Machine vision breakthrough: This device can see ‘millions of colors’ – Northeastern University

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Northeastern have built a device that can recognize millions of colors using new artificial intelligence techniquesa massive step, they say, in the field of machine vision, a highly specialized space with broad applications for a range of technologies.

The machine, which researchers call A-Eye, is capable of analyzing and processing color far more accurately than existing machines, according to a paper detailing the research published in Materials Today. The ability of machines to detect, or see, color is an increasingly important feature as industry and society more broadly becomes more automated, says Swastik Kar, associate professor of physics at Northeastern and co-author of the research.

In the world of automation, shapes and colors are the most commonly used items by which a machine can recognize objects, Kar says.

The breakthrough is twofold. Researchers were able to engineer two-dimensional material whose special quantum properties, when built into an optical window used to let light into the machine, can process a rich diversity of color with very high accuracysomething practitioners in the field havent been able to achieve before.

Additionally, A-Eye is able to accurately recognize and reproduce seen colors with zero deviation from their original spectra thanks, also, to the machine-learning algorithms developed by a team of AI researchers, helmed by Sarah Ostadabbas, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern. The project is a result of unique collaboration between Northeasterns quantum materials and Augmented Cognition labs.

The essence of the technological discovery centers on the quantum and optical properties of the class of material, called transition metal dichalcogenides. Researchers have long hailed the unique materials as having virtually unlimited potential, with many electronic, optoelectronic, sensing and energy storage applications.

This is about what happens to light when it passes through quantum matter, Kar says. When we grow these materials on a certain surface, and then allow light to pass through that, what comes out of this other end, when it falls on a sensor, is an electrical signal which then [Ostadabbass] group can treat as data.

As it relates to machine vision, there are numerous industrial applications for this research tied to, among other things, autonomous vehicles, agricultural sorting and remote satellite imaging, Kar says.

Color is used as one of the principle components in recognizing good from bad, go from no-go, so theres a huge implication here for a variety of industrial uses, Kar says.

Machines typically recognize color by breaking it down, using conventional RGB (red, green, blue) filters, into its constituent components, then use that information to essentially guess at, and reproduce, the original color. When you point a digital camera at a colored object and take a photo, the light from that object flows through a set of detectors with filters in front of them that differentiate the light into those primary RGB colors.

You can think about these color filters as funnels that channel the visual information or data into separate boxes, which then assign artificial numbers to natural colors, Kar says.

So if youre just breaking it down into three components [red, green, blue], there are some limitations, Kar says.

Instead of using filters, Kar and his team used transmissive windows made of the unique two-dimensional material.

We are making a machine recognize color in a very different way, Kar says. Instead of breaking it down into its principal red, green and blue components, when a colored light appears, say, on a detector, instead of just seeking those components, we are using the entire spectral information. And on top of that, we are using some techniques to modify and encode them, and store them in different ways. So it provides us with a set of numbers that help us recognize the original color much more uniquely than the conventional way.

As the light pass through these windows, the machine processes the color as data; built into it are machine learning models that look for patterns in order to better identify the corresponding colors the device analyzes, Ostadabbas says.

A-Eye can continuously improve color estimation by adding any corrected guesses to its training database, the researchers wrote.

Davoud Hejazi, a Northeastern physics Ph.D. student, contributed to research.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Machine vision breakthrough: This device can see 'millions of colors' - Northeastern University

Artificial intelligence may improve suicide prevention in the future – EurekAlert

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

The loss of any life can be devastating, but the loss of a life from suicide is especially tragic.

Around nine Australians take their own lifeeach day, and it is theleading cause of death for Australians aged 1544. Suicide attempts are more common, with some estimates stating that they occur up to 30 times as often as deaths.

Suicide has large effects when it happens. It impacts many people and has far-reaching consequences for family, friends and communities, says Karen Kusuma, a UNSW Sydney PhD candidate in psychiatry at theBlack Dog Institute, who investigates suicide prevention in adolescents.

Ms Kusuma and a team of researchers from the Black Dog Institute and theCentre for Big Data Research in Healthrecently investigated the evidence base of machine learning models and their ability to predict future suicidal behaviours and thoughts. They evaluated the performance of 54 machine learning algorithms previously developed by researchers to predict suicide-related outcomes of ideation, attempt and death.

