Category Archives: NSA

The state of the Sunyani Coronation Park

The National Sports Authority (NSA) says it requires GHC45, 000 for the rehabilitation of the Sunyani Coronation Park to host Division One League matches.

Mr. Foster Kwame Opoku Boateng, the Bono Regional Director of the NSA, therefore appealed to the general public to support the rehabilitation of the park to meet the Ghana Football Associations (GFAs) standard.

Tano Boafoakwa, B/United, and Young Apostles, Sunyani-based FCs as well as Baffour-Awuah Soccer Academy at Nsoatre in the Sunyani West Municipality have qualified to play Division One League matches at the Coronation Park.

But, the clubs are playing their matches at different venues because the Park is going through rehabilitation works to meet the GFA standard.

Speaking in an interview with the GNA Sports in Sunyani, Mr. Boateng said a lot of work had to be done if the park can host the matches.

We have to raise wire meshes in and around the inner perimeters to ensure supporters and spectators cant jump over unto the pitch.

The tunnel which connects from the main entrance of the pitch to the dressing room must also be completed so that players can pass through without spectators having access to them, he explained.

Mr. Boateng said additional works ought to be done at the VIP stance and the Press Box, and appealed to particularly sports enthusiasts and corporate bodies to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, rehabilitation of the Coronation Park has attracted the displeasure of some chiefs, residents and natives of Sunyani, who said they feared that would terminate the proposed construction of a standard stadium in Sunyani.

In an interview with the GNA Sports, Nana Kwame Addai Kuntuma IV, the Nifahene of Sunyani Traditional Area stressed Sunyani deserves a standard sports stadium and we would not sit unconcerned for them to use this rehabilitation work to deceive us any longer.

He said a new stadium would open up Sunyani and create huge economic opportunities for the local people, saying this is our desire and nothing more nothing less.

Mr. Ransford Antwi, a former Chief Executive Officer of B/A United FC, said we cant comprehend why the people of Sunyani are always treated as second class citizens in terms of development.

We have allocated a vast land for the proposed stadium project and this is what the government must concentrate on building the stadium, he added.

Mr. Michael Asare Yeboah, the Board Chairman for McKenzie Ghana Limited, a Sunyani-based sportswear manufacturing company, said "Sunyani has produced and featured a lot of footballers in the national team, the Black Star.

But it seems successive governments do not recognize our contributions to the growth and development of Ghana football, he added.

Originally posted here:
Rehabilitation of Sunyani Coronation Park will cost GH45,000 - NSA - GhanaWeb

The new frontiers of war is civil society, which can be manipulated to hurt a nations interests, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval said at the passing out parade of the 73rd batch of IPS probationers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA) in Hyderabad on 12 November.

Doval was the chief guest at the Dikshant Parade, which is the culmination of the 46-week long phase-1 basic course training. He said:

The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth-generation warfare, is the civil society.. [conventional] wars have ceased to become an effective instrument for achieving political or military objectives. They are too expensive or unaffordable and, at the same time, there is uncertainty about their outcome. But civil society can be subverted, suborned, divided, manipulated to hurt the interests of a nation."

The fourth generation warfare is characterised by the blurring of lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians. The enemy power uses tactics of education or propaganda, building social movements, etc.

Short of a defeat, fourth generation warfare tries simply to disorganise and delegitimise the state, force it to expend resources on maintaining internal law and order, etc. It combines the elements of psychological manipulation, disinformation, cyberwarfare, using proxies like terror groups, etc.

An example of fourth generation warfare is visible in China's long-term policy of strategic containment of India. It is not only assisting Pakistan to develop and deploy nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles; backing political parties and individuals in Indias neighbouring South Asian countries to undermine their relations with India, but also supporting anti-national groups in India, giving them funds, arms, etc.

Also read: Indian Lefts Fall From Grace: Those Who Criticised Global Capitalism Are Now Taking Orders From Foreign Masters

NSA To IPS Probationers

The NSA, who graduated from the National Police Academy 52 years ago, gave his wisdom to the young probationers. Stating that people are the most important, Doval told the future IPS officers, "You are there to see they stand fully protected.

