Accelerate EMI qualification of automotive touchscreens with new capacitive touch controllers

Microchip announces three new maXTouch touchscreen controllers and optimisation services which address the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) challenges faced by developers of automotive touchscreens.

The TD family of touch controllers features a new differential mutual signal acquisition method that significantly increases the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). This allows the use of very thick glass or plastic cover lenses and multi-finger thick gloved touch support up to the equivalent of 4.5 mm polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

The MXT1067TD, MXT1189TD and MXT1665TD devices add several variants that are cost-optimised for nine- to 13-inch automotive touchscreens to Microchip’s portfolio and are complemented by the recently introduced MXT449TD, MXT641TD, MXT2113TD and MXT2912TD devices supporting up to 20-inch touchscreens. Each device addresses aspects of the increasing demand for functional safety features and is designed in accordance with the Automotive SPICE Level 3 capability and ISO 26262 Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) B requirements.

All devices in the TD family feature a unique waveform shaping capability to optimise the performance of the touch controller’s radiated emissions through an EMI optimisation tool. Working with product experts in Microchip’s worldwide application design centres, this tool allows developers to enter user-defined RF limits and tune the shape of the transmitted burst waveform used for the touch-sensing acquisition.

Waveform shaping is achieved through firmware parameters derived from the tool and helps designers to position the fundamental burst frequency to work together with other in-vehicle applications, such as the remote keyless entry system. The resulting parameters are then simply added to the maXTouch configuration file, which customises the touch controller performance to the individual customer design.

This process can save the designer many hours, or even weeks, of expensive EMC test chamber time by eliminating experimentation with different configuration settings to achieve the desired EMI/EMC performance. Microchip provides the most comprehensive automotive touchscreen controller portfolio in the market. Target applications are centre stack displays and navigation systems but are also suitable for industrial applications such as automation and manufacturing stations.

An evaluation kit is available for each of the parts in the new maXTouch touchscreen controller family. Kit numbers are ATEVK-MXT1067TDAT-A (I2C), ATEVK-MXT1189TDAT-A (I2C), ATEVK-MXT1189TDAT-C (SPI), ATEVK-MXT1665TDAT-A (I2C) and ATEVK-MXT1665TDAT-C (SPI). Each kit includes a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with the maXTouch touchscreen controller, a touch sensor on a clear glass lens, the Flat Printed Circuit (FPC) to connect to the sensor, and a bridge PCB to connect the kit to the host computer via USB, as well as cables, software and documentation.

All parts are also compatible with maXTouch Studio, a full software development environment to support the evaluation of maXTouch touchscreen controllers. The maXTouch EMI optimisation service will be made available as part of the system support provided by one of Microchip’s worldwide application design centres. The MXT1067TD, MXT1189TD and MXT1665TD devices are available now in sampling and volume quantities in TQFP128 (MXT1067TD only) and LQFP144 packages.

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Most Germans willing to pay significantly more for data security in smart homes

Summertime is the season for traveling, making it the peak season for burglars. As a result, more and more consumers are keeping a remote eye on their home via camera and smartphone app.

However, smart home or smart living solutions, whether it’s electric shutters, connected smoke alarms or lighting control, are often unprotected against cyber attacks. Attackers can spy out houses and residents via the Internet, steal bank details or even open digital door locks.

According to a representative survey carried out by GfK for Infineon Technologies AG, German consumers are aware of these security risks. Most of the respondents from all age and income groups are willing to pay significantly more for devices which are protected against attacks and data theft: For 35.4% of the respondents the limit is up to an additional 10%; a further 20.9% would pay up to 19% more, and 8.4% would even accept a surcharge of 20 to 25%.

More than 60% of the respondents also think that a label that provides information about the security level of the product would be helpful when deciding which product to buy. The security labels for connected devices could be presented in a transparent and comprehensible way, similar to the EU energy efficiency label for the fridge or washing machine.

“Securing a smart home is rather complicated, yet this is exactly where consumers are left to fend for themselves,” says Thomas Rosteck, head of the security division at Infineon. “As already with PCs, the security level of connected electronics could be increased considerably through the use of firewalls, data encryption or an individual password. Simple measures already help to protect users’ privacy, create trust in new applications and offer manufacturers an advantage to set them apart in the competitive smart home market.”

