Telecom
Cybersecurity: Sophos launches “Xstream” version of XG Firewall
Sophos , a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, has introduced a new “Xstream” architecture for Sophos XG Firewall with high performance Transport Layer Security (TLS) traffic decryption capabilities that eliminate significant security risk associated with encrypted network traffic, which is often overlooked by security teams due to performance and complexity concerns.
XG Firewall now also features AI-enhanced threat analysis from SophosLabs and accelerated application performance.
Sophos also published the SophosLabs Uncut article, “Nearly a Quarter of Malware now Communicates Using TLS,” which explains how 23% of malware families use encrypted communication for Command and Control (C2) or installation.
The article details, for example, three common and ever-present Trojans – Trickbot, IcedID and Dridex – that leverage TLS during the course of their attacks.
Cybercriminals also use TLS to hide their exploits, payloads and stolen content and to avoid detection. In fact, 44% of prevalent information stealers use encryption to sneak hijacked data, including bank and financial account passwords and other sensitive credentials, out from under organizations.
Dan Schiappa, chief product officer at Sophos, said “As SophosLabs’ research demonstrates, cybercriminals are boldly embracing encryption in an attempt to bypass security products.
“Unfortunately, most firewalls lack scalable TLS crypto capabilities and are unable to inspect encrypted traffic without causing applications to break or degrade network performance.
“With the new Xstream architecture in XG Firewall, Sophos is providing critical visibility into an enormous blind spot while eliminating frustrating latency and compatibility issues with full support for the latest TLS 1.3 standard.
“Sophos’ internal benchmark tests have clocked a two-fold performance boost in the new XG TLS inspection engine as compared to previous XG versions. This is a game changer.”
Latency too often deters IT admins from using decryption, as seen in an independent Sophos survey of 3,100 IT managers in 12 countries. The survey white paper, The Achilles Heel of Next-Gen Firewalls, reports that while 82% of respondents agreed TLS inspection is necessary, only 3.5% of organizations are decrypting their traffic to properly inspect it.
Sophos listed Key new features of XG Firewall to include:
• Inspection of TLS 1.3 to detect cloaked malware: New port-agnostic TLS engine doubles crypto operation performance over previous XG versions
• Optimized critical application performance: New FastPath policy controls accelerate performance of SD-WAN applications and traffic, including Voice over IP, SaaS and others, to up to wire speed
• Adaptive traffic scanning: The newly enhanced Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) engine dynamically risk-assesses traffic streams and matches them to the appropriate threat scanning level, enhancing throughput by up to 33% across most network environments
• Threat analysis with SophosLabs intelligence: Provides network administrators with the SophosLabs AI-enhanced threat analysis needed to understand and adjust defenses to protect against a constantly changing threat landscape
• Comprehensive cloud management and reporting in Sophos Central: Centralized management and reporting capabilities in Sophos Central provide customers with group firewall management and flexible cloud reporting across an entire estate without additional charge
• Integration with Sophos Managed Threat Response (MTR) service: Customers of XG Firewall who also subscribe to the Sophos MTR Advanced service will have deeper actionable intelligence to prevent, detect and respond to threats, as a result of the integration
“Sophos’ new XG Firewall offers a wide array of enterprise-caliber features, with a growing installed base that is now one of the industry’s most widely deployed next-generation firewalls,” Eric Parizo, senior analyst for enterprise IT strategy, (according to Omdia, Enterprise Decision Maker, January 2020. Results are not an endorsement of Sophos or SophosLabs. Any reliance on these results is at the third-party’s own risk).
“XG Firewall can win against industry competitors in large part because of Sophos Central, its SaaS-based, single-pane-of-glass management system for overseeing deployment, management, policy, updates, and response, with optional log management and analytics. This cloud management platform with the Firewall Management and Reporting feature, plus the TLS inspection, position Sophos XG Firewall as a compelling option for a wide variety of organizations.
Bruce Kneece, CTO of Columbia, S.C.-based Convergent Information Security Solutions said, “At Convergent Information Security Solutions, we are engaged in the management and monitoring of both perimeter and internal cybersecurity for our customers, and until now we were somewhat limited in our ability to monitor SSL/TLS encrypted data streams.
“Sophos XG Firewall helps us solve this problem efficiently and affordably with the new accelerated DPI engine in the latest version.