He asked the young probationers to develop a national perspective. You are for India and India is for you. Every other identity gets subsumed to this Indian identity, he was quoted as saying by IE.

The service of people is the greatest service, not only from the point of view of nation-building but also from the point of national security, he told the new batch of officers, and asked them to not only think of reforms to avoid repeating mistakes of the past but also be transformative to look at future challenges and find solutions in advance.

He also told the IPS probationers that success of democracy depends on the enforcement of laws:

Quintessence of democracy does not lie in the ballot box. It lies in the laws which are made by the people who are elected through these ballot boxes. You are the ones who are the enforcers of the law Laws are only as good as they are executed and implemented and the service that people can get out of it.. people cannot feel safe and secure where law enforcers are weak, corrupt, and partisan."

No nation can be built where the rule of law has failed, he added.

He reminded them that their responsibility includes not only the safety and security of 130 crore human beings but also the 32 lakh square kilometres of land area across the country.

He asked them to be trained and prepared for border management as well as challenges of highly specialised investigations in agencies like the NIA or CBI. He said that some of the officers will work for intelligence units within or outside the country, and they will have the responsibility to see that governments can make informed decisions and that these decisions are enforced in the countrys best interests.

He said that the officers today need to excel in the challenges of technology as a frontier. Without your success, the nation cannot succeed. If internal security fails, no country can be great. If the people are not safe and secure, they cannot rise to their potential, and probably, the country can never grow, he said.

Also read: Outrage Over IPS Officer Seeking Ban On NGOs Foreign Funding: CPMs Prakash Karat Had Proposed The Same In 1984

See the rest here:
What NSA Ajit Doval Recently Said About New Forms Of Warfare - Swarajya

National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf has said that consensus on the Kashmir issue and national security is imperative to safeguard supreme national interest, Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

In an interview with a private news channel, Moeed said the government believes in consensus and dialogue to address all internal and external threats being faced by the country.

Dr Yusuf also expressed serious concern over massive human rights violations, brutalities and atrocities being committed by Indian troops against innocent Kashmiris in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Commenting on Pakistan-India relations, he regretted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appeared as the most fascist leader in the world after Hitler.

Partners in peace, not in conflict, says PM Imran

Regarding the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, he warned that Pakistan would not allow the new Afghan government to carry out activities from Afghan soil against any country.

The adviser said that unrest in Afghanistan will incur impacts on Pakistan, and peaceful Afghanistan is in the best interest of the entire region.

On Pak-US relationships, the NSA reaffirmed government's commitment of friendly relations with the US as both the countries share common interests in various areas.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan does not want confrontation with any country and that there would be no compromise on national interest.

Immediate solution of Kashmir must for regional peace, says Qureshi

He said the PTI government wanted better ties with neighbouring countries, adding that resolution of chronic issues is a must for regional progress.

He said that Pakistan is committed to the principle of peaceful coexistence and Pakistan's efforts to establish peace in the region are not hidden from anyone.

Visit link:
Consensus on Kashmir issue imperative to safeguard national interest: NSA - Business Recorder

PARTNER CONTENT: 2021 is a big year in which 5G is running on the fast track. In accordance with recent GSMA and GSA reports, 464 operators in 139 countries and territories are investing in 5G networks in the form of tests, trials, pilots, planned and actual deployments, and 5G connections will be 2 billion in 2025, around 4 times compared with that of this year. Meanwhile, 89 operators are investing 5G SA network and over 400 types of UE are commercial ready for 5G SA. We can see that the tide is quite high.

However, when it comes to 5G deployment to maximize 5G value and its industrial potential, there are some real pain points for operators: choice on NSA or SA architecture, and the terminal compatibility is also a question; most of sites do not have enough tower space for 5G equipment installation; need to achieve fast nationwide 5G coverage in short time; how to reduce 5G power consumption to save OPEX; and differentiated and fragmented requirements of different industries.