The meta-analysis, published in theJournal of Psychiatric Research, found machine learning models outperformed traditional risk prediction models in predicting suicide-related outcomes, which have traditionally performed poorly.

Overall, the findings show there is a preliminary but compelling evidence base that machine learning can be used to predict future suicide-related outcomes with very good performance, Ms Kusuma says.

Identifying individuals at risk of suicide is essential for preventing and managing suicidal behaviours. However, risk prediction is difficult.

In emergency departments (EDs), risk assessment tools such as questionnaires and rating scales are commonly used by clinicians to identify patients at elevated risk of suicide. However, evidence suggests they are ineffective in accurately predicting suicide risk in practice.

While there are some common factors shown to be associated with suicide attempts, what the risks look like for one person may look very different in another, Ms Kusuma says. But suicide is complex, with many dynamic factors that make it difficult to assess a risk profile using this assessment process.

A post-mortem analysis of people who died by suicide in Queensland found, of those who received a formal suicide risk assessment,75 per cent were classified as low risk, and none was classified as high risk. Previous research examining the past 50 years of quantitative suicide risk prediction models also found they were onlyslightly better than chance in predicting future suicide risk.

Suicide is a leading cause of years of life lost in many parts of the world, including Australia. But the way suicide risk assessment is done hasnt developed recently, and we havent seen substantial decreases in suicide deaths. In some years, weve seen increases, Ms Kusuma says.

Despite the shortage of evidence in favour of traditional suicide risk assessments, their administration remains a standard practice in healthcare settings to determine a patients level of care and support. Those identified as having a high risk typically receive the highest level of care, while those identified as low risk are discharged.

Using this approach, unfortunately, the high-level interventions arent being given to the people who really need help. So we must look to reform the process and explore ways we can improve suicide prevention, Ms Kusuma says.

Ms Kusuma says there is a need for more innovation in suicidology and a re-evaluation of standard suicide risk prediction models. Efforts to improve risk prediction have led to her research using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop suicide risk algorithms.

Having AI that could take in a lot more data than a clinician would be able to better recognise which patterns are associated with suicide risk, Ms Kusuma says.

In the meta-analysis study, machine learning models outperformed the benchmarks set previously by traditional clinical, theoretical and statistical suicide risk prediction models. They correctly predicted 66 per cent of people who would experience a suicide outcome and correctly predicted 87 per cent of people who would not experience a suicide outcome.

Machine learning models can predict suicide deaths well relative to traditional prediction models and could become an efficient and effective alternative to conventional risk assessments, Ms Kusuma says.

The strict assumptions of traditional statistical models do not bind machine learning models. Instead, they can be flexibly applied to large datasets to model complex relationships between many risk factors and suicidal outcomes. They can also incorporate responsive data sources, including social media, to identify peaks of suicide risk and flag times where interventions are most needed.

Over time, machine learning models could be configured to take in more complex and larger data to better identify patterns associated with suicide risk, Ms Kusuma says.

The use of machine learning algorithms to predict suicide-related outcomes is still an emerging research area, with 80 per cent of the identified studies published in the past five years. Ms Kusuma says future research will also help address the risk of aggregation bias found in algorithmic models to date.

More research is necessary to improve and validate these algorithms, which will then help progress the application of machine learning in suicidology, Ms Kusuma says. While were still a way off implementation in a clinical setting, research suggests this is a promising avenue for improving suicide risk screening accuracy in the future.

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Meta-analysis

People

The performance of machine learning models in predicting suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths: A meta-analysis and systematic review

29-Sep-2022

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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What Is Cryptography? Definition & How It Works | Okta

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

Modern cryptography is a method of sending and receiving messages that only the intended receiver and sender can read to prevent third-party access. It often involves encryption of electronic data, which commonly creates ciphertext by scrambling regular text. Then, it uses a decryption key of some form to return it to readable format on the receiving end. Cryptography can involve either a symmetric key system, which is the simplest, or an asymmetric key system, which is typically more secure. Cryptography provides methods for secure communication and electronic data that malicious adversaries cannot read, interpret, or access.

