Quantum Computing And The Threat Posed To Bitcoin – The Dales Report

WhenBitcoinBTC/USD-0.72%introduced a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending system in 2009 facilitated by its native token, the world was awe-inspired and suspicious over the merits of adecentralized financial system.

More than a decade later, BTC has not only emerged as the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization but has also spurred the adoption of blockchain technology across multiple industries. It has also spawned a number of applications, such as decentralized finance (DeFi), which are revolutionizing the way humans transact.

Yet, with the rise of a new breed ofquantum computers, the dominance of blockchain-powered protocols like that of Bitcoin could be challenged in the near future.

While traditional computers use bits to process and store information by switching between 0 and 1, quantum computers use qubits that can simultaneously exist in both states.

These computers can be millions of times faster than the best supercomputers today.

With this kind of computing supremacy, malicious entities could exploit the advantages of quantum computing to launch attacks onprotocols like Bitcoin, in an attempt to steal funds from the millions of cryptocurrency users that transact via the internet today.

By employing storage attacks or transit attacks, bad actors could attack vulnerable wallet addresses or even target transactions.

At the same time, they are being processed on the blockchain. Storage attacks are seemingly a bigger possibility since it is dependent on how securely tokens are being held by various users, while transit attacks are beyond the realm of a current lot of quantum computers in existence today.

Currently, Bitcoin and other blockchain protocols arent particularly susceptible to quantum computing attacks. Thats because quantum computers havent progressed beyond 100 qubits in terms of processing capacity. This limits the possibility of an attack on a protocol as large and secure as that of Bitcoin.

But technology is progressing at a rapid pace, and quantum computers with more than a million qubits could become a reality within the next decade.

With that kind of computing power, the Bitcoin network in its current form would be severely compromised by cybercriminals.

There are a number of projects that are working to tweak or introduce new architectures that would make protocols even more secure.

Indeed, blockchain technology is continuously evolving as developers and entrepreneurs strive to innovate.

Moving away from elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), which focuses on a set of public and private keys to encrypt data, will be one of the most immediate tasks at hand for crypto developers.

Recognizing the need for more robust and attack-proof solutions, a number of projects are exploring alternate cryptographic methods to secure the next generation of Bitcoin and other protocols.

Some notable examples of quantum-resistant technologies include:

Each of these methods has adopted different approaches to ensure that their respective networks can resist quantum computing attacks.

But the key message remains: the crypto developer community would be wise to prepare for any risks posed by quantum computing.

__________

This articlewasoriginally publishedon Benzinga and appears here with permission.

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Quantum Computing And The Threat Posed To Bitcoin - The Dales Report

Cardano (ADA) and Algorand (ALGO) Are Two Blockchains To Watch Next Bull Cycle, Says Coin Bureau Here?… – The Daily Hodl

A popular crypto analyst thinks Cardano (ADA) and Algorand (ALGO) will be two blockchains to watch out for when the next bull market kicks off.

Pseudonymous Coin Bureau host Guy says in a new discussion with fellow crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen that both Ethereum (ETH) rivals have great teams behind them.

Long-term trend-wise, I think investors particularly institutional investors, which is obviously where Cardano is lacking in that respect but I think any investor will look at the likes of Ethereum and Cardano in the aftermath, when interest in crypto returns, and go, Well, these guys were able to execute these big upgrades, and they went flawlessly.

And I think that is a testament to the caliber of people working on those projects, and that I think will be a big part of peoples due diligence in the future. So although price hasnt done anything, I think its really, really positive, for Cardano especially.

ADA is trading for $0.43 at time of writing. The 8th-ranked crypto asset by market cap is down 0.72% in the past 24 hours.

Guy also notes that Algorands connections to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could open up possibilities for the project. Algorands founder, Silvio Micali, is a professor of computer science and cryptography at the university.

The Algorand team is not only very capable, but it also seems sort of really well connected, because MIT, as I understand it, is supposedly collaborating with the Federal Reserve on this upcoming digital dollar, this CBDC [central bank digital currency]. And I think that kind of opens up a lot of potential questions around Algorand, because there has been a lot of speculation that Algorand could be the blockchain for a US CBDC to eventually run on.

ALGO is trading for $0.3573 at time of writing, a negative change of 1% in the past 24 hours.

News broke in February that the U.S. Federal Reserve and researchers at MIT are collaborating on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative called Project Hamilton.

