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Bitcoin Trades Sideways as Bitcoin Cash Price Drops to $800 – CoinDesk

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

Following the all-time highs set over the last week, bitcoin has been trading sideways for the last 48 hours, and prices are fluctuating in the $4,050 to $4,200 range.

Prices for the assetacross global exchanges averaged$4,109 at press time, having opened the session at $4,206 and achieved a high of $4,208 at roughly 8:00 UTC, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index.

The question everyone will be wondering now is, will the price go up or down when the next big movement kicks off? For that we'll just have to wait and see, but a Goldman Sachs analyst said, on August 14,that bitcoin could riseas high as $4,800 in the current bull market.

Elsewhere, the new bitcoin alternative, bitcoin cash, shocked observersbriefly yesterday by settingits own all-time high of around $1,091, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Since being created in a fork of the bitcoin blockchain on August 1, prices had been for the greater part steady around$300. However, a breakout on August 17 saw enthusiastic trading atSouth Korea exchanges, in particular that tookthe digital asset to its previously unseen heights.

In the hours since, bitcoin cash prices have dropped somewhat and nowhover close to the $800 mark.

Overall, the market is still trending up, with the market capitalization across all cryptocurrencies currently at $146 billion down slightly fromarecord high of $147.2 billion set at around 8:00 UTC this morning.

Trading chartimage via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [emailprotected].

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Bitcoin-accepting shops leave cookie trail that crumbles anonymity – The Register

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

Bitcoin transactions might be anonymous, but on the Internet, its users aren't and according to research out of Princeton University, linking the two together is trivial on the modern, much-tracked Internet.

In fact, linking a user's cookies to their Bitcoin transactions is so straightforward, it's almost surprising it took this long for a paper like this to be published.

The paper sees privacy researcher Dillon Reisman and Princeton's Steven Goldfeder, Harry Kalodner and Arvind Narayanan demonstrate just how straightforward it can be to link cookies to cryptocurrency transactions:

Sorry Alice: we know who you are. Image: Arxiv paper.

Only small amounts of transaction information need to leak, they write, in order for Alice to be associated with her Bitcoin transactions. It's possible to infer the identity of users if they use privacy-protecting services like CoinJoin, a protocol designed to make Bitcoin transactions more anonymous. The protocol aims is to make it impossible to infer which inputs and outputs belong to each other.

Of 130 online merchants that accept Bitcoin, the researchers say, 53 leak payment information to 40 third parties, most frequently from shopping cart pages, and most of these on purpose (for advertising, analytics and the like).

Worse, many merchant websites have far more serious (and likely unintentional) information leaks that directly reveal the exact transaction on the blockchain to dozens of trackers.

Of the 130 sites the researchers checked:

It doesn't help that even for someone running tracking protection, a substantial amount of personal information was passed around by the sites examined in the study.

A total of 49 merchants shared users' identifying information, and 38 shared that even if the user tries to stop them with tracking protection.

Users have very little protection against all this, the paper says: the danger is created by pervasive tracking, and it's down to merchants to give users better privacy.

Since, as they write, most of the privacy-breaching data flows we identify are intentional, that seems a forlorn hope.

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WomensLaw.org | Internet Security

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

http://www.womenslaw.org//laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en

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Please note that computer use can be monitored by an abuser, and there are ways for an abuser to access your email and to find out what sites you have visited on the Internet. It is impossible to completely clear all data related to your computer activity.

If you are in danger, please use a computer that the abuser cannot access (such as a public terminal at a library, community center, or domestic violence organization), and call your local domestic violence organization and/or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE for help. For a list of local and national resources see our State and Local Programs page and enter your state in the drop-down menu.

Please note that computer use can be monitored by an abuser, and there are ways for an abuser to access your email and to find out what sites you have visited on the Internet. It is impossible to completely clear all data related to your computer activity. If you are in danger, please use a computer that the abuser cannot access (such as a public terminal at a library, community center, or domestic violence organization), and call your local domestic violence organization and/or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE for help. For a list of local and national resources see our State and Local Programs [/gethelp_type.php?type_name=StateandLocalPrograms] page and enter your state in the drop-down menu.

