Month: August 2020

Traxens, a company that provides high-value data and services for the supply chain industry, announces a partnership with COSCO Shipping Logistics that aims to promote a full set of IoT data services based on Traxens cutting-edge smart container solutions.

Both companies are carrying out a test program to provide IoT data services to COSCO Shipping Logistics’ large worldwide base of beneficial cargo owners (BCO) customers and aiming to join force in promoting supply chain digitalisation. This follows the opening of Traxens’ China office – its first outside of France.

COSCO is a global shipping company and a container logistics operator in China. In partnering with COSCO, Traxens will be able to demonstrate its capacity in creating customer values through promoting its smart container solutions and digital services, and significantly contributing to the ongoing digitalisation of the global container logistics industry. As the global supply chain becomes more and more competitive, improved tracking and smart data management is an increasingly important differentiation factor for all the major players in the shipping industry.

Through this partnership, COSCO will be able to offer premium data services to its large base of BCOs who are seeking door-to-door visibility and ever-increasing efficiency in their supply chains. This joint development in container supply chain digitalisation marks a milestone in Traxens’ international expansion strategy and will help the company push forward with further business development in Asia.

“Our main focus as a business is to be able to create substantial customer value by delivering superior solution and services through technological innovation and global customer support capacity” said David Marchand, Traxens CEO. “Our partnership with COSCO will greatly benefit cargo owners and end-users and encourage further digitalisation of the container logistics industry to the benefit of customers worldwide.”

“Traxens is delighted to be working with COSCO, providing its industry-proven smart container solutions to help streamline the company’s operations and enhance customers experience,” said Vincent Gu, managing director, Traxens Asia-Pacific. “Providing fleets with global visibility, exception management and business intelligence is what Traxens does best. By partnering up with global shipping companies such as COSCO we are able to demonstrate what our IoT solutions are capable of, giving client companies end-to-end shipment visibility and predictive insights that will benefit the end-users and the whole industry.”

“Through our partnership with Traxens, we aim to be at the forefront of digitalisation and to maintain our leadership in the global container logistics industry ” said Sheng Liu, general manager of the container logistics division of COSCO SHIPPING Logistics. “As a global logistics company, we always pay close attention to the needs of our customers in their supply chain. We believe that the IoT services developed by Traxens are important to improve tracking and management of moving assets.”

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In light of the current pandemic, global technology market advisory firm ABI Research estimates that Connected Home devices could see a 30% year-on-year sales surge in the coming months. Not only this, says Daniel Egger, Axiros GmbH and Project Stream Lead for Broadband User Services (BUS) Data Modeling Project Stream, smart home devices are expected to overtake smartphones by 2021, with the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices predicted to reach more than 50 billion devices, according to Strategy analytics.

In order to monetise this golden opportunity within the Connected Home market, service providers must first unlock a truly interoperable ecosystem for user services that vastly improves the consumer experience.

A challenging task for service providers

As smart devices become increasingly prevalent throughout the home and office, consumers and businesses alike are in turn demanding faster, more reliable connectivity. To truly enable and enhance end-users’ connected experience, ubiquitous connectivity must be delivered to all corners of residential and commercial premises, all whilst ensuring connected devices can be seamlessly managed.

How these devices can be managed, monitored, and upgraded can be a challenging task for service providers. And with consumers turning to their broadband service providers for customer support on smart home device-related issues, it further increases complexity and heightens security related problems.

As a result, service providers are being held responsible for poor device and application performance by their customers because they perceive the integration of devices, applications, and internet service as part of their overall broadband experience. This comes down to the fact that consumers often do not have the knowledge to differentiate between “the Wi-Fi” and “the internet”, despite the reality that many consumers buy their Wi-Fi equipment independently of their service provider.

The connected key

Bringing both benefits and challenges, service providers must evolve how the broadband experience is measured and delivered both in the home and for business. This is critical if service providers are to unleash the full potential of the Connected Home ecosystem, and with more than one billion installations worldwide, TR-069 is largely responsible for creating the mass market that stimulated broadband innovation and subscriber adoption.

The evolution of TR-069 and built by vendors and service providers within Broadband Forum, TR-369, also known as User Services Platform (USP), is the protocol for remote IP network CPE management. With the natural extension of the access network, USP is viewed as the intersection between the proliferating Internet of Things (IoT) and can unlock new use cases for the customer. Addressing interoperability and balancing the needs of the consumer and service provider, USP provides a unified approach to deploying, managing and controlling connected devices in the home.

Evolving requirements

With the design of USP, there are several new ways of establishing multiple connections to different Endpoints. One major evolution to the standards and Endpoint IDs is that every participant in USP has a unique identifier. Operators have the ability to use these IDs in very different ways and allow an Agent such as a games console, Wi-Fi connection or streaming service to talk to different Controllers such as a handheld device or a computer and know exactly which Controller requires which data.

