Cyber Development

17/03/2022

17/03/2022

16/03/2022

A novel Technology Access Programme will deliver UK technology companies with training and opportunities to block cyber vulnerabilities, and lead to a safer digital future.
This innovative programme will utilise the Digital Security by Design (DSbD) technologies prototyped in the Arm Morello board.

Digital Catapult has received £2m funding to deliver the UK technology community a succession of events, workshops, and cohorts of companies’ hands-on experience of the novel technologies.

The programme will enable companies to access the wider community of technology stakeholders, enhancing their comprehension of DSbD technologies and how these can be advantageous to their company as well as their consumers.

Addressing computer vulnerability
For the last few decades, computers have been exposed to cyber security threats, with new software generally resulting in further vulnerabilities, while not addressing the fundamental problems.

The £70m DSbD programme has been introduced to facilitate industry experts in their task of fixing these difficulties and establishing a transformative shift in cyber security and a safer digital future.

16/03/2022

A scientist working at the University of Texas at Arlington is developing novel synthetic materials that can enhance inorganic metal oxides for utilisation in a range of energy-saving applications.
Robin Macaluso, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, recently obtained a two-year, $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Materials Research to fund the research. Macaluso is the principal investigator of the project, titled: ‘New Oxysulfide Perovskites for Photocatalytic and Photovoltaic Applications.’

Solar energy technology
The objective of the research is to create novel materials that are capable of making a positive impact in solar energy technology, and consequently can be utilised to meet the ever-growing necessity for dependable sources of alternative and greener energy.

The study will be centred around establishing a new technique for developing synthetic versions of sulphide and oxysulphide perovskites. (Perovskites are a group of materials that share an unusual crystalline structure and chemical formula.) This material would then behave as a semiconductor that transfers the electric charge that it has generated when light hits it.

Oxide perovskites are the most prominent and ubiquitous perovskites due to the fact they are stable and typically comprised of extremely plentiful elements. However, they are not usually semiconductors. The predominant difficultly with this method is being able to control semiconducting behaviour whilst preserving the stability and utilisation of abundant, non-toxic elements, Macaluso explained.

16/03/2022

Terry Mayer, Senior Research Specialist and Geo-Political Analyst at Cyjax Ltd, discusses how SMEs can alleviate the threat of cybercrime.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at ever-increasing risk of being targeted by cyber criminals. In this short article, we offer a few pointers aimed at minimising the threats faced by your organisation.

Phishing
Cyber criminals are never short of new ideas for profiting from real-life events, tailoring their campaigns accordingly – and yet using the same basic techniques which we have seen being leveraged for years. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a multitude of opportunities for these threat actors to develop their methods further: phishing attacks have risen dramatically worldwide as a range of adversaries – including well-known state-sponsored groups such as North Korea’s Lazarus – have sought to tempt people into parting with personal information or, in the case of health authorities, pharmaceutical companies or research institutes, data relating to vaccines or drugs.

Phishing scams involve launching targeted attacks against an organisation or an individual. They are likely to begin with a threat actor gathering intelligence on the target by scanning open-source intelligence (OSINT); this might include running searches on media or genealogy websites and collecting information from Companies House or the electoral roll, and of course social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Publicly accessible information can offer a wealth of data – in many cases enough to provide a threat actor with everything they need to profile an individual or an organisation. From there the attackers will hope to establish contacts in their preparations for a targeted attack.

16/03/2022

CERN Quantum Technology Initiative has reached a significant milestone, launching a roadmap of its medium- and long-term quantum research programme.
The CERN Quantum Technology Initiative (CERN QTI) has achieved an important milestone with the announcement of a roadmap defining its quantum research programme.

Roadmap for quantum research
The roadmap outlines CERN QTI objectives and strategy, identifying the governing structure and composition of its international advisory board, on top of the activities to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and innovation with the particle physics community and beyond in the extensive field of quantum technologies.

Through the CERN Quantum Technology Initiative, CERN is distributing its enabling technologies – such as quantum state sensors, time synchronisation protocols, and many more from the cryogenics, electronics, quantum theory and computing domains – to enhance the development of quantum technologies.

16/03/2022