) iPad Air iPad Air 2 iPad (2017) iPad Mini 2 iPad Mini 3 iPad Mini 4 iPad Pro (12.9-inch 1st generation) iPad Pro (12.9-inch 2nd generation) iPad Pro (9.7-inch) iPad Pro (10.5-inch) References External links 10 Products introduced in 2016 2016 software Tablet operating systems Proprietary operating systems

50720065

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG%20Common%20Encryption

MPEG Common Encryption

MPEG Common Encryption (abbreviated MPEG-CENC) refers to a set of two MPEG standards governing different container formats: for ISOBMFF, Common encryption in ISO base media file format files (ISO/IEC 23001-7:2016) for MPEG-TS, Common encryption of MPEG-2 transport streams (ISO/IEC 23001-9:2016) The specifications are compatible, so that conversion between the encrypted formats can happen without re-encryption. They define metadata, specific to each format, about which parts of the stream are encrypted and by which encryption scheme. Each encryption scheme may have different methods to retrieve the decryption key. Availability of the Standards The standards can be purchased from iso.org, on paper and in digital forms. As of July 2016, the prices were 118 Swiss franc (US$122) for the ISOBMFF version, and 58 Swiss franc (US$60) for the TS version. An included copyright notice prohibits redistribution without written permission, also on local area networks. Each page is watermarked with the purchaser's name and company. References External links "cenc" Initialization Data Format – a rough description, specific to ISOBMFF, of the Clear Key encryption scheme, intended for use in Encrypted Media Extensions MPEG Digital rights management standards

50768301

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowsocks

Shadowsocks

Shadowsocks is a free and open-source encryption protocol project, widely used in China to circumvent Internet censorship. It was created in 2012 by a Chinese programmer named "clowwindy", and multiple implementations of the protocol have been made available since. Shadowsocks is not a proxy on its own, but (typically) is the client software to help connect to a third-party SOCKS5 proxy, which is similar to a Secure Shell (SSH) tunnel. Once connected, internet traffic can then be directed through the proxy. Unlike an SSH tunnel, shadowsocks can also proxy User Datagram Protocol (UDP) traffic. Takedown On 22 August 2015, "clowwindy" announced in a GitHub thread that they had been contacted by the police and could no longer maintain the project. The code of the project was subsequently branched with a removal notice. Three days later, on 25 August, another proxy application, GoAgent, also had its GitHub repository removed. The removal of the projects got media's attention, with news outlets speculating about the possible connection between the takedowns and a distributed-denial-of-service attack targeting GitHub that happened several days later. Danny O'Brien, from Electronic Frontier Foundation, published a statement on the matter. Despite the takedown, collaborators of the project have continued the development of the project. Server implementations The original Python implementation can still be installed with Pip (package manager), but the contents of its GitHub repository have been removed. Other server implementations include one in Go, Rust, and C using the event loop library; C++ with a Qt GUI; and Perl. The Go and Perl implementations are not updated regularly and may have been abandoned. Client implementations All of the server implementations listed above also support operating in client mode. There are also client-only implementations available for Windows (shadowsocks-win), macOS (ShadowsocksX-NG), Android (shadowsocks-android), and iOS (Wingy). Many clients, including shadowsocks-win and shadowsocks-android, support redirecting all system traffic over Shadowsocks, not just applications that have been explicitly configured to do so, allowing Shadowsocks to be used similarly to a VPN. If an application doesn't support proxy servers, a proxifier can be used to redirect the application to the Shadowsocks client. Some proxifiers, such as Proxycap, support Shadowsocks directly, thus avoiding the need for a Shadowsocks client, but some require a client. Net::Shadowsocks Net::Shadowsocks is name of the Perl implementation of Shadowsocks protocol client and server available on CPAN. ShadowsocksR ShadowsocksR is a fork of the original Shadowsocks project, claimed to be superior in terms of security and stability. Upon release, it was found to violate the License by not having the source code of the C# client available. It was also criticized for its solution to the alleged security issues in the source project. Shadowsocks is currently under development, while development of ShadowsocksR has stopped. Similar projects Shadowsocks is similar to The Tor Project's Pluggable Transport (PT) idea. PT makes it hard for Internet Service Providers to detect Tor traffic. They also both use a socks proxy interface. Whereas Shadowsocks is simpler, Obfs4 used in PT is more obfuscated. Unlike Obfs4, Shadowsocks is not resistant to Active Probing. The most similar PT to Shadowsocks is Obfs3. See also Great Firewall Internet censorship in China Outline VPN References External links Internet censorship in China Free proxy servers 2012 software Computer network security Free software programmed in C Free software programmed in C++ Free software programmed in C# Free software programmed in Go Free software programmed in Perl Free software programmed in Python Free software programmed in Rust

50793082

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pass%20%28software%29

Pass (software)

pass is a password manager inspired by the Unix philosophy. It has a command-line interface, and uses GnuPG for encryption and decryption of stored passwords. The passwords are encrypted and stored in separate files, and can be organized via the operating system's filesystem. A password file can contain additional text, such as the username, the email address, comments, or anything the user would like, since the password files are nothing more than encrypted text files. There are several graphical user interfaces (GUIs) available, such as QtPass for Linux/Windows/MacOS or Password Store for Android operating systems. A syncing system is not implemented, but syncing can be achieved by using the Git version control system. The built in Git functionality also allows for automated version history tracking of the password store. Vulnerabilities In June 2018, pass was found to be vulnerable to a variant of the SigSpoof attack. The issue was patched the same day that the vulnerability was disclosed. See also List of password managers Password manager Cryptography References External links Password managers Free password managers Linux software

50799285

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS%20Sierra

MacOS Sierra

macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (formerly known as and ), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to uniform the operating system's name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri. The first beta of macOS Sierra was released to developers shortly following the 2016 WWDC keynote on June 13, 2016. The first public-beta release followed on July 7, 2016. It was released to end users on September 20, 2016, as a free upgrade through the Mac App Store and it was succeeded by macOS High Sierra on September 25, 2017. System requirements macOS Sierra requires at least 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space and will run on: iMac: Late 2009 or newer MacBook and MacBook 12-inch: Late 2009 or newer MacBook Pro: Mid 2010 or newer MacBook Air: Late 2010 or newer Mac Mini: Mid 2010 or newer Mac Pro: Mid 2010 or newer Xserve is no longer compatible. Sierra is the first version of macOS since OS X Mountain Lion, released in 2012, that does not run on all computers that the previous version supported. Developers have created workarounds to install macOS Sierra on some Mac computers that are no longer officially supported as long as they are packed with a CPU that supports SSE4.1. This requires using a patch to modify the install image. Changes The default desktop picture is an image of Lone Pine Peak. System features Siri The user can access the Siri intelligent assistant via the Dock, the menu bar or a keyboard shortcut and results are shown in a window in the upper-right corner. Siri can send messages, search the web, find files and adjust settings. Results can be dropped into other applications or pinned to Notification Center. For instance, pictures from search results can be dragged into a document. iCloud Drive and Optimized Storage iCloud Drive can upload the user's documents and desktop directories and sync them to other devices. The System Information application has a new section that gives the user detailed information about space usage per application or file and provides tools and suggestions for freeing up space. For instance, the user can let the system upload old files to iCloud Drive and remove their local copies, keeping them available on-demand in Finder. It can also remove old files from trash automatically. iTunes can delete watched, purchased films and TV programs from its library. Auto Unlock and Universal Clipboard Building upon Continuity, an "umbrella term [for] features that facilitate the communication between [Apple devices]" using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, Sierra adds two features. With Auto Unlock, the user can unlock their user account by holding a paired Apple Watch close to the device. Time of flight is used to prevent relay attacks. Auto Unlock requires a Mac that was introduced in 2013 or later. With Universal Clipboard, the user can share the clipboard for cut, copy and paste between macOS Sierra and iOS 10 devices, including text and rich content, such as pictures or videos. Tabs and Picture-in-Picture Applications that support multiple windows can support multiple tabs within a single window, allowing the user to keep windows organized similarly to Safari. With Picture-in-Picture, videos can be played in a window that follows the user across the system. Apple File System Apple released a preview of a new file system in Sierra, called Apple File System (APFS), to overcome the limitations of HFS Plus. It is intended for solid-state drives and flash memory and will adopt several features found in modern file systems, such as snapshots and cloning, as well as native support for features that Apple already provides in HFS Plus through supplementary software, such as file-system encryption and TRIM support. The file system was released in macOS High Sierra. Night Shift Night Shift is new in macOS 10.12.4, with the same functionality as its iOS counterpart. Night Shift reduces blue light at night to aid sleep. This can be scheduled in the System Preferences app (in the Displays menu) and can be toggled on or off in the Notification Center or using Siri. Since this feature relies on the Metal framework, Night Shift is not available on all systems that support macOS Sierra. Application features Photos Apple says it has improved the face recognition of the Photos application, adding object and scene recognition. It groups similar pictures together using faces, locations and object recognition to create "memories". Memories contain picture slideshows with transitions and music selected by the algorithm, which can be modified to the user's liking. The "People" album organizes photos by the people in them, and Places shows all photos on a world map. Safari and Apple Pay Safari provides an "extension point" which enables developers to bundle Safari extensions within their Cocoa applications and communicate with them directly from the applications. Safari conceals the presence of installed "legacy" plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash Player, Java applets, Microsoft Silverlight, and QuickTime – from websites and requires the user to enable a specific plug-in on a per-use or per-website basis. Apple Pay allows vendors to embed an Apple Pay button on their websites. In Safari, users can click the Apple Pay button to check out, then complete a purchase using an iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple Pay requires a Mac that supports Continuity (2012 or later models) and either an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3. Messages The Messages app adds aesthetic effects to messages, such as three times bigger emojis and click back with hearts or thumbs-up on a message bubble. The ability to play YouTube videos and preview links in a conversation was introduced. Users can view interactive content added to iMessage in iOS 10. The app also allows you to turn on or off read receipts on a conversation by conversation basis. iTunes Apple Music within iTunes has been redesigned, making it simpler to find favorite songs and discover new ones. A new "For You" tab has been added, which suggests new music the user might like (similar to the existing Genius). A refined MiniPlayer with the ability to view lyrics while listening has also been introduced. Notes The Notes app allows the user to share and collaborate on notes. This is done by clicking on a share button at the top of the window. Other changes Disk Utility regains the ability to format and manage RAID sets, after it was removed in El Capitan. Finder has an option to show folders always at the top of the view hierarchy, for instance in list views. Mail adds a control to the top of email lists to quickly filter them, for instance, by read status or the presence of attachments. 13 & 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros now default to integer scaled over nearest-neighbor scaled resolutions to fit more content. Other applications found on macOS 10.12 Sierra AirPort Utility App Store Archive Utility Audio MIDI Setup Automator Bluetooth File Exchange Boot Camp Assistant Calculator Calendar Chess ColorSync Utility) Console Contacts Dictionary Digital Color Meter DVD Player FaceTime Font Book Game Center GarageBand (may not be pre-installed) Grab Grapher iBooks (now Apple Books) iMovie (may not be pre-installed) iTunes Image Capture Ink (can only be accessed by connecting a graphics tablet to your Mac) Keychain Access Keynote (may not be pre-installed) Migration Assistant Numbers (may not be pre-installed) Pages (may not be pre-installed) Photo Booth Preview QuickTime Player Reminders Script Editor Stickies System Information Terminal TextEdit Time Machine VoiceOver Utility X11/XQuartz (may not be pre-installed) Security improvements Gatekeeper macOS Sierra slightly changes the Gatekeeper user interface and adds two new mechanisms. A new default in System Preferences hides the "Anywhere" option which allows the user to disable the mechanism and execute programs from any source without needing to approve each new one individually. The first new mechanism allows developers to code-sign disk images that can be verified as a unit by the system. This allows developers to guarantee the integrity of external files that are distributed alongside the application bundle on the same disk image. An attacker could infect these external files with malicious code and with them exploit a vulnerability in the application, without having to break the signature of the application bundle itself. By signing the disk image, the developer can prevent tampering and force an attacker to repackage the files onto a new disk image, requiring a valid developer certificate to pass Gatekeeper without a warning. The second new mechanism is "path randomization", which executes application bundles from a random, hidden path and prevents them from accessing external files relative to their location. To avoid this, the developer has to distribute the application bundle and its external files on a signed disk image or in a signed installer package. The user can avoid this mechanism by moving the application bundle without its external files to a new location. Directory permissions and sudo The Unix permissions for writing to the /Volumes directory are now restricted to root and no longer "world-writable". Apple expanded System Integrity Protection to , a directory that contains a list of applications that are allowed to "control the computer", and restricts write access to programs which were signed with an Apple "private entitlement". The file-hosting service Dropbox has been criticized for manipulating the directory to add their Dropbox application to the list, rather than asking the user to do it for them explicitly in System Preferences. The sudo command-line utility with which a user can execute a command as another user, typically as root, is configured with the "tty_tickets" flag by default, restricting the session timeout to the terminal session (such as a window or tab) in which the user authenticated the program. Removed functionality Sierra removes support for garbage collection from the Objective-C runtime, a memory-management system that was added in Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) and declared deprecated in favor of Automatic Reference Counting in OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8). Applications that have been compiled with garbage collection will no longer run. Apple removed native support for the VPN protocol PPTP and made recommendations for alternatives that it considers more secure. The "time remaining" estimate has been removed in the 10.12.2 update after complaints of the battery life of 2016 MacBook Pros. The Game Center app has been removed. However, the service still exists. Reinstallation Following the download of macOS Sierra (10.12) from the Mac App Store, the installer does not show under a users' "Purchased" tab in the Mac App Store app. Users can still re-download the Sierra installer by visiting the macOS Sierra page on the Mac App Store. Reception macOS Sierra has received generally positive reviews. Users and critics have praised its functionality, including the addition of Siri and support for Apple Pay in Safari. Macworld gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. Engadget gave it a rating of 87 out of 100 praising the new features such as Siri integration, Universal Clipboard, and Apple Pay while criticizing the unreliability of Auto Unlock, that "Siri isn't always smart enough" and some of the Messages features are only available on iOS 10. Developers of apps that rely on the PDFKit library built into macOS have complained that radical changes to PDFKit introduced in Sierra are causing instability and potential data corruption. Release history References External links – official site macOS Sierra download page at Apple 12 X86-64 operating systems 2016 software Computer-related introductions in 2016

50801508

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple%20File%20System

Apple File System

Apple File System (APFS) is a proprietary file system developed and deployed by Apple Inc. for macOS Sierra (10.12.4) and later, iOS 10.3 and later, tvOS 10.2 and later, watchOS 3.2 and later, and all versions of iPadOS. It aims to fix core problems of HFS+ (also called Mac OS Extended), APFS's predecessor on these operating systems. APFS is optimized for solid-state drive storage and supports encryption, snapshots, and increased data integrity, among other capabilities. History Apple File System was announced at Apple's developers conference (WWDC) in June 2016 as a replacement for HFS+, which had been in use since 1998. APFS was released for 64-bit iOS devices on March 27, 2017, with the release of iOS 10.3, and for macOS devices on September 25, 2017, with the release of macOS 10.13. Apple released a partial specification for APFS in September 2018 which supported read-only access to Apple File Systems on unencrypted, non-Fusion storage devices. The specification for software encryption was documented later. Design The file system can be used on devices with relatively small or large amounts of storage. It uses 64-bit inode numbers, and allows for more secure storage. The APFS code, like the HFS+ code, uses the TRIM command, for better space management and performance. It may increase read-write speeds on iOS and macOS, as well as space on iOS devices, due to the way APFS calculates available data. Partition scheme APFS uses the GPT partition scheme. Within the GPT scheme are one or more APFS containers (partition type GUID is ). Within each container there are one or more APFS volumes, all of which share the allocated space of the container, and each volume may have APFS volume roles. macOS Catalina (macOS 10.15) introduced the APFS volume group, which are groups of volumes that Finder displays as one volume. APFS firmlinks lie between hard links and soft links and link between volumes. In macOS Catalina the volume role (usually named "Macintosh HD") became read-only, and in macOS Big Sur (macOS 11) it became a signed system volume (SSV) and only volume snapshots are mounted. The volume role (usually named "Macintosh HD - Data") is used as an overlay or shadow of the volume, and both the and volumes are part of the same volume group and shown as one in Finder. Clones Clones allow the operating system to make efficient file copies on the same volume without occupying additional storage space. Changes to a cloned file are saved as delta extents, reducing storage space required for document revisions and copies. There is, however, no interface to mark two copies of the same file as clones of the other, or for other types of data deduplication. Snapshots APFS volumes support snapshots for creating a point-in-time, read-only instance of the file system. Encryption Apple File System natively supports full disk encryption, and file encryption with the following options: no encryption single-key encryption multi-key encryption, where each file is encrypted with a separate key, and metadata is encrypted with a different key. Increased maximum number of files APFS supports 64-bit inode numbers, supporting over 9 quintillion files (263) on a single volume. Data integrity Apple File System uses checksums to ensure data integrity for metadata. Crash protection Apple File System is designed to avoid metadata corruption caused by system crashes. Instead of overwriting existing metadata records in place, it writes entirely new records, points to the new ones and then releases the old ones, an approach known as redirect-on-write. This avoids corrupted records containing partial old and partial new data caused by a crash that occurs during an update. It also avoids having to write the change twice, as happens with an HFS+ journaled file system, where changes are written first to the journal and then to the catalog file. Compression APFS supports transparent compression on individual files using Deflate (Zlib), LZVN (libFastCompression), and LZFSE. All three are Lempel-Ziv-type algorithms. This feature is inherited from HFS+, and is implemented with the same AppleFSCompression / decmpfs system using resource forks or extended attributes. As with HFS+, the transparency is broken for tools that do not use decmpfs-wrapped routines. Space sharing APFS adds the ability to have multiple logical drives (referred to as volumes) in the same container where free space is available to all volumes in that container (block device). Limitations While APFS includes numerous improvements relative to its predecessor, HFS+, a number of limitations have been noted. Limited integrity checks for user data APFS does not provide checksums for user data. It also does not take advantage of byte-addressable non-volatile random-access memory. Performance on hard disk drives Enumerating files, and any inode metadata in general, is much slower on APFS when it is located on a hard disk drive. This is because instead of storing metadata at a fixed location like HFS+ does, APFS stores them alongside the actual file data. This fragmentation of metadata means more seeks are performed when listing files, acceptable for SSDs but not HDDs. Compatibility with Time Machine prior to macOS 11 Unlike HFS+, APFS does not support hard links to directories. Since the version of the Time Machine backup software included in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) through macOS 10.15 (Catalina) relied on hard links to directories, APFS was initially not a supported option for its backup volumes. This limitation was overcome starting in macOS 11 Big Sur, wherein APFS is now the default file system for new Time Machine backups (existing HFS+-formatted backup drives are also still supported). macOS Big Sur's implementation of Time Machine in conjunction with APFS-formatted drives enables "faster, more compact, and more reliable backups" than were possible with HFS+-formatted backup drives. Security issues In March 2018, the APFS driver in High Sierra was found to have a bug that causes the disk encryption password to be logged in plaintext. In January 2021, the APFS driver in iOS < 14.4, macOS < 11.2, watchOS < 7.3, and tvOS < 14.4 was found to have a bug that allowed a local user to read arbitrary files, regardless of their permissions. Support macOS Limited, experimental support for APFS was first introduced in macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Since macOS 10.13 High Sierra, all devices with flash storage are automatically converted to APFS. As of macOS 10.14 Mojave, Fusion Drives and hard disk drives are also upgraded on installation. The primary user interface to upgrade does not present an option to opt out of this conversion, and devices formatted with the High Sierra version of APFS will not be readable in previous versions of macOS. Users can disable APFS conversion by using the installer's startosinstall utility on the command line and passing --converttoapfs NO. FileVault volumes are not converted to APFS as of macOS Big Sur 11.2.1. Instead macOS formats external FileVault drives as CoreStorage Logical Volumes formatted with Mac OS Extended (Journaled). FileVault drives can be optionally Encrypted. An experimental version of APFS, with some limitations, is available in macOS Sierra through the command line diskutil utility. Among these limitations, it does not perform Unicode normalization while HFS+ does, leading to problems with languages other than English. Drives formatted with Sierra’s version of APFS may also not be compatible with future versions of macOS or the final version of APFS, and the Sierra version of APFS cannot be used with Time Machine, FileVault volumes, or Fusion Drives. iOS, tvOS, and watchOS iOS 10.3, tvOS 10.2, and watchOS 3.2 convert the existing HFSX file system to APFS on compatible devices. Third-party utilities Despite the ubiquity of APFS volumes in today's Macs and the format's 2016 introduction, third-party repair utilities continue to have notable limitations in supporting APFS volumes, due to Apple's delayed release of complete documentation. According to Alsoft, the maker of DiskWarrior, Apple's 2018 release of partial APFS format documentation has delayed the creation of a version of DiskWarrior that can safely rebuild APFS disks. Competing products, including MicroMat's TechTool and Prosoft's Drive Genius, are expected to increase APFS support as well. Paragon Software Group has published a software development kit under the 4-Clause BSD License that supports read-only access of APFS drives. An independent read-only open source implementation by Joachim Metz, libfsapfs, is released under GNU Lesser General Public License v3. It has been packaged into Debian and Ubuntu software repositories. Both are command-line tools that do not expose a normal filesystem driver interface. There is a Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) driver for Linux called apfs-fuse with read-only access. An "APFS for Linux" project is working to integrate APFS support into the Linux kernel. See also Comparison of file systems References External links Apple Developer: Apple File System Guide Apple Developer: Apple File System Reference WWDC 2016: Introduction of APFS by Apple software engineers Dominic Giampaolo and Eric Tamura Detailed Overview of APFS by independent file system developer Adam Leventhal 2017 software Apple Inc. file systems Computer file systems Disk file systems Flash file systems IOS MacOS

50818838

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache%20NiFi

Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi is a software project from the Apache Software Foundation designed to automate the flow of data between software systems. Leveraging the concept of Extract, transform, load, it is based on the "NiagaraFiles" software previously developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which is also the source of a part of its present name – NiFi. It was open-sourced as a part of NSA's technology transfer program in 2014. The software design is based on the flow-based programming model and offers features which prominently include the ability to operate within clusters, security using TLS encryption, extensibility (users can write their own software to extend its abilities) and improved usability features like a portal which can be used to view and modify behaviour visually. Software development and commercial support is currently offered by Hortonworks (now merged into Cloudera), who acquired NiFi's originator, Onyara Inc. Components NiFi is a Java program that runs within a Java virtual machine running on a server. The prominent components of Nifi are Web Server - the HTTP-based component used to visually control the software and monitor the events happening within Flow Controller - serves as the brains of NiFi's behaviour. Controls the running of Nifi extensions and schedules allocation of resources for this to happen. Extensions - various plugins that allow Nifi to interact with various kinds of systems FlowFile repository - used by NiFi to maintain and track status of the currently active FlowFile Or the information that NiFi is helping move between systems. Content repository - the data in transit is maintained here Provenance repository - data relating to the provenance of the data flowing through the system is maintained here. Integration into commercial software In February 2017, HPE's SecureData for Hadoop and IoT software became Industry's first commercial product to integrate NiFi See also Hortonworks DataFlow List of Apache Software Foundation projects Flow Based Programming References External links NiFi on Cloudera.com Sub-projects Apache NiFi Registry: A complementary application that provides a central location for storage and management of shared resources across one or more instances of NiFi and/or MiNiFi, such as Templates. MiNiFi: A complementary data collection approach that supplements the core tenets of NiFi in dataflow management, focusing on the collection of data at the source of its creation. Flow Design System (FDS): An atomic reusable platform for providing a common set of UI/UX components for Apache NiFi, Apache NiFi Registry, Apache NiFi MiNiFi, and any other open source web applications to consume. National Security Agency Apache Software Foundation projects Java platform software

50840093

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-of-sale%20malware

Point-of-sale malware

Point-of-sale malware (POS malware) is usually a type of malicious software (malware) that is used by cybercriminals to target point of sale (POS) and payment terminals with the intent to obtain credit card and debit card information, a card's track 1 or track 2 data and even the CVV code, by various man-in-the-middle attacks, that is the interception of the processing at the retail checkout point of sale system. The simplest, or most evasive, approach is RAM-scraping, accessing the system's memory and exporting the copied information via a remote access trojan (RAT) as this minimizes any software or hardware tampering, potentially leaving no footprints. POS attacks may also include the use of various bits of hardware: dongles, trojan card readers, (wireless) data transmitters and receivers. Being at the gateway of transactions, POS malware enables hackers to process and steal thousands, even millions, of transaction payment data, depending upon the target, the number of devices affected, and how long the attack goes undetected. This is done before or outside of the card information being (usually) encrypted and sent to the payment processor for authorization. List of POS RAM scraper malware variants Rdasrv It was discovered in 2011, and installs itself into the Windows computer as a service called rdasrv.exe. It scans for track 1 and track 2 credit card data using Perl compatible regular expressions which includes the customer card holder's name, account number, expiry date, CVV code and other discretionary information. Once the information gets scraped it is stored into data.txt or currentblock.txt and sent to the hacker. Alina It was discovered in October 2012 and gets installed into the PC automatically. It gets embedded into the Auto It script and loads the malware into the memory. Then it scrapes credit card (CC) data from POS software. VSkimmer Vskimmer scrapes the information from the Windows system by detecting the card readers attached to the reader and then sends the captured data to the cyber criminal or control server. Dexter It was discovered in December 2012 to steal system information along with the track 1 and track 2 card details with the help of keylogger installed onto the computer. BlackPOS It is a spyware, created to steal credit and debit card information from the POS system. BlackPOS gets into the PC with stealth-based methods and steals information to send it to some external server. Backoff This memory-scraping malware tracks Track 2 data to access the card magnetic stripe with the help of magnetic stripe readers and sends data to hacker to clone fake credit cards. FastPOS FastPOS Malware is a POS malware that was discovered by Trend Micro researchers. This strikes the point of sale system very fast and snatches the credit and debit card information and sends the data to the cyber criminal instantly. The malware has the capability to exfiltrate the track data using two techniques such as key logger and memory scraper. PunkeyPOS Malware PandaLabs discovered this malware and it infects the point of sale system to breach credit and debit card details. PunkeyPOS Malware uses two functions such as keylogger and RAM Scraper to steal information at Point of Sale Terminal. Once the information is stolen, it is encrypted and sent to cybercriminal's Control and Command Server (C&C). Multigrain Malware This new variant of pos malware or point of sale malware was discovered by FireEye. It follows new advanced technique to steal retail customer's card information with the help of Lunh Algorithm. To exfiltrate the stolen information it first block http and ftp traffic that monitors the data exfiltration. It belongs to the family of NewPosThings malware. CenterPOS Malware CenterPOS is a POS (Point of Sale) Malware that been found in the year 2015 of September along with the other malicious malware such as BlackPOS, NewPOSThings and Alina Malware by FireEye Experts. It scrapes the stolen credit and debit card and sends the data HTTP POST request with the help of Triple DES encryption. MalumPOS Malware MalumPOS is a point of sale malware that records point of sale's data which is running in an Oracle MICROS payment system and has breached 333,000 data's all over the world. It uses Delphi programming language for stealing the credit and debit card details. The stolen data is then sent to the cyber criminal or sold in the black market. See also Point of sale Cyber security standards List of cyber attack threat trends Cyber electronic warfare Malware References Malware Carding (fraud) Retail point of sale systems

50859628

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey%20Boulter

Harvey Boulter

Harvey Boulter (born 7 November 1969 in Angmering, West Sussex, England) is an entrepreneur, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Porton Group, a venture capital group. He came to public prominence in 2011 through the Porton Group’s legal case with 3M alerted the UK press to what became the Liam Fox and Adam Werritty scandal, and led to the resignation of the former as UK Defence Secretary. Biography Harvey Boulter was raised in Worthing and went to the University of Bristol in 1988 where he studied Economics and Accountancy. Boulter graduated as a chartered accountant (ICAEW) and as a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in 1994. Boulter joined Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in 1994 based in London. During this time, Boulter won an advisory mandate for the UK Ministry of Defence to consider the privatization of certain of their research assets. This led to Defence Evaluation and Research Agency being split into what became QinetiQ and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, headquartered at Porton Down. It was here that Boulter first identified certain military technologies that were potentially of material value in the civilian sector. Boulter has held a number of security clearances, including Secret and Top Secret during his career. In 2004, he was made a Fellow of ICAEW and in 2016 he was made a Fellow of CISI. Porton Group In early 2000, Boulter left UBS to found Porton Group. Under Boulter, as Chairman & CEO, Porton Group built a number of partnerships with Government laboratories, funding and developing technology for military purposes that have parallel commercial applications. Boulter funded initial research at Porton Down that led to the creation of P2i. One of Porton's longer term and more significant investments which was sourced directly by Boulter from Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, at Porton Down is Enigma Diagnostics Limited. Enigma was designed to rapidly detect biological agents on the battlefield using a point of need portable molecular diagnostics instrument. Since the creation of the company in 2004, and with investment of over £140 Million, Enigma has developed, in part as a result of a partnership with GSK, into a point of care medical diagnostics business, achieving CE Mark accreditation in Jan 2014 on its Influenza A/B assay. In 2014, Enigma made a move towards the Chinese markets, first partnering with Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and then partnering with Leadman Bio whilst also securing a $50Mn investment from Shanghai Debay Capital. In 2011, Boulter and Porton Group commenced litigation against 3M over the latter’s failure to fulfill their contractual obligations regarding their purchase of Acolyte Biomedical Limited, and the MRSA detection technology Baclite. In November 2011 the UK High Court found in favor of the Porton Group. However, Harvey Boulter as a public face in this complex law suit, exposed the unusual relationship between Adam Werritty and Liam Fox MP as a result of this bitterly contested litigation. Porton Cyber In 2012 Boulter created Porton Cyber, as a Cayman Islands investment fund. One of its investments in this space is focused on secure messaging and mobile voice protection technologies through Communication Security Group, of which Harvey Boulter is Chairman. CSG’s Seecrypt and Cellcrypt products use military-grade encryption for instant messaging and voice/conference calls, and are in use within UK, US, Canadian and Australian Governments. 3M Blackmail Case In its lawsuit, 3M charged that Mr. Boulter had tried to blackmail the company into settling the case for $30 million by threatening to use his ties to a top British government official to derail plans to confer a knighthood on 3M’s chief executive, George W. Buckley. Mr. Boulter rejected the assertion and Mr. Buckley has received his knighthood. A British judge ordered the 3M Corporation to pay $1.3 million in damages Monday after finding that the company had failed to make good on its promise to market a diagnostic test to screen for a dangerous bacterium found in hospitals. The decision, released in London, represented a legal victory for a British investment fund, the Porton Group, and its partners, who filed a lawsuit in 2008 claiming that 3M had breached its contract to commercialize the test. Namibian ventures and murder charge Boulter claims to have invested some N$150 million in Namibia since 2011, and he acquired permanent resident status in 2017. During a helicopter flight in 2012, Boulter spotted an estate near Kamanjab in Namibia which could be converted to an exclusive hunting farm. At the time it was run as lion rehabilitation center by Uwe and Tammy Hoth, who eventually sold their adjacent properties, Kavita Lion Lodge and Pionier, to a Boulter-controlled company. After Boulter's divorce from his wife Leonorah, he spent an increasing amount of time at the estate, then known as Kaross. Boulter was arrested after Gerhard van Wyk (54), whom he employed as manager of the 66,000-acre property, was shot during a scuffle at a barbecue on the farm on February 27, 2021. Boulter was alleged to have insulted Van Wyk's daughter-in-law and to have aimed a pistol her husband, before Van Wyk Snr tried to wrestle the pistol off him. During the ‘indecent proposal’ row, Boulter supposedly suggested that Van Wyk Snr's daughter-in-law Liani, newly married to Gerhard Jnr, should enter into sexual relations with him as he had permitted the couple to build their house on his land. Boulter's lawyer confirmed that the billionaire had been charged with murder and was in police custody. Boulton was additionally charged with obstruction of justice and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and was expected to appear in the Outjo Magistrate Court on 23 April for his bail application. When he failed to show up, the court learned that he was not in Outjo or in detention, but in the Auas Hills Private Hospital, located in the plush Auas Hills Retirement Village, Windhoek, as per doctor’s instructions. On 11 May, Magistrate Udjombala rejected his bail application, and ordered that he be detained at Kamanjab police station to await his court appearance on 30 June. Boulton was however quarantined for supposed Covid-19 at the Safari Court Hotel, before being transferred to Paramount Healthcare Centre for an undisclosed ailment. In July he was granted N$500,000 bail on condition that he resides at a fixed Windhoek address and reports weekly to the local police. References External links British accountants British chief executives Businesspeople from Dubai Alumni of the University of Bristol 1969 births Living people People from Worthing People from Angmering

50879429

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIFSD

CIFSD

CIFSD is an open-source in-kernel CIFS/SMB server created by Namjae Jeon for the Linux kernel. Initially the goal is to provide improved file I/O performance, but the bigger goal is to have some new features which are much easier to develop and maintain inside the kernel and expose the layers fully. Directions can be attributed to sections where Samba is moving to a few modules inside the kernel to have features like Remote direct memory access (RDMA) to work with actual performance gain. Features Implemented SMB1(CIFS), SMB2/3 protocols for basic file sharing Compound requests oplock/lease Large MTU(Multi-credit) NTLM/NTLMv2 Auto negotiation HMAC-SHA256 Signing Secure negotiate Signing Update Pre-authentication integrity(SMB 3.1.1, Windows 10) SMB encryption (CCM, GCM) SMB direct(RDMA) WinACL (Security descriptor) Kerberos Planned Multi-channel Durable handle and v2 Persistent handles Directory lease Cluster Support SCSI over SMB3 Architecture The subset of performance related operations belong in kernelspace and the other subset which belong to operations which are not really related with performance in userspace. So, DCE/RPC management that has historically resulted into number of buffer overflow issues and dangerous security bugs and winreg and user account management are implemented in user space as ksmbd.mountd. File operations that are related with performance (open/read/write/close etc.) are in kernel space (ksmbd). This also allows for easier integration with the VFS interface for all file operations. ksmbd (kernel daemon) When the server daemon is started, it starts up a forker thread (ksmbd/0) at initialization time and opens a dedicated port 445 for listening to SMB requests. Whenever new clients make requests, the forker thread will accept the client connection and fork a new thread for a dedicated communication channel between the client and the server. It allows for parallel processing of SMB requests (commands) from clients as well as allowing for new clients to make new connections. Each instance is named ksmbd/1~n to indicate connected clients. Depending on the SMB request types, each new thread can decide to pass through the commands to the user space (ksmbd.mountd). Currently DCE/RPC commands are identified to be handled through the user space. To further utilize the linux kernel, it has been chosen to process the commands as default workitems to be executed in the handlers of the default kworker threads. It allows for multiplexing of the handlers as the kernel take care of initiating extra worker threads if the load is increased and vice versa, if the load is decreased it destroys the extra worker threads. So, after connection is established with the client, a dedicated ksmbd task takes complete ownership of the receiving and parsing of SMB commands. Each of the multiple clients' commands received is worked in parallel. After receiving each command a separated kernel workitem is prepared for each command which is further queued to be handled by default kworker'threads inside the kernel. So, each SMB workitem is queued to the kworkers. This allows the benefit of load sharing to be managed optimally by the default kernel and optimizes client performance by handling client commands in parallel. ksmbd.mountd (user space daemon) ksmbd.mountd is userspace process to, transfer user account and password that are registered using ksmbd.adduser (part of utils for user space). Further it allows sharing information parameters that parsed from smb.conf to smb export layer in kernel. For the execution part it has a daemon which is continuously running and connected to the kernel interface using netlink socket, it waits for the requests (dcerpc and winreg). It handles RPC calls (at a minimum few dozen) that are most important for file server from NetShareEnum and NetServerGetInfo and various DFS related calls which a server must implement. Complete DCE/RPC response is prepared from the user space and passed over to the associated kernel thread for the client. See also Comparison of operating system kernels Server Message Block List of products that support SMB References https://github.com/cifsd-team/cifsd/blob/master/README.md User Manual : https://github.com/namjaejeon/Documents/blob/master/CIFSD_User_Guide_v1.0.pdf External links INTRODUCE IN-KERNELSMB3 SERVER CALLED CIFSD , SambaXP 2019 (2019-06-05) INTRODUCE IN-KERNELSMB3 SERVER CALLED CIFSD , Storage Developer Conference 2019 (2019-09-23) File systems supported by the Linux kernel Network file systems

50924291

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active%20defense

Active defense

Active defense can refer to a defensive strategy in the military or cybersecurity arena. In the cybersecurity arena, active defense may mean "asymmetric defenses," namely defenses that increase costs to cyber-adversaries by reducing costs to cyber-defenders. For example, an active defense data protection strategy invented by CryptoMove leverages dynamic data movement, distribution, and re-encryption to make data harder to attack, steal, or destroy. Prior data protection approaches relied on encryption of data at rest, which leaves data vulnerable to attacks including stealing of ciphertext, cryptographic attack, attacks on encryption keys, destruction of encrypted data, ransomware attacks, insider attacks, and others. Three ACM computing conferences have explored Moving Target Defense as a strategy for network and application-level security as well, for instance by rotating IP addresses or dynamically changing network topologies. Production implementations of MTD are provided by companies such as Dispel for applications including legacy systems, communications, and election security. Additionally, "active defense measures" are often another term used to define and refer to offensive cyber operations (OCOs) or computer network attacks (CNAs). Some have defined active defenses as including of deception or honeypots, which seek to confuse attackers with traps and advanced forensics. Examples of such honeypot technologies include Illusive Networks, TrapX, Cymmetria, Attivo, and others. Other types of active defenses might include automated incident response, which attempts to tie together different response strategies in order to increase work for attackers and decrease work for defenders. The Department of Defense defines active defense as: "The employment of limited offensive action and counterattacks to deny a contested area or position to the enemy." This definition does not specify whether it refers to physical actions, or cyber-related actions. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security and financial institutions have identified Active Defense as a top priority for security industrial infrastructure systems. As part of a broader push for greater resiliency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology 800-160 Volume 2 framework has gone further, providing guidance on standardization for active defense. See also Proactive cyber defence Software-defined networking The Concept of Active Defence in China's Military Strategy References Military doctrines Military strategy

