According to a accurate study, a group of researchers have developed a unique, gold-spun, ultra-thin sensor that can be placed directly on the skin without irritation or discomfort. The findings of the study were published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials. The ultrathin sensor can evaluate different biomarkers or substances to perform body chemical analysis. It works using a Raman spectroscopy technique, where laser light aimed at the sensor is changed slightly depending on whatever the chemicals at that point are present on the skin. The sensor can be tuned finely to be extremely sensitive, and it's robust enough for practical use.

If your public organisation is digitally connected then you cannot afford to miss the Public Sector Security Summit 2022 (#PubliSec2022), to be held on 2nd and 3rd August 2022.

Cybercriminals are only becoming more advanced, and more dangerous with attacks costing government organisations worldwide millions if not billions.

This world-class event will allow you to learn from local and international case studies and hear from public sector security experts, enabling you to bolster cyber security within your public organisation, all from the comfort of your home or office.

Attendees who sign up for this exclusive event will be able to hear from these leaders and gain vital information and confidence when taking their next steps in their cybersecurity journeys.

Topics will outline emerging threats against the public sector, global cybersecurity and data protection best practices, and how to mitigate risks.

Here are Just 10 of the syllabus to be Discussed at #PubliSec2022:

• You’ve Been Hacked, Now What? Managing and Responding to Cyber Incidents in the Public Sector
• Cybersecurity Strategy – Guidance on Cyber Planning for Public Sector Organisations: Where to Get Started
• A Government Cyber Security Case Study
• Why South Africa Needs a National Cyber Director
• Public Sector Cybersecurity: Key Threat Trends
• The Right Tools to Help Detect Cyber Risks
• Ransomware Threat Detection: A Deep Learning Approach
• Addressing the Challenges of Hybrid Working in the Public Sector
• Digital Transformation: Is Cyber Threat the Greatest Risk of All?
• How to Secure Critical Public Infrastructure

Confirmed Expert Speakers Include:

• Godfrey Kyama, Digitalization Consultant, United Nations.
• Irene Moetsana-Moeng, Deputy Exec. Director, Public Sector Agency & Chair. Cybersecurity Response Committee, South Africa.
• Loice Ngulube, CIO at POSB Zimbabwe.
• Craig Nel, MEA Business Development Leader, Digital Assistants & Security at Oracle.
• Prof. SH (Basie) von Solms, Director of the Centre for Cybersecurity, University of Johannesburg.
• Bruce W. Watson, Full Professor, Centre For Ai Research (Cair), School For Data-Science and Computational Thinking – Stellenbosch University.
• Molehe Wesi, CEO: .ZA Domain Authority.
• Patrick Devine, Data Security Specialist for Solid8 Technologies.
• Preeta Bhagattjee, Director of Tech, Media & Telecoms at CDH.
• Abe Wakama, CEO, IT News Africa.
• Vitalis Nkwenti, Bespoke Cybersecurity and Assurance Executive and Trainer.
• Adv. Lufuno T. Khorommbi, Deputy Chairperson of the Critical Infrastructure Council & Data Privacy and Cybersecurity, Orizur Consulting Enterprise.
• Joey Jansen van Vuuren, Manager: Cybersecurity Centre of Innovation Research, Group Leader: Cyber Defence Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director, Werksmans Advisory Services.
• Abdul Baba, CTO: Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Don’t miss out – Register now for #PubliSec2022 and prepare your public organisation before the attack comes. Because once your systems are compromised, it will already be too late.

To learn more, click here.

By Staff Writer.

Andy is CSO for Huawei Technologies USA, overseeing Huawei’s US cyber assurance program.

Recent security incidents violating IT service providers like SolarWinds and Microsoft have brought to the forefront the importance of accountability and transparency in cybersecurity. The sheer volume of accurate reports of ransomware attacks, cyber intrusions reportedly perpetrated by nation-states, and largescale data breaches affecting millions of people indicates that cyber defenses must be raised across the board—particularly in critical infrastructure, government and essential services.

Any response to these threats must account for the complexity of cybersecurity risk. The shared responsibility model, which delineates ownership of specific risks by different participants in the ecosystem so all bases are covered by those in the best position to do so, provides a useful mechanism for minimizing the frequency and seriousness of security incidents and simplifying the management of the problem.