Restraint in home appliances and home monitoring

According to the survey, connected consumer electronics like smart TVs, game consoles or tablets are especially widespread despite the security risk being rated as relatively high. 68% of German households own at least one device in this category and have connected it to the Internet. Smart speakers can already be found in 23.8% of the households.

By contrast, the respondents are more restrained when it comes to solutions for home monitoring and security, energy management, home appliances and lighting control. The security risk here is rated in all age groups as especially high and existing devices are far less frequently online. This is noticeable particularly with home appliances such as fridges, washing machines or robovacs. A total of 52.9% of the respondents say they own an Internet-ready device, but only 17% have connected it to the Internet.

Consumers are also paying more attention to the security risks of these smart devices when purchasing them: 47% of the respondents have already examined the security features of solutions for home monitoring and security in great detail or would do so on a future purchase – compared to 22.8% for entertainment solutions.

Cybersecurity requires binding stipulations and certification

There are still no binding stipulations for smart home appliance manufacturers when it [...]

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TIBCO and Ping Identity Partner to deliver advanced API cybersecurity to customers

TIBCO Software Inc., a global leader in integration, API management, and analytics, announced an official partnership with Ping Identity, a leader in Identity Defined Security.

Together, TIBCO Cloud Mashery and the PingIntelligence for APIs solution bring seamless, AI-powered protection against new emerging API threats to customers. TIBCO Cloud Mashery is a complete solution for digital leaders, IT leaders, and chief information security officers to invest in API-led, cloud-native transformation for their organisations, with advanced API security at its heart.

“API products are the building blocks of an organisation’s digital strategy and, as such, cyber attacks on API programmes are more prevalent and sophisticated. Few enterprises, however, take a standardised approach across their company to ensure the security of data and other digital assets, which are exposed via APIs,” said Rajeev Kozhikkattathodi, vice president, product management and strategy, TIBCO.

“A number of highly publicised breaches resulted recently. As the API attack surface continues to expand due to the strategic value of APIs, a new generation of threats will similarly continue to emerge. We’re excited to partner with Ping Identity to improve security measures for enterprises with sensitive corporate data.”

TIBCO Cloud Mashery offers API security features such as advanced authentication, bot detection, white and blacklisting, and access control to protect APIs from dangerous API consumers. PingIntelligence for APIs complements the solution by extending and enhancing API security with AI-driven threat mitigation and decoy API deception.

As market leaders in API management and API security respectively, these two solutions work together seamlessly to provide a complete API security offering, especially for businesses that are investing in new digital initiatives, such as banks adopting open banking to deliver a superior customer experience.

“Companies’ most sensitive digital assets, including their customer data, are increasingly made accessible via APIs, and protecting this infrastructure from abuses and cyber attacks must be the top priority for CISOs and CIOs everywhere,” said Bernard Harguindeguy, chief technical officer, Ping Identity. “Our partnership with TIBCO brings AI-powered protection to boost the security of API infrastructures and help organisations everywhere secure their data and applications behind APIs.”

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Nine out of 10 UK organisational cybersecurity risks are internal, says Telstra report

The biggest risk to a British company’s cybersecurity is not, as often believed, external hackers and overseas-based virus attacks, but an organisation’s own employees. Whether unknowingly or intentional, the actions of those within an organisation have been shown to be the biggest threat to the digital security of a company, according to new research by technology and telecommunications company Telstra.

One of the key findings from the Telstra Cyber Security Report 2019, the study found that 89% of surveyed UK organisations were impacted by unintentional human error in the past year resulting in at least one incident of compromised security, integrity or availability of service.

The study, which surveyed close to 1,300 professionals across 13 countries, also revealed the frequency of these instances – 12% of British companies reported experiencing weekly occurrences, 14% reported monthly occurrences and 22% experienced incidents quarterly. Compounding this is the time it takes to detect an unintentional security incident – 21% of those who were surveyed said it took days, on average, to identify such errors, while 19% said it took weeks.

Perhaps even more concerning for UK businesses is the number and frequency of malicious actions that are deliberately inflicted by employees. The study found that a quarter (25%) of companies surveyed experienced security incidents due to intentional employee actions on a monthly basis, and 22% said it occurred every six months.

Robert Robinson, security practice lead at Company85, a Telstra company said that organisations are so focused on external threats that they can often forget about the threat posed by their own employees.

“While unintentional human error and malicious activity are not ‘traditional’ methods of attack, it is no surprise that these are some of the leading causes of business disruption. This is because so much investment goes towards preventing external threats, the risks posed by internal employees can often be underestimated.