In response to these problems faced by operators and industries, ZTE focuses on three aspects that involve fast 5G network deployment, green mobile network, and profit opportunities in B2B & B2C markets.

Full portfolio products & innovative solutions to enable fast 5G deployment and user experience enhancement

Full portfolio products of ZTE can support SA or NSA or SA/NSA dual-mode architecture with great flexibility, meeting operators requirements for their 5G deployment.

To tackle the site problem, ZTE UniSite+ solution for radio site modernization, can provide good coverage and high capacity with greatly reduced tower space occupation and operational cost, by all-in-one outdoor BBU and high-performance dual-band and triple-band Ultra Broadband Radio products. It is estimated that the number of radio units can be reduced by up to 60% and the power consumption by about 30%, saving 1,200 Euro electricity cost per year for an average site.

ZTE has developed a series of innovative solutions further enhancing network performance and maximizing network value, including SuperDSS in fast 5G roll-out and spectrum efficiency improvement, SSB 1+X in 3D coverage enhancement, FAST uplink enhancement technology, Radio Composer in both user experience and network efficiency improvement and etc.

Up to now, ZTEs 5G footprints have been on more than 40 countries around the world, building 5G flagship networks in countries like Spain, Austria, and Italy.

Energy saving & low power consumption to build green mobile network

Currently, carbon neutrality has become a global consensus. ZTE actively implements the carbon neutralization strategy, promotes energy saving and emission reduction in enterprise production and operation, helps operators in building end-to-end green low carbon networks.

In order to build a green mobile network, ZTE is dedicated to introducing green power, building green sites, and green data centers, to reduce carbon emission. As site energy consumption accounts for a large proportion of energy consumption of the whole network. ZTE keeps innovate in hardware like next-generation chipsets, smaller but more powerful radio units with higher power efficiency. The UniSite+ solution deployed in Spain helps operators to reduce the radio units by 60% and saves power consumption by 30% compared with traditional solutions. And software features such as channels/carriers/symbols shutdown and deep sleep, for example in India, make the total power saving up to 20% during power saving time, over 5% power saving daily for the operator. This case is on the condition that energy saving functions are only activated from 00:00 AM to 06:00 AM.

In addition, PowerPilot, the industry-first service awareness based energy saving solution proposed by ZTE, employs AI as the core technology and takes the initiative to identify different energy saving scenarios, and accordingly matches energy saving policies while accurately predicting network load trend. Thereby, it establishes a coordinated energy saving and network performance model to explore the network energy saving potential. It has been applied in over 30 networks and 800,000 sites globally. In Malaysia, the PowerPilot solution was successfully launched, saving 7 million kWh of power annually.

Win-win cooperation to embrace the profitability of 5G

From the latest Omdia report, the RAN revenue of 2G/3G/4G is declined sharply. In the meanwhile, 5G part is increased greatly. Especially, in B2B market, 5G opens new opportunities for all Industries and the whole society, to drive 12 trillion USD economic activities in 2035.

On one hand, in B2C market, ZTE helps operators to increase the ARPU by precise planning and deploying 5G sites in most valuable regions, by continuous improved network performance, by efficient and intelligent operational strategy deployment for both user experience enhancement and energy saving target. Some figures shows what the operators in China have achieved. 5G now accounts for almost 20 percentage points more traffic than just twelve months ago and average monthly user data usage increases by more than twenty percent. The downtrend of ARPU has been reversed.

Meanwhile, in B2B market, ZTE has developed more than 500 cooperative partners in 15 industries including manufacturing, transportation, energy, ports, and medical care. They have jointly explored over 100 innovative 5G application scenarios and successfully carried out more than 60 demonstration projects worldwide.

Mr. Chao Xiong, GM of RAN Product Overseas Market

More here:
ZTE Promises on 5G: Delivered and to be Delivered - Mobile World Live

While plenty of 5G-enabled phones have launched in India, the country is yet to flip the switch on its first commercial network. The government is still planning the spectrum auction that will determine which carriers get to use which frequencies.

However, its never too early to start testing whether phones will actually work with the next-gen networks once they become operational. This is exactly what Reliance Jio has done with the upcoming Redmi Note 11T 5G.