50957870

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD-WAN

SD-WAN

A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) uses software-defined network technology, such as communicating over the Internet using encryption between an organization's locations. If standard tunnel setup and configuration messages are supported by all of the network hardware vendors, SD-WAN simplifies the management and operation of a WAN by decoupling the networking hardware from its control mechanism. This concept is similar to how software-defined networking implements virtualization technology to improve data center management and operation. In practice, proprietary protocols like Cisco IoS are used to set up and manage an SD-WAN, meaning no decoupling of the hardware and its control mechanism. A key application of SD-WAN is to allow companies to build higher-performance WANs using lower-cost and commercially available Internet access, enabling businesses to partially or wholly replace more expensive private WAN connection technologies such as MPLS. However, since the SD-WAN traffic is carried over the Internet, there are no end-to-end performance guarantees. Carrier MPLS VPN WAN services are not carried as Internet traffic, but rather over carefully-controlled carrier capacity, and do come with an end-to-end performance guarantee. Overview WANs allow companies to extend their computer networks over large distances, connecting remote branch offices to data centers and to each other, and delivering applications and services required to perform business functions. Due to the physical constraints imposed by the propagation time over large distances, and the need to integrate multiple service providers to cover global geographies (often crossing nation boundaries), WANs face important operational challenges, including network congestion, packet delay variation, packet loss, and even service outages. Modern applications such as VoIP calling, videoconferencing, streaming media, and virtualized applications and desktops require low latency. Bandwidth requirements are also increasing, especially for applications featuring high-definition video. It can be expensive and difficult to expand WAN capability, with corresponding difficulties related to network management and troubleshooting. SD-WAN products are designed to address these network problems. By enhancing or even replacing traditional branch routers with virtualization appliances that can control application-level policies and offer a network overlay, less expensive consumer-grade Internet links can act more like a dedicated circuit. This simplifies the setup process for branch personnel. MEF Forum has defined an SD-WAN architecture consisting of an SD-WAN Edge, SD-WAN Controller and SD-WAN Orchestrator. The SD-WAN Edge is a physical or virtual network function that is placed at an organization's branch/regional/central office site, data center, and in public or private cloud platforms. MEF Forum has published the first SD-WAN service standard, MEF 70 which defines the fundamental characteristics of an SD-WAN service plus service requirements and attributes. The SD-WAN Orchestrator, which typically also includes the SD-WAN Controller functionality, is used to set centralized policies which are used to make forwarding decisions for application Flows. Application flows are IP packets that have been classified to determine their user application or grouping of applications to which they are associated. The grouping of application flows based on a common type, e.g., conferencing applications, is referred to as an Application Flow Group in MEF 70. Per MEF 70, the SD-WAN Edge classifies incoming IP packets at the SD-WAN UNI (SD-WAN User Network Interface), determines, via OSI Layer 2 through Layer 7 classification, which application flow the IP packets belong to, and then applies the policies to block the application flow or allow the application flows to be forwarded based on the availability of a route to the destination SD-WAN UNI on a remote SD-WAN Edge. This helps ensure that application performance meets service level agreements (SLAs). History WANs were very important for the development of networking technologies in general and were for a long time the most important application of networks both for military and enterprise applications. The ability to communicate data over large distances was one of the main driving factors for the development of data communications technologies, as it made it possible to overcome the distance limitations, as well as shortening the time necessary to exchange messages with other parties. Legacy WAN technologies allowed communication over circuits connecting two or more endpoints. Earlier technologies supported point-to-point communication over a slow speed circuit, usually between two fixed locations. As technology evolved, WAN circuits became faster and more flexible. Innovations like circuit and packet switching (in the form of X.25, ATM and later Internet Protocol or Multiprotocol Label Switching communications) allowed communication to become more dynamic, supporting ever-growing networks. The need for strict control, security and quality of service meant that multinational corporations were very conservative in leasing and operating their WANs. National regulations restricted the companies that could provide local service in each country, and complex arrangements were necessary to establish truly global networks. All that changed with the growth of the Internet, which allowed entities around the world to connect to each other. However, over the first years, the uncontrolled nature of the Internet was not considered adequate or safe for private corporate use. Independent of safety concerns, connectivity to the Internet became a necessity to the point where every branch required Internet access. At first, due to safety concerns, private communications were still done via WAN, and communication with other entities (including customers and partners) moved to the Internet. As the Internet grew in reach and maturity, companies started to evaluate how to leverage it for private corporate communications. During the early 2000s, application delivery over the WAN became an important topic of research and commercial innovation. Over the next decade, increasing computing power made it possible to create software-based appliances that were able to analyze traffic and make informed decisions in real time, making it possible to create large-scale overlay networks over the public Internet that could replicate all the functionality of legacy WANs, at a fraction of the cost. SD-WAN combines several technologies to create full-fledged private networks, with the ability to dynamically share network bandwidth across the connection points. Additional enhancements include central controllers, zero-touch provisioning, integrated analytics and on-demand circuit provisioning, with some network intelligence based in the cloud, allowing centralized policy management and security. Networking publications started using the term SD-WAN to describe this new networking trend as early as 2014. Required characteristics Research firm Gartner has defined an SD-WAN as having four required characteristics: The ability to support multiple connection types, such as MPLS, Last Mile Fiber Optic Network or through high speed cellular networks e.g. 4G LTE and 5G wireless technologies The ability to do dynamic path selection, for load sharing and resiliency purposes A simple interface that is easy to configure and manage The ability to support VPNs, and third party services such as WAN optimization controllers, firewalls and web gateways Form factors SD-WAN products can be physical appliances or software based only. Features Features of SD-WANs include resilience, quality of service (QoS), security, and performance, with flexible deployment options; simplified administration and troubleshooting; and online traffic engineering. Resilience A resilient SD-WAN reduces network downtime. To be resilient, the technology must feature real-time detection of outages and automatic switch over (fail over) to working links. Quality of service SD-WAN technology supports quality of service by having application level awareness, giving bandwidth priority to the most critical applications. This may include dynamic path selection, sending an application on a faster link, or even splitting an application between two paths to improve performance by delivering it faster. Security SD-WAN communication is usually secured using IPsec, a staple of WAN security. Application optimization SD-WANs can improve application delivery using caching, storing recently accessed information in memory to speed future access. Deployment options Most SD-WAN products are available as pre-configured appliances, placed at the network edge in data centers, branch offices and other remote locations. There are also virtual appliances that can work on existing network hardware, or the appliance can be deployed as a virtual appliance on the cloud in environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Unified Communications as a service (UCaaS) or as Software as a Service (SaaS). This allows enterprises to benefit from SD-WAN services as they migrate application delivery from corporate servers to cloud based services such as Salesforce.com and Google apps. Administration and troubleshooting As with network equipment in general, GUIs may be preferred to command line interface (CLI) methods of configuration and control. Other beneficial administrative features include automatic path selection, the ability to centrally configure each end appliance by pushing configuration changes out, and even a true software defined networking approach that lets all appliances and virtual appliances be configured centrally based on application needs rather than underlying hardware. Online traffic engineering With a global view of network status, a controller that manages SD-WAN can perform careful and adaptive traffic engineering by assigning new transfer requests according to current usage of resources (links). For example, this can be achieved by performing central calculation of transmission rates at the controller and rate-limiting at the senders (end-points) according to such rates. Complementary technology SD-WAN versus WAN optimization There are some similarities between SD-WAN and WAN optimization, the name given to the collection of techniques used to increase data-transfer efficiencies across WANs. The goal of each is to accelerate application delivery between branch offices and data centers, but SD-WAN technology focuses additionally on cost savings and efficiency, specifically by allowing lower cost network links to perform the work of more expensive leased lines, whereas WAN Optimization focuses squarely on improving packet delivery. An SD-WAN utilizing virtualization techniques assisted with WAN Optimization traffic control allows network bandwidth to dynamically grow or shrink as needed. SD-WAN technology and WAN optimization can be used separately or together, and some SD-WAN vendors are adding WAN optimization features to their products. WAN edge routers A WAN edge router is a device that routes data packets between different WAN locations, giving enterprise access to a carrier network. Also called a boundary router, it is unlike a core router, which only sends packets within a single network. SD-WANs can work as an overlay to simplify the management of existing WAN edge routers, by lowering dependence on routing protocols. SD-WAN can also potentially be an alternative to WAN Edge routers. SD-WAN versus hybrid WAN SD-WANs are similar to hybrid WANs, and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, but they are not identical. A hybrid WAN consists of different connection types, and may have a software defined network (SDN) component, but doesn't have to. SD-WAN versus MPLS Cloud-based SD-WAN offers advanced features, such as enhanced security, seamless cloud, and support for mobile users, that result naturally from the use of cloud infrastructure. As a result, cloud-based SD-WAN can replace MPLS, enabling organizations to release resources once tied to WAN investments and create new capabilities. An overview discussing three typical reasons to compare MPLS with SD-WAN. Specifically where IT teams need to retain MPLS due to contract commitments and where the Enterprise migrates from MPLS to an Internet-based SD WAN. SD-CORE SD-WAN appliances alone do not solve the middle-mile performance issues of the Internet core. SD-CORE architectures are more consistent than the Internet, routing traffic optimally through the core. SD-CORE is available as Independent MPLS backbones or Software-defined backbones. Testing and validation As there is no standard algorithm for SD-WAN controllers, device manufacturers each use their own proprietary algorithm in the transmission of data. These algorithms determine which traffic to direct over which link and when to switch traffic from one link to another. Given the breadth of options available in relation to both software and hardware SD-WAN control solutions, it's imperative they be tested and validated under real-world conditions within a lab setting prior to deployment. There are multiple solutions available for testing purposes, ranging from purpose-built network emulation appliances which can apply specified network impairments to the network being tested in order to reliably validate performance, to software-based solutions. Marketplace IT website Network World divides the SD-WAN vendor market into three groups: established networking vendors who are adding SD-WAN products to their offerings, WAN specialists who are starting to integrate SD-WAN functionality into their products, and startups focused specifically on the SD-WAN market. Alternatively, a market overview by Nemertes Research groups SD-WAN vendors into categories based on their original technology space, and which are "Pure-play SD-WAN providers", "WAN optimization vendors", "Link-aggregation vendors", and "General network vendors" While Network World's second category (startups focused specifically on the SD-WAN market), is generally equivalent to Nemertes' "Pure-play SD-WAN providers" category, Nemertes offers a more detailed view of the preexisting WAN and overall networking providers. Additionally, Nemertes Research also describes the in-net side of the SD-WAN market, describing the go-to-market strategy of connectivity providers entering the SD-WAN market. These providers include "Network-as-a-service vendors", "Carriers or telcos", "Content delivery networks" and "Secure WAN providers". Open source MEF 70 standardizes SD-WAN service attributes and uses standard IPv4 and IPv6 routing protocols. SD-WAN services also use standard IPsec encryption protocols. Additional standardization for other SD-WAN functions and related security functionality not covered in MEF 70 are under development at the MEF Forum. There are several opensource SD-WAN solutions and opensource SD-WAN implementations available. For example, the Linux Foundation has three projects that intersect with and help the SD-WAN market: ONAP, OpenDaylight Project, and the Tungsten Fabric (formerly Juniper Networks' OpenContrail). References Computing terminology Configuration management Data transmission Emerging technologies Network architecture Telecommunications Wide area networks

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pers%20Z%20S

Pers Z S

The Pers Z S was the Signal Intelligence Agency of the German Foreign Office () before and during World War II. It consisted of two cryptologic sections. Pers Z S was the cryptanalytic section which was called Special Service of Z Branch of the Foreign Office Personnel Department (). Its mission was the solution of foreign diplomatic codes and ciphers. The other section, which was the Cryptography Section was called Personal Z Cipher Service of the Federal Foreign Office () (abbr. Pers Z Chi). The latter section was responsible for compilation, distribution and security of Foreign Office codes and ciphers. Both were colloquially known as Pers Z S. Though similar in nature and operation to the OKW/Chi cipher bureau, it was a civilian operation as opposed to the military operation at OKW/Chi and focused primarily on diplomatic communications. According to TICOM interrogators it evinced an extraordinary degree of competence, primarily driven by a consistency of development not found in any other German signals bureau of the period. Pers Z S/Chi was the symbol and the code name of the Chiffrierdienst, i.e. the Cryptanalysis Department of Pers Z S. Although little is known about the organization, in the final analysis, Pers Z S labored at diplomatic cryptanalysis for a regime for which there were no diplomatic solutions. Short name The abbreviation of "Chi" for the Chiffrierabteilung is, contrary to what one might expect, not the Greek letter Chi, nor anything to do with the chi test, a common cryptographic test used as part of deciphering an enciphered message, and invented by Solomon Kullback, but only to the first three letters of the word Chiffrierabteilung (English: cipher department). History Little was known about Pers Z S before April 1945, when the first section was captured. TICOM (Target Intelligence Committee), the United States effort to capture German intelligence assets after the war, found that captured documents provided little information on the execution of the unit, with the records of the Mathematical and Cryptological section having been destroyed. The field covered by Pers Z S, over 25 countries for a period of 25 years, stymied the TICOM as few interrogators were available, and they also lacked experience in cryptographic diplomatic system. This was the first TICOM investigation. Inevitably there were some areas which were not covered. In May 1945, the usual approach by the TICOM was to force captured personnel to write "homework" describing processes used in a particular intelligence unit under interrogation, but this method was not fully developed. The only document prepared as "homework" was one dated 6 August 1945 by Professor Dr Hans Rohrbach, along with several of his Pers Z S colleagues, which described the cryptanalysis of the American O-2 strip cypher, which was considered a most significant piece of work. 1919–1937 The original name for Pers Z S was unknown but was likely from Political Intelligence Department, and was placed with Bureau I (Abteilung), the normal administrative department in a German government organization at the time. As the cryptography unit grew, it changed its name to Personnel Bureau It was later called Chiffrierabteilung, later still the Sonderdienst des Referats Z in der Personalabteilung des Auswärtigen Amtes. In 1925, it was known that both the cryptographic and cryptanalysis were unified under a single director. In 1919 Kurt Selchow had joined the organization and immediately started to professionalize the cipher bureau. He introduced a system of dividing work upon foreign codes and ciphers into sections for various countries and selected as leaders of these sections men such as Dr Pashke, Dr Kunze, Dr Schauffler who he had known during World War I. The strength of the organization during this period was unknown. In 1945 Dr Paschke and Dr Schauffler stated that between 20 and 30 people were employed in 1918. A May 1919 list shows 63 personnel employed, and would likely cover clerks, administrators, communications and liaison individuals. By 1930 the Pers Z S unit strength was around 50 personnel. 1937–1939 On November 1, 1937, Pers Z S had around 77 employees, and by July 1, 1938, this had decreased to 72 people. It was thought that the cryptanalysis unit had around 20 people. Under interrogation, Paschke and Kunze estimated that in 1939, Pers S Z personnel included between 80 and 100 people. A document captured on December 1, 1939, showed a total strength of 92 people, but another document stated that 45 new appointments were made between September 1, 1939, and November 1939. Thus it would seem reasonable to assume that at the start of the war Pers Z S had a personnel count of 50. The available documentation from 1937 to 1939 indicate that Z Branch suffered personnel shortages and a certain inertia within management. The job descriptions (German: Begruendungen) attached to the recommendation for promotion documentation detailed that Dr. Kunze was a Specialist () since 1923 and that Dr Paschke had held the same grade since 1927. Positions with comparable activities and responsibilities in other ministries are given the grade of Principal Specialist () or Senior Specialist (). This is spite of the fact that the personnel concerned are usually younger and have less time in grade. Chi complained in 1938 that it could not function efficiently without additional personnel. Ten of its thirteen cryptographers were over fifty years old, six of them over sixty. Due to the overloading of the cryptographic section, outgoing messages cannot be enciphered and checked with the necessary care. This regrettable state of affair was most noticeable during May 1938 and September 1938, when the political atmosphere was at its tensest. The cipher bureau was organized as follows: {| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan=5 style="background:LightSteelBlue"|Group names with director |- ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Location ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Unit ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Strength ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Total |- | Luisenstift, Managed by Dr Schauffler | Schauffler's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 8 | |- | rowspan="7" | | Paschke's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 13 | |- | Scherschmidt's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 10 | |- | Zastrow's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 9 | |- | Karstien's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 4 | |- | Hagen's Group | style="text-align: center;" | 4 | |- | Records Group | style="text-align: center;" | 3 | |- | Clerical Personnel | style="text-align: center;" | 3 | style="text-align: center;" | 72 |- | Jaegerstrasse 12 III, Managed by Dr Kunze | Special Group Mathematical cryptanalysis | style="text-align: center;" | 20 | style="text-align: center;" | 20 |} Wartime Little is known about Pers Z at the start of the war. By October 1, 1940, there were around 290 employees, with Dr Kunze reporting to TICOM that he had 53 people working in his section in January 1941 at the Jaegerstrasse location, and Dr Schauffler reporting that 88 personnel were employed in January 1941, at the Berlin-Dahlem Avenue location. As with other cipher bureaus, similar to the OKW/Chi, the high command bureau and B-Dienst, the Navy cipher bureau, Pers Z S suffered chronic shortage of personnel. On November 26, 1940, Pers Z S submitted a list of problems to high command, primarily due to staff shortages, including 17 major countries which were neglected. Doctor Kunze requested an additional 57 employees, 28 of which would be employees on British and American problems and Dr Schauffler requested an additional 17. Pers Z S underwent no major changes until November–December 1943 when the unit was split into three groups and partially evacuated from Berlin due to continuous bombing by the Allies. Dr Schauffler and Dr Pasche's unit remained in Berlin at Im Dol 2-6,5. The Linguists unit under Dr Karstien, moved to Hischberg in Krkonoše. The mathematicians under Dr Kunze, together with all Hollerith machinery were evacuated to Hermsdorf in Silesia. Towards the end of war, in February and March 1945, the unit further fragmented and with the spectre of the Russian advance the personnel located in the Hirschberg group were moved to Burgscheidungen and joined there by some of the former Berlin personnel in April. The organization was knit together by a daily courier service. Later in February 1945 the mathematics based cryptanalysts subsection fragmented with some personnel moving to Mühlhausen, with the majority of the personnel moving to Zscheppelin, a small village, around 15 km west of Delitzsch. No intercept traffic was received after March 1945, however some cryptanalysis continued in Burgscheidungen on archive material, until it was overrun in April. It is believed that all the Pers Z S archives, which consisted of around 40 chests, went south from Bavaria to Mühlhausen in mid-April 1945. Individual documents in the chests had no markings on them, but the files and folders were marked Geheime Reichssache, Secret Realm. Key personnel Administrative Section Minister () Kurt Selchow was Director of the Z Branch. He remained head of the cipher bureau until May 1945. Senior Specialist (Oberregierungsrat) Dr Roy was head of Administrative Section in Z Branch. He had been with Z Branch since the early 1920s. He was taken prisoner at Mühlhausen in April 1945, but was found to be of little importance to TICOM (the United States Target Intelligence Committee). Senior Specialist Ernst Hoffman had seniority going back to 1919. From 1940, he was head of the Communication Section in Z Branch, a section newly created at the time. Senior Specialist Dr Horst Hauthal was head of the Cryptographic Section in Z Branch. His rise in Z Branch was considered meteoric by his peers. He joined the Nazi Party in 1937 and was a committed Nazi. A mathematician, economist, and cryptographer, he joined in January 1940 and was promoted to senior specialist before 1945. After the war he became a German ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa. Later, in the 1960s and early 1970s, he led negotiations for the first bilateral investment treaty with Pakistan. Linguistics Cryptanalytic Section Senior Specialist (Oberregierungsrat) Dr Rudolf Schauffler, originally a mathematician, was the nominal head of the Linguistics and Cryptanalysis section from at least November 1, 1937, and was the senior cryptanalyst in the section. He joined Z branch immediately after World War I. His main field of interest was theoretical research (German: Grundlagenforschung) on cryptologic methodology. His language specialties were Japanese and Chinese, which was also the cryptanalytic desk he headed. He also served as the primary advisor to the Foreign Office Cryptographic Section (Pers Z S Chi) on Security Senior Specialist Dr Adolf Paschke became joint head of the Linguistics and Cryptanalytics section along with Schauffler during the latter half of World War II. He joined the Foreign Office group in 1919, became a Specialist () in 1927 and became a senior specialist () in 1939. In 1941, he was recommended to the rank of Principal Foreign Office Specialist (Vortragender Legationsrat). He was responsible for report publishing and the translators. He was also responsible for liaison with the German armed forces. His language specialties were Italian, Greek and Russian. Dr Adolf Paschke was a Nazi and joined in 1933. Karl Zastrow was a Technical Assistant (). A senior member of the Cryptanalytic Section, he entered service in December 1918. Known for being a gifted analyst, he was never promoted due to being absent minded. He headed the American and Scandinavian group which was directed by Dr Hans-Kurt Mueller, with Zastrow as his deputy. He was the unit's expert on American Systems. Dr Wilhelm Brandes was a Senior Specialist (). Dr Brandes headed the group directed by Dr Paschke, which worked to penetrate cyphers of Dutch, Swiss, Belgian or French origin. Having worked with Dr Paschke in World War I, he started working for Pers Z S in 1920. Known for being a capable linguist, archivist and bookbuilder, he had also certain liaison functions for his own group. Dr Herrmann Scherschmidt was a Senior Specialist (). Starting at the Foreign Office in May 1919, he specialized in Slavonic and Near Eastern languages. He headed the Pers Z S Turkish group from 1934 to 1939. Thereafter he took over the Slavonic group until September 1943. Wanting to return to the Turkish group, but unable to do so, he transferred to the translations unit (Foreign Office Document section) until September 1944. He then returned to his old group (Turkish, under Dr Paschke), while Dr Benzing, the then current head of unit, shifted to Arabian and Iranian systems. Dr Hans-Heidrun Karstien. Dr Karstien joined Pers Z S sometime before 1930. In November 1937, he was an unclassified employee (German: Tarifangestellter) in Group X, then the highest pay grade. He specialized in Japanese and Chinese systems and cyphers, which he worked on from 1930 to 1938. In November 1940, he was listed as a Specialist in Balkan languages, handling Bulgarian, Croatian, Polish, Slovakian and possibly Finnish cyphers. He was taken prisoner in April 1945. Dr Johannes Benzing joined Pers Z S on July 20, 1937. He was the youngest senior official (German: Beamter) in the Pers Z S unit. A linguist, he was a specialist in Near Eastern languages and originally worked under Dr Scherschmidt. He headed this section from October 1939 until September 1944. He was then placed in charge of work for Iranian, Iraqi and Afghanistani systems. Dr Ursula Hagen was a Technical Assistant (Grade IV) (). It was considered difficult for women in Pers Z S to achieve proper recognition or seniority, and Dr Hagen was a case in point. Born March 23, 1901, she entered the unit on October 1, 1922. By 1939 to 1945, she was head of the group, her immediate manager being Dr Paschke. She was responsible for work in England, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries. As manager of the group, she was responsible for 12 staff. Her grade and remuneration were never comparable to similar staff who had the same responsibilities and who were men. She was captured at Zschepplin in 1945 and evacuated to Marburg. Dr Hagen was considered as the best and most successful cryptanalyst in the diplomatic office by Dr Adolf Paschke. Dr Hans-Kurt Mueller was a Technical Assistant (Grade III), Born on May 1, 1906, he started working in Pers Z S on January 22, 1940. Specializing in American and Scandinavian systems, he was listed as Zastrow's deputy () at that time. By April 1945 however, he is listed as head of the group, and Zastrow as his deputy. Dr Peter Olbricht was a former anthropologist with the Ethnographic Museum (), located at Prinz Albrecht and Königgrätzer in Berlin and started working for the unit in December 1939. An orientalist of some repute, he specialized in Chinese, Japanese and Manchurian codes, working under the direction of Dr Schauffler. He was in the Hirschberg group from December 1943, and was eventually captured at Burgscheidungen. Miss Asta Friedrichs. While holding a low rank, she was however, one of the leading personalities of Pers S Z, she joined in September 1940 after studying at the Sorbonne and the America University in Sofia. Working with Dr Karstien, she deputized in the Slavonic Group when needed, while specializing in Bulgarian. Miss Hildegarde Schrader was a Technical Assistant (Grade IV). Miss Schrader joined Pers Z S in September 1939, and specialized in French codes. In 1943 she was deputy to Dr Brandes in the French-Belgian-Swiss section and took over from Brandes when he fell ill in 1944, in Hirschberg. She was captured at Burgscheidungen. Dr Otfried Deubner was employed as a Technical Assistant (German: Wissenschaftlicher Hilfsarbeiter) Grade III. Dr Otfried started work with unit on July 7, 1940. By the end of the war, he was assistant to Dr Paschke in the group which handled the Vatican, Italian, Greece and the USSR desks. He was recommended for Specialist in 1941 but decided to stay as a Technical Assistant. Mathematical and Cryptological Section Senior Specialist Dr Werner Kunze was a cryptanalyst and brilliant mathematician with 25 years of Pers Z S experience. A military cryptologist in World War I, he joined the Foreign Office in 1919. Kunze's subsection, the Mathematical-Cryptanalytic subsection, operated apart from the main Pers Z S department (Stammabteilung). His subsection consisted of linguist mathematicians, and he was also responsible for the Pers Z S IBM (Hollerith) machinery. They specialized in difficult systems and complex message encryption, and those problems which required a large outlay of expenditure of both time and personnel, or the applications of technical devices. In December 1939, his group had 20 members. Prof Dr Hans Rohrbach was a professor of mathematics at the Charles University in Prague. Dr Rohrbach split his duties equally between teaching and cryptanalysis. He started at Pers Z S in early 1940 as a Senior Civil Servant (German: Höherer Beamter). Having an excellent command of the English language, he worked on English, American and Scandinavian as well as on the Japanese desk. Through personality alone, he was one of the leading members of Pers Z S. He was awarded the War Service Cross 2nd Class () in September 1944 for his work on the solution of the U.S. Diplomatic Strip System O-2. Dr Helmut Grunsky, a mathematician, started working at Pers Z S in September 1939. Previously he was teaching and conducting research at the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He was Technical Assistant Grade III (Wissenschaftlicher Hilfsarbeiter) in December 1940, and was recommended for promotion to Specialist (Regierungsrat) on March 5, 1941. Dr Hans-Georg Krug. Little is known of when he joined Pers S Z but it was probable that he joined in early 1940. In 1941 he was recommended for promotion to Specialist. At the end of the war he was in charge of all Pers Z S Hollerith installations and other custom machinery. Dr Erika Pannwitz. It is not known when Dr Pannwitz joined Pers Z S, but she was head of a group of cryptanalysts in April 1945 Klaus Schultz joined Pers Z S after the start of World War II. A professional mathematician and statistician, he worked for the German Statistical Office (German: Statistisches Reichsamt) before the war. He worked with Dr Kunze's section on December 1, 1939. His last known civil service grade was Technical Assistant Grade III (Wissenschaftlicher Hilfsarbeiter) on March 5, 1941, and he was never promoted during the war Dr Annelise Hünke started working at Pers S Z on August 31, 1939, as a Technical Assistant Grade III. Dr Karl Schröter joined Pers Z S in the Spring of 1941. A mathematical theoretician at the University of Münster, he received his doctorate under Heinrich Scholz. In 1948 he was professor of mathematics at Humboldt University of Berlin and 1964 became a member of the German Academy of Science. He worked independently on Japanese additive and encipherment systems. Personnel Seconded from OKW/Chi Dr Arthur Grosse, who specialized in Chinese and Japanese codes, Edgar Hierer, a minor cryptanalyst, who also worked on Japanese and Chinese codes and Cort Rave, or Kurt Rave, also specializing in Japanese, Chinese code, were members of OKW/Chi and were seconded to Pers Z S in December 1943 after OKW/Chi was bombed out of their building, the Bendlerblock, located in Tirpltzufer section in Berlin. Working on the Chinese and Japanese desk, Dr Hans Rohrbach commented: ...definitely lower grade personnel and had come here to be trained Professor Dr Cort Rove stated in letter with Dr Otto Leiberich and Jürgen Rohwer that his team of linguists and cryptanalysts, solved on a daily basis, the Japanese PURPLE diplomatic cipher Operations Intercept Network Pers Z S has a single intercept station, called the Landhaus in Dahlem, that was used to cover priority communications, e.g. between Berlin and Ankara or Berlin to Lisbon, however for message intercepts Pers Z S received the bulk from OKW/Chi, Hermann Göring's Research Office of the Reich Air Ministry (FA) and the German Post Office (). Traffic intercepts sources were generally unknown as the traffic intercept had undergone post-processing before arriving at Pers Z S. When the FA was bombed out, the traffic was received direct from the Reichspost. Operational Environment The linguist Dr Karstien, stated under interrogation that as a signal intelligence organization, the cryptanalysts within it received little official recognition from senior officials in the Foreign Ministry, the Auswärtiges Amt, even though they were quick to complain. Dr Karstien stated that Kurt Selchow might learn from Joachim von Ribbentrop, that the foreign minister was interested in a specific area, perhaps the Balkans but seldom was more specific guidance offered concerning the needs of senior officials. Dr Karstien stated: We worked, entirely in the dark (). Reaction from senior personnel at the foreign office was rare. Miss Friedrichs stated: From time to time copies of messages issued had been returned bearing a stamp indicating they had been seen by the Führer. Otherwise, no indication of the importance attached to their work had ever penetrated to the level at which she worked. Occasionally a staff member would receive praise. In a letter dated 30 May 1938, Dr Paschke received a letter of commendation from Undersecretary Ernst von Weizsäcker, congratulating Paschke on a particularly successful effort () in the Italian work assigned him. Hans Rohrbach was also awarded the War Merit Cross. As the cryptanalysts received neither acknowledgement nor recognition from above, consequently they worked in an administrative vacuum. Attitude of Pers Z S leaders Some responsibility for the failure to disseminate information internally, concerning successes, must be assigned to the Pers Z S leaders. Kurt Selchow, characterized as a competent administrator who knew little about cryptography. Selchow was preoccupied with the bureaucratic intrigues of the ministry and left the substantive work to Paschke, Schauffler and Kunze, who ran their subsections affairs as they saw fit. Paschke and Hagen both stated that they knew more about message content than did junior personnel. Miss Friedrich stated that there was little encouragement given to the communication of results inside the organization of junior members, who were encouraged to mind their own business. In the linguistic section, desk chiefs were left to their own devices. They decided priorities and deployed staff accordingly. It seems that Pers Z S personnel were not intelligence minded. They were cryptanalysts and they thought primarily in terms of cryptanalysis, and intelligence was to them a by-product of their work. Handling and Processing of Decodes As described above, instruction from Ribbentrop was invariably of a general nature, and solely concerned with the subject matter of intelligence, e.g. Poland or the invasion, and had no concern for the details of the systems. Kurt Selchow dealt with Ribbentrop directly, and did not go through Schröder or Ernst von Weizsäcker, who was the principal assistant to Ribbentrop. To further confuse the chain of command, Miss Ursula Hagen stated in interrogation that she received her instructions direct from "Secretary", Undersecretary Gustav Adolf Steengracht von Moyland. Pers Z S had no evaluation unit with each desk chief deciding which of his or her groups decrypts would be circulated (without comment or interpretation) to higher authorities. Since Pers Z S suffered from chronic staff shortages, it forced the chiefs to lend a hand with practical cryptanalysis as well as translation, leaving scant time for the selection process. According to Dr Paschke, Ribbentrop read only about 20-30% of the material produced. His secretaries, Weber and Karl_Christian von Loesch, selected these for him. Ribbentrop saw between one and four items a day, or less. His principal assistant Gustav Adolf Steengracht von Moyland, or one of the secretaries, determined what distributions should be made outside the Ministry. If all these statements are to be taken at face value then at least five people were involved in determining the distribution of decodes, with the consequent disadvantages of divided responsibility and possible loss of continuity. The military historian, David Alvarez stated: Occasionally, Ribbentrop would forward a decrypt to the Führer's HQ for Hitlers attention, but in the highly competitive world of wartime German intelligence, where knowledge and control of resources was power, there was little incentive to circulate the product to a wider audience and it is unlikely that Ribbentrop shared his decrypts with other departments. It was unknown how the Pers Z S intelligence was integrated into the total intelligence picture. All top officials interrogated at the Nuremberg trials agreed there was no central clearing house for intelligence at the top. Wilhelm Keitel did not know whether or not he received all the Pers Z S decodes. Alfred Jodl knew in a general way of the Foreign Office achievements, but did not receive the Pers Z S output. Where a messages solved by the OKW/Chi was not also in the hands of the Foreign Office, then a copy of the decrypt in the form of a Reliable Report () (abbr. VN) was passed to them. Keitel in an enlightening quote, stated of Pers Z S, during the Nuremberg trials, that they were: extremely secretive and jealous about anything their bureau produced. If, by any chance, Keitel produced direct to Hitler an OKW/Chi diplomatic decode and did not pass it via the Foreign Office, they became extremely annoyed. Actually, this happened very rarely. No mention is made of decoded exchanged between agencies for technical purposes, and decodes exchanged with agency heads to be used for intelligence purpose. Collegiate atmosphere The working environment in Pers Z S was closer to a university faculty than an intelligence agency. There was little sense of urgency. Desk chiefs, who took pride in the linguistic abilities of their staff and set high standards for translation, might hold a decrypt until every nuance of meaning and intention has been uncovered. Crypt-analytical problems were considered intellectual exercises rather than potential sources of intelligence. Lacking guidance and feedback from the final end user of their product, the code-breakers came to consider cryptanalysis as an end in itself rather than an instrument for the production of intelligence. Cryptographical Achievements Organization Per Z S grew organically before World War II and as with any small organization it grew more along with personnel factors than any logical plan. Although Dr Schauffler was the unit's leader during the interwar period, Dr Paschke, a more successful cryptanalyst, forceful personality and a Nazi, assumed more of a leadership role. However, TICOM interrogations could find no definitive documentation to assert who led the unit in 1945. It was possible there was none, but it seems probable that Dr Paschke in deference to Dr Schauffler's seniority, no actual administrative changes had occurred. Dr Kunze was the leading mathematical cryptanalyst. Mathematical and Linguistic Cryptanalysis There was very little in terms of organization in Pers Z S, in April 1945, when World War II was coming to an end. Working conditions meant that all elements of the unit were working in the same general area, since the evacuation of Berlin in November 1943. However, one cardinal organization rule was followed: the rule was that mathematical cryptanalysis involving the initial solution of extremely difficult systems, the solutions of complex encipherments and additives and the application of machine systems and techniques to these problems should be kept separate from linguistic cryptanalysis. This was defined as current solutions of known additive and enciphering systems, code-book reconstruction, translation and publication. Dr Schauffler's responsibilities were theoretical research of cryptanalytic methods and systems, publications and consultation with the Cryptographic Section (Pers Z Chi) on the security of own systems and processes at the Foreign Office. As a linguist he headed the group whose specialties were Japanese and Chinese, under Dr Paschke. Linguistic Cryptanalysis Subsection This subsection that was managed by Dr Paschke consisted of a number of small linguistic groups, organized along semi-linguistic or semi-geographical lines. Organization appeared to be fluid, varying according to metrics like intelligence and cryptanalytic priorities. It was organized into the following groups. {| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan=5 style="background:LightSteelBlue"|Linguistic area coverage by director |- ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Linguistic Area ! style="text-align: center;background:#ccc" | Group Head |- | Japan, China, Manchukuo | Dr Schauffler |- | America | Dr Zastrow |- | France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands | Dr Brandes |- | Italy, Greece, Vatican, Soviet Union | Dr Paschke |- | Turkey | Dr Scherschmidt |- | Iran, Afghanistan, Middle East | Dr Benzing |- | Romania | Dr Kasper |- | England,and British Empire, Spain, Portugal, Latin America | Dr Hagen |- | Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Baltic States | Dr Karstein |} Personal considerations seemed to have played a part in the organization of the subsection. Mathematical Cryptanalysis Subsection Dr Kunze was responsible for this subsection, which was never precisely defined. It is believed it had a loose internal organization which enabled personnel to focus full concentration on the most important problems as they arose It was assumed by TICOM from a document captured on January 18, 1941, that the subsection had six groups: England, America, Japanese Diplomatic, Japanese Military, Greece and a study of German systems and their own procedures (German:eigene Verfahren). Machinery The section had its own IBM Hollerith machinery since 1942. The tabulating machinery was used in solving the solution of difficult additives and superencipherment (double encryption or Multiple encryption). At the end of the World War II, the machinery installation had: 20 alphabetic punches () (Punched tape) 10 sorters machines () 2 collators () (Collation) 2 reproducers () 1 number punchers () 4 alphabetic tabulators () (Tabulating machine) 2 calculating tabulators () A number of accessories had been designed for these machines. For the sorting machines, two devices, the card counter () and the number finder (). The alphabetical tabulators had an attachment which had prevented the machine from printing unless there were two or more identical cards, which was useful for finding repeats. The D 11 was possibly a Hollerith machine made by a German Firm The most useful special device was the so-called automaton, a rapid deciphering machine developed for use on the American Diplomatic Strip Cypher Another machine developed, a type of comparator (), to solve Japanese transposition ciphers by dragging the end of the message through the cipher text. Cryptanalysis Successes Considering the small staff that Pers Z S had, the conclusion must be drawn that Pers Z S cypher cryptanalysis skills were considerable. 50 countries diplomatic intercepts were monitored, and only three used diplomatic systems which completely defied successful analysis; these were Russia, Czechoslovakia and Poland after 1942-1943. Cryptanalysis Successes By Country Detailed listing of Cryptanalytic Successes by individual Countries. Pers Z S never worked on any commercial cyphers or codes like the Bank of England code. Pers Z Chi Little was known of the Pers Z S Encryption Service (German:Chiffrier-dienst). It was responsible for the compilation, preparation and distribution of the codes and cyphers used by the Foreign Office. Per Z S personnel consulted with Pers Z Chi on matters of security. Senior Specialist Horst Hauthal was responsible for Pers Z Chi between 1943-1945. Prior to that, its head was Senior Specialist Langlotz, who died in 1953. Pers Z S used the T52c teleprinter cipher machines for secure communications, but these were known to be cryptologically weak. Liaison Liaison with General der Nachrichtenaufklärung As regards Inspectorate 7/VI, (OKH/Chi), the cipher department of the German Army (Wehrmacht), and the concomitant unit that grew out of the In OKH/GdNA, there were few examples of collaboration between it and Pers Z S at the senior administrative level. Dr Otto Buggisch, formerly of Inspektorate 7/VI and later OKW/Chi, gave the only available information to TICOM. Dr Buggisch worked in the French language group in Inspektorate 7 from November 1941 until August 1942 and during this period he collaborated with Dr Kunze on a five-digit DeGaulle code. He also worked Dr Kunze regarding the Swiss Enigma General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Armed Forces Operations Staff (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) stated he did not receive any decodes as they went directly to the Foreign minister, but knew in a general way Pers Z S professionalism and commitment. The general lack of collaboration between Pers Z S and Inspektorate 7 did not point to lack of coordination at senior administrative function, nor to professional jealously between the two agencies. Essentially the two agencies had two distinct operational foci. Pers Z S was diplomatic and OKH/Chi was a military agency. Therefore, there was little need for detailed collaboration. Liaison with B-Dienst As with the Army, the Navy had few occasions to work with Pers Z S. Their operation and tactical problem domains were too dissimilar to stimulate effective collaboration. Admiral Karl Dönitz, stated: [he] had no knowledge of the cryptanalytic bureaus maintained by the other services and departments... As for civil bureaus, he had never tried to find out, [as] they were of no use to him. Wilhelm Tranow of the B-Dienst knew Dr Schauffler slightly and they had once collaborated over Japanese intercepts, but Tranow never had the time to address them. Miss Hagen reported in 1942 that the English desk had sent their results on the British B30 and B31 cyphers to B-Dienst, but had received nothing in return. It may, perhaps, not have occurred to Miss Hagen that the cyphers would have been of no interest to B-Dienst, as Pers Z S cryptanalysts were never exposed to the intelligence value of intercepts, in the same manner that other agency staff sometimes were. Liaison with Luftwaffe Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350 Similar to the other agency, the Luftwaffe cipher bureau, Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350, earlier called chi-stelle, was primarily interested in intercepts emanating from its Allied counterparts. As a military agency, diplomatic traffic would have probably been outside its scope. However, there were two main concomitant instances of collaboration. According to Dr Schauffler, the first of these occurred in 1939, when Dr Kunze was approached by the Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350 for assistance on British weather ciphers Nothing is known as to the extent of the success of the collaborative effort. The second area of collaboration was noted by Chief Cryptanalyst Specialist Erich Hüttenhain of the OKW/Chi on a Letter dated July 27, 1943 which stated: Three weeks ago a discussion was held in the Foreign Office between Dr Kunze [and] Regierungsrat Dr Ferdinand Voegele, (Chief of the Luftwaffe cryptanalysts). Dr Voegele declared his willingness to cooperate on the AM10 cypher, (German name for a U.S Strip System) and Dr Kunze declared his willingness to provide the necessary material. Voegele was held off for a fortnight. When he pressed for the production of the promised material, Dr. Kunze stated that he had changed his mind and would not be providing the material, as Dr. Voegele had made disparaging remarks about his work. Suggestion: LIV or he head of the OKW/Chi should arrange for Paschke for the already planned collaboration of Pers Z S with the OKL-Stelle OBdL actually to come into force. Should Pers Z S not consent, OKW/Chi will terminate the agreement with Pers Z S to get a free hand, so that OKW/Chi can collaborate with the Air Force... This incident is not mentioned in the Pers Z S or Dr Voegele interrogations. Military historian David Alvarez stated that the reason the cooperation deal collapsed was that Voegele had made disparaging remarks about Dr. Kunze's work. Liaison with Research Office of the Reich Air Ministry An unsigned letter, dated 23 February 1934, that was probably written by Dr Paschke stated: Captain Hans Oschmann...mentioned an utterance by his chief, Korvettenkapitaen Paztzig, to the effect that all cryptanalytic connections with the Forschungsamt should be dropped, since cryptanalytic work did not belong in the province of the Forschungsamt. The letter probably does not represent the then Pers Z S attitude, but it does constitute the first indication in the Pers Z S TICOM documentation to a new third competitor Goering's Research Office of the Reich Air Ministry, informally called the Forschungsamt. The later material of Pers Z S collaboration is fragmentary and none later than 1942. Although no dates are given, Hermann Göring stated: ...the Foreign Office had continuously tried to interfere [with the Research bureau]. The statement might have been motivated by his professional competitive and aversion to Joachim von Ribbentrop, the diplomat and foreign minister under the Nazi regime but also that both agencies covered the same field and that there was unfortunately almost complete duplication. Dr Paschke's statement that in general there was "less liaison with the Forschungsamt than with the OKW/Chi". Dr Paschke, in homework for TICOM stated: I may loyally affirm that the workers of the FA collaborated with us openly and honorably, withheld nothing from me and this furthered our work. The unit received a certain amount of its intercepts from the FA. Until November 1943, when the FA was bombed, it acted as the forwarding agent for the traffic intercepted by the Postoffice, both radiogram and cablegrams intercept traffic, which was forwarded to Pers Z S directly After the FA was bombed out, the unit received the intercepts direct from the Postoffice. There was little evidence of an official liaison between the two bureaus. Minister Seifert of the FA stated that intelligence produced by the FA was distributed to all departments including the Pers Z S...At some of these departments we had a liaison officers. A Dr. Gerstmeyer is details as the FA-Pers Z S Liaison Officers (German:Verbingungs-mann). Sauerbier of the FA stated that liaison with the unit ... was handled by a single representative, and never involved any exchange of visits by operations personnel When the Pers Z S was interrogated by TICOM Team 1, they first learned the existence of the FA from the foreign office cryptanalysts, who knew the names of many of the section heads in Department IV in which their work was related The Yearly Report for 1942 from AA/Per Z S inter alia, reveals an exchange of code book recoveries. The name of Senior Specialist Waechter of the FA appears in the Yearly Report and the names of other FA personnel occur in the code books stored in the AA/Per Z archives. From this evidence it is clear that technical cryptanalyst liaison existed between the FA and the AA/Per Z. Out of this evidence the following tentative assertions can be made for the period 1940-1942: There was extensive duplication of effort between AA/Pers Z S and the FA. There was an official liaison between the FA and AA/Pers Z S, but it did not seem to be fully operative. There was significant amount of technical cryptanalyst liaison when both agencies were working on the same problem, with a concomitant exchange of information. It was unknown whether the liaison continued until the end of the war. Notes TICOM, the United States effort to seize German Intelligence after World War 2, document archive consists of 11 primary documents Volume I to Volume IX. These primary volumes, are aggregate summary documentation, each volume targeting a specific German military agency. The archive also consists of Team Reports, DF-Series, I-Series, IF-Series and M-series reports which cover various aspects of TICOM interrogation. Volume VI which covers AA/Pers ZS contains over 50 references to the I-Series TICOM documents which are TICOM Intelligence reports, and covers references to the full gamut of the other types of reports, e.g. DF-Series, IF-Series, of which there are over 1500 reports. The following are those document directly referenced in this article: Missing TICOM Documents I-1 Notes and Minutes of High-Level Meetings held at OKW/Chi. I-84 Further Interrogation of R. R. Dr. Huettenhain and Sdf. Dr. Fricke of OKW/Chi I-147 Detailed Interrogation of Members of OKM 4/SKL III at Flensburg. I-163 Report on Interrogation of Hauptmann Scheidl, Lieutenant Sann and Lieutenant Smolin, all of I/LN Rgt. 353 (East), on German Sigint Activity Against Russian Air Forces. D-16 Translation of Annual Progress Reports by Pers ZS covering 1927, 1941, 1942. DF-17 Translation of T 3273, letter of Dr. Paschke and other Pers ZS personnel. Translated by Dr. Pettengill. (T-165). References Cryptography organizations History of telecommunications in Germany Signals intelligence agencies Signals intelligence of World War II Research and development in Nazi Germany Military history of Germany during World War II