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Cardano (ADA) and Algorand (ALGO) Are Two Blockchains To Watch Next Bull Cycle, Says Coin Bureau Here?... - The Daily Hodl

Still think everything is awful? Here are three reasons for hope – Colorado Newsline

This commentary originally appeared in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

Step away from Twitter. Stop doom-scrolling.

Yes, I know, American democracy is under assault. Russian President Vladimir Putin is muttering dark warnings about nuclear weapons in the face of heroic and historic resistance by Ukraine. Dozens of people are dead and large swaths of Florida have been devastated by Hurricane Ian. And Kanye West did something so uniformly awful in Paris that I was forced to Google the tone-deaf thing that Kanye West did in Paris.

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These are bleak times, indeed. And the urge to simply throw your hands up in the air and declare yourself quit of the whole business is overwhelming. Im right there with you.

But before you hit Amazon for the best deal on yurts and start Googling How to become a digital nomad, at least three things have happened in the last week that, if they do not fully restore your faith in humanity, will at least keep the flame alive.

On Tuesday, a trio of researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their experiments in quantum information science, which, according to the Washington Post, could revolutionize computing, cryptography, and information-transfer by a method called quantum teleportation.

The honors for John F. Clauser, 79, of Walnut Creek, Calif., Alain Aspect, 75, of Universit Paris-Saclay and cole Polytechnique in France, and Anton Zeilinger, 77, of the University of Vienna in Austria, came just a day after the Nobel committee honored another extraordinary accomplishment.

If we want to solve all those problems that have us doom-scrolling in the first place, we need to train and educate a generation of young people who can do that.

On Monday, Swedish scientist Svante Pbo took home the Nobel for medicine for sequencing the Neanderthal genome, helping to launch a new field of ancient DNA study, and, as an added bonus, helping scientists track genetic differences in modern humans and their role in disease including COVID-19, the New York Times reported.

And last week, NASA successfully crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, all in an effort to prove whether it was possible to defend our very fragile planet from interstellar threats, the Washington Post also reported.

By themselves, any one of these achievements represent a massive expansion of human knowledge and scientific achievement.

Taken together, however, theyre not only a trifecta of weapons-grade wonkishness, but also a welcome reminder of the liberating power of education in a year in which too many parents were working overtime to get Toni Morrisons books (also a Nobel winner) yanked from their kids school library.

Its been widely reported that the United States is in the midst of a historic teacher shortage, with educators fleeing the profession because of high demands and low pay, PTSD from the pandemic, and culture wars run amuck.

If were pressed, every one of us can point to a teacher who made a critical difference at a crucial moment, whether through a kind word, or extra help on a particularly challenging assignment. Other educators go even further, advocating for their students when theres no one else there to speak for them. Some, tragically, have even given their lives to keep our children safe.

So I cant help but wonder if were depriving ourselves of the next Svante Pbo or John F. Clauser when a gifted educator decides to leave the classroom in favor of a job that not only pays a livable wage, but also is 100-percent free of school board meetings that turn into political food fights.

If we want to solve all those problems that have us doom-scrolling in the first place, we need to train and educate a generation of young people (hopefully unencumbered by crippling student debt) who can do that. We have to ground them in fact, not conspiracy; wrap them in hope, not despair; and bequeath them welcoming unity, not endless division.

So take a moment, if you would, to celebrate and pay tribute to the transformative work of not only the Nobel-honored scientists, but all those, whose names we might never know, who are working every day to expand our knowledge and save lives.

And there, in the quiet, as you do that, Im betting that whatever despair youre feeling will give way to hope; to the spark that gives way to a flame, lighting the fire of knowledge that carries all of us forward.

And then, if you must, go back to doom-scrolling.

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John Micek for questions: [emailprotected]. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.

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Intel CTO wants developers to build once, then run on any GPU – VentureBeat

Over two decades ago, the Java programming language, originally developed by Sun Microsystems, offered developers the promise of being able to build an application once and then have it run on any operating system.

Greg Lavender, CTO of Intel, remembers the original promise of Java better than most, as he spent over a decade working at Sun. Instead of needing to build applications for different hardware and operating systems, the promise of Java was more uniform and streamlined development.

The ability to build once and run anywhere, however, is not uniform across the computing landscape in 2022. Its a situation that Intel is looking to help change, at least when it comes to accelerated computing and the use of GPUs.