Cryptography is used to keep messages and data secure from being accessible to anyone other than the sender and the intended recipient. It is the study of communications and a form of security for messaging. Ultimately, cryptography can keep data from being altered or stolen. It can also be used to authenticate users. Cryptography often uses encryption and an algorithm to keep electronic data and messages secure and only readable by the intended parties. Cryptography has been around for centuries. The term itself comes from the Greek word kryptos, which translates to hidden. Today, cryptography is based on computer science practices and mathematical theory.

There are two main types of cryptography used for digital data and secure messages today: symmetric cryptography and asymmetric cryptography. Hash functions, a third type, doesnt involve use of a key.

The intention of cryptography is to keep data and messages secure and inaccessible to potential threats or bad actors. It is often working behind the scenes to encrypt and decrypt data you are sending through social media, applications, interactions on websites, and email. Symmetric cryptography can be used for these purposes:

Asymmetric cryptography can be used for the following purposes:

Cryptography strives for private communications and data security to protect digital information from being altered, accessed, or read by anyone other than those with legitimate access. These are key principles of cryptography:

Messages and data should always be encrypted to ensure privacy and security. The best practices for cryptography include using an entire cryptographic system, or cryptosystem, that regularly uses multiple forms of encryption to keep data and communications safe and secure. This system should have an easy-to-use interface along with strong cryptographic algorithms that conform to the industrys best practices. For symmetric encryption, this means using AES with 128, 192, or 256-bit keys. For asymmetric encryption standards, it should include elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) and RSA. These are examples of files and data that should be encrypted and protected with cryptography:

Cryptographic methods need to be effective, but also user-friendly to ensure that they are actually going to be used as intended. Using encryption functions can also help to prevent the loss or theft of data even if the hardware itself is stolen or compromised. A strong cryptosystem should be able to hold up to the security community and not rely on security through obscurity. Instead, the system should be known, and the only thing kept secret and private are the actual keys. The public key can be publicized, but the secret or private key should be protected. These are methods for keeping your keys secure:

Cryptography is a necessary form of cybersecurity that uses encryption methods to keep digital data and communications secure and out of the hands of potential threats or bad actors. Data protection is highly important in this digital era where so much information is stored on computers, in the cloud, and on the internet. Data security is important to businesses, industries, companies, and individuals alike. Cryptography is a form of securing digital data and messages often using special keys that only the sender and recipient have access to. Cryptography uses mathematical systems and algorithms to encrypt and decrypt data. Symmetrical cryptography uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. It can quickly encrypt and decrypt data, and it is easy to use. It can also be compromised if a third party gains access to the key, however. It is important to keep your data encryption keys safe and secure. Sending your encryption key in a plain text form along with your encrypted message, for example, is similar to leaving your front door key in plain sight in front of your locked door. Keep your keys safe to keep your data safe. Asymmetrical cryptography is a step further than symmetrical cryptography, using different keys for encryption and decryption. The encryption key is public, and everyone has access to it. The decryption key is kept private, and only intended recipients can have access to this secret key. While this adds an extra layer of security, it can also take longer to encrypt and decrypt data, so it is regularly used for smaller bits of data. A strong cryptosystem often uses multiple forms of encryption and cryptographic methods to keep digital data private and secure from adversaries. Cryptography is a vital component of digital security.

Definition of Cryptography. (January 2022). The Economic Times.

Security Component Fundamentals for Assessment. (2020). Security Controls Evaluation, Testing, and Assessment Handbook (Second Edition).

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). (2001). National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Compliance FAQs: Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). (November 2019). National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Security and Privacy in the Internet of Things. (2016). Internet of Things.

Elliptical Curve Cryptography ECC. (June 2020). National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

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What Is Cryptography? Definition & How It Works | Okta

What Is Cryptography in Cyber Security: Types, Examples & More

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

Cryptography is one of the oldest and most widely used tools for safeguarding IT assets. Nearly every business relies on cryptography to secure sensitive data and IT infrastructure. So, what is cryptography in cyber security, and how can it help you optimize your security posture? Put simply, its a way to make information unreadable by attackers, even if it is compromised.

Cryptography in computer network security is the process of protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access when it is at rest or in transit by rendering it unreadable without a key. Leveraging encryption, cryptography helps users secure data transmission over networks, ensuring that only individuals with designated keys can access encrypted data.

To answer the question, what is cryptography in cyber security?, this blog will:

In most cases, cryptography needs will vary depending on an organizations structure, security controls, and broader governance requirements. Partnering with a managed security services provider (MSSP) is the best way to optimize cryptography protection to your specific needs.

