Egon (EGG) Kuster's Home Page

October 14, 2007

Logwiki

Ads05-1 One of the projects that I work on has recently been published in the Australian Defence Science magazine. The project is called Logwiki and is a wiki configured for use by the Australian Defence Force logistics community. For more information have a read of the Logwiki article available here.

Links
Logwiki Article

Posted by Egon Kuster at 01:14 AM

April 18, 2005

CTL Architecture Report

Another one of my DSTO reports has finally been published, Coalition Theatre Logistics Architecture Overview report. This is a technical report that outlines the architecture that was developed in 2003 - 2004 to support the Coalition Theatre Logistics Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (CTL-ACTD). This report was developed in association with Dick Creps (Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, USA) and various others involved in CTL-ACTD. The architecture detailed in this report has been further defined in other DSTO reports that I am currently writing but if you have any comments on this report please add comments to this blog.

Links
CTL Architecture Overview Summary
Download CTL Architecture Overview Report (PDF)

Posted by Egon Kuster at 10:16 PM

August 05, 2004

Identification via your skin

The EE Times is running an article on a technology that allows for data to be transferred via your skin. This can allow devices to send information between each other as long as they are both touching your skin. This could allow for you data on your identity be easily transmitted to a car lock, or secure door or ship details between to an external device. According to the article they have been able to transfer data at 9600 baud which is faster enough to send enough data to move identity information. They are comparing this technology with RFID or bluetooth although I believe that these technologies are to be used in different applications so can not be compared directly although it does open up some interesting doors.

Links
EE TImes Article

Posted by Egon Kuster at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2004

RFID Tags Open To Hacking

CNet News has an article about the ease it is to “hack” RFID tags. Many of the major goods suppliers are currently ramping up support for RFID tags to fulfill the requirement mandated by Walmart (large US shopping chain) to have RFID tags on all products by early 2005.

RFID tags come in many different shapes and sizes but most look like a small sticker on the item (although can also be embedded in the product itself). Tag readers then use radio frequency communication to read or alter information on the tag. Unlike barcodes RFID tags can hold a great deal more information and do not suffer the requirement of line of sight to be read. RFID therefore allows for a much easier method or reading information as it is possible to read the tags even when contained in trucks or containers opening up many more opportunities to monitor and maintain the logistics chain.

In the article it describes that the information on RFID tags can easily be read by anyone with an RFID reader, which can easily be purchased. Along with reading the information it is also possible to wipe or alter this information posing a potential security risk.

RFID tags have been around for quite some time but with the advent of their reduced cost and the widespread adoption by major US shopping chains, UK Defence, US Defence and Australian Defence the profile of RFID has been raised. This rise in popularity has happened quickly and as a result only now are some of the vulnerabilities or problems emerging, like those identified in the CNet article. So where is RFID heading, at the moment I am not sure but as we see RFID tags being used more frequently the problems will surface and be fixed as all involved are very keen to see RFID technology work and work correctly.

Links
CNet News RFID Hacking Article
RFDump application (used to read and alter RFID tag data)

Posted by Egon Kuster at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2004

US MATRIX uses CTL like Architecture

A recent Slashdot article posts this statement:

Associated Press: 'The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange combines state vehicle and crime records with commercial databases owned by a private company, Seisint, covering half the U.S. population,' but there were 'questions about the legality of sending state-owned records to Seisint'. The solution? “Each state will maintain its own records . . . Software will search each state's records as necessary.'

The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange system, also known as MATRIX is now using a similar technique to get around jurisdiction and release laws by allowing the system to execute distributed searches so that each of the states can keep and maintain their own databases. Not this is not a new technique at all, but it is new for governments to use these concepts. I have also designed this same capability into the Coalition Theatre Logistics (CTL) project that I am the Australian Technical Manager for.