Operators’ ability to place the to/from Endpoint IDs becomes a key element of any Records (which are the low-level packets sent between USP participants) for routing. USP also provides the ability to address multiple Controllers and more can be added via discovery mechanisms, so multiple Controllers can be easily installed and communicated with simultaneously. This is alongside a dedicated configuration per Controller and commands which allows Controller specific targeting.

Presenting a choice of Message Transfer Protocols (MTPs), operators can choose the best possible connectivity for Controllers and re-use the existing infrastructure. Operators can have different MTPs for different Controllers and configure them how they see fit, allowing each Controller to communicate in the most efficient way. It also enables Controller Trust which define access controls for each Controller and restricts the abilities the Controller has on the data model.

Greater security

As the number of data from new applications and services continues to grow, so too does the number of security threats and potential issues for the end-user, which didn’t exist previously.

That is why it is critical that service providers think ahead and deploy solutions that meet the criteria for being future-proof from malicious hackers looking to take control of the device. But no matter the challenges that service providers face, such as reducing costs, improving customer support, or differentiating themselves with a unique label to consumers – USP was also designed specifically as the saviour in providing a platform for mastering the Connected Home.

Superior experience

Daniel Egger

When it comes to the golden ticket of generating additional revenue streams, USP allows for the roll-out and implementation of new applications much more easily without affecting existing installations. USP is incredibly important in the mass deployment of broadband networks and are vital in creating a stable ecosystem for Connected Home implementations at scale. This, in turn, will enable service providers to unleash the full potential of the smart home, providing them with the means to offer a superior Connected Home experience, as well as monetise on the smart home ecosystem.

For more and to view videos about Broadband Forum’s views on the Connected Home and the role of USP, go to:

The author is Daniel Egger, Axiros GmbH and Project Stream lead for Broadband User Services (BUS) Data Modeling Project Stream.

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Many enterprises already employ artificial intelligence (AI) and bots to search for threats and high-risk environments in their own networks and within internal software. But unfortunately, says John Briar, COO and co-founder of BotRx, cyber criminals are seeing the value of AI-powered bots too.

Cyber criminals have appropriated these technologies, creating a new generation of bad bots that can find system vulnerabilities faster, and then exploit them in real-time. Bots rove searching the web for weak, unpatched systems and key vulnerabilities. Aiming to exploit users and their accounts even on well protected systems as well as stealing data, disrupting service, and even spreading fake “facts.”

Cyber threats posed by bad bots

Facebook reports that it removed more than seven million pieces of harmful Covid-19 misinformation between April and June alone. Although substantial, the scale comes as no surprise, given that bots can disseminate misinformation through social media at magnitudes that humans could never achieve. And disinformation campaigns aren’t just limited to “fake news” on social media.

Disinformation campaigns can also be used to influence stock prices, or even degrade a brand’s reputation and damage consumer confidence. Bad bots can masquerade as customers or the company itself, creating negative reviews or spreading disinformation about a company and its leadership.

Besides disinformation, one of the biggest threats to businesses posed by bad bots is content scraping, where bots download or “scrape” content from a website for malicious purposes. Web crawlers and content scraping bots trawl the internet looking for valuable business data to steal for profit. As a result, product details, pricing, promotions, and API (application program interface) data can all be captured by bots and used for competitive gain.

Add to that, fraudsters are also employing automated bots to launch credential stuffing attacks. Credential stuffing uses login and password pairs stolen in a previous data breach to break into a user’s other accounts, counting on the fact that many people reuse the same usernames and passwords across all of their online accounts. Once fraudsters find a login match for a specific website, they sell these verified credential pairs to other cybercriminals that launch follow-on attacks, or use the account access to commit a variety of fraudulent activities

How can businesses fight bad bots?

Because of the open nature of the internet, nothing is stopping bots from gaining access to websites and applications. In fact, bots account for nearly half of the web traffic going to the world’s 1.8 billion websites in 2020. Although good bots can perform beneficial tasks like facilitating business processes, indexing data, and aggregating content, these same automated processes are also being used for malicious purposes.

Given the sheer volume of fraudulent traffic, standard cybersecurity technologies that don’t specialise in bots aren’t effective against them, making bad bot detection and mitigation a must-have for today’s enterprises.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet solution to the problem of bad bots, and organisations must evaluate which combination of solutions best fits their needs. One of the biggest challenges for enterprises is being able to combat the dynamic nature of automated bot attacks. These attackers change tactics on such a regular basis that it’s difficult to determine behavioural rules and signatures.

From this point of view, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based solutions are a better match for automated bot attacks, but even the very best AI and ML solutions can be outsmarted by financially motivated fraudsters who patiently gather intelligence to plan and execute attacks over time.

In addition, AI is only as good as the information it is fed, and while effective for identifying data anomalies, AI still requires manual intervention to classify irregularities as real or false events.

When it comes to firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, signatures and rules can be rendered ineffective because they cannot differentiate quickly changing attack patterns and small footprint attacks that are common today.

Likewise, big data analytics, where analysts examine large amounts of data in order to detect irregularities within a network, often can’t keep up with rapidly-changing attack vectors or easily identify small volume, low frequency attacks. Even with the most up-to-date threat intelligence, the intelligence is “after the fact,” which allows early attackers to go undetected.

