Spark doubles down on IoT networks

Spark has switched on its second Internet of Things (IoT) network. The new network uses LTE Cat-M1 technology, effectively a form of 4G mobile, to provide what it calls “high-quality, low-bandwidth IoT connectivity.” 

The M1 network uses Spark’s 700 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum and the company’s 4G mobile towers.

Connecting smart devices

The network will be used to connect wearable devices and smart appliances.

One key application will be smart meters for electricity, gas and water. Spark says it will work with meter specialist Landis+Gyr to roll out a network of smart meters. Landis+Gyr says it was the first company to demonstrate smart metering using a similar Cat-M1 network in Australia. The company already operates in New Zealand but will switch to Spark’s M1 network for its broader coverage.

Rodney Chaplin, general manager of Landis+Gyr Australia and New Zealand, says his company’s technology is well suited to work with the M1 network. “This allows us to bring smart meters to market quickly and provide utilities with robust coverage to ensure the success of the rollout,” he says.

Expanding IoT infrastructure

Spark says the M1 network means councils and other organisations that manage assets will be able to “connect key infrastructure such as environmental and air quality monitoring, transport and parking solutions, digital signage and street lights to the network to monitor their condition and enable better planning and decision-making.”

Toi Ohomai Institute upgrades with Extreme Networks

Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology is upgrading its wired and wireless network across eight campuses and more than 70 sites. Business Technology Group is working on the project which includes products from Extreme Networks.

The upgrade means Toi Ohomoi will be able to add advanced capabilities including using mobile apps to support teaching. There will also be location-based capabilities using beacons to give students a better experience while on campus.

Rabindra Dras, head of IT at Toi Ohomai says the upgrade will move the institute network connections from 1Gbps to 10 Gbps and will add redundant links at each campus. He says the network infrastructure will be a lot easier to manage.

“Our IT administrators will have a single pane of glass for management and a better picture of what is going on across the entire network. We also expect to see a significant reduction in service requests with better access to the network for students, staff and guest users."

Toi Ohomai is the new name for the amalgamated Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in Tauranga and Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua.

Hawaiki picks Ciena to boost capacity

Hawaiki will use Ciena’s Geomesh Extreme architecture to upgrade its trans-Pacific submarine cable design capacity to 67 Tbps. Geomesh Extreme brings together network hardware, software and services.

The Hawaiki cable network is now three months old. It started in July with a capacity of 43.8 Tbps.

CEO Remi Galasso says: “As the provider of the largest and fastest link between Australia, New Zealand and the US, we recognise our customers’ need for innovative capacity solutions that support a shorter time-to-market and improved revenue generation, Our collaboration with Ciena will allow us to both scale our infrastructure with minimal operational complications and meet market requirements for greater connectivity and diversity across the Pacific.”

Spark spots thousands of passwords on dark web

Newspapers reports say Spark has warned customers that email addresses and passwords for the company's MySpark accounts have been found circulating on the 'dark web'. The company says it hasn't been hacked and has only seen suspicious activity on 50 accounts.

Formjacking surge

Security experts from Symantec warn that Magecart, a group of online criminals, are ramping up their formjacking activity.

Formjacking is a way criminals can add malicious code to a website that allows them to read forms. That's the parts of websites where customers enter data. It can include the checkout pages on an ecommerce site or anywhere that collects credit card information.

The code sends a copy of the collected data back to the criminals while otherwise allowing it to continue on through to its intended destination. This way they can collect valuable information including customer names, email addresses and credit card information.

In many cases the criminals sit on this information for months or years before selling it on to other criminal gangs more expert in exploiting the collected data.

Magecart has already used the technique to attack sites owned by companies like Ticketmaster and British Airways.

Symantec says it has caught almost a quarter of a million new formjacking attempts in the last six weeks, but a third of those was in the last week, which, the security company warns, shows things are ramping up ready for the year's main shopping season .