A new way of imaging concealed objects, devised by a researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and his colleagues, might take all the fun out of hide-andseek, but could also help save lives. Imaging scenes that lie outside an observer’s direct line of sight could greatly enhance search and rescue missions, such as finding a lost child in an abandoned factory, as well as military and police surveillance operations, such as exposing a hidden terrorist or enemy stronghold. The ability to see around corners and reconstruct a full image of a hidden object or obstacle in real time also could someday improve robotic vision and the safety and accuracy of self-driving cars. (At present, the prototype method cannot create an image instantaneously.) Most conventional methods used to image objects behind an obstruction use an external source of light – ultra-short pulses of visible or infrared laser light, for example. The light source initially illuminates a wall that scatters the light into the concealed region. When the light strikes a hidden object, the object re-scatters some of the light back to the wall where it can be detected. However, imaging hidden objects using only visible and infrared light is challenging. At those relatively short wavelengths, a typical wall – no matter how smooth to the human touch – presents itself as a rough surface and scatters incoming light in all directions. It therefore reveals less information about objects than light reflected from a smooth or mirrored surface and requires sophisticated algorithms and significant computing time to create even a semi-sharp image. In addition, the illumination could tip off adversaries that they are under surveillance. Other methods, which don’t require a light source, analyze shadows cast by a hidden object on a wall, or detect the heat (infrared radiation) naturally emitted by the concealed body and scattered diffusely into view. But these approaches also require extensive computing time and analysis. “A good algorithm and lots of computer power might extract an image, but not a very good one,” said Erich Grossman, NIST Physicist. Grossman and his colleagues based their new approach on detecting the tiny amounts of much longer wavelength radiation – the ‘submillimeter’ range of the spectrum of light that lies just beyond microwave radiation and which people and objects also naturally emit. At these long, invisible wavelengths, ranging from 300 micrometers up to 1 millimeter, walls made of a variety of materials appear relatively smooth and act as partial mirrors, reflecting rather than diffusely scattering into view radiation from a concealed object. To create an image, the reflected radiation has to be directed and focused. Unlike visible light, submillimeter radiation can’t be steered by glass lenses. Instead, Grossman and his colleagues relied on curved mirrors to focus the invisible light. Experimenting with their prototype, Grossman and his collaborators at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis demonstrated that they could construct images of objects hidden behind walls in about 20 minutes. The prototype technique employs state-of-theart indium phosphide transistors, which amplify submillimeter radiation with little noise over a wide range of wavelengths. The method does not require complex algorithms or intensive computer analysis. “What’s cool about this method is its simplicity,” Grossman said, “There’s no quantum mechanics, no relativity, there’s nothing cryogenic or anything fancy – just transistors and a basic computer and mirrors.” The entire apparatus is small enough to fit in a backpack. With NIST facilities closed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Grossman used his own home – converting the bedroom of his daughter, who had left for college, into a makeshift laboratory. Grossman himself was the body hidden behind a wall. He tested walls made of a range of common indoor building materials to determine which ones reflected enough submillimeter radiation to form an image, including wet and dry wallboard, plywood, wood paneling, unpainted cinderblock and stone kitchen tiles. Walls that reflected at least 5% of the submillimeter radiation were best at producing images of concealed bodies. These included dry wallboard, wood paneling, vinyl floor planking, plywood, stone kitchen tiles and medium-density fiberboard. With a larger array of detectors and transistors, Grossman said that the method should be able to image hidden objects in real time. The work was supported by NIST and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  

Tenable®, the Cyber Exposure Management company, recently announced it has achieved the Application Security distinction in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Security Competency for its cloud-native vulnerability management solution. This designation recognizes that Tenable has demonstrated and successfully met AWS’s technical and quality requirements for providing customers with a deep level of software expertise in Application Security to help them achieve their cloud security goals. Achieving the Application Security distinction in the AWS Security Competency differentiates Tenable as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized software designed to help companies – from startups and mid-sized businesses to the largest global organizations – to adopt, develop and deploy security into their AWS environments, increasing their overall security posture on AWS. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. “Tenable is proud to be an APN Partner to achieve the Application Security distinction in the AWS Security Competency,” said Ray Komar, Vice President of Technology and Cloud Alliances, Tenable, “Our team is dedicated to helping companies achieve their security goals by combining our vulnerability management expertise with the range of powerful security tools AWS provides.” AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify AWS Partners with deep industry experience and expertise. “Tenable.io has unified our vulnerability management program under one toolset,” said Patrick King, Head of IT Operations and Security, Global Payments AU/ NZ, “It’s brought together teams across different business units to use a common language around vulnerability posture. The solution is easy to use and streamlines our reporting.” Managed in the cloud and powered by Nessus technology, Tenable provides comprehensive vulnerability coverage with the ability to predict which security issues to remediate first. It’s a complete end-to-end vulnerability management solution.  