CTL has been operating since the year 2000 but only started true technical development in 2002. The aim of CTL is to provide a system that will allow multiple nations to share and access logistics information for coalition operations. The current CTL architecture was designed by myself using the familiar concepts developed for business to business transactions on the Internet but expanding the concepts to support the extra requirements of CTL.

Like MATRIX, CTL uses a similar distributed searching technique so that each nation owns their data on the coalition network and uses a series of coalition defined web services to allow other nations to access this data. This type of architecture allows for nations to maintain control over their data and selectively release this data to the network. The benefits of using a distributed data search and data access architecture are:

Owners of data maintain control as they still own the databases containing the data.
Different implementations of storage can be implemented in the national data storage areas as it does not affect the distributed search or coalition data access interfaces.
Allows for the definition of standardised data access and transfer so that other nations can easily access the distributed network.
Distributes the processing load for searching and storing of data
Spreads the cost of implementation as each nation is responsible for their node on the coalition network.
Allows for firewalls and other network filters to secure the national nodes on the network.
Allows for flexible communication between nodes on the network

Distributed systems when crossing political boundaries allow for a much greater flexibility when compared with central data store solutions as it is near impossible to separate data when stored centrally. This merging of data in central data stores does not easily allow for multiple levels of security or separate data that is only releasable to certain audiences. By using distributed data stores allow for an easier method of applying security and controlling the data access, however the development of the clients and data access software becomes more complex. This complexity in developing the clients to access data is one of the reason such a design is avoided by many developers and a single data storage solution is chosen, but this is not necessarily the correct choice.

Over the next couple of months I will be producing a report as part of my work which will be publicly available and will provide access to a copy from here. The title of this report is “Multi-lateral Information Exchange Environment (MIEE) architecture” and will be available from the DSTO publications database or via the research link on the DSTO Home Page. You can also find all my publicly releasable reports by entering my full name (“Egon Kuster”) into the search area.

Links
Slashdot Article on MATRIX
Article on USA today
DSTO publications database
DSTO Home Page

Posted by Egon Kuster at 11:19 AM | Comments (1)