“What organisations need to do is make sure that their cyber security investment is proportioned well enough to properly train, educate and review staff and internal processes to ensure human error and malicious threats can be minimised.”

Other key findings from the data include:

  • 46% of European respondents surveyed indicated that the level of concern from customers on data privacy has increased over the past 12 months
  • 83% of European organisations surveyed spend up to 20% of their overall IT budget on security
  • Cloud and mobile devices are the biggest source of concern related to UK security attacks (34%)
  • More than half of victims (51%) who experienced a ransomware attack paid the ransom

The Report also found that security breaches of all types are still extremely prevalent as 65% of UK organisations suffered at least one security breach in the past year that resulted in a confirmed disclosure.

It showed that vulnerable unpatched systems and operational technologies such as video cameras and building management systems are the most popular gateways for external attacks (89%). These were followed closely by malware attacks such as spyware, downloader, adminware (88%), web application attacks, phishing attacks and operational technology attacks (86%) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks (83%). Rounding out the most popular methods of attack were business email compromises (82%), ransomware (79%), hacking (77%), identity theft (74%) and advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks (69%).

Robinson continued, “Conventional attacks should still be a huge worry for organisations as the research shows they are still incredibly widespread. To help prevent incapacitating external attacks, organisations must ensure they have effective, enterprise-grade solutions and systems that can help reduce the chances of an attack being successful and recovering from the attack should it breach the walls.”

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AWS launches aggregation service for security alerts from disparate sources and runs continuous compliance checks

Amazon Web Services Inc., an Amazon.com company, has announced the general availability of AWS Security Hub, a service that gives customers a central place to manage security and compliance across an AWS environment.

AWS Security Hub aggregates, organises, and prioritises security alerts – called findings – from AWS services such as Amazon GuardDuty, Amazon Inspector, and Amazon Macie, and from a large and growing list of AWS Partner Network (APN) solutions.

Customers can also run automated, continuous compliance checks based on industry standards and best practices, helping to identify specific accounts and resources that require attention.

AWS Security Hub brings all of this information together in one place, providing a comprehensive view of a customer’s overall security and compliance status visually summarised on integrated dashboards with actionable graphs and tables. There are no upfront commitments required to use AWS Security Hub, and customers pay only for the compliance checks performed and security findings ingested, with no charge for the first 10,000 security finding events each month.

Enterprises today use a broad array of AWS and third-party tools to secure their environments. These tools are effective but they also generate many findings – all viewable in different consoles and dashboards. Many customers use a patchwork set of custom-built solutions to manage and monitor compliance across distributed accounts and workloads.

To understand their overall security and compliance state, customers must either manually pivot between all these tools or invest in developing complex systems to aggregate and analyse the findings. This makes it challenging for security teams to centralise their security findings, prioritise the events that matter most, and ensure that accounts and workloads are operating in a compliant manner.

With AWS Security Hub, customers can quickly see their entire AWS security and compliance state in one place. AWS Security Hub collects and aggregates findings from the security services running in a customer’s environment, such as intrusion detection findings from Amazon GuardDuty, vulnerability scan results from Amazon Inspector, sensitive data identifications from Amazon Macie, and findings generated by a wide portfolio of security tools from APN partners.

Dan Plastina of AWS

The service then correlates findings across providers to prioritise the most important information, highlight trends, and identify resources that may require attention. Customers can also continuously monitor their environment with automated configuration and compliance checks based on industry standards and best practices, such as Center for Internet Security (CIS) AWS Foundations Benchmark.

If these checks identify any accounts or resources that deviate from a best practice, AWS Security Hub flags the problem and recommends remediation steps. AWS Security Hub gives security teams the visibility they need to prioritise work and improve their security and compliance state by centralising their most important information in one easy-to-manage place.

“AWS Security Hub is the glue that connects what AWS and our security partners do to help customers manage and reduce risk,” says Dan Plastina, VP for External Security Services at AWS. “By combining automated compliance checks, the aggregation of findings from more than 30 different AWS and partner sources, and partner-enabled response and remediation workflows, AWS Security Hub gives customers a simple way to unify management of their security and compliance.” 

AWS Security Hub ingests data from different sources using a standard findings format, eliminating the need for time-consuming data conversion efforts. Amazon CloudWatch and AWS Lambda integrations allow customers to execute automated remediation actions based on specific types of findings. Customers can also integrate AWS Security Hub with their automation workflows and third-party tools like ticketing, chat, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems to quickly take action on issues.