Today in the accelerated computing and GPU world, you can use CUDA and then you can only run on an Nvidia GPU, or you can go use AMDs CUDA equivalent running on an AMD GPU, Lavender told VentureBeat. You cant use CUDA to program an Intel GPU, so what do you use?

Thats where Intel is contributing heavily to the open-source SYCL specification (SYCL is pronounced like sickle) that aims to do for GPU and accelerated computing what Java did decades ago for application development. Intels investment in SYCL is not entirely selfless and isnt just about supporting an open-source effort; its also about helping to steer more development toward its recently released consumer and data center GPUs.

SYCL is an approach for data parallel programming in the C++ language and, according to Lavender, it looks a lot like CUDA.

To date, SYCL development has been managed by the Khronos Group, which is a multi-stakeholder organization that is helping to build out standards for parallel computing, virtual reality and 3D graphics. On June 1, Intel acquired Scottish development firm Codeplay Software, which is one of the leading contributors to the SYCL specification.

We should have an open programming language with extensions to C++ that are being standardized, that can run on Intel, AMD and Nvidia GPUs without changing your code, Lavender said.

Lavender is also a realist and he knows that there is a lot of code already written specifically for CUDA. Thats why Intel developers built an open-source tool called SYCLomatic, which aims to migrate CUDA code into SYCL. Lavender claimed that SYCLomatic today has coverage for approximately 95% of all the functionality that is present in CUDA. He noted that the 5% SYCLomatic doesnt cover are capabilities that are specific to Nvidia hardware.

With SYCL, Lavender said that there are code libraries that developers can use that are device independent. The way that works is code is written by a developer once, and then SYCL can compile the code to work with whatever architecture is needed, be it for an Nvidia, AMD or Intel GPU.

Looking forward, Lavender said that hes hopeful that SYCL can become a Linux Foundation project, to further enable participation and growth of the open-source effort. Intel and Nvidia are both members of the Linux Foundation supporting multiple efforts. Among the projects where Intel and Nvidia are both members today is the Open Programmable Infrastructure (OPI) project, which is all about providing an open standard for infrastructure programming units (IPUs) and data processing units (DPUs).

We should have write once, run everywhere for accelerated computing, and then let the market decide which GPU they want to use, and level the playing field, Lavender said.

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The Week in Security: CISA alerts on open source tool, SBOMs are just the first step – Security Boulevard

Welcome to the latest edition of The Week in Security, which brings you the newest headlines from both the world and our team across the full stack of security: application security, cybersecurity, and beyond. This week: APT groups targeted a defense industrial base sector organization, why SBOMs are a great first step, and more.

A new U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Alert (AA22-277A) shares that advanced persistent threat (APT) activity was found on the enterprise network of a U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB) sector organization. The known activity took place from November 2021 to January 2022, and was tracked by CISA with the help of a trusted third-party organization. CISA asserts that multiple APT groups gained access to this network, some over a long period of time. The Alert also reports that these actors used an open-source toolkit called Impacket to expand their foothold in the network and compromise it.

The effort on behalf of CISA and the trusted third-party was an incident response engagement plan. The effort found that certain APT groups gained access to the organizations Microsoft Exchange Server in early 2021. However, they have not yet determined how these groups gained access to the network. Once granted access, the APT groups used a compromised administrator account, allowing them to access the networks EWS Application Programming Interface (API) twice, while connected to a VPN.

After accessing the EWS API, the threat actors used Window Command Shell over a 3-day period, allowing them to interact with the organizations network, including the collection of sensitive data. It was in this same period that the APT groups utilized Impacket to move laterally across systems. The Alert defines Impacket as a Python toolkit for programmatically constructing and manipulating network protocols on another system.

The response effort believes that the APT groups were able to maintain access to the network until January 2022 with the use of legitimate login credentials.

CISAs Alert lists tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) as well as indicators of compromise (IoCs) related to this incident. CISA, along with the FBI and NSA, advise that any DIB sector or critical infrastructure organization take the necessary precautions listed in the Alert in order to manage this cyber threat.

Here are the stories were paying attention to this week

Having a Bill of Materials is nothing new in the traditional Supply Chain Management (SCM) process, and it shouldnt be any surprise and makes perfect sense to apply this same concept to software.

The Egypt Financial Cybersecurity Framework uses the most common, and well-respected frameworks into one unified source. Rather than attempting to cross-reference all the frameworks to each other, the CBE choses the best practices from each, creating a new document for use in the financial sector.

