EE-News

News and announcements from EE Publishers

Issue 271, July 2014

Views

We must watch our back door...

by Hans van de Groenendaal, features editor, EE Publishers

As far back as 2010, American officials have considered Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, a security threat, blocking it from business deals in the USA for fear that the company would create "back doors" in its equipment that could allow the Chinese military or Beijing-backed hackers to steal corporate and government information.

Click here for the full article and to comment

But recently it was leaked that the NSA has pried its way into the servers in Huawei's sealed headquarters in Shenzhen, China's industrial heartland. An NSA document says: "We want to make sure that we know how to exploit these products to gain access to networks of interest around the world."

Jacob Appelbaum, an independent computer security researcher, hacker and core member of the Tor project, said at the recent ITWeb Security Summit 2014 that the NSA aims to have total surveillance of everything it wants, and there is no boundary or limit to what it wants to do. (Tor is free software for enabling online anonymity and resisting censorship by directing internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer network consisting of more than 5000 relays to conceal a user's location or usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis.)

Where does South Africa stand? We have a myriad submarine cables coming into the country carrying data; some of which terminates in South Africa, other data may be of interest to agencies in other countries and traded or exchanged. Does South Africa have regulations that give the government access to the cables that land on our shores? If the NSA in the US and those in many other countries are collaborating in sharing this back door data, why should South Africa be any different? The man in the street may argue that it does not affect him because he does nothing that could be of any interest, but this may not apply to enterprises operating in a competitive environment.

The debate has only started, but Applebaum says we do have the power to change things, largely through encryption, open source, legal reform and anonymity. We should be watching our back door... (more)

Training

Insulation Resistance Testing Seminar

presented by Gavin van Rooy and Gerrit Barnard

DATE: Tuesday 30 September 2014
TIME: 10h00 to 13h00
VENUE: Comtest House, 10 Enterprise Close, Linbro Park
COST: Free-of-charge, including refreshments
CPD: CPD points grading application has been made to the National Laboratory Association

The effect of electrical insulation resistance problems on industrial, commercial and residential systems can range from a minor inconvenience to costly downtime. This insulation resistance testing seminar covers the fundamentals of insulation resistance quality, monitoring and troubleshooting.

Common insulation resistance measurements are introduced with an overview of measurement and application processes, comprising:

Measurement and maintenance principles
Which instruments to use to perform insulation resistance tests
How to identify problems and develop appropriate solutions to minimise equipment and production downtime
When to use insulation resistance testing

Attendees stand a chance of winning a Fluke VT02 visual IR thermometer
To register to attend, please RSVP to Tracey Johnson tjohnson@comtest.co.za

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Fluke Thermography Workshop

presented by Jeanri Mellanby

DATE: Thursday 25 September 2014
TIME: 10h00 to 15h00
VENUE: Comtest House, 10 Enterprise Close, Linbro Park
COST: Free-of-charge, including refreshments

The workshop content will cover: basic theory; applications; choosing the right camera for the job; SmartView software; return on investment calculator.

To register to attend, please RSVP to Jeanri Mellanby jmellanby@comtest.co.za

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SNELL Level I and II Certified Thermography Training

presented by Jeanri Mellanby

DATES: Level 1: 25 - 29 August 2014; Level II: 1 - 5 September 2014
TIME: 08h30 to 16h00 daily
VENUE: Comtest House, 10 Enterprise Close, Linbro Park
COST: Level I: R17 000 ex VAT; Level II: R20 300 ex VAT

The 5 day Certified Snell Level I and II thermography training courses comprise:

Level I: Thermographic Applications
Learn the principles of how to Think Thermally, basic heat transfer theory, electrical applications, mechanical equipment, building systems, roof inspections, use of thermal imaging equipment and proper image acquisition. Includes the Snell Certification Standard.

Level II: Advanced Thermographic Applications
Essential training for the professional thermographer, Level II offers greater depth and analysis on surface heat transfer, temperature measurement techniques, prioritising findings, procedures and camera operation. Prerequisite: Level I

Click here for further detailed information
Click here to reserve your place