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en

Maybe. There are a number of ways the abuser could have access to your email account:

If you're not sure whether the abuser has access to your email account, for your safety it's best to act like s/he does, and avoid sending emails you wouldn't want him/her to see.

Maybe. There are a number of ways the abuser could have access to your email account: * If you share an email account with the abuser, s/he will be able to read any of the emails in your account. * If you use a Web-based email program like Gmail or Yahoo, your email account may be visible to someone who visits those websites on your computer unless you properly log out. Just closing your browser is not enough - you must first log out of your account to make sure that when the abuser goes to the email programs website, your personal account information wont be on the screen. * If you use of one these Web-based email programs, the abuser may be able to access your email account if s/he knows your email address and password. Note: Some people's computers save their email address and password for them. If your computer has your email address and password saved, anyone with access to your computer can read your email. * If you use a computer-based email program like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora or Apple Mail, anybody who has access to your computer can read your email. * If the abuser knows your email address, remember to not open any email attachments sent from the abuser and to not reply to an email sent by the abuser using your new email account, as these actions may let the abuser install spyware on your computer and track your email messages. * Most computers have a function called "AutoComplete," which stores information you've typed on your computer in the past. For example, if AutoComplete is turned on, when you go to type something into a search engine such as Google, a pop-up box will appear and list the things you've searched for in the past. (You may also see this pop-up box when entering your credit card information or your address into an online form.) If you have AutoComplete turned on, the abuser may be able to access your email account even if you haven't told him/her your email address or password.If you're not sure whether the abuser has access to your email account, for your safety it's best to act like s/he does, and avoid sending emails you wouldn't want him/her to see.

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en#content-13407

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If you believe that the abuse does NOT have access to your email account, here are a few steps that you may want to take anyway, to try to keep your email account secure:

You may also want to follow the steps in What should I do if I think the abuser can access my email account? in case the abuser has access to your email account without your knowledge.

If you believe that the abuse does NOT have access to your email account, here are a few steps that you may want to take anyway, to try to keep your email account secure: * Make sure you have a password the abuser will not be able to guess. Pick a password that does not contain obvious information (such as your name, birthday, Social Security number, pet's name, etc.), which the abuser could guess. It may also be a good idea to change your password regularly. If you are not sure how to change the password on your email account, you can likely find that information by going to help or ?. * Do not write your password down. Make sure you change your computer settings so that it does not save your username (email address) and password. Your computer may ask you if you want to save your username and password after you enter it. Make sure to click on "no." * When you are finished using your email, always log out or sign out. If you do not hit "log out" or "sign out," your email account may still be open due to a feature called AutoComplete, even if you close the window. See Can the abuser access my email account? [/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&open_id=all#content-13407] for more information on AutoComplete. * If you do decide to give the abuser your email address, remember to not open any email attachments sent from the abuser or to reply to an email sent by the abuser using your new email account, as these actions may let the abuser install spyware on your computer and track your email messages.You may also want to follow the steps in What should I do if I think the abuser can access my email account? [/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&open_id=all#content-13410] in case the abuser has access to your email account without your knowledge.

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en#content-13408

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If the abuser has access to your email account or computer, s/he may be able to read the emails you send and receive, even if you delete them.

Therefore, to send and receive emails that you do not want others to see, you may want to set up an alternate email account that the abuser doesn't know about. There are a number of free, Web-based e-mail services that you can use. When signing up for a new email account, do not use any of your real identifying information if you wish to remain private and anonymous. Here is a list of a few free, web-based email programs:

Keep in mind that the abuser may still be able to read your email if you create a new account if you do not log out properly or if you choose a password that s/he can guess or find. The safest way to use a new email address is from a computer that the abuser does not have any access to.

Note: If you do decide to give the abuser your email address, remember to not open any email attachments sent from the abuser or to reply to an email sent by the abuser using your new email account, as these actions may let the abuser install spyware on your computer and track your email messages.