There is no shortage of methods of cryptography available on the market, so you might be wondering which cryptography types will work best for your organizations security needs.

In general, there are two types of cryptography widely used for cybersecurity applications:

Also called secret key cryptography, symmetric cryptography functions via cryptographic key sharing between users. In this method, the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt data and is typically shared between users. In theory, only an individual with a unique cryptographic key should be able to decrypt the encrypted data. Symmetric cryptography is often used to safeguard the local storage of sensitive data on drives or servers.

On another level, asymmetric cryptography is typically used to safeguard the transmission of sensitive data across public networks. Asymmetric cryptography is also called public key cryptography because its users must have two keys. One of the keys is considered a public key that can be provided to anyone either user communicates with. However, the second key decrypts the encrypted data and is meant to be kept private.

So how exactly does cryptography work? In practice, as with the primary types, there are two primary approaches or methods of cryptography, which work hand in hand to secure data:

Data encryption refers to the process of using an algorithm to convert binary data from one form to another, accessible only by a specific key. For encryption to work, an algorithm converts plaintext into a difficult-to-decipher form (also called ciphertext), which can only be converted back to plaintext with a cryptographic key. Developing complex encryption algorithms will help increase the security of data transmission and minimize the risks of data being compromised.

Decryption essentially reverses encryption. Using a cryptographic key that matches the encryption algorithm, a user can decrypt sensitive data whether at rest or in transit.

Depending on the complexity and robustness of the algorithms you use, both encryption and decryption in cryptography will help optimize your security posture and safeguard sensitive data.

With wide-reaching applications, cryptography can help secure a wide range of sensitive digital environments, regardless of organization size, business needs, or industry. Your choice of cryptographic solutions will depend on the type of security controls you need to implement.

Below are some of the common uses of cryptography:

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies enable employees to use their own personal phones and computers at work or for workon premises and, potentially, for completing work tasks. But BYOD devices are at high risk for security threats if theyre used on unsecured, public networks.

The risk of data breaches is even higher if employees transmit sensitive data on these devices.

You should consider implementing BYOD device encryption if your employees can work remotely using their personal devices or bring them into work environments altogether.

Any emails containing sensitive data should be secured using industry-standard encryption algorithms that minimize the chances that cybercriminals will access the emailsor be able to read and use data within if they are accessed. End-to-end encryption tools can help secure sensitive emails, especially if private and public keys used to encrypt the emails are kept safe.

Encryption also extends to databases containing sensitive information such as:

Database encryption is critical to mitigating threat risks to data at rest across on-premise and cloud databases.

Encryption is also an essential tool for safeguarding your companys sensitive data such as:

One of the most common database encryption tools is transparent data encryption (TDE), which encrypts most SQL-based databases.

Secure websites are typically encrypted by the HTTPS protocol, which helps safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of transactions on the Internet.

HTTPS encryption also helps mitigate attacks like DNS spoofing, where cybercriminals attempt to direct users to unsecured websites to steal their sensitive information. HTTPS encryption is also widely implemented in customer-facing industries like retail, where customers can immediately identify an unsecured website based on the https in a websites URL.

Cryptography protection keeps your data confidential and maintain its integrity. Below are some benefits of email encryption, which can also apply to other forms of cryptography:

Encryption helps keep sensitive data confidential and minimize any risks of the data being exposed to cybercriminals. It is far easier to invest in a robust encryption method than risk compromising sensitive data belonging to valuable customers, vendors, or business partners.

When integrated into email applications, encryption can help identify potential phishing attempts and verify the authenticity of email senders, links, and attachments. Encryption will also make it easier for your employees to identify phishing threats and prevent any full-blown attacks.

Encryption also helps preserve the integrity of your sensitive data. Specifically, data is susceptible to security risks when its stored locally or in the cloud and during its transmission from one party to another. Using industry-standard encryption algorithms will help keep your data secure at all stages of storage or transmission.

Cryptography protection can also provide non-repudiation assurance, ensuring both parties receive confirmation of data transmission. When transmitting highly sensitive data to business partners, customers, or vendors encrypting your emails will also help avoid any legal issues, should one party claim a message was not sent, received, or processed.

