A new Captcha system, developed by Google, will secretly study how your interact with a web page rather than asking questions or setting puzzles in order to prove that you are a ‘human’ visitor.

Why Captchas?

‘Captcha’ is actually an acronym (dating back to 2000) for ‘Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart’. Captchas are used to stop automated bots accessing and using websites and other online resources. If Captchas are not used, some of these bots can post spam comments in blogs, sign up for thousands of email accounts every minute e.g. on Yahoo, buy multiple tickets from ticket sites, gather email addresses (written in text) from web pages, distort online polls, and launch dictionary attacks on password systems. The use of Captchas can also offer full protection to pages that you don’t want indexed by search engines, and offer worm and spam protection.

Captchas are also useful to search engines in training their AI bots to recognise aspects of photographs.

Typical Types

Typical Types of Captchas include puzzles (when logging into a website) that ask you to tick the boxes in picture puzzle grid that show e.g. parts of a shop-front or road signs, or asking you to enter a series of letters and numbers that you can see displayed in a Captcha-generating box.

Google’s New ‘reCaptcha’ System Is ‘Invisible’

The important difference about Google’s new system ‘reCaptcha’, from a user perspective, is that it is invisible i.e. it no longer sets puzzles or asks the user to record their interpretation of visual or audio cues (in most cases).

Tick A Box First

Instead, reCaptcha asks users to tick a check box on the website they are using. It then runs in the background, monitoring the behaviour of user on the web page, and therefore relies upon its ability to be able to tell the difference between human and robot behaviour. For example, humans may take longer to complete online forms, will move the mouse around, and will need to interact with elements of them, such as the submit button. Robots on the other hand can complete this kind of process quickly, and with little or no mouse use.

Where the new system is particularly suspicious that web page activity is robot-like, it can still choose, at that point, to deploy a puzzle.

What Does It Mean For Your Business?

For web users i.e. potential or existing business customers, although they may be used to being met with a Captcha when accessing many services online, it can still be an irritation, a possible deterrent, and can have a negative impact on the experiences of customers on business websites. The reduced impact and interruption of the new system could therefore allow businesses to strike a better balance between providing good online experiences, while providing effective protection from spammers, and other problems that unlimited bot access can create.

At the recent Association of the United States Army (AUSA) symposium, General David Perkins told the audience about an incident where a close ally of the U.S. used a £2.5 million patriot missile to shoot down $200 drone purchased from Amazon.

Overkill

The incident, which has been described by commentators such as Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute as “overkill”, was recounted to an audience of military personnel and military supply company representatives. News of the incident was used by the General in his speech in order to illustrate the kinetic / economic challenge facing military commanders (of all nations) where cheap technology is now being used by adversaries for attacks.

Quadcopter From Amazon

The drone was reported to be a $200 quadcopter purchased from Amazon, but the details of exactly which ‘close’ US ally chose to fire such an expensive, sophisticated and powerful weapon at the shop-bought drone has not been revealed.
Five Times the Speed of Sound Vs 80km/h

Patriot missiles typically fly at five times the speed of sound, whereas the top speed of a quadcopter drone is approximately 80km/h. Whilst the General pointed out, as may be expected, that the missile was extremely effective at eliminating the drone (the kinetic exchange ratio was good), he was eager to point out that the ‘economic ratio’ of this kind of response was not good.

The General expanded the point by saying that, as a strategy, this would be at least disastrous economically if an enemy decided, for example, to purchase and use multiple and cheap drones, knowing that they would be attacked with missiles costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Electronic Warfare and ‘Cyber’ Approach

General David Perkins highlighted the fact that faced with attacks using cheap, widely available and evolving technology, military commanders will soon have to employ a wider variety of tactical defence options available to them, including electronic and cyber warfare, to enable a response that is effective, proportionate, and economically viable.

Drones Common Sight in the Near Future
There was a 20m ‘near miss’ of an Airbus A320 carrying 165 passengers on its approach to Heathrow Airport on 18 July last year. Amazon has also been widely reported to have successfully tested, and be hoping to introduce drone parcel delivery services in the UK. It could therefore mean that drones may be an increasingly popular sight in the skies in some parts of the UK in the near future.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This story helps to illustrate how different kinds of fairly sophisticated and often unregulated technologies (not just drones) are now becoming available, for relatively low prices, and can be used for wrong-doing.
This problem is now something that is being faced by businesses which have the threat of cyber criminals using very cheap, but advanced and often effective attack methods to steal data and money. A server-crippling DDoS attack for example, can be bought off-the-shelf and can cost the criminal just £30 to execute (presumably excluding labour costs), but the financial costs to the company that has been targeted can be huge, and potentially fatal for a business. Companies, therefore need a budget to provide a good level of cyber and data security, which may include spending on staff training to spot threats early, guarding against human error and fending off multi-vector attacks.