	Category: Logistics October 14, 2007 Logwiki One of the projects that I work on has recently been published in the Australian Defence Science magazine. The project is called Logwiki and is a wiki configured for use by the Australian Defence Force logistics community. For more information have a read of the Logwiki article available here. Links Logwiki Article Posted by Egon Kuster at 01:14 AM April 18, 2005 CTL Architecture Report Another one of my DSTO reports has finally been published, Coalition Theatre Logistics Architecture Overview report. This is a technical report that outlines the architecture that was developed in 2003 - 2004 to support the Coalition Theatre Logistics Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (CTL-ACTD). This report was developed in association with Dick Creps (Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, USA) and various others involved in CTL-ACTD. The architecture detailed in this report has been further defined in other DSTO reports that I am currently writing but if you have any comments on this report please add comments to this blog. Links CTL Architecture Overview Summary Download CTL Architecture Overview Report (PDF) Posted by Egon Kuster at 10:16 PM August 05, 2004 Identification via your skin The EE Times is running an article on a technology that allows for data to be transferred via your skin. This can allow devices to send information between each other as long as they are both touching your skin. This could allow for you data on your identity be easily transmitted to a car lock, or secure door or ship details between to an external device. According to the article they have been able to transfer data at 9600 baud which is faster enough to send enough data to move identity information. They are comparing this technology with RFID or bluetooth although I believe that these technologies are to be used in different applications so can not be compared directly although it does open up some interesting doors. Links EE TImes Article Posted by Egon Kuster at 10:41 PM \| Comments (0) July 29, 2004 RFID Tags Open To Hacking CNet News has an article about the ease it is to “hack” RFID tags. Many of the major goods suppliers are currently ramping up support for RFID tags to fulfill the requirement mandated by Walmart (large US shopping chain) to have RFID tags on all products by early 2005. RFID tags come in many different shapes and sizes but most look like a small sticker on the item (although can also be embedded in the product itself). Tag readers then use radio frequency communication to read or alter information on the tag. Unlike barcodes RFID tags can hold a great deal more information and do not suffer the requirement of line of sight to be read. RFID therefore allows for a much easier method or reading information as it is possible to read the tags even when contained in trucks or containers opening up many more opportunities to monitor and maintain the logistics chain. In the article it describes that the information on RFID tags can easily be read by anyone with an RFID reader, which can easily be purchased. Along with reading the information it is also possible to wipe or alter this information posing a potential security risk. RFID tags have been around for quite some time but with the advent of their reduced cost and the widespread adoption by major US shopping chains, UK Defence, US Defence and Australian Defence the profile of RFID has been raised. This rise in popularity has happened quickly and as a result only now are some of the vulnerabilities or problems emerging, like those identified in the CNet article. So where is RFID heading, at the moment I am not sure but as we see RFID tags being used more frequently the problems will surface and be fixed as all involved are very keen to see RFID technology work and work correctly. Links CNet News RFID Hacking Article RFDump application (used to read and alter RFID tag data) Posted by Egon Kuster at 09:37 PM \| Comments (0) July 25, 2004 US MATRIX uses CTL like Architecture A recent Slashdot article posts this statement: Associated Press: 'The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange combines state vehicle and crime records with commercial databases owned by a private company, Seisint, covering half the U.S. population,' but there were 'questions about the legality of sending state-owned records to Seisint'. The solution? “Each state will maintain its own records . . . Software will search each state's records as necessary.' The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange system, also known as MATRIX is now using a similar technique to get around jurisdiction and release laws by allowing the system to execute distributed searches so that each of the states can keep and maintain their own databases. Not this is not a new technique at all, but it is new for governments to use these concepts. I have also designed this same capability into the Coalition Theatre Logistics (CTL) project that I am the Australian Technical Manager for. CTL has been operating since the year 2000 but only started true technical development in 2002. The aim of CTL is to provide a system that will allow multiple nations to share and access logistics information for coalition operations. The current CTL architecture was designed by myself using the familiar concepts developed for business to business transactions on the Internet but expanding the concepts to support the extra requirements of CTL. Like MATRIX, CTL uses a similar distributed searching technique so that each nation owns their data on the coalition network and uses a series of coalition defined web services to allow other nations to access this data. This type of architecture allows for nations to maintain control over their data and selectively release this data to the network. The benefits of using a distributed data search and data access architecture are: Owners of data maintain control as they still own the databases containing the data. Different implementations of storage can be implemented in the national data storage areas as it does not affect the distributed search or coalition data access interfaces. Allows for the definition of standardised data access and transfer so that other nations can easily access the distributed network. Distributes the processing load for searching and storing of data Spreads the cost of implementation as each nation is responsible for their node on the coalition network. Allows for firewalls and other network filters to secure the national nodes on the network. Allows for flexible communication between nodes on the network Distributed systems when crossing political boundaries allow for a much greater flexibility when compared with central data store solutions as it is near impossible to separate data when stored centrally. This merging of data in central data stores does not easily allow for multiple levels of security or separate data that is only releasable to certain audiences. By using distributed data stores allow for an easier method of applying security and controlling the data access, however the development of the clients and data access software becomes more complex. This complexity in developing the clients to access data is one of the reason such a design is avoided by many developers and a single data storage solution is chosen, but this is not necessarily the correct choice. Over the next couple of months I will be producing a report as part of my work which will be publicly available and will provide access to a copy from here. The title of this report is “Multi-lateral Information Exchange Environment (MIEE) architecture” and will be available from the DSTO publications database or via the research link on the DSTO Home Page. You can also find all my publicly releasable reports by entering my full name (“Egon Kuster”) into the search area. Links Slashdot Article on MATRIX Article on USA today DSTO publications database DSTO Home Page Posted by Egon Kuster at 11:19 AM \| Comments (1)

Category: Logistics