EncryptoTel:Digest of the week (26.10.18)
Another spy scandal, the US strategy to deploy 5G networks and blockchain applications from Oracle
Belgium has accused the British security services of breaking into the largest telecom operator.
Turmoil around the conflict between the United States and China due to the introduction of spyware chips into telecommunications equipment imported into the United States have not yet subsided, as a new scandal has begun to flare up. This time in Europe.
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office confirmed the fact that in 2013 the British intelligence services were conducting a full-scale operation to hack the largest Belgian telecommunications operator Belgacom in order to intercept communications of European officials and diplomats in Brussels in 2010–2013.
The Regin malware, which was disguised as Microsoft software, was implemented into the Belgacom system. The documents that were published by Edward Snowden in 2014 for the first time suggested that the British special services were behind the hackers.
After analyzing the Regin code, the Symantec research company found similarities with another malicious program — Stuxnet, developed by the US and Israeli intelligence services for breaking into Iran’s nuclear facilities network and computers.
According to the Belgian prosecutor’s office, this is “an exceptional situation and unparalleled incident in the history of diplomatic relations between EU countries”.
Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on creating a strategy for deploying 5G networks in the US
According to the President of the United States, the US Department of Commerce is now obliged to develop a long-term national strategy for the implementation of next-generation 5G wireless networks in the United States.
Trump also decided to form a White House task force on this issue, which will discuss and analyze issues related to the development of 5G networks in the United States.
In the next nine months, the administration of the US president is waiting for reports from federal authorities, and by July 2019 a ready long-term strategy from the Department of Commerce should be ready.
Four of the largest US telecom companies — AT & T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc. — are already developing and testing solutions for full-scale implementation of 5G networks and are working on acquiring the necessary frequencies. One of the issues to be resolved by the United States lays in the availability of the necessary frequencies, which are now reserved for automakers.
Oracle launches a blockchain cloud solution for applications
A year after the launch of Blockchain Cloud Service, one of the largest software developers in the world, Oracle takes the next step and launches the Blockchain Applications Cloud, a set of ready-to-use program blocks linked to specific use cases. The first set of tools is made specifically for supply chain management applications.
So far the package includes four programs: Intelligent Track and Trace, Lot Lineage and Provenance, Intelligent Cold Chain and Warranty and Usage Tracking. These blockchain applications come pre-integrated with Oracle’s supply chain management cloud (SCM), enterprise resource management (ERP) and other Oracle Cloud applications.
Using these tools, companies will be able to open information about supply chains, so it`s making it accessible not only to the participants of the process, but also to the end customers.
The blockchain is part of Oracle’s priority investment plans, said Juergen Lindner, head of the SaaS product marketing division at Oracle.
“We would like to believe that this new trust architecture will encourage business operations,” he said.
The largest telecom company in Vietnam introduces blockchain
Viettel Enterprise Solutions Corporation, a subsidiary of the Viettel telecommunications group, has set the goal of becoming the leading provider of blockchain solutions in Vietnam in the next five years.
While speaking at a seminar, the company’s deputy general director Ngo Vin Kui declared that Viettel strives to keep up with the times and keep up with global development trends, including blockchain technology. According to him, the company has all the necessary resources, including financial, personnel and network infrastructure, to explore and deploy blockchain networks.
Viettel Enterprise Solutions has already developed a batch solution to improve data management in the Vietnamese health sector. The solution involves connecting all medical institutions, including the Ministry of Health, its regional offices, patients and doctors to a single decentralized ecosystem at the national level. Now the system model is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Health of Vietnam.
Viettel Enterprise Solutions was established in October 2017 and is focused on providing information and telecommunication solutions for the government and commercial sector in Vietnam and on assisting in the creation of digital government.
Hot Week for Encryptotel
Our team took part in several events in Moscow related to blockchain technologies and cyber security. Earlier this week, we became a member of the Say Future: Security forum, dedicated primarily to cybersecurity and the latest technologies in the field of data privacy protection.
At the EncryptoTel stand our representatives told visitors about how a cloud PBX, using blockchain technology, helps secure communications, makes them more reliable and at the same time reduces telephony costs for both companies and individuals.
At the end of the week, our team took part in another international forum, this time dedicated to innovations and the digital economy. The “Blockchain in the Digital Economy” event was organized by the leading business media in Russia, the Vedomosti newspaper. Our representatives took part in discussions on effective introduction of new technologies into business processes, their reconfiguration and analyzed the results of the first pilot projects created on the basis of blockchain technology.
