Leaked NSA audit shows privacy violations in cellular and fiber optic surveillance

NSA seal

The NSA insists that it respects American privacy, but documents leaked by Edward Snowden to the Washington Post suggest that the agency has trouble maintaining that respect. A May 2012 audit, buried in the documents, 2,776 incidents where the NSA’s Washington-area facilities inadvertently obtained protected American data through a mix of human errors and technical limits. Among its larger gaffes, the NSA regularly had problems determining when foreign cellphones were roaming in the US, leading to unintentional snooping on domestic calls. The agency also spent months tapping and temporarily storing a mix of international and domestic data from US fiber lines until the Foreign Intelligence Surveilliance Court ruled that the technique was unconstitutional. NSA officials responding to the leak say that their agency corrects and mitigates incidents where possible, and argue that it’s difficult for the organization to avoid errors altogether. However, the audit also reveals that the NSA doesn’t always report violations to overseers — the division may be interested in fixing mistakes, but it’s not eager to mention them.

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Washington Post

Intel teases MXC: a 1.6Tbps optical interconnect for servers

Intel teases MXC a 16Tbps, optical interconnect for servers

While we think of optical connections as cutting edge, they’re positively decrepit in server rooms; current fiber interconnect technology got its start in the 1980s. Intel may soon drag servers into the modern era with its just-teased MXC format, however. The standard (not pictured here) will combine both silicon photonics and a new form of Corning fiber to link servers at 1.6Tbps — more than quick enough to eliminate many data bottlenecks. The connectors themselves are smaller, too. Intel won’t say more about MXC until the Intel Developer Forum next month in San Francisco, but we already suspect that supercomputer operators will be happy with all that extra bandwidth.

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Via: PCWorld

Source: Intel

Verizon FiOS rolls out 500/100 Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet

DNP Verizon FiOS rolls out 500Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet

The broadband speed wars continue to rage, and today, Verizon announced that it’s throwing down with its fastest tier yet. With a download speed of 500 megabits per second (and an upload speed of 100Mbps), the leap forward marks the latest evolution of the company’s fiber-optic Quantum Internet Service, which rolled out last summer. To put those numbers into perspective, you’ll be able to download a 5GB HD movie in 1.4 minutes or upload a 100MB file in eight seconds, assuming you’re operating at full speed. Verizon is hoping to gradually introduce its newest speed tier to all FiOS markets by 2014, with limited availability starting today. To hear what Big Red has to say about it, check out the video after the break.

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EU and Japan gun for 100Gbps fiber optic internet speeds via new research projects

EU and Japan gun for 100Gbps fiber optic internet speeds via new research projects

The European Commission and Japan have just announced a series of research projects to help speed up replacement of their soon-to-be-antiquated internet backbones. One of them, the STRAUSS project, will be shooting for 100Gbps fiber optic speeds — a whopping 5,000-fold gain over current Euro data rates. It’d do so by combining new optical packet switching technology, optical transceivers and other hardware with updated controlling software. The next step will be testing it on a large scale at sites across the EU and Japan. That project, along with five others aimed at boosting terrestrial and wireless bandwidth security and capacity, will receive €18 million in funding over the next several years. The EU commission estimates that traffic will increase 12-fold in the next five years, so if you don’t want any more internet lag than you already have, you may want to wish them Godspeed.

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Source: European Commission

Bell Labs doubles beams in fiber optic lines to reach 400Gbps on a global scale

Bell Labs doubles light in fiber optic lines to reach greater distances

It’s comparatively easy to run fiber optic lines at high speeds; it’s another matter to sustain that pace between continents. Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs has found a way to go that extreme distance by relying on the basic concept behind noise-cancelling headphones. When the researchers send data across two light beams in opposing phases, they can superimpose the signals and neutralize the distortion that would normally occur at long ranges. Such clean output lets Bell Labs ramp up the signal strength and maintain high speeds across whole oceans: its test pushed 400Gbps through 7,954 miles of fiber. There’s no word on how soon we’ll see twin-light technique put into practice, although we suspect that a networking giant like Alcatel-Lucent wants the extra bandwidth as quickly as possible.

[Image credit: JL Hopgood, Flickr]

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Via: BBC News, The Verge

Source: Nature Photonics

Google paying $1 to run Provo fiber, must build it out within five years

Google Fiber deal sees Provo sell its network for $1, but Google pays for upgrades

While it’s well-established that Google Fiber’s expansion into Provo, Utah hinges on Google buying the city’s existing iProvo network, we didn’t immediately learn what it took to land the tentative deal. Newly available details of the agreement reveal that the up-front cost is largely in the visitor’s favor — it’s the long-term development that rewards the locals. Google only pays $1 to buy the local fiber network, but it has five years to finish upgrades and deployments that could ultimately cost $30 million, according to the Deputy Mayor’s estimates. About the only remaining costs for Provo are its already existing (if significant) development loans, and the city can always buy the network back for $1 if things go sour. The pact also leaves the door open to public WiFi, although there are no guarantees that Google will mirror its New York City efforts anytime soon. When the search giant has a very healthy bank balance, we doubt there will be much quibbling over the exact terms; just know that the arrangement isn’t strictly one-sided.