If the abuser has access to your email account or computer, s/he may be able to read the emails you send and receive, even if you delete them. Therefore, to send and receive emails that you do not want others to see, you may want to set up an alternate email account that the abuser doesn't know about. There are a number of free, Web-based e-mail services that you can use. When signing up for a new email account, do not use any of your real identifying information if you wish to remain private and anonymous. Here is a list of a few free, web-based email programs: * Gmail: http://www.gmail.com [http://www.gmail.com] * Hotmail: http://www.hotmail.com [http://www.hotmail.com] * AOL Mail: http://mail.aol.com * Yahoo!Mail: http://mail.yahoo.com * Mail.com: http://www.mail.com [http://www.mail.com] * Hushmail: http://www.hushmail.com [http://www.hushmail.com] * Mail City: http://mail.lycos.com [http://mail.lycos.com/] * Fastmail: http://www.fastmail.fm [http://www.fastmail.fm/]Keep in mind that the abuser may still be able to read your email if you create a new account if you do not log out properly or if you choose a password that s/he can guess or find. The safest way to use a new email address is from a computer that the abuser does not have any access to. Note: If you do decide to give the abuser your email address, remember to not open any email attachments sent from the abuser or to reply to an email sent by the abuser using your new email account, as these actions may let the abuser install spyware on your computer and track your email messages.

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en#content-13410

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As you are browsing the Internet, you may come across an email address that you can click on in order to send an email to that address -- something that looks like this: info@domain123.com.

If you share a computer with the abuser and click on an email link, you may be sending the email from the abuser's email address without even knowing it. This could put you in danger since whoever you wrote to might try to write you back, but will be writing to the abuser's email address instead.

It is safer to copy the email address and paste it directly into a new message from your own email account.

As you are browsing the Internet, you may come across an email address that you can click on in order to send an email to that address -- something that looks like this: info@domain123.com [http://info@domain123.com]. If you share a computer with the abuser and click on an email link, you may be sending the email from the abuser's email address without even knowing it. This could put you in danger since whoever you wrote to might try to write you back, but will be writing to the abuser's email address instead. It is safer to copy the email address and paste it directly into a new message from your own email account.

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en#content-13411

Add Link to EmailAdd Text to Email

You should print and save any threatening or harassing email messages the abuser sends you, as they may be used as evidence of his/her abuse in court or with the police. To be able to prove that the abuser sent these messages, you may have to print out the messages with the header, which shows the account information of the sender of the email.

Additionally, depending on the content of the messages and how many s/he sends, s/he may be committing a crime, such as stalking or harassment. You can report any threatening or harassing emails to the police. For more information on online harassment, please see our Stalking/Cyberstalking page. To read the definitions of any harassment or cyberstalking crimes in your state, you can go to our Crimes page and enter your state in the drop-down menu.

Threatening or harassing emails may also be a basis for a restraining order against the abuser. To read about the types of restraining orders available in your state, select your state from the drop-down menu on our Restraining Orders page

You should print and save any threatening or harassing email messages the abuser sends you, as they may be used as evidence of his/her abuse in court or with the police. To be able to prove that the abuser sent these messages, you may have to print out the messages with the header, which shows the account information of the sender of the email. Additionally, depending on the content of the messages and how many s/he sends, s/he may be committing a crime, such as stalking or harassment. You can report any threatening or harassing emails to the police. For more information on online harassment, please see our Stalking/Cyberstalking [/simple.php?sitemap_id=90] page. To read the definitions of any harassment or cyberstalking crimes in your state, you can go to our Crimes [/laws_state_type.php?statelaw_name=Crimes&state_code=GE] page and enter your state in the drop-down menu. Threatening or harassing emails may also be a basis for a restraining order against the abuser. To read about the types of restraining orders available in your state, select your state from the drop-down menu on our Restraining Orders [/laws_state_type.php?statelaw_name=RestrainingOrders&state_code=GE] page

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=13404&state_code=PG&lang=en#content-13412

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10 Reasons Why Central Banks Will Miss the Cryptocurrency Renaissance – CoinDesk

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

Eugne Etsebeth is an ex-central bankerwho was employed as a technologist at the South African Reserve Bank from 2013 to 2017. During his time at the reserve bank, he notablychaired the virtual currency and distributed ledger working group.