The carrier and phone maker put the device through its paces, trying out different usage scenarios in a lab trial. The phone achieved stellar results, according to the two companies.

It will support seven 5G bands: n1, n3, n5, n8, n28, n40 and n78 for standalone (SA) operation and n1, n3, n40, n78 in non-standalone (NSA) mode (NSA mode leverages the existing 4G infrastructure, which helps simplify the deployment of 5G).

What about the phone itself? It is expected to be based on the vanilla Redmi Note 11, meaning that its 5G prowess will come from the Dimensity 810 chipset (6 nm). The phone will sport a 6.6 90 Hz IPS LCD on the front, a 50 MP main camera on the back and an 8 MP ultra wide, plus a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging. Some details may shift around for the T-model, but it should be mostly the same device as the vanilla 11.

Amazon India is the retailer that will help launch the Redmi Note 11T 5G on November 30 (Tuesday next week). Note that the Note 11 is available as the Poco M4 Pro 5G globally, so you can check out our written and video reviews for a better picture of what the Note 11T will be like.

Source

More here:
Jio puts the Redmi Note 11T through 5G trial, the phone will support seven 5G bands - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

You're reading Entrepreneur United States, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.This story originally appeared on Zacks

While there has been a large focus on growth stocks this year, real estate investment trusts (REITs) continue to be a great way to balance your portfolio while gaining exposure to the real estate sector. Adding these income-producing investments can result in significant advantages over traditional real estate investing including increased liquidity, greater diversification, tax benefits and potentially higher returns with lower risk.

- Zacks

Real estate investment trusts either own or manage income-producing real estate, normally through directly investing in properties or the mortgages on those properties. The IRS mandates that REITs must pay out 90% of their taxable income to shareholders. This typically translates into much higher dividends than your average S&P 500 stock. One of the best ways to increase returns when investing in REITs is to compound the dividends received. Investors may also choose to utilize a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), which automatically reinvests the dividends received into additional shares.

Investors have the option to buy REITs directly, or may choose to further diversify by investing in REIT ETFs or mutual funds. The iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF ICF boasts a Zacks ETF #1 ranking (Strong Buy) and has outperformed the broader market this year with a nearly 32% YTD return.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

REITs not only offer above-average yields, but also the potential for future price appreciation. With interest rates historically low for many years, investors have turned to vehicles like REITs when searching for ways to increase yield. But given the recent chatter surrounding future interest rate increases, a potential issue for REIT investors is their sensitivity to interest rates. Lets take a look from a historical perspective to see what we can learn regarding REIT performance during periods of interest rate increases.

The table below illustrates six different historical periods beginning in the 1970s during which interest rates rose, measured by the 10-year treasury yield. During these times of increasing rates, the table compares the cumulative total returns over each period for both REITs and U.S. stocks.

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Bloomberg, The Federal Reserve.

The table shows that out of the six different periods, REITs generated positive returns in four of them, while outpacing the general stock market in three of the cases. This study shows that a rising interest rate environment does not translate to lower REIT prices. This is mainly due to the fact that during economic expansions, the value of the underlying real estate increases.

While REIT prices may react in the short-term to changes in the outlook for interest rates, over longer periods there is typically a positive correlation between rising rates and REIT returns. A stronger economic backdrop normally leads to higher occupancy rates, increased NOI (net operating income), and expanding property values. All of these components lead to higher dividend payments for REIT investors.

Now that weve established REITs can outperform even in rising rate environments, lets take a look at three REITs with a healthy outlook that are outperforming the broader market.

Extra Space Storage (EXR)

EXR is the largest self-storage management company in the United States. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, the company is a fully integrated, self-administered REIT which owns and operates self-storage properties. These properties are comprised of many units and millions of square feet of rentable storage space.

Maintaining a Zacks #2 Buy ranking, we can see below that EXR has a strong history of EPS surprises. It most recently reported earnings in October for the prior quarter of $1.85, representing an 8.2% surprise over consensus.