Back to the starting question: what is cryptography in cyber security? Its a set of tools to help your organization keep data and other sensitive IT assets safe. Partnering with RSI Security will help optimize your cryptography, in-house or outsourced. Our cryptography services include:

As an experienced MSSP, our team of experts understands just how cumbersome it is to manage the encryption of endpoints across an organization. As threats keep evolving in todays IT landscape, we help optimize cryptography and ensure that encryption tools work robustly within your cybersecurity framework. To learn more, contact RSI Security today!

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Cloudflares post-quantum cryptography protects almost a fifth of the internet – VentureBeat

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

Learn how your company can create applications to automate tasks and generate further efficiencies through low-code/no-code tools on November 9 at the virtual Low-Code/No-Code Summit. Register here.

The countdown to Y2Q, the day when quantum computers can decrypt public key algorithms, is on. While researchers dont know exactly when this will happen, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) estimates this could be as soon as April 14, 2030.

Although many organizations are waiting for post-quantum threats to become tangible before taking action against them, other providers like Content Delivery Network (CDN) giant Cloudflare are diving straight in and responding with quantum-safe solutions.

Today, Cloudflare announced it has launched post-quantum cryptography support for all websites and APIs served through its network. Essentially, this will introduce quantum computer-proof encryption for all sites using Cloudflare, which accounts for 19.1% of all websites according to W3Techs.

Above all, the fact that a prominent security vendor like Cloudflare is committing to post-quantum cryptographyhighlights that enterprises should take the threat of malicious quantum computers seriously.

Low-Code/No-Code Summit

Join todays leading executives at the Low-Code/No-Code Summit virtually on November 9. Register for your free pass today.

The announcement comes shortly after Cloudflare announced the release of the first Zero Trust SIM to secure mobile devices, and a $1.25 billion funding program designed to help startups scale their businesses.

Now Cloudflare is the first content delivery network to support post-quantum TLS based on NISTs chosen cyber algorithm. While this decision may seem premature, its at the perfect time to prevent harvest now, decrypt later style attacks.

Currently, threat actors and nation-states can collect encrypted data with the intention to decrypt it once quantum computing advances to the level necessary to decrypt it.

There is an expiration date on the cryptography we use every day. Its not easy to read, but somewhere between 15 or 40 years, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer is expected to be built thatll be able to decrypt essentially any encrypted data on the Internet today, wrote Cloudflare in the announcement blog post.

Starting today, as a beta service, all websites and APIs served through Cloudflare support post-quantum hybrid key agreement. This is on by default; no need for an opt-in. This means that if your browser/app supports it, the connection to our network is also secure against any future quantum computer, the post said.

As quantum computers develop further, interest in post-quantum cryptography continues to grow, with researchers anticipating that the post-quantum cryptography market will reach a value of $476.8 million by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.67%.

Of course, Cloudflare isnt the only provider taking post-quantum threats seriously. Other vendors like PQShield, which announced raising $20 million in funding earlier this year, are leveraging post-quantum cryptography to enable enterprises to develop secure cryptographic solutions for messaging platforms, apps and mobile technologies.

Likewise, SandboxAQ, which Alphabet spun off at the start of this year with 9 figures in funding, is combining artificial intelligence and quantum computing together to offer next-generation encryption solutions.

The vendors Security AQ Analyzer creates a cryptographic inventory to understand an organizations cryptographic posture and helps plan the move to post-quantum cryptography. Its Security AW Maestro solution then uses machine learning to automate the orchestration of algorithms and protocols to optimize performance for end users.

However, Cloudflares widespread reach as one of the largest CDN providers in the market gives it the potential to contribute to the most widespread adoption of post-quantum cryptography yet.

VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.

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Nobel Prize in Physics goes to scientists who paved the way for quantum computing – Space.com

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

Three scientists who laid the groundwork for the understanding of the odd "entangling" behavior of quantum particles have received the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics.

French physicist Alain Aspect, Austria's Anton Zeilinger and American John Clauser were honored for their experiments exploring the nature of entangled quantum particles.

Defying the logic of our everyday reality, such particles behave like a single unit even when they are far away from each other. Engineers are currently working on harnessing this odd behavior in a range of revolutionary technologies, including quantum computing and quantum cryptography, a supposedly unbreakable technique of secure information coding.