In this opinion piece, Etsebeth outlines why he believes central banks won't be able to adapt to innovations in cryptocurrency, arguing they simply aren't set up to compete with sea changes in technology.

It's a familiar trend, one that happened in communications (internet), and that is now playing out in energy (solar), manufacturing (3D printing)and finance (cryptocurrency) power and control are moving into the hands of the individual and away from nation states.

This has huge implications for central banks, which today enable nation states to maintain their monopolies over the issuance of notes, coins and sovereign bonds. While communications and manufacturing are not their focus, cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) fall predominantly in the realm of central banks.

In these systems,central banks don't issue legal tender. Rather, miners and algorithms now control the issuance of tokens effectively, the money supply. Whereas previously banks were licensed to store, send and spend currency, now wallet providers and exchanges allow the same features.

The currency renaissance has arrived and central banks are studying cryptocurrencies, though some central banks are more open to change than others.

Singapore has been investigating the notion of using distributed ledger technologies to settle cross-border transactions in real time, and the Bank of England has experimented with Ripple. Central banks are even looking to build their own versions of central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC).

Even still, central banks are not well equipped to deal with the cryptocurrency renaissance.

In fact, there are10 good reasons why most central banks will find cryptocurrencies insurmountable. Sure, a small number of forward-thinking (and acting) central banks willmaintain monetary competiveness with the burgeoning cryptocurrencies and ICOs that have reared their decentralized heads.

Still, most will succumb to a mix of the following issues:

Central banks will need to attract and retain fresh talent that will enable them to deal with the new openness and transparency demands, as well as digital transformation and the increasingly complex global world.

Decision-making in central banks is like wading through treacle decisions take months because of numerouslayers of hierarchy.

Working groups need to compile voluminous and detailed documents that need to be reviewed and signed by all parties before they can proceed to the heads of departments or the deputy governors.

Academics, economists and big-picture thinkers excel in central banks. The academics ponder on conceptual issues andthe economists make interpretations from data, whereas the policy makers and regulators mull over the cause and effect of promulgating laws.

However,technologists are generally not part of the discussion when it comes to policy and economic decisions for currency.

Although some central banks are engaging in experimentation, there is a fear of going from proof-of-concept to pilot phase.

This is natural, should a central bank make an error, it may turn out to be a reputation buster and reputation is the cornerstone of central banks. There is also some trepidation that the early regulation of cryptocurrencies, and associated new technologies, may legitimize their adoption.

Central banks are similar to conglomerates in that they have a number of different and distinct departments that require diverse skills and outputs.

These differences make it difficult to approach a new technology and economic tour de force like cryptocurrency, because it doesnt fit neatly into any one of the industrial-style conglomerate domains.

To highlight the conglomerate type nature of central banks, the core departments and skill sets are listed below:

Most central banks do not have substantial software development capability. Therefore any new project will have to buy its technology. There is an acute shortage of central bankers who can explain or use Merkle trees.

A large portion of central bankers are career central bankers, so the desire and ability to change arenot incentivised. Change is often considered a threat to staff, and threats are met with jelly-like stickiness to the status quo.

Banks are licensed to operate by central banks, giving them the ability to create money from customer deposits.

The central bank asks the banks to protect depositor's hard-earned money and to serve as many customers as it can: i.e. maximizingfinancial inclusion. The task of banks is therefore to service anation's citizens at the behest of the central bank.

These relationships and licenses are expensive to buy and will not easily be changed to include new members.

Just as the departments within central banks tend to be siloed, so too are the intergovernmental departments that look at currency matters.

They cover treasury, financial intelligence (KYC), financial services conduct authority, central bank, tax revenue and secret service units. Each of these units may have different acts and regulations that overlap cryptocurrencies and ICOs.

Internationally the nation-state must get guidance from a multitude of organisations like the G20 or G7, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and INTERPOL. International coordination often requires prolonged diplomacy and mismatched agendas.

Statue of Davidimage via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk strives to offer an open platform for dialogue and discussion on all things blockchain by encouraging contributed articles. As such, the opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of CoinDesk.

For more details on how you can submit an opinion or analysis article, view our Editorial Collaboration Guide or email [emailprotected].

