Category: My Blog

Growing concerns around civil drone use in 2017

UAVs, also known as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drones, are being increasingly used in a variety of industries.

a surveillance droneCommercial drones are used responsibly by the majority of their users, most of their applications and users have a positive impact, but their use is not without problems. Knowing that it is possible to use a drone as a mobile “flying camera” to produce images or video footage of the sky, it can also be used to spy on a company or to identify security holes.

Likewise, it is possible to use a drone as a mobile and remote delivery tool for illicit products or even to commit an attack. More innocently, but not less dangerously, UAVs can pose a safety risk if they are inadvertently flown in airspace where other aircraft are flying or over people working on the ground. Companies must, therefore, take this new threat into account and put measures in place to monitor UAVs and control them from the field.

A growing risk, involving monitoring UAVs

Last April, the British newspaper “The Guardian” reported a sharp increase in complaints filed with police services about UAVs, including cases of detection for burglary, near-flight collisions and smuggling of illegal products into prisons. With drones on sale for only 35 euros, even if most of them are used for playful purposes, the risk of some of them being misused increases.

One of the critical issues is aviation safety. As reported in August at New York’s JFK airport, a drone was seen within 30 meters of two aircraft arriving at the airport. Between August 2015 and January 216,583 UAV incidents were reported by the FAA (Federal Administration Aviation) between August 2015 and January 216.

Many of these episodes were minor incidents in which pilots or citizens on the ground reported seeing a drone fly in restricted airspace, but not necessarily a danger. However, any risk to aircraft in flight is significant and can lead to a major disaster.

UAV detection, monitoring, and control

cop monitoring the skiesOne solution to the problem is to combine network cameras with sensors and analysis software to detect, monitor and control UAVs entering an organization’s airspace.

A few industry experts have recently developed a platform solution that aggregates sensor data and advanced video analytics algorithms on video sequences from our network cameras that establish a comprehensive detection area, provide visual localization and reduce risk. The solution’s user interface automatically generates visual alerts and notifications, while risk reduction can take many forms, such as UAV radio frequency jamming, laser signal disturbance, anti-drone deployment and fog bombing.

The solution enables the protection of sensitive sites, including 24/7 UAV detection, monitoring, and surveillance, real-time alerting and identification of potential threats, even if they are several hundred meters above ground level.

The threat posed by the development of the use of drones, whether innocent or malicious, is real and growing. From a safety perspective, it is essential that organizations of all types consider and act now on the risks to their businesses, employees, and customers.

Vacuum cleaners can also spy on you (if connected)

A loophole made it possible to take control of any connected object from the manufacturer LG. In particular, it allowed the use of a robot vacuum cleaner to film the interior of a house.

Are you a fan of robot vacuum cleaners? It is true that these devices are efficient, but the fact that they are connected and equipped with sensors creates a risk to our privacy. Check Point experts have just revealed a flaw called HomeHack, allowing remote control of an LG Hom-Bot vacuum cleaner and spy on the user with the integrated camera. To prove it, the researchers made a demonstration video.

Now corrected, this flaw had a much broader impact because it concerned the whole range of connected LG objects: vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, etc. Millions of users were potentially exposed to this vulnerability. The problem was actually with LG’s SmartThinQ mobile application. Available on Android and iOS, it allows the user to log into their LG account and access the control functions of their connected object (s).

Unfortunately, the authentication procedure was not correctly programmed. After creating their own LG account, the researchers set up a Man-in-the-middle device to intercept requests and replace their identifiers with those of others. And bim, they were connected to a third party account. To do this, however, it was necessary to decompile the Android mobile application and remove two safeguards that the manufacturer had implemented. The first one prevented the app from running on a rooted smartphone; the second one stopped a middle-man interception by checking the authenticity of the HTTPS certificate (“Certificate pinning”).

Check Point discovered this flaw last July. LG released a patch in September. If you are a user of LG connected objects, make sure you have the latest version of the mobile application (1.9.23). It is also advisable to update the firmware of the devices, which you can do directly from the application dashboard.