51019874

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20open%20formats

List of open formats

An open format is a file format for storing digital data, defined by a published specification usually maintained by a standards organization, and which can be used and implemented by anyone. For example, an open format can be implemented by both proprietary and free and open source software, using the typical software licenses used by each. In contrast to open formats, closed formats are considered trade secrets. Open formats are also called free file formats if they are not encumbered by any copyrights, patents, trademarks or other restrictions (for example, if they are in the public domain) so that anyone may use them at no monetary cost for any desired purpose. Open formats (in alphabetical order) include: Multimedia Imaging APNG – It allows for animated PNG files that work similarly to animated GIF files. AVIF – An image format using AV1 compression. FLIF – Free Lossless Image Format. GBR – a 2D binary vector image file format, the de facto standard in the printed circuit board (PCB) industry GIF – CompuServe's Graphics Interchange Format (openly published specification, but patent-encumbered by a third party; became free when patents expired in 2004) JPEG – a lossy image format widely used to display photographic images, standardized by ISO/IEC JPEG 2000 – an image format standardized by ISO/IEC JPEG XL – an image format designed to outperform and replace existing formats. Especially legacy JPEG. Supports both lossy and lossless compression. MNG – moving pictures, based on PNG OpenEXR – a high dynamic range imaging image file format, released as an open standard along with a set of software tools created by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). OpenRaster – a format for raster graphics editors that saves layers PNG – a raster image format standardized by ISO/IEC SVG – a vector image format standardized by W3C WebP – image format developed by Google XPM – image file format used by the X Window System QOI – a simple, fast and lossless open source image file format https://qoiformat.org/ Audio ALAC – lossless audio codec, previously a proprietary format of Apple Inc. FLAC – lossless audio codec DAISY Digital Talking Book – a talking book format Musepack – an audio codec MP3 – lossy audio codec, previously patented Ogg – container for Vorbis, FLAC, Speex and Opus (audio formats) & Theora (a video format), each of which is an open format Opus – a lossy audio compression format developed by the IETF. Suitable for VoIP, videoconferencing (just audio), music transmission over the Internet and streaming applications (just audio). Speex – speech codec Vorbis – a lossy audio compression format. WavPack – "Hybrid" (lossless/lossy) audio codec Video AV1 Dirac – a video compression format supporting both lossless and lossy compression Matroska (mkv) – container for all type of multimedia formats (audio, video, images, subtitles) WebM – a video/audio container format Theora – a lossy video compression format. Various DAE - A 3D model/scene format standardized by Khronos. glTF - A 3D model/scene format standardized by Khronos. CMML – timed metadata and subtitles SMIL – a media playlisting format and multimedia integration language VRML/X3D – realtime 3D data formats standardized by ISO/IEC XSPF – a playlist format for multimedia Text Plain text – encoded in numerous non-proprietary encodings, such as ASCII CSV – comma-separated values, commonly used for spreadsheets or simple databases HTML – HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the main markup language for creating web pages and other information that can be displayed in a web browser. Unicode Transformation Formats – text encodings with support for all common languages and scripts UTF-8 – byte oriented and ASCII compatible UTF-16 – 16-bit oriented Markdown – Lightweight markup language that converts to HTML DVI – device independent (TeX) DocBook – XML-based standard to publish books Darwin Information Typing Architecture – adaptable XML-based format for technical documentation, maintained by the OASIS consortium ePub – e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) FictionBook – XML-based e-book format, which originated and gained popularity in Russia LaTeX – document markup language Office Open XML – a formatted text format (ISO/IEC 29500:2008); see Licensing for details OpenDocument – a formatted text format (ISO/IEC 26300:2006); see Licensing for details OpenXPS – open standard for a page description language and a fixed-document format PDF started as a proprietary standard. PDF version 1.7 was standardized as ISO 32000-1 in 2008. However, some technologies indispensable for the full implementation of ISO 32000-1 are defined only by Adobe and remain proprietary (e.g. Adobe XML Forms Architecture, Adobe JavaScript). ISO 32000-2:2017 (PDF 2.0) does not include these dependencies. Various subsets of PDF have been standardized to meet a variety of needs, including ISO 15930 (PDF/X), ISO 19005 (PDF/A), ISO 14829 (PDF/UA) and ISO 24517 (PDF/E). The PDF Association has also standardized PDF/raster). PostScript – a page description language and programming language, started as a proprietary standard but is now a public specification. XHTML – XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language) is a family of XML markup languages that mirror or extend versions of the widely used Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the language in which web pages are written. ZIM – a file format that stores wiki content for offline usage. Archiving and compression 7z – for archiving and/or compression B1 – for archiving and/or compression bzip2 – for compression gzip – for compression lzip – for compression MAFF – for web page archiving, based on ZIP PAQ – for compression SQX – for archiving and/or compression tar – for archiving xz – for compression ZIP – for archiving and/or compression; the base format is in the public domain, but newer versions have some patented features Other CSS – style sheet format usually used with (X)HTML, standardized by W3C DjVu – file format for scanned images or documents EAS3 – binary file format for floating point data ELF – Executable and Linkable Format FreeOTFE – container for encrypted data GPX – GPs eXchange format – for describing waypoints, tracks and routes Hierarchical Data Format – multi-platform data format for storing multidimensional arrays, among other data structures HTML/XHTML – markup language for web pages (ISO/IEC 15445:2000) iCalendar – calendar data format IFC – data model describing building and construction industry data JSON – object notation, subset of YAML and correct ECMAScript statement LTFS – Linear Tape File System NetCDF – for scientific data NZB – for multipart binary files on Usenet RDF - graph based data model standardized by W3C, includes 7 standard serializations, N-Triples, N-Quads, Turtle, TriG, RDF/XML, JSON-LD and RDFa RSS – syndication SDXF – the Structured Data eXchange Format SFV – checksum format LUKS – disk-encryption specification originally intended for Linux TrueCrypt – discontinued container for encrypted data WOFF – font file format used in webpages XML – a general-purpose markup language, standardized by W3C YAML – human readable data serialization format References External links OpenFormats Computer file formats Computing-related lists

51025437

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locky

Locky

Locky is ransomware malware released in 2016. It is delivered by email (that is allegedly an invoice requiring payment) with an attached Microsoft Word document that contains malicious macros. When the user opens the document, it appears to be full of gibberish, and includes the phrase "Enable macro if data encoding is incorrect," a social engineering technique. If the user does enable macros, they save and run a binary file that downloads the actual encryption Trojan, which will encrypt all files that match particular extensions. Filenames are converted to a unique 16 letter and number combination. Initially, only the .locky file extension was used for these encrypted files. Subsequently, other file extensions have been used, including .zepto, .odin, .aesir, .thor, and .zzzzz. After encryption, a message (displayed on the user's desktop) instructs them to download the Tor browser and visit a specific criminal-operated Web site for further information. The Web site contain instructions that demand a payment of between 0.5 and 1 bitcoin (as of November 2017, one bitcoin varies in value between $9,000 and $10,000 via a bitcoin exchange). Since the criminals possess the private key and the remote servers are controlled by them, the victims are motivated to pay to decrypt their files. Operation The most commonly reported mechanism of infection involves receiving an email with a Microsoft Word document attachment that contains the code. The document is gibberish, and prompts the user to enable macros to view the document. Enabling macros and opening the document launch the Locky virus. Once the virus is launched, it loads into the memory of the users system, encrypts documents as hash.locky files, installs .bmp and .txt files, and can encrypt network files that the user has access to. This has been a different route than most ransomware since it uses macros and attachments to spread rather than being installed by a Trojan or using a previous exploit. Updates On June 22, 2016, Necurs released a new version of Locky with a new loader component, which includes several detection-avoiding techniques, such as detecting whether it is running within a virtual machine or within a physical machine, and relocation of instruction code. Since Locky was released there have been numerous variants released that used different extensions for encrypted files. Many of these extensions are named after gods of Norse and Egyptian mythology. When first released, the extension used for encrypted files was .Locky. Other versions utilized the .zepto, .odin, .shit, .thor, .aesir, and .zzzzz extensions for encrypted files. The current version, released in December 2016, utilizes the .osiris extension for encrypted files. Distribution Methods Many different distribution methods for Locky have been used since the ransomware was released. These distribution methods include exploit kits, Word and Excel attachments with malicious macros, DOCM attachments, and zipped JS Attachments. The general consensus among security experts to protect yourself from ransomware, including Locky, is to keep your installed programs updated and to only open attachments from known senders. Encryption The Locky uses RSA-2048 + AES-128 cipher with ECB mode to encrypt files. Keys are generated on the server side, making manual decryption impossible, and Locky ransomware can encrypt files on all fixed drives, removable drives, network and RAM disk drives. Prevalence Locky is reported to have been sent to about a half-million users on February 16, 2016, and for the period immediately after the attackers increased their distribution to millions of users. Despite the newer version, Google Trend data indicates that infections have dropped off around June 2016. Notable incidents On February 18, 2016, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid a $17,000 ransom in the form of bitcoins for the decryption key for patient data. The hospital was infected by the delivery of an email attachment disguised as a Microsoft Word invoice. This has led to increased fear and knowledge about ransomware in general and has brought ransomware into public spotlight once again. There appears to be a trend in ransomware being used to attack hospitals and it appears to be growing. On May 31, Necurs went dormant, perhaps due to a glitch in the C&C server. According to Softpedia, there were less spam emails with Locky or Dridex attached to it. On June 22, however, MalwareTech discovered Necurs's bots consistently polled the DGA until a C&C server replied with a digitally signed response. This signified Necurs was no longer dormant. The cybercriminal group also started sending a very large quantity of spam emails with new and improved versions of Locky and Dridex attached to them, as well as a new message and zipped JavaScript code in the emails. In April 2016, the Dartford Science & Technology College computers were infected with the virus. A student had opened an infected email which quickly spread and encrypted many school files. The virus stayed on the computer for several weeks. Eventually, they managed to remove the virus by using System Restore for all of the computers. Spam email vector An example message with Locky as an attachment is the following: Dear (random name): Please find attached our invoice for services rendered and additional disbursements in the above-mentioned matter. Hoping the above to your satisfaction, we remain Sincerely, (random name) (random title) References Ransomware 2016 in computing Cryptographic attacks Windows trojans

51036166

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich%20H%C3%BCttenhain

Erich Hüttenhain

Erich Hüttenhain (* 26. January 1905 in Siegen; † 1. December 1990 in Brühl) was a German academic mathematician and cryptographer (Cryptography) and considered a leading cryptanalyst in the Third Reich. He was Head of the cryptanalysis unit at OKW/Chi, the Cipher Department of the High Command of the Wehrmacht. Life and work Dr Hüttenhain was the son of a Conrector and studied after the high school diploma () 1924 in Siegen at the University of Marburg, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt and the University of Münster. He studied mathematics with Heinrich Behnke and astronomy at Münster. There he was assistant to Martin Lindow (1880–1967), who was director of the observatory at Münster. In 1933, at the University of Münster, he took his examination for promotion of Dr. phil. in astronomy under Lindow with the thesis titled: Spatial infinitesimal orbits around the libration points in the straight-line case of the (3 + 1) bodies. In 1936, he was sent to the cipher bureau of the OKW OKW/Chi under Director Min.Rat. Wilhelm Fenner. Erich Hüttenhain had an interest in Mayan chronology which led him to cryptology and thus to OKW/CHi. As a recruitment test, Fenner had sent him a message which had been enciphered with a private cipher. Hüttenhain duly deciphered it and was accepted as a possible cryptanalyst. At OKW/Chi he was employed as a specialist to build a cryptanalytic research unit, and later he was most recently Executive Council Head of group IV Analytical cryptanalysis. During his time in OKW/Chi he succeeded, among other things, in the deciphering of the Japanese Purple cipher machine (William Frederick Friedman) He and his staff also temporarily succeeded in deciphering American rotary machines, such as the M 138 A and the M-209 in North Africa. Later in the war, when the allies invaded Italy, the allies learned in turn by deciphering Italian ciphers that their later systems, e.g. among others the SIGABA designed by Friedman, had not been broken and around that time, Hüttenhain had no more major successes. After World War II, being a high value target, he was taken by TICOM to the USA to be interrogated. For the Americans, he built a machine (which was already used by the Germans during World War II) that deciphered the Russian rotor machine encryption. He also created reports on the successes of the Germans on cryptographic territory during World War II (as deciphering the French naval codes, the Polish diplomat cipher and the security of the Enigma). After his return he founded in 1947 the "Study Group for Scientific Investigation" () within the Gehlen Organization, which laid the foundation for the subsequent formation of the German Central Office for Encryption (, a unit of the German Federal Intelligence Service (). His pseudonym in the Gehlen organization was Erich Hammerschmidt. In the first official cryptographic service of the Federal Government, the Unit 114 in the Foreign Ministry, headed by Adolf Paschke founded in 1950, he was the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, along with Kurt Selchow, Rudolf Schauffler, and Heinz Kuntze, some of the best cryptologists in Germany. During 1956–1970 he served as Deputy Director of the Central Office for Encryption where initially Wilhelm Göing and 1972 Otto Leiberich was his successor. One of the objectives of Hüttenhain was that in contrast to his experiences in the Third Reich where numerous independent cipher bureaux were spread throughout the Reich, all threads for evaluating cryptographic procedures were now to be integrated into a single office. In 1926 he was a founding fellow of the Frankfurt Burschenschaft Arminia . Hüttenhain left a posthumous manuscript he wrote in about 1970 and in which he reports on his experience as a cryptologist. Literature Leiberich, Otto (2001), Vom Diplomatischen Code zur Falltürfunktion – 100 Jahre Kryptographie in Deutschland, Spektrum Dossier Kryptographie (with a photograph of E. Hüttenhain). Publications References 1905 births 1990 deaths Pre-computer cryptographers History of cryptography History of telecommunications in Germany Telecommunications in World War II German cryptographers

51058928

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziosk

Ziosk

Ziosk is a table ordering tablet for casual dining restaurants developed by Dallas based TableTop Media. The device consists of a 7-inch tablet running Android and a credit card reader. Certain models also include a receipt printer and near field communication (NFC). As of July 2016, there are 170,000 Ziosk tablets at restaurants in the United States, including Chili's, Friendly's, Olive Garden, Red Robin, and Outback Steakhouse franchisee Cerca Trova. The company employs around 110 active employees. The tablets also allow users to play games for a fee. TableTop Media rents the devices to restaurant operators through a subscription fee and revenue-share on paid games. History In September 2013, Ziosk announced the deployment of tablets to all company-owned Chili's restaurants, to be completed by the first half of 2014. Ziosk announced the deployment of tablets to Olive Garden in April, 2015 after customer and restaurant testing in 2014. Olive Garden expected to deploy tablets to all of its 800-plus restaurants by the end of 2015. After the deal is complete, the company estimated Ziosk tablets will be used by more than fifty million users per month. Software and hardware Ziosk implements an over-the-air (OTA) update mechanism of the product platform as well as security and encryption key management for credit card payments and implementing drivers for the magnetic stripe reader hardware. Ziosk hardware is fully compliant with Payment Card Industry Payment Application Data Security Standards (PCI PA-DSS) 1.1 and Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) 1.4 standards. In 2017, Ziosk introduced its second generation tablet, the Ziosk Aurizon. This tablet features a single slot that can read either magstripe or EMV credit and debit cards, support for contactless payments, and a PIN pad for cards requiring a PIN. For existing Ziosk tablets in the field, Ziosk also introduced the Smart Battery, which adds EMV and contactless capability to existing Ziosk tablets. Privacy concerns Some users of Ziosk tablets have questioned the use of cameras on tabletop ordering tablets, citing privacy concerns. Ziosk responded to the concerns stating that the company does not save or share information from the camera without permission from the user. They also noted that a green light near the top of the device will be activated when the camera is active, and that the camera is used specifically to read coupons. References External links Tablet computers Android (operating system) devices

51078359

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylas%20Mail

Nylas Mail

Nylas Mail is an open-source desktop email client by Nylas, known for its emphasis on user-contributed extensions. It was formerly known as Nylas N1 and was rebranded as Nylas Mail starting with the January 17, 2017 release. Nylas discontinued Nylas Mail, ceased further development, and made the code available under the MIT License on September 6, 2017. One of the lead developers has continued development of the software on a fork named Mailspring. Features Nylas Mail is compatible with multiple Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Exchange, and IMAP accounts, and is cross-platform on Linux, OS X, and Windows. The application accommodates user-written plugins. It has several layout styles in single or double panels, and has fullscreen and offline modes. By default, its mail sync functions are processed in a cloud owned by Nylas, the company responsible for the project. N1 added a unified inbox in February 2016 and PGP encryption support in June 2016. Reception At the beginning of 2016, Macworld wrote that the software looked promising and had a better chance of enduring longer than past software—such as Sparrow and Mailbox—due to its open source license. The Next Web highly praised N1's extensions features and wrote that it could become for email what Google Chrome is to web browsing. N1 was the third most popular email desktop client among AppleInsider readers as of January 2016. See also Comparison of email clients References External links Email client software for Linux MacOS email clients Windows email clients Free software

51101710

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhuru%20Mobile

Uhuru Mobile

Uhuru Mobile is a secure Android-based operating system. An operating system is the principal program allowing Smartphones, Tablets and PCs to run. This central tool connects and coordinates all the components such as kernel, computers programs, software or device drivers, letting users managing their devices. Uhuru Mobile is a solution composed with its application encryption market, a modified Android-based OS, a virtual private network and a SMS encryption solution. The purpose of Uhuru Mobile is to prevent physical attacks. History The name Uhuru comes from the Swahili language and means freedom and independence. Uhuru Mobile is the result of a research and development project initiated in 2012 to promote digital sovereignty. As an Android-based operating system, Uhuru Mobile focuses on security and privacy for end-users, individuals or businesses, on mobile devices. The operating system is currently developed by a software Editor company called Teclib’. System architecture Software Overview Multi-layers Protection Kernel: The system core is protected against malicious or unknown code as well as physical attacks or access. System protection: Critical resources are dynamically protected from malware and vulnerability exploits ensuring the integrity of the operating system’s components. Data protection: User’s data on the device are encrypted. User’s authentication resources are protected by using certificates. Application protection: The applications that can be installed on the device are exclusively coming from a market of certified applications. All those applications are validated and certificated before being available within the Uhuru applications market. Additional Features To ensure the OS protection and security while using applications, a dedicated market has been installed (replacing the Google Play Store). Uhuru Mobile’s applications market only provides apps approved and certified by a team of security experts. Companies can also customize the Uhuru marketplace providing their in-house applications. Uhuru mobile is provided with a deception system, sending fake GPS location coordinates to applications. This decoy geolocation tool allows users to fool some applications using geolocation. IT administrators can define the redirecting coordinates. For example in the demo version, the NSA headquarters coordinates were sent by the deception system. A mobile device management tool for the administration of mobile devices is provided without any additional setup. IT administrators have access to a web-console in order to manage the Uhuru Mobile fleet and all linked applications (such as the remote apps installation/suppression or the set up of user accounts). See also Operating system Mobile device management Security-focused operating system References External links Teclib Edition/Uhuru Mobile Uhuru Mobile Bibliography . . . . . Mobile operating systems

51123191

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebase%20Cloud%20Messaging

Firebase Cloud Messaging

Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), formerly known as Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), is a cross-platform cloud solution for messages and notifications for Android, iOS, and web applications, which as of 2021 can be used at no cost. Firebase Cloud Messaging allows third-party application developers to send notifications or messages from servers hosted by FCM to users of the platform or end users. The service is provided by Firebase, a subsidiary of Google. On October 21, 2014, Firebase announced it had been acquired by Google for an undisclosed amount. The official Google Cloud Messaging website points to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) as the new version of GCM. Firebase is a mobile platform which supports users in developing mobile and web applications. Firebase Cloud Messaging is one of many products which are part of the Firebase platform. On the platform users can integrate and combine different Firebase features in both web and mobile applications. History Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is part of the Firebase platform, which is a cloud service model that automates backend development or a Backend-as-a-service (BaaS). After the Firebase company was acquired by Google in 2014, some Firebase platform products or technologies were integrated with Google’s existing services. Google’s mobile notification service Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) was replaced by FCM in 2016. On April 10, 2018, GCM was removed by Google and on May 29, 2019, the GCM server and client API were deprecated. FCM has become the replacement for GCM. However, FCM is compatible with existing Google Software Development Kits (SDK). Firebase Cloud Messaging is a cross-platform messaging solution on which the user can deliver messages without cost. FCM is compatible with various platforms including Android and iOS. Google launched support for web applications on October 17, 2016 including mobile web application. On FCM, third party application developers can send push notifications and messages via an application programming interface (API) to end users. After users enable consent to receive push notifications, users are able to receive real time information or data for syncing. Development FCM inherits the core infrastructure of GCM, however, it simplifies the development of the client side. GCM and FCM offer encryption, push notification and messaging, native Android and iOS SDK support. Both require a third-party entity between the client application and the trusted environment which may create delays in the communication path between the mobile terminal and application server. FCM supports server protocols HTTP and XMPP which are identical to GCM protocols. Developers are not required to write individual registrations or subscripting retrying login in the client application. FCM and GCM handle messages through the same instructions, however, instead of GCM connection servers, messages are passed through FCM servers. The FCM Software Development Kit (SDK) excludes writing individual registration or subscription retry logic for a shortened client development process. The FCM SDK provides a new notification solution allowing developers to use the serverless Firebase Notifications on a web console, based on Firebase Analytics insights. FCM enables unlimited upstream and downstream messages to be sent. Key Capabilities Firebase Cloud Messaging has three main capabilities. The first capability is that FCM allows the user to receive notification messages or data messages which can be deciphered by the application code. The second capability is message targeting. Messages are able to be sent to the client application through different methods; from the FCM platform to individual devices, specified device groups or devices which are subscribed to particular topic domains. The third key capability is the connection channel from client applications to the server. FCM allows messages of various types to be sent from selected devices or client apps via the FCM channel. Technical Details Firebase Cloud Messaging sends notifications and messages to devices which have installed specific Firebase-enabled apps. Adding support for FCM to an application requires multiple steps: add support to the Android Studio project, obtain registration tokens and implement handlers to identify message notifications. The message notifications can be sent via the Firebase console with a select user segmentation option. FCM Architecture The FCM Architecture includes three components: FCM connection server, a Trusted environment with an application server based on HTTP or XMPP and cloud functionality, and a Client application. Sending and receiving messages require a secured environment or server to build, direct and send messages, and an iOS, Android or web client application to receive messages. There are two types of messages developers can send with FCM; notification messages and data messages. Notification messages are messages displayed on the device by FCM and are automatically managed by the FCM SDK. Data messages are processed by the client application. Therefore, Notification messages are used when the developer requires FCM to handle the notification display for the client applications. Data messages will be used when the developer requires the messages to be processed on the client application. FCM can deliver target messages to applications via three methods: to a single device, to a device group or to devices which are subscribed to topics. Developers build and send targeted messages to a select group of users on the ‘Notification composer.’ Messages send with FCM are integrated with the Firebase Analytics functionality to track user conversion and engagement. Implementation The implementation process has two key components. First, a secure environment to send and receive messages is required for FCM or other application servers to facilitate message transaction. Second, a client application of possible types, iOS, Android or web (javaScript), which is also compatible with the selected platform service is needed. The implementation path for FCM is initiated with the FCM SDK setup following the instructions prescribed for the decided platform. Following setup, the client application must be developed. On the client app, add message handling, topic subscription logic and other required features. During this step, test messages can also be sent from the Notifications composer. The application server is developed next to build the sending logic. The base server environment is created without code. Architecture Flow Registration of the device and setting it up to enable message reception from FCM is first required. The client application instance will be registered and assigned a registration token or FCM Token, which is issued by the FCM connection servers that will provide the application instance (app instance) a unique identifier. The app instance is then able to send and receive downstream messages. Downstream messaging refers to the sending of a push notification from the application server towards the client application. This process involves four steps. First, after a message is created on the Notifications composer or in another secure environment, a request for the message will be sent to the FCM backend. Second, the FCM backend will receive and accept the message request and prepare the messages for each specified topic, create message metadata such as a message ID and send it to a transport layer, specific to the platform. Third, the message will be sent through the platform-specific transport layer to an online device. The platform-level transport layer is responsible for routing the message to a specific device, handling the delivery of the message and applying specific configurations to the platform. Fourth, the client application will receive the notification or message via their device. Additional Features and Tools Analytics Firebase offers free and unrestricted analytics tools to assist the user gain insights into the 'ad click' & 'application usage' of end customers. In conjunction with other Firebase features, Firebase Analytics allows the user to explore and use on a range of functionalities such as click-through rates to app crashes. Firebase Remote Config It is a simple key-value store that lives in the cloud and enables the user to implement modifications which can be read by the application. The Firebase Remote Config also includes an audience builder, in addition to the basic feature, which helps the user create custom audiences and perform A / B testing. Cross-Platform Support APIs packaged into single SDKs for iOS, Android, JavaScript and C++ in conjunction with the cross-platform support provided by FCM allow the developer to expand across different platforms without infrastructure modification. Web Push Support Developers can implement the standard IETF Web Push APIs and being to target web browsers. On Chrome, developers can send messages to Chrome on Android or Chrome pages in Mac, Windows and Linux. Added features for web push support include Topic Messaging and the ability to send messages to Topic Combinations. Topic Messaging Developers can send a single message to multiple devices. It is a method of notification to users with common interest topics such as sports events, artists, music genres. Developers need to publish a message to FCM, which is automatically delivered to devices subscribed to the select topic. Subscriber count on a single topic or multiple topics are not limited on the application. Topic Combination Messaging If users are subscribed to different topics, to prevent publishing the same message across different topics and users from receiving duplicate messages, developers can use the updated API. Developers can set specific conditions for FCM to deliver the message only to users who meet the condition criteria. Message Delivery Reports Message Delivery Reports (MDR) are generated by FCM's reporting tool which allows developers to obtain analytical insights into the message delivery. In the MDR, developers can evaluate the reach of the sent messages to specific users by viewing the data for messages to different FCM SDKs (Android, iOS). Notification Funnel Analysis A Notification Funnel Analysis (NFA) is built into the FCM platform. By using this tool, developers can view user behaviour and trends from data around responses to particular notifications. The types of notification data which can be analysed are "Notifications Sent", "Notifications Opened" and number of unique users. An analysis report can be pulled from the NFA. Developers can also customise and build the notification funnels. Key Concerns Security Concerns FCM shortens the design and implementation process for mobile applications. Due to the available functionality of sending test messages through the Notifications Composer in the Firebase console, the testing process is also shortened. Cloud-based messaging solutions also have security and privacy risks which need to be mitigated and considered before implementation into a project. The development of cloud computing involves an open network structure and elastic pooling of shared resources which increases the need for cloud security measures to be established. A security concern is the potential exploitation of server keys which are stored in the FCM’s Android application package (APK) files. If exploited, this allows the distribution of push notification messages to any and all users on the Firebase platform. GCM has previously reported security vulnerabilities where phishing and malicious advertisement activities have occurred. Protection against security threats involves multiple steps and can lead to additional implications. Deactivating the Cloud Messaging service will prevent immediate transactions. However, this could potentially stop other applications installed on the blocked device which rely on the FCM service. A possible solution is to block a specific notification channel or unsubscribe from a topic. Other solutions involve setting up message traffic notification systems to detect malicious information being messaged through the FCM service platform. To implement this solution additional steps are required. The user needs to identify at the start, the connection channel or topic potentially used by the malicious application. Privacy Concerns Cloud-based messaging also poses privacy risks and issues. Black hat hackers may be able to breach the security of the Firebase Cloud Messaging platform and acquire the registration ID of the user’s application or other sensitive information. Security compromise examples include private messages on a user’s social media account being pushed to the hacker’s device.To ensure the privacy of the platform, the user can build end-to-end protection schemes around the open communication channels provided by the Cloud Messaging Services, which are unsecure. FCM provides users with payload encryption. References External links Firebase Cloud Messaging - official website Google Cloud Messaging - official website GCM and FCM Frequently Asked Questions Mobile telecommunication services Google Cloud

51140025

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise%20file%20synchronization%20and%20sharing

Enterprise file synchronization and sharing

Enterprise file synchronization and sharing (also known as EFSS and enterprise file sync and share) refers to software services that enable organizations to securely synchronize and share documents, photos, videos and files from multiple devices with employees, and external customers and partners. Organizations often adopt these technologies to prevent employees from using consumer-based file sharing apps to store, access and manage corporate data that is outside of the IT department’s control and visibility. Key characteristics EFSS applications are often characterized by having most or all of the following features and capabilities: Sync files stored in corporate storage to user desktops and devices Send links to large files with support for multiple file extensions and protocols Integration to existing business applications via APIs, plugins and mobile apps Built-in file creation, editing and previewing User access permissions to files and folders Protection of files stored and transferred by encryption, antivirus scanning, and DLP (data loss prevention) Publish links to files with the ability to set a login requirement to access data Authentication options for Active Directory, SAML, Azure Active Directory, etc. Schedule and automate file transfers from automated systems and repositories Audit and report file activities and system actions Depending on what an EFSS provider offers, services can be deployed using cloud computing, on-premises, or hybrid. According to Forrester Research, some EFSS providers can provide the ability to lockdown data in certain geographies for companies that have requirements to store content/metadata in specific jurisdictions. History Box, one of the first EFSS products, was originally developed as a college project of Aaron Levie while he was a student of the University of Southern California in 2004. Levie left school to run the company full-time in 2005. In 2007 Dropbox was founded, and officially launched at 2008's TechCrunch Disrupt conference. The same year, Microsoft began beta testing of Windows Live Folders, a predecessor of OneDrive. Around 2010, the EFSS market emerged with over 100 vendors from a variety technology backgrounds including backup and cloud storage (Citrix ShareFile, Syncplicity), managed file transfer (Accellion, Biscom, Box, Hightail, Thru), enterprise content management and more. Many were developed as alternatives to consumer file sync and sharing services that did not have security features in place to protect company information nor the flexibility to integrate with existing content repositories and business applications. In October 2011, software company, Citrix Systems, announced that it had acquired private enterprise file sync and share service, ShareFile, to add to the Citrix product line. ShareFile was a competitor of Box and Dropbox but focused on selling its product to IT departments of large organizations. In 2012, CTERA Networks entered the EFSS market. In July 2013, Forrester Research released the first “Forrester Wave” report on the EFSS market where they identified and scored products from the most significant providers. On June 25, 2014, Google announced at its I/O Conference that it was entering the enterprise file sharing market with the release of “Google Drive for Work.” In July 2014, Gartner Research released its first “Magic Quadrant” report on the EFSS market. The study evaluates the strengths and cautions of the most notable vendors in the industry. In October, 2014, encrypted vendor Tresorit entered the EFSS market with Tresorit for Business. Tresorit is a competitor of Dropbox and Box, promising businesses more security and privacy compliance with End-to-end encryption. In April 2015, BlackBerry Limited paid between $100 million and $150 million to buy WatchDox Ltd. for its enterprise file sync and sharing capabilities. In July 2015, one EFSS vendor, Syncplicity, was sold to private equity firm, Skyview Capital, by previous owner, EMC Corporation. References Cloud computing providers Data synchronization

51172878

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry%20DTEK

BlackBerry DTEK

BlackBerry DTEK is an Android smartphone co-developed and distributed by BlackBerry Limited, and manufactured by TCL. DTEK comprises two models: DTEK50 which is a modified and rebranded variant of TCLs Alcatel Idol 4 (released 26 July 2016); and DTEK60 which is a modified and rebranded variant of TCLs Alcatel Idol 4S (released 25 October 2016). The DTEK models are the second and third Blackberry Android phones after the Blackberry Priv. Like the Priv, the DTEK Android operating system is customized with features inspired by those seen on Blackberry's in-house operating systems, and with hardware and software security enhancements (such as the titular DTEK software). Specifications Hardware The DTEK is manufactured by TCL, with the DTEK50 similar in design to the Alcatel Idol 4, and the DTEK60 to the Alcatel Idol 4S. The DTEK50 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 system-on-chip with 3 GB of RAM, and features a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS LCD display, whilst the DTEK60 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 20 with 4 GB of RAM, and features a 5.5-inch display. The display has oleophobic coating to prevent smudge attacks. The device includes 16 GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card, and a 2610 mAh battery. The device features a programmable "convenience key" on its bezel, which can be used for different features. The DTEK50 features a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with digital image stabilization and a dual-LED flash, an 84-degree wide-angle f/2.0 lens, and phase detection auto focus, whilst the DTEK60 upgrades this to a 21-megapixel camera and 2160p video capture capable, 6 element f/2.2 lens. Both have the same 8-megapixel front-facing camera with an f/2.2 aperture and flash. The DTEK60 features a fingerprint sensor on the rear of the handset which the DTEK50 does not, whilst the DTEK50 includes an FM radio which the DTEK60 lacks. Software The DTEK models shipped with Android 6.0.1 "Marshmallow", customized with additional features and BlackBerry-developed apps, similarly to the BlackBerry Priv, such as BlackBerry Hub, DTEK—which serves as a dashboard for notifying users of the security and privacy status of their device, and pop-up widgets. BlackBerry committed to releasing regular security updates to the DTEK Android software. Reception The DTEK50 received mixed reviews, with critics suggesting that the device did not sufficiently differentiate itself from other smartphones in its class. The DTEK60 gained slightly more favourable reviews, particularly the clarity of the camera, its overall good performance and battery life. Engadget positioned the DTEK50 as a "fleet device" meant to be purchased in bulk for adoption by a company's employees due to its low price and focus on security. The device was described as being "respectably well built and even sort of handsome in an understated sort of way", and being thin and light yet not feeling "cheap". The DTEK50's display was considered to be "pretty damned good" for a mid-range device and only "fell short" in comparison to the similarly positioned ZTE Axon 7 (which features a 1440p display). The convenience key was panned for not having as many supported features as the equivalent on the Idol 4. The lack of a fingerprint reader (especially given the device's wider focus on security) and inconsistent battery life was also panned. In conclusion, it was argued that the Moto G4 Plus was better value at the same price point due to its larger amount of storage and inclusion of a fingerprint reader, and that "as a ploy to appeal to those crucial business customers, it's brilliant. For them, the DTEK50 is a solid, not-very-expensive option with the security chops to put IT paranoiacs at ease. As a phone for regular people, though, the DTEK50 is a much a tougher sell." The Verge felt that the DTEK50's display was "pretty nice for a $300 phone", but the overall hardware was described as being of average specifications. The DTEK50's Android software was praised for maintaining the user experience introduced by the Priv, but with fewer bugs and additional refinements. The camera was appraised as being decent "under ideal conditions", and poor in low-light situations. The phone's performance and battery life was also criticized. In regards to security, it was noted that Android "Marshmallow" had already implemented security features such as mandatory device encryption and finer control of permission grants, but that the DTEK software helped to promote privacy best practices, and that BlackBerry had consistently delivered Android's monthly security patches to its devices. However, the DTEK50 was panned for not including a fingerprint reader despite this focus on security. In conclusion, it was argued that while BlackBerry had "identified a market need and theoretically could do a great job filling it" with its security-oriented focus, the DTEK50 "fails to stand out in a competitive field of midrange smartphones." CNET similarly pointed out that many of BlackBerry's claimed security enhancements "seem to either be placebos or functions already found on stock Android devices", such as device encryption (mandatory on Marshmallow) and boot verification (which is strictly enforced on Android Nougat, but with notifications on Marshmallow), and that the device as shipped was vulnerable to the Quadrooter exploit (which was patched on unlocked models at the time of the review). See also Comparison of smartphones List of BlackBerry products References External links Android (operating system) devices Mobile phones introduced in 2016 DTEK50 DTEK60 Discontinued smartphones

51176602

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CenterPOS%20Malware

CenterPOS Malware

CenterPOS (also known as "Cerebrus") is a point of sale (POS) malware discovered Cyber Security Experts. It was discovered in September 2015 along with other kinds of POS malware, such as NewPOSThings, BlackPOS, and Alina. There are two versions which have been released by the developer responsible: version 1.7 and version 2.0. CenterPOS 2.0 has similar functionality to CenterPOS version 1.7. The 2.0 variant of CenterPOS malware added some more effective features, such as the addition of a configuration file for storing information in its command and control server. Overview CenterPOS has been used to target retailers in order to illegally obtain payment card information using a memory scraper. It uses two distinct modes to scrape and store information: a "smart scan" and a "normal scan". At the normal scan mode, the malware looks at all of the processes on a device and determines which ones are not currently running processes, are not named "system", "system idle process" or "idle", and do not contain keywords such as Microsoft or Mozilla. If the process meets the criteria list, the malware will search all memory regions within the process, searching for credit card data with regular expressions in the regular expression list. In smart scan mode, the malware starts by performing a normal scan, and any process that has a regular expression match will be added to the smart scan list. After the first pass, the malware will only search the processes that are in the smart scan list. The malware contains functionality that allows cybercriminals to create a configuration file. Process Details CenterPOS malware searches for the configuration file that contains the C&C information. If unable to find the configuration file, it asks for a password. If the password entered is correct, then it payloads the functions to create a configuration file. This malware is very different from other point of sale system malware in that it has a separate component called builder to create a payload. The CenterPOS malware looks for the credit and debit card information through smart scan mode and then encrypts all the scraped data using Triple DES encryption. Then the memory scraped data is sent to the operator of the malware through a separate HTTP POST request. See also Point-of-sale malware Cyber security standards List of cyber attack threat trends Cyber electronic warfare Malware References Carding (fraud) Cyberwarfare Windows trojans

51205083

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarah%20Wheeler

Tarah Wheeler

Tarah Marie Wheeler (born February 12, 1979) is an American technology and cybersecurity author, public speaker, entrepreneur and former executive. She is currently a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow at D.C. policy think-tank New America. She is the former Website Cybersecurity Czar at Symantec, author of Women in Tech, and founder of Infosec Unlocked. Early life and education Wheeler received her bachelor's degree from Carroll College and a master's degree in political science from Portland State University. In 2004, she was named a National Science Foundation-funded fellow at the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan. Career In 2012, Wheeler founded now-defunct employee management company Fizzmint. From 2012 to 2014 Wheeler was a systems architect at mobile encryption firm Silent Circle. In 2014, Wheeler founded Infosec Unlocked, a non-profit whose goal is to help bring more diverse voices to infosec conferences across the United States through paper writing events and scholarships. This was an extension of her YouTube series where she discussed diversity topics, "DEF CON Unlocked." This series mostly covered topics relating to diversity at the hacker conference DEF CON, one of the world's largest hacker conferences. In 2016, Wheeler was named a Cybersecurity Passcode Influencer by Christian Science Monitor and spoke to the Federal Trade Commission on information security in tech startups. After a Kickstarter campaign, Wheeler published Women in Tech, a book dedicated to teaching women how to succeed in tech careers. The book was published with several contributors, including Esther Dyson and Brianna Wu, one of the targets of the Gamergate controversy. In August 2017, Wheeler announced on Twitter that she left Symantec to work on several books. In October, she was awarded the inaugural "Women Leaders in Cybersecurity Award" from NYU. Wheeler and her husband Deviant Ollam helped cybersecurity expert Marcus Hutchins with his bail in August 2017 and to house him in Los Angeles during his arraignment period while he was investigated by the FBI on charges related to the Kronos rootkit. She had been Senior Director, Data Trust & Threat and Vulnerability Management at Splunk. She is currently a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow at D.C. policy think-tank New America. Wheeler has been cited in national media on issues relating to cybersecurity such as cyberterrorism, malware and data breaches and has written about cyberwar policy. Bibliography Books Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack, Women in Tech: Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories, 2016, Hardback ISBN 978-1-63217-140-5 Poker Wheeler has competed in the World Series of Poker with $3640 in lifetime cashes. In Women in Tech, Wheeler notes that interests such as poker can be useful in business, the same way golf can be. References External links Personal site 1979 births Living people 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Activists from Washington (state) American business writers Women business writers American computer businesspeople American feminist writers American technology chief executives American technology writers American women activists Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Businesspeople from Seattle People associated with computer security NortonLifeLock people Splunk people Writers from Portland, Oregon Writers from Seattle American women non-fiction writers

51231053

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homomorphic%20equivalence

Homomorphic equivalence

In the mathematics of graph theory, two graphs, G and H, are called homomorphically equivalent if there exists a graph homomorphism and a graph homomorphism . An example usage of this notion is that any two cores of a graph are homomorphically equivalent. Homomorphic equivalence also comes up in the theory of databases. Given a database schema, two instances I and J on it are called homomorphically equivalent if there exists an instance homomorphism and an instance homomorphism . In fact for any category C, one can define homomorphic equivalence. It is used in the theory of accessible categories, where "weak universality" is the best one can hope for in terms of injectivity classes; see References Graph theory Equivalence (mathematics)