The beginning of quantum theory dates back to the great physicists of the early 20th century, including Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. But the generation represented by the three new Nobel Prize laureates bridged the gap between theory and practical experiments and applications.

Related: 10 mind-boggling things you should know about quantum physics

"Quantum information science is a vibrant and rapidly developing field. It has a broad range of potential implications in areas such as secure information transfer, quantum computing and sensing technology," Eva Olsson, a member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a news conference on Tuesday(Oct.4). "This year's Nobel Prize in Physics honors the groundbreaking work and science of the central figures who took up the challenges and tackled them in laboratories."

One of the most mature applications of quantum technology is quantum cryptography, which takes advantage of the fact that changes made to one particle in an entangled system affect the other. Encryption keys to secret messages can therefore be encoded into the quantum states of such particles. These keys can be exchanged between the parties in the communication process securely, because any interception of the secret keys by a third party would inherently change the particles' quantum state and render the keys invalid.

Quantum key distribution via satellites was first demonstrated by China in 2016 as part of its Quantum Experiments at Space Scale project. Countries all over the world have since begun developing similar technologies.

Perhaps the most high-profile application of entangled quantum particles is in the nascent field of quantum computing. Quantum computers encode information into the quantum states of particles, which can lead to giant leaps in the speed of information processing.

Scientists believe that, once up and running, quantum computers will accelerate drug research, material science and lead to improvements in climate change modeling and weather forecasting, among other benefits.

"It has become increasingly clear that a new kind of quantum technology is emerging," Anders Irbck, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement. "We can see that the laureates' work with entangled states is of great importance, even beyond the fundamental questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics."

"This prize demonstrates the fundamental beauty of physics," Penelope Lewis, the chief publishing officer of the American Institute of Physics' publishing department, commented in a statement. "With their pioneering experiments in quantum entanglement, Aspect, Clauser, and Zeilinger brought quantum mechanics out of its philosophical beginnings dating back nearly a century and into the present day. Their experiments laid the groundwork for incredible advances in quantum computing and cryptography, technologies with the potential to transform the modern world."

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The 2nd Annual Encryption Consulting Conference is Back! – PR Newswire

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

"A leading cryptography event delivering on key topics to secure and protect data information."

PROSPER, Texas, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Encryption Consulting LLC specializes in assessing, strategizing, and building trusted protection plans for our clients. This year we host our second annual conference where we focus on hosting an event that highlights and discusses industry topics amongst the most expert speakers and notable organizations.

This event is for anyone with a desire to learn more about cryptography, PKI, Encryption, Data Protection, Cloud Key management, and other related topics. Our speakers range from leading global organizations and partners such as Thales, Protegrity, Anjuna, and more. Have your questions answered by speakers at our live Q&A.

The 2nd Annual Encryption Consulting Conference is Back!

Join us for this free 2-day virtual event happening from November 3 - 4. To register and learn more about the program and event details please visit the link below.

https://hopin.com/events/encryption-consulting-conference-2022/registration

See you there!

Contact: Puneet SinghCEO & President[emailprotected]469-400-7592

SOURCE Encryption Consulting

Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) is Officially an Internet Standard, Says The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – bitcoinke.io

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization thatcreates standards for the World Wide Web, has announced that Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0 is now an official Web standard.

This new type of verifiable identifier, which does not require a centralized registry, will enable both individuals and organizations to take greater control of their online information and relationships while also providing greater security and privacy.

There is a historical analog to this announcement in the evolution of mobile phone numbers. Originally these were owned by the mobile carrier and rented to the individual. This required individuals to change numbers if they changed carriers. With the adoption of mobile phone number portability, individuals could now take their numbers with them when switching carriers.

The same is true of most email addresses and social network addresses today they are not owned by individuals and must be changed if the individual changes providers. By contrast, W3C Decentralized Identifiers can be controlled by the individuals or organizations that create them, are portable between service providers, and can last for as long as their controller wants to continue using them.

Whats more, DIDs have the unique property of enabling the controller to verify ownership of the DID using cryptography. This can enable any controller of a DID an individual, an organization, an online community, a government, an IoT device to engage in more trustworthy transactions online. For individuals in particular, DIDs can put them back in control of their personal data and consent, and also enable more respectful bi-directional trust relationships where forgery is prevented, privacy is honored, and usability is enhanced.

