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Blog: Chris Harlow on ITSearch The Harlow Report Archives
The issue is that civilian GPS is, in many ways, a legacy system.
GPS has become critical infrastructure in the modern age, relied on by ground, air, and sea vehicles for navigation. But vulnerabilities to satellite navigation, including spoofing and GPS manipulation, are a potential recipe for catastrophe.
Antivirus software may be a stopgap.
The issue is that civilian GPS is, in many ways, a legacy system.
"Twenty-year-old technology is still in use," Oleg Petrovsky of HPE Security research told Virus Bulletin in an interview about GPS threats. "The problem is that the civilian portion of it was not designed to deal with the current GPS threat landscape. It is important to realize how vulnerable GPS is to malicious attacks."
Among the vulnerabilities, spoofing and GPS modification are particularly harmful. GPS spoofing is an attack in which incorrect signals are broadcast to deceive receivers. GPS manipulation modifies existing GPS signals.
Read full story at ZDNet…
first published week of: 04/13/2020
Esri announced that its Annual User Conference, normally held in San Diego, California, will move to a completely virtual format. This event will take place July 13-15, 2020.
The Esri User Conference (Esri UC) began forty years ago at the organization’s Redlands campus with only a handful of participants. This gathering is now the largest of its kind, bringing together technology innovators, executives, educators, scientists, and many thousands of users seeking to solve challenges in their own organizations using Esri’s advanced technology.
“While not being together with our users and partners is a great disappointment to me personally, we are working hard to create an amazing event that will continue to move our community forward,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri president. “I have watched the Esri UC grow, evolve, and improve, and I know this year will be no exception. My sense is that this experience will help us all learn even more about what makes our community so special.”
Registration for the virtual Esri UC is complimentary for all Esri users. The virtual format will enable these users to allow an unlimited number of attendees from across their organizations to participate.
Esri will offer live components during the Plenary Session, Esri technical sessions, and the Esri Showcase, including opportunities for networking, collaboration, and real-time interaction with Esri experts. User presentations and perennial favorite, the Map Gallery, will be featured digitally. A library of recorded sessions and demos will be available as an ongoing resource.
“I am inspired by the amazing work our users are doing in responding to COVID-19,” continued Dangermond. “They are helping save lives and change the course of this pandemic. I appreciate their understanding and patience as we navigate this challenging moment, and I look forward to being with our user community in July.” Learn more about the virtual Esri UC here.
first published week of: 05/04/2020
Satellite leaders share in their own words how they are using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to make a difference in the industry.
Artificial intelligence is elevating how the satellite industry can be used at scale. Today’s abundance of satellite imagery has huge potential to help companies, investors and governments make critical decisions, but the volume also makes it impossible to manually analyze the trends within each of those pixels. Applying AI helps make sense of this data deluge by automating analysis and even integrating it with other data. My company, Orbital Insight, develops geospatial analytics to reveal previously hidden trends about what’s happening on and to the Earth. We use AI to transform multiple sources of geospatial data — including satellite images, mobile location, connected cars and other Internet of Things (IoT) data — into objective answers about the state of supply chains, global commodities, geopolitical events, and demographics. The goal is more informed decision making.
At Hypergiant, AI Frees Up Human Operators for the Most Critical Work
Currently, we’re implementing ML-based orbit prediction algorithms which we are using to predict the position of satellites and debris in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) with greater accuracy than other publicly available resources. We’re also implementing object detection, classification, and localization algorithms on the satellites themselves via Convolutional Neural Networks. This gives those satellites the capability to identify and respond to objects they observe with on-board sensors without having to wait for communication from ground stations. Within those ground stations, we’re ingesting telemetry data from the satellites and using that data to classify and predict anomalies using a variety of supervised and unsupervised learning techniques.
Read full story at Via Satellite…
first published week of: 11/16/2020
The 2020 Esri Federal GIS Conference focused on how GIS is evolving to become a smart, connected global geospatial infrastructure—one that allows the planet to react, respond, and grow intelligently. Over two days at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, thousands of attendees came together to discover the ways GIS can enable federal users to be an integral part of this new “intelligent nervous system” for the world.
GIS integrates geographic data into the decision-making process, turning it into a valuable tool for understanding the world and creating a sustainable future. Data sharing is key to effective global and national collaboration, and federal organizations are in a unique position to facilitate this transformation at scale.
Keynotes Discuss Location Intelligence for Conservation and Defense
Dr. Healy Hamilton, Chief Scientist at NatureServe, a nonprofit provider of western hemisphere biodiversity information and tools, shared the Map of Biodiversity Importance in her Keynote Address. The Map of Biodiversity Importance uses big data, GIS, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to help scientists predict and share fine resolution maps of the most likely places where species will exist and where they most need protecting based on their location. Dr. Hamilton discussed how federal agencies can use this geospatial analysis of suitable habitat for over 2200 species at risk in the continental US—identifying opportunities for sustaining biodiversity in the years to come.
Read full story at Esri…
first published week of: 03/02/2020
Brent Jones, PE, PLS, Global Manager, Land Records/Cadastre, Esri, Vienna Virginia
( Urisa )
URISA announced the results of its 2020 URISA Board of Directors’ election.
Brent Jones will serve in the position of President-Elect
I am honored to serve URISA as President-Elect. URISA has a long and storied history of delivering exemplary conferences and educational opportunities as well as important guidance and significant support for geospatial professionals’ careers .... Brent Jones
Kathryn Brewer, Xan Fredericks, and Steve Steinberg will serve as Directors.
They will all begin their three-year terms at the conclusion of GIS-Pro 2020 which will be presented virtually this year.
first published week of: 08/17/2020
Some departments inside county government get attention for fighting crime or maintaining popular parks.
Then there are the departments that do it a little differently.
The Geographic Information System Department, which promotes and supports the development of GIS technology in Genesee County, is using its presence on Facebook to give exposure to its services.
In a recent post, it identified the alphabet from aerial images taken at various locations throughout the county.
Read full story at MLIVE…
first published week of: 02/24/2020