Extra Space Storage Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Extra Space Storage Inc Quote

For the year, the current Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at EPS of $6.67, reflecting a 26.3% increase over the prior year. Looking out at next year, analysts have shifted their 2022 earnings estimates upward by 3.2% in the past 30 days.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

The Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) seeks to find companies that have recently witnessed positive earnings estimate revision activity. This technique has proven quite useful for finding earnings surprises in fact, when combining a Zacks #3 ranking or better and a positive earnings ESP, stocks have produced a positive surprise 70% of the time.

The ESP for Extra Space Storage currently stands at 4.94%. EXR is next scheduled to report earnings on February 28th, 2022.

Life Storage (LSI)

Life Storage is a self-managed REIT that acquires and manages self-storage properties. The company is headquartered in Buffalo, New York and its brand names consist of Life Storage and Uncle Bobs Self Storage.

LSI presently has a Zacks #2 ranking (Buy) and a solid history of earnings surprises, beating or matching estimates in each of the last ten quarters. The company most recently reported earnings earlier this month, with EPS of $1.37 which translated to a greater than 7% surprise over consensus. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year earnings stands at $4.91, which would represent 23.7% growth over last years EPS of $3.97.

Life Storage, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Life Storage, Inc. Quote

The companys current ESP sits at 3.58%. LSI is next scheduled to report quarterly earnings on February 28th, 2022.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA)

Sporting a Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, NSA is based in Houston and concentrates on the ownership, operation and acquisition of self-storage properties. Similar to its counterparts, you can see that the company has a robust history of EPS surprises, delivering an average surprise of nearly 6.4% over the past four quarters.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportLife Storage, Inc. (LSI): Free Stock Analysis ReportExtra Space Storage Inc (EXR): Free Stock Analysis ReportNational Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA): Free Stock Analysis ReportiShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Read more from the original source:
Put Your Cash to Work in These 3 High-Performing REITs - Green Entrepreneur

The Herald

Egyptianauthorities should cease the harassment and persecution of prominent human rights defender and journalist, Hossam Bahgat, who faces abusive charges intended to punish him solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and his human rights activism, 46 human rights organizations said today.

The verdict in the trial of Hossam Bahgat, executive director and founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), isexpectedon November 29, 2021. Bahgat is charged with insulting the Elections Authority, spreading false news, and using a social media account to commit these crimes in response to atweethe posted criticizing the former head of Egypts National Elections Authority, the late Lashin Ibrahim, for his oversight of parliamentary elections. This case is the latest salvo in a years-long campaign targeting Hossam Bahgat who is well-known for his human rights activism and investigative journalism.

The Egyptian government needs to halt its relentless persecution of Hossam Bahgat, saidJoe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. These endless legal proceedings look like a clear reprisal against Bahgats storied legacy of defending human rights.

The charges against Bahgat carry a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to EGP 330,000 (US$19,000) under Egypts penal code and2018 cybercrime law.

In 2016, the authorities arbitrarilybannedHossam Bahgat from traveling andfrozehis assets in relation to Case 173, known as the infamous foreign funding case, a decade-long abusive criminal investigation that targeted dozens of nongovernmental organizations unjust restrictions that remain in place today. InJuly 2021, an investigative judge in Case 173 summoned Hossam Bahgat and interrogated him on the basis of investigations by the notorious National Security Agency (NSA) accusing him of inciting the public against state institutions. While the investigative judges dropped their investigations against75 NGOs and some 220 activists and employees, Hossam Bahgat and the EIPR remain subject to the ongoing investigation. In November 2015, Egyptian authorities unlawfullydetainedBahgat for three days on charges of publishing false news following hisinvestigationpublished by the independent news site Mada Masr detailing the military trial of several military officers in relation to a plan to overthrow the government.

The Egyptian governments retaliation against Hossam and other EIPR leaders is a threat to the human rights community in Egypt and part of a pattern that threatens to cripple civil society, said Mohamed Zaree, head of the Egypt programat the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. We strongly condemn this clear pattern of harassment and intimidation against Hossam Bahgat solely because he insists on exercising his right to free expression.