51287826

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CopperheadOS

CopperheadOS

CopperheadOS is a mobile operating system for smartphones, based on the Android mobile platform. It adds privacy and security features to the official releases of the Android Open Source Project by Google. CopperheadOS is developed by Copperhead, a Canadian information security company. It is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0, although its source code is not available for public download. CopperheadOS supports smartphones in the Google Pixel product line; other devices are not targeted in order to preserve the resources of the development team. It has several security features not found in stock Android, such as a hardened version of the Linux kernel, and the ability to use separate passwords for unlocking the device and for encryption. Rather than use the Google Play Store found on most Android devices, CopperheadOS ships with the F-Droid store in order to reduce the risk of users installing malicious apps. Development of CopperheadOS began in 2014, and the operating system had an initial alpha release in August 2015. This was followed by a beta release in February 2016, followed by several other releases targeting the Google Nexus and Pixel phones. The project was initially released under the GNU General Public License, with the project's source code publicly available on GitHub. In October 2016 the license was changed to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA), and as of June 2020 access to the source code was restricted to members of Copperhead's partner network. History Project inception and initial releases The CopperheadOS project was started in 2014 by Copperhead, an information security company based in Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in the same year by James Donaldson, the CEO, and Daniel Micay, the CTO and lead developer, and initially served clients in the Canadian legal and intelligence industries. During this work, the founders noticed an absence of secure, open-source operating systems for mobile devices, and they created CopperheadOS under an open source license to try to address this need. Copperhead announced the development of CopperheadOS in April 2015. According to the announcement, the operating system was designed to be a "secure-by-default version of Android" aimed at privacy-conscious users. At first, CopperheadOS was licensed under the GNU General Public License, and the project's code was located on GitHub. Copperhead contributed several of their bug fixes and improvements developed for CopperheadOS to the Android Open Source Project, the main project for Android development by Google. In August 2015, Copperhead released the first alpha version of CopperheadOS. At this point, the project was based on CyanogenMod, and included support for the Google Nexus 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4. This was followed by a beta version in February 2016, with support for the Nexus 5, Nexus 9 and Nexus 5X. The beta was based directly on the Android Open Source Project instead of using CyanogenMod, as were subsequent releases. The move away from CyanogenMod and the lack of vendor support led to dropping support for the Samsung Galaxy S4. In May 2016, Copperhead launched an online store where the Nexus 5X could be purchased directly with CopperheadOS pre-loaded. The Nexus 6P was made available for purchase from the store in July of the same year. License change and departure of Daniel Micay From October 2016, for versions of CopperheadOS based on Android 7.0 Nougat, Copperhead changed the CopperheadOS license to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) license. According to Donaldson, this was to prevent other companies from using the CopperheadOS code without paying Copperhead for licensing, in order to keep the project sustainable. Copperhead began selling Google Pixel phones pre-loaded with CopperheadOS in March 2017, in addition to their lineup of Nexus phones. For Nexus devices, users could download and install CopperheadOS for free; however, this option was not made available for Pixel phones. For Pixel phones, users could either buy a phone from the Copperhead store with CopperheadOS pre-loaded, or send their own phone to Copperhead for the operating system to be installed on it. This was done to prevent violations of CopperheadOS's non-commercial license; Copperhead competitors had been selling Nexus phones with CopperheadOS installed without obtaining a commercial license, and Copperhead wanted to avoid this issue with the Pixel. The issue came to a head in November the same year, when Copperhead briefly shut down the update server for Nexus devices in order to stop the continued license violations. The company restored the update server after two days. Copperhead released an alpha version of CopperheadOS for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in January 2018. Official releases for the Pixel 2 and 2 XL were marked as "for internal use", and could not be downloaded from the Copperhead website without authentication. This maintained the status quo of only Nexus releases being available for public download. Disagreements between the two founders over business policy became increasingly heated over the first few months of 2018, and led to Donaldson firing Micay in June of that year. Micay responded by posting his dismissal notice on Reddit, and by deleting the cryptographic keys necessary to release updates for the project. Micay said that he considered "the company and infrastructure to be compromised", and that he would "prevent [Donaldson] from harming any users". Copperhead failed to provide CopperheadOS updates for several months afterwards. Micay continued the development of the open source parts of CopperheadOS as the Android Hardening project, which was later rebranded as GrapheneOS. According to Donaldson, as of February 2019 he and Micay were in a legal dispute over the incident. Android Pie and beyond In March 2019, Copperhead released a version of CopperheadOS based on Android Pie (9), which had support for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Pixel devices pre-installed with CopperheadOS could be purchased from Copperhead's website. This was followed in February 2020 with a version of CopperheadOS based on Android 10, available for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. As of June 2020, CopperheadOS sources and installation files were no longer available for public download and could only be obtained from Copperhead's partner network. Copperhead cites "mass violation of Copperhead's non-Commercial licensing" as the reason for this change. Features and compatibility CopperheadOS is focused on hardening the Android operating system to make it more difficult for attackers to exploit any potential security vulnerabilities. In a 2016 interview, Copperhead CEO James Donaldson said, "The point of it is to increase the amount of resources an attacker needs to expend... to the point where hopefully they will just give up." The operating system features several security improvements over stock Android related to how programs interact with memory. It implements the PaX security patches for the Linux kernel, which improves resistance against executing code that has managed to find its way into writeable memory. It also features improved address space layout randomization, a version of malloc with better memory layout randomization, and more secure SELinux policies. CopperheadOS also features verified boot, which protects against malware taking over the boot process or the recovery process of the device. There are also various changes from stock Android in user-facing features. CopperheadOS separates the password used to unlock the device from the device's encryption password; users can use a relatively simple password to unlock their devices, but if the wrong password is entered five times in a row, the device reboots and the encryption password must be entered, which would be presumably more difficult for an attacker to guess. The operating system ships with the F-Droid store, from which users can install open-source applications, instead of the Google Play Store usually found on Android phones. This is intended to prevent users from unknowingly installing malicious apps on their devices. The project supports smartphones in the Google Pixel product line. This is done to preserve Copperhead's development resources, and to enable quick patching when Google releases security updates. , the supported phones are the Pixel 2, the Pixel 2 XL, the Pixel 3, the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel 3a, and the Pixel 3a XL. Reception In January 2018, Tarus Balog of opensource.com was favorably impressed by features in CopperheadOS, but he found the lack of Google applications difficult, and was confused by licensing terms and conditions. Balog said he initially used a Nexus 6P because available Pixel and Pixel XL phones from Copperhead were too expensive. At that time source code was available, but he was unable to successfully complete his own build. Influence In 2016, The Tor Project released a prototype smartphone based on CopperheadOS named the Tor Phone, which gave users the ability to route their network connections through Tor for anonymity. CopperheadOS was chosen for its focus on security, in particular its use of verified boot and its prevention of system apps being overridden by apps from the Google Play Store. The prototype only worked on Google Nexus and Pixel hardware, and had many unfinished pieces. See also List of custom Android distributions Security-focused operating system Guardian Project References External links Custom Android firmware Mobile Linux Mobile operating systems

51294490

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarovaya%20law

Yarovaya law

The Yarovaya law (in Russian: Закон Яровой, transliteration: Zakon Jarovoy), also Yarovaya package/bag, is a set of two Russian federal bills, 374-FZ and 375-FZ, passed in 2016. The bills amend previous counter-terrorism law and separate laws regulating additional counter-terror and public safety measures. It is known to the public under the last name of one of its creators—Irina Yarovaya. The amendments included an expansion of authority for law enforcement agencies, new requirements for data collection and mandatory decoding in the telecommunications industry, as well as the increased regulation of evangelism, including a ban on the performance of "missionary activities" in non-religious settings. Legislative history In April 2016 Irina Yarovaya, together with Aleksei Pushkov, and Nadezhda Gerasimova and senator Victor Ozerov introduced a project of legislation that would toughen penalties for extremism and terrorism. On 13 May 2016, the law passed after the first reading. Prior to that, it had received support from the prime minister's cabinet. On 7 July it was signed by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Most of the act's amendments came into effect on 20 July 2016. Amendments that require telecom operators to store recordings of phone conversations, text messages and users' internet traffic up to 6 months were announced to come into force on July 1, 2018. However, senator Anton Belyakov has submitted a proposal to move the regulations' effective date to 2023, because of the extreme amount of data storage technology needed to meet the requirements. Content Penal provisions The amendments of the Yarovaya law include lengthening of prison terms for a number of criminal activities, introduction of new reasons to deny entry or departure to and from Russia, and the introduction of criminal liability for failure to report to law enforcement authorities that someone else "has been planning, is perpetrating, or has perpetrated" terrorist activity. Surveillance provisions The Yarovaya amendments require telecom providers to store the content of voice calls, data, images and text messages for 6 months, and their metadata (e.g. time, location and message sender and recipients) for 3 years. Online services such as messaging services, email and social networks that use encrypted data are required to permit the Federal Security Service (FSB) to access and read their encrypted communications. Internet and telecom companies are required to disclose these communications and metadata, as well as "all other information necessary" to authorities on request and without a court order. Anti-evangelism provisions The amendments also include new restrictions on evangelism and missionary work. The amendments add a new provision to Russia's Religion Legislation, stating that "missionary activity" may only be performed "without hindrance" at churches and other religious sites designated by the chapter. It is explicitly banned from residential buildings. "Missionary activity" is defined asThe activity of a religious association, aimed at disseminating information about its beliefs among people who are not participants (members, followers) in that religious association, with the purpose of involving these people as participants (members, followers). It is carried out directly by religious associations or by citizens and/or legal entities authorised by them, publicly, with the help of the media, the internet or other lawful means". Missionary activities may not be used to pursue violations of public safety, "the motivation of citizens to refuse to fulfil their civic duties as established by law and to commit other illegal acts", suicide, or the refusal of medical treatment on religious grounds as aims. Missionary activities may only be performed by authorized members of registered religious groups and organizations. A group becomes ineligible to perform missionary activities if they have been banned under a court order for practicing extremism or terrorism, or have been liquidated. Foreign missionaries may only perform missionary activities after registering for a permit from a recognized religious organization. Citizens are also required to report unauthorized religious activity to the government or face fines. Implementation Surveillance provisions Because oft he unprecedented data storage requirements, implementation of the law has been described as impossible and extremely expensive. The Russian Post estimated that compliance with the law would cost the organization 500 billion rubles for initial purchases of equipment and 100 billion rubles yearly. Implementation of the law by other delivery and freight services was estimated to cost around 180 billion rubles, which is projected to cause 30–40% drop in online number of purchases. Cell service operators will need 2.2 trillion rubles to comply, which will cause a two- or threefold rise in the cost of mobile services for the consumer. Edward Snowden estimated the combined cost of implementation to be 33 billion dollars and predicted that the overall security levels will be unaffected, despite giant affiliated costs. After Putin signed the law, it turned out that equipment that is needed to store all the data is non-existent not only in Russia, but in the world. Because of that Putin has issued a call for government contracts to Russian companies for the required hardware and software. Anti-evangelism provisions A number of missionaries have been subject to arrest for violating the law and, upon conviction, have been fined. Donald and Ruth Ossewaarde, independent missionaries working in Oryol, were fined 40,000 rubles (around $700), prompting the couple to leave the country; Sergei Zhuravlyov, a Ukrainian Reformed Orthodox Church of Christ representative, was arrested for engaging in preaching in St. Petersburg; and Ebenezer Tuah of Ghana, the leader of the Christ Embassy church, was arrested and fined 50,000 rubles for conducting baptisms at a sanatorium. On 9 July 2016, Jim Mulcahy, a 72-year-old American pastor who is the Eastern European coordinator for the U.S.-based Metropolitan Community Church, was arrested and deported under the prohibition of missionary activities at non-religious sites, after advertising and holding a "tea party" in Samara with an LGBT group. Authorities had targeted Mulcahy under suspicions that he was planning to organize a same-sex wedding. Criticism and protests Russia's largest telecommunication and internet companies expressed their concerns regarding the negative impacts of the law on their businesses and on the Russian economy on the whole. A Change.org petition to completely cancel Yarovaya's Act collected over 600,000 signatures. Russian Public Initiative petition has been signed more than 100,000 times. A number of protests were organized in cities, including in Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Kazan and Volgograd. A 9 August protest in Moscow has seen over 2,000 participants. Criticisms of anti-evangelism provisions The anti-evangelism provisions of the legislation prompted an outcry of concern and opposition from Russia's Protestant minority, which makes up about 1% of Russia's population. According to experts, the law is likely to be interpreted in a way to block churches other than the Russian Orthodox Church from evangelizing ethnic Russians. Religious denominations with a smaller presence in Russia have long been viewed with hostility by government officials and Russian Orthodox religious authorities. The harsh new restrictions on minority religious groups supplemented the requirements under a 1997 law that mandated registration and administrative procedures, which many religious groups found onerous and expensive to comply with. Thomas J. Reese, the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that "Neither these measures nor the currently existing anti-extremism law meet international human rights and religious freedom standards" and that the Yarovaya Law "will make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent, and detain and imprison people." Faith McDonnell of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C., said: "The law doesn't do that much to defend from terrorism and only prevents Christians and others who are not [Russian] Orthodox from preaching and proselytizing." U.S. State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson wrote that: "We believe that these new amendments will not better protect Russia’s citizens, but are rather part of a troubling Russian trend of intimidation and harassment of civil society and political activists." The law exempts the government-allied Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church from the measures that it applies to all other religious groups. The autonomous Russian Orthodox Church opposed the law; Archbishop Andrew Maklakov, administrator of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church of America, stated: "As the Russian Federation has drifted back to its Soviet roots more and more over the past 25 years, it has increasingly sought to harass, persecute, and destroy any religious organization that it might consider competition to its own 'state church.'" Criticisms of expanded surveillance provisions The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to defend civil liberties in the digital world, opposed the Yarovaya package, noting that "opposition to the Yarovaya package has come from many quarters. Technical experts have been united in opposing the law. Russia’s government Internet ombudsman opposed the bill. Putin's own human rights head, Mikhail Fedotov, called upon the Senators of Russia’s Federal Council to reject the bill. ISPs have pointed out that compliance would cost them trillions of rubles." The EFF wrote that because Russia's ISPs, messaging services, and social media platforms "cannot reasonably comply with all the demands of the Yarovaya package, they become de facto criminals whatever their actions. And that, in turn, gives the Russian state the leverage to extract from them any other concession it desires. The impossibility of full compliance is not a bug—it's an essential feature." Human Rights Watch noted the lack of judicial oversight and stated that "these provisions would ultimately jeopardize security, while being ineffective at preventing terrorists from using encryption" as well as "unjustifiably expand surveillance while undermining human rights and cybersecurity." See also Mass surveillance in Russia SORM Sovereign Internet Law References External links 2016 in law 2016 in Russia Russian law Censorship in Russia Internet law Internet access Internet censorship in Russia Political scandals in Russia 2016 scandals

51346297

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfleye

Butterfleye

Butterfleye is an American maker of security alarm systems. The company is known for its wireless learning camera technology that prevents false alarms. Butterfleye was founded in 2013 by an engineer named Ben Nader, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. On December 20, 2017, Butterfleye was acquired by Ooma. On September 22, 2021, Ooma sent the following message to Butterfleye users: "We're sorry to inform you that the operation, maintenance and support of Ooma Butterfleye and Smart Cam security cameras will be ending. As such, the last day of operation of your camera(s) will be October 22, 2021. After this day, your camera(s) will stop working and will no longer record videos. Any videos you currently access through the Smart Cam App will become unavailable." History After losing several bicycles in a series of break-ins at his apartment, Nader—then an engineer at Texas Instruments—tried to install his own security alarm system. Dissatisfied with existing products that took him three days to install, Nader set out to create an alternative. Nader was initially funded by angel investing, raising $1.6 million. In August 2015, he sought backing through the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, setting a goal of $100,000. When the campaign finished in October, the company had raised more than six times its initial goal. Cameras Nader described Butterfleye as "Dropcam meets Nest," a combination of streaming cameras and home automation technology. Butterfleye's cameras are wireless with an estimated two-week battery life, allowing them to continue functioning in case of power interruptions. Butterfleye's cameras are distinguished by their facial recognition technology, which prevents false alarms, and their ability to learn what not to record (for example, footage of the home's residents themselves). The camera also includes iBeacon technology, allowing it recognize certain smartphones, also avoiding false alarms; a thermal imaging sensor; and audio recognition technology, through which the camera can learn to recognize sounds such as children crying or glass breaking. The system sorts and labels archived footage on the basis of these audio and visual cues. Each camera uploads using AES 128bit encryption, and has 12 hours of internal storage in the event of wireless network or Internet connection failure. Owners can watch the camera feed live or archived through an app on Android (in development) or iOS, and can be notified through the app when a person or pet is detected by a given camera. Owners can also activate a camera remotely, in which case a light on the camera signals to those nearby that it is recording. The cameras also feature two-way audio that allows the owner to speak through the camera to communicate with family members or pets. References External links Butterfleye home page Alarms Security companies of the United States

51347825

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum%20Experiments%20at%20Space%20Scale

Quantum Experiments at Space Scale

Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS; ), is a Chinese research project in the field of quantum physics. Tiangong-2 is China's second Space Laboratory module which was launched on 15 Sep 2016. Tiangong-2 carries a total of 14 mission and experiment packages, including Space-Earth quantum key distribution () and laser communications experiment to facilitate space-to-ground quantum communication. A satellite, nicknamed Micius or Mozi () after the ancient Chinese philosopher and scientist, is operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as ground stations in China. The University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences are running the satellite's European receiving stations. QUESS is a proof-of-concept mission designed to facilitate quantum optics experiments over long distances to allow the development of quantum encryption and quantum teleportation technology. Quantum encryption uses the principle of entanglement to facilitate communication that can absolutely detect whether a third party has intercepted a message in transit thus denying undetected decryption. By producing pairs of entangled photons, QUESS will allow ground stations separated by many thousands of kilometres to establish secure quantum channels. QUESS itself has limited communication capabilities: it needs line-of-sight, and can only operate when not in sunlight. Further Micius satellites were planned, including a global network by 2030. The mission cost was around US$100 million in total. Mission The initial experiment demonstrated quantum key distribution (QKD) between Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory near Ürümqi and Xinglong Observatory near Beijing – a great-circle distance of approximately . In addition, QUESS tested Bell's inequality at a distance of – further than any experiment to date – and teleported a photon state between Shiquanhe Observatory in Ali, Tibet Autonomous Region, and the satellite. This requires very accurate orbital maneuvering and satellite tracking so the base stations can keep line-of-sight with the craft. Once experiments within China concluded, QUESS created an international QKD channel between China and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Vienna, Austria − a ground distance of , enabling the first intercontinental secure quantum video call in 2016. Launch The launch was initially scheduled for July 2016, but was rescheduled to August, with notification of the launch being sent just a few days in advance. The spacecraft was launched by a Long March 2D rocket from Jiuquan Launch Pad 603, Launch Area 4 on 17 August 2016, at 17:40 UTC (01:40 local time). Multi-payload mission The launch was a multi-payload mission shared with QUESS, LiXing-1 research satellite, and ³Cat-2 Spanish science satellite. LiXing-1: LiXing-1 is a Chinese satellite designed to measure upper atmospheric density by lowering its orbit to 100–150 km. Its mass is 110 kg. On 19 August 2016, the satellite reentered into the atmosphere, so the mission is closed. ³Cat-2: The 3Cat-2 (spelled "cube-cat-two") is the second satellite in the 3Cat series and the second satellite developed in Catalonia at Polytechnic University of Catalonia’s NanoSat Lab. It is a 6-Unit CubeSat flying a novel GNSS Reflectometer (GNSS-R) payload for Earth observation. Its mass is 7.1 kg. Secure key distribution The main instrument on board QUESS is a "Sagnac effect" interferometer. This is a device which generates pairs of entangled photons, allowing one of each to be transmitted to the ground. This will allow QUESS to perform Quantum key distribution (QKD) – the transmission of a secure cryptographic key that can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages – to two ground stations. QKD theoretically offers truly secure communication. In QKD, two parties who want to communicate share a random secret key transmitted using pairs of entangled photons sent with random polarization, with each party receiving one half of the pair. This secret key can then be used as a one-time pad, allowing the two parties to communicate securely through normal channels. Any attempt to eavesdrop on the key will disturb the entangled state in a detectable way. QKD has been attempted on Earth, both with direct line-of-sight between two observatories, and using fibre optic cables to transmit the photons. However, fibre optics and the atmosphere both cause scattering which destroys the entangled state, and this limits the distance over which QKD can be carried out. Sending the keys from an orbiting satellite results in less scattering, which allows QKD to be performed over much greater distances. In addition, QUESS tests some of the basic foundations of quantum mechanics. Bell's theorem says that no local hidden variable theory can ever reproduce the predictions of quantum physics, and QUESS will be able to test the principle of locality over . Analysis QUESS lead scientist Pan Jianwei told Reuters that the project has "enormous prospects" in the defence sphere. The satellite will provide secure communications between Beijing and Ürümqi, capital of Xinjiang, the remote western region of China. The US Department of Defense believes China is aiming to achieve the capability to counter the use of enemy space technology. Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has prioritised China's space program, which has included anti-satellite missile tests, and the New York Times noted that quantum technology was a focus of the thirteenth five-year plan, which the China government set out earlier that year. The Wall Street Journal said that the launch put China ahead of rivals, and brought them closer to "hack-proof communications". Several outlets identified Edward Snowden's leak of US surveillance documents as an impetus for the development of QUESS, with Popular Science calling it "a satellite for the post-Snowden age". Similar projects QUESS is the first spacecraft launched capable of generating entangled photons in space, although transmission of single photons via satellites has previously been demonstrated by reflecting photons generated at ground-based stations off orbiting satellites. While not generating fully entangled photons, correlated pairs of photons have been produced in space using a cubesat by the National University of Singapore and the University of Strathclyde. A German consortium has performed quantum measurements of optical signals from the geostationary Alphasat Laser Communication Terminal. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the Quiness macroscopic quantum communications project to catalyze the development of an end-to-end global quantum internet in 2012. See also Chinese space program Quantum information Quantum cryptography Quantum computing References External links QUESS Launching(Chinese) 3Cat-2 Satellite web site at Polytechnic University of Catalonia Communications satellites Satellites of China Satellites of Austria 2016 in China Quantum information science Spacecraft launched in 2016 Communications satellites in low Earth orbit 2016 in Austria

51367517

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-based%20random%20number%20generator%20%28CBRNG%29

Counter-based random number generator (CBRNG)

A counter-based random number generation (CBRNG, also known as a counter-based pseudo-random number generator, or CBPRNG) is a kind of pseudorandom number generator that uses only an integer counter as its internal state. Background We can think of a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) as a function that transforms a series of bits known as the state into a new state and a random number. That is, given a PRNG function and an initial state , we can repeatedly use the PRNG to generate a sequence of states and random numbers. In some PRNGs, such as the Mersenne Twister, the state is large, more than 2048 bytes. In other PRNGs, such as xorshift, and are one and the same (and so the state is small, just 4, 8, or 16 bytes, depending on the size of the numbers being generated). But in both cases, and indeed in most traditional PRNGs, the state evolves unpredictably, so if you want to calculate a particular given an initial state , you have to calculate , , and so on, running the PRNG times. Such algorithms are inherently sequential and not amenable to running on parallel machines like multi-core CPUs and GPUs. In contrast, a counter-based random number generator (CBRNG) is a PRNG where the state "evolves" in a particularly simple manner: . This way you can generate each number independently, without knowing the result of the previous call to the PRNG. This property make it easy to run a CBRNG on a multiple CPU threads or a GPU. For example, to generate random numbers on a GPU, you might spawn threads and have the th thread calculate . Implementations CBRNGs based on block ciphers Some CBRNGs are based on reduced-strength versions of block ciphers. Below we explain how this works. When using a cryptograhpic block cipher in counter mode, you generate a series of blocks of random bits. The th block is calculated by encrypting the number using the encryption key : . This is similar to a CBRNG, where you calculate the th random number as . Indeed, any block cipher can be used as a CBRNG; simply let ! This yields a strong, cryptographically-secure source of randomness. But cryptographically-secure pseudorandom number generators tend to be slow compared to insecure PRNGs, and in practice many uses of random numbers don't require this degree of security. In 2011, Salmon et al. at D. E. Shaw Research introduced two CBRNGs based on reduced-strength versions of block ciphers. Threefry uses a reduced-strength version of the Threefish block cipher. (Juvenile fish are known as "fry".) ARS uses a reduced-strength version of the AES block cipher. ("ARS" is a pun on "AES"; "AES" stands for "advanced encryption standard", and "ARS" stands for "advanced randomization system".) ARS is used in recent versions of Intel's Math Kernel Library and gets good performance by using instructions from the AES-NI instruction set, which specifically accelerate AES encryption. Code implementing Threefry, ARS, and Philox (see below) is available from the authors. CBRNGs based on multiplication In addition to Threefry and ARS, Salmon et al. described a third counter-based PRNG, Philox. It's based on wide multiplies, e.g. multiplying two 32-bit numbers and producing a 64-bit number, or multiplying two 64-bit numbers and producing a 128-bit number. As of 2020, Philox is popular on CPUs and GPUs. On GPUs, nVidia's cuRAND library and TensorFlow provide implementations of Philox. On CPUs, Intel's MKL provides an implementation. References Pseudorandom number generators

51499278

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP32

ESP32

ESP32 is a series of low-cost, low-power system on a chip microcontrollers with integrated Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth. The ESP32 series employs either a Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor in both dual-core and single-core variations, Xtensa LX7 dual-core microprocessor or a single-core RISC-V microprocessor and includes built-in antenna switches, RF balun, power amplifier, low-noise receive amplifier, filters, and power-management modules. ESP32 is created and developed by Espressif Systems, a Shanghai-based Chinese company, and is manufactured by TSMC using their 40 nm process. It is a successor to the ESP8266 microcontroller. Features Features of the ESP32 include the following: Processors: CPU: Xtensa dual-core (or single-core) 32-bit LX6 microprocessor, operating at 160 or 240 MHz and performing at up to 600 DMIPS Ultra low power (ULP) co-processor Memory: 320 KiB RAM, 448 KiB ROM Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth: v4.2 BR/EDR and BLE (shares the radio with Wi-Fi) Peripheral interfaces: 34 × programmable GPIOs 12-bit SAR ADC up to 18 channels 2 × 8-bit DACs 10 × touch sensors (capacitive sensing GPIOs) 4 × SPI 2 × I²S interfaces 2 × I²C interfaces 3 × UART SD/SDIO/CE-ATA/MMC/eMMC host controller SDIO/SPI slave controller Ethernet MAC interface with dedicated DMA and planned IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol support CAN bus 2.0 Infrared remote controller (TX/RX, up to 8 channels) Motor PWM LED PWM (up to 16 channels) Hall effect sensor Ultra low power analog pre-amplifier Security: IEEE 802.11 standard security features all supported, including WPA, WPA2, WPA3 (depending on version) and WAPI Secure boot Flash encryption 1024-bit OTP, up to 768-bit for customers Cryptographic hardware acceleration: AES, SHA-2, RSA, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), random number generator (RNG) Power management: Internal low-dropout regulator Individual power domain for RTC 5 μA deep sleep current Wake up from GPIO interrupt, timer, ADC measurements, capacitive touch sensor interrupt ESP32-xx family Since the release of the original ESP32, a number of variants have been introduced and announced. They form the ESP32 family of microcontrollers. These chips have different CPUs and capabilities, but all share the same SDK and are largely code-compatible. Additionally, the original ESP32 was revised (see ESP32 ECO V3, for example). ESP32-S2 Single-core Xtensa LX7 CPU, up to 240 MHz 320 kiB SRAM, 128 kiB ROM, and 16 kiB of RTC memory WiFi 2.4 Ghz (IEEE 802.11b/g/n) No Bluetooth 43 programmable GPIOs USB OTG ESP32-C3 Single-core 32-bit RISC-V CPU, up to 160 MHz 400 kiB of SRAM and 384 kiB ROM WiFi 2.4 Ghz (IEEE 802.11b/g/n) Bluetooth 5 LE 22 programmable GPIOs Pin compatible with ESP8266 ESP32-S3 Dual-core Xtensa LX7 CPU, up to 240 MHz Added instructions to accelerate machine learning applications 384 kiB of RAM and an additional 384 KiB of SRAM WiFi 2.4 Ghz (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) Bluetooth 5 LE 44 programmable GPIOs USB OTG Announced ESP32-C6 Single-core 32-bit RISC-V CPU, up to 160 MHz 400 kiB of SRAM and 384 kiB ROM IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) on 2.4 GHz, supporting 20 MHz bandwidth in 11ax mode, 20 or 40 MHz bandwidth in 11b/g/n mode Bluetooth 5 and LE 22 programmable GPIOs ESP32-H2 Single-core 32-bit RISC-V CPU, up to 96 MHz 256 KB of SRAM IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread + Zigbee) Bluetooth 5 LE 26 programmable GPIOs QFN packaged chip and module ESP32 is housed in quad-flat no-leads (QFN) packages of varying sizes with 49 pads. Specifically, 48 connection pads along the sides and one large thermal pad (connected to ground) on the bottom. Chips The ESP32 system on a chip integrated circuit is packaged in both 6 mm × 6 mm and 5 mm × 5 mm sized QFN packages. In 2020, chips ESP32-D0WDQ6 and ESP32-D0WD also got a V3 version (ESP32 ECO V3), which fixes some of the bugs and introduces improvements over the previous versions. Module The ESP32-PICO-D4 system in package module combines an ESP32 silicon chip, crystal oscillator, flash memory chip, filter capacitors, and RF matching links into a single 7 mm × 7 mm sized QFN package. In 2020, a similar module ESP32-PICO-V3 was introduced which is based on the ESP32 ECO V3. Printed circuit boards Surface-mount module boards ESP32 based surface-mount printed circuit board modules directly contain the ESP32 SoC and are designed to be easily integrated onto other circuit boards. Meandered inverted-F antenna designs are used for the PCB trace antennas on the modules listed below. In addition to flash memory, some modules include pseudostatic RAM (pSRAM). Development and other boards Development & break-out boards extend wiring and may add functionality, often building upon ESP32 module boards and making them easier to use for development purposes (especially with breadboards). † ESP32 SoC incorporated directly onto development board; no module board used. Programming Programming languages, frameworks, platforms, and environments used for ESP32 programming: Visual Studio Code with the officially supported Espressif Integrated Development Framework (ESP-IDF) Extension Arduino IDE with the ESP32 Arduino Core MicroPython A lean implementation of Python 3 for microcontrollers Espruino – JavaScript SDK and firmware closely emulating Node.js Lua Network/IoT toolkit for ESP32-Wrover Mongoose OS – an operating system for connected products on microcontrollers; programmable with JavaScript or C. A recommended platform by Espressif Systems, AWS IoT, and Google Cloud IoT. mruby for the ESP32 NodeMCU – Lua-based firmware Zerynth – Python for IoT and microcontrollers, including the ESP32 Reception and use Commercial and industrial use of ESP32: Use in commercial devices Alibaba Group's IoT LED wristband, used by participants at the group's 2017 annual gathering. Each wristband operated as a "pixel", receiving commands for coordinated LED light control, allowing formation of a "live and wireless screen". DingTalk's M1, a biometric attendance-tracking system. LIFX Mini, a series of remotely controllable, LED based light bulbs. Pium, a home fragrance and aromatherapy device. HardKernel's Odroid Go, an ESP32 based handheld gaming device kit made to commemorate Odroid's 10th anniversary. Playdate, a handheld video game console jointly developed by Panic Inc. and Teenage Engineering. Use in industrial devices TECHBASE's Moduino X series X1 and X2 modules are ESP32-WROVER / ESP32-WROVER-B based computers for industrial automation and monitoring, supporting digital inputs/outputs, analog inputs, and various computer networking interfaces. NORVI IIOT Industrial Devices with ESP32-WROVER / ESP32-WROVER-B SOC for industrial automation and monitoring with digital inputs, analog inputs, relay outputs and multiple communications interfaces. Supports LoRa and Nb-IoT as expansion modules. See also Microcontroller Internet of things References External links Espressif ESP32 Overview Espressif ESP32 Resources Espressif ESP-IDF Programming Guide Espressif ESP32 Forums Microcontrollers Microprocessors made in China

51546259

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.%20Pandu%20Rangan

C. Pandu Rangan

Chandrasekaran Pandurangan (born September 20, 1955) is a computer scientist and academic professor of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IITM). He mainly focuses on the design of pragmatic algorithms, graph theory and cryptography. Early life Pandu Rangan was born on September 20, 1955 to S.R. Chandrasekharan in Madras, India. He is married and has two children. Education Pandu Rangan completed his B.Sc. from University of Madras in 1975. After obtaining B.Sc, he received his M.Sc. from the same university in 1977. He completed his PhD from IISc, Bangalore in 1984. Research interests Pandu Rangan has published over two hundred research papers in the following areas of computer science and engineering: Restricting the problem domain Approximate algorithm design Randomized algorithms Parallel and VLSI algorithms Applied cryptography Secure multi-part computation Game theory and Graph theory Problems of practical interest in graph theory, combinatorics and computational geometry were his main interests in research. In cryptology his current focus is on secure message transmission and provable security of cryptographic protocols / primitives. Awards and honours In 2018, he won Institute Chair Professor at IIT Madras. Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering, (2006). Member of the Board of Directors of International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), (2002-2005). Member, Board of Directors, Society for Electronics Transaction and Security (SETS), (2005-2007). Member, Editorial Board, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series (LNCS Series), Springer-Verlag, Germany, (2005-2008). Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, (2005-2008). Bibliography K. Srinathan, M. V. N. Ashwin Kumar, C. Pandu Rangan: Asynchronous Secure Communication Tolerating Mixed Adversaries. Advances in Cryptology - ASIACRYPT 2002, 8th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Cryptology and Information Security, Queenstown, New Zealand, 1–5 December 2002: Pages 224-242 K. Srinathan, Arvind Narayanan, C. Pandu Rangan: Optimal Perfectly Secure Message Transmission. Advances in Cryptology - CRYPTO 2004, 24th Annual International CryptologyConference, Santa Barbara, California, USA, 15–19 August 2004: Pages 545-561 Kannan Srinathan, N. R. Prasad, C. Pandu Rangan: On the Optimal Communication Complexity of Multiphase Protocols for Perfect Communication. 2007 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P 2007), 20–23 May 2007, Oakland, California, USA, 2007: Pages 311-320 Kannan Srinathan, Arpita Patra, Ashish Choudhary, C. Pandu Rangan: Probabilistic Perfectly Reliable and Secure Message Transmission - Possibility, Feasibility and Optimality. Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2007, 8th International Conference on Cryptology in India, Chennai, India, 9–13 December 2007: Pages 101-122 S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, S. Sree Vivek, Deepanshu Shukla, C. Pandu Rangan: Efficient and Provably Secure Certificateless Multi-receiver Signcryption. Provable Security, Second International Conference, ProvSec 2008, Shanghai, China, 30 October – 1 November 2008: Pages 52–67 Bhavani Shankar, Prasant Gopal, Kannan Srinathan, C. Pandu Rangan: Unconditionally reliable message transmission in directed networks. Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms, SODA 2008, San Francisco, California, USA, 20–22 January 2008. SIAM: Pages 1048-1055 Arpita Patra, Ashish Choudhary, C. Pandu Rangan: Round Efficient Unconditionally Secure Multiparty Computation Protocol. Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2008, 9th International Conference on Cryptology in India, Kharagpur, India, 14–17 December 2008: Pages 185-199 S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, S. Sree Vivek, C. Pandu Rangan: Breaking and Fixing of an Identity Based Multi-Signcryption Scheme. Provable Security, Third International Conference, ProvSec 2009, Guangzhou, China, 11–13 November 2009: Pages 61–75 S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, S. Sree Vivek, J. Shriram, S. Kalaivani, C. Pandu Rangan: Identity Based Aggregate Signcryption Schemes. Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2009, 10th International Conference on Cryptology in India, New Delhi, India, 13–16 December 2009: Pages 378-397 Arpita Patra, Ashish Choudhary, C. Pandu Rangan: Round Efficient Unconditionally Secure MPC and Multiparty Set Intersection with Optimal Resilience. Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2009, 10th International Conference on Cryptology in India, New Delhi, India, 13–16 December 2009: Pages 398-417 Arpita Patra, Ashish Choudhary, Tal Rabin, C. Pandu Rangan: The Round Complexity of Verifiable Secret Sharing Revisited. Advances in Cryptology - CRYPTO 2009, 29th Annual International Cryptology Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 16–20 August 2009: Pages 487-504 Ranjit Kumaresan, Arpita Patra, C. Pandu Rangan: The Round Complexity of Verifiable Secret Sharing: The Statistical Case. Advances in Cryptology - ASIACRYPT 2010 - 16th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Cryptology and Information Security, Singapore, 5–9 December 2010: Pages 431-447 S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, S. Sree Vivek, C. Pandu Rangan: Identity Based Public Verifiable Signcryption Scheme. Provable Security - 4th International Conference, ProvSec 2010, Malacca, Malaysia, 13–15 October 2010: Pages 244-260 S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, S. Sree Vivek, Dhinakaran Vinayagamurthy, C. Pandu Rangan: ID Based Signcryption Scheme in Standard Model. Provable Security - 6th International Conference, ProvSec 2012, Chengdu, China, 26–28 September 2012: Pages 35–52 S. Sree Vivek, S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, Layamrudhaa Renganathan Venkatesan, C. Pandu Rangan: Efficient, Pairing-Free, Authenticated Identity Based Key Agreement in a Single Round. Provable Security - 7th International Conference, ProvSec 2013, Melaka, Malaysia, 23–25 October 2013: Pages 38–58 Arpita Patra, Ashish Choudhury, C. Pandu Rangan: Efficient Asynchronous Verifiable Secret Sharing and Multiparty Computation. Journal of Cryptology Volume 28, Number 1, January 2015: Pages 49–109 (2015) Priyanka Bose, Dipanjan Das, Chandrasekaran Pandu Rangan: Constant Size Ring Signature Without Random Oracle. Information Security and Privacy - 20th Australasian Conference, ACISP 2015, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 29 June – 1 July 2015: Pages 230-247 Suvradip Chakraborty, Goutam Paul, C. Pandu Rangan: Forward-Secure Authenticated Symmetric Key Exchange Protocol: New Security Model and Secure Construction. Provable Security - 9th International Conference, ProvSec 2015, Kanazawa, Japan, 24–26 November 2015: Pages 149-166 Sree Vivek Sivanandam, S. Sharmila Deva Selvi, Akshayaram Srinivasan, Chandrasekaran Pandu Rangan: Stronger public key encryption system withstanding RAM scraper like attacks. Security and Communication Networks Volume 9, Number 12, January 2016: Pages 1650-1662 Kunwar Singh, C. Pandu Rangan, A. K. Banerjee: Lattice-based identity-based resplittable threshold public key encryption scheme. International Journal of Computer Mathematics, Volume 93, Number 2, 2016: Pages 289-307 K. Srinathan, C. Pandu Rangan, Moti Yung: Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2007, 8th International Conference on Cryptology in India, Chennai, India, 9–13 December 2007, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 4859, Springer 2007, . C. Pandu Rangan, Cunsheng Ding: Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2001, Second International Conference on Cryptology in India, Chennai, India, 16–20 December 2001, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2247, Springer 2001, . C. Pandu Rangan, Venkatesh Raman, Ramaswamy Ramanujam: Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science, 19th Conference, Chennai, India, 13–15 December 1999, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1738, Springer 1999, . Alok Aggarwal, C. Pandu Rangan: Algorithms and Computation, 10th International Symposium, ISAAC '99, Chennai, India, 16–18 December 1999, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1741, Springer 1999, . References Living people IIT Madras faculty 1955 births

51552534

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data%20activism

Data activism

Data activism is a social practice that uses technology and data. It emerged from existing activism sub-cultures such as hacker an open-source movements. Data activism is a specific type of activism which is enabled and constrained by the data infrastructure. It can use the production and collection of digital, volunteered, open data to challenge existing power relations. It is a form of media activism; however, this is not to be confused with slacktivism. It uses digital technology and data politically and proactively to foster social change. Forms of data activism can include digital humanitarianism and engaging in hackathons. Data activism is a social practice that is becoming more well-known with the expansion of technology, open-sourced software and the ability to communicate beyond an individual's immediate community. The culture of data activism emerged from previous forms of media activism, such as hacker movements. A defining characteristic of data activism is that ordinary citizens can participate, in comparison to previous forms of media activism where elite skill sets were required to participate. By increasingly involving average users, they are a signal of a change in perspective and attitude towards massive data collection emerging within the civil society realm. Data activism can be the act of providing data on events or issues that individuals feel have not been properly addressed by those in power. For example, the first deployment of the Ushahidi platform in 2008 in Kenya visualized the post-electoral violence that had been silenced by the government and the new media. The social practice of data activism revolves around the idea that data is political in nature. Data activism allows individuals to quantify a specific issue. By collecting data for a particular purpose, it allows data activists to quantify and expose specific issues. As data infrastructures and data analytics grow, data activists can use evidence from data-driven science to support claims about social issues. Types A twofold classification of data activism has been proposed by Stefania Milan and Miren Gutiérrez, later explored more in-depth by Stefania Milan, according to the type of activists' engagement with data politics. 'Re-active data activism' can be characterized as motivated by the perception of massive data collection as a threat, for instance when activists seek to resist corporate and government snooping, whereas 'pro-active data activism' sees the increasing availability of data as an opportunity to foster social change. These differentiated approaches to datafication result in different repertoires of action, which are not at odds with each other, since they share a crucial feature: they take information as a constitutive force capable of shaping social reality and contribute to generate new alternative ways of interpreting it. Examples of re-active data activism include the development and usage of encryption and anonymity networks to resist corporate or state surveillance, while instances of pro-active data activism include projects in which data is mobilized to advocate for change and contest established social narrative. Examples End the Backlog It was discovered that in the United States between 180,000 and 500,000 rape kits were left unprocessed in storage in forensic warehouses. Registration and entry of criminal DNA had been inconsistent, which caused this large backlog in date rape kits. The delay in analysing these DNA samples would approximately be six months to two years. The information from rape kits was meant to be entered into the forensic warehouse database, but there was a disconnect between the warehouse system and the national DNA database Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that left these rape kits unexamined. Testing these rape kits is important in identifying and prosecuting offenders, recognizing serial rapists, and providing justice for rape victims. The Ending the Backlog Initiative brought attention to this issue by demanding that the data from these rape kits be processed. It was this initiative that brought this issue to the attention of the United States government, who began stated that this was unacceptable and put $79 million in grants would be used to help eliminate the backlog of rape kits. The quantification of this data changed the ways in which the public perceived the process of analysing rape kits. This data was then used to gain the attention of politicians. DataKind DataKind is a digital activism organization that brings together data scientists and people from other organizations and governments for the purpose of using big data in similar ways that corporations currently use big data namely to monetize data. However, here big data is used to help solve social problems, like food shortages and homelessness. DataKind was founded in 2011 and today there are chapters in the United Kingdom, India, Singapore and the United States of America. Jake Porway is the founder and executive director of DataKind. Criticism While data activists may have good intentions, one criticism is that by allowing citizens to generate data without training or reliable forms of measurement, the data can be skewed or presented in different forms. Safecast After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Safecast was an organization established by a group of citizens that were concerned about high levels of radiation in the area. After receiving conflicting messages about levels of radiation from different media sources and scientists, individuals were uncertain which information was the most reliable. This brought about a movement where citizens would use Geiger counter readings to measure levels of radiation and circulate that data over the internet so that it was accessible by the public. Safecast was developed as a means of producing multiple sources of data on radiation. It was assumed that if the data was collected by similar Geiger counter measurements in mass volume, the data produced was likely to be accurate. Safecast allows individuals to download the raw radiation data, but Safecast also visualizes the data. The data that is used to create a visual map is processed and categorized by Safecast. This data is different from the raw radiation data because it has been filtered, which presents the data in a different way than the raw data. The change in presentation of data may alter the information that individuals take from it, which can pose a threat if misunderstood. See also Information activism WikiLeaks Crowdmapping Anti-mass surveillance activism Big Data Media Activism Slacktivism References Activism Internet activism Data