TheFederal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) and CISA have published a joint public service announcement. It assesses that malicious cyber activity aiming to compromise election infrastructure is unlikely to result in large-scale disruptions or prevent voting.

Researchers have disclosed details about a now-patched high-severity security flaw in Packagist, a PHP software package repository, that could have been exploited to mount software supply chain attacks.

SaaS security provider Legit Security today announced the launch of Legitify, a new open-source security tool designed to help enterprises secure their GitHub implementations. The solution will enable security and devops teams to scan GitHub configurations at scale and ensure the integrity of open-source software.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from ReversingLabs Blog authored by Carolynn van Arsdale. Read the original post at: https://blog.reversinglabs.com/blog/the-week-in-security-cisa-alerts-on-open-source-tool-sboms-are-just-the-first-step

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The Week in Security: CISA alerts on open source tool, SBOMs are just the first step - Security Boulevard

What we can learn from the top DevOps articles of 2022 – TechTarget

Since its inception in 2007, DevOps has been stirring up the way IT teams handle operations -- and 2022 has been no different.

DevOps combines development and operations to promote collaboration and communication. In turn, it can streamline processes and enable companies to keep up with market and customer demands. These benefits keep DevOps relevant and on the rise. Around 77% of companies use a DevOps model to streamline software deployment, Google reported. The market is expected to grow from $6,079.38 million to $14,554.23 million by 2027, according to 360iResearch's DevOps market forecast.

The majority of DevOps articles TechTarget published in 2022 focus on the knowledge and skills needed to be a successful DevOps engineer and have a competitive advantage in the job market. IT professionals also need strategies and tools to promote individual and organizational growth -- for organizations just beginning their adoption journey or refining a DevOps environment.

As we move into fall 2022, let's review the top 10 DevOps articles from the last six months that dive into everything from DevOps runbooks and preferred programming languages to adoption and desirable skills.

Every organization expects different skills and education levels from their DevOps engineers, but some qualifications are universal. In this article, former associate site editor Alyssa Fallon interviewed Matthew Grasberger, a DevOps engineer at Imperfect Foods and TechTarget contributor, and Mirco Hering, a global transformation lead at Accenture, about the top skills DevOps admins should have and their key responsibilities. Both found that DevOps engineers need cloud experience and should be acquainted with cloud-native platforms, such as Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. In addition to tool knowledge, they must be adaptable and able to balance regular responsibilities with unexpected tasks.

In a DevOps engineering role, interpersonal skills -- such as listening, curiosity and communication -- are just as important as technical skills. Collaboration and teamwork drive DevOps projects forward because they promote creativity and problem-solving. In an interview conducted for the article, Kyle Fossum, senior DevOps engineer at The Predictive Index, said, "I've heard DevOps defined as people, processes and technology -- in that order, so people come first." Review this article from March to determine what soft skills look like for DevOps engineers and how to translate them onto a resume.

DevOps runbooks focus on a single workflow process and address issues IT teams encounter. With a proper runbook, IT admins can create repeatable processes to help eliminate avoidable issues. In his article on runbook development, analyst Kurt Marko explained why you must record each task step before deploying automation and place it into a runbook. Explore the who, what, when, where and why of runbooks and how to automate them.

Every complex procedure should have a runbook that describes detailed steps for continual consistency and accuracy across an organization. Creating a template strengthens existing runbooks and eliminates confusion by explaining what is going on and why. DevOps runbooks provide teams with clear DevOps process descriptions and detail what each process accomplishes. Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corporation, covered what organizations should include in a runbook template, rules for the structure and how to test it before implementation.

To keep on top of the variety of tasks DevOps requires, DevOps engineers must have some code knowledge -- using programming skills to implement CI/CD and infrastructure as code, for example. Grasberger unpacked which languages are the most useful, from his experience as a DevOps engineer and shared how to best improve your skills -- through practice, practice and more practice.

The programming language Go, commonly referred to as Golang, can be a good fit when speed, concurrency and developer experience are a top priority. This strongly typed programming language makes it easier to use, write and read concurrent code than with JavaScript. Go's features also include readable code, extensive documentation and a command-line tool. This tutorial by Grasberger unpacked Go's benefits and teaches readers how to get started.

DevOps architect and engineering roles seem similar upon first glance but they differ greatly. In the simplest terms, DevOps architects create the framework and an engineer works to fill it in. An organization needs a DevOps architect if it already has software or enterprise architects. If there is a DevOps team of any kind, it needs engineers. In this article, Nolle explained where the architect and engineer roles diverge and come together in areas such as cloud knowledge and experience levels.