Every day, advertisements for medicines invade the Internet, posted on social media networks or other websites. However, behind this slick marketing often lies fraudulent products that threaten consumers’ health instead of healing them. The global trade in illicit pharmaceuticals is a vast and lucrative crime area – valued at US$ 4.4 billion – which attracts the involvement of organized crime groups around the world. Over just one week (23-30 June), 94 INTERPOL member countries representing every continent launched a coordinated crackdown on illicit online pharmacies in Operation Pangea XV. Globally, law enforcement made more than 7,800 seizures of illicit and misbranded medicines and healthcare products, totaling more than 3 million individual units. During the week, law enforcement: Investigated more than 4,000 web links, mainly from social media platforms and messaging apps. Shut down or removed more than 4,000 web links containing adverts for illicit products. Inspected nearly 3,000 packages and 280 postal hubs at airports, borders and mail distribution or cargo mail centres. Opened more than 600 new investigations and issued more than 200 search warrants. While results are still coming in from countries, enforcement actions have already disrupted the activities of at least 36 organized crime groups. “Selling counterfeit or illicit medicines online may seem like a low-level offence, but the consequences for victims are potentially life-threatening,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock, “The illicit supply chains and business models behind the counterfeit medicine trade are inherently international, meaning that law enforcement has to work together across borders in order to effectively protect consumers.” Cross-border crimes Nearly half (48 per cent) of the packages inspected by law enforcement during the operation were found to contain either illicit or falsified medicines. Counterfeit or unauthorized erectile dysfunction medicines comprised roughly 40 percent of all products seized. Law enforcement in Australia, Argentina, Malaysia and the United States also seized more than 317,000 unauthorized COVID-19 test kits. The US seizures alone are estimated to be worth nearly US$ 3 million. The trade in illicit medicines extends far beyond any one country’s borders and is a significant global threat. Often, products are manufactured in one country and shipped to another, while advertisements for the medicines are hosted on websites based in many different countries. In Malaysia alone, law enforcement identified more than 2,000 websites selling or advertising counterfeit or illegally-obtained pharmaceuticals. Social media networks and messaging apps are also used to advertise counterfeit and illicit medicines, with Operation Pangea XV identifying more than 1,200 such ads across all major platforms. “Two decades worth of experience has shown criminals will stop at nothing to make a profit, including selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical devices despite dangers they cause,” said Jim Mancuso, Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in the United States, “The US is committed to working closely with our international law enforcement partners and the private sector to keep counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical devices out of the global supply chain, as well as taking down transnational criminal organizations who profit from these scams. The results of Operation Pangea XV are a warning to transnational criminal organizations that law enforcement agencies around the world will do whatever it takes to protect public health and safety.” Within the framework of Operation Pangea XV, INTERPOL was supported by Europol, the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme, health regulatory agencies and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute. INTERPOL’s Illicit Goods and Global Health Programme works with partners to dismantle criminal networks and reduce the risk that fake and illicit pharmaceuticals pose to public health.  

Hikvision announced that its network camera product series, DS-2CD5, DS-2CD7 and PTZ version 1.1 (nearly a hundred product models), have achieved the Certificate of Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (abbreviated as Common Criteria or CC) with assurance type EAL3 augmented with ALC_FLR.2 (EAL3+). The Common Criteria certification is mainly applicable to evaluating security and reliability of information technology products or solutions, but it also focuses on the protection of private information. The CC EAL3+ Certificate represents the highest level of security certification granted to products in the video security category. As one of the most widely recognized international standards (ISO/ IEC 15408) in information technology security, the Common Criteria certification is recognized by the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) under the Department of Defense in the United States. Government organizations or agencies from 31 countries, including the US, the UK, and Canada, have participated in the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA). Therefore, it serves as an important basis for evaluating security of information technology. As part of the required process to achieve the Common Criteria certificate, Hikvision successfully passed the rigorous evaluation performed by the globally-recognized evaluation institution SGS Brightsight laboratory. SGS Brightsight Chief Operation Officer Asia, Kai-Fan CHANG said, “We were pleased to carry out continuous Common Criteria security evaluation cooperation from EAL2 to EAL3 with Hikvision, which we started in 2018. The EAL3 certification of large-scale product models not only fully demonstrates that Hikvision’s technical expertise in the field of information security is widely recognized by the international community, but also marks that Hikvision has the ability to manage the supply chain to ensure the daily use of information security and provide customers with more secure services.” Hikvision has always attached great importance to security and has proactively taken measures to improve the security of its products and systems. The company is committed to enabling its customers to secure their personal information with cutting-edge technology in security and privacy protection, and protecting user data through a holistic range of approaches. Visit the Cybersecurity Center for more information about Hikvision’s cybersecurity strategy and practices.