51567965

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative%20data

Administrative data

Administrative data are collected by governments or other organizations for non-statistical reasons to provide overviews on registration, transactions, and record keeping. They evaluate part of the output of administrating a program. Border records, pensions, taxation, and vital records like births and deaths are examples of administrative data. These types of data are used to produce management information, like registration data in a cost-effective way. This enables administrative data, when turned into indicators, to show trends over time and reflect real world information. The management of this information includes the Internet, software, technology, telecommunications, databases and management systems, system development methods, information systems, etc. Managing the resources of the public sector is a complex routine. It begins with the collection of data, then goes through the hardware and software that stores, manipulates, and transforms the data. Public policies then are addressed, including organizational policies and procedures. History Records of land holding have been used to administer taxes around the world for many centuries. In the nineteenth century international institutions for cooperation was established, such as the International Statistical Institute. In recent decades administrative data on individuals and organization are increasingly computerized and systematic and therefore more feasibly usable for statistics, although they do not come from random samples. Using the reporting tools of routine reports, audit trails, and computer programming to cross examine databases, administrative data are increasingly used for research. The appeal of administrative data is its ready availability, low cost, and the fact that it can span over multiple years. The government produces this kind of data because it provides a historical insight and is not invasive to the population. These data record individuals who may not respond to surveys which allows the administrative system to retain more complete records. The information that the census can provide the administrative system is limited financially and is subject to time constraints which is why administrative data can be valuable, especially when linked. Open and linked administrative data Open administrative data allows transparency, participation, efficiency, and economic innovation. Linked administrative data allows for the creation of large data-sets and has become a vital tool for central and local governments conducting research. By linking sections of data individually, the online web of administrative data-sets are built. For example, opening public sector data in Europe increased users 1000%. This 2011 study covered 21 open data projects in 10 countries with marginal cost operations. The Open Data Ottawa program was launched in 2010 in order to engage citizens, create transparency, reduce costs, and promote collaboration with the public. Administrative data is sought after by open data enthusiasts partly because the data has been already collected and can be reused with minimal additional cost. These data are brought up to date regularly and relay real time data as they are collected consistently. The Justice Data Lab (JDL) established in the UK by the Ministry of Justice proposed how access to administrative data needs to be improved by linking administrative data to data produced by public services. The JDL case study explores how smaller organization attain access to administrative data. The study revealed that through working together with actors (VCS organizations, social enterprises, and private businesses), Government departments' engagement with users increased the volume of output. Due to this other Data Labs are anticipated to develop new data-sets and methodologies to showcase how open and linked administrative data can help a wide range of organizations. However, the cost of production and institutional technology required to conduct and store this data are not free. Concerns over open and linked data beyond government funding and the opposing outcomes have yet to be fully examined. Examination is mostly focused on creating projects for political and economic gain and less on implementation, sustainability, user ability, and ingrained politics. Concerns Some disadvantages of administrative data are that the information collected is not always open and is restricted to certain users. There is also a lack of control over content, for example Statistics Canada uses administrative data to enrich, replace survey data, or to increase the efficiency of statistical operations. These types of data do not have background information and sometimes have missing data. Changes in methodology can result in altercations to the data collected, for example when using these data to assess health care quality introductions of new diagnosis and advances in technology can affect the identification and recording of diagnoses on administrative claims. Issues with data protection is concern as more administrative data is becoming open data. Statistics Canada seeks to reduce privacy invasiveness of personal identifiers by having them removed for the linked file. The personal information, such as name, health number, or Social Insurance Number is then stored separately. However, access to linked files with personal identifiers is allowed in cases with authorization and have security, such as encryption, applied. References Big data Statistical data Vital statistics (government records)

51568780

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex%20determination%20in%20Silene

Sex determination in Silene

Silene is a flowering plant genus that has evolved a dioecious reproductive system. This is made possible through heteromorphic sex chromosomes expressed as XY. Silene recently evolved sex chromosomes 5-10 million years ago and are widely used by geneticists and biologists to study the mechanisms of sex determination since they are one of only 39 species across 14 families of angiosperm that possess sex-determining genes. Silene are studied because of their ability to produce offspring with a plethora of reproductive systems. The common inference drawn from such studies is that the sex of the offspring is determined by the Y chromosome. Evolution of Sex Chromosomes Biologists have found that sex chromosomes in plants originated from pairs of autosomes. As these chromosomes diverge from their autosomal ancestor and from each other as a homologous pair, they have the potential to increase or decrease in size due to mutation and recombination. In the case of Silene, the pair of automsomal chromosomes are transformed into heteromorphic sex-determining chromosomes expressed as XY. It is important to recognize that not all species of Silene have this sex determination system. A few, such as S. colpophylla, possess homomorphic sex chromosomes. Plants with sex-determining chromosomes, like Silene, can develop uni-sexual reproductive structures because of the loss and gain of sex-determining genes. Mutations can cause female sterility, male sterility, or adverse combinations of genes that can lead to monoecy, gynodioecy, and dioecy. Species of Silene with different reproductive systems The mechanisms involved in the sex determination of Silene are complex and can lead to various reproductive systems among the offspring. The table below provides only a few examples of these possible systems. Those which are most commonly found within this genus are hermaphroditism (monoecious plant with both staminate and pistillate), dioecy (male and female reproductive systems found in separate morphs), and gynodioecy (existence of female and hermaphroditic reproductive systems among the individuals of the population). Sexual systems vary across species most silene species are hermaphroditic representing 58.2% of silene species, 14.3% are dioecious, 13.3%  gynodioecious, and 12.2% being both  gynodioecious and  gynomonoecious. trioecy, andromonoecy, and gynomonoecy have also been reported but are extremely rare. Genetics Out of 300,000 species of angiosperm, Silene are among the 5 to 10 percent whose individual offspring can be of different sexes. Hetermorphic sex-determining chromosomes are very infrequent in plant genera; some notable examples that possess them, other than Silene, are Rumex, Humulus, and Cannabis. All species of Silene that are diploid possess the same number of chromosomes (n=12); males possess sex-determining Y chromosomes that are much larger than the X chromosomes. Recombination generally occurs only when two X chromosomes (XX) pair during female meiosis. Contrastingly, recombination is suppressed across most of the Y chromosomes during pairing in male meiosis (XY). When recombination does occur in XY chromosomes, it is confined to the tips of the chromosome, leaving most of the genetic material in the Y chromosome intact. Importance of Y-chromosome Several studies concentrated on Silene latifolia have shown a correlation between loci on the Y chromosome and the sex that is expressed phenotypically in the flower. Two of these sex-linked genes “promote maleness” (male fertility and male promotion) and one of them codes for female suppression. Therefore, the Y chromosome carries three dominant genes that determine the sexual expression in a Silene offspring. If there are deletions and mutations in the Y chromosome during reproduction, then different sex-linked genes are lost. The different combinations of possible sex-related genes that an individual Silene can have in one Y chromosome are what creates the rich variation of sexual phenotypes throughout this genus. Sexual Expression The system for determining sex in Silene latifolia is close to that found in humans because in both cases the Y chromosome determines what reproductive mechanisms will be expressed in the offspring. They differ because there are multiple sex determining genes on the Y chromosome of S. latifolia, while in humans the presence or absence of the Y chromosome strictly determines whether the offspring is male or female. Different combinations of the genes present in a Silene Y chromosome affect the sexual expression in the organism. For example, there are two genetic variations that can lead to male sterility in S. latifolia: if it possesses two Y chromosomes (YY) or if the Y chromosome possesses the female suppression and male promoting genes. Silene are also susceptible to a type of sexually transmitted infection that causes sterility. Another possible combination includes the presence of all three sex-linked genes (male suppressing, female suppressing, and male promoting) which produce virile male offspring. The flower is hermaphrodite when both male promoting and male fertility genes are present. Lastly, Y chromosomes carrying both female suppression and male fertility genes creates an asexual organism. See also Dioecy Gynodioecy Sexually transmitted infection in Silene latifolia References Silene S

51614441

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneM2M

OneM2M

oneM2M is a global partnership project founded in 2012 and constituted by 8 of the world's leading ICT standards development organizations, notably: ARIB (Japan), ATIS (United States), CCSA (China), ETSI (Europe), TIA (USA), TSDSI (India), TTA (Korea) and TTC (Japan). The goal of the organization is to create a global technical standard for interoperability concerning the architecture, API specifications, security and enrolment solutions for Machine-to-Machine and IoT technologies based on requirements contributed by its members. The standardised specifications produced by oneM2M enable an Eco-System to support a wide range of applications and services such as smart cities, smart grid, connected car, home automation, public safety, and health. oneM2M technology is removing fragmentation in the IoT world. Because it is independent of the connectivity- or protocol technology that is used for transport, it is designed to be a long term solution for IoT deployment. Organisation Membership A oneM2M Member is any legal entity which has an interest in the development and/or implementation of oneM2M Technical Specifications and Technical Reports. oneM2M Members must be members of a oneM2M Partner: • ARIB – Japan • ATIS – U.S. • CCSA – China • ETSI – Europe • TIA – U.S. • TSDSI – India • TTA – Korea • TTC – Japan. Members can attend and participate in the oneM2M Technical Plenary meetings and its Working Groups where they have one vote each. They can also attend the oneM2M Steering Committee meetings but do not have voting rights. oneM2M currently have more than 200 participating partners and members, among the main actors of the ICT industry like for instance Nokia, AT&T, BT Group, Samsung, Telecom Italia, IBM, Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom, Cisco, Orange, Qualcomm, InterDigital, Intel, Huawei, LG Uplus, KDDI, etc. The full list of members may be found here. oneM2M actively encourages industry associations and forums with specific application requirements to participate in oneM2M, in order to ensure that the solutions developed support their specific needs. oneM2M Standard It is an open standard with a transparent development process & an open access to all deliverables. All the specifications, even the drafts are available at http://onem2m.org/technical/published-drafts ITU-T Transposition The oneM2M standards are internationally recognized and transposed by ITU-T under the Y.4500 series (see https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-Y/en) Technical overview Service Layer for multivendor interoperability. The architecture standardised by oneM2M defines an IoT Service Layer, i.e. a vendor-independent software Middleware between processing and communication hardware and IoT applications providing a set of functions commonly needed by IoT applications. The oneM2M Service Layer provides use case-independent functions. • oneM2M Common Service layer Functions (CSF’s) provide proper: • Identification of users and applications • Authentication and authorization of users and applications • End-to-end data encryption • Remote provisioning and service activation • Device management • Connectivity setup and data transmission scheduling • Data aggregation, buffering in case of missing connectivity and synchronisation upon connectivity re-establishment • Group management and application and data discovery functions The functions listed above provided by the oneM2M common service layer, are exposed and controlled via globally standardized vendor-independent and uniform APIs, towards the IoT applications. IoT applications or more generically “Application Entities” AE’s are generic terms for applications executed in so-called Application Dedicated Nodes ADNs or Middle Nodes MNs and at the Infrastructure Node IN. Applications (AEs) at the device (ADN, MN) and the Infrastructure Platform (IN) are separated by the oneM2M APIs from the actual oneM2M Common Service functions (CSFs) like the ones listed above. Details and specifics of the underlying - connectivity technologies, transport protocols and data serialisation formats are not exposed to the application developer. This avoids the necessity of detailed expertise in used connectivity technologies, and hence allows the application developer to focus on the actual customer IoT application. Interactions between oneM2M Common Service Functions (CSFs) and the application are solely based on the oneM2M globally standardised, vendor independent, uniform APIs towards the applications. For an application developer, oneM2M based technology appears like an operating system, which takes over common basic functions in context of connectivity and hardware as listed above. Hence the IoT Service Layer specified by oneM2M can be seen in a similar way as a mobile operating system within the smart phone eco system. Due to this separation, application developers can focus on developing the actual IoT application for the Device e.g focusing on: • Measuring physical parameters, pre-processing of data, controlling attached hardware or Interworking with other technologies (Modbus, CAN-Bus, OPC-UA gateways, etc.) On the infrastructure (Platform) the separation by APIs between oneM2M CSFs and applications, enables a separation between “low level” tasks in context of connectivity over wide area networks (Device Management, scheduling of data transmission, enrolment of security functions and credentials, revocation of faulty device applications), and actual cloud and IoT application platforms like: • Data analytics, rule engines, presentation of data, user interfaces, etc. Compared to IoT devices being connected to IoT Platforms without oneM2M, the separation between Applications and oneM2M CSFs, enables the device to become independent from the actual cloud respective IoT Application Platform provider. Beneficially the oneM2M CSFs will become part of the communication chipset to achieve coverage in a wide range of devices. Architecture Overview oneM2M standard employs a simple horizontal, platform architecture that fits within a three layer model comprising applications, services and networks. In the first of these layers, Application Entities (AEs) reside within individual device and sensor applications. They provide a standardized interface to manage and interact with applications. Common Services Entities (CSEs) play a similar role in the services layer which resides between the applications layer and the in the network layer. The network layer ensures that devices and sensors and applications are able to function in a network-agnostic manner. History oneM2M was formed in July 2012 and consists of eight of the world's preeminent standards development organizations (SDOs), notably: ARIB (Japan), ATIS (United States), CCSA (China), ETSI (Europe), TIA (USA), TSDSI (India), TTA (Korea) TTC (Japan). These SDOs were joined by six industry fora, consortia or standards bodies (Broadband Forum, CEN, CENELEC, GlobalPlatform, Next Generation M2M Consortium, OMA). oneM2M began some of the earliest work on standardization of a common platform for internet of things (IoT) systems. In 2018, S. Korea's TTA reported its cooperative efforts with the ITU to bridge standardization gaps by transposing the oneM2M standard to an ITU standard. Partners oneM2M currently have more than 200 participating partners and members consisting of Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, BT Group, Adobe, Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, IBM, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, InterDigital, Intel, Samsung, LG Uplus and Telefonica. Regional Developments South Korea is one of the leading markets for solutions based on the oneM2M standard. South Korea’s national IoT Master Plan makes explicit reference to oneM2M as a strategic enabler for IoT applications and companies developing IoT solutions. The city of Busan is implementing an open platform based on oneM2M to support a smart-city eco-system of industry-university associations. In Europe, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has reported commercial success in the enterprise and smart cities sectors. Within the UK, a public-private partnership is using InterDigital's oneM2MTM standards-based IoT platform developed by InterDigital to support a large-scale, intelligent transport systems trial. The trial, oneTRANSPORT, is part funded by InnovateUK and involves 11 public and private sector organizations with an operational footprint that covers four contiguous counties in England (Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire). The aim of the trial is to demonstrate several journey planning, transport-event and incident management applications. Bordeaux-Métropole (greater Bordeaux) has also opted for the “city as a platform” path and started with the deployment of an IoT platform based on oneM2M to support all new ICT applications. There are considerable advantages to this approach when it comes to the ownership of city data and the responsible management of citizen data in line with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It enables the reuse of data beyond originally intended purposes and assists in avoiding vendor lock-in, moving away from data silos and laying the foundation for new cross-domain ICT applications. It became clear that deploying IoT in silos (e.g. lighting, mobility, waste management) would limit the ability to scale smart city solutions. It also became clear that IoT platforms based on open standards are best capable of supporting a diverse range of IoT applications, the sharing of associated data (subject to proper permissions) and avoid lock-in to technology providers. On 17 September 2020, the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) of the Department of Telecommunications-Government of India, approved the transposition of oneM2M Release 2 standards for adoption as a national standard across India . Standardization Releases Release 1 was issued in February 2015. It provided a standardized, general-purpose horizontal architecture for IoT platform operators and service providers to deploy IoT solutions. Release 2 was issued in August 2016. It added an interworking framework enabling each service provider to support more types of devices on their IoT platform. Release 2 also provided enhanced end-to-end security features. Release 3 was issued in December 2018. It added a complementary set of oneM2M value-added services to complement IoT features in 3GPP standards. These features help to mitigate network congestion and security issues in mobile operator networks, creating a pathway to scalable IoT deployments. Open Source Projects Several independent Open Source foundations and projects have been actively using oneM2M. • OM2M, hosted by the Eclipse Foundation and part of Eclipse’s IoT Working Group: Offers a flexible oneM2M-based platform to implement horizontal M2M servers, gateways, and devices. It brings forward a modular architecture, running on top of an OSGi container, which is highly extensible via plug-ins. • OCEAN, open alliance for IoT standard, Open source implementations for oneM2M server/gateway/device platforms and applications are supported. Also, developer tools including platform resource browser, self-conformance testing tool are provided. The oneM2M implementations for open hardwares like Raspberry Pi, Arduino are distributed to help oneM2M product development. Mobius, the oneM2M server implementation, got the oneM2M certification and it is designated as one of the golden samples. • OS-IoT, the ATIS Open Source Internet of Things is an open source software library that simplifies the development of IoT devices, particularly small clients, that connect to the oneM2M ecosystem. • OpenMTC is an integration middleware based on the oneM2M standard, for conducting applied research and developing innovative M2M and IoT applications. Its horizontal service approach easily integrates devices from different Industrial IoT verticals, independent of the underlying hardware or network infrastructure. • IOTDM, part of the OpenDaylight project hosted by the Linux Foundation: Developing a oneM2M-based IoT Data Broker to enable authorised applications to retrieve IoT data uploaded by any device. • OASIS SI, part of Open-source Architecture Semantic IoT Service-platform project: Developing code for the oneM2M-based IoT server platform. It consists of protocol binding, controller & resource handling and database layer for flexibility. • oneM2MTester is the world's first free open source conformance testing tool that developers can use to check the compliance of their platforms and applications with oneM2M specifications. The oneM2MTester is built upon Eclipse TITAN, which is a free open source TTCN-3 compilation and execution framework also supporting Eclipse IDE. Developer Resources In addition to standards development activities, members participating in the oneM2M Partnership Project provide a portfolio of resources to assist potential users and developers. These include the following: An introductory overview of oneM2M to help developers to get started A set of developer guides for a variety of use-case examples A WiKi for developers to learn about the oneM2M community, software releases and collaborative development processes. A forum to address technical comments and questions A StackOverflow forum to respond to developer issues ACME oneM2M CSE is an open-source middleware (onM2M Common services Entity) for educational purposes References External links Official website oneM2M Developer Corner Pilot Things oneM2M commercial product International business organizations Telecommunications companies Telecommunications companies established in 2012

51665202

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software%20monetization

Software monetization

Software monetization is a strategy employed by software companies and device vendors to maximize the profitability of their software. The software licensing component of this strategy enables software companies and device vendors to simultaneously protect their applications and embedded software from unauthorized copying, distribution, and use, and capture new revenue streams through creative pricing and packaging models. Whether a software application is hosted in the cloud, embedded in hardware, or installed on premises, software monetization solutions can help businesses extract the most value from their software. Another way to achieve software monetization is through paid advertising and the various compensation methods available to software publishers. Pay-per-install (PPI), for example, generates revenue by bundling third-party applications, also known as adware, with either freeware or shareware applications. History The exact origin of the term 'software monetization' is unknown, however, it has been in use in the information security industry since 2010. It was first used to articulate the value of licensing for cloud-hosted applications, but later came to encompass applications embedded in hardware and installed on premises. Today, software monetization broadly applies to software licensing, protection, and entitlement management solutions. In the digital advertising space, the term refers to solutions that increase revenue through installs, traffic, display ads, and search. Key areas of software monetization IP protection Software constitutes a significant part of a software company or device vendor's intellectual property (IP) and, as such, may benefit from strong security, encryption, and digital rights management (DRM). Depending on a company's particular use case, they can choose to implement a hardware, software, or cloud-based licensing solution, or by open sourcing software and relying on donations and/or compensation for support, customization or enhancements. A hardware-based protection key, or dongle, is best suited to software publishers concerned about the security of their product as it offers the highest level of copy protection and IP protection. Although a key must be physically connected in order to access or run an application, end users are not required to install any device drivers on their machines. A software-based protection key is ideal for software publishers who require flexible license delivery. The virtual nature of software keys eliminates the need to ship a physical product, thus enabling end users to quickly install and use an application with minimal fuss. Cloud-based licensing, on the other hand, provides automatic and immediate license enablement, so users can access software from any device including virtual machines and mobile devices. It is in the best interests of software companies and device vendors to take the necessary measures to protect their code from software piracy, a problem that costs the global software industry more than $100 billion annually. However, software protection is not just about preventing revenue loss; it is also about an organization's ability to protect the integrity of its product or service and brand reputation. Pricing and packaging An independent report by Vanson Bourne found that software vendors are losing revenue due to rigid licensing and delivery options. Since the demands of enterprise and end users are constantly evolving, software companies and device vendors must be able to adapt their pricing and packaging strategies on the fly. Separating an application's features and selling them individually at a premium is a highly effective way to reach new market segments. Customers have come to expect the freedom to consume a software offering on their own terms, which is why software companies and device vendors are increasingly turning to flexible licensing solutions. Entitlement management An entitlement management solution makes it possible to activate and provision cloud, on-premises, and embedded software applications from a single platform. Having the ability to manage homegrown or third-party licensing systems from one, centralized interface is conducive to an operationally efficient back office. With such a solution in place, time-consuming manual tasks can be automated for greater accuracy and reduced costs. Self-service web portals allow end users to perform a variety of tasks themselves, cutting down on support calls and improving customer satisfaction. Usage tracking Usage tracking provides essential business insight into end-user entitlements, as well as the consumption of products and features. Advanced data collection and reporting tools help optimize investment in the product roadmap and drive future business strategies. Furthermore, making usage data accessible to users helps them stay in compliance with their license agreements Advertising The use of commercial advertisements and contextual advertisements have been a foundation of software monetization since free software first hit the market. Advertisements can come out in many different ways such as text ads, banners, short commercial videos and other types of software advertisements. Emerging trends Many traditional device vendors still see themselves as hardware providers, first and foremost, even though the most valuable component of their offering is the embedded software driving it. However, since the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), that paradigm is shifting toward a more software-centric focus, as device vendors large and small make the inevitable business transformation into software companies. The need to license software, manage entitlements, and protect trade secrets cuts across all industries; from medtech to industrial automation and telecommunications. Antitrust compliance of software monetization A number of software companies are some of the most profitable businesses in the world. For example, Amazon is the dominant market leader in e-commerce with 50% of all online sales in the United States going through the platform. Another highly-successful software company, Apple shares a duopoly with Alphabet in the field of mobile operating systems: 27% of the market share belonging to Apple (iOS) and 72% to Google (Android). Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon have been referred to as the "Big Three" of digital advertising. In most jurisdictions around the world, is an essential legal obligation for any software company to utilize their software monetization strategy in compliance with antitrust laws. Unfortunately, the e-commerce is highly susceptible for antitrust violations that often have to do with improper software monetization. Some software companies systematically utilize price fixing, kickbacks, dividing territories, tying agreements and anticompetitive product bundling (although, not all product bundling is anticompetitive), refusal to deal and exclusive dealing, vertical restraints, horizontal territorial allocation, and similar anticompetitive practices to limit competition and to increase the opportunity for monetization. In 2019 and 2020, the Big Tech industry become center of antitrust attention from the United States Department of Justice and the United States Federal Trade Commission that included requests to provide information about prior acquisitions and potentially anticompetitive practices. Some Democratic candidates running for president proposed plans to break up Big Tech companies and regulate them as utilities. "The role of technology in the economy and in our lives grows more important every day," said FTC Chairman Joseph Simons. "As I’ve noted in the past, it makes sense for us to closely examine technology markets to ensure consumers benefit from free and fair competition." In June 2020, the European Union opened two new antitrust investigations into practices by Apple. The first investigation focuses on issues including whether Apple is using its dominant position in the market to stifle competition using its Apple music and book streaming services. The second investigation focuses on Apple Pay, which allows payment by Apple devices to brick and mortar vendors. Apple limits the ability of banks and other financial institutions to use the iPhones' near field radio frequency technology. Fines are insufficient to deter anti-competitive practices by high tech giants, according to European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager. Commissioner Vestager explained, "fines are not doing the trick. And fines are not enough because fines are a punishment for illegal behaviour in the past. What is also in our decision is that you have to change for the future. You have to stop what you're doing." Gig economy online marketplaces like Uber, Lyft, Handy, Amazon Home Services, DoorDash, and Instacart have perfected a process where workers deal bilaterally with gigs whose employers have none of the standard obligations of employers, while the platform operates the entire labor market to its own benefit – what some antitrust experts call a "for-profit hiring hall." Gig workers, such as Uber drivers are not employees, and hence Uber setting the terms on which they transact with customers, including fixing the prices charged to customers, constitutes a violation of the ban on restraints of trade in the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. In the United States, the issue of whether companies such as Uber is a price-fixing conspiracy, and whether that price fixing is horizontal has yet to be resolved at trial. In response to price fixing allegations, Uber publicly stated that: "we believe the law is on our side and that"s why in four years no anti-trust agency has raised this as an issue and there has been no similar litigation like it in the U.S." The spirit of the antitrust law is to protect consumers from the anticompetitive behavior of businesses that have either monopoly power in their market or companies that have banded together to exert cartel market behavior. Monopoly or cartel collusion creates market disadvantages for consumers. However, the antitrust law clearly distinguishes between purposeful monopolies and businesses that found themselves in a monopoly position purely as the result of business success. The purpose of the antitrust law is to stop businesses from deliberately creating monopoly power. Discussions of antitrust policy in software are often clouded by common myths about this widely misunderstood area of the law. For example, the United States federal Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 criminalizes monopolistic business practices, specifically agreements that restraint of trade or commerce. At the same time, the Sherman Act allows organic creation of legitimately successful businesses that gain honest profits from consumers. The Act's main function is to preserve a competitive marketplace. The Big Tech companies are large and successful companies, but success alone is not reason enough for antitrust action. A legitimate breach of antitrust law must be the cause of any action against a business. Antitrust law doesn't condemn a firm for developing a universally popular search engine, such as Google, even if that success leads to market dominance. It's how a monopoly is obtained or preserved that matters — not its mere existence. See also Business models for open-source software License manager Software protection dongle Big Tech Gig economy Competition law References Software industry

51690547

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSP360

MSP360

MSP360, formerly CloudBerry Lab, is a software and application service provider company that develops online backup, remote desktop and file management products integrated with more than 20 cloud storage providers. MSP360 Backup and MSP360 Explorer are offered for personal use in a “freemium” model. Other products, including more advanced MSP360 Backup versions, are sold per license with free trials available. MSP360 Backup web service is a Backup-as-a-Service application with centralized management and monitoring that allows for Managed Service Providers and businesses backup and restore of desktops and servers. MSP360 Backup supports Windows, Windows Server, macOS, and Linux operating systems and can work with Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange applications, and VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software. History MSP360 was founded as CloudBerry Lab in 2008 and incorporated in 2011, initially releasing CloudBerry Explorer for Amazon S3, followed by versions for Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and OpenStack Swift. It was at first based in Newport Beach, California. In 2011, the company released MSP360 Backup, followed by releases to support for Windows Server imaging, Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange applications, and Bare Metal Restore for Windows Server and desktop operating systems. MSP360 Backup added support for Linux and Mac operating systems in 2015, followed by editions for Synology and QNAP. In 2012, the company introduced MSP360 Backup web console; a SaaS backup and disaster recovery web service for managed service providers and businesses that require centralized administration and management for larger environments. In 2018, the company introduced the MSP360 Remote Desktop; a free remote control and desktop sharing solution designed for secure access and control of remote desktops or servers over the internet. In 2020, the company's corporate headquarters were moved to Pittsburgh. Products MSP360 develops software and web services to help Managed Service Providers, businesses, and consumers manage backup and disaster recovery and perform cloud file management and synchronization. The company's main products include MSP360 Backup, MSP360 Remote Desktop, MSP360 Explorer, and MSP360 Drive. MSP360 Backup MSP360 Backup is an online backup app that integrates with 3rd-party cloud storage providers. It supports data backup and restore for Windows (desktop and servers), macOS and Linux. Additionally, it offers support for Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, VMware, Hyper-V, Office 365 and G Suite (Google Apps). It is available in several commercial editions as well as a free offering (MSP360 Backup Desktop Free). MSP360 Backup is also available as a SaaS web service designed to help service providers to manage backup and recovery across multiple computers or servers. Both MSP360 Backup software and web console are designed to automate the backup and recovery of files, folders, and system images. It is storage-agnostic, meaning storage is decoupled from the backup license. Customers work directly with the cloud storage providers that have the pricing and features they need. MSP360 Backup supports over 20 cloud storage providers, including: Amazon S3, Amazon Glacier, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, OpenStack, S3 Compatible, and others. MSP360 Backup supports multiple data storage tiers, including lower cost options like Microsoft Azure Cool Blob Storage and Archive Blob Storage, Amazon S3 Infrequent Access and Glacier, and Google Cloud Storage Nearline and Coldline. History The 2011, MSP360 Backup was released with support for Amazon S3. It was subsequently updated with support for Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and a number of other cloud vendors. In late 2011, MSP360 released a Windows Server Edition, followed by support for Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, and Bare Metal Restore. MSP360 Backup added additional operating system support for Linux and macOS in 2015. A freeware version of MSP360 Backup also appeared that year. Technology MSP360 Backup is written primarily in the C# and C++. programming languages. Windows versions also rely on .NET, while MSP360 Backup web console is built using C#, Asp.NET, Angular, and Node.js. Features MSP360 Backup provides backup and recovery functionality to / from the cloud, local storage, and network shares. Backup and recovery plans can be configured using a graphical user interface. A command-line interface is also available for all editions of MSP360 Backup on all supported operating systems (Windows, macOS, and Linux). MSP360 has developed a proprietary block-level algorithm that speeds data uploads during backups to the cloud. In addition, the company uses a proprietary image-based algorithm to back up complete systems as image files, while retaining the ability to recover only specific files from within those images, if desired. MSP360 Backup supports the recovery of images directly to cloud-based virtual server services such as Amazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, and Google Compute Engine, as well as to bare-metal devices. The product can restore system images to computers with no operating system installed by using bootable USB or ISO disk images. MSP360 Backup software supports synthetic full backup functionality for Amazon S3 and Wasabi Hot Storage. When performing a typical incremental backup sequence, it is advised to perform full backups from time to time. Which is time and resource consuming. To reduce the bandwidth and amount of data uploaded, with synthetic full backup feature software scans the data, previously backed up to the storage and uploads only new and modified blocks instead of the full set of files. According to MSP360 tests, synthetic full backups are up to 80 percent faster than a typical full image-based backup. MSP360 Backup can perform backups of Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange databases and recover them to an active, running state. On Linux, MSP360 Backup allows users to back up files and folders to cloud storage. The product supports a variety of Linux distributions, including: Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE, Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux and Amazon Linux. MSP360 Backup can be configured to perform a complete backup of a file directory or disk image. It also supports incremental backup functionality at the block level, meaning that users are able to back up only new or updated portions of files after an initial backup has been completed. Backups can be executed manually or via custom schedules. MSP360 Backup supports file compression and 256-bit AES encryption. Server-side encryption (encryption-at-rest) for cloud storage with support and filename encryption are also available. Data Recovery and Restoration MSP360 Backup provides flexible data recovery options. Backups can be restored to physical, virtual, or cloud virtual machines. The product can restore all files from a backup, or recover selected individual files. The product includes a recovery wizard that guides users through the data restoration process. MSP360 features also include: Email notifications to alert users about the status of backup and recovery operations. Granular control of the backup process and file versioning. Flexible configuration of data retention policies. Support for hybrid backup (local and cloud backup in a single pass. Software Editions and Versions MSP360 Backup software is available in several editions, each designed to address different use cases. Windows Desktop edition is intended for file and image-based backups, whereas the Windows Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server, and Ultimate editions are designed to meet the needs of businesses running Windows Server. There is no support for backup to FTP although is listed on their website. MacOS and Linux editions address backup needs on those platforms. Web Service For managed service providers (MSPs) and businesses that need a way to centrally manage backup with their customers and within their environments MSP360 also has a subscription SaaS offering. The hosted web console provides the means to manage and monitor large environments from a single dashboard with centralized management and monitoring, remote desktop access as well as storage, billing, and capacity reporting. MSP360 Backup web console is integrated with Autotask, ConnectWise, Optitune, Office 365, Google G Suite, SyncroMSP, and NinjaRMM. Pricing Pricing for MSP360 software is based on a one-time purchase fee. Purchasers pay the one-time fee for each computer, server or other devices on which they want to operate MSP360. Pricing is per device, not per user; once a license has been purchased for a device, there is no limit on the number of users or accounts that can operate the product from that device or how long they can use the product. Free versions of MSP360 Backup are available for personal use as well. MSP360 Backup web service uses a subscription-based licensing model. It supports white-labeling / rebranded so managed service providers can sell backup as a service under their own brand. Reception & Recognition MSP360 Backup has received several awards, including the latest Silver Stevie Award in 2018. The product has constantly been ranked as one of the market leaders by G2 Crowd, which updates its rankings every three months. MSP360, the developer of MSP360 Backup, is a Gold winner in the SMB Product of the Year category in Best in Biz Awards 2018 International. In addition to these awards, MSP360 holds partnerships or certifications with Microsoft, VMWare, Google Cloud, ConnectWise, Oracle, OpenStack, and Amazon Web Services. Product Reviews 4/5 iMore.com 4/5 Gartner Peer Insights 4.5/5 The Windows Club 4/5 IT PRO 3.5/5 PCWorld.com 3.5/5 PCMag.com Other Products MSP360 Remote Desktop is a solution for remote control and desktop sharing. The software is currently in beta and is available for Microsoft Windows for free. Remote Desktop encrypts connections and includes text and voice chat. MSP360 Explorer is a Windows software with free and paid licensing options for managing files between local storage and remote online storage. Versions are available for Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and OpenStack. MSP360 Drive is a software that mounts cloud storage on a Windows desktop or server. The product allows customers to work with cloud storage as though it were local storage. Partners MSP360 is an Amazon Advanced Technology Partner. The company also has established partnerships with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, Autotask, ConnectWise, and others. See also Backup List of backup software List of online backup services File synchronization Disk image List of disk imaging software References External links Software companies established in 2008 Backup software Backup software for Linux Backup software for macOS Backup software for Windows Software companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Pittsburgh 2008 establishments in California

51695563

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gab%20%28social%20network%29

Gab (social network)