Fundamentally, Decentralized Identifiers are a new type of globally unambiguous identifier that can be used to identify any subject (e.g., a person, an organization, a device, a product, a location, even an abstract entity or a concept). Each DID resolves to a DID document that contains the cryptographic material and other metadata for controlling the DID. The foundational pillars of the DID specification are:

W3C Decentralized Identifiers, coupled with W3C Verifiable Credentials, are being used across a number of markets where identification and data authenticity is a concern:

W3C, composed of over 450 organizations, has made the investment in W3C Decentralized Identifiers and W3C Verifiable Credentials to ensure a more decentralized, privacy-respecting, and consent-based data sharing ecosystem.

Official standards work will continue on these technologies through the newly re-chartered W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 Working Group, which will focus on expanding functionality based on market feedback. Further incubation on future privacy-respecting technologies will occur through the W3C Credentials Community Group, which is open to participation by the general public.

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The mission of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is to lead the Web to its full potential by creating technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the Web remains open, accessible, and interoperable for everyone around the globe.

W3C well-known standards in HTML and CSS are the foundational technologies upon which websites are built. W3C works on ensuring that all foundational Web technologies meet the needs of civil society, in areas such as accessibility, internationalization, security, and privacy. W3C also provides the standards that undergird the infrastructure for modern businesses leveraging the Web, in areas such as entertainment, communications, digital publishing, and financial services. That work is created in the open, provided for free, and under the groundbreaking W3C Patent Policy.

W3Cs vision for One Web brings together thousands of dedicated technologists representing more than 400 Member organizationsand dozens of industry sectors. W3C is jointly hosted by theMIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory(MIT CSAIL) in the United States, theEuropean Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics(ERCIM) headquartered in France,Keio Universityin Japan andBeihang Universityin China.

For more information seehttps://www.w3.org/.

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Cryptocurrency users with gambling affinity are more involved mentally and financially than non-gambling users – PsyPost

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

Cryptocurrency users who also gamble tend to be more mentally involved compared to their non-gambling counterparts, according to new research published in Computers in Human Behavior. The new study provides insight into some of the psychological patterns that characterize heavy cryptocurrency users.

Cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009. Since then, cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular. But prices can fluctuate rapidly and investing in cryptocurrencies involves substantial risk.

The risk-taking aspect of cryptocurrencies has led researchers to examine the potential link between cryptocurrency trading and problem gambling. Study author Fred Steinmetz noted that trust in cryptocurrency and ideological motivation might play a substantial role in the use of cryptocurrency. Furthermore, little is known about cryptocurrency users who also gamble

Since the beginning of my research journey in 2015, my research topics included blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and gambling. It was only logical for me to start investigating the intersections between these topics, said study author Fred Steinmetz, co-founder of the non-profit Blockchain Research Lab and author of Blockchain and the Digital Economy: The Socio-Economic Impact of Blockchain Technology.

For his study, Steinmetz analyzed a representative sample of 3,864 Germans regarding their use of cryptocurrency and engagement in gambling over the past year. The data was collected in 2019.

The participants were categorized into four separate groups: there were 1,844 non-users (who neither gambled nor ever used cryptocurrency), there were 1,312 gamblers (who had gambled recently but never owned cryptocurrency), there were 708 crypto-users (who at some point owned cryptocurrency but had not gambled recently), and there were 435 crypto-gamblers (who at some point owned cryptocurrency and had also gambled recently).

Crypto-gamblers reported having significantly higher levels of knowledge about blockchain technology along with higher levels of trust in cryptocurrency. Crypto-gamblers were also much more likely, compared to regular crypto-users, to consider their ownership of cryptocurrency to be ideologically motivated.

Cryptocurrency is not only about trading alternative financial assets. In differentiation to, e.g. trading stocks, cryptocurrency users experience a different mental involvement, which relate to the narratives and ideologies which permeate the industry, Steinmetz told PsyPost. Cryptocurrency users with gambling affinity are more involved mentally, proactively and financially than non-gambling users.

In addition, crypto-gamblers tended to be younger, more likely to be male, better educated, and better off financially than non-gambling crypto-users. The profiles of crypto-gamblers resemble those of skill-based gamblers and stock traders but differ in terms of their average young age, Steinmetz wrote in his study.