“This, combined with new automatically-managed custom IPS rule sets, gives us much more visibility into encrypted traffic going through the network than we ever had before.
“This feature will immensely improve our customers’ security and we consider this to be critical, based how broadly cybercriminals are capitalizing on TLS encryption to cover-up and carry out their attacks.
“We’re also aware of how fast cyberattacks are morphing. With the ability to scan for potentially dangerous files transported inside of SSL/TLS tunnels, in addition to the zero-day detection engine of Sandstorm, we can provide better, faster customer protection, detection and service.”
Sophos XG Firewall is available in the cloud-based Sophos Central platform alongside Sophos’ entire portfolio of next-generation cybersecurity solutions.
Sophos’ unique Synchronized Security approach empowers these solutions to work together for real-time information sharing and threat response.
Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has sealed seven telecommunication masts within the State’s metropolis over N5.8 billion unpaid taxes on Thursday.
The telecommunication masts comprised of MTN servers at Tafawa Balewa road, Surami road, Etsu road while GLOBACOM server at Shehu Laminu road, and a general mast (ATC) for various of the communication servers at Unguwan Rimi, Nagwamatse road.
KADIRS also sealed the popular Mudassir and Brothers (Mudatex) textile materials outlet at Ahmadu Bello Way, over an outstanding N5.2 million for sign post advertisement.
The agency also sealed Al-Babello Trading Company Ltd at the famous Panteka market, reputed for selling roofing sheets, iron rods and other building materials over undisclosed unpaid sign posts advertisements.
Speaking to newsmen at the sideline of the exercise, Aysha Ahmad, the KADIRS Board’s Secretary and Legal Adviser, said the exercise was aimed at enforcing compliance by companies that have failed to discharge their civic responsibilities of tax payment.
“As usual, we are left with no option than the powers vested on us by the law to enforce compliance. This is why we are restraining on the premises,”she said.
Ahmad said that KADIRS derived no joy in sealing properties or business arenas of tax defaulters, stressing that the payment of taxes was a civic responsibility of every citizen.
She equally said that they encouraged voluntary compliance, which was why they exhaust all possible means before enforcement being the final step.
Speaking further, the Board Secretary said the enforcement was part of their process to achieve the N120 billion revenue target set by the Kaduna State Government.
She, therefore, called on the people of the State to ensure voluntary tax compliance, describing it as a civic responsibility.
Also, Shamsuddeen Lere, the Legal Adviser of the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Authority (KASUPDA), said both agencies had served the defaulters with notices, which they declined compliance.
“The monies belong to the State Government, we are coming after all the defaulters,” he vowed.
Telecom
Experts @ WATISE 2024 Explore how Emerging Trends will Shape Telecoms Infrastructure, Proffers Solutions on Challenges
Telecommunications experts across West Africa have exposed trending innovations relying on telecoms infrastructure harping on the strategies that are crucial for the sustainability of telecommunications infrastructure to fast-track the regions digital economy.
Speaking at the second edition of the West Africa Telecoms Infrastructure Summit and Exhibtion (WATISE), with the theme: ‘Shaping the future of the telecoms infrastructure industry: Trends and Insights for a Digital Economy’ and organized by TechnologyMirror, an online telecoms news and information platform, held in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, the experts x-ray critical issues that relates the survival of the telecoms industry using the Nigerian market as a reference point.
Leading the conversation, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, in his keynote address which was on the theme of WATISE 2.0, noted that the journey towards a digital economy has a future that is paved with immense possibilities and profound challenges noting that “how we navigate this path will determine the role Nigeria plays in the global digital landscape.”
Maida who was represented by the Head of Next Generation Technology and Standard at the NCC, Engr Victor Adoga, described telecommunications infrastructure as the backbone of the digital economy, facilitating seamless connectivity and supporting a range of services from basic voice calls to high-speed internet and cloud computing.
He stated that the rapid growth of the digital economy demands robust, scalable, and secure telecommunications infrastructure disclosing that there are several key trends that are poised to shape the future of telecom infrastructure.
According to Maida, the rollout of 5G networks is a transformative trend in telecoms infrastructure saying that 5G promises significantly higher speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity, facilitating new applications such as IoT (Internet of Things), autonomous vehicles, smart cities and advanced augmented reality.
He listed other emerging trends affecting the deployment of telecoms infrastructure across the region as Internet of Things, Fiber Optic Expansion, Data Localisation and Security, Regulatory Frameworks, Cybersecurity and Energy Efficiency and Sustainability.