Gab is an American alt-tech microblogging and social networking service known for its far-right userbase. Widely described as a haven for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, white nationalists, the alt-right, antisemites, supporters of Donald Trump, and conspiracy theorists like QAnon, it has attracted users and groups who have been banned from other social media platforms and users seeking alternatives to mainstream social media platforms. Gab says it promotes free speech, individual liberty, and the "free flow of information online", though these statements have been criticized by researchers as being a cover-up for its alt-right and extremist ecosystem. Gab also says it promotes "technology that powers a parallel Christian economy". Antisemitism is prominent in the site's content, and the company itself has engaged in antisemitic commentary. Researchers note that Gab has been "repeatedly linked to radicalization leading to real-world violent events". The site received extensive public scrutiny following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in October 2018, after it was found that the sole suspect of the attack, Robert Gregory Bowers, had posted a message on Gab indicating an immediate intent to cause harm before the shooting. Bowers had a history of making extreme, antisemitic postings on the site. After the shooting, Gab briefly went offline when it was dropped by its hosting provider and denied service by several payment processors. In 2021, Gab was among the platforms used to plan the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6. Gab was founded in 2016 and launched publicly in May 2017. A microblogging platform, Gab has been described as similar to Twitter. Gab also maintains an email service, a text messaging service, a news aggregate website, a news website, a video sharing platform, and a web browser and browser extension to allow commenting on third-party websites. In July 2019, Gab switched its software infrastructure to a Mastodon fork, a free and open-source social network platform. Mastodon released a statement in protest, denouncing Gab as trying to "monetize and platform racist content while hiding behind the banner of free speech". History 2016–2018 Gab was founded in 2016 by chief executive officer (CEO) Andrew Torba and chief technology officer (CTO) Ekrem Büyükkaya, who had previously worked together at advertising technology company Automate Ads (formerly Kuhcoon). Torba started working on the site in May 2016 and on August 15, 2016, Gab launched in private beta, billing itself as a "free speech" alternative to social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. Torba has cited "the entirely left-leaning Big Social monopoly", "social justice bullying", and an alleged bias against conservative articles by Facebook as his reasons for creating Gab. Gab AI, Inc. was incorporated on September 9, 2016. Utsav Sanduja later joined Gab as chief operating officer (COO). Torba said in November 2016 that the site's user base had expanded significantly following censorship controversies involving major social media companies, including the permanent suspensions of several prominent alt-right accounts from Twitter after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. During November 2016, Gab gained 5,000 new users per week. By mid-December 2016, there were 200,000 people on Gab's waiting list. At the time, Torba claimed that Gab had about 130,000 registered users.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hanna|first1=Rew|last2=Bender|first2=Bryan|date=December 8, 2016|title='Alt-rights favored social network: Fake news welcome here|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/alt-right-social-network-fake-news-232398|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210124340/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/alt-right-social-network-fake-news-232398|archive-date=2016-12-10|access-date=January 27, 2021|website=Politico|language=en}}</ref> On May 8, 2017, Gab exited private beta. During August and September 2017, immediately following the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Gab experienced another increase in new users, gaining around 3,300 per week. In early September 2017, Gab faced pressure from its domain registrar Asia Registry to take down a post by The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin, giving Gab 48 hours to do so. Gab later removed the post. Danny O'Brien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation commented that this pressure was part of an increase in politically motivated domain name seizures. On August 9, 2018, Torba announced that Microsoft Azure, Gab's host, had threatened to suspend the site for "weeks/months" if they failed to remove two antisemitic posts made by Patrick Little, a U.S. Senate candidate who had been ejected from the Republican Party for his antisemitism. According to The Verge, the posts "express intense anti-Semitism and meet any reasonable definition of hate speech". Little said in the posts that Jews should be raised as "livestock" and that he intended to destroy a "holohoax memorial". In response to Azure's threat, Little posted on Gab that "I'll delete the posts, but this is a violation of our rights as Americans". Gab's Twitter account also asserted that Little had self-deleted the posts, but this was contradicted by Torba who said Gab itself had deleted the posts which "unquestionably" broke their "user guidelines". On the same day, Alex Jones interviewed Torba on The Alex Jones Show during his coverage of his own permanent ban from YouTube. Little was suspended indefinitely from Gab in late November 2018 for encouraging harassment of private individuals; Gab claimed that although Little's account had posted hate speech, it was not the cause of the ban. According to Gab's filings with the SEC, around 635,000 users were registered on Gab by September 10, 2018. On September 12, 2018, Gab purchased the Gab.com domain name from Sedo for $220,000 on Flippa, an online business marketplace; it had previously been using the domain Gab.ai. During the 2018 Brazilian presidential election from September to October 2018, many right-wing Brazilian political pages were banned from Facebook for breaching the site's hate speech rules. In response, many administrators of these pages began promoting Gab as an alternative platform; subsequently, Brazilians became the second-largest demographic of Gab users. Jair Bolsonaro's party, the Social Liberal Party, has an official Gab account. In December 2018, Gab sponsored Turning Point USA's 2018 "Student Action Summit" in Palm Beach, Florida. Days before the event, Turning Point USA removed Gab from the list of sponsors without explanation. Gab later posted a press release protesting the unexplained removal. 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting Robert Gregory Bowers, the suspected shooter in the attack against a Pittsburgh synagogue on October 27, 2018, maintained an active, verified Gab account where he displayed the neo-Nazi code-phrase "1488" and a bio that said, "jews are the children of satan". Just prior to the shooting, he used this account to post "HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in". After Bowers was arrested, Gab suspended his profile, gathered all user data for the account, and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On October 27, 2018, the day of the shooting, PayPal, GoDaddy, and Medium terminated their relationship with Gab, and PayPal released a statement that it had it done so based on its review of accounts that may engage in the "perpetuation of hate, violence or discriminatory intolerance". Later on the same day, Gab announced on Twitter that Joyent, Gab's hosting provider, would terminate their service on October 29 at 9:00 am ET. The tweet said that the site expected to be down for weeks. Stripe and Backblaze also terminated their services with Gab after the shooting. On October 29, Gab claimed in a tweet that they "took the site down early on purpose last night because we knew the media would take the bait and have stories on it for this morning". Following the shooting, Gab received substantial media attention, having been relatively unknown by the general public prior to the attack. The New Republic noted that prior to the shooting "Despite some attention in the mainstream tech press, Gab was essentially considered a sideshow, an also-ran in the social media wars, destined to fade away like Yo, Ello, or other mostly forgotten platforms that could never hope to compete with Silicon Valley monopolies". Gab had defended itself from criticism as a result of the shooting, saying that they: "refuse to be defined by the media's narratives about Gab and our community. Gab's mission is very simple: to defend free expression and individual liberty online for all people. Social media often brings out the best and the worst of humanity". Torba called the shooting "a clear act of terror", adding that he "fundamentally believed in freedom of expression", but did not tolerate threats of violence. Torba also said that "I do think that more speech is always going to be the answer to combat bad speech or hate speech". Ekrem Büyükkaya, Gab's co-founder and CTO, announced his resignation on October 28, citing "attacks from the American press" that "have taken a toll on me personally". After the site was taken down, Gab's homepage was changed to a message saying it was down due to being "under attack" and being "systematically no-platformed", adding that Gab would be inaccessible for a "period of time". Also after the site was taken down, Torba accused the media of demonizing Gab while ignoring similar problems on mainstream social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Gab returned online on November 4, 2018, after Epik agreed to register the domain. Rob Monster, the CEO of Epik, had defended Gab's neo-Nazi users and also baselessly claimed that neo-Nazis on Gab are "liberal trolls" looking to "give enemies of freedom an excuse". On Gab, Christopher Cantwell replied to Monster's claims, stating: "We're not liberals, nor are the people trying to get us censored. The people trying to censor Gab are (((communists))), and the Nazis are the only ones willing to take them on... Eventually, everyone will have to pick a side". Monster also said of Gab that "I do believe the guys that are on the site are vigilant". After Gab returned online, the site was immediately flooded with antisemitic posts and comments, including one comment in response to a post from Torba welcoming back users of Gab and asking users to be nice to each other that said "Fuck that, name the Jews who are trying to shut us down". The comment was later deleted. Torba then claimed in response to these posts and comments that "a lot of people are creating brand new accounts and breaking our guidelines on purpose tonight". Torba also called on users of Gab to help police the site for posts that break Gab's user guidelines, including threats of violence. 2019 Gab turned to cryptocurrency payment processing services after being rejected from PayPal and Stripe in the aftermath of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. In January 2019, Coinbase and Square, Inc.'s Cash App closed the accounts held by Gab and Andrew Torba. On January 22, 2019, Gab announced that it had partnered with Second Amendment Processing (SAP), a Michigan-based payment processor. Gab removed SAP's credit card payment functionalities in March 2019, only accepting payment via cryptocurrency or check. The same month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published an investigation that found that SAP's founder had been convicted of financial crimes in 2007. Gab has not said why it removed the payment processor. The SPLC reported on January 24, 2019, that Gab had been misrepresenting its services and bloating its user count in its filings and promotional materials. The GabTV service advertised on its StartEngine crowdfunding page was only active very briefly in early 2018, and also , the dedicated page for the service was blank. Unlike other social media companies, Gab did not publish the count of its active users in 2018 and only reported registered accounts. Social media intelligence company Storyful found 19,526 unique usernames had posted content during a seven-day period between January 9 and 16, 2019, far lower than Gab's claimed 850,000 registered users. Users of the site commonly mocked Torba for the site's emptiness, with some accusing him of inflating user numbers. In a December 2018 filing, the company reported that 5,000 users were paying for its subscription services. Shortly after the SPLC published its January report on Gab's misleading statements and financial struggles, the site made its Twitter account private until January 30, 2019, and switched to an invitation-only mode for new user registrations on January 30. Gab stated that switching to an invitation-only mode was an experiment to improve user experience. Gab previously had intermittent service outages for a week. Gab said that the outages were caused by bot attacks and blamed state actors along with paid "activist bloggers". Torba shared a post from another user that suggested that the "deep state" was responsible. The Daily Beast opined that this was an attempt to further obfuscate its numbers in response to reports that it had inflated its user count. , Gab paid Sibyl Systems Ltd. $1,175 a month for web hosting. The SPLC reported on February 14, 2019, that a software engineer for Sibyl Systems had rejected Gab's claim of having more than 835,000 users and estimated the count to be in the range of a few thousands to a few tens of thousands. Sibyl Systems denied the statement via Twitter, saying that the employee did not have access to that secure data and that the employee had been dismissed. On July 4, Gab switched its software infrastructure to run on a forked version of Mastodon, a free and open-source decentralized social network platform. The change attempted to circumvent the rejection of Gab's mobile app from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, as Gab users gained access to the social network through third-party Mastodon apps that did not subsequently block Gab. Mastodon released a statement the same day denouncing Gab as "seek[ing] to monetize and platform racist content while hiding behind the banner of free speech" and "attempt[ing] to hijack our infrastructure", and said that they had "already taken steps to isolate Gab and keep hate speech off the fediverse". Mastodon stated that most Mastodon instances had blocked Gab's domains, preventing interactions between these instances and Gab, and that Tusky and Toot!, two popular Mastodon mobile apps, had already blacklisted Gab's domains and banned Gab users from using their app. Mastodon also stated that by paywalling features that are otherwise freely accessible in other instances, Gab "offer[s] users no incentive to choose their platform" and "puts itself at a disadvantage compared to any Mastodon instance". According to SimilarWeb, Gab's website traffic grew almost 200% between January and July 2019, and unique visitors to the site increased 180%. In August 2019, Vice News reported that traffic to Gab's website and the rate of new users joining Gab had both significantly increased during the first half of 2019. Also in August 2019, Torba claimed that Gab had over 1 million registered users. In late 2019, Gab launched Gab Trends, a news aggregate website described by KNTV as being similar to the Drudge Report. 2020 In early 2020, Gab launched Gab Chat in beta, an encrypted text messaging service described by Mashable as an alternative to Discord. In late June 2020, hackers leaked a May 26 law enforcement bulletin that was distributed by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a whistleblower site that publishes leaked documents. The bulletin was created by the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange Fusion Center, who speculated that Gab Chat's encryption and privacy features for private chatting, such as the service automatically deleting text messages after 30 days of them being sent, could entice white supremacists to use the platform instead of Discord, a platform on which white supremacist groups have been frequently infiltrated by anti-fascists. When reached for a comment by Mashable, Torba responded to the bulletin in an email saying "Encryption does not render law enforcement totally blind" and that "Encryption doesn't cause a user to simply disappear. It doesn't prevent a service provider from seeing who is using its service or when that person is using the service". Torba also deflected from the concern of white supremacists using Gab Chat, saying that law enforcement should instead focus on stopping child exploitation on mainstream text messaging services. In April 2020, Gab claimed that it had over 1.1 million registered users and that their website was receiving 3.7 million monthly visitors globally. In July 2020, Slate reported that after Gab was connected to the 2018 Pittsburgh shooting, "Gab never quite recovered". The service's popularity diminished following the attack and the site's subsequent downtime. In September 2020, Torba wrote that "Gab isn't just building an alternative social network", "We're building an alternative internet". On October 1, 2020, Reuters broke a story that people associated with the Russian Internet Research Agency, a group known for their interference in the 2016 presidential election, had been operating social media accounts on both mainstream and alt-tech platforms. One of the accounts, which was identified in an FBI probe as a "key asset in an alleged Russian disinformation campaign", had been spreading "familiar—and completely false" information including claims that mail-in voting is prone to fraud, that then-U.S. President Donald Trump was infected with COVID-19 by leftist activists, and that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is a "sexual predator". Axios noted that the account had not found much of an audience on mainstream platforms but had caught on among the alt-tech platforms; the Twitter account had fewer than 200 followers, but the Gab account had 3,000 and the Parler account had 14,000. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all took actions to suspend the accounts from their platforms. The Washington Post reported on October 7 that Gab had declined to terminate the account after being informed of its connections to the disinformation organization. Torba said to Reuters: "It looks like a blog sharing news stories and opinions. It's irrelevant to us who runs it or why". Speaking to The Washington Post, Torba said: "They can speak freely on Gab just like anyone else". During the 2020 U.S. presidential election in November, Gab claimed that they experienced record user growth. In December 2020, Engineering & Technology reported that Gab and other similar platforms could face "huge fines" for spreading misinformation under a new online safety bill in the United Kingdom that was planning on being introduced in 2021. In late 2020, Torba posted on Gab's blog that the company "Welcomes QAnon Across Its Platforms". 2021 Storming of the United States Capitol Although early claims were made that Gab was among the platforms used to plan the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, a later investigation by the FBI said it "found scant evidence that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result", and that "ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases". Posts about which streets to take in order to run from police, which tools to use to pry open doors, and carrying guns into the halls of Congress, were exchanged on Gab in advance of the storming. During the storming, users of Gab recorded entering offices of members of Congress, including the office of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Users of Gab also posted about searching for then-Vice President Mike Pence. Following the storming and then-President Trump's subsequent permanent suspension from Twitter, Torba said that Gab had experienced a 40% increase in traffic and that Gab was also gaining 10,000 new users per hour as of January 9. After Parler, another alt-tech social network, was pulled offline by its host Amazon Web Services on January 11, former users of that site started migrating to Gab. On January 14, Gab claimed on Twitter that the platform had gained 2.3million new users in the past week. Gab's website experienced an 800% increase in traffic, which forced Torba to order emergency servers to handle the increase in traffic. On January 12, ABC News reported that experts said that conservative-leaning social networks, including Gab, helped create echo chambers for extremist and violent views, which contributed to the Capitol storming. After the Capitol storming, on January 13, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in an open letter to the United States Department of Justice called for a federal investigation into Gab and Torba to determine if they "intentionally aided" the individuals who were involved in the storming. ADL cited posts from Torba telling users of Gab "heading to DC" to record "video footage in landscape mode" in anticipation of "communist violence" and also posted on Gab that it "would be a real shame if the people outside stormed the Senate". In response, Torba denied he and his platform were responsible for the storming, saying that Gab did a "phenomenal job" of mitigating violent content. He also stated that Gab had been removing offending posts and reporting them to federal law enforcement leading up to the storming, saying that "Public safety is our top priority", but declined to say which law enforcement agency they were working with, citing an "ongoing investigation". Torba also deflected attention away from Gab and towards Facebook, saying that the storming was "organized using Facebook's technology, not Gab's". ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in response, "It's ironic that, when called out for enabling extremist rhetoric, Gab's response is to craft" a letter "containing thinly veiled antisemitism", adding that "As our open letter makes clear, Gab is not moderating this extremist content, and their CEO seems to be encouraging users to upload it". Subsequent events On January 19, Rachel E. Greenspan from Business Insider observed that Gab had tweeted a direct quote from a post by Q, the anonymous individual or group whose messages form the basis of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory. The tweet was later deleted. She also noted that Gab's Twitter account had posted multiple tweets referencing Jesus, including one tweet posted on January 18 featuring an image of Jesus walking with Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character used by the alt-right. On February 9, Matt Field from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported that RT, a media outlet owned by the Russian government that Field claims helped Trump win the 2016 presidential election, had created an account on Gab right before the start of Trump's second impeachment trial. Field noted that RT had posted several articles on their Gab account, including one article criticizing The Lincoln Project, an organization run by anti-Trump Republicans. On August 27, the U.S. House of Representatives select committee investigating the storming of the Capitol demanded records from Gab (alongside 14 other social media companies) going back to the spring of 2020. On September 1, Torba responded by refusing to cooperate with the investigation, saying that Gab does not track misinformation or disinformation, has no retention policies, keeps no records of internal discussion about concerns of an insurrection, and has no way of knowing that an account is run by a foreign government. Torba and Gab also refused to hand over private user communications to the select committee (communications that Gab has already shared with law enforcement), arguing that the U.S. Congress would need a subpoena or warrant under the Stored Communications Act (SCA). Also in September 2021, Whitney Kimball of Gizmodo noted that Gab "might not even agree that an insurrection happened at all". noting an email from the company titled "New Video From Jan 6th Destroys 'Insurrection' Hoax". In late September, the Federal Office of Justice in Bonn, Germany imposed a fine of €30,000 on Gab for not naming a contact person for questions about the deletion of criminal content, despite a provision from the Network Enforcement Act. Gab has objected to the fine. In a blog post, Torba accused the German authorities of having no intention of removing criminal content and did not mention that the fine was imposed for not naming a contact person. Torba also asked for financial support to combat the fine. Also in late September, Torba announced that the Gab website's online infrastructure would be upgraded to "preserve a parallel Christian society on the internet for generations to come". Hacks and data leaks On the evening of February 19, Gab's website briefly went offline, originally without explanation. In response, several Twitter users posted images showing Gab accounts run by right-wing media outlets, such as The Gateway Pundit and National File, asking people to donate funds to a suspicious URL. After the site was restored, Torba responded in a blog post saying that Gab themselves had taken the site offline at around 6:25 pm EST, sixteen minutes after they "became aware of several accounts that were posting bitcoin wallet spam and related content". According to Torba, fewer than 20 accounts were affected, Gab "have no indication that any sensitive account information was breached or accessed by any unauthorized users", and that "Because of our quick action zero bitcoin was sent". Torba did not specify which accounts were affected. Torba also said that Gab had "identified and patched a security vulnerability in our codebase" and that "Our engineering team is conducting a full audit of our logs and infrastructure". On February 26, around a week after Gab briefly went offline, the company published a blog post denying a data breach had taken place. In the post, they wrote that they had been contacted by unnamed reporters who asked about a data breach that may have exposed an archive of posts, direct messages, profiles, and hashed passwords on Gab. Torba wrote in the blog post that there was no independent confirmation that a breach had taken place, and that Gab collects "very little from our users in terms of personal information". He also accused the reporters of working with a hacker to hurt the company and its users. However, a reporter linked to DDoSecrets tweeted "Yes, we have the data" and promised more information "soon enough". On February 28, DDoSecrets revealed "GabLeaks", a collection of more than 70 gigabytes of data from Gab, including more than 40 million posts, passwords, private messages, and other leaked information. The data was given to the group by a hacktivist self-identifying as "JaXpArO and My Little Anonymous Revival Project", who retrieved the data from Gab's back-end databases to expose the platform's largely right-wing userbase. DDoSecrets co-founder Emma Best called GabLeaks "another gold mine of research for people looking at militias, neo-Nazis, the far right, QAnon and everything surrounding January 6". DDoSecrets said that they would not release the data publicly due to the data containing a large amount of private and sensitive information and will instead share the data with select journalists, social scientists, and researchers. Andy Greenberg from Wired confirmed that the data "does appear to contain Gab users' individual and group profiles—their descriptions and privacy settings—public and private posts, and passwords". In response, Torba acknowledged the data breach, said that his Gab account had been "compromised", and that "the entire company is all hands investigating what happened and working to trace and patch the problem". He also used a transphobic slur to insult the hackers "attacking" Gab and referred to them as "demon hackers". On March 1, Torba revealed in a post on Gab's blog that the company had received a ransom demand of $500,000 in Bitcoin for the data, and wrote in response that they would not be paying it. Also on March 1, Torba said in a Gab post that "I want to make clear that we have zero tolerance for any threats of violence including against the wicked people who are attacking Gab. We need to pray for these people. I am". Dan Goodin reported in Ars Technica on March 2 that Gab's CTO, Fosco Marotto, had in February introduced a SQL vulnerability that may have led to the data breach, and that Gab had subsequently scrubbed the commit from Git history. The company had previously open sourced Gab's source code in a Git repository which included all historical commits; on March 1, they took the repository offline and replaced it with a zipfile that did not include commit history. On March 8, JaXpArO again compromised verified accounts on Gab, posting a message to their feeds addressed to Torba, which said the service had been "fully compromised" the previous week and accused him of lying to Gab's users. Gab briefly went offline again the same day, and the company wrote on Twitter that they had taken their site offline "to investigate a security breach". Torba posted a statement in response to the attack, claiming that "The attacker who stole data from Gab harvested OAuth2 bearer tokens during their initial attack" and that "Though their ability to harvest new tokens was patched, we did not clear all tokens related to the original attack. By reusing these old tokens, the attacker was able to post 177 statuses in an 8-minute period today". In May, The Intercept used GabLeaks to solicit donations. Former Intercept reporter Glenn Greenwald criticized the publication for exploiting what he called an invasion of privacy, which he said contrasted with The Intercept's origins during the Snowden leaks. In response, a spokesperson for The Intercept said that "We do not apologize for our interest in reporting on fascist activity." In early December, Torba claimed that Gab's back-end system was under a cyberattack by "porn bots". Torba called it "the most sophisticated attack we have seen in five years", adding that "the timing of it is incredibly interesting given that Truth Social and Rumble both raised a boatload of cash this week from hedge funds to compete with Gab". On December 4, Torba said that "All new Gab accounts must now be manually approved by our team until further notice". According to The Daily Beast, "It is unclear whether such a cyberattack took place or what specific "bots" the Gab CEO was referring to but a casual search of the platform does show numerous accounts advertising "escort" services." 2022 On January 24, 2022, Torba announced that Gab would sponsor the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) run by white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes. Torba also criticized the Conservative Political Action Conference and Turning Point USA, saying that "CPAC is sponsored by Facebook and Google among other billionaires" and "TPUSA is sponsored by atheist libertarian billionaires." Torba has also entered into a partnership with Fuentes' livestreaming service. Torba received backlash from Gab users over the sponsorship, with many pointing out that Fuentes had recently made harsh comments about Gab users, including one comment calling users "fucking retarded" and another comment stating: "Average IQ on Gab is like 50". Many of Gab's donors said that they would stop funding Gab. In response to the backlash, Torba said that "Controversy is attention. Attention is influence" and that "The point of marketing is to influence people to get off Big Tech and get on Gab. In order to do that I need their attention." It was later announced that Torba would be a guest speaker at the AFPAC. Torba also created an account on Fuentes' livestreaming service. Dissenter On February 24, 2019, Gab launched a browser extension called Dissenter, an aggregation and discussion service which allows Gab users to make comments about any webpage including news articles, YouTube videos, and individual social media posts. Comments made using the Dissenter extension are outside of the webpage owner's control, and the extension can be used to comment on websites with no comment feature or where comment sections have been closed. Gab also has a web browser called Dissenter. Dissenter describes itself as "a free, open-source utility that allows people to dissent from orthodoxy and express what they are really thinking, without fear of reprisal". It was developed as a response to multiple social media platforms' and online news sites' moderation practices, which involve removal of individual comments or deleting or disabling comment sections altogether. Users with registered Gab accounts may submit content to Dissenter in the form of a URL to a page on which they want to comment. This creates a discussion page where users can post a comment (or "Dissent"), and the comments can be up- or down-voted by other users of the site. By using the Dissenter browser extension, users may read and post comments in an overlay while viewing page content. The Dissenter website also features a news ticker on which users can follow current events. Shortly after its launch, fans of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson began using Dissenter to comment on a BBC News article about Robinson's ban from social media websites following the removal of Mohammed's Koran, by Robinson and Peter McLoughlin, from Amazon. After Rotten Tomatoes announced that it would be removing its comment section on their review page for the Captain Marvel film due to concerns that trolls had planned to flood it with negative reviews, users of Dissenter used the extension to comment about the movie and about Rotten Tomatoes' decision to remove comments. In a 20-minute Periscope video accompanying the launch, Andrew Torba said that he expected Dissenter to be banned from extension stores and mentioned that Gab might build its own web browser in the future that has Dissenter built-in. In April 2019, Mozilla removed the Dissenter extension from the Firefox Add-ons website for violating the hate speech portion of Mozilla's acceptable use policy. In a statement to the Columbia Journalism Review, a Mozilla spokesperson said: "Mozilla does not endorse hate speech, and we do not permit our platforms to be used to promote such content". On April 11, Google removed the Dissenter extension from the Chrome Web Store. Later in April, the Gab team forked the Brave web browser in order to bundle Dissenter. Brave CEO Brendan Eich criticized the decision to fork Brave as unnecessary and "parasitic". Following the extension's launch, Ana Valens of The Daily Dot described it as an "extension for the alt-right" to "mobilize against journalists, critics, and progressive websites". Saqib Shah of Engadget called Dissenter "a far-right comments section on every site" and Gab's "latest attempt at attracting fringe voices". Izabella Kaminska of the Financial Times called Dissenter a "shadow layer" of the Internet. Users and content Users The site has attracted far-right or alt-right users who have been banned or suspended from other services. Since its foundation in 2016, high-profile participants have included former Breitbart News writer and polemicist Milo Yiannopoulos; citizen journalist Tim Pool; conservative commentator Dave Rubin; former British National Party leader Nick Griffin; Australian neo-Nazis Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson and Australian MP George Christensen; Republican Party representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Paul Gosar; former Republican Party of Texas chairman Allen West; former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; Dutch politician and Leader of the Party for Freedom Geert Wilders; and white supremacists Richard B. Spencer, Tila Tequila, Vox Day, and Christopher Cantwell. Far-right political parties and party candidates, including Britain First and UKIP candidates such as Mark Meechan and Carl Benjamin, have also been participants. Following the Christchurch mosque shootings and a reduced tolerance on other social media for hate speech, several members of United Patriots Front, an Australian far-right extremist organization, urged their supporters to follow them on Gab after being banned from Twitter and Facebook. On January 24, 2021, the Republican Party of Texas made a post on its Twitter account asking their followers to join Gab. In March 2021, the Republican Party of Texas voted to delete their Gab account. Former Gab users include white nationalist political candidate Paul Nehlen, who was removed from the site for doxing the man behind the "Ricky Vaughn" Twitter account; and hacker, internet troll, and former Daily Stormer writer Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer, who was banned for calling for genocide against Jews and endorsing terrorist Timothy McVeigh. Auernheimer's activity prompted threats from Gab's then webhost Asia Registry to remove the comments or they would refuse to host the site. Christopher Cantwell, a white supremacist and neo-Nazi activist who "once drove a significant amount of interaction on the small site", was banned from the site in March 2019 after using the site to advocate in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch shootings that future mass killers should target and murder left-wing activists, instead of "random people in mosques and synagogues", in order to effectively silence left-wing activism. Torba has described the average Gab user as "a Conservative Christian with a family and interests in hunting, fishing, cars, camping, news, politics, rural living, homeschooling, privacy, free speech, cryptocurrency, guns, and cooking". Torba stated in 2016 that Gab is "not designed specifically for conservatives" and has stated that "we welcome everyone and always will" and "We want everyone to feel safe on Gab, but we're not going to police what is hate speech and what isn't", although he admitted that Gab was attracting "a lot of people on the right because they are being censored, so it's understandable they are migrating over". In November 2016, Torba told The Washington Post that "I didn't set out to build a 'conservative social network' by any means... but I felt that it was time for a conservative leader to step up and to provide a forum where anybody can come and speak freely without fear of censorship". In filings made with the SEC in March 2018, Gab stated that its target market is "conservative, libertarian, nationalists, and populist internet users around the world" "who are seeking alternative news media platforms like Breitbart.com, DrudgeReport.com, Infowars.com". In an interview with Vice News in August 2019, Torba acknowledged that Gab was right-leaning, saying that "any online community that is explicitly pro-free speech will inevitably become right-leaning" and claimed that "this is because in the free market of ideas right-leaning ideas win". In early 2018, a cross-university group released a research study on posts made to the site. According to that study, the site hosted a high volume of racism and hate speech, and primarily "attracts alt-right users, conspiracy theorists, and other trolls". The study listed Carl Benjamin, Ann Coulter, Alex Jones, Stefan Molyneux, Lauren Southern, and Paul Joseph Watson as some of the more popular users of the site. The authors also performed an automated search using Hatebase and found "hate words" in 5.4% of Gab posts, which they stated was 2.4 times higher than their occurrence on Twitter but less than half that found on /pol/, a political discussion board on 4chan. The authors of the study stated in their conclusion that while anyone can join Gab, the site is aligned with the alt-right and its use of free speech rhetoric "merely functions as a shield for its alt-right users to hide behind". A 2018 paper authored by behavioral researchers that was presented at the 2018 SBP-BRiMS collected and analyzed "several million Gab messages" posted on the Gab website from the platform's launch in August 2016 to February 2018. The researchers then divided the posts into 33 groups, including topics such as pop culture. The researchers found that the largest category of posts on Gab was politics, comprising 56% of all posts collected and analyzed. The researchers also found that the largest subcategory within politics was "Ideology, religion and race", comprising 10.23% of all posts. According to paper co-author William D. Adler, a political science professor at Northeastern Illinois University, the subcategory "Ideology, religion, and race" "includes topics such as changing racial demographics, threats to Christianity, and concerns about Jewish influence", adding "It's a lot of what you might think of as white nationalism". Other subcategories within politics included conversations about "Trump, Clinton and conspiracies", comprising 5.10% of all posts, and "Globalism", a dog whistle for antisemitic conspiracy theories, comprising 1.95% of all posts. The researchers also linked Gab's growth to the far-right. According to Alder, Gab's free speech rhetoric is "part of the game here, of course", adding that "They don't want to say [what they're really doing] out loud, so they say 'free speech, free speech.'" Based on the results of the paper, Noah Berlatsky of The Forward noted "In contrast, there is little discussion of left topics that might be considered to push the edges of acceptable discourse. There are no Stalinist apologia, for example, nor calls for violent Communist revolution. More, there is not an equivalent on the left for Gab, or for the other right wing social media networks like WrongThink (modeled on Facebook) or GoyFundMe (a right wing Kickstarter, which even has an implicitly anti-Semitic name.) Extremist social media bubbles are not a both sides problem; they are a right-wing phenomenon". A report issued by the ADL and the Network Contagion Research Institute on March 12, 2019, found that when Twitter bans "extremist voices", Gab's user base grows. Researchers from Northeastern Illinois University publishing in First Monday wrote in August 2019 that many of the sites shared by Gab's users "are associated with state-sponsored propaganda from foreign governments". Researchers publishing in e-Extreme wrote in October 2020 that many of Gab's users are Trump supporters who feel they are being censored on mainstream platforms, and "this sense of persecution is the reason why many join the platform, while an overarching shared sense of victimhood – whether as members of a 'white race', free-speech absolutists, or Trump supporters – unites the broader community". In 2021, a study published by an international team of researchers titled "Understanding the Effect of Deplatforming on Social Networks". found that being banned on Twitter or Reddit led those users who were banned to join alternative platforms such as Gab or Parler, which have more lax content moderation. The study also found that while users who move to these platforms have their audience potentially reduced, the users exhibit increased activity and toxicity than they did previously. Also in 2021, researchers found that Gab users are "united by a shared sense of techno-social persecution at the hands of 'Big Tech', a commitment to the ultra-libertarian values of the platform, and in many cases, a material investment in Gab as an Alt-Tech project." In June 2021, the Lowy Institute noted of Gab's userbase that "Regardless of which narrative a user in Gab's far-right community ascribes to, a shared sense of techno-social persecution is what draws them in and unites them. These users feel safe in the knowledge that they can "speak freely" on the platform, with little fear of being banned or even critiqued, regardless of how extreme their views are". On October 11, 2021, researcher Sefa Ozalp published a report for the ADL's Center on Extremism (COE) titled "For Twitter Users, Gab's Toxic Content is Just a Click Away", which analyzed how many links to Gab's website were shared on Twitter between June 7, 2021, and August 22, 2021. The report found that, during this time period, more than 112,000 tweets were posted that linked to Gab's website (shared by more than 32,700 users) with a potential reach of more than 254 million views. The report also found that the fifty most shared links to Gab on Twitter "were rife with conspiratorial content and misinformation, some promoted by Gab itself via its verified Twitter account". Out of these fifty most shared links, sixteen "promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories about Covid-19" and twenty-one "contained conspiratorial content by Japanese-language accounts", including false claims about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and QAnon. Ozalp said that the ADL was not advocating for Twitter to completely ban Gab or links to Gab from its platform, instead advocating in favor of Twitter more effectively enforcing its current policies against misinformation and hate speech. Ozalp also said of Twitter that "Even if they are not acting like a knowing or willing contributor to anti-vax or anti-Semitism stuff, they are still playing a part in [the] dissemination of these conspiracy theories or hate, probably without wanting to do so". Twitter spokesperson Elizabeth Busby responded to the report by claiming that Twitter takes action against links to third-party websites that "would otherwise violate our policies if their content were posted directly on Twitter", including COVID-19 misinformation. Busby also said that "As ADL's report acknowledges, we continue to improve our approach to mis- and disinformation". Later on October 11, Torba criticized the ADL's report in a blog post, claiming that it was created in an attempt to "pressure Twitter to censor us". He also accused the organization of being an "anti-Christ, Anti-American, and Anti-White hate organization". In a statement, the ADL said that Torba's response "is consistent with other statements from Gab" and that they "speak for themselves". According to Ozalp, the report is part of a "longer running research series" by the ADL that will include more studies on other social media platforms. In December 2021, researchers at the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences found that Gab users who shared similar moral values and beliefs with members of their immediate groups were more vulnerable to radicalization, including a higher likelihood of dissemination of hate speech and the use of language intended to dehumanize or threaten violence against users outside of their immediate groups. Donald Trump In early February 2021, multiple media outlets falsely reported that former-President Trump had joined Gab under the handle @realdonaldtrump. The Independent speculated "that confusion arose from the presence of a blue check mark indicating the account was verified" and Vice News speculated that the bio of the account, which read "45th President of the United States of America. Uncensored posts from the @realDonaldTrump Feed", had also caused confusion. The Gab post that was mistaken to be from Trump was actually from Torba and featured a copy of a genuine letter sent by Trump's lawyers to Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who had called on Trump to testify at his second impeachment hearing. Thousands of users on Gab were also led to believe after the post was made that Trump had joined the platform under the handle. Torba responded to the false reports in a blog post, saying that "@realdonaldtrump is and always has been a mirror archive of POTUS' tweets and statements that we've run for years. We've always been transparent about this and would obviously let people know if the President starts using it". He also criticized the media outlets that falsely reported that Trump had joined the platform. Also in response to the false reports, the @realdonaldtrump Gab account made a post that was pinned saying that the account is reserved for Trump and urged users of Gab to send messages to Trump asking him to join the platform. In March 2021, Forbes reported that representatives of former Senior Advisor Jared Kushner in January had asked for equity in Gab in exchange for Kushner's father-in-law Trump joining the platform. Torba declined the offer, saying "No, I'm not entertaining that". In a June 2021 interview with far-right conspiracy theory website TruNews, Torba claimed that Kushner wanted Gab to remove antisemitic content and users from its platform before Trump could join, saying that "He called them Jew-haters, I called them Jew criticizers" and that "It's a free-speech platform, so as long as you're not saying anything illegal, as long as you're not making threats of violence, you're allowed to speak your mind and have an opinion about things, and I was not going to compromise on that position". No independent confirmation has been made that such a negotiation took place. COVID-19 vaccine avoidance and disinformation In late July 2021, Torba claimed in a Gab post that he was "getting flooded" with text messages from members of the U.S. military who claimed that they would be court-martialed if they refused a COVID-19 vaccine. The post amassed 10,000 likes and shares. Torba also posted documents on Gab's news site that contain misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and claimed in an email in response to The New York Times that "I'm telling the truth" and "Your Facebook-funded 'fact checkers' like Graphika are wrong and are the people peddling disinformation here". Torba also posted a conversation he had with the Times reporter, saying "I am sharing this all with you now to let you know how these wicked people operate and to shine a light on their lies, deception, and anti-Christian attacks. They aren't just attacking me, they are attacking any and all dissent and opposition to their libido dominandi (lust for power)". In August 2021, Alex Kaplan of Media Matters for America noted that Torba "is trying to use his platform to sabotage coronavirus vaccination efforts". In October 2021, John Gallagher of LGBTQ Nation wrote that "A visitor to Gab will find misinformation about COVID, calls to arrest NIH head Dr. Anthony Fauci, and lies about the 2020 presidential election. One post, liked by more than 4,000 people, shows a gloating Trump under the line, 'Show me a pic of pregnant Michelle Obama, and I'll concede the 2020 election.'" Userbase estimates In November 2021, when asked by The Washington Post about Gab's Brazilian user base, Torba responded in an email on November 8, saying "Ya my comment is 'God bless Jair Bolsonaro and Jesus Christ is King.' No further comment." , Gab has 4million registered users. According to Micah Lee writing for The Intercept, the "vast majority" of registered Gab accounts are inactive, and the number of active users on the site is closer to 100,000. In 2021, Torba claimed that Gab has 15 million unique monthly visitors. As of August 2021, Torba has more than 3 million followers on Gab, with all Gab users following him by default. Antisemitic content Rita Katz, a researcher and analyst of terrorism and extremism, wrote in Politico Magazine in October 2018 that Robert Bowers' extreme antisemitic postings were "anything but an anomaly" on the website, and, "[they highlight] concerns about its growing facilitation of white nationalism and other far-right movements". She found that Gab user profiles often contained Nazi symbolism, and Stormfront users had praised the site as a place to post antisemitic content. Katz found that many Gab users were celebrating immediately after Bowers' massacre against the Tree of Life synagogue, and wrote that far-right communities' rise to popularity on Gab is "remarkably similar" to the rise of ISIS on social media. In November 2018, Twitter user Jason Baumgartner, who owns a website dedicated to detecting hate speech on social media, found that using the search term "oven" on Gab brought up the terms "Jews", "Holocaust", and "Hitler" the most among thousands of analyzed comments. Joshua Fisher-Birch of the Counter Extremism Project said in 2019: "Gab has always been attractive to fascist and neo-Nazi groups that advocate violence". The same month, non-profit left-wing media collective Unicorn Riot discovered that individual Gab users led by alt-right figure Brittany Pettibone organized on the video game chat and VoIP platform Discord and that some of the discussions centered on antisemitism and achieving "ethno-nationalism". The Jewish Chronicle reported in January 2019 that they had found material on the site accusing Jews of responsibility for the September 11 attacks. After setting up a fake account on Gab, the newspaper's journalist Ben Weich was quickly "presented with a steady stream of Holocaust denial, antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories – as well as those venerating Adolf Hitler". Posts he discovered included at least one user who used a swastika as their profile picture and stated: "The parasitic Jews will fully deserve the genocide that's coming upon them" and "They do not deserve mercy, expulsion will never fix a rat problem, extermination does". In addition to allowing Holocaust denial and other forms of antisemitism, Gab has been used as a recruitment tool by several neo-Nazi and alt-right groups, including Identity Evropa, Patriot Front, and the Atomwaffen Division, a terrorist organization tied to a number of murders. Cultural Marxism, a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory, is a popular topic on Gab. By Gab Gab itself has engaged in antisemitic commentary. Torba has repeatedly praised Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. On August 9, 2018, in response to a post from Jewish political activist Brian Krassenstein calling for the shutdown of the site, Gab's Twitter account responded with a post suggesting that it is unsurprising for a person with a Jewish last name to oppose "free speech", followed by a tweet from the platform calling for "open borders for Israel", a quote from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and posted another tweet the same hour with a citation to a Bible verse (Revelation 3:9) that referred to Jewish non-believers of Jesus as members of the "synagogue of Satan". The company's Twitter account also posted a tweet on August 9 alluding to the antisemitic trope of Jewish global control, saying "At some point you have to ask yourself: just who is pushing for the censorship?". On October 31, 2018, The Washington Post pointed to two messages on Gab's Twitter account and wrote that they "raise questions about whether they cross the line into impropriety". One captioned a photo of two men, one with Jewish sidelocks, with "These two guys show up at your front door. Who do you let in and who do you call the cops on?" before following it up with "I mean I'm calling the cops on both and getting my shotgun ready, just saying", and another argued for opposition to immigration by saying: "Let a bunch of Somalians migrate to your neighborhood and see if you change your mind". Torba initially questioned the authenticity of the posts, suggesting they might be doctored images, later saying the posts were "clearly satire/comedy... to get people discussing the importance of free expression for satire, comedy, political discourse, and legitimate criticism", and then later saying they were "a few edgy tweets posted by interns". The tweets were later deleted. On January 14, 2021, Molly Boigon from The Forward noted that Gab's Twitter account had recently posted multiple tweets about Senior Adviser Jared Kushner's supposed influence on then-President Trump, which she described as a nod to the antisemitic trope about global Jewish puppet masters. Gab's Twitter account had also recently posted a tweet questioning the legitimacy of antisemitism falling under hate speech. In February 2021, Gab posted on their Twitter account that going forward, they would only respond to press inquiries from "Christian media compan[ies]", describing other publications as "pagan propogandists". In March 2021, Ali Breland reported in Mother Jones on private messages leaked in that month's data breach, which showed Torba welcoming Iranian-American alt-right personality Roosh V and praising another Gab user, the antisemitic writer E. Michael Jones. Oren Segal of the ADL said that the messages seemed "to show that Torba has a direct appreciation for individuals that promote antisemitism and hate". In June 2021, Torba criticized video hosting platform Rumble for changing its terms of service to prohibit antisemitic hate speech and questioned why the platform did not also prohibit "Anti-White hatred". Also in June 2021, Tom McKay from Gizmodo wrote that "Torba is perhaps best known for furious diatribes in which he characterizes claims that he or his shitty site is racist or anti-Semitic as left-wing media smears, despite bounteous evidence suggesting that is exactly what they are". On October 13, 2021, Torba used Gab's Twitter account to praise E. Michael Jones, an antisemitic Catholic writer, calling him a "brilliant and faithful Christian man" who will be "one of the most respected thinkers of our time" when "we win." Jones has claimed that Jews are dedicated to attacking the Catholic Church and western civilization. On October 17, 2021, Torba used Gab's Twitter account to tweet a screenshot of a post from a Gab user named "Kitler". The post states that "if you're a White person living in America today and you don't know what happened to the kulaks in russia [sic] 100 years ago, you should look it up. Something very similar is happening to you right now, and the same group of people is behind it." The Gab post alludes to the belief that Jews were responsible for the 1917 Russian Revolution and communism while also implying that Jews were responsible for the subsequent efforts by the Bolsheviks to seize land from kulaks (wealthy farmers) and deport kulaks to the remote regions of the Soviet Union. One user replied to Gab's tweet with a screenshot of a page from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. On October 19, 2021, Torba used the Gab Twitter account to post a series of tweets which The Daily Dot characterized as a "wildly antisemitic tirade" with "several antisemitic canards related to Judeo–Bolshevism". Torba also promoted the creation of a "parallel Christian society." After receiving criticism for these remarks, Torba responded by saying that "Sadly many Christians today are so afraid of being called a silly meaningless name by the world (bigot, antisemite, homophobe) that they refuse to even remotely share or discuss the Gospel in their daily lives, let alone live it" and that "You reveal your anti-Christian hatred when you refer to Biblical Truth as 'antisemitism.'" Shortly after making these comments, Torba shared a comic from far-right illustrator StoneToss, which promotes the antisemitic myth that Jews were responsible for crucifying Jesus. Torba also retweeted a meme claming that the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, instructs Jews to hate Christians. Shortly after posting these tweets, Torba deactivated Gab's Twitter account. Torba has deactivated the account multiple times in the past, which some researchers have said is a strategy to avoid being suspended from Twitter. Gab's Twitter account was reactivated around late November 2021. The ADL "found dozens of examples of antisemitic tweets in the replies to Gab's tweets from" October. "These replies promoted various tropes about Jews, including that Jews are 'degenerate' and the 'synagogue of Satan.'" The ADL also criticized Twitter for continuing "to allow content that violates its own policies via links to Gab's website, where harmful disinformation and offensive content run rampant." According to the ADL, "Throughout October and early November 2021, Torba used his own platform, Gab, which has considerably fewer content guardrails and restrictions than mainstream sites, to disseminate a plethora of antisemitic content. These posts often include vague references to "them" or "the enemy" and are framed by Torba's Christian faith." On November 2, 2021, Torba posted on Gab that "Zionists" created the Federal Reserve for the "subversion of American Christianity." One user responded by claiming that non-Jews became "slaves of the [Jewish] tribe" due to a plot orchestrated by the Jewish Rothschild family. On November 4, 2021, Torba reposted Gab user Jacob Wohl's "suggestion" that all Jews should decorate their home with Christmas decorations during Christmas to assimilate into America's Christian heritage. One user responded by suggested that Jews control the Federal Reserve and that Jewish banker Jacob Schiff funded and orchestrated the Russian Revolution, both referencing antisemitic tropes. In January 2022, Mira Fox from The Forward noted that Gab "has weaponized antisemitism and Christian extremism to foment insurrection". Fox also noted that "Torba himself has authored numerous articles demonizing Jews for a variety of ills, including a piece on the Ukrainian Holodomor famine that opens by wondering, speciously, why it is not considered a tragedy at the level of the Holocaust, and ends by implying the Holodomor was a Jewish attempt to wipe out Ukrainian Christians – and, in a pointed aside, noting that Biden's cabinet also includes many Jews." Violence and terrorism policy Gab's official policy states that the company has a "zero-tolerance policy towards threats of violence and use of our platform for criminal purposes". Terrorism researcher and Queen's University in Kingston, professor Amarnath Amarasingam has said that Gab's position as neither extremely mainstream nor obscure service has allowed extremists to permeate the website and access an audience they would not be able to have on a more popular service, where they would be more likely to be banned. Gab has denied that terror groups flourish on the website, saying in a statement to Motherboard in July 2019: "We don't want them, we strongly discourage them from joining and we ban them when they cross the line, as they often do". However, Ben Makuch of Motherboard wrote that neo-Nazi terrorist groups have "enjoyed months-long, unfettered stints posting their content on Gab to a significant audience". In addition to calls for terrorist attacks, mass killings against minorities, offline armed training recruitments and white supremacist propaganda accumulated on Gab, Makuch pointed to one Gab post, from a user who is a member of an multinational militant network on Gab connected to the Atomwaffen Division, that had explicitly called for its followers to attack electric grids. Other content posted by the network included explicit calls for sympathizers to join local neo-Nazi organizations and commit violence against Muslim and Jewish communities. In June 2019, two British men were arrested on terror offences for posting propaganda on Gab calling for their followers to assassinate Prince Harry. Moderation policy Gab claims that its platform does not restrict content unless the content is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Restrictions on content on Gab include illegal activity, credible threats of violence, promotion of terrorism, obscenity, pornography, spamming, selling weapons or drugs, child exploitation, impersonation, and doxing. In January 2021, Jazmin Goodwin of CNN described Gab's moderation as "lax" and that this "approach on content has made way for a slew of QAnon conspiracy theories, misinformation and anti-Semitic commentary on the platform, among lots of vile hatred and racist posts – much of wouldn't be allowed on today's well-known social apps". In October 2021, Cristiano Lima of The Washington Post described Gab's moderation as "laissez-faire". In a 2022 email, Torba said that "We tolerate 'offensive' but legal speech" and that "We believe that a moderation policy which adheres to the First Amendment, thereby permitting offensive content to rise to the surface, is a valuable and necessary utility to society." Hosting and termination of services by web services providers On December 14, 2016, Apple Inc. declined Gab's submission of its app to the Apple App Store, citing pornographic content as the reason. Also on December 14, Twitter cut off Gab's access to the Twitter API after Gab introduced a feature to its social network that allowed users to share their Gab posts directly to Twitter. In response, Torba said in a December 15 Periscope livestream that "This is targeted, and we believe that we're being singled out" and that "This is the nonsense from Silicon Valley. This is the monopoly and level of control that they have". On January 21, 2017, a revised version of the app that blocked pornography by default was also rejected due to "objectionable content" including "references to religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or other targeted groups that could be offensive to many users". In response, Torba accused Apple of "double standards and extreme scrutiny" "while allowing Big Social apps to display the same and arguably worse content in their own apps". Gab launched its Android app for the Google Play Store in May 2017. Later that year, on August 17, Google removed Gab's app from the Play Store for violating its policy against hate speech, stating that the app did not "demonstrate a sufficient level of moderation, including for content that encourages violence and advocates hate against groups of people". On September 14, 2017, Gab filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, but dropped the suit on October 22, 2017, in favor of lobbying Congress to take action against "monopolized tech giants". In early October 2018, Gab's Stripe account was suspended due to adult content on Gab. On October 3, Gab tweeted in response: "We've had this content and a NSFW setting for two years with no issues from them until now". On October 27, 2018, the day of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, PayPal, GoDaddy, and Medium terminated their relationship with Gab, and PayPal released a statement that it had done so based on its review of accounts that may engage in the "perpetuation of hate, violence or discriminatory intolerance". Later on the same day, Gab announced on Twitter that Joyent, Gab's hosting provider, would terminate their service on October 29 at 9:00 am ET. Gab also said on Twitter that they expected their site to be down for weeks. Stripe and Backblaze also terminated their services with Gab after the shooting. On October 29, Gab claimed in a tweet that they "took the site down early on purpose last night because we knew the media would take the bait and have stories on it for this morning". After the site was taken down, Gab's homepage was changed to a message saying it was down due to being "under attack" and being "systematically no-platformed", adding that Gab would be inaccessible for a "period of time". Gab returned online on November 4, 2018, after Epik agreed to register the domain, and Sibyl Systems Ltd. began to provide webhosting. Epik is an American company that provides domain registration and other web services, and is known for providing services to websites that host far-right, neo-Nazi, and other extremist content. Sibyl Systems was founded on October 22, 2018, days before the shooting that resulted in Gab's termination from their previous webhost, and according to the SPLC, was possibly based in Norway or England. Sibyl was later acquired by Epik in the second quarter of 2019. In August 2019, Amazon Web Services ceased serving Gab's fundraising site due to Gab violating Amazon's policy on hateful content. In response, Torba said he welcomed Amazon's decision, claiming that media coverage of the decision had only brought more attention to Gab and resulted in investment offers. , Gab was still using Epik as a domain registrar. Instead of hosting its service in the cloud, The Wall Street Journal reported that Gab had been renting hardware in an undisclosed data center. Gab was also using services from Cloudflare. Reception Gab has been described as "Twitter for racists" by Salon, a "hate-filled echo chamber of racism and conspiracy theories" by The Guardian, an "online cesspool of anti-Semitism" by Politico Magazine, a "safe haven for banned Twitter trolls, Gamergaters, Pizzagaters and high-profile white nationalists" by Mic, "the far-right's favorite social network" by The Verge and "the Make America Great Again of social sites" by The New York Times. Wired criticized Gab for not explicitly prohibiting hate speech. Scholars have described Gab as "hateful", and named Gab along with 4chan and 8chan as directly radicalizing men who went on to commit violent acts. The SPLC characterized Gab as a site where its users are "radicalized aggressively". Heidi Beirich, a director of the center, stated that the site is "the number one place nowadays where white supremacists gather". The ADL called Gab a "fringe online community" and "a bastion of hatred and bigotry". Harrison Kaminsky of Digital Trends questioned the site's longevity in September 2016, writing: "While the site's initial popularity is impressive, the potential is most likely short-lived, following the life cycle of social networks like Ello or Peach, which faded over time". Maya Kosoff of Vanity Fair wrote in September 2016: "the point of Gab may not be to grow to be a Twitter competitor... it's providing a 'safe space' for people who want to express themselves without consequence". Amanda Hess, a critic at The New York Times, opined in November 2016 that the site is: "a throwback to the freewheeling norms of the old internet, before Twitter started cracking down on harassment and Reddit cleaned out its darkest corners. And since its debut in August, it has emerged as a digital safe space for the far right, where white nationalists, conspiracy-theorist YouTubers, and minivan majority moms can gather without liberal interference". BBC News wrote in December 2016 that Gab has "become the go-to social network for an extreme group of activists who have been chucked off of Twitter". and that "Its top hashtags list is a conservative dream. It's peppered with trends like #Trump, #MAGA ("Make America Great Again" - Trump's campaign slogan) along with far-right obsessions like Dump Star Wars and the Pizzagate conspiracy hoax". Jeremy Carl of National Review opined in August 2017: "Contrast the free hand given to left-wing offensive speech to the strict controls put on right-wing speech. As just one of many examples, Gab— a free-speech social network that has grown rapidly to almost a quarter million users since its public launch just a few months ago, was just yesterday kicked off the Android app store (it has already been repeatedly denied at Apple) for "hate speech". To be clear, not all the voices on Gab are mellifluous, they have accepted a number of folks, often from the far right, who have been banned from other social networks (though this is a small portion of Gab's user base)" and "If Google and Apple are banning Gab, mainstream conservatives are crazy to think they are safe". Cheryl K. Chumley of The Washington Times opined in October 2018: "with help from like-minded free thinkers, Gab can beat the leftists running these Internet sites at their own game — and in so doing, become the model for "what could one day be" for the conservative world on social media". Joe Setyon reviewed the social network for Reason in October 2018, writing: "in fighting the alleged left-leaning political bias of the legacy social media platforms, Gab ran into the opposite problem". He suggested that the website was only for those who "subscribe to a certain radical subset of right-wing beliefs or are interested in seeing the feeds of those who do". Nicholas Thompson of Wired questioned the sincerity of the site's claim to be a defender for "free speech" in October 2018, writing: "To many people, Torba's First Amendment absolutism is just a talking point. The site exists less to defend the ideals of Benjamin Franklin than those of Christopher Cantwell. It chose as its logo a creature that looks rather like Pepe, the alt-right attack frog. It courted people on the far right, and it became a haven for them. Free speech can be less a principle than a smokescreen". Thompson noted that Robert Bowers likely expected affirmation from his last message that indicated his intent to carry out the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, leading Thompson to the conclusion: "if it's a platform where someone can expect affirmation for threatening slaughter, then why should anyone help it exist?" Kelly Weill of The Daily Beast wrote in January 2019: "Gab has always been a bad website. Nothing loads, the search function is a joke, and its member rolls are riddled with porn bots. And that's even without the neo-Nazis posting racist memes and goading each other to murder". In February 2020, Tanya Basu of MIT Technology Review characterized Gab as being frequented by "fringe far-right hate groups". In January 2021, Travis M. Andrews of The Washington Post said that Gab "has welcomed extremist right-wing figures and believers of QAnon, the loose collection of conspiracy theories that touch on everything from politics to COVID-19". In August 2021, Jacob Silverman of The New Republic wrote that Torba is "Trying to Build a White, Christian, Secessionist Tech Industry" and that Torba "represents the new, even more right-wing alternative to Silicon Valley". In September 2021, Whitney Kimball of Gizmodo wrote that Gab is "currently fashioning itself as an anti-mask LinkedIn with a job board and guidelines for getting vaccine exemptions". In December 2021, David Gilbert of Vice News called Gab "a Christian-focused social network". In February 2022, the Associated Press wrote that "Offensive content is easy to find on Gab. A search turns up user names featuring racial epithets, as well as antisemitic screeds, neo-Nazi fantasies and homophobic rants." Michael Edison Hayden, an open-source intelligence analyst and investigative reporter on extremism and disinformation, opined in a Gizmodo interview in October 2018: "Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab, will get angry when people... call his site a white nationalist website or an alt-right website but anyone who spends time on it knows that it's a haven for extremists.... Violent white supremacist groups like Patriot Front and Atomwaffen Division organize out in the open on Gab. Users frequently call for the murder of women, Jews and other minorities on Gab, and are rewarded with likes and reposts.... Dylann Roof is treated as a hero by many Gab users". Hayden noted that Gab was "rife with" content similar to that posted by Robert Bowers', with many users posing in his support using the hashtag #HeroRobertBowers. In August 2019, director of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, Matthew Feldman, said of Gab's stance on free speech that "'free speech' in Gab's context has too often meant 'free to engage in hate speech and incitement' with minimal curation by site moderators or, it seems, owners". In March 2021, Nathalie Van Raemdonck, a doctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels who researches platform architecture, said of Gab's launch that "It's not necessarily that Gab rewarded the best content, or punished the worst, but does it reward what the group thinks" and that "Because the people on the platform were already terrible, they needed engaging conversations to stimulate each other, so it became a circlejerk to the bottom". Van Raemdonck also noted of Gab that "The fact that they portrayed themselves as a free-speech platform attracts a certain crowd". Milo Yiannopoulos, an active user of Gab who joined after being deplatformed from Facebook and Twitter, complained in September 2019 about the low number of users on Gab, Parler, and Telegram. He wrote on Telegram that, after losing his large fanbases on Facebook and Twitter, he was having difficulty sustaining his career due to the relatively small number of users on the alternative social networks. He described Gab as "relentlessly, exhaustingly hostile and jam packed full of teen racists who totally dictate the tone and discussion". In March 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott condemned Gab, stating "anti-Semitic platforms like Gab have no place in Texas". In October 2021, pro-Trump Republican pundit Bill Mitchell ran a poll on Gab asking if people would attend a Christian church where the pastor uses the word "nigger" in their sermons. More than 2,000 voted and nearly two-thirds answered "Yes", prompting Mitchell to say on Gab that "As you can see from this poll so far, there are A LOT of racists on Gab" and that "It's not just a small noisy group." He also complained of having to block "over 100 accounts a day.", claimed that big accounts on Gab are "flatlining because of all the hate speech", and encouraged people to join Gettr, a conservative social media platform. Mitchell called on Torba to ban racist users on Gab "or Gab will never be taken seriously by the general public." In response, Torba said "Go over to dopey Jason Miller's Chinese billionaire-funded AI-censored hugbox for Israel-first RINO losers if you want a safe space to shout into the wind of bot accounts and Chinese nationals posing as Americans that make up the community over there". Mitchell later announced that he would leave Gab before changing his mind, saying "I think I'll just stay on Gab forever", "But from here on out, no more Mr. Nice Guy." Gab is one of a number of alternative social network platforms, including Minds, MeWe, Parler, and BitChute, that are popular with people banned from mainstream networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram. Deen Freelon and colleagues writing in Science characterized Gab as among alt-tech sites that are "dedicated to right-wing communities", and listed the site along with 4chan, 8chan, BitChute, and Parler. They noted there are also more ideologically neutral alt-tech platforms, such as Discord and Telegram. Joe Mulhall of the UK anti-racism group Hope Not Hate has categorized Gab among the "bespoke platforms" for the far-right, which he defines as platforms which were created by people who themselves have "far-right leanings". He distinguishes these from "co-opted platforms" such as DLive and Telegram, which were adopted by the far-right due to minimal moderation but not specifically created for their use. Company Gab was founded by CEO Andrew Torba and CTO Ekrem Büyükkaya and the company was incorporated on September 9, 2016. Torba, who described himself in 2016 as a lifelong "conservative Republican Christian", was previously removed from the Y Combinator alumni network in 2016 because of harassment concerns, starting when he used "build the wall" on Twitter alongside a screenshot of a post by a Latino startup founder that read: "being a black, Muslim or woman in the USA is going to be very scary". He also made a post on Facebook that said "All of you: fuck off. Take your morally superior, elitist, virtue signaling bullshit and shove it" and "I call it like I see it, and I helped meme a President into office, cucks". Until 2016, Torba was registered as a Democrat, although he voted Republican in presidential elections. Torba has also described himself as a "cultural libertarian", a classical liberal, and an "American nationalist patriot". As of 2021, Torba says that he lives in a "forest in Pennsylvania", where he is plotting a "Silent Christian Secession". As of 2021, Torba has a policy of "not communicating with non-Christian and/or communist journos". Utsav Sanduja later joined Gab as COO. Sanduja left the company in June 2018. In an interview with ABC News, Sanduja said that his wife, who works at a synagogue, had been doxed and received death threats while he worked at Gab: "apparently some of her personal information was found out and my family and I went through quite a lot of abuse, a systemic targeting from really vicious people, and honestly it just took a toll on us mentally". On October 28, Büyükkaya announced his resignation from Gab the day after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, citing "attacks from the American press" that "ha[d] taken a toll on [him] personally". In November 2020, former Facebook software engineer Fosco Marotto joined Gab as CTO. In December 2016, Gab was headquartered in Austin, Texas. In September 2017, Gab moved its headquarters to Pennsylvania. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, as late as March 2018, stated that Torba operated Gab out of a WeWork coworking space in Philadelphia. A WeWork spokesperson said that Torba had become a member under his own name, not Gab's, and that his time there had been brief. In late October 2018, a Gab spokesperson told The Philadelphia Inquirer'' that Gab was no longer based in Philadelphia. As of January 2019, Gab is headquartered in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Revenue Gab earns revenue through premium subscriptions, donations, and affiliate partnerships. Gab has been refused service by several payment processors including PayPal and Stripe, causing the site to at various times rely on payments by postal mail, cryptocurrency, and "obscure" payment processors to receive payment for its subscription service. From 2017 to 2018, Gab raised $2 million from the sale of speculative securities through the crowdfunding platform StartEngine. Gab sought approval from the SEC for a Regulation A exempt offering of $10 million in 2017, but it remained pending until March 2019 when Gab withdrew the request. In a 2020 SEC filing, Gab said that "We may not be able to obtain adequate financing to continue our operations" and that Gab has yet "to earn a substantial profit or substantial operating revenue", putting into question the company's "business prospects". 2016–2018 Gab originally did not use advertising, describing itself as an "ad-free social network". The site began offering a subscription service for Gab named "GabPro" in mid March 2017. In November 2017, Gab launched a new tier of subscriptions called "GabPro Premium", which was targeted at content creators who wished to charge a subscription fee for their content and collect tips. Gab lost more than $350,000 in the period from its foundation through June 30, 2018. The company relied on the online crowdfunding broker StartEngine starting in 2017. In July 2017, Gab started an investment project which met its goal of $1.07 million on August 19, 2017. In February 2018, Gab announced that it had raised $4.8 million and was planning a $10 million initial coin offering (ICO). From 2017 to 2018, Gab raised $2 million through StartEngine. Gab reported in a December 2018 filing that removal from PayPal and Stripe following the 2018 Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting had caused a 90% drop in its subscription revenue. Following its removal, the site relied on mail and cryptocurrency for subscription payment processing. 2019–present Gab partnered with the "obscure" Second Amendment Processing for credit card payment processing in January 2019, but removed credit card payment options in March of the same year. This removal came after an SPLC investigation published in early March 2019 found that Thomas Michael Troyer, founder of Second Amendment Processing, had been convicted of financial crimes in 2007. The SPLC reported in January 2019 that the company's Regulation A exempt offering of $10 million had been pending approval by the SEC since 2017. Two analysts contacted by the SPLC commented that this might suggest that "the SEC has concerns about allowing the sale to go forward". Heidi Beirich noted an unusual lack of communication records with the SEC regulators in Gab's financial filings, unlike those of similar companies. In a March 2019 SEC filing, Gab "abruptly" withdrew its request for stock sales, explaining that "[the company] has decided to seek other capital raising alternatives". Torba did not respond to SPLC inquiries regarding the withdrawal. As of August 2019, purchasing the GabPro subscription gave users the ability to upload videos of larger file sizes, the option to be verified on Gab, and a free email address from Gab's email service. Gab had previously launched affiliate marketing with Virtual Private Network Service Providers and Gab had also previously launched its own merchandise. In September 2019, Gab began showing "promoted posts" from affiliate partners. Users who purchase the GabPro subscription do not see the promoted posts. On June 19, 2020, Torba claimed that him, his wife, and Gab had been "blacklisted" by Visa for "promoting hate speech". Gab was also deplatformed from PayPal. In response to user growth on Gab during the 2020 presidential election in November, Torba claimed in an email to Gab users on November 11 that "Gab isn't growing because of 'celebrity' endorsements, sponsorships, or big paid advertising budgets, but rather from the most powerful form of advertising on the planet: word of mouth". As of August 2021, Gab accepts donations. As of October 2021, Gab accepts donations in Bitcoin. As of 2021, purchasing the GabPro subscription gave users "access to additional features such as the ability to apply for verification, schedule posts, get their own Gab TV channel and set posts to automatically delete after a specified period of time." Design In 2016, Gab's color theme was a minimalist combination of black text on white panels with pink hashtags and usernames. Pro users had a contrasted top bar in dark blue. The interface displayed messages in a Twitter-like vertical scroll timeline with an option to upvote or downvote each post. The site also aggregated popular posts and trending topic hashtags. As of 2017, users could sort comments and posts in a subject by time or score. Default biographies for new users displayed a randomly chosen quotation about the importance of free speech. Users also had the option to "mute" other users and terms. , Gab's user interface was similar to that of Twitter, having a dashboard in the middle of the page with trending content on the left and menus on the right. As of 2021, posts on Gab are limited to 3,000 characters. In early 2017, the option to downvote posts was temporarily removed from Gab, with the company's then-COO Sanduja explaining that they were removed due to them being used to troll and to harass women, and also stated that: "there were a lot of social justice warriors and members of the far left coming into our site essentially trying to start a brouhaha". In July 2017, Gab implemented a system where people who downvoted others (through spamming) would have their accounts downvoted as well and their ability to leave downvotes would be revoked. As of 2019, Gab uses a scoring system, which allows users with more than 250 points to downvote posts, but users must "spend points" in order to do so. In 2018, the default profile picture for new users to the site featured NPC Wojak, a meme popular on far-right websites. A frog named "Gabby" was Gab's logo from 2016 to 2018. The logo has been compared to Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character used by the alt-right. Torba denied that the frog logo was a reference to Pepe and stated that the logo was inspired by Bible verses (Exodus 8:1–12 and Psalms 78:45) and various other traditional symbolic meanings. Sanduja said that the frog was meant to symbolize the "revenge against those who went against mainstream conservative voices on the internet". As of September 2018, the frog logo is no longer used. See also List of social networking websites 8chan DLive Frank (social network) Minds Parler Voat References External links Official source code repository GAB AI INC Website Terms of Service April 10, 2020 (archived January 10, 2021) Alt-right websites Alt-tech Antisemitism in the United States American social networking websites Internet properties established in 2016 Mastodon (software) instances Microblogging services Multilingual websites Neo-Nazism in the United States Online companies of the United States Proprietary cross-platform software Racism in the United States Real-time web Websites with far-right material Delisted applications Conspiracist media