New solutions like Moving Target Defense (MTD) look to shift the tactical advantage back to the defenders. The concept of MTD, created by the US Department of Homeland Security, is unique in its proactive approach to stopping malicious bot attacks. MTD makes the attributes of a financial institution’s network dynamic rather than static, obfuscating the attack surface. This reduces the window of opportunity for fraudsters, makes it extremely difficult for them to infiltrate a network, and allows companies to be on the front foot.

Conclusion

Cybercriminals are leveraging AI and are only getting smarter about how to make bad bots behave like humans. While traditional cyber defence methods still have their uses, to outpace fraudsters and their bot armies, businesses must utilise the same advanced technologies, such as AI and machine learning, as well as look to new solutions like MTD that shift the balance of power from attacker to defender.

The author is John Briar, COO and co-founder, BotRx.

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While initially concerned at the impact of remote work mandated as part of COVID-19 safe working practices, many industrial leaders were encouraged to find the use of manufacturing executions systems (MESs) and plant data repositories (Historians) reduced the challenge of maintaining effective control of production from afar.

So what’s going to happen at firms that weren’t so well prepared at the outset? Here, Sean Robinson, service leader at industrial automation provider Novotek UK and Ireland, explains why modern plant systems should be part of a competitive toolkit even when there is no pandemic.

50 years ago, the thought that a plant manager could stay home and be able to have meaningful oversight of operations, while collaborating with other remote colleagues on the details, was unbelievable. If COVID-19 had struck at that time, most factories would have simply closed entirely.

Today, instead, with the right industrial IT solutions, plant management along with team supervisors, quality leaders, engineers and continuous improvement managers can work as a team as if they were together, regardless of where they are. A combination of developments in IT and OT (information & operations technology) have come together to make this possible.

Speed and power supplemented

There are now ways to securely deliver existing automation software applications such as SCADA via the web. Likewise, plant data repositories, or Historian software, have had the speed and power of their collection and storage capabilities supplemented with modern, web-based tools for exploring data. This includes ways to quickly add context and description to otherwise technical data points, so there can now be one source of raw truth that is accessible from anywhere, comprehensible by anyone.

Full-fledged production-tracking systems or MESs have similarly had rich web-based front ends built, so that the detailed flow of events and activities can be tapped into from anywhere, regardless of how those systems may have had to be tied to on-site automation and sensors.

Evolution of plant tech

The driving force behind the evolution of plant tech, though, was to enable greater productivity. With information from core operations readily at hand, alongside information from the broader enterprise, leading firms began to accelerate their continuous improvement efforts, undertake deeper collaboration with suppliers and other industrial partners and develop better insights into how to refine products and processes.

The fact that their modern systems lent themselves to remote work and collaboration would come to be seen as a bonus aspect to these capabilities.

Despite the ready availability of modern plant IT and automation, and the numerous documented cases of manufacturers realising the benefits of modern systems, many factories remain wedded to paper, spreadsheets and ad hoc / as able machine data analysis efforts (often based on manual extraction and collation of data from individual assets). The implications of this go beyond it being comparatively inconvenient to deal with remote working.

Firms that have incorporated more modern plant solutions already enjoy significant advantages in their cost of production, their operational flexibility and their predictability in relation to meeting demand. The question is whether such current advantages will be further entrenched, or whether we will see a surge of investment from others to take on these capabilities. There is also a question of whether the firms catching up will look to go beyond simply sustaining their operations and towards fine-tuning or even re-shaping them.

Lessons from leading organisations

The next wave of technology adopters can benefit from observing how organisational structures and behaviours have been changed as modernisation has unfolded. New tech has certainly changed the way line-side operators stage, execute and manage production. However, the freer flow of data to different stakeholders has also seen improvement in surrounding business processes such as supply chain coordination and product design.

One of the cultural changes common in leading firms is broad recognition that detailed operational data supports the work of many stakeholders traditionally seen as removed from the production process. This has prompted the formation of cross-functional teams responsible for ongoing learning about the continuing evolution of automation and software.

Tasked with spotting developments that could yield outsize impact, not just sustain incremental gains in capability, cross-functional teams embody the recognition that technology is not only a critical tool to enable existing strategies, but potentially the key to new ones.

That behavioural change also means that tech adoption is no longer intimidating or mysterious. With IT, operations, product design, engineering and quality leaders learning together, each group’s perspective and knowledge becomes part of a common understanding of how to understand the next technology wave in the context of the firm’s challenges and opportunities.

COVID showed speed of disruption

If the COVID outbreak showed how rapidly our steady work routines and supply networks can be disrupted, this is the time to see how technology can provide UK plc with increased resilience and a renewed operational vigour.

It’s vital that manufacturers adopt the tools that support better insight and collaboration for the impact they can have on productivity, flexibility and even innovation. Modern plant systems should be seen as critical to success all the time, not just as a convenience during a pandemic.

The author is Sean Robinson, service leader at industrial automation provider Novotek UK and Ireland.

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