Many factors come into play when choosing an orchestration tool, but organizations can turn to open source tools to alleviate costs. When choosing the right tool, keep in mind an organization's size and the extent of its DevOps capabilities. Orchestration tools coordinate all the automated tasks necessary for a deployment. Once DevOps teams implement automation, they can integrate more DevOps processes. In this comparison piece, analyst Kerry Doyle dove into detail about open source orchestration options, such as Rancher, HashiCorp Nomad, Jenkins and GitLab CI.

Just because an organization has implemented a DevOps framework does not guarantee its success. Factors such as unclear definitions, deeply rooted silos, legacy commitments and missing actionable metrics can all contribute to a lackluster and inconsistent DevOps adoption process. For DevOps success, TechTarget senior technology editor Stephen Bigelow recommended ways to set reachable DevOps goals and six steps for a smooth adoption.

Self-service portals standardize build tools, technology, configurations, infrastructure and design patterns across an organization with a centralized dashboard system. In this article, Doyle has laid out the primary benefits of working with a DevOps self-service portal, its key elements and how to best prepare for adoption.

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What we can learn from the top DevOps articles of 2022 - TechTarget

Aleph.im Introduces The First Open Source and Decentralized Indexing Solution for Solana – GlobeNewswire

PARIS, Oct. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aleph.im, the Web3 cloud platform for computing services, file storage and indexing solutions, announced today the launch of their open source and decentralized indexing solution for the Solana ecosystem, to accelerate the development of decentralized applications through accessible data queries and integrations. As the main indexer of major Solana DeFi protocols like Serum.Markets, Raydium, Port Finance, Saber and Orca, aleph.im is among the largest contributors to the indexing of data on the Solana blockchain.

All our competitors on Solana are currently centralized and closed source, meaning these resources can run into serious security flaws, single points of failure, outage issues, and inability to audit the code base externally, said Jonathan Schemoul, CEO of aleph.im. We are proud to be the first fully decentralized and open source indexing solution on Solana, and we look forward to seeing the innovations that will arise from this open framework.

Open source drives innovation and quicker and efficient development, and were happy to see projects like aleph.im contributing to the Solana ecosystem in this way, Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of Solana.

On-chain data indexing constitutes the building blocks of DeFi and NFT applications allowing users to access portfolio aggregators, TVL dashboards, wallet profiling, open orders tracking and more. But accessing historical data on the Solana network currently requires costly physical hardware, super fast internet connection, and computing power that is unreachable for individual projects who want to query the history of the blockchain and build useful data points for their applications.

With aleph.im, Solana builders can improve, customize or fork the open-sourced decentralized indexer and tap into a foundational framework that has already indexed over 3,000 market pairs within the Solana DeFi ecosystem, including Serum.Markets, Raydium, Port Finance, Saber and Orca, and fulfills over 14 million transaction requests each day to 220+ independently run resource nodes on their network.

Aleph.ims decentralized indexing solutions make it a one-stop solution for projects like Raydium to access accurate on-chain data at lightning speed", added Infra, a core contributor to Raydium.

About Aleph.im

Aleph.im is a distributed cloud platform that provides serverless trusted computing services, file storage and indexing solutions to replace traditional centralized cloud computing. It provides dApps of any chain instant access to database solutions thanks to its scalable peer-to-peer network and programming language-agnostic interface. For more information visit aleph.im

Explore Aleph.ims indexing solution, staking DApp, and NFT & IPFS Backup dApp.

Follow aleph.im on Twitter: @aleph_im

For press inquiries contact Karla Vilhelem at karla@howl.xyz

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Aleph.im Introduces The First Open Source and Decentralized Indexing Solution for Solana - GlobeNewswire

Open banking could be what Africa needs to deepen financial inclusion – Quartz

Open banking, the practice of sharing third-party access to financial data through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) within data privacy rules is gradually gaining prominence in Africa, which still grapples with several pain points in payments.

Open banking brings the needed agility by fintechs to provide multiple services across borders. It allows you to send money from the US to Malawi as well as pay for your electricity, water, or home internet bills. These APIs enhance contactless payments, further pushing down the cost of transactions, Willie Kanyeki, east and southern Africa regional manager at UK-based fintech Terrapay told Quartz during this years Seamless Africa fintech summit in Nairobi on Oct. 4.