51702980

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MX1%20Ltd

MX1 Ltd

MX1 was a global media services provider founded in July 2016 from a merger between digital media services companies, RR Media and SES Platform Services, and a wholly owned subsidiary of global satellite owner and operator, SES. In September 2019, MX1 was merged into the SES Video division and the MX1 brand dropped. Broadcast and streamed content management, playout, distribution, and monetisation services from both MX1 and SES Video are now provided under the SES name. Before merger with SES, MX1 claimed to manage more than 5 million media assets and every day to distribute more than 3,600 TV channels, manage the playout of over 525 channels, distribute content to more than 120 subscription VOD platforms, and deliver over 8,400 hours of online video streaming and more than 620 hours of premium sports and live events. Services MX1 video and media services are provided through a single hybrid, cloud and on-premises solution, called MX1 360, which enables video and media solutions including content and metadata management, archiving, localisation solutions, channel playout, VOD, online video (OTT) and content distribution. Services provided by MX1 include: Content aggregation Acquisition of content via satellite, fibre or IP with satellite downlinking services (for encryption, re-encryption and re-muxing into different platforms), fibre reception from any location, and IP reception via the public Internet. Live sports, news and entertainment production (including in-studio, outside broadcasting, and SNG) with mobile live streaming and video contribution. Content management Digital mastering including scanning, conversion, restoration, quality control and localisation/versioning. Content archiving including secure, cloud and on-premises digital storage, and disaster recovery services. Metadata packaging and platform validation to enhance content discovery, searchability and cataloguing. Playout preparation and delivery to any format. Channel origination and playout Managed TV channel origination in SD, HD and UHD including 3D graphics, and video and audio effects, using cloud-based solution accessible from any location, with live content insertion and operation, and 24/7 monitoring. Online video/VOD services Content preparation and management for online video, VOD, live streaming services and Online video platforms using an ultra-high capacity content delivery network, including subscriber management, apps, DRM, social media, advertising tools, monetisation tools, metadata management, and analytics. Content delivery Delivery in all video formats over hybrid distribution network of satellite (using over 150 platforms), fibre (60 digital media hubs worldwide) and the Internet with complete downlink/uplink turnaround services and OTT content delivery. Locations MX1 has 16 offices worldwide, the most recent opened in March 2017 in Seoul, South Korea, as well as media centres in UK (London), US (Hawley, PA), Israel (Emeq Ha'Ela), Romania (Bucharest) and at the headquarters in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany. In the early part of 2017, significant upgrades were made to MX1's US media centre in Hawley, Pennsylvania, including expanding its capabilities for US based and global content aggregation, management and delivery to support US broadcasters and content providers. History RRsat was founded in Israel by David Rivel, an electronics, computers and communications engineer in 1981 as a communications provider, and in 2014 changed its name to RR Media to reflect its expanding global service offering. In 2015, RR Media acquired Eastern Space Systems (ESS), a Romanian provider of content management and content distribution services and satellite transmission services provider, SatLink Communications. Digital Playout Centre GmbH (DPC) was founded in 1996 by German media company, Kirch to provide playout, multiplexing, satellite uplinks and other broadcast services to Kirch's Premiere pay-TV platform (now Sky Deutschland) and other private and public German broadcasters. In 2005, SES Astra (a subsidiary of SES Global, now SES) bought 100% of DPC from Premiere and the company renamed ASTRA Platform Services GmbH (APS). In 2012, to reflect the company's expanding worldwide reach, the name was changed to SES Platform Services. In February 2016, it was announced that SES Platform Services had agreed, subject to regulatory approvals, to purchase RR Media. The acquisition was completed in July 2016, with the merged company renamed MX1 and headed by Avi Cohen, the former CEO of RR Media. In October 2017, Cohen was replaced as CEO by Wilfred Urner, the former CEO of SES Platform Services, CEO of SES subsidiary, HD+ and Head of Media Platforms and Product Development, SES Video. See also SES Astra SES Platform Services RR Media References External links SES S.A. Satellite television Video on demand Video on demand services Digital media Digital broadcasting Digital Video Broadcasting German companies established in 2016 Mass media companies established in 2016

51707910

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIS-ITA

NIS-ITA

The International Technology Alliance in Network and Information Sciences (NIS-ITA) was a research program initiated by the UK Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) (MoD) and the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), which was active for 10 years from May 2006 to May 2016. It was led by IBM Research in the U.S. and IBM Hursley in the UK. NIS ITA was the first International Technology Alliance started by the two countries. Overview The complete name of the alliance that ran from 2006–2016 was United States/United Kingdom International Technology Alliance in Network and Information Sciences. It was a research group tasked with conducting fundamental research in network science and information science which affected coalition operations. The program was a combination of country-specific research programs that were run by ARL and MoD respectively. The ARL runs several programs called Collaborative Technology Alliances (CTAs) and the MoD runs equivalent programs, each of which are collaborative research programs involving multiple research institutes and universities. The CTAs programs are run for the duration of 3–5 years, and usually involve a consortium of industrial research laboratories and universities to team together to solve research problems in a specific domain. The International Technology Alliance differed from the CTAs primarily in the fact that its scope was international, and spanned two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. Thus, the alliance consisted of researchers from ARL and MoD working together with several UK and US based industries and universities to solve several fundamental research problems. The research work in ITA was fundamental in nature, and the goal was to perform public domain research by means of published papers. The restriction of research to fundamental research was done in order to avoid running into any issues related to ITAR which often arise in work focused on or sponsored by the armed forces of a country. A unique aspect of ITA was its focus on solving scientific problems in the context of coalition operations. However, due to the nature of fundamental research, many results are applicable in situations which fall outside coalition operations, e.g. within networks of a single country military or for federation of commercial networked systems. During the first five years of its existence, ITA was focused on research in four technical areas (i) network theory focusing on wireless and sensor networks (ii) security across systems of systems focusing on solving security issues that arise when two different networks need to inter-operate (iii) sensor information processing and delivery focusing on issues involving sensor network information management and (iv) distributed decision making and coalition planning focusing on how humans from different countries use the network to make informed decisions. In the last five years of its existence, the four technical areas were consolidated and revised into two technical areas (v) Coalition Inter-operable Secure & Hybrid Networks and (vi) Distributed Coalition Information Processing for Decision Making. Hybrid networks were defined as mobile networks that also leverage infrastructure networks such as cellular and wired networks. Members The ITA consistses of several research laboratories and universities in U.S. and UK. These included the U.S. Army Research Laboratories and the UK Defense Science and Technologies as participating Government research laboratories. The non-government members of the alliance in both countries consisted of both industrial and academic research organizations as listed below: U.S. universities Carnegie Mellon University City University of New York Columbia University Pennsylvania State University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of California, Los Angeles University of Maryland, College Park University of Massachusetts Amherst UK universities Cranfield University Imperial College, London Royal Holloway College, University of London University of Aberdeen University of Cambridge University of Southampton University of York Cardiff University U.S. industry BBN Technologies Boeing Honeywell IBM Research – which is the leader of the alliance in the U.S. Klein Associates, subsequently acquired by Applied Research Associates UK industry IBM UK – which is the leader of the alliance in UK Logica CMG Roke Manor Research Systems Engineering and Assessment UK Ltd Airbus UK All of the organizations were members at the initiation of the program, with the exception of Cardiff University and Airbus UK which were added in the middle of the life-time of the alliance. Leadership The alliance was led by a team consisting of technical leaders from U.S. Army Research Laboratories, UK MoD, IBM Research in the U.S. and IBM UK. During the life-time of the program, the following people served in the role of alliance leader listed above: Each of the six technical areas was led by a panel of four scientists, one each from the U.S. Army Research Laboratories, UK MoD, an academic member of the alliance, and an industrial member of the alliance. The following is a table of researchers who acted in the role of the technical area leaders (TAL) for each of the technical areas within the scope of the research program. Significant results As per the end of program book of achievements published by the alliance, its major scientific advances include: Network Tomography for Coalitions: ITA researchers developed the scientific principles underlying monitoring of dynamically changing coalition networks with minimum overhead. The insights can be used to instrument and observe a variety of networks with minimum possible probing. Distributed Dynamic Processing: The ITA programme developed the concept of bypassing network bottlenecks in the coalition edge by moving processing within the network, and analysed approaches for mapping distributed applications onto hybrid coalition networks. It has created new techniques for distributing streaming and transaction oriented applications, analyzing their performance, and improving the effectiveness of distributed applications. Policy-based Security Management: ITA researchers developed new paradigms for security management using a policy-based approach, creating new frameworks for policy negotiation, policy refinement, and policy analysis. They applied them to create constructs like self-managing cells, and manage coalition information flows. The team developed techniques for determining security policies that can preserve privacy and sensitive data while allowing partners to make limited queries on that information. Cryptography Applications in Coalition Contexts: The ITA has made fundamental advances in making cryptographic techniques applicable in the context of coalition networks. These include the development of new identity-based encryption paradigms, efficient implementation-friendly reformulation of fully homomorphic encryption algorithms, and outsourcing computation securely to untrusted devices belonging to coalition partners. Advances in Argumentation Theory: ITA researchers provided the theoretical glue to accommodate trust, inconsistency and uncertainty in a distributed networked information systems and propose a principled method for linking provenance data with the evaluation of competing hypotheses to counter cognitive bias inherent in human analysts. Insights into fundamental limits and properties of mobile network structures: ITA researchers developed a variety of models characterizing scaling properties of mobile ad hoc hybrid networks found in coalitions. These models determine the fundamental communication capacity of disruption tolerant networks, modeled limits on structures with mathematically tractable topologies, identified information theoretic limits on capacity with security constraints, and characterized performance of multi-path and multi-point communications. Energy Efficiency Techniques: The alliance invented a variety of approaches to improve battery power consumption and energy efficiency in ad hoc networks. The approaches include distributed beam forming using cooperative communications and techniques for improving duty cycling behaviour in networks using self organization. Coalition Communications Interoperability: The alliance created new paradigms for inter-domain routing, identify differences in coalitions cultural norms, defined a new paradigm for shared understanding, and using declarative technologies for networking and security in coalition environments. Another related activity was the creation of a collaborative planning model. Quality of Information (QoI): The ITA pioneered the concept of QoI, and created the framework, algorithms, and various use-cases surrounding the use of QoI in ISR and sensor networks. The concept had a significant impact on community, including starting the I2QS workshop and being a major thrust in the Network Science CTA programme. Mission-Aware Information Networking: The ITA developed a variety of techniques to adapt the network to meet the requirements of a mission, including approaches for optimizing networks to meet mission needs, matching assets to missions, and isolating faults in information networks. One of the key transition outputs was a Sensor Asset Matching tool for matching missions to assets available in the field to perform that task. Dynamic Distributed Federated Databases: ITA researchers created a model to represent sensor information flows as distributed databases, and devised the principles that allowed them to be federated dynamically in a manner that is both self-organizing and scalable. The work resulted in the Gaian Database technology, which has had multiple transitions to other programmes in MOD and the U.S. Army Advances in Cognitive modelling: The ITA made significant advances in the state of cognitive modelling, including computational modelling of specific cognitive processes, using the ACT-R cognitive architecture for understanding collective agent and human interactions, and conducting cognitive social simulations. Controlled Natural Language/Controlled English: The ITA programme made several advances in using a limited subset of English to improve the usability of computing systems by soldiers in the field in a variety of contexts, including mission planning, asset allocation, and policy specifications. Controlled English led to several transition activities through the development of a CE store. External links US UK ITA Home Page Archival Page of NIS ITA Publications U.S. Army news article on U.S. Capstone Event in March 2016 IBM UK blog on UK Capstone Event in April 2016 Network Science for Coalition Operations, IGI Press Network Science ITA Book/Final Report on Program Alun Preece, and Winston R. Sieck. "The international technology alliance in network and information sciences." IEEE Intelligent Systems, May 2007, pp. 18-19. Greg Cirincione and Jay Gowens, "The International Technology Alliance in Network and Information Science, A U.S.-U.K. Collaborative Venture", IEEE Communications Magazine, March 2007, pp. 14-18 Research installations of the United States Army Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

51718327

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic%20splitting

Cryptographic splitting

Cryptographic splitting, also known as cryptographic bit splitting or cryptographic data splitting, is a technique for securing data over a computer network. The technique involves encrypting data, splitting the encrypted data into smaller data units, distributing those smaller units to different storage locations, and then further encrypting the data at its new location. With this process, the data is protected from security breaches, because even if an intruder is able to retrieve and decrypt one data unit, the information would be useless unless it can be combined with decrypted data units from the other locations. History The technology was filed for patent consideration in June 2003, and the patent was granted in June 2008. Technology Cryptographic splitting utilizes a combination of different algorithms to provide the data protection. A block of data is first encrypted using the AES-256 government encryption standard. The encrypted bits are then split into different shares and then each share is hashed using the National Security Agency's SHA-256 algorithm. Applications One application of cryptographic splitting is to provide security for cloud computing. The encrypted data subsets can be stored on different clouds, with the information required to restore the data being held on a private cloud for additional security. Security vendor Security First Corp uses this technology for its Secure Parser Extended (SPx) product line. In 2009, technology services company Unisys gave a presentation about using cryptographic splitting with storage area networks. By splitting the data into different parts of the storage area network, this technique provided data redundancy in addition to security. Computer giant IBM has written about using the technology as part of its Cloud Data Encryption Services (ICDES). The technology has also been written about in the context of more effectively using sensitive corporate information, by entrusting different individuals within a company (trustees) with different parts of the information. See also Secret sharing References Information governance Data security

51720097

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbled%20circuit

Garbled circuit

Garbled circuit is a cryptographic protocol that enables two-party secure computation in which two mistrusting parties can jointly evaluate a function over their private inputs without the presence of a trusted third party. In the garbled circuit protocol, the function has to be described as a Boolean circuit. The history of garbled circuits is complicated. The invention of garbled circuit was credited to Andrew Yao, as Yao introduced the idea in the oral presentation of a paper in FOCS'86. This was documented by Oded Goldreich in 2003. The first written document about this technique was by Goldreich, Micali, and Wigderson in STOC'87. The term "garbled circuit" was first used by Beaver, Micali, and Rogaway in STOC'90. Yao's protocol solving Yao's Millionaires' Problem was the beginning example of secure computation, yet it is not directly related to garbled circuits. Background Oblivious transfer In the garbled circuit protocol, we make use of oblivious transfer. In the oblivious transfer, a string is transferred between a sender and a receiver in the following way: a sender has two strings and . The receiver chooses and the sender sends with the oblivious transfer protocol such that the receiver doesn't gain any information about the unsent string , the value of is not exposed to the sender. Note that while the receiver doesn't know the values, in practice the receiver knows some information about what encodes so that the receiver is not blindly choosing . That is, if encodes a false value, encodes a true value and the receiver wants to get the encoded true value, the receiver chooses . The oblivious transfer can be built using asymmetric cryptography like the RSA cryptosystem. Definitions and notations Operator is string concatenation. Operator is bit-wise XOR. k is a security parameter and the length of keys. It should be greater than 80 and is usually set at 128. Garbled circuit protocol The protocol consists of 6 steps as follows: The underlying function (e.g., in the millionaires' problem, comparison function) is described as a Boolean circuit with 2-input gates. The circuit is known to both parties. This step can be done beforehand by a third-party. Alice garbles (encrypts) the circuit. We call Alice the garbler. Alice sends the garbled circuit to Bob along with her encrypted input. In order to calculate the circuit, Bob needs to garble his own input as well. To this end, he needs Alice to help him, because only the garbler knows how to encrypt. Finally, Bob can encrypt his input through oblivious transfer. In terms of the definition from above, Bob is the receiver and Alice the sender at this oblivious transfer. Bob evaluates (decrypts) the circuit and obtains the encrypted outputs. We call Bob the evaluator. Alice and Bob communicate to learn the output. Circuit generation The Boolean circuit for small functions can be generated by hand. It is conventional to make the circuit out of 2-input XOR and AND gates. It is important that the generated circuit has the minimum number of AND gates (see Free XOR optimization). There are methods that generate the optimized circuit in term of number of AND gates using logic synthesis technique. The circuit for the Millionaires' Problem is a digital comparator circuit (which is a chain of full adders working as a subtractor and outputting the carry flag). A full adder circuit can be implemented using only one AND gate and some XOR gates. This means the total number of AND gates for the circuit of the Millionaires' Problem is equal to the bit-width of the inputs. Garbling Alice (garbler) encrypts the Boolean circuit in this step to obtain a garbled circuit. Alice assigns two randomly generated strings called labels to each wire in the circuit: one for Boolean semantic 0 and one for 1. (The label is k-bit long where k the security parameter and is usually set to 128.) Next, she goes to all the gates in the circuit and replaces 0 and 1 in the truth tables with the corresponding labels. The table below shows the truth table for an AND gate with two inputs and output : Alice replaced 0 and 1 with the corresponding labels: She then encrypts the output entry of the truth table with the corresponding two input labels. The encrypted table is called garbled table. This is done such that one can decrypt the garbled table only if he has the correct two input labels. In the table below, is a double-key symmetric encryption in which k is the secret key and X is the value to be encrypted (see Fixed-Key Blockcipher). After this, Alice randomly permutes the table such that the output value cannot be determined from the row. The protocol's name, garbled, is derived from this random permutation. Data transfer Alice sends the computed garbled tables for all gates in the circuit to Bob. Bob needs input labels to open the garbled tables. Thus, Alice chooses the labels corresponding to her input and sends them to Bob. For example, if Alice's input is , then she sends , , , , and to Bob. Bob will not learn anything about Alice's input, , since the labels are randomly generated by Alice and they look like random strings to Bob. Bob needs the labels corresponding to his input as well. He receives his labels through oblivious transfers for each bit of his input. For example, if Bob's input is , Bob first asks for between Alice's labels and . Through a 1-out-of-2 oblivious transfer, he receives and so on. After the oblivious transfers, Alice will not learn anything about Bob's input and Bob will not learn anything about the other labels. Evaluation After the data transfer, Bob has the garbled tables and the input labels. He goes through all gates one by one and tries to decrypt the rows in their garbled tables. He is able to open one row for each table and retrieve the corresponding output label: , where . He continues the evaluation until he reaches to the output labels. Revealing output After the evaluation, Bob obtains the output label, , and Alice knows its mapping to Boolean value since she has both labels: and . Either Alice can share her information to Bob or Bob can reveal the output to Alice such that one or both of them learn the output. Optimization Point-and-permute In this optimization, Alice generates a random bit, , called select bit for each wire . She then sets the first bit of label 0, to and the first bit of label 1, , to (NOT of ). She then, instead of randomly permuting, sorts the garbled table according to the inputs select bit. This way, Bob does not need to test all four rows of the table to find the correct one, since he has the input labels and can find the correct row and decrypt it with one attempt. This reduces the evaluation load by 4 times. It also does not reveal anything about the output value because the select bits are randomly generated. Row reduction This optimization reduces the size of garbled tables from 4 rows to 3 rows. Here, instead of generating a label for the output wire of a gate randomly, Alice generates it using a function of the input labels. She generates the output labels such that the first entry of the garbled table becomes all 0 and no longer needs to be sent: Free XOR In this optimization, Alice generates a global random (k-1)-bit value which is kept secret. During the garbling of the input gates and , she only generates the labels and computes the other labels as and . Using these values, the label of an XOR gate's output wire with input wires , is set to . The proof of security in the Random Oracle Model for this optimization is given in the Free-XOR paper. Implication Free XOR optimization implies an important point that the amount of data transfer (communication) and number of encryption and decryption (computation) of the garbled circuit protocol relies only on the number of AND gates in the Boolean circuit not the XOR gates. Thus, between two Boolean circuits representing the same function, the one with the smaller number of AND gates is preferred. Fixed-key blockcipher This method allows to efficiently garble and evaluate AND gates using fixed-key AES, instead of costly cryptographic hash function like SHA-2. In this garbling scheme which is compatible with the Free XOR and Row Reduction techniques, the output key is encrypted with the input token and using the encryption function , where , is a fixed-key block cipher (e.g., instantiated with AES), and is a unique-per-gate number (e.g., gate identifier) called tweak. Half And This optimization reduce the size of garbled table for AND gates from 3 row in Row Reduction to 2 rows. It is shown that this is the theoretical minimum for the number of rows in the garbled table, for a certain class of garbling techniques. Security The Yao's Garbled Circuit is secure against a semi-honest adversary. This type of adversary follows the protocol and does not do any malicious behavior, but it tries to violate the privacy of the other party's input by scrutinizing the messages transmitted in the protocol. It is more challenging to make this protocol secure against a malicious adversary that deviates from the protocol. One of the first solutions to make the protocol secure against malicious adversary is to use zero-knowledge proof to prevent malicious activities during the protocol. For years, this approach was considered more as theoretical solution than a practical solution because of complexity overheads of it. But, it is shown that it is possible to use it with just a small overhead. Another approach is using several GC for a circuit and verifying the correctness of a subset of them and then using the rest for the computation with the hope that if the garbler was malicious, it would be detected during the verification phase. Another solution is to make the garbling scheme authenticated such that the evaluator can verify the garbled circuit. See also Cryptography RSA Secure multi-party computation Yao's Millionaires' Problem References Further reading Theory of cryptography Cryptographic protocols

51833799

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History%20of%20Microsoft%20Exchange%20Server