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Source: AP

Google Fiber rollout detailed for Austin: connections by mid-2014, similar pricing (updated)

Googel Fiber space

The Google Fiber rollout for Austin has been spoiled twice, but today it’s officially official: the music-centric city will become a gigabit city… eventually, that is. Google now says that it will start wiring Austinite homes for super-fast internet access by mid-2014 — we wouldn’t cancel that cable or DSL service just yet, sadly. At least the pricing should be familiar. Google still plans to offer both stand-alone internet access and internet-plus-TV bundles, both at rates within the ballpark of what it offers for Kansas City, and there will still be a near-free 5Mbps plan that only requires a one-off construction fee. Institutions will get free gigabit access, of course. While we’d like Google Fiber as soon as possible, we’re just happy to realize that our next SXSW crash pad may have a lot more bandwidth on tap.

Update: During a formal announcement call, Google and the city of Austin provided a few minor details. They revealed that Google didn’t get any incentives to land a deal, and that engineering work is only beginning in earnest on April 10th. As for AT&T’s me-too initiative? Kevin Lo from Google Fiber says that it’s “great” to see AT&T aware that the demand exists for gigabit access. No hard feelings, then.

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Source: Google Fiber

The Daily Roundup for 03.26.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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MIT and US Army crafting uniforms with full-body fiberoptic sensors

MIT and US Army crafting uniforms with stealthy fiberoptic communication, sensors

Militaries want soldiers to carry an increasing amount of tech on to the battlefield, but that isn’t necessarily convenient — or comfortable. MIT and the US Army have started early work on uniforms with fiberoptic sensors that would alleviate much of that burden. By weaving in microfibers cut from a mix of specialized, fluidized materials, the partnership can build data links that cover the entire body without breaking or adding significant bulk. They could serve as basic elements of a communication system, but MIT has broader ambitions: the sensors could track wounds through heat signatures, and just might prevent friendly fire incidents by sending a don’t-shoot signal when targeted with a laser sight. The fibers still have to get much thinner before the Army can offer smart uniforms as standard issue, but the wearable tech may keep soldiers nimble and, just possibly, save a few lives.

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Via: Wired

Source: MIT

Huawei tests 2Tbps data transmission over Vodafone’s German network, calls it a ‘first’

Huawei notches 2Tbps data transmission over Vodafone's network in Germany, calls it a 'world's first'

As terabit speeds go, Huawei’s latest fiber feat falls on the lower end of recent industry achievements. At 2Tbps, the Chinese company’s field test — one it’s hailing as a “world’s first” — comes nowhere close to the 100Tbps-plus experiments conducted by the likes of NEC and NICT. But top speed isn’t entirely the point here; real-world performance is. By leveraging existing fiber infrastructure owned by Vodafone across portions of lower Germany, Huawei was able to successfully demonstrate two record-breaking, 200G transmissions: one spanning 1,500km and the other 3,325km over an “ultra-long-haul solution.” To give you a bit of perspective on just what sort of data haul theoretical networks of this kind can achieve, Huawei claims this ultra-fast connection is “equivalent to downloading 40 HD videos in one second.” Impressive, indeed. But don’t go ditching that TWC wideband or FiOS contract just yet. While it’s nice to know this tech exists, practical deployment is still a ways off. Until then, gigabit’s the buzz word.

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Huawei and Vodafone Complete World’s First 2 Tbit/s WDM Field Trial

Shenzhen, China, 24 January 2013:

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider, and Vodafone, one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies, today announced the successful trial of 2 Tbit/s optical fiber transmission technologies on Vodafone’s live network. The field trial achieved 2 Tbit/s transmission capabilities of over 3,325km. This provides a data highway capacity 20-times higher than current commercially deployed 100Gbit/s systems and has a speed equivalent to downloading 40 HD videos in one second. This marks an important step forward for optical transport technology advances beyond 100G.

Traffic on carrier backbone networks is growing exponentially, driving global momentum for commercial 100G deployments and attracting attention on optical transport beyond 100G. Riding on cutting-edge technologies such as flex oDSP, super SD-FEC, and flex modulation format, this field trial achieved a record-breaking transmission distance of 1,500 km using a super-channel PDM-16QAM-based high spectral efficiency solution, and a second record-breaking transmission distance of 3,325 km using a super-channel Nyquist PDM-QPSK-based ultra-long-haul solution. Both transmissions were on a link with G.652 fibers and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) without electrical regeneration. The link used in the trial was on Vodafone’s backbone network, passing through a few cities across middle and south Germany.

“We are at the forefront of global 100G deployments, and have taken the lead in delivering key breakthroughs in technologies beyond 100G. Through collaboration with Vodafone and other leading international operators and customer-centric R&D, Huawei is always ready to build advanced optical networks for customers,” said Jack Wang, president of Huawei’s transport network product line.

To help customers optimize their overall technical architecture and adopt next-generation transport networks, Huawei conducted the world’s first 2T WDM field trial and pan- European 400G field trial in 2012, and also unveiled a series of scientific research achievements in optical transmission. According to Ovum, Huawei ranks No. 1 in the WDM/OTN, 40G, 100G, and global optical network markets, as of Q3 2012.

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