Worries about the security vulnerabilities in ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) devices just reached a new level after a Canadian ‘adult sensual lifestyle products’ manufacturer was found to have been secretly tracking their customers’ use of their sex toys.

Big Turn-Off

Customers of start-up firm Standard Innovation, manufacturers of ‘We-Vibe’ products, have been left red-faced and angry after the company was judged by a court to have been guilty of covertly gathering data about how (and how often) customers used their Wi-Fi enabled sex toy.

Why Wi-Fi Enabled?

The We-Vibe product was made Wi-Fi enabled because it was designed to be controlled via a smartphone app over long distances and via Bluetooth over shorter distances, thereby offering users a new kind of shared but distant experience.

What Kind Of Data Was Collected?

The kind of data that was collected via the smartphone by Standard Innovation, reportedly without the knowledge or consent of their customers was when customers had been using the sex toys, information about the intensity of the vibration settings used, and the email addresses of customers.

Ouch

After being found guilty in class action lawsuit brought by two anonymous females at the North District of Illinois Eastern Division District Court, Standard Innovation agreed to pay £2.4 million to those who had purchased the smartphone app-controlled We-Vibe products. As a result of the ruling, those persons who used the app to control their We-Vibe device prior to 26 September 2016, will be entitled to £6,120 compensation, while those did not use the app will be entitled to £120.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Despite the payouts and the bad publicity, Standard Innovation seems set to woo customers back with new and improved products in the future. The company has reportedly stated that it will improve security in the products, and provide customers with more choice in the data they share.

IoT Paranoia

This story comes hot on the heels of a week where there seemed to be an outbreak of IoT paranoia in the US after comments made by President Trump’s senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway suggesting that microwaves have been used for spying, and we heard news that we could also be monitored via our smart televisions.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Although there is a light-hearted element to this story, continual media reports about anything from wearable fitness devices to household appliances being vulnerable to misuse or hacks, are evidence and manifestations of the kinds of worries and hopes that we have about the IoT and how it can best be safely used.

Where businesses are concerned, back in July 2016 a Vodafone survey showed that three quarters of businesses saw how they use the Internet of Things (IoT) as being a critical factor in their success. Many technology commentators have also noted that the true extent of the risks posed by IoT device vulnerabilities are unknown because the devices are so widely distributed globally, and large organisations have tended not to include them in risk assessments for devices, code, data, and infrastructure.
It has also been noted by many commentators that not only is it difficult for businesses to ascertain whether all their hardware, software, and service partners are maintaining effective IoT security, but there is also still no universal, certifiable standard for IoT security.

Businesses therefore may wish to conduct an audit and risk assessment for known IoT devices that are used in the business. One basic security measure is to make sure that any default username and passwords in these devices are changed as soon as possible.

Security experts also suggest that anyone deploying IoT devices in any environment should require the supply chain to provide evidence of adherence to a well-written set of procurement guidelines that relate to some kind of specific and measurable criteria.

Microsoft has also compiled a checklist of IoT security best practice. This highlights the different areas of security that need to be addressed by the organisations involved throughout the lifecycle of an IoT system e.g. manufacturing and integration, software development, deployment, and operations.

Last week Ofcom (the telecoms regulator) announced that BT has agreed to legally separate from Openreach, which owns and operates the UK’s broadband infrastructure.

Why The Split?

Through Openreach, BT owns (and is responsible for providing) the vast majority of the UK’s telecoms network infrastructure, not just for itself, but also for any competitors such as TalkTalk, Sky, and Vodafone (and BT’s own retail arm). This has led to competition problems, and rivals have argued that, since BT has a third of the country’s broadband market, a company from its own group should not be providing the infrastructure

There is has also been an argument in recent years that greater investment is needed in the network, and that action needs to be taken to improve broadband and phone services across the UK.

Also, in July 2016, Ofcom recommended that Openreach should be run as a separate company from BT, and in November 2016 Ofcom ruled that it would force a separation via the European Commission. BT has also faced pressure from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to separate the two businesses.

Jumped, Rather Than Pushed

The agreement by BT to separate itself from Openreach means that potentially costly and damaging legal battles and imposed regulations can now be avoided.

What Happens Now?

The deal to separate the two companies, which took two years to complete, will actually mean that Openreach will have its own board, and will make its own investment decisions, but the BT board will still set the annual budget.

