Cyber criminals infiltrated a water treatment plant in Florida, United States, last month, trying to alter the chemical composition of the water supply. The real-world consequences of such a cyber attack are frightening. With increased digitisation of critical infrastructure and the ability for those with malicious intent to gain remote access to a plant’s computers, a picture of dystopian proportions emerges.
For developing economies such as South Africa, the knock-on effect from cyber attacks on critical infrastructure is potentially devastating. Imagine cyber criminals disrupting the logistics network for food, energy or vital medical supply chains.
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Cyber security is largely absent from the South African Cybercrimes Bill, which is waiting to be signed into law. Concerns about government over-reach have driven the argument favouring a separate future bill on cyber security. Until such time, technology experts warn, best practices should be adopted to secure opera
SA ripe for the picking for political, critical infrast
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ISS: Critical infrastructure attacks: why South Africa should worry
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Post-Quantum Cryptography: The Race Is On
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This Is the Fastest Random-Number Generator Ever Built
A laser generates quantum randomness at a rate of 250 trillion bits per second and could lead to devices small enough to fit on a single chip
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Researchers have built the fastest random-number generator ever made, using a simple laser. It exploits fluctuations in the intensity of light to generate randomness a coveted resource in applications such as data encryption and scientific simulations and could lead to devices that are small enough to fit on a single computer chip.
True randomness is surprisingly difficult to come by. Algorithms in conventional computers can produce sequences of numbers that seem random at first, but over time these tend to display patterns. This makes them at least partially predictable, and therefore vulnerable to being decoded.