Old tech reveals personal data of past owner

Did you wipe all your data properly before getting rid of your computer hardware?

In order to discover how well businesses wipe data on end of life devices, Researcher Josh Frantz from Rapid7 purchased 85 used IT hardware including computers, flash drives, phones, and hard drives from businesses. In total, he paid $600.

Astonishingly, only two devices were wiped properly, and three devices were encrypted. He was able to retrieve 214,019 images, 3,406 documents, and 148,903 email messages from all the devices he purchased.

In an attempt to sift through all these data for potentially private information, he used Python script and PowerShell to identify social security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, and phone numbers. He ended up collecting 611 email addresses, 50 dates of birth, 41 Social Security numbers, 19 credit-card numbers, 6 driver’s license numbers, and 2 passport numbers.

So, how much do these data worth?

To research further about the black market value of the data, Frantz was surprised to learn how cheap it is to buy people's information on the Darknet. Social security number cost around $1 apiece, while full documents cost around $3. It is obvious to say that data leakage is so common that it has driven down the cost of the data itself.

How to safely dispose of your IT hardware?

From this experiment, we learned the importance of wipe your data properly before dispose of your hardware.  At Easy Hardware Trading, we offer IT hardware a second life so it has always been our priority to have professionals wipe out all the data in the devices when we receive used hardware.


Solution for cyber attack

"It has already happened, it is happening now and if we do not change it it will happen in the future"

Dutch cybersecurity scientist Volkan Kaya stated that the x.509 standard PKI which determines the format of digital certificates is weak. With years of experiences working in the banking industry and graduated from Cyber Security Academy, he can easily shut down the entire Internet. In The Netherlands, the vulnerability of the Internet had also shown by the DigiNotar attack.

 

Certification protocols should be exist based on the 'truth' instead of 'trust'. 

X.509 issue digital certificates through e-mail. The e-mail message protocol (smtp) is not a secure protocol and can be intercepted by attackers.

The x.509 issues multiple certificates by using different key pairs at the same time for a specific domain name. Kaya: "The flexibility of having multiple valid certificates for the same host computer at the same time makes it possible to issue false valid certificates without knowledge of the host computer itself."

 

Kaya came up with new PKI certificate so-called ConsensusPKI. 

The certificates authorities in ConsensusPKI are collectively responsible for the identity of the normal computers and also the identity of all certificate authorities. Only the most recently issued certificate is a valid certificate. The certificate issuance process requires authentication of the CVRs by multiple CAs. All verifications performed during the certificate issuance must be broadcast to other CAs so that the verified CVRs can be saved to the related certificate blockchain. They can in turn issue a verified certificate.

For the interpretation of the certificates, CAs have to interrogate their database by client systems. The CAs must retain all blocking data that represent all certificates in the ecosystem that are stored in the CA infrastructure. The CAs must protect the blocking data that they store so that they can respond fairly to the incoming questions.

Finally, the certificates in the ConsensusPKI do not carry signatures of the issuing CAs. ConsensusPKI requires CAs to be honest during the use and issuance of certificates. The PKQuery and fetch processes of the ConsensusPKI ensure that the core of ConsensusPKI is maintained.

 


How to recycle computer equipment

What normal company does

  • Donate to non-profits
  • Return products to the manufacturer
  • Take to professional disposal waste
  • Resell to the original seller

What Eht does

  • Buy used/obsolete computer equipment
  • Sell refurbished computer to other company

 

What are the benefits of choosing EHT?

  • Reduce waste and save the environment 
  • Optional Data Wiping: We offer an option to wipe out all your data
  • Cost Effectiveness: Stretch your budget further by buying certified pre-owned hardware, giving you all the functionality and capabilities of a new system, for a fraction of the price.
  • Shorter Lead Times: With an extensive multi-million-pound stock holding, Easy Hardware Trading can get you the part or system you need, when you need it.
  • Time-Efficiency: In order to make IT managers time efficient, we look for fair hardware prices on the market

 


Cloud Makes Video Surveilance Smart

Programming for the investigation of video pictures and man-made consciousness (computerized reasoning, ai) decide the eventual fate of camera reconnaissance. Dean Drako, the co-founder of Barracuda Systems, points with his Eagle-Eye Systems for a future in which cameras work cleverly as well as assume control over a great deal of work. "At that point less protects will be required."

According to Dean Drako of Eagle Eye Networks, the new ai-driven cloud applications bring safety to the workplace, in stores and factories, to a higher level. Security is largely automated. The monitoring and giving of alarms are automatic. According to Dean Drako of Eagle Eye Systems, the new ai-driven cloud applications convey wellbeing to the working environment, in stores and industrial facilities, to a more elevated amount. Security is to a great extent computerized. The checking and giving of alerts are programmed.

Camera frameworks serve security as well as help enhance business forms. As of now, just a single in every hundred cameras has an unexpected capacity in comparison to wellbeing. Yet, that is moving. "40% of the cameras will add to business insight," predicts Drako.


New Sony patent on PlayStation 5

Sony is at the stage of development of a new patent, which will be compatible with PlayStation 5. The patent will have all of the consoles from previous versions of PlayStation. In fact, fans of PlayStation should love this idea!