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Australia Weighs Jail Time for Cryptocurrency Exchange Offenders – CoinDesk

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

New details have emerged about Australia's proposed cryptocurrency exchange law.

As reported yesterday by CoinDesk, Australia is moving ahead with plans to formalize the government's oversight of the domestic exchange space. Specifically, the government wants to update existing anti-money laundering statutes to account for the tech.

A draft text of the bill has since beenposted to the website of the Australian Parliament, offering key details on how the country plans to regulate the industry.

Of particular note are the penalties for operating an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange offenders could face as many as seven years in prison, depending on the severity of the violation and whether they've received prior warnings from regulators.

First-time offenders could be hit with prison sentences as long as two years and as much as $100,000 in fines. Repeat offenders may also receive fines as high as $400,000.

"A person...must not provide a registrable digital currency exchange service to another person if the first person is not a registered digital currency exchange provider," the bill states.

The measure also outlines the creation of a so-called "Digital Currency Exchange Register", which would be overseen by the Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the Australia's foremost financial intelligence agency.

The registration process could take as many as 180 days, according to the bill's text, depending on the outcome of AUSTRAC's approval process and if subsequent filings are required by the applicant.

In statements yesterday, the Australian government positioned the measure as one that would close a "gap" in the regulatory structure for cryptocurrency businesses.

"The bill will ... close a regulatory gap by bringing digital currency exchange providers under the remit of AUSTRAC," officials said.

Prison bars image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [emailprotected].

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Media A-Listers Back eSports Betting Firm As It Dives Into Cryptocurrencies – Deadline

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

Talk about trendy: An investment group that includes Mark Cuban, Ashton Kutcher, Elisabeth Murdoch, and Shari Redstone is feeling lucky about a business that aims to become a power in betting on eSports with cryptocurrencies.

The A-listers have invested in Unikrn, an eSports betting company. And it says today that beginning September 22 it hopes to persuade consumers to spend $100 million on its own currency, UnikoinGold, which is based on the Ethereum software platform.

The company, founded in 2014, says that its currency will be accessible around the world and allow users to earn prizes, hardware, and exclusive features.

The value of the tokens will be determined by the utility and turnover of the token itself from within the Unikrn platform as well as the value of the token on the free market, the company adds.

Betting on e-Sports is only legal in a few countries including the U.K., Ireland, and Australia.

Unikrn CEORahul Sood says that the company is in the middle of testing our eSports skill betting platform that will allow [U.S.] customers to use UnikoinGold for betting.Much of this has been in development for the last two years, we will start launching new applications 90 days after our token sale is complete.

Buyers should beware: Rules and structures governing eSports competitions are still evolving.

And cryptocurrency markets are even more turbulent although Bitcoins are making news this week with valuations hitting new highs after appreciating 750% over the last year.

The SEC recently found that coin offerings are covered by securities laws, although its not clear whod be covered since valuations are determined by a decentralized market. The IRS is looking into how tax laws apply to cryptocurrencies. And there are lingering concerns that criminals use the computer-based currencies to launder money, sell illegal drugs, or commit fraud.

Sood says the decentralized market for UnikoinGold tokens would give users more autonomy and opportunity to participate on our platform, with flexibility to trade in a more open marketplace. Our improved eSports betting system is creating a new world of opportunity for cryptocurrency wagering that is legal, safe and fun. Competitive gaming thrives on innovation, risk and reward, and we believe that UnikoinGold is the breakthrough that the eSports world has been waiting for.

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Cryptocurrency wallet Exodus adds OmiseGo in latest update – CryptoNinjas

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

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Blockchain asset and cryptocurrency wallet Exodus earlier in the week added its latest asset in OmiseGo (OMG). Founded in 2013, Omise is a venture-backed payments company operating in Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia, aiming to expand to neighboring countries across Asia-Pacific.

OmiseGO is a public Ethereum-based financial technology for use in mainstream digital wallets, that enables real-time, peer-to-peer value exchange and payment services agnostically across jurisdictions and organizational silos, and across both fiat money and decentralized currencies.

In addition to adding OMG, Exodus also announced more optimizations and fixes to ensure the Exodus experience remains solid and reliable.