What are the world’s top universities in technology, computing, and science?

French Grandes écoles and faculties are not progressing very well in the 2018 ranking of the Times Higher Education.

French universities and elite schools are absent from the world’s top 20 universities made public by Times Higher Education (THE), Tuesday 17 October, in two fields: engineering and technology on the one hand, and information technology on the other.

Results in line with the 2018 general ranking of THE, one of the most watched in European higher education, with the Shanghai ranking and the one established by QS, which proved even less favorable to French institutions than in previous years.

Based on a series of thirteen indicators, including both numerical data and reputation surveys in five categories (teaching, research, the influence of research, internationalization, innovation), these sector rankings, which only covered 100 institutions last year, were extended to 500 in engineering and technology and 300 in computer science.

A simple change that allows 23 French establishments to be included in engineering and technology, and 8 in computer science. Compared to last year’s two top 100s, the Ecole Polytechnique dominates each time, followed by the Paris Sciences et Lettres grouping, which was not ranked in the previous year.

THE 2018 engineering and technology classification

In the “engineering and technology” category, the positioning of the establishments differs little.

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Ten of the top 20 remain American, Stanford, this time ahead of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) at the top, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked fourth. For its part, the United Kingdom, which places three institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge, has to contend with more competitors: the Swiss ETH Zurich and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the German TU Munich, but also the Delft University of Technology of the Netherlands, Nanyang University and Singapore University, the University of Beijing and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which remains in this Top 20.

THE 2018 Rankings in Computer Science

zbncbbebeyyetrtrrrrrrrAccording to Times Higher Education, half of the world’s top 20 “computer sciences” (computer science) universities are American, with Stanford and MIT being the most prominent universities in the world.

The United Kingdom, for its part, has five, including Oxford and Cambridge. Switzerland (ETH Zurich and EPFL) and Germany (TU Munich) are still represented but are losing places, as is the University of Singapore. Tsinghua University in China is moving up to 20th place by winning a place.

Canadian school to train students in the arts of cannabis cultivation

Training is scheduled to begin next year in New Brunswick, where two companies plan to open cannabis production sites.

Training graduates in marijuana grow operations: this is the project of the New Brunswick Community College in Canada. This French-language post-secondary institution has announced that it is preparing a program to meet the growing demand for cannabis in the country’s maple leaf… maple leaf. In a country where “fumer du cannabis sans tabac” is a must, there have been many new developments over the last few months.

loads of canna related jobsCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is no stranger to the “boom” of smoking and pot in this country. Indeed, the former Liberal leader of the Liberal Party elected in 2015 as head of government promised to campaign to legalize the recreational use of marijuana from the spring of 2017, when therapeutic use is already authorized. There are less than six months left to prepare for the market opening.

Two marijuana production companies are moving to New Brunswick: Organigram and Zénabis. The college has partnered with government and the business to develop a new program that meets the broader needs of the industry,” said Michel Doucet, Executive Director of Continuing Education at the New Brunswick Community College on Radio Canada.

The first promotion of cannabis cultivation specialists is expected to start in 2017. Its size will depend on the needs of companies when they start operations. However, two profiles are emerging, with specialists in hemp sprouting and quality control managers, with teaching in French and English. Notice to candidates.

2018 Legalization around the corner

Current thinking in the various Canadian provinces on the future legalization of cannabis in 2018 is currently worrying supporters of legalization. Prohibition of self-culture, the state monopoly on alcoholics, abolition of private clinics… Canadians fear today that legalization will only benefit a small group of people and not necessarily those who fought for it.

Canada is slowly moving towards the legalization of cannabis in July 2018. However, the medical cannabis industry did not wait for this opening to become the largest in the world: it exports enormously internationally.

