Logistics: This is the art and science of moving, transporting and/or delivering things (material, hardware, equipment or supplies), services or even people across geographical space. Crucial considerations here include: efficiency, coordination, timeliness, security and cost; or, in general, the appropriateness of the means in relation to the mission. Vehicular breakdown and safety of passage are, likewise, always a twin-concern requiring management's 'unblinking' attention and capacity for effective response and even 'networked' intervention.
To have good logistics, you must in the first place have clarity of purpose and a good strategy to realize it. Otherwise, whatever carriers and other transportation resources, routes, personnel or passion and related communication mechanisms that you may have will be of little avail. Thus, the adage that "if you don't know where you're going, you won't get there" tells us less than half the truth. You must have the means (of necessity dependable) to get there, as well. As a minimum, then, strategy should be based on a robust form of SWOT analysis or its equivalent. In, a robust and pro-active 'supply chain management' system is a necessity for consistent success.
Partly driven by considerations of security (against international terrorism, in particular, as well as piracy) and of efficiency, logistics and IoT have increasingly become intertwined in 'heavy-duty' commercial shipping around the world. In hindsight, one can see that IoT was always implicit in both commercial (for example, in the worldwide cargo-delivery 'transactions' of FedEx and DHL) and humanitarian airfreight (for example in UNHCR and Red Cross operations). It was even there, in its 'infancy', in passenger air-travel -- and most pronounced in long-haul flight.
But there has been, through it all, a periodically morphing sort of reverse 'cultural lag' (see, also, Godin) here -- between a 'driving' adaptive culture (that is, growing safety and security concerns and needs) and a 'responding' material culture (for example, as alluded to already, the technologies required to give assurance of passenger and shipping-line security). Quaintly, the intuitive tail was wagging the material dog here. With recent advances, however, IoT's value-proposition has caught up with the need (the demand) for it. This proposition has indeed become more and more explicit and even routine in its effect.
Showing posts with label Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Security. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
CONCEPT: Intelligence
Intelligence: In safety and "security" terms, as broadly conceived -- and, by extension, outside of the field of psychology -- intelligence generally refers to any kind of information or set of data considered crucial to maintaining the status quo (and related advantages), overcoming threats to it, and/or gaining actionable advantage over identified barriers to desired goals. In a much-quoted passage, Stephen Hawking, leaning toward the psychological view and away from the "security" perspective, sees intelligence rather differently -- as "the ability to adapt to change".
From the safety and "security" perspectives -- that is, in the field of emergency and disaster management, public safety and health, and among others -- intelligence refers to any information, privileged or open-sourced, which gives managers marked advantage over likely, impending, or on-going threats to humans and all things of value to them as individuals and collectivities -- that is, family, belongings, property, community, institutions, ecosystems, society at large and country.
"Intelligence gathering" has many labels and involves a variety of activities, including: Preparedness, precaution, data gathering (or mining), business intelligence, surveillance, monitoring, SWOT analysis, GIS, observation, investigation, probing, espionage, spying and secret service. Importantly, "Intelligence Communities" of all kinds are quite alive to the insight embedded in the adage that information is power. Interestingly, moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI), both as a concept and bundle of practices and applications, spans both psychology and safety/"security".
From the safety and "security" perspectives -- that is, in the field of emergency and disaster management, public safety and health, and among others -- intelligence refers to any information, privileged or open-sourced, which gives managers marked advantage over likely, impending, or on-going threats to humans and all things of value to them as individuals and collectivities -- that is, family, belongings, property, community, institutions, ecosystems, society at large and country.
"Intelligence gathering" has many labels and involves a variety of activities, including: Preparedness, precaution, data gathering (or mining), business intelligence, surveillance, monitoring, SWOT analysis, GIS, observation, investigation, probing, espionage, spying and secret service. Importantly, "Intelligence Communities" of all kinds are quite alive to the insight embedded in the adage that information is power. Interestingly, moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI), both as a concept and bundle of practices and applications, spans both psychology and safety/"security".
Friday, March 10, 2017
IoT: The Internet of Things ~ A Few Tweets and Posts
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? Meola (2016) gives us a useful definition of IoT in this passage:
And he elaborates his conversation under six important topics:
1. Basic definitions of IoT-related terms that ease us into better informed and more sophisticated conversations and narratives. These terms are: IoT device, IoT ecosystem, entity, physical layer, network layer, application layer, remotes, dashboard, analytics, data storage, and networks.