The complete release notes are below:

General Exodus now quickly tells users when they type a bad password on login, previously this process was unnecessarily slow.

Wallet OmiseGo (OMG) added. Exodus now prevents Dash dust. The wallet asset list now shows an + Add More button to easily add more assets. Exodus now tells users if they do not have a camera connected when trying to open a QR code.

Exchange Users can now exchange any asset for OmiseGo.

More information on OmiseGO can be found in the company white paper.

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SEC Statements Spur ShapeShift to Review Cryptocurrency Listings – CoinDesk

August 20, 2017 | Author: admin

Cryptocurrency exchange service is reviewing its listings in light of recent statements on initial coin offerings (ICOs) from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a new blog post, the exchange said that it was launching the review, which could see it delist some of the trading pairs it offers, in a bid to avoid being "mischaracterized as a securities exchange."

As CoinDesk previously reported, the SEC revealed last month that it had been investigating The DAO, the ethereum-based funding vehicle that raised more than $150 million through a token sale. The agency ultimately ruled that those tokens which were sold and later freely traded on cryptocurrency exchanges qualify as securities, and that other token sales may fall under this definition as well.

It's in light of this statement that ShapeShift has asked its lawyers to examine whether the Howey Test a long-standing test used to determine whether certain assets qualify as securities applies to the tokens it lists. It's a notable development whichsignals that the SEC statement is having at least some impact on the startups that facilitate the exchangeof blockchain-based tokens.

ShapeShift explained in the blog post:

"This means that we may need to delist some types of tokens from the platform, which is unfortunate for our users who have enjoyed the ability to participate in these experimental and innovative technologies. We have thus instructed our counsel to examine the tokens available on ShapeShift, especially through the lens of the Howey Test, which is the test the SEC applies to determine the presence of a security."

As the statement goes on to suggest, US-based customers of ShapeShift may be the ones that feel the biggestimpact as the review moves ahead.

"As that analysis is done, certain tokens may be removed from the service for individuals within the United States, who will then no longer be able to interact with these technologies safely or transparently through the ShapeShift platform," the startup said, going on to add that it may "consider the application of the Howey test to all new tokens we list."

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in ShapeShift.

SEC image via Flickr

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [emailprotected].

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‘Tools of DESTRUCTION’ Quantum computers WILL wreak havoc … – Express.co.uk

August 19, 2017 | Author: admin

Quantum computers are the next generation of computers which can operate thousands of times faster than standard machines and process multiple data at once.

The lightning-fast computers allow for multiple questions to be answered at once at a rapid pace, as opposed to standard computers which work through answers sequentially.

While a standard computer uses bits to process problems and information, quantum computers use qubits which can store and process multiple bits of information at the same time.

Alexander Lvovsky, Quantum Optics group leader at the Russian Quantum Center and Professor of Physics at the University of Calgary in Canada, said warned quantum computers will wreak havoc, according to Futurism.

This is because they would be able to break modern cryptography raising fears of major security breaches.

All sensitive digital information that is sent over the internet, such as top secret military information, medical records and financial information, is encrypted to protect the data from hackers.

Some hackers are already able to break encryption, but when hackers get their hands on quantum computers, they will be able to smash any code putting all sensitive information at risk.

Wenjamin Rosenfeld, a physics professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, told Futurism: In a sense, Lvovsky's right. Taking a quantum computer as a computer, theres basically not much you can do with this at the moment.

Commercial quantum computers will be available within five years, and other experts believe that this will be enough time to add more protection to the sensitive information and keep it out of reach of hackers.

Mikhail Lukin, a co-founder of the Russian Quantum Center and head of the Lukin Group of the Quantum Optics Laboratory at Harvard University, said: Im fairly convinced that, before quantum computers start breaking encryption, we will have new classical encryption, we will have new schemes based on quantum computers, based on quantum cryptography, which will be operational.

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Optimize a public cloud storage service with these performance tips – TechTarget

August 19, 2017 | Author: admin

As enterprises deploy more storage resources to the public cloud, the performance of each provider's service can...