Several startups are already investing on the frontier fintech concept and innovations around it. Last month a McKinsey study projected that Africas e-payments market will see revenues grow by 20% per year, hitting $40 billion by 2025. The global open banking market amassed a revenue of $13.9 billion in 2020, and is expected to hit $123.7 billion by 2031.

With 57% of Africas adult population still underbanked, and many lacking access to affordable credit, the sharing of APIs among banks, fintechs, and mobile money providers, according to fintech experts, presents a huge opportunity for the continent to expand financial inclusion to the rural areas.

Through open banking, Kanyeki says Terrapay has reduced cross-border remittance costs from 7% to 3% is some countries, and has expanded its portfolio to 4.5 billion bank accounts and over 1.5 billion mobile wallets.

Nairobi-based Solve Kenya, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered bank, which has utilized open banking in the past five months to provide over 800 small and medium sized businesses access to credit, believes the era of waiting for days for a business loan to be approved is long gone.

Yes, we use these APIs and machine learning to make the process fastera maximum of 50 minuteswhile eliminating any loopholes for fraud. We have disbursed $1 million and the adoption is high because the APIs have reduced the cost of access to credit by up to 3%. We protect client private data and we have also have integrated zero trust cybersecurity to our platform, CEO Sheila Omukuba tells Quartz.

Kenyas central bank gave open banking a green light in 2020 paving the way for Cooperative Bank of Kenya to pioneer the new business landscape, integrating its systems with 12 APIs to reach more customers.

IBMs Middle east and Africa general manager Saad Toma tells Quartz that open banking creates new revenue streams for financial institutions while creating value for customers through digital personalized financial services experiences. This is all possible by making data available for regulated providers to access, use and share and allows customers to seamlessly interact with multiple forms of personal finance and payment service providers, Toma explains.

IBM says it is currently working with Ethiopian bank Dashen to modernize its cloud integration architecture and enhance its open banking experiences with fintechs, neo-banks, corporates, and telecom partners to improve customer experiences. In southern Africa, we have partnered with Bank Zero to deliver an open-source based banking platform that offers fast, easy, and continuous banking services to digital customers, Toma says.

South African open finance platform truID allows users to securely access consumer financial data from all major banks in the country, with its CEO Paris Valakelis telling Disrupt Africa that open banking is a movement already in motion and one thats picking up pace, eventually, it will become a unified open data framework, encompassing all consumer data safely and securely.

Stitch, also South African, has developed an API that allows developers to connect apps to financial accounts within minutes. There are now six South African banks offering open banking services.

Nigerian startups OnePipe, which aggregates APIs from banks and fintechs into a unified gateway, and Mono which builds open banking infrastructure for banks, are driving the revolution in the country and believe that all financial service providers should allow for free API integrations for inclusion to work in Africa. In May, Nigerias central bank laid down guidelines for open banking in the country.

Moroccos CIH Bank has been working with Finastra, an open banking fintech to digitize its services so customers can access them on a mobile app while improving customer experience and generating more revenue.

Tanzanias most notable pioneer of open banking is NMB Bank, which launched the countrys first fintech sandbox in October 2021 to allow fintechs to access banking APIs meant to make payments faster. CEO Ruth Zaipuna says the sandbox allows startups to experiment, test, and pre-certify integration with our banking services.

Banks in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Malawi are also betting big on APIs to entrench WhatsApp banking, which is meant to make sending and receiving money as easy and fast as chatting on WhatsApp. Open banking is also active in Uganda, Egypt, and Ghana.

However, the continent has the worlds lowest internet speed, many people still rely on feature phones, internet penetration is low, and some countries even censor it.

Some legacy banks are also not ready to open their APIs to fintechs or share customer data with competitors. The lack of regulation is also crippling attempts to make the concept mainstream, as only two countries in AfricaKenya and South Africahave a data privacy and protection law.

One of the hardest things about open banking is that we are asked [as customers] to share more data, in an age where privacy is more valued, says Richard Dent, founder of Finger Finance, a California-based online lending startup.

Andrew Ma, chief operating officer of South Africas Stitch says though Africa is ready for the revolution most regulatory regimes continue to treat third-party open banking players as security and exposure risks, and warn consumers against use of products enabled by them.

But Africas informal economy, which accounts for almost 90% of the economy, remains a prime space for open banking innovation, offering players the chance to provide safe, secure, and innovative financial services to the 370 million unbanked consumers. A reduced cost of mobile internet is expected to raise financial inclusion in Africa and improve the continents GDP by 30%.