He however suggested that the telecoms operators must take consider strategic actions to stay in business saying that collaboration which is partnerships between government, industry, and academia can drive innovation and development.
He added that Innovative Financing Models, Investment in Human Capital, Focus on Sustainability, Integration with AI and Machine Learning and Developing Smart Infrastructure noting also as crucial investing in rural telecom infrastructure and making digital literacy a key component of our educational programs.
Still speaking on the theme of WATISE 2.0. Chief Executive Officer of WTES Projects Limited, Mr Chidi Ajuzie who joined virtually from Ethiopia said there is deluge of connectivity from submarine cable landings linking Nigeria to Europe and rest of the world.
According to him, while there is no centrally managed national transmission backbone, licensed Operators have, over the years, built transmission networks to meet their own needs, often duplicated on most routes.
He disclosed that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) has carried out a detailed study to characterize basic telephony and ICT gaps in the country, identifying 97 clusters with varying population densities and a cumulative population of about 27.91 million that suffer from significant connectivity services gaps. Digital broadband gap is even more, estimated at over 100 million population.
Ajuzie stated that to reap the benefits of broadband, there is need to close the clear gaps existing in the metro middle- and last-mile segments of the connectivity value chain. New Connectivity will be required to bridge the gaps and meet the National Broadband targets.
In fireside chat on ‘Enhancing Rural Connectivity: Strategies for Expanding Telecom Infrastructure’, Tinuade Oguntuyi, Head Network and Solutions, at Information and Communications Services Limited (ICSL) said that that rural areas need better network services for proper communication and development.
Oguntuyi, who anchored the fireside chat urged the government to support network service providers to reach more rural places as they are also full of great potentials for the growth of the nation.
Also speaking, Ahmad Tijani, a local content ICT advocate commended Federal Government projects to connect the rural dwellers and harped on the need to carry the local government leaders along.
Tijani who represented Dr. Adebunmi Adeola Akinbo, National Secretary ICTLOCA, cited the challenge of data gathering which can be sorted by the local government, calling on the grassroots to add value to the nation growth.
In his welcome address, the Convener of WATISE, Isaiah Erhiawarien said that the second edition was a step towards ensuring a reliable telecoms infrastructure for the region, and thanked the Nigerian Communications Commission, Open Access Data Nigeria Limited, Digital Realty, ICSL, HyperSpace Limited and OneData Limited for believing in the dream of the organisers.
Eight US newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft in a New York federal court Tuesday for violating their copyright to train the technology behind the ChatGPT and Copilot chatbots.
The newspapers, which include The New York Daily News and The Chicago Tribune, are owned by Alden Global Capital, a Florida-based hedge fund that created the second-largest US newspaper group behind USA Today owner Gannett when it bought the Tribune publishing chain in 2021.
“This lawsuit arises from defendants purloining millions of the publishers’ copyrighted articles without permission and without payment to fuel the commercialization of their generative artificial intelligence products, including ChatGPT and (Microsoft’s) Copilot,” according to the filing.
“As this lawsuit will demonstrate, defendants must both obtain the publishers’ consent to use their content and pay fair value for such use,” the filing said.
OpenAI and its Microsoft backer were also accused of offering up verbatim excerpts of full articles as well as attributing misleading or inaccurate reporting to the publications in certain requests.
Other newspapers involved in the suit were The Orlando Sentinel, The Sun Sentinel of Florida, The San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, The Orange County Register and The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
In a statement, OpenAI did not refer to the accusations specifically but said “we take great care in our products and design process to support news organizations.”
OpenAI pointed to the “constructive partnerships and conversations with many news organizations around the world to explore opportunities, discuss any concerns, and provide solutions.”
This referred to the news outlets that have entered partnerships with the Microsoft-backed startup instead of going to court.
They include The Associated Press, Financial Times, Germany’s Axel Springer, French daily Le Monde and Spanish conglomerate Prisa Media.
The suit on Tuesday closely resembles a case filed by The New York Times in December, in which OpenAI is also accused of stealing content to train its powerful AI.
In that case, OpenAI strongly pushed back, arguing the use of publicly available data including news articles for general training purposes is fair use.
OpenAI also accused the Times of violating ChatGPT’s user guidelines to generate the content that suited its case.
Microsoft declined to comment on the suit.
AFP
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