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have a profound effect on related workloads. Issues like storage service levels, network connectivity and application design can all affect application performance. Workloads depend on storage, so it's important to achieve and maintain the necessary levels of storage performance over time.

Use these five tactics to optimize the performance of your public cloud storage service.

Traditional enterprises have complete control over IT resources and their performance. But public cloud computing doesn't work this way. A cloud storage service provider won't change its offerings to create something unique for your business -- that defeats the speed and scale that makes public cloud so versatile.

Users instead have to select from a limited menu of storage services, each with its own advantages and constraints. One of the best ways to optimize the performance of a public cloud storage service is to understand those constraints and make your choice carefully, based on performance requirements.

For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) users typically choose Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Standard for low latency and high throughput of frequently accessed data, though performance is variable. The challenge is to select a storage service that provides a level of performance and resilience that is most appropriate for your workload, at the lowest possible cost. If you already chose a service and find it inadequate, consider shifting data to another service tier, a different storage service or even a different public cloud provider.

Users need to know when a public cloud storage service performs the way it should, when performance falters and when the service is disrupted. Measure relevant metrics to gauge availability and performance. Consider a native monitoring service from a cloud provider, such as Amazon CloudWatch, Azure Monitor and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Stackdriver Monitoring.

This kind of service monitoring and measurement simplifies troubleshooting and facilitates improvements to workload architectures and designs. For example, monitoring reports can help an enterprise identify bottlenecks in network or storage performance. Insights from monitoring tools could also lead to service configuration changes, such as more storage capacity or the integration of another storage service.

Many other organizations will use the same storage services that you use, which results in unexpected performance variations. Users cannot change a provider's public cloud storage service to address this, but they can potentially change the architecture and design of their workload to optimize performance.

For example, if you move or deploy a workload in one public cloud region, while the storage resources for that workload remain in a different region, performance can suffer. To address this issue, architects can replicate the original storage repository to a duplicate storage resource in the new region and redirect the workload to use the replicated storage. Architects can also implement caching. For example, sensitive database workloads could benefit from a service such as Amazon ElastiCache or Azure Redis Cache to provide high-performance, in-memory cloud caching.

Ultimately, a workload that relies on public cloud storage must adapt to the behaviors of that storage.

Finally, developers should evaluate the storage sensitivity of applications and consider design changes. For example, asynchronous communication can be more forgiving of latency and disruption than synchronous communication -- though asynchronous operation poses a greater risk of data loss. Ultimately, a workload that relies on public cloud storage must adapt to the behaviors of that storage.

When local workloads cannot overcome the performance limitations of a public cloud storage service, implement specialized tools to accelerate the connection between your data center and the cloud.

One example of such a hybrid implementation is the AWS Storage Gateway, which organizations typically deploy as an appliance in their own data centers. The gateway operates in three primary modes: file, volume and tape. As a file gateway, local workloads deliver file objects to Amazon S3. Organizations primarily use this mode for backup and disaster recovery tasks. As a volume gateway, local workloads can access iSCSI volumes in the cloud. Volume mode -- which organizations commonly use for snapshots and other backups -- also enables local caching, so frequently accessed data can remain in local storage, while other data is stored in the cloud. As a tape gateway, users can extend an existing tape-based backup system to the cloud as a virtual tape library.

Performance problems aren't necessarily rooted in the cloud storage service provider or the service itself, but can be precipitated by limitations in internet connectivity. Public internet carries risks of unexpected congestion and disruption -- both of which can interrupt storage traffic and impair performance.

One option is to increase WAN bandwidth to the public internet. To accomplish this, replace existing WAN links with a high-bandwidth WAN link, such as a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) or faster. As an alternative, combine multiple, lower-bandwidth WAN links, such as two or more 1 GbE links. Multiple links can also enhance network resilience -- if one link fails, another can maintain connectivity.

Organizations can also use dedicated network connectivity services between their data center and the public cloud storage service. Examples of these services include AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute and Google Cloud Interconnect. A dedicated, high-performance connection can eliminate the variable performance of the public internet and improve the use of limited WAN bandwidth.

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Optimize a public cloud storage service with these performance tips - TechTarget

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