In November 2020, three top EIPR staff members Gasser Abdel-Razek, Karim Ennarah, and Mohamed Basheer werearrestedand detained for several days on unfounded terrorism charges following their meeting with European diplomats about Egypts human rights crisis. They were released within days following a global outcry but all three remain subject to travel bans and asset freezes.

In February 2020, the authoritiesarrestedPatrick George Zaki, a gender and sexuality rights researcher at EIPR, on his arrival at Cairo Airport from Italy, where he had been studying. During his detention, NSA officers subjected him totorturethrough the use of electric shocks and beatings, according to sources familiar with the case. After 19 months of detention without trial, prosecutorsreferredhim to an Emergency State Security Court for trial over unfounded disseminating false news charges which is set to resume on December 7, 2021.

As part of their unrelenting assault on the human rights movement, Egyptian authorities have a long track record of targeting Hossam Bahgat and other directors and staff at EIPR, one of Egypts leading human rights organizations, through unjust prosecutions, arbitrary arrests and detention, travel bans and asset freezes, said Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, Philip Luther. Egyptian authorities must halt their endless misuse of the justice system and drop all spurious charges against Hossam Bahgat, close Case 173 once and for all, and lift arbitrary travel bans and asset freezes.

Signatory Organizations:

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

See the article here:
Egypt: End Harassment of Rights Defender - The Herald

I am very proud to be the principal of Northern School for Autism.

It gives me great delight to introduce our school to you. We have wonderful facilities and importantly fantastic teachers, allied health staff and education support staff who support the students in their learning across the school. Across the two campuses of NSA a dedicated team of 190 staff members provide autism specific educational programs, for 425 students from 5 to18 years of age. Each campus community is supported by a leadership team who oversees the implementation of the curriculum and daily operations of each campus.

The Reservoir Campus provides state of the art facilities for the Early and Middle Years students. The Later Years students attend the refurbished Lalor Campus, which is located close to transport, community services and shopping precincts. In 2015 the school opened a satellite program at Norris Bank Primary School students must be enrolled at NSA and complete their first year of education at the Reservoir Campus to be eligible to enter the satellite program.

The schools approach to structured teaching was built using the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communications Handicapped Children) approach, which is an evidence-based program suitable for individuals of all ages and skill levels with autism spectrum disorders. Using this approach, teachers build on individual student strengths and skills to promote development. Aligned with this, the school developed a set of expected teaching and learning protocols to support greater school-wide consistency in approach.

Read more:
Northern School For Autism | Education

Remember way back in 2017, when then-President Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared to suggest the Trump administration may have been spied on with microwaves?

I certainly do, if for no other reason than it put me in the undesirable position of having to partially defend her claim. There's no evidence this occurred but yes, the capacity exists!

In fact, the topic of household and other internet-connected devices going rogue or worse, being maliciously controlled by third parties is a key concern for the National Security Agency. Thats the word I received from a presentation at this years AI Summit and IoT World, a California-based tech conference.

The conference focused heavily on the Internet of Things, or IoT, a phrase for physical objects yes, like microwaves that werent traditionally connected to the internet in the past but can be now.

Nicole Newmeyer, the NSAs technical director for internet of things integration, said the agency is focused on IoT because its already changing the way we exist as humans and how we interact with the world.

You might have a few IoT devices nearby. Maybe youre being warmed by an internet-connected heater, in a room lit by internet-connected light bulbs, in a home with internet-connected appliances, watching a smart TV while checking the time on your Apple Watch.

Regardless, by years end, at least 46 billion devices around the world are expected to be connected to the internet, according to 2016 data from Juniper Research, a tech consultancy firm. For the growing number of Americans surrounding themselves with smart devices, the popularity of IoT represents a growing attack surface for our nations adversaries, Newmeyer said.

Without proper security protections, everything youve connected to the internet is vulnerable to web-based attacks. And I do mean everything: Newmeyer listed internet-connected toothbrushes, wireless security cameras, service animals with two-way trackers, stoplights, internet-connected military equipment and smart cities as potential targets for malicious actors.