2. IoT predictions, trends and markets -- up to 2025.
3. IoT industries, looked at from the interconnected perspectives of consumers, governments and ecosystems.
4. IoT companies. The list he gives features mostly American companies, but this will obviously change as the rest of the world checks in with new ideas and orientations.
5. Top IoT platforms at present: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, ThingWorx IoT Platform, IBM's Watson, Cisco IoT Cloud Connect, Salesforce IoT Cloud, Oracle Integrated Cloud, and GE Predix.
6. IoT security and privacy, including the growing risk of hacking and other or emergent forms of cyber attacks.
READ: Andrew Meola (2016) What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
In 2015 and 2016 I released five IoT-related tweets (incorporating two pertinent posts) which I wish to share with you. I'm assuming that you haven't seen them yet among my many tweets and re-tweets. Here they are:
"The IoT refers to the connection of devices (other than typical fare such as computers and smartphones) to the Internet. Cars, kitchen appliances, and even heart monitors can all be connected through the IoT. And as the Internet of Things grows in the next few years, more devices will join that list."
And he elaborates his conversation under six important topics:
1. Basic definitions of IoT-related terms that ease us into better informed and more sophisticated conversations and narratives. These terms are: IoT device, IoT ecosystem, entity, physical layer, network layer, application layer, remotes, dashboard, analytics, data storage, and networks.
2. IoT predictions, trends and markets -- up to 2025.
3. IoT industries, looked at from the interconnected perspectives of consumers, governments and ecosystems.
4. IoT companies. The list he gives features mostly American companies, but this will obviously change as the rest of the world checks in with new ideas and orientations.
5. Top IoT platforms at present: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, ThingWorx IoT Platform, IBM's Watson, Cisco IoT Cloud Connect, Salesforce IoT Cloud, Oracle Integrated Cloud, and GE Predix.
6. IoT security and privacy, including the growing risk of hacking and other or emergent forms of cyber attacks.
READ: Andrew Meola (2016) What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
In 2015 and 2016 I released five IoT-related tweets (incorporating two pertinent posts) which I wish to share with you. I'm assuming that you haven't seen them yet among my many tweets and re-tweets. Here they are:
- Big Q for #IoT: in what forms does #spiritware manifest itself in the #InternetOfThings?
- While U were otherwise engaged, here's what I said about #drones a year ago (already!) http://bit.ly/1oDOW83 , #Mallarme, #Dice, #IoT
- @MauriYambo Why? It doesn't waffle or lose sight of #IoT's core aspect: #Internet/ICT-enhanced logistics on a globally expansive scale. #KOT
Mauri Yambo @MauriYambo
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Risk of Online Share Trading
Online share trading poses many risks to the investors, particularly on platforms with non-existent or rudimentary security systems. One suspects thatthere are plenty around in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa.
Occasionally "testing the system" in order to ensure security is not sufficient to give 'bankable' assurance, and so does not give comfort to the savvy investor. From the start, Online Share Trading services are typically fully covered, through carefully worded disclaimers in small-print, against litigation by their client-investors who may be hit by fraudsters. No one will fully compensate the investor who loses assets through online fraud undetected in time by otherwise aggressive service providers.
One way to eliminate this risk is to stay out of online trading completely. Another, for the more tech savvy operating in vulnerable/hackable environments, would be for service providers to offer the opportunity to buy, but not to sell, shares online. Who would want to buy shares for me, secretly? There is no palpable danger there. But a byzantine underworld of hackers may easily plot and remotely execute fraudulent "sell" orders using stolen email and share-account passwords, accompanied by illegal and lightning (and irrecoverable) transfers of funds out of investors' accounts.
It seems to me that the safest sell orders will always require long paper-trails.
Occasionally "testing the system" in order to ensure security is not sufficient to give 'bankable' assurance, and so does not give comfort to the savvy investor. From the start, Online Share Trading services are typically fully covered, through carefully worded disclaimers in small-print, against litigation by their client-investors who may be hit by fraudsters. No one will fully compensate the investor who loses assets through online fraud undetected in time by otherwise aggressive service providers.
One way to eliminate this risk is to stay out of online trading completely. Another, for the more tech savvy operating in vulnerable/hackable environments, would be for service providers to offer the opportunity to buy, but not to sell, shares online. Who would want to buy shares for me, secretly? There is no palpable danger there. But a byzantine underworld of hackers may easily plot and remotely execute fraudulent "sell" orders using stolen email and share-account passwords, accompanied by illegal and lightning (and irrecoverable) transfers of funds out of investors' accounts.
It seems to me that the safest sell orders will always require long paper-trails.
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