SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Aug. 7, 2008 — General Dynamics C4 Systems, has been awarded a $2.8 million contract by the National Security Agency (NSA) to add a new Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) feature to the Sectéra® vIPer™ Universal Secure Phone. The new feature, called “PSTN Connect,” will enable the vIPer Phone to connect with traditional telephone networks, enabling users of secure desktop phones to use one secure phone on either PSTN or VoIP networks. The vIPer Phone currently operates on Internet Protocol (IP) networks.
“The idea behind PSTN Connect is to provide users with a flexibility they don’t have today. For example, the vIPer Universal Secure Phone will appeal to those whose installations currently use the PSTN network, but who plan to migrate to voice over IP; users who currently have voice over IP networks; and others who plan to stay with traditional PSTN,” said John Cole, vice president of Information Assurance for General Dynamics C4 Systems. “It’s about protecting our customers’ investments by providing a product that will accommodate evolving communications technologies.”
Introduced in 2006, the Sectéra vIPer Phone remains the only voice over IP phone certified by the NSA to protect information classified Top Secret and below over commercial networks. The vIPer Universal Secure Phone, with PSTN Connect, will be submitted for NSA certification testing in the third-quarter of 2008. The vIPer, with PSTN Connect, upon successfully completing certification testing, will provide secure phone users with a cost effective solution for replacing legacy secure phones, including the Secure Telephone Unit (STU-III).
General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology. The company specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 84,600 people worldwide and anticipates 2008 revenues of approximately $29.5 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.
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August 13th, 2008
According to various media, Appl’s Steve Jobs has acknowledged that Apple could cripple applications previously downloaded to iPhone and iPod Touch devices.Utilizing a special iPhone Kill Switch that in embedded in the device, be it iPhone or iPod Touch. It could be that applications have special app number that Apple could prevent iPhone OS from executing it.
The so-called kill switch is necessary as a last-ditch option should a malicious application slip through Apple’s security checks and make it into the App Store, Jobs argued. “Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull,” Jobs told the WSj. Yes Job’s We know you want to rule the world! Too bad you are not British!
Mr Jobs also announced that in the month since the iPhone 3G was released and the Application Store launched, around 60 million applications had been downloaded for the iPhone and iPod touch. About $30 million in revenue has been generated by the store. Developers keep a 70 per cent slice of this revenue, while Apple take the remaining 30 per cent. Mr Jobs said Apple was on course to make about $360 million this year from the App Store, that is a million a day!.
Get me an iNstinct! or a BlackBerry!
Read more at Computerworld.
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Kill Switch For Your iPhone, Jobs Confirms It.
August 13th, 2008
TRA issues 5 new licences to basic mobile service resellers
In the framework of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)’s policies aimed at enhancing liberalization of the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate, and in its effort to provide a wide variety of telecom services in the Sultanate, the TRA has issued on the morning of Saturday June 28th 2008 a statement on the granting of five class II licences to five companies as resellers of basic mobile services in the Sultanate.
In its statement, the TRA said that the five granted licenses are for a period of five years, but extendable. The TRA statement said the licensees can resell basic mobile services after buying airtime from operators at bulk rates in accordance with commercial agreements concluded with the operators. These services can then be rebranded and offered to subscribers at retail rates.
The TRA added that, licensees have the option of programming and issuing their own branded SIM cards or relying on the host operators to provide their programmed SIMs. Additionally, the licensees can independently recharge the products and services distributed by them, or utilise the infrastructure of the host operator. Billing and invoicing may also be independently handled by the licensee or by the host operator.
Mohsin bin Alawi al Hafeedh, TRA Member, said “the new Class II licences were expected to boost demand for basic mobile services as the resellers target new subscriber segments through enhanced marketing strategies.”
The TAR member said, “the infrastructure serving basic mobile services is expected to grow as well, and hoped hope that the new licences would help bring down prices and further diversify of the offered mobile services to subscribers.”
AL Hafeedh added, “under the license terms, the new firms are obliged to earmark a minimum of 65 per cent of all jobs for Omanis during the first year of operation. They must also set up contact centre to respond to customer queries and complaints”.
It’s worth mentioning that the five licences are granted to Injaz International, Kalam Telecommunications, Majan Telecom, Mazoon Mobile and Arabia connect (FriNDi mobile ) .
The telecommunications Regulatory Authority is a corporate body established under the telecommunications Regulatory Act issued under Royal Decree No.30/2002 as a result of the Government’s initiative to liberalize the telecom sector in Oman.
The TRA’s mission is to set up and implement a fair, flexible, efficient telecommunications regulatory framework, develop the industry through a market-driven environment, ensure accessibility of all kinds of services within limits to all, balance the interests of all stakeholders and align with Vision 2020.
For further information please contact
Mr. Hafidh bin Nasser Al Maskary
Media and Consumer Affairs Manager
Tel: +968 24574339
E-mail: hafidh@tra.gov.om
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Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman issues 5 new licences to basic mobile service resellers.
August 12th, 2008
The Asterisk.org development team has released Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30 as well as new versions of three libraries used with Asterisk.
The Asterisk releases include fixes for two security issues. Both of these issues affect users of the IAX2 channel driver. For more details on these vulnerabilities, see the published security advisories, AST-2008-010 and AST-2008-011.
AST-2008-010: Asterisk IAX ‘POKE’ resource exhaustion
AST-2008-011: Traffic amplification in IAX2 firmware provisioning system
The three libraries used with Asterisk that are updated are;
libpri-1.2.8:
This release contains a number of bugfixes that had been unreleased for months, along with clarification of the licensing of the source code. The change log.
libpri-1.4.7:
This release contains primarily only clarification of the licensing of the source code and some minor build system fixes. There is no need for users of version 1.4.6 to upgrade. The change log.
libss7-1.0.1:
This release contains a number of bugfixes, along with clarification of the licensing of the source code. The change log.
All releases could be downloaded from Asterisk downloads site.
Here is the original:
Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30 And Three New Versions of libpri Released.
August 12th, 2008
Some clever people at Google Mobile have ported, actually built an iPhone interface to Google Translate. The difference is that it is optimized for speed and it holds on to the translations that you have done already and give back to you if you request the same later.
The data transfer cost if you are wondering about (if you do, go get an unlimited data plan, it is much cheaper!) is averaging around 300 translations per 1MB download of data.
So if you are interested point your iPhone or iPOD touch browser at translate.google.com.
Official Google Mobile Blog: Google Translate now for iPhone
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Google Translate On Your iPhone
August 12th, 2008
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Photo Courtesy of General Dynamics C4 Systems