General Approval

The announcement by Ofcom has been met with general noises of approval by rivals Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone (all users of the Openreach network) who had long argued that the link between BT and Openreach had been bad for competition and had impacted upon the levels of service that competitor companies had been able to offer their customers.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

On the face of it, the potential for business broadband services to improve for all of us is, of course, a good thing. Telecoms commentators have, however, pointed out that expecting a sudden investment of billions more in fast fibre broadband connections just because there is a new, independent Board is unrealistic. There is also the small matter of how BT’s shareholders will feel about seeing an important part of the business going, although, shortly after the announcement of the impending separation, shares in BT jumped 4.3% to 344.2p in the morning trading.

In response to complaints by Microsoft Windows 10 ‘Home’ edition users that the enforced reboots required for some updates are disruptive, Microsoft is enabling users to choose when their updates are installed, as from next month.

Schedule Your Updates Days In Advance

Microsoft has announced, via one of its many blog posts, that at any time within 3 days of being informed of when a security update (and perhaps a reboot) is required, Windows 10 (Home) users will very soon be able to schedule when that installation actually takes place.

More Convenient If Users Are Prepared

This is likely to be a lot more convenient for users and could go some way towards addressing concerns and complaints that date back to the Anniversary Update of August 2016.

This update took away the configurable option relating to the scheduling of updates (for Windows 10 ‘Home’ users) and instead instructed the software to apply patches overnight, automatically restarting devices to enable the updates to take effect. The big problem was that users who left their computers running overnight were often unprepared to have their computer re-started.

Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions have the ability to prevent and re-schedule forced updates anyway.

Part of the Creators Update

The change to security (and privacy) features will be rolled-out next month as a small part of the wider ‘Creators Update’. The main focus of this new update will be upon 3D, game broadcasting and tournaments to gamers across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs, and improvements to popular apps and Microsoft Edge.

Downloads Less Disruptive Too

As part of the announcement about ‘Home’ users being able to schedule update reboots, Microsoft’s Michael Fortin (CVP of Windows and Devices Group Core Quality) has stated that after the Creator Update, downloads will have less impact on device performance while they are in progress.

Privacy Changes.

Fortin also announced that leading on from an announcement made by Microsoft’s Terry Myerson in January, the Creator Update will also bring new features that will make it easier for users to choose their own privacy and diagnostic data collection settings.

Security Risks In Delaying Updates

Security commentators have been quick to point out that giving users the chance to delay security updates (which often contain critical security fixes) could make them more vulnerable to hackers and other cyber-security risks.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

If you are a business user who has a ‘Home’ edition of Windows 10 on your device(s), the Creator Update will mean that you have some control over when your computer is re-booted and updated. This could mean less disruption during working hours and the chance to plan updates so that no vital work is interrupted / disrupted … or lost. It is, however, important to understand that you may be exposing your business to a degree of risk by delaying vital security updates for days rather than minutes or hours.

IBM is preparing to offer a service that gives access to (and use of) a powerful, universal quantum computer, via the cloud, thereby enabling users to solve complex problems and innovate.

More Power, Greater Capabilities

The service, which will be called IBM Q, will be the first time that a universal quantum computer has been commercially available.

The big advantage of quantum computers is that they are exponentially more capable than existing ‘classical’ computers and they are able to solve highly complex problems.

Examples of Applications

Examples of ways in which the power of quantum computers have been / can be applied to and can benefit businesses and society include:

Dramatically speeding up the process of discovering new and innovative drugs and materials by providing the ability to work through large amounts of complex molecular and chemical data, formulae and variables.
Advancing the development of artificial intelligence (AI) features in products and services.
Solving complex supply chain logistics problems.
Modelling financial data and multiple global risk factors to enable better investment choices.
Applying the laws of quantum physics to computer systems could improve security.
Building The Interfaces

IBM are currently reported to be at the stage of introducing the application programming interface (API) that will enable developers to begin building the interfaces that will be necessary for a five quantum bit (qubit) cloud-based quantum computer to talk to traditional computers. The company has also recently upgraded the IBM Quantum Experience simulator.

Development Kit Released Soon

A software development kit on the IBM Quantum Experience is scheduled to be released in the first half of this year. The kit will enable users to build simple quantum applications and software programs, connect to IBM’s quantum processor through the Cloud, study the tutorials, and start running algorithms, experiments and simulations on the quantum computer.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The use of a quantum computer will give businesses and organisations of all kinds a chance to solve many of their most complex problems, develop new and innovative potentially industry-leading products and services and perhaps discover new, hitherto unthought-of business opportunities. If IBM Q lives up to its promise, it could offer businesses to chance to develop products that could provide real competitive advantage in a shorter amount of time and at much less cost than their traditional computer architecture and R&D practices previously allowed.