She said businesses have been encouraged to create devices that meet a standard known as common criteria, a framework of security measures put in place for IoT devices. But businesses arent officially required to meet that standard, and even when they have, hacks on IoT devices have continued.

So look, Im not encouraging you to go full-on Luddite here and cast your devices into the sea. Im just saying what youve come to expect from me: We need to hold these tech companies accountable for keeping us safe from dangerous hacks!

Growing up, I had strict Nickelodeon loyalties, but even I watched Disneys Smart House I know how this story goes if we arent careful.

CLARIFICATION (Nov. 16, 2021, 1:08 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article mischaracterized standards available for IoT devices. Businesses are encouraged to meet a set of standards known as common criteria, but there is no formal certification process for it.

Related posts:

Cable news mostly mum on Paul Gosars violent tweet. Its a dangerous setup.

Josh Hawleys crusade against video games and porn is hilariously empty

A jurors cruel joke got himself kicked off the Kyle Rittenhouse trial

Head over toThe ReidOut Blogfor more.

Ja'han Jones is The ReidOut Blog writer. He's a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include "Black Hair Defined" and the "Black Obituary Project."

Here is the original post:
Why the NSA wants to protect you from your toothbrush - MSNBC

WASHINGTON In the battle over cyberspace, adversaries to the United States are continually switching up their methods to hack U.S. systems, a senior National Security Agency official said Wednesday.

That means the U.S. must in turn keep shifting the tools and techniques it uses to counter hackers from nations like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and team up with the private sector to do so, David Luber, deputy director for NSAs cybersecurity directorate, said in a panel during C4ISRNETs CyberCon.

Even as were on this call right now, the cyberspace domain is changing, Luber said. New malware is being released, new vulnerabilities are being discovered, and adversaries will use those vulnerabilities to gain access to our critical Department of Defense and national security systems.

As part of its effort to work with the private sector, Luber said NSAs Cybersecurity Collaboration Center is developing analytics that help it sift through both government signals intelligence collected overseas and what industry analysts have spotted.

By comparing results, were able to better understand the tradecraft of those adversaries, and then develop, jointly, methods to thwart their activities, Luber said.

The NSA has published more than 50 cybersecurity advisories over the last two years to share threat intelligence with the defense industry and other organizations. Some of those advisories have gone so far as to highlight specific pieces of malware, or tactics, techniques and procedures that Russian or Chinese hackers use to try to get into sensitive networks and infrastructures, and common vulnerabilities they like to exploit.

Hackers from Iran, North Korea or non-state organizations that try to extort money using ransomware are also threats, Luber said.

Rear Adm. Mike Ryan, head of the Coast Guards Cyber Command, said during the same panel that while the competition to recruit in-demand cybersecurity professionals is tough, his services mission and the enthusiasm it breeds help make it competitive.

People want to be part of my command, Ryan said. I am not going to win on the salary and compensation schemes, but I can definitely be competitive through the selfless service we enjoy from the incredible opportunities that we allow our people to execute.

But money never hurts Ryan noted the Coast Guard is trying to use bonuses to attract talented candidates.

Luber said NSA has partnerships with 340 universities nationwide to encourage students to study cybersecurity. Every summer, he said, about 300 students receive 12-week internships at NSA, and 70% to 85% of those interns go on to work for NSA full-time after graduation.

NSA also is trying to encourage even younger people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through a program called GenCyber, which offers students from kindergarten through high school opportunities to attend summer camps focused on cybersecurity. This past summer, he said, GenCyber offered 146 camps in 46 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.

It begins early with partnerships partnerships at K through 12, partnerships with universities, the professors, the students and the faculty to build the next generation of cybersecurity experts to bring their talents to the National Security Agency, Luber said.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Defense News. He previously reported for Military.com, covering the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare. Before that, he covered U.S. Air Force leadership, personnel and operations for Air Force Times.

Visit link:
The cyber battlefield against China and Russia is constantly shifting. Here's how the NSA is trying to stay on top. - DefenseNews.com