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Open banking could be what Africa needs to deepen financial inclusion - Quartz

Bonitasoft Introduces New Tools That Offer Visualization and Monitoring With Business Process Automation – Business Wire

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bonitasoft, the leading open-source digital process automation company, today announced the first release of the Bonita Digital Business Process Management platform that includes native integration with tools produced by the Process Analytics project. With these tools, users can better customize their visualization of processes and cases for improved process monitoring, giving businesses a deeper understanding of how processes are performing as they run.

The Process Analytics project is an open source project, distributed under the Apache license, that is developing tools to help developers to visualize and monitor process execution data using the BPMN2 standard notation. After two years of development, the Process Analytics project is now advanced enough to offer a set of re-usable, embeddable libraries that can be easily integrated into other existing BPM, RPA, iPaaS, and process mining applications and platforms.

We see process analytics as a sub-segment of the Data Analytics market, in which the data model is related to process execution use cases, said Charles Souillard, CEO and co-founder of Bonitasoft. The more data about business processes that the platform can mine and offer to business users in an easy-to-consume format, the better decisions they can take about where to optimize, improve, and innovate.

The current release of Bonita 2022.2 also has a brand-new Reporting Application that includes process execution reports, with relevant historical data of processes and cases, for analysis of past process performance that will aid in pinpointing areas for improvement.

Further, Bonitasoft also announces that it has achieved ISO 27001 certification for its Bonita Cloud development, user support, and operations. 27001 certification was confirmed by Bureau Veritas, the world leader in certification, after performing a successful audit of Bonitasofts information security practices.

We are pleased to have earned this certification for Bonita, added Nicolas Chabanoles, Chief Product & Technology Officer for Bonitasoft. We are committed to providing highly secure business process automation for our Bonita customers, partners, and users.

The Bonita Community open-source edition includes all capabilities required to develop and deploy process automation projects, and can be downloaded here.

About Bonitasoft

Bonitasoft fully supports digital operations and modernization of information systems with Bonita, an open-source and extensible platform for automation and optimization of business processes. The Bonita platform accelerates development and production with a clear separation between visual programming and coding capabilities. Bonita integrates with existing information systems, orchestrates heterogeneous systems and provides deep visibility across all enterprise processes.

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Bonitasoft Introduces New Tools That Offer Visualization and Monitoring With Business Process Automation - Business Wire

October headliners, part I: Noteworthy events & program deadlines in the Triangle – WRAL TechWire

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK WRAL TechWire keeps tabs on the latest and greatest meetups, panels, workshops, conferences, application deadlines and all things happening in the entrepreneurial, technology and business communities in the Triangle and across North Carolina.

Following is a list of events coming up across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the greater Triangle area through the end of October. Many events will be held in person, as some organizers are returning to a live format.

If youd like to suggest an event for WRAL TechWires statewide events calendar, feel free to reach out here.

The Launch Places annual Big Launch Challenge event is returning this fall, offering an opportunity for 10 promising startups to compete for $15,000 in prize money. The 2022 Big Launch Challenge will be held on Nov. 17 in RTP.

The Downtown Techies Happy Hour event series is back at Raleighs Lynnwood Brewing Concern. Join to network with peers.

Code for Durham brings together technologists, designers, developers, data scientists, map makers, and activists to collaborate on civic technology projects. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.

Cary Chambers next economic development meeting will be held at ABBs American headquarters, located in Cary.

NC TECHs Job Expo allows job seekers and employers to connect live via chat and video. Employers will host virtual booths describing employee benefits/perks, job vacancies and more. While the event mainly focuses on candidates seeking tech-related jobs and internships, many employers have openings in non-technical roles.

1 Million Cups, presented by Kauffman, is a weekly informal pitch event for the startup community. Join for free coffee and entrepreneurial support as local startups deliver their presentations.

Featuring panel discussions, networking and more sessions, this event will highlight the importance of manufacturing and technology, and the intersection of the two.

The AgTech Investor Symposium will feature a full day of discussions covering the growing opportunities for agtech deals and investments.

This hybrid workshop will focus on emotional intelligence and leadership, covering its benefits and approaches to managing stress, burnout and other critical challenges, and more.

Join this event to hear pitches from the latest cohort of CEDs 12-week GRO Incubator. (Read more coverage of the participating startups here.)