The crypto-gamblers were further broken down into three distinct clusters. One cluster consisted of those with high ideological motivation and trust toward cryptocurrency and a moderate level of financial investment who used their cryptocurrency for the purpose of speculating relatively infrequently. The second cluster had high ideological motivation and trust, a high level of investment, and frequently engaged in cryptocurrency speculation. The third cluster consisted of crypto-gamblers with low ideological motivation and trust, low levels of investment, and low levels of cryptocurrency speculation.

Among crypto-users who also gamble, I identified a group which comprises the heavy users, who are highly engaged and potentially consider cryptocurrency and gambling substitutes, Steinmetz told PsyPost. The interrelations among the investigated variables suggest that high levels of mental involvement among crypto-users who also gamble induces higher engagement in terms of owning more cryptocurrencies and speculating more often.

The second cluster of heavy users accounted for a sizable share of crypto-gamblers. A ~35% share of heavy users among all cryptocurrency users who also gamble was not expected. This warrants further research on the domain, Steinmetz said.

The results suggest that rather than focusing solely on trading frequencies of cryptocurrency, researchers should broaden their scope by recognizing the importance of mental involvement of cryptocurrency users, e.g. trust-perceptions, proclaimed knowledge about cryptocurrency and ideological motivation, the researcher said.

The study, The interrelations of cryptocurrency and gambling: Results from a representative survey, was published online on August 22, 2022.

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Cryptocurrency users with gambling affinity are more involved mentally and financially than non-gambling users - PsyPost

The Guardian view on the Rosetta Stone: a monument to code-breaking – The Guardian

Posted on October 7, 2022 by admin

This weeks 200th anniversary of the decoding of the Rosetta Stone is generating a rare level of patriotic excitement. A celebration is under way in Egypt, which has been petitioning for the return of the stone. A summer of love for its decoder, Jean-Franois Champollion, culminates in France this week with the opening of an exhibition at the Louvres satellite museum in Lens. Meanwhile, the British Museum where it has lain in state since docking on British shores is gearing up for its own blockbuster exhibition.

Yet the arrival of the very curious stone in the UK in 1802 warranted only the briefest of mentions in the London press, which reported that it was among a shipload of Egyptian antiquities collected by the French army that had become the property of the conquerors. These were spoils of a war, not against the Egyptians but against Napoleonic forces, signed over under the Treaty of Alexandria.

The stone had been discovered near the town of Rosetta, now Rashid, in the Nile delta just three years earlier. Of the three scripts with which it was inscribed Greek, Demotic and hieroglyphic only Greek was comprehensible; it would take another two decades for Champollion to have the eureka moment that would not only make the stone into one of the worlds most famous artefacts, but would add a new definition to the English language dictionary. Rosetta Stone: breakthrough or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of puzzles or problems.

In its metaphorical sense, the stone became a calling card for the science of code-breaking: and it is in this, rather than any quality intrinsic to the object itself, that its magic lies. Champollions decoding of a really rather dull decree by a council of priests, affirming the royal cult of the 13-year-old Ptolemy V, provided a key to the puzzle of hieroglyphics, and thereby opened out a whole new vista in the study of ancient Egyptian culture.

However, scientific breakthroughs are hardly ever the result of a single moment of inspiration, and Champollions was no exception. Several hieroglyphic characters had been identified by Arab scholars as far back as the 10th century. Meanwhile, Thomas Young, a doctor and physicist famously described as the last man who knew everything, worked out that sound played a role (alongside pictograms and idiograms), with a series of hieroglyphs sounding out the name Ptolemy. Though Youngs findings didnt go any further, he published them in the Encyclopaedia Britannica in 1819, so they would have fed into the French scholars thinking.

Through LGBTQ+ tours, which are shortly to recommence, the British Museum also recently began to honour another contributor to the stones history: William John Bankes, a wealthy gay Egyptologist who installed an obelisk on his Dorset estate and was early to suggest that the three texts on the Rosetta Stone might all say the same thing.

The anniversary should not just be seen as the story of one brilliant code-breaker and a broken slab of granodiorite, but as a chance to celebrate the collaborative genius of cryptography itself across continents and centuries.

This article was amended on 3 October 2022. The third script inscribed on the stone is Demotic, not Coptic as stated in an earlier version.

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The Guardian view on the Rosetta Stone: a monument to code-breaking - The Guardian