Theoretically, PlayStation 5 might run software from the legacy devices like PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2,  and PSone. The idea is that the patent will be tricking the legacy software that it runs on the original device. It will imitate the behavior of the previous version of PlayStation in order for the new hardware to function with the old one. The PlayStation 5 will have the console with 8-core Ryzen CPU and a custom GPU based on AMD's Navi architecture.

 

 


Google and Maurithuis collaborate on the project

Google and Maurithuis stepped into the project in order to incorporate famous works of the painter Johannes Vermeer into a virtual environment. With the project "Meet Vermeer",  visitors will experience what a virtual museum is. They can physically walk in the virtual museum through the augmented reality and view 36 paintings by zooming them in. In past, Google already worked with Maurithuis on the French project " Arts & Culture". This is the second time that Google and Maurithuis will collaborate on the same project from Paris.

However, five developers from Google will create the virtual exhibition with paintings of Vermeer for "Arts & Culture" project, so that people all around the world can view masterpieces of the painter. The most interesting element for the creation of the virtual museum is visitor's contribution. People can build the museum themselves. For that purpose, they can use a tour creator by Google, Poly Tours. The tour creator allows using formats ar and vr. To view paintings, visitors should have ARCore (Android) or ARKit (iOS) platforms downloaded on their phones. They can also use normal vr mode on phones.

Furthermore, Google developed the Art Camera two years ago. This robot camera is used for providing people with a virtual view of the paintings of Vermeer. More than that, the camera scan and take a photo of a painting on a distance in 1 meter and uses laser and sonar for a good focus. Therefore, it is possible to zoom in the paintings to view them better. However, paintings can be zoomed only outside of the ar platform.

The "Meet Vermeer" project is a brilliant idea to view and enjoy masterpieces of the great painter Johannes Vermeer!


Review for the Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop

The new Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop is now released. The model comes with an Intel Core i7-8565U processor and a 13.3-inch 1080p display. Therefore, it can increase up to 4X performance that is important for businesses when creating content.  The laptop packs a 256GB SATA SSD and 8GB of RAM. The laptop has a new Razer Chroma keyboard and therefore, it combines style and power, which ideally suits for work.

Razer Blade Stealth is also a great opportunity for businesses to work from the laptop as the speed of Intel Core i7-8565U processor reaches 4.6GHZ and up to 16GB RAM. The unibody frame of the Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop is made of high-grade aluminum, which has good durability. The logo of Razer is in a black color, which makes it very elegant and stylish. The 4K display has 100% of sRGB compatible colors, which produces high-quality visuals and a touchscreen with better productivity.

 

 

 


Cyber Hygiene

Cyber hygiene is the way for data being protected. This helps to protect devices from malware. The data is stored safely from theft and cyber attacks. Cyber hygiene is a sort of instruction and practices, which users of devices can do for the benefit of a system's health and security. There are several practices to follow to protect data and secure functioning devices:

  1. Hardware, software, and applications should be documented. Make a list where you will document it.
  2. From the list, you will see which equipment is not used, software and some apps need to be updated or even uninstalled.
  3. All of the practices for cyber hygiene can be noted down. It can be created a policy for users. The policy might contain information about password changes, software or hardware updates, new installs, back up information, etc.

Users should folow these simple practices to avoid any issues with cybersecurity in future.


The importance of hardware for the healthcare industry

When IT started getting its success, the future of healthcare was also predicted. It was a good beginning for healthcare providers to bring new opportunities in the patients' treatment. Therefore, this article will outline the importance of hardware in the healthcare industry.

First of all, you have new and modern hardware at hospitals and medical centers, which help to provide patients with better treatments because the diagnosis can be easier found. Also, the patients are protected from any mistakes in their diagnosis. The hardware gives more accuracy to the diagnostical results. It can be used for different departments of hospitals and medical centers, which makes the expertise of medical practitioners broader. The treatment can be given in different fields such as pediatric,  surgery, gynecology, dermatology, diegetic, etc.

Besides, the information with medical data can be stored in computers for a long time, which is a benefit. It can be accessed whenever it is needed. The patients can also see their medical records like test results or instructions for treatment. Both medical professionals and patients can have a reciprocal communication with each other when it is necessary.

In conclusion, all of the mentioned advantages make to believe that the hardware is quite important for the healthcare industry. And we expect many more inventions and developments in the future.

 


Threats of plastic

Most of the companies use plastic for their products and packaging. However, plastic contains toxins, which bring harm to the environment. There are the threats of plastic, which should be taken into account when manufacturing products:

  • It is impossible that plastic biodegrades. Once people throw away any things made of plastic, it will stay in the ground millions for years and only break down into small pieces.
  • Plastic is also dangerous for human health because of toxins that poison people. It results in cancer, birth defects or endocrine disruption, etc.
  • Even small creatures, like plankton, eat plastic because it is also in the water. People use fish as food and different countries, which brings more risks to human health. Besides, fish absorbs the dangerous chemical elements from plastic, which is also a threat to marine species.
  • The same happens to animals. They eat because of thinking that it is food. It is dangerous as animals die because of eating plastic, which does not digest.
  • Plastic cannot biodegrade. Dozens of factories use discard more than 20 millions of plastic. It does not go away. Some factories recycle plastic, but it mainly stays in the ground.

Therefore, manufacturers from around the world should take the situation over. Some of them already looking for ways on how to replace plastic in their products and packaging. We should care about the planet where we live!