Canada has become the world’s leading exporter of medical cannabis. And is positioned in all new markets, thanks to a few companies: Tilray, Aurora, Canopy Growth (and its subsidiaries Bedrocan Canada and Tweed), Aphria or others…And there are quite a lot of countries where Canadia is exporting their product!

Canadian medical companies have a bright future ahead of them. It is noteworthy that they are aimed in particular at Europe, which is just beginning to make progress in the medical sector, with no real production capacity. This competitive advantage, the first-incomer advantage, is expected to continue over the next 5-10 years. In the meantime, the international cannabis market is estimated to be worth between $100 billion and $200 billion a year, with the medical market accounting for half the value of it!

Woman Entrepreneurship Champion is?

The “Global Women Entrepreneur Leaders Scorecard,” conducted by Ruta Aidis for Dell in 2015, surveyed 31 countries to find out which countries women entrepreneurs are most likely to succeed in. The ranking was based on various criteria: the entrepreneurial environment, women’s access to the job, women’s leadership and rights, the female entrepreneurial ecosystem and the share of women-led start-ups.

The researcher then ranked each country by points. The United States occupies the first place with 71 points, France comes sixth in Europe with 62 points. The European nation leading the ranking is Sweden with a score of 68 points.

France is at the top of the ranking for the criterion “access to the profession for women.” It is also one of the few countries with nearly 30% of women in a management team.

According to a study carried out in 2016,554,000 businesses were created in France, an increase of 6% compared to 2015. Among entrepreneurs, 40% were women. Seventy-three percent of them have set up businesses in human health and social work and 67% in household services.

  • United States (71 points)
  • Canada (69 points)
  • Australia (69 points)
  • Sweden (68 points)
  • United Kingdom (65 points)
  • France (62 points)
  • Germany (61 points)
  • Poland (59 points)
  • Chile (51 points)
  • Japan, Spain, and Jamaica (49 points)

 

Who Are Some Successful Tech Entrepreneurs And What Are Their Secrets To Success?

Those who are interested in technology definitely want to know about the secrets of the successful tech entrepreneurs. Their success can help others to aspire for the best in the field of technology. The definition of success is different with each individual. These entrepreneurs also offered various important tips in various interviews that will definitely help one to launch a successful tech startup and improve everyone’s life in general. To know more about their secret to success that they have shared in various interviews, this article will take a look at some successful entrepreneurs and what are their secrets to success.

 

A Look At Some Successful Tech Entrepreneurs And Their Secrets To Success:

  • According to Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban, the money and connection doesn’t work but the person should be willing to outwork and outlearn others for the business. In case if the business fails, then one should learn from it and do better next time.
  • According to tech entrepreneur Steve Case, one is not trying something to do marginally or incrementally better but something which is fundamental paradigm shift, which is going to have an exponential impact. Although it may be harder to do, but if one is successful then the impact will be far greater.
  • To Robert Scoble, who is a tech blogger, one should be extremely passionate about their idea. And unless someone is not passionate, they will not be able to develop the potential.
  • According to tech investor and entrepreneur Esther Dyson, many people now days are building products and not companies and those who want to build companies should be able to feel as a part of their company and know what the company is trying to do and understand their role in the company.
  • According to the founder of Blackberry, Mike Lazaridis, the tech company should have a visionary leadership that is capable of attracting and inspire the dedicated employees who believe in the destiny of the company and they want to play a role in the success of the company. The greatness will also require customer based marketing and it should meet and anticipate the needs of the customers. The technology company should also be focused on providing the customers with quality products and real value.

  • According to the co-founder of HTC, Cher Wong, the X factor is very hard to define and it is the culture of HTC and HTC combines the best from the eastern and western cultures where they have leaderships and offices. It makes culture, creative, energetic and colourful.
  • According to author and the Ex Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, there is only hard work and luck. The search for the secret sauce is waste of time. One should create something, sell it, make it better and sell some more from it and create something that will obsolete from what one used to make.

These are some of the best shared secrets from the best tech investors, bloggers and entrepreneurs that will definitely aspire one to achieve the best.