Public sharing of incident information and prompt sharing of vulnerabilities when appropriate can promote necessary transparency and effective responses. The shared responsibility model includes all of the following elements:

• A clear understanding of who (be it the vendor or the client) is responsible for what.

• What requirements stakeholders and users must follow to meet their responsibilities.

• Adequate visibility and transparency to enable verification that responsibilities are met.

• An objective, independent method to verify conformance.

• Mechanisms that provide accountability and incentivize stakeholders and users to meet their responsibilities.

To ensure the successful implementation of a shared responsibility framework, here are several important recommendations and actions to consider.

Learn From Accountability-Led Cyber Governance Initiatives

In May 2021, President Biden signed the “Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” which is described as “the most comprehensive change to a national strategy for cybersecurity” that looks to “unify the executive branch on its reporting requirements.” The EO set forth much-needed public-private collaboration to help the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develop standards and incentives to support cybersecurity risk management.

Specifically, addressing risk in the software and supply chain was critical. A study by BlueVoyant found that 93% of U.S. organizations had experienced a cybersecurity breach in the previous 12 months from vulnerabilities in their vendor ecosystem. Moreover, 33% of respondents said they had no way of knowing if cyber risk emerges in a third-party vendor. Maintaining full visibility into software supply chain security and making security data publicly available, after patches are developed for vulnerabilities, significantly improves the security performance of suppliers and holds everyone accountable.

Germany’s IT Security Act 2.0, for example, heightens the requirement for transparency and accountability through extending the mandate for Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Through the Act, the BSI has the authority to see inventory data from telecom service providers. This extra layer of transparency helps identify the targets or victims of cyberattacks.

Approaches such as the EO and Germany’s Security Act provide guidance that private sector organizations can benefit from to help them develop, strengthen and implement their own approaches to transparency and accountability. The same rules can be applied internally and with their respective vendor ecosystems.

Enhance Security Across The Digital Supply Chain

The surge of digital adoption, exacerbated by the pandemic and rise in remote working, has led to a spike in cyberattacks. The year-on-year volume of ransomware attacks, for instance, increased 158% in North America during 2020, then spiked to 180% by Q2 of 2021.

Both governments and commercial sectors have realized the immense risk in global supply chains and also how little visibility many have into security and assurance levels. Visibility across the supply chain has become critical, particularly between suppliers and operator-customers.

The launch of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) was a much-anticipated response to major compromises of defense data that had been held on the IT systems of its contractors and company supply chains. The program is intended to safeguard sensitive information while focusing the most advanced cybersecurity standards and third-party assessment requirements on all contractors with the DoD. As of today, the DoD has rolled out CMMC 2.0, and though it is not yet a requirement for contracts, the materials reflect the Department’s strategic intent with respect to the CMMC program.

This is a notable example of one of the U.S. government’s highest-priority programs that there needs to be strict levels of assurance requirements, conformance programs with adequate transparency and substantial consequences for nonconformance. This facilitates meaningful accountability across the entire supply chain.

Promote Global Collaboration Through Mutual Trust Agreements

One way to buttress international cyber norms is to explore the possible use of mutual trust agreements, which could involve separately signed agreements by governments and private companies and the governments of the countries in which the companies do business. Private companies could sign to provide their commitment to follow the articulated rules that they could be held legally liable for if they break them. The host governments of those companies could sign their own agreements with those governments, providing their commitment not to directly or indirectly use those companies for improper purposes and subjecting themselves to the legal process should they do so. Such agreements could outline the standards, norms or rules that companies and host governments will be held liable in the event of nonconformance.

Addressing Cyberthreats Is A Shared Responsibility

Everyone from the C-suite and IT managers to other stakeholders across an organization and its supply chain partners should gain a full understanding of what accountability means for the management of cyber risks and its value for the future of cybersecurity. Mitigating cyber risks calls for rigorous accountability that must apply to the processes and responsibilities of IT security practitioners.

The compliance with, and efficacy of, cybersecurity procedures and practices must be open to scrutiny, and this demands transparency and visibility to make it knowable if requirements are being met—and the failure to conform to the requirements should result in measurable consequences. Transparency and accountability are necessary for successful cyber risk management and governance. Governments and businesses alike can do more to create incentives for conformance that are aligned across the whole ecosystem.