Leading providers, including Alert Logic, Armor, Atlassian, Barracuda, Check Point (CloudGuard Dome9 and CloudGuard IaaS), Cloud Custodian, CrowdStrike, CyberArk, F5, GuardiCore, IBM, McAfee, PagerDuty, Palo Alto Networks (Demisto, RedLock, and VM-Series), Qualys, Rapid7 (VMInsight and InsightConnect), ServiceNow, Slack, Splunk (Splunk Enterprise and Phantom), Sophos, Sumo Logic, Symantec, Tenable, Turbot, and Twistlock have built integrations with AWS Security Hub, with many new integrations to be added regularly.

Customers can try AWS Security Hub at no additional charge with a 30-day free trial. AWS Security Hub is available today in US East (Ohio), US East (N. Virginia), US West (N. California), US West (Oregon), Canada (Central), Asia Pacific (Mumbai), Asia Pacific (Seoul), Asia Pacific (Singapore), Asia Pacific (Sydney), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), Europe (Frankfurt), Europe (Ireland), Europe (London), Europe (Paris), and South America (Sao Paulo), with additional regions coming soon.

With nearly 19 million customers worldwide, GoDaddy is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers, and manage their work. “GoDaddy leverages AWS Security Hub not only to provide us with a single-pane-of-glass view across our security and compliance issues, but to operationalise our security and compliance findings,” says Demetrius Comes, vice president of Engineering, GoDaddy. “We’ve also found great value in pushing our own security findings into Security Hub to make the single view more personalised and useful for our organisation.”

To get started with AWS Security Hub, click here.

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Dynamic Spectrum Alliance unites industry leaders to explore spectrum sharing technologies

Demonstrations over the first two days of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance’s (DSA’s) Global Summit have highlighted how alternative technologies are key to connecting the four billion people who still do not have access to the internet. The Global Summit will explore an extensive agenda covering the issues facing spectrum sharing now.

With 5G, IoT and an increasing need for more capacity and wider coverage forcing change, the work towards dynamic spectrum sharing techniques is becoming more widespread. As a result, these techniques are swiftly reaching the stage where they can be built on a large scale.

“The implementation of these technologies is key to closing the digital divide that still exists around the world, with billions of people still not being able to take advantage of the economic and social benefits that wider broadband access brings,” said Martha Suárez, president of the DSA. “The Summit has brought together governments, regulators and industry leaders to discuss and debate the ever-expanding list of alternative technologies and bands which can really make a difference to individuals around the world.”

On the first two days of the Global Summit, Television White Space (TVWS) and regulator workshops explored alternative bands and technologies, such as Citizens Broadcast Radio Service (CBRS) and Wi-Fi 6. These are two examples of technologies that aim to make a more efficient use of the Spectrum and allow many new broadband use cases that will impact the way we communicate in different sectors such as health, agriculture and education.

Several DSA members, including NominetGoogleFacebookMicrosoft and Federated Wireless, gave presentations and demonstrations of the technologies that are currently providing dynamic spectrum access to network providers worldwide. Nominet demonstrated its successful TVWS database that can be used for dynamic spectrum sharing and management. Existing base stations periodically connect to the Nominet database, that will provide the base station with available channels and allow connections from client stations.

“Dynamic spectrum management is absolutely vital to make full use of unused spectrum, by increasing bandwidth and reducing costs. By employing technologies like TVWS, we will see benefits such as connecting rural communities, supporting wireless networks in high-density locations and connecting IoT devices,” said Suárez. “This year’s Global Summit has already welcomed 18 regulators and representatives from 14 countries, who have come together for our TVWS and regulator workshops. This reflects the common recognition that dynamic spectrum access is crucial to enable next generation wireless technologies.”

The final day of the Global Summit will go on to further explore the many other technologies that can provide spectrum management, dynamic access and flexible systems, aiming to offer broadband to everyone and enable the new generation of wireless communications.

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IoTSWC 2019 hosts a Brokerage Event to identify partners in more than 35 countries

Providers of IoT, artificial intelligence and blockchain solutions, technological centres, universities and startups, as well as industrial companies interested in implementing these disruptive technologies.

All of them will have the chance to find international business, commercial and technological partners at the Brokerage Event to be held at IoTSWC (IoT Solutions World Congress) from 29th to 31st October. This networking activity plans to schedule 800 bilateral interviews over three days involving more than 350 companies from over 35 countries.