History of Microsoft Exchange Server

The history of Microsoft Exchange Server begins with the first Microsoft Exchange Server product - Exchange Server 4.0 in March 1996 - and extends to the current day. Microsoft had sold a number of email products before Exchange. Microsoft Mail v2.0 (written by Microsoft) was replaced in 1991 by "Microsoft Mail for PC Networks v2.1", based on Network Courier, which Microsoft had acquired. When the original version of Exchange Server was sold to the public, it was positioned as an upgrade to Microsoft Mail 3.5. Exchange Server was an entirely new X.400-based client–server mail system with a single database store that also supported X.500 directory services. During its development, Microsoft migrated their own internal email from a XENIX-based system to Exchange Server from April 1993, with all 32,000 Microsoft mailboxes on Exchange by late 1996. The directory used by Exchange Server eventually became Microsoft's Active Directory service, an LDAP-compliant directory service. Active Directory was integrated into Windows 2000 as the foundation of Windows Server domains. Versions Version history Exchange Server 4.0 The first release of Exchange outside of Microsoft was Exchange Server 4.0 in March 1996, with five service packs being released over the next two years. Exchange Server 5.0 Initial release: May 23, 1997. Introduced the new Exchange Administrator console, as well as opening up "integrated" access to SMTP-based networks for the first time. Unlike Microsoft Mail (which required a standalone SMTP relay), Exchange Server 5.0 could, with the help of an add-in called the Internet Mail Connector, communicate directly with servers using SMTP. Version 5.0 also introduced a new Web-based e-mail interface called Exchange Web Access, which was rebranded as Outlook Web Access in a later service pack. Along with Exchange Server version 5.0, Microsoft released version 8.01 of Microsoft Outlook, version 5.0 of the Microsoft Exchange Client and version 7.5 of Microsoft Schedule+ to support the new features in the new version of Exchange Server. Exchange Server 5.0 introduced a number of other new features including a new version of Outlook Web Access with calendar support, support for IMAP4 and LDAP v3 clients and the Deleted Item Recovery feature. Exchange Server 5.5 Initial release: Nov. 5, 1997, released to manufacturing. The last version of Exchange Server to have a separate directory, SMTP and NNTP services. There was no new version of Exchange Client and Schedule+ for version 5.5, instead version 8.03 of Microsoft Outlook was released to support the new features of Exchange Server 5.5. It was sold in two editions: Standard and Enterprise. They differ in database store size, mail transport connectors, and clustering capabilities. Standard Edition Had the same 16 GB database size limitation as earlier versions of Exchange Server. It included the Site Connector, MS Mail Connector, Internet Mail Service (previously "Internet Mail Connector"), and Internet News Service (previously "Internet News Connector"), as well as software to interoperate with cc:Mail, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. Enterprise Edition Had an increased limit of 16 TB (although Microsoft's best practices documentation recommends that the message store not exceed 100 GB). Adds an X.400 connector, and interoperability software with SNADS and PROFS. Introduced two node clustering capability. Exchange Server 2000 Codenamed "Platinum", this version overcame many of the limitations of its predecessors. For example, it raised the maximum sizes of databases and increased the number of servers in a cluster from two to four. However, many customers were deterred from upgrading by the requirement for a full Microsoft Active Directory infrastructure to be in place, as unlike Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange 2000 Server had no built-in Directory Service, and had a dependency upon Active Directory. The migration process from Exchange Server 5.5 necessitated having the two systems online at the same time, with user-to-mailbox mapping and a temporary translation process between the two directories. Exchange 2000 Server also added support for instant messaging, but that capability was later spun off to Microsoft Office Live Communications Server. Exchange Server 2003 Codenamed "Titanium", this version can be run on Windows 2000 Server (with Service Pack 4) and 32-bit Windows Server 2003, although some new features only work with the latter. Like Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003 has many compatibility modes to allow users to slowly migrate to the new system. This is useful in large companies with distributed Exchange Server environments who cannot afford the downtime and expense that comes with a complete migration. It made the migration from pre-2000 versions of Exchange significantly easier (although still involved the same basic steps), and many users of Exchange Server 5.5 waited for the release of Exchange Server 2003 to upgrade. The upgrade process also required upgrading a company's servers to Windows 2000. Some customers opted to stay on a combination of Exchange Server 5.5 and Windows NT 4.0, both of which are no longer supported by Microsoft. One of the new features in Exchange Server 2003 is enhanced disaster recovery, which allows administrators to bring the server online more quickly. This is done by allowing the server to send and receive mail while the message stores are being recovered from backup. Some features previously available in the Microsoft Mobile Information Server 2001/2002 products have been added to the core Exchange Server product, like Outlook Mobile Access and server-side Exchange ActiveSync, while the Mobile Information Server product itself has been dropped. Also new is the ability to drop inbound e-mail before being fully processed, thus preventing delays in the message routing system. There are also improved message and mailbox management tools, which allow administrators to execute common chores more quickly. Others, such as Instant Messaging and Exchange Conferencing Server have been extracted completely in order to form separate products. Microsoft now appears to be positioning a combination of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Live Communications Server, Live Meeting, and SharePoint as its collaboration software of choice. Exchange Server is now to be simply e-mail and calendaring. Exchange Server 2003 added several basic filtering methods to Exchange Server. They are not sophisticated enough to eliminate spam, but they can protect against DoS and mailbox flooding attacks. Exchange Server 2000 supported the ability to block a sender's address, or e-mail domain by adding '*@domain.com', which is still supported in Exchange Server 2003. New features Added filtering methods in Exchange Server 2003 are: Connection filtering: Messages are blocked from DNS RBL lists or from manually specified IP addresses/ranges Recipient filtering: Messages blocked when sent to manually specified recipients on the server (for intranet-only addresses) or to any recipients not on the server (stopping spammers from guessing addresses) Sender ID filtering: Sender ID, a form of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Intelligent Message Filter: Initially a free Microsoft add-on, later, part of service pack 2, that uses heuristic message analysis to block messages or direct them to the "Junk E-Mail" folder in Microsoft Outlook clients. It is included with both Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard and Premium editions. Editions Standard Edition: Supports up to two storage groups (with one of the storage groups, called the recovery storage group, being reserved for database recovery operations) and a maximum of two databases per storage group. Each database is limited to a maximum size of 16 GB. Beginning with the release of Service Pack 2, a maximum database size of 75 GB, but only supports 16 GB by default; larger sized databases have to be updated-in with a registry change. Enterprise Edition allows a 16 TB maximum database size, and supports up to four storage groups with 5 databases per storage group for a total of 20 databases per server. Exchange 2003 mainstream support ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support ended on April 8, 2014. Exchange Server 2007 Released to business customers as part of Microsoft's roll-out wave of new products. It includes new clustering options, x64 support for greater scalability, voice mail integration, better search and support for Web services, better filtering options, and a new Outlook Web Access interface. Exchange 2007 also dropped support for Exchange 5.5 migrations, routing groups, admin groups, Outlook Mobile Access, X.400, and some API interfaces, amongst other features. Exchange Server 2007 (v8, code name E12, or with SP1 v8.1) runs only on x64 versions of Windows Server. This requirement applies to supported production environments only; a 32-bit trial version is available for download and testing. Hence, companies currently running Exchange Server on 32-bit hardware will be required to replace or migrate hardware if they wish to upgrade to the new version. Companies that are currently running Exchange Server on 64-bit capable hardware are still required to migrate from their existing Exchange 2000/2003 servers to a new 2007 server since in-place upgrades are not supported in 2007. The first beta of Exchange Server 2007 (then named "Exchange 12" or E12) was released in December 2005 to a very limited number of beta testers. A wider beta was made available via TechNet Plus and MSDN subscriptions in March 2006 according to the Microsoft Exchange team blog. On April 25, 2006, Microsoft announced that the next version of Exchange Server would be called "Exchange Server 2007". Exchange Server 2007 is an integrated part of the Innovative Communications Alliance products. New features Protection: Anti-spam, antivirus, compliance, clustering with data replication, improved security and encryption Improved Information Worker Access: Improved calendaring, unified messaging, improved mobility, improved web access Improved IT Experience: 64-bit performance and scalability, command-line shell and simplified GUI, improved deployment, role separation, simplified routing Exchange Management Shell: a new command-line shell and scripting language for system administration (based on Windows PowerShell). Shell users can perform every task that can be performed in the Exchange Server graphical user interface plus additional tasks, and can program often-used or complex tasks into scripts that can be saved, shared, and re-used. The Exchange Management Shell has over 375 unique commands to manage features of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. "Unified Messaging": Lets users receive voice mail, e-mail, and faxes in their mailboxes, and lets them access their mailboxes from cell phones and other wireless devices. Voice commands can be given to control and listen to e-mail over the phone (and also send some basic messages, like "I'll be late") Increased database maximum size limit: Database size is now limited to 16TB per database Increased maximum storage groups and mail databases per server: 5 each for Standard Edition (from one each in Exchange Server 2003 Standard), and to 50 each for Enterprise Edition (from 4 groups and 20 databases in Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise). Configure Outlook Anywhere: Formerly known as RPC over HTTP provides external access to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 for users. This also provides external URLs for Exchange services such as the Availability service and offline address book. Room and equipment mailboxes: Finally resources can be properly created and managed, and users in Outlook can easily book them. Editions Standard edition Can have 5 databases in up to 5 storage groups. Supports LCR (Local Continuous Replication) and SCR (Standby Continuous Replication). Enterprise edition This is extended to 50 databases in up to 50 storage groups. Supports LCR (Local Continuous Replication), SCR (Standby Continuous Replication), SCC (Single Copy Clustering), and CCR (Clustered Continuous Replication). Exchange Server 2010 Exchange Server 2010 was released to manufacturing in May 2009, and reached general availability on November 9, 2009. New featuresDAG (Database Availability Groups): SCC, CCR, LCR and site resiliency functionality SCR have been replaced by DAG. It provides database-level high availability (as opposed to server level) and supports a number of copies of each database (number based on Exchange Edition) and flexible configuration (databases copies may be added/ removed at will without requiring major server reconfiguration).Client Access Server (CAS): High availability for the Client Access Server role is provided by using Client Access Server (CAS) arrays. A CAS array can contain multiple Client Access Servers in an Active Directory site and provide a single name endpoint for client connections. CAS arrays cannot span multiple Active Directory sites.Mailbox Server Role may be combined with the Client Access Server: In Exchange Server 2007, a clustered mailbox server could not be combined with any other roles. In Exchange Server 2010, the Mailbox Server Role may be combined with the Client Access Server and/or Hub Transport roles, regardless of whether or not the mailbox server participates in a Database Availability Group. However, since Database Availability Groups use Windows Failover Clustering, and Microsoft does not support the combination of Windows Failover Clustering and Windows Network Load Balancing on the same server, a multi-role deployment will require the use of a 3rd party load balancer to provide load balancing and fault tolerance for the Client Access Server role.RPC Client Access: With the introduction of the RPC Client Access service, all Outlook clients access their mailbox database through the Client Access Server role. This abstraction layer allows for improved load balancing and redundancy and minimal client impact in the event of a database level *-over ("switchover" or "failover") event.Cost savings in required hardware: Exchange Server 2010 provides cost savings in required hardware. Storage performance requirements (measured in IOPS: Input/output operations per second) have been reduced by approximately 70% over Exchange Server 2007, and by approximately 90% over Exchange Server 2003. According to a case study, Microsoft IT was able to reduce hardware costs by 75% during the migration from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010.Personal Archive: Exchange Server 2010 extends the large mailbox support introduced in Exchange Server 2007, and also introduces a Personal Archive feature to allow messages to be retained longer without the need for a third-party archival system. The Personal Archive is implemented as a secondary mailbox for archive-enabled users, and in Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1, the Personal Archive may be located on a different database than the primary mailbox, which may reside on a different disk if desired. Backup can be performed via multiple solutions like Handy Backup or Acronis.Recoverable Items: The compliance and legal search features have been enhanced. What was formerly known as the "Dumpster" in previous versions of Exchange (a special storage area for messages that have been deleted from the Deleted Items folder or "permanently deleted" from a regular folder, such as the Inbox) has been evolved into the Recoverable Items folder in Exchange Server 2010. If configured appropriately, the Recoverable Items folder allows for a "tamper proof" storage area (users cannot circumvent the Recoverable Items folder to bypass legal discovery), which also provides a revision history of any modified items.Administration delegation: Can now be performed at a granular level due to Exchange Server 2010's implementation of Role Based Access Control (RBAC). Users and administrators can be given extremely fine-grained abilities for functions provided both within the Exchange Management Console or Exchange Management Shell and in Outlook Web App. For example, a compliance officer may be given the ability to perform cross mailbox discovery searches within Outlook Web App; a help desk technician may be granted the ability to set an Out Of Office message for other employees within the company, or a branch administrator in a remote office may be granted the permission to perform specific Exchange Management Shell commands that pertain only to the Exchange server in their branch office.Outlook Web App includes improvements: Including, for example, the ability for users to track their sent messages and printable calendar views and the "Premium" experience is now available across multiple browsers (including Safari and Firefox).Distribution groups can now be "moderated": Meaning that distribution groups can now be configured to allow users to join at will or only with a group moderator's permission, and individual messages sent to distribution groups can now be approved or denied by a moderator."Shadow Redundancy": Exchange Server 2010 introduces a transport concept called "Shadow Redundancy" that protects e-mail messages while they are in transit. If a Hub Transport server or an Edge Transport server fails after it has received a message for processing, but before it was able to deliver it to the next "hop" server, the server sending the message to the transport server is now able to detect the failure and redeliver the message to a different Hub Transport or Edge Transport server for processing... Editions Several high-availability options have been consolidated into just one option for Exchange Server 2010 (Mailbox Resiliency), which is now offered in both the Standard and Enterprise editions. The capabilities of Local Continuous Replication, Standby Continuous Replication, and Cluster Continuous Replication are now unified into the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Resiliency capability. These capabilities enable a simplified approach to high availability and disaster recovery. The Standard Edition supports up to 5 databases with each database being limited to a maximum size of 16 TB. While the Enterprise Edition supports up to 100 databases with no size limit. Storage group is discontinued in Exchange 2010 and onward. In January 2011, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 won InfoWorld's 2011 Technology of the Year Award for Best Mail Server.DoD Outlook Web App As of 2020, the United States Military's web email web.mail.mil still uses this version of exchange server. Exchange Server 2013 Microsoft reached the RTM milestone for Exchange Server 2013 on October 11, 2012. A trial version of this product is available from Microsoft website. New features New features include:Offline support in OWA: Emails and actions are automatically synced the next time connectivity is restored.Client connectivity: CAS role is the point of connectivity for all clients in Exchange 2013.Public folders: In 2013, public folders are now part of mailbox databases and high availability is achieved using DAG.Site Mailboxes: Brings Exchange emails and SharePoint documents together.Outlook Web App: Offers three different UI layouts optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile phone browsers.Ability to customize: Outlook and OWA by integrating apps from the Office marketplace. (Yes, this is a reference to the Agaves add-ins that Microsoft and partners will be making available via the new Office Store.) The new "Napa" tools and/or HTML5 are Microsoft's preferred ways for developers to build these.Exchange Administrative Center (EAC): Replacement of the Exchange Management Console by a Web-based Exchange Administrative Center (EAC).Support for up to 8 TB disks: And multiple databases per disk via Data Availability Group (DAG) management.Built in basic anti-malware protection: Ability for administrators to configure and manage settings from inside EAC. (Note: this feature can be turned off, replaced or "paired with premium services such as Exchange Online Protection for layered protection.").New Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Capabilities for identifying and protecting "sensitive data." DLP policies are based on regulatory standards, including PII and PCI. Also: new policy tips in Outlook 2013 can be set to inform users about potential policy violations.In-Place eDiscovery: Can be run across Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync (now Skype for Business) from a single interface.Combine Roles: A reduction in the number of available roles to two: a Client Access Server and a Mailbox Server role.FAST Search: Now integrated into Exchange 2013 managed store to provide a more consistent (across Microsoft servers) indexing and searching experience.Inclusion of a "Managed Store": The name of the rewritten information store processes, which are now written in C#.Replication: Public folders are now stored in mailbox databases and can take advantage of Database Availability Groups for replication and high availability.Data loss prevention: Capabilities that can be integrated into Transport Rules. Exchange Server 2016 On October 1, 2015, Microsoft announced the general availability (GA) of Exchange Server 2016. New featuresCombine Roles: A reduction in the number of available roles to two: Mailbox Server and Edge Transport Outlook on the web (formerly Outlook Web App): UI changesOffice 365 hybrid: The Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) that was included with Exchange 2013 is moving to become a cloud-based application. When one chooses to configure a hybrid deployment in Exchange 2016, you'll be prompted to download and install the wizard as a small app.Messaging policy and compliance: New DLP and Archiving/Retention/eDiscovery features. For more detail on new features, see the following Microsoft TechNet article: What's new in Exchange 2016 Exchange Server 2019 Exchange Server 2019 was released in October 2018. Unlike other Office Server 2019 products such as SharePoint and Skype for Business, Exchange Server 2019 can only be deployed on Windows Server 2019. One of the key features of the new release is that Exchange Server can be deployed onto Windows Server Core for the first time, additionally Microsoft has retired the Unified Messaging feature of Exchange, meaning that Skype for Business on-premises customers will have to use alternative solutions for voicemail, such as Azure cloud voicemail. Unified Messaging continues to exist in Exchange Online requiring an Exchange Plan 2 license. A pre-release was released on 25th July. New Features Security: support for installing Exchange Server 2019 onto Windows Server CorePerformance: supports running Exchange Server with up to 48 processor cores and 256 GB of RAM Removed features Unified Messaging''' For more detail on new features, see the following Microsoft blog article: Exchange Server 2019 Public Preview References Groupware Exchange Exchange Server Exchange Server 1996 software

51844747

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History%20of%20Microsoft%20SQL%20Server

History of Microsoft SQL Server

The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first Microsoft SQL Server database product - SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit Relational Database for the OS/2 operating system, released in 1989. Versions Detailed history Genesis On June 12th 1988, Microsoft joined Ashton-Tate and Sybase to create a variant of Sybase SQL Server for IBM OS/2 (then developed jointly with Microsoft), which was released the following year. This was the first version of Microsoft SQL Server, and served as Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, Informix, Ingres and later, Sybase. SQL Server 4.2 was shipped in 1992, bundled with OS/2 version 1.3, followed by version 4.21 for Windows NT, released alongside Windows NT 3.1. SQL Server 6.0 was the first version designed for NT, and did not include any direction from Sybase. About the time Windows NT was released in July 1993, Sybase and Microsoft parted ways and each pursued its own design and marketing schemes. Microsoft negotiated exclusive rights to all versions of SQL Server written for Microsoft operating systems. (In 1996 Sybase changed the name of its product to Adaptive Server Enterprise to avoid confusion with Microsoft SQL Server.) Until 1994, Microsoft's SQL Server carried three Sybase copyright notices as an indication of its origin. SQL Server 7.0 SQL Server 7.0 was a major rewrite (C++) of the older Sybase engine, which was coded in C. Data pages were enlarged from 2k bytes to 8k bytes. Extents thereby grew from 16k bytes to 64k bytes. User Mode Scheduling (UMS) was introduced to handle SQL Server threads better than Windows preemptive multi-threading, also adding support for fibers (lightweight threads, introduced in NT 4.0, which are used to avoid context switching). SQL Server 7.0 also introduced a multi-dimensional database product called SQL OLAP Services (which became Analysis Services in SQL Server 2000). SQL Server 7.0 would be the last version to run on the DEC Alpha platform. Although there were pre-release versions of SQL 2000 (as well as Windows 2000) compiled for Alpha, these were canceled and were never commercially released. Mainstream Support Ended on December 31, 2005, as Extended Support Ended on January 11, 2011. SQL Server 2000 SQL Server 2000 included more modifications and extensions to the Sybase code base, adding support for the IA-64 architecture (now out of "mainstream" support). By SQL Server 2005 the legacy Sybase code had been completely rewritten. Since the release of SQL Server 2000, advances have been made in performance, the client IDE tools, and several complementary systems that are packaged with SQL Server 2005. These include: an extract-transform-load (ETL) tool (SQL Server Integration Services or SSIS) SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), or "Reporting Server" an OLAP and data mining server (Analysis Services) several messaging technologies, specifically Service Broker and Notification Services SQL Server 2000 also introduced many T-SQL language enhancements, such as table variables, user-defined functions, indexed views, INSTEAD OF triggers, cascading referential constraints and some basic XML support. With the release of Service Pack 3, Microsoft also released the first 64-bit version of the SQL Server for the Itanium IA-64 platform. (not to be confused with the x86-64 platform) Only the SQL Server relational engine and SQL Agent were ported to Itanium at this time. Client tools, such as Enterprise Manager, would still need to be run from 32-bit x86 clients. The first release of SQL IA-64 was version 8.00.760, with a build date of February 6, 2003. Mainstream Support Ended on April 8, 2008 and Extended Support Ended April 9, 2013. SQL Server 2005 SQL Server 2005 (formerly codenamed "Yukon") released in November 2005. It included native support for managing XML data, in addition to relational data. For this purpose, it defined an xml data type that could be used either as a data type in database columns or as literals in queries. XML columns can be associated with XSD schemas; XML data being stored is verified against the schema. XML is converted to an internal binary data type before being stored in the database. Specialized indexing methods were made available for XML data. XML data is queried using XQuery; SQL Server 2005 added some extensions to the T-SQL language to allow embedding XQuery queries in T-SQL. It also defines a new extension to XQuery, called XML DML, that allows query-based modifications to XML data. SQL Server 2005 also allows a database server to be exposed over web services using Tabular Data Stream (TDS) packets encapsulated within SOAP (protocol) requests. When the data is accessed over web services, results are returned as XML. Common Language Runtime (CLR) integration was introduced with this version, enabling one to write SQL code as Managed Code by the CLR. For relational data, T-SQL has been augmented with error handling features (try/catch) and support for recursive queries with CTEs (Common Table Expressions). SQL Server 2005 has also been enhanced with new indexing algorithms, syntax and better error recovery systems. Data pages are checksummed for better error resiliency, and optimistic concurrency support has been added for better performance. Permissions and access control have been made more granular and the query processor handles concurrent execution of queries in a more efficient way. Partitions on tables and indexes are supported natively, so scaling out a database onto a cluster is easier. SQL CLR was introduced with SQL Server 2005 to let it integrate with the .NET Framework. SQL Server 2005 introduced Multi-Version Concurrency Control (MVCC). User facing features include new transaction isolation level called SNAPSHOT and a variation of the READ COMMITTED isolation level based on statement-level data snapshots. SQL Server 2005 introduced "MARS" (Multiple Active Results Sets), a method of allowing usage of database connections for multiple purposes. SQL Server 2005 introduced DMVs (Dynamic Management Views), which are specialized views and functions that return server state information that can be used to monitor the health of a server instance, diagnose problems, and tune performance. SQL Server 2005 was the first version with native support for the x64 platform. Service Pack 1 (SP1) of SQL Server 2005 introduced Database Mirroring, a high availability option that provides redundancy and failover capabilities at the database level. Failover can be performed manually or can be configured for automatic failover. Automatic failover requires a witness partner and an operating mode of synchronous (also known as high-safety or full safety). Database Mirroring was included in the first release of SQL Server 2005 for evaluation purposes only. Prior to SP1, it was not enabled by default, and was not supported by Microsoft. Service Pack 1 was released on April 18, 2006, Service Pack 2 released on February 19, 2007, Service Pack 3 was released on December 15, 2008, and SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 4 released on December 13, 2010. Mainstream support for SQL Server 2005 ended on April 12, 2011, and Extended support for SQL Server 2005 ended on April 12, 2016. SQL Server 2008 SQL Server 2008 (formerly codenamed "Katmai") was released on August 6, 2008, announced to the SQL Server Special Interest Group at the ESRI 2008 User's Conference on August 6, 2008 by Ed Katibah (Spatial Program Manager at Microsoft), and aims to make data management self-tuning, self organizing, and self maintaining with the development of SQL Server Always On technologies, to provide near-zero downtime. SQL Server 2008 also includes support for structured and semi-structured data, including digital media formats for pictures, audio, video and other multimedia data. In current versions, such multimedia data can be stored as BLOBs (binary large objects), but they are generic bitstreams. Intrinsic awareness of multimedia data will allow specialized functions to be performed on them. According to Paul Flessner, senior Vice President of Server Applications at Microsoft, SQL Server 2008 can be a data storage backend for different varieties of data: XML, email, time/calendar, file, document, spatial, etc. as well as perform search, query, analysis, sharing, and synchronization across all data types. Other new data types include specialized date and time types and a Spatial data type for location-dependent data. Better support for unstructured and semi-structured data is provided using the new FILESTREAM data type, which can be used to reference any file stored on the file system. Structured data and metadata about the file is stored in SQL Server database, whereas the unstructured component is stored in the file system. Such files can be accessed both via Win32 file handling APIs as well as via SQL Server using T-SQL; doing the latter accesses the file data as a BLOB. Backing up and restoring the database backs up or restores the referenced files as well. SQL Server 2008 also natively supports hierarchical data, and includes T-SQL constructs to directly deal with them, without using recursive queries. The full-text search functionality has been integrated with the database engine. According to a Microsoft technical article, this simplifies management and improves performance. Spatial data will be stored in two types. A "Flat Earth" (GEOMETRY or planar) data type represents geospatial data which has been projected from its native, spherical, coordinate system into a plane. A "Round Earth" data type (GEOGRAPHY) uses an ellipsoidal model in which the Earth is defined as a single continuous entity which does not suffer from the singularities such as the international dateline, poles, or map projection zone "edges". Approximately 70 methods are available to represent spatial operations for the Open Geospatial Consortium Simple Features for SQL, Version 1.1. SQL Server includes better compression features, which also helps in improving scalability. It enhanced the indexing algorithms and introduced the notion of filtered indexes. It also includes Resource Governor that allows reserving resources for certain users or workflows. It also includes capabilities for transparent encryption of data (TDE) as well as compression of backups. SQL Server 2008 supports the ADO.NET Entity Framework and the reporting tools, replication, and data definition will be built around the Entity Data Model. SQL Server Reporting Services will gain charting capabilities from the integration of the data visualization products from Dundas Data Visualization, Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft. On the management side, SQL Server 2008 includes the Declarative Management Framework which allows configuring policies and constraints, on the entire database or certain tables, declaratively. The version of SQL Server Management Studio included with SQL Server 2008 supports IntelliSense for SQL queries against a SQL Server 2008 Database Engine. SQL Server 2008 also makes the databases available via Windows PowerShell providers and management functionality available as Cmdlets, so that the server and all the running instances can be managed from Windows PowerShell. ''' The final SQL Server 2008 service pack (10.00.6000, Service Pack 4) was released on September 30, 2014. SQL Server 2008 R2 SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.1600.1, formerly codenamed "Kilimanjaro") was announced at TechEd 2009, and was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2010. SQL Server 2008 R2 adds certain features to SQL Server 2008 including a master data management system branded as Master Data Services, a central management of master data entities and hierarchies. Also Multi Server Management, a centralized console to manage multiple SQL Server 2008 instances and services including relational databases, Reporting Services, Analysis Services & Integration Services. SQL Server 2008 R2 includes a number of new services, including PowerPivot for Excel and SharePoint, Master Data Services, StreamInsight, Report Builder 3.0, Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint, a Data-tier function in Visual Studio that enables packaging of tiered databases as part of an application, and a SQL Server Utility named UC (Utility Control Point), part of AMSM (Application and Multi-Server Management) that is used to manage multiple SQL Servers. The first SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.2500, Service Pack 1) was released on July 11, 2011. The second SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.4000, Service Pack 2) was released on July 26, 2012. The final SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.6000, Service Pack 3) was released on September 26, 2014. SQL 2008 R2 would be the last version of SQL Server to run on the Itanium (IA-64) platform. However, the x64 platform would continue on in force. Extended support for SQL Server on Itanium would continue until 2018. SQL Server 2012 At the 2011 Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) summit on October 11, Microsoft announced that the next major version of SQL Server (codenamed "Denali"), would be SQL Server 2012. It was released to manufacturing on March 6, 2012. SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on November 7, 2012, Service Pack 2 was released to manufacturing on June 10, 2014, Service Pack 3 was released to manufacturing on December 1, 2015, and Service Pack 4 was released to manufacturing on October 5, 2017. It was announced to be the last version to natively support OLE DB and instead to prefer ODBC for native connectivity. SQL Server 2012's new features and enhancements include Always On SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances and Availability Groups which provides a set of options to improve database availability, Contained Databases which simplify the moving of databases between instances, new and modified Dynamic Management Views and Functions, programmability enhancements including new spatial features, metadata discovery, sequence objects and the THROW statement, performance enhancements such as ColumnStore Indexes as well as improvements to OnLine and partition level operations and security enhancements including provisioning during setup, new permissions, improved role management, and default schema assignment for groups. SQL Server 2014 SQL Server 2014 was released to manufacturing on March 18, 2014, and released to the general public on April 1, 2014 and the build number was 12.0.2000.8 at release. Until November 2013 there were two CTP revisions, CTP1 and CTP2. SQL Server 2014 provides a new in-memory capability for tables that can fit entirely in memory (also known as Hekaton). Whilst small tables may be entirely resident in memory in all versions of SQL Server, they also may reside on disk, so work is involved in reserving RAM, writing evicted pages to disk, loading new pages from disk, locking the pages in RAM while they are being operated on, and many other tasks. By treating a table as guaranteed to be entirely resident in memory much of the 'plumbing' of disk-based databases can be avoided. For disk-based SQL Server applications, it also provides the SSD Buffer Pool Extension, which can improve performance by cache between RAM and spinning media. SQL Server 2014 also enhances the Always On (HADR) solution by increasing the readable secondaries count and sustaining read operations upon secondary-primary disconnections, and it provides new hybrid disaster recovery and backup solutions with Microsoft Azure, enabling customers to use existing skills with the on-premises version of SQL Server to take advantage of Microsoft's global datacenters. In addition, it takes advantage of new Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 capabilities for database application scalability in a physical or virtual environment. Microsoft provides three versions of SQL Server 2014 for downloading: the one that runs on Microsoft Azure, the SQL Server 2014 CAB, and SQL Server 2014 ISO. SQL Server 2014 SP1, consisting primarily of bugfixes, was released on May 15, 2015. SQL Server 2014 is the last version available on x86/IA32 architecture. SQL Server 2016 The official General Availability (GA) release date for SQL Server 2016 was June 1, 2016. The RTM version is 13.0.1601.5. Service pack 2 updates the version to 13.2.5026. Service Pack 1 Was Released on November 16, 2016, Service Pack 2 was released on April 24, 2018, and Service Pack 3 Was Released on September 15, 2021. SQL Server 2016 is supported on x64 processors only. It is no longer supported on x86 processors. SQL Server 2016 is the last version to have Service Packs launched. SQL Server 2017 Microsoft launched SQL Server 2017 on October 2nd, 2017 along with support for Linux. SQL Server 2019 Microsoft launched SQL Server 2019 on November 4th 2019. SQL Server 2019 (15.x) introduces Big Data Clusters for SQL Server. It also provides additional capability and improvements for the SQL Server database engine, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Machine Learning Services, SQL Server on Linux, and SQL Server Master Data Services. Processor support References Client-server database management systems Database management systems History of Microsoft Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft database software Relational database management systems SQL Server

51910368

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion%20Scheepers

Marion Scheepers

Marion Scheepers is a South African-born mathematician, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Mathematics of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho since 1988. He is particularly known for his work on selection principles and on infinite topological and set-theoretical games. He introduced themes that are common to many selection principles and is responsible for the Scheepers diagram. Life Scheepers was born in December 1957, in Thabazimbi, South Africa. He completed his Ph.D. thesis entitled The Meager-Nowhere Dense Game at the University of Kansas under the supervision of Fred Galvin. His research interests cover set theory and its relatives, game theory, cryptology, elementary number theory and algorithmic phenomena in biology. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Boise State University (BSU) in 1988 and promoted to Associate Professor in 1993. He has been Professor in the Department of Mathematics at BSU since 1996. In 2016 he was part of a group at BSU that started an interdisciplinary course called Transdisciplinary Research Methods. In 2019 Scheepers was one of the coaches for BSU's elective Vertically Integrated Projects including Portable Secure Devices, a team aiming to develop methods to mitigate cyber-threats against active implantable medical devices. Presently, Scheepers is studying biological encryption mechanisms in certain single-cell organisms in collaboration with researchers from the University of Witten-Herdecke in Germany, and the BSU Department of Biological Sciences. For this study, he has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation has funded his research and curriculum activities on several occasions, including in 2005 for Crypto Systems in Ciliates Recognition, awards, membership 2012 Distinguished Professor in Mathematics, Boise State University. 2014 BSU recognised Scheepers' 26 years of academic service. 2017 The conference Frontiers of Selection Principles at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland was dedicated to Scheepers. Selected publications References External links European Mathematical Information Service Marion Scheepers publications at the American Mathematical Society 1957 births Living people South African mathematicians University of Kansas alumni Boise State University faculty

51911151

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software%20development%20security

Software development security

Security, as part of the software development process, is an ongoing process involving people and practices, and ensures application confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Secure software is the result of security aware software development processes where security is built in and thus software is developed with security in mind. Security is most effective if planned and managed throughout every stage of software development life cycle (SDLC), especially in critical applications or those that process sensitive information. The solution to software development security is more than just the technology. Software development challenges As technology advances, application environments become more complex and application development security becomes more challenging. Applications, systems, and networks are constantly under various security attacks such as malicious code or denial of service. Some of the challenges from the application development security point of view include Viruses, Trojan horses, Logic bombs, Worms, Agents, and Applets. Applications can contain security vulnerabilities that may be introduced by software engineers either intentionally or carelessly. Software, environmental, and hardware controls are required although they cannot prevent problems created from poor programming practice. Using limit and sequence checks to validate users’ input will improve the quality of data. Even though programmers may follow best practices, an application can still fail due to unpredictable conditions and therefore should handle unexpected failures successfully by first logging all the information it can capture in preparation for auditing. As security increases, so does the relative cost and administrative overhead. Applications are typically developed using high-level programming languages which in themselves can have security implications. The core activities essential to the software development process to produce secure applications and systems include: conceptual definition, functional requirements, control specification, design review, code review and walk-through, system test review, and maintenance and change management. Building secure software is not only the responsibility of a software engineer but also the responsibility of the stakeholders which include: management, project managers, business analysts, quality assurance managers, technical architects, security specialists, application owners, and developers. Basic principles There are a number of basic guiding principles to software security. Stakeholders’ knowledge of these and how they may be implemented in software is vital to software security. These include: Protection from disclosure Protection from alteration Protection from destruction Who is making the request What rights and privileges does the requester have Ability to build historical evidence Management of configuration, sessions and errors/exceptions Basic practices The following lists some of the recommended web security practices that are more specific for software developers. Sanitize inputs at the client side and server side Encode request/response Use HTTPS for domain entries Use only current encryption and hashing algorithms Do not allow for directory listing Do not store sensitive data inside cookies Check the randomness of the session Set secure and HttpOnly flags in cookies Use TLS not SSL Set strong password policy Do not store sensitive information in a form’s hidden fields Verify file upload functionality Set secure response headers Make sure third party libraries are secured Hide web server information Security testing Common attributes of security testing include authentication, authorization, confidentiality, availability, integrity, non-repudiation, and resilience. Security testing is essential to ensure that the system prevents unauthorized users to access its resources and data. Some application data is sent over the internet which travels through a series of servers and network devices. This gives ample opportunities to unscrupulous hackers. Summary All secure systems implement security controls within the software, hardware, systems, and networks - each component or process has a layer of isolation to protect an organization's most valuable resource which is its data. There are various security controls that can be incorporated into an application's development process to ensure security and prevent unauthorized access. References Stewart, James (2012). CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide Sixth Edition. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 275–319. . Report from Dagstuhl Seminar 12401Web Application Security Edited by Lieven Desmet, Martin Johns, Benjamin Livshits, and Andrei Sabelfeld, http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/livshits/papers%5Ctr%5Cdagrep_s12401.pdf Web Application Security Consortium, The 80/20 Rule for Web Application Security by Jeremiah Grossman 2005, http://www.webappsec.org/projects/articles/013105.shtml Wikipedia Web Application Security page, Web application security Web Security Wiki page, https://www.w3.org/Security/wiki/Main_Page Wikipedia Web Security Exploits page, :Category:Web security exploits Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Main_Page Wikipedia Network Security page, Network security Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) web site, https://www.owasp.org/images/8/83/Securing_Enterprise_Web_Applications_at_the_Source.pdf Software development Software quality

51924657

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince%20%28cipher%29

Prince (cipher)

Prince is a block cipher targeting low latency, unrolled hardware implementations. It is based on the so-called FX construction. Its most notable feature is the "alpha reflection": the decryption is the encryption with a related key which is very cheap to compute. Unlike most other "lightweight" ciphers, it has a small number of rounds and the layers constituting a round have low logic depth. As a result, fully unrolled implementation are able to reach much higher frequencies than AES or PRESENT. According to the authors, for the same time constraints and technologies, PRINCE uses 6–7 times less area than PRESENT-80 and 14–15 times less area than AES-128. Overview The block size is 64 bits and the key size is 128 bits. The key is split into two 64 bit keys and . The input is XORed with , then is processed by a core function using . The output of the core function is xored by to produce the final output ( is a value derived from ). The decryption is done by exchanging and and by feeding the core function with xored with a constant denoted alpha. The core function contain 5 "forward" rounds, a middle round, and 5 "backward" rounds, for 11 rounds in total. The original paper mentions 12 rounds without explicitly depicting them; if the middle round is counted as two rounds (as it contains two nonlinear layers), then the total number of rounds is 12. A forward round starts with a round constant XORed with , then a nonlinear layer , and finally a linear layer . The "backward" rounds are exactly the inverse of the "forward" rounds except for the round constants. The nonlinear layer is based on a single 4-bit S-box which can be chosen among the affine-equivalent of 8 specified S-boxes. The linear layer consists of multiplication by a 64x64 matrix and a shift row similar to the one in AES but operating on 4-bit nibbles rather than bytes. is constructed from 16x16 matrices and in such a way that the multiplication by can be computed by four smaller multiplications, two using and two using . The middle round consists of the layer followed by followed by the layer. Cryptanalysis To encourage cryptanalysis of the Prince cipher, the organizations behind it created the The paper "Security analysis of PRINCE" presents several attacks on full and round reduced variants, in particular, an attack of complexity 2125.1 and a related key attack requiring 233 data. A generic time–memory–data tradeoff for FX constructions has been published, with an application to Prince. The paper argues that the FX construction is a fine solution to improve the security of a widely deployed cipher (like DES-X did for DES) but that it is a questionable choice for new designs. It presents a tweak to the Prince cipher to strengthen it against this particular kind of attack. A biclique cryptanalysis attack has been published on the full cipher. It is somewhat inline with the estimation of the designers since it reduces the key search space by 21.28 (the original paper mentions a factor 2). The paper "Reflection Cryptanalysis of PRINCE-Like Ciphers" focuses on the alpha reflection and establishes choice criteria for the alpha constant. It shows that a poorly chosen alpha would lead to efficient attacks on the full cipher; but the value randomly chosen by the designers is not among the weak ones. Several meet-in-the-middle attacks have been published on round reduced versions. An attack in the multi-user setting can find the keys of 2 users among a set of 232 users in time 265. An attack on 10 rounds with overall complexity of 118.56 bits has been published. An attack on 7 rounds with time complexity of 257 operations has been published. A differential fault attack has been published using 7 faulty cipher texts under random 4 bit nibble fault model. The paper "New approaches for round-reduced PRINCE cipher cryptanalysis" presents boomerang attack and known-plaintext attack on reduced round versions up to 6 rounds. In 2015 few additional attacks have been published but are not freely available. Most practical attacks on reduced round versions References External links http://eprint.iacr.org/2012/529.pdf original paper: "PRINCE – A Low-latency Block Cipher for Pervasive Computing Applications" https://www.emsec.rub.de/research/research_startseite/prince-challenge The Prince challenge home page https://github.com/sebastien-riou/prince-c-ref Software Implementations in C https://github.com/weedegee/prince Software Implementations in Python https://github.com/huljar/prince-vhdl Hardware Implementation in VHDL Block ciphers Cryptography

51975023

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mailvelope

Mailvelope

Mailvelope is a free software for end-to-end encryption of email traffic inside of a web browser (Firefox or Chromium) that integrates itself into existing webmail applications ("email websites"). It can be used to encrypt and sign electronic messages, including attached files, without the use of a separate, native email client (like Thunderbird) using the OpenPGP standard. The name is a portmanteau of the words "mail" and "envelope". It is published together with its source code under the terms of version 3 of the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL). The company Mailvelope GmbH runs the development using a public code repository on GitHub. Development is sponsored by the Open Technology Fund. Similar alternatives are Mymail-Crypt and WebPG. Features Mailvelope equips webmail applications with OpenPGP functionality. It comes with preconfigurations for several popular providers like Outlook on the web and Gmail. For Chromium/Chrome there's the possibility to install from an authenticated source using the integrated software extension manager "Chrome Web Store". A study from 2015 examined the usability of Mailvelope as an example of a modern OpenPGP client and deemed it unsuitable for the masses. They recommended integrating assistant functionality, sending instructive invitation messages to new communication partners, and publishing basic explanatory texts. The Mailvelope-based OpenPGP system of United Internet integrates such functionality and its usability earned some positive mentions in the press, particularly the offered key synchronization feature. A usability analysis from 2016 found it to still be "worthy of improvement" ("verbesserungswürdig"), though, and mentioned "confusing wording" ("irritierende Formulierungen"), missing communication of the concept, bad password recommendations, missing negative dissociation of the more prominent modus that features only transport encryption, plus insufficient support for key authenticity checking (to thwart man-in-the-middle attacks). Usage In April 2015, De-Mail providers equipped their services with an option for end-to-end encryption based on Mailvelope that is deactivated by default and can only be used in combination with Mobile TAN or the German electronic identity card. In contrast to the hitherto advertised but ineffective encryption scheme De-Mail some of the same email providers now promise their customers end-to-end encrypted communication among authenticated participants without the need for expert knowledge. In August 2015, the E-Mail services of Web.de and GMX introduced support for OpenPGP encryption and integrated a customized version of Mailvelope into their webmail applications for that. According to self-published figures, this affected about 30 million users. Functionality It implements the OpenPGP standard, a public-key cryptosystem first standardized in 1998. It's a web browser extension written in JavaScript for Firefox or Chromium (Chrome). On certain web pages it overlays its control elements which are optically distinguished as being separate from the web application by a surrounding background of tiled lock symbols. This background can be customized to enable recognizing imitations. In the back end it builds on the functionality of the program library OpenPGP.js, a free JavaScript Implementation of the OpenPGP standard. By running inside a separate inline frame, its code is executed separately from the web application and should prevent it from accessing clear text message contents. The version developed in collaboration with 1&1 silently creates a pair of keys when using a setup wizard and manages all OpenPGP keys locally in the browser. History The developer names the defunct software project FireGPG that was started in 2007 as an important predecessor. Thomas Oberndörfer started developing Mailvelope in spring 2012 and the first publication was version 0.4.0.1 on August 24. Mario Heiderich and Krzysztof Kotowicz of Cure53 did a security audit on an alpha version from 2012/2013. Among other things, the separation from the web application and its data structures was enhanced based on its findings. In February 2014, the same group analysed the library OpenPGP.js which Mailvelope is based on. Version 0.8.0 from the following April included the corrections that stem from it and brought about support for signing messages. In May 2014, iSEC Partners published an analysis of the Firefox extension. Version 1.0.0 was published on August 18, 2015. The webmail software Roundcube senses and supports Mailvelope as of version 1.2 from May 2016. References External links Software add-ons Cryptographic software Free software programmed in JavaScript Free Firefox WebExtensions