CEDs GRO incubator selects nine startups here they are

American Underground is hosting a founder-focused happy hour on its rooftop. Join to meet the 10 Black-led startups participating in the annual Black Founders Exchange accelerator, as well as other local entrepreneurs and startup teams from across the Triangle.

This conference, hosted by the NC Global Health Alliance, will bring together business leaders, policymakers, students and researchers to discuss the global impact of North Carolinas health organizations.

Raleigh Chambers next C-Suite Perspectives event will feature a talk from J. Blount Williams, the chairman and CEO of Alfred Williams & Company.

This free monthly interactive webinar provides participants with an overview of NC TECHs activities, resources and member offerings.

Join Raleigh Founded for an evening celebrating its 10th anniversary of serving the Triangles startup and tech communities.

The City of Raleighs Building Up-fit Grant helps fund interior improvements to commercial property owned by local businesses. Applications for the next round of grants are open now.

Raleigh Chamber will bring together local professionals and business leaders for an evening of networking at the states largest indoor shooting range of its kind.

Connect with other nonprofit leaders around the Triangle at Raleigh Foundeds free coworking day, featuring complimentary food, networking and a lineup of programming.

Triangle Biotech Tuesday is a monthly meetup that connects scientific professionals across the RTP/greater Triangle area. Join to network with professionals from different industries. The group meets on the second Tuesday of every month.

The sixth annual Ecosystem Builders (e.Builders) Forum will convene entrepreneurship ecosystem leaders from around the country to enhance their professional skills and make new connections.

Now in its 5th year, the annual Microbiome Movement Animal Health & Nutrition Summit convenes microbiome experts from livestock, companion animal and aquaculture indications to discuss the latest scientific developments and tackle the industrys challenges.

The NC Biosciences Organization will host its annual meeting this fall, featuring a keynote address, panel discussions and networking.

In this virtual event, NC TECH will present its annual North Carolina Tech Innovation Index, a report detailing how the states metros compare nationally in tech talent supply, talent demand and innovation.

In this in-person workshop, entrepreneur Neal McTighe will lead a panel discussion on business funding opportunities.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Centers Innovation Impact Grant provides up to $150,000 in funding for acquiring research equipment for university core facilities or nonprofit organizations engaged in life science research.

Techstars Startup Weekend returns to the Triangle this month with another 54-hour hackathon focused on social innovation.

NC State students/alumni and employers in the data science field are invited to attend this in-person career expo at the Hunt Library.

NC TECHs Government Vendor Network is a forum for member companies interested in doing business with the state government.

1 Million Cups, presented by Kauffman, is a weekly informal pitch event for the startup community. Join for free coffee and entrepreneurial support as local startups deliver their presentations.

Join this free webinar to learn about the wealth of career and educational opportunities available in the Triangles life science sector.

Raleigh Founded is hosting an Instagram-focused social media strategy session with Emily Winters, founder of The Social Rising.

This webinar will show small business owners and startups how to employ YouTube to boost brand awareness, generate leads, grow sales and connect with audiences.

Cary Chambers next Business of Women event will feature a talk from Meena Patel, owner of the Preston Dental Loft in Cary.

The next RTP180 event will bring in a panel of experts to discuss the latest findings in forensic anthropology, forensic toxicology, thanatology and more.

Hosted by NC State Entrepreneurship, the Albright Entrepreneurs Village, and Women in Science and Engineering, this in-person event will feature a panel discussion with women in leadership and entrepreneurial roles.

The NC Sustainable Energy Associations annual Making Energy Work Conference covers policy areas that are driving North Carolinas clean energy economy, from regulatory reform to policies enhancing access to new technologies.

This virtual lunch and learn will discuss ways to prepare for the impending 5G rollout, the technical challenges involved and more.

In this in-person event, a panel of farmers and food business owners will discuss the industrys impact in the region and throughout North Carolina.

Raleigh Founded will host a Halloween-themed networking event with festive food and drinks, face painting and a costume contest.

ProductCampRTP and PDMA Carolinas are hosting a free virtual conference tailored for professionals who plan, design, build, market or manage a product/service.

The East Coasts largest open-source technology conference returns this year with an engaging program for designers, developers, entrepreneurs, technologists and business leaders.

Held in conjunction with All Things Open, this event will feature moderated and facilitated discussions and pre-scheduled talks geared toward community leaders, organizers and managers.

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October headliners, part I: Noteworthy events & program deadlines in the Triangle - WRAL TechWire