The Brokerage Event is organised within the framework of IoTSWC by the Enterprise Europe Network and ACCIÓ, the Catalan Government agency for business competitiveness. The firms that register on the platform will be able to schedule 20-minute B2B meetings, depending on the availability, interests and objectives of the participants, with companies chiefly from European countries but also from the USA, Canada, China, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, Israel and Turkey. These meetings will enable them to reach international partnership agreements for sales and licences, joint ventures, outsourcing, investment, technological transfer and R&D projects.

This activity, particularly highly rated by SMEs, leads to the active establishment of contacts, saving time and resources, expanding professional networks and promoting cross-border business relationships. Similarly, the participating companies will be able to gain visibility in the market by attending IoTSWC, a leading event on the innovations of the industrial internet of things and its convergence with other disruptive technologies that are driving the digitisation of all kinds of sectors and businesses.

Last year, 95% of the participants declared that the IoTSWC Brokerage Event had exceeded their expectations and 85% regarded their meeting schedule as the right one, while 45% of the 700 interviews held were classified as leading to “potential collaboration” or a “confirmed agreement”.

This year the companies interested in taking part can sign up until 24th October via the Brokerage Event platform on the IoTSWC website, attaching a description of the products, services and technologies they are offering or looking for. From 25th September to 31st October the companies that have signed up will be able to select the business collaboration profiles that best suit their interests and request a meeting to set up the agendas for the interviews to be held at IoTSWC 2019.

Organised by Fira de Barcelona in partnership with the IIC (Industrial Internet Consortium), IoTSWC is an international flagship event in the field of innovations in the industrial internet of things and the only one that combines a trade exhibition, a congress, testbeds and high-level professional networking. In its next edition, it expects to bring together 400 exhibiting companies and more than 400 speakers from all over the world, as well as surpassing the figure of 16,000 attendees in 2018.

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Data roaming traffic in Asia increased by 245% in 2018, BICS finds

Data roaming traffic across Asia surged by 245% in the past 12 months, international communications enabler BICS has revealed.

The data – sourced from BICS’ global network which connects over 700 operators and 500 digital service providers (DSPs), and carries over 50% of global data roaming traffic – shows a significant increase in roaming traffic both in and out of the region. This huge uplift is being driven by increased adoption of roaming, new tariffs plans, travel SIMs and IoT devices across the continent, with BICS’ ‘SIM for Things’ enabling roaming for 120+ million IoT devices in Asia.

BICS has also reported that in Q1 2019 outbound roaming traffic from Asia to Europe and the Middle East increased by 88%, compared to Q1 2018. Inbound roaming volumes from the same regions grew by 81%, reflecting continued demand for mobile services abroad from tourists and business travellers. The findings from Asia provide further evidence of a booming demand throughout the world for data roaming, with BICS previously revealing that global roaming traffic increased by 95% during 2018.

“Subscribers now expect high quality, affordable roaming services, whether they’re travelling inside or outside of Asia, while enterprises managing ‘fleets’ of connected devices need uninterrupted, cross-border connectivity,” said Malcolm Chan, managing director for Asia-Pacific, BICS. “While APAC has yet to follow in the EU’s footsteps with tariff-free roaming, roaming costs have fallen, encouraging more subscribers to use their phones abroad, and helping to drive the commoditisation of mobile services. This presents a major opportunity for mobile operators, who can boost revenues and enhance the customer experience through offering roaming packages.”

BICS anticipates that global data roaming traffic will continue to surge as operators progress 5G roadmaps. According to Ericsson, 5G coverage is forecast to reach 45% of the world’s population, by the end of 2024, with 5G networks projected to carry 35% of global mobile traffic. Higher speeds mean higher volumes of traffic, and consequently the trajectory of roaming growth is expected to continue indefinitely. 5G technology enables new – and more – IoT use cases, across multiple verticals from automotive to healthcare, which will require global connectivity and further add to roaming traffic on operators’ networks.

Chan added: “An exploding IoT sector and gradual roll-out of 5G in the region including China and South Korea will add to the demand from Asia’s booming manufacturing and digital economy, meaning we’re likely to see similar growth in terms of roaming data in the coming year. With a network spanning 180 countries, BICS’ infrastructure will play an integral role in supporting this growth, and will underpin global 5G mobility.”

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