TGV tests Wi-Fi + satellite link in three TGV trains on its Eastern network. If the experiment proves successful the new service should be generalized, from 2009, to all 52 oars network East.

With combines effort of satellite link and wireless network, in locations, such tunnels and train stations, where the satellite link cannot be established, the wi-fi network takes over to maintain the access to the Web without interruption.

French railways company SNCF previously conducted unsuccessful test using GPRS data network before launching a 2 years research and preparation program to implement this dual solution. Among technical difficulties to overcome are these related to 320 km/h TGV trains speed which causes instability and vibrations. 

The project is done in a partnership with Orange(France Telecom mobile operator), Capgemini, Alstom Transport and Eutelsat.

SNCF will put on board of its TGV a dedicated Web portal providing information about destinations, weather forecast, News, traffic information as well as a real time tracking service. From a technical point of view, TGV trains are fitted with a server where all portal content is loaded prior the journey in order to minimize bandwidth consumption due to its high cost. The tested system has been designed to provide simultaneous web connection for 14 per cent (50 users) of the total capacity of each TGV train (350).

The business plan is not defined yet, but the widespread of the system on TGV Eastern Europe network would represent an investment of 120 millions USD over 4 years. First price estimation given by SNCF Passenger service would be a flat 4-5 USD to access the Web portal during the whole journey and a 4-5 USD per hour to access the Internet.

A very interesting project and definitively a real challenge to maintain permanent web connectivity during a train journey at more than 300 km/h where the 16'000 volt power line running over the train may also create some electro-magnetic interferences and without mentioning all micro interruptions of the satellite link each time the train pass under a bridge or when dense foliage is found within the satellite's line of sight.

Any reader who already had the chance to test the reliability of the service ?

More infos (in French): Journal du Net, CNet France.

I found the article below on "The Register" site and asked myself the following question: 

If connecting to Internet using an open and unsecured wifi access point is considered as a crime, why authorities do not apply the same principle to other services (mainly electricity and water) we often use without any formal agreement of the owner ?

 " More than half of computer users have illegally stolen Wi-Fi connections, according to The Times - but only 11 alleged offenders have been arrested in the UK, as the police seem to think those deploying Wi-Fi should be more careful about securing their connections.

The data was collected from a "Have Your Say" survey on the website of security-specialist Sophos: apparently 54 per cent of the 560 people who responded admitted nicking bandwidth from insecure Wi-Fi routers.

This might say more about Sophos customers than the general population, and extrapolating the results to every computer user in the country is probably a crime against statistics: so that's exactly what The Times has done.

…

Anyone caught stealing a Wi-Fi connection can be fined up to a grand, even if it's left unsecured, so make sure you ask nicely next time you're looking to log on, and if the person next to you has never stolen a Wi-Fi connection then we have to assume that you have. "

What is your opinion about accessing open wifi ? Do you think it is a crime ?

Source: The Register

The attacks on Swiss financial institutes with the aim of unjustified enrichment and the threat of the targeted industrial espionage via the internet are the main topics of the fifth semi-annual report of the Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance.

The report assesses the situation of the first half of the year 2007 in Switzerland and is now available online and clearly shows that the human factor remains the weakest point of ICT security.

Focus areas of issue 2007/I

• Attacks on Swiss financial services
  "Classic" phishing attacks by e-mail with password requests have decreased substantially in Switzerland. Moreover, all such attacks have been unsuccessful. On the other hand, successful attacks with malware have increased. Two-factor authentication systems (e.g. transaction authentication numbers, SecurID, etc.) do not afford protection against such attacks and must be viewed as insecure once the computer of the customer has been infected with malware.

• Industrial espionage and data theft
  The threat posed by targeted state or private industrial espionage continues. Not only the operators of critical infrastructures, the armament industry, or public authorities are threatened. Medium-sized industrial companies as well as manufacturers of luxury articles and fashion are also being targeted. The attacks are carried out by sending targeted e-mails to individual employees which contain malware in their attachments or links to bogus websites.
• Attacks on web servers:
  malware distribution, phishing, data theft Compromising of web servers has increased. The purpose is to use web servers to distribute malware, such as by drive-by infection, to steal data (especially on commercially used servers), to carry out (interim) storage of data (e.g. in connection with phishing), or to distribute messages that are generally political in nature.
• Malware / attack vectors
  Malware is still usually distributed through e-mail attachments or e-mails with links to bogus websites. Using clever social engineering techniques, the victim is deceived into opening the attachment or clicking on the link. Websites installing malware on the computer without any action by the user (drive-by infections) have heavily increased as an infection vector. Vulnerabilities in the operating system, the browser, or other applications are exploited. For a long time now, this no longer only happens on dubious sites, but also on (compromised) serious and well-known sites. Rates of recognition of malware by anti-virus software remain low.

The complete report is available on Melani website in italian, german, french and english.

A complete and useful list of all Internet risks and related protection measures is also available.