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Of all the key end-user benefits expected from 5G networks, the ability to control dedicated portions of spectrum and make customised use of it has always been ranked highly, and enterprises’ willingness to pay for it is set to drive a boom in the global 5G slicing market, says a study from ABI Research.

The report, 5G network slicing: technical and commercial considerations, emphasised that, compared with the uniform services offered over 3G and 4G networks regardless of device or user needs, slicing of 5G has the potential to offer varying levels of connectivity characteristics – such as service-level agreements (SLAs), bandwidth and latency – for different devices, use cases and applications.

ABI said there is an expectation that enterprises will pay a premium for 5G slices that guarantee SLAs for diverse services, as opposed to uniform offerings. It also stressed that enterprises have differentiated requirements for isolation and security that can be satisfied by slicing. The analyst regards this last facet as especially important given that for connected devices, such as dumb internet of things (IoT) terminals, cost and time to market are typically prioritised over security.

As a result, ABI expects 5G slicing revenue to grow from US$309m in 2022 to about U$24bn in 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106%. 

“5G slicing adoption falls into two main categories,” said Don Alusha, 5G core and edge networks senior analyst at ABI Research. “One, there is no connectivity available. Two, there is connectivity, but there is not sufficient capacity, coverage, performance or security. For the former, both private and public organisations are deploying private network slices on a permanent and ad-hoc basis.”

The second scenario is today mostly catered for by private networks, a market that ABI Research believes will grow from $3.6bn to $109bn by 2023, at a CAGR of 45.8%.

Alusha added: “A sizable part of this market can be converted to 5G slicing. But first, the industry should address challenges associated with technology and commercial models. On the latter, consumers’ and enterprises’ appetite to pay premium connectivity prices for deterministic and tailored connectivity services remains to be determined.

“Furthermore, there are ongoing industry discussions on whether the value that comes from 5G slicing can exceed the cost required to put together the underlying slicing ecosystem.”

In addition to these benefits, the report also suggested that 5G slicing could replace a large part of current private networks and dedicated connectivity services. It can also enrich hyperscaler cloud services with guaranteed connectivity offers while reusing a large part of existing cellular assets. This is said to be why the initial driving force behind 5G slicing uptake is fixed wireless access (FWA) for the enterprise domain.

In making its case for the latter point, ABI observed that there are more than 55 5G slicing proofs of concept and commercial tests from Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia and ZTE. These engagements, said the analyst, deliver the industry the insight to match up an emerging technology such as 5G slicing to new strategic opportunities and high-value use cases, depending on the market.

In a key use case in the Middle East, communications service providers (CSPs) are deploying a separate core network (hardware-based slices) for mission-critical services. In Europe, the tendency has been for CSPs to deploy slices for mission-critical services on top of existing consumer networks. In other words, said ABI, there is a mixed market but with a common denominator in how to unlock growth in the enterprise domain at scale and based on end-to-end standardisation.

“First, it is key for the industry to push for consistency and uniform practices across multiple domains,” said Alusha. “With 5G slicing, the industry should focus on convenience rather than performance, user experience rather than feature sets, and flexibility rather than rigidity. Ultimately, the core of the 5G slicing ‘dream’ is a business goal, not just a technology goal.

“It involves taking a quantum leap forward in how business is conducted within the industry and by the industry’s customers. In contrast to 3G and 4G, with 5G, the industry should focus on value not from technology per se, but rather from the strategic leap forward it can enable. Consequently, a cautious approach is required so that the industry finds in 5G slicing a reasonable basis for taking actions that predictably and positively affect vendors’ and CSPs’ revenues.”

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Unlike the best student laptops (opens in new tab), the best laptops for engineering students can't cut corners in order to keep the cost low. Engineering students need serious power and performance from their computing set-up, in order to run essential 3D modelling and video rendering software such as AutoCAD, MATLAB and Solid Works in-between classes and lectures. And that means that a engineer's laptop needs a strong core specs suite.

While our picks of the best laptops for engineering students do contain some great, well-priced systems that we feel most learners could afford to study on at university or college, they are nowhere near as budget friendly as some of our budget recommendations for non-engineering students. This is because we feel many budget systems aimed at students, while fine to bash out an essay in Google Docs, just won't cut it in terms of an engineering student's needs. Each laptop we recommend here has the specs to go the distance and is ideal for back to school season.