Category Archives: Security

Comes Next, Security, TechNews

Infineon introduces battery-free electronic lock

A new chip from Infineon is powered via NFC via the smartphone – enough to open and close small locks

Infineon’s new NAC1080 chip makes it possible to open and close digital locks without their own power supply. Instead of an internal power supply, the user’s smartphone – which is also the key – supplies the power to open it, as the chip manufacturer reports.

Both data and energy are exchanged via NFC – a process that is used, for example, for payment transactions via smartphone. Data transmission is encrypted thanks to an integrated AES128 accelerator and a random number generator.

To open the lock, the smartphone must be held directly against the lock equipped with the chip, as with other smart locks. The lock then draws energy from the built-in NFC technology through so-called energy harvesting. On average, different devices can transmit around 20 milliwatts, according to Infineon, and significantly more with some models.

Use with smaller locks

A capacitor collects the energy; the chip uses them to check whether the user is authorized and to open the lock with a small motor. According to Infineon, the technology is particularly suitable for smaller locks on office cabinets, lockers, parcel boxes or mailboxes. The duration of the opening process should be around two seconds – depending on the smartphone used and the energy transmitted.

Larger, harder-to-move locks require more energy to be transferred, which takes longer. It is therefore more conceivable to use it as an emergency option for house or hotel doors if the lock’s own energy supply fails. According to Infineon, one would then have to wait a little longer for the opening, but at least this could save the expensive key service. The first products with the chip could be on the market next year.

Crypto, Security

Why a secure VPN is extremely important in these times

The past three years have been interesting and intense, if one can say so succinctly – but despite the turbulence, a positive outcome of these years is the widespread availability of remote work. But as remote work increases, so do more gaps in the network security of many organizations.

Today, the probability of being a victim of a cyber attack is greater than that of a car accident or a burglary. Criminals know that cybercrime has a much higher ROI – which means it poses a much higher risk to you.

If you don’t protect your company’s network, you risk a massive outage. Fortunately, there is a very simple solution: use a reputable corporate VPN. Not only does it give your employees easy access to company resources, but it also mitigates many risks posed by cybercriminals. So let’s take a look at why a web VPN is so important.

What is a business VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers your company a securely encrypted connection to your network over the public internet. It adds an important part of the security layer that is essential for protecting your data. A VPN gives you the ability to remotely access important network resources and connect your company’s offices and locations around the world.

Why should I use a VPN?

The past few weeks have highlighted the importance of having secure remote working capabilities. From global pandemics and natural disasters to power outages and unploughed roads, there are just too many situations that could keep people from getting to the office. For many individuals and businesses, this downtime can be detrimental. Businesses around the world are realizing that work cannot and should not be dependent on a specific location. Flexibility is key to success, and a VPN can provide just the flexibility businesses around the world need to keep working no matter the circumstance.

Benefits of a VPN

remote access

A VPN for remote access means your employees can log into your corporate network from anywhere with internet access. Whether they’re at a coffee shop, traveling, or (hopefully) socially isolating at home, a VPN gives your employees access to all the resources they need to do their jobs.

access control

With a VPN, you should be able to control who has access to your network and its resources. You obviously want to restrict who can log in and what they can access. Not all employees need access to the same resources. Your marketing team probably doesn’t need access to supply chain management tools, and your HR team doesn’t need access to systems infrastructure. With access control, you can set these limits step by step.

cybersecurity

If you need access to your private network, you can establish an encrypted, private communication session with a VPN. With a VPN session, you can securely send data over public networks thanks to encrypted tunnels . The only access is through a device with the VPN client software installed and configured to connect to your VPN servers.

Security

Antivirus software: Mac vs Windows

It doesn’t matter whether you have a Mac or a Windows PC. In both cases, you should protect the device as best as possible and use antivirus software . In the following guide you will learn why this is so important and how you can recognize that your device is infected.

Why is good virus protection so important?

More and more things are happening on the internet. Unfortunately, hackers try to exploit exactly this. But to make it more difficult for them to access your PC and, in the best case, even prevent it, you install antivirus software on your device. This not only protects against viruses, but also, for example, against malware or Trojans. It also helps to surf the Internet responsibly. Do not open suspicious attachments in e-mails and also do not go to sites that your antivirus program warns you about.

But even if you land on one, it should protect you from various attacks. For this reason, you should definitely install it and never surf without one.

Do I need a separate antivirus program?

Even if the so-called Windows Defender on Windows PCs is constantly being further developed, it makes sense to use a separate antivirus program. You can download this from various websites and sometimes you don’t even have to pay any money for it. Mac users are somewhat better protected. Because these are much less often the target of cyber villains. In addition, the Apple computers have innovative protection functions. But you can also download separate antivirus programs for the Mac and thus protect yourself even better against various dangers on the Internet. In this way, your sensitive data cannot be viewed by unauthorized persons and you can surf without hesitation.

How do I know if my Mac has a virus?

As mentioned above, Macs are far less likely to be affected by viruses than Windows PCs. Still, it can happen. There are a number of things you can do to find out if this is the case for you. If, for example, you suddenly see advertisements on pages where nothing else was to be seen, it may be that your computer is infected with a so-called adware program. Also run a regular scan of your antivirus tool to quickly find any hidden viruses.

Final remark

To stay safe online, you should use antivirus software. There are numerous different versions, so you should compare exactly which variant suits you best. Some free tools also do their job very reliably. Be sure to install such a program on your Windows PC as well as on your Mac. This is because you extend the basic protection and make the work of the hackers more difficult. As a result, your personal data is protected as best as possible and your PC will not be attacked by viruses, Trojans and the like as quickly.