EESTEC Publications: Cybersecurity and more by EESTEC Publications

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Table of Contents

EESTEC Challenge Project

Cybersecurity: a MUST in our virtual lives

Hackers and crackers: a brief taxonomy of the computer underground

The Revolution of our Generation: Industry 4.0

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In t to rod Co Qua ucti mp nt on ut um er s

Pr o W gre eb ss Ap ive ps Bl

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W hy d te re o p ch si eo no st pl lo ne e gi w es ?

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EESTech Challenge Project 2020/2021

We know what you are thinking.

“What is this blue brand with the little robot logo we see in EESTEC?” “Why are they keep on asking us if we are ready for the challenge?” “Why are they even talking about diamonds?” “What is EESTech Challenge and why should I care?”

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At least this is what we would be thinking if for five years we got spammed by people wearing their blue shirts instead of our trademark EESTEC red, signing off any e-mail with a diamond, using their own specific hashtags like #readyforthechallenge and #techyourfuture in every post they ever make, and of course seeing people from all around Europe, coming together, forming a small international community and talking passionately at every opportunity for one project. Well, this is EESTech Challenge. Welcome to the project! EESTech Challenge Project, or EESTEC Technology Challenge Project how it was originally named, is the international students’ competition organized by EESTEC focused on the technical aspect of our Association. The aim of the project is to create opportunities for European students to gain knowledge in the field of EECS, develop their professional network, enhance the academic aspect of our Association, and at the same time strengthen our network with collaborations from Universities and technological companies. The project is now entering its fifth year and there is still a lot to learn in order to reach its full potential and even more to offer back to students and to EESTEC. EESTech Challenge Project has its roots in a previous EESTEC project called EESTEC Competition for Android. However, the need for diversity and inclusion of more students and therefore more branches in our work gave birth to the idea of the EESTech Challenge.

EESTech Challenge’s topic changes annually and over the years it has covered multiple popular topics such as Big Data, Machine Learning, IoT, and HumanComputer Interaction. This year’s topic is Cybersecurity. The competition in its current structure takes place in two This big-scale event that until separate rounds. The first last year was organized live by an round, which is usually EESTEC branch and was offering taking place from February the opportunity to students not to April, is known as Local only to develop their technical Rounds and it consists of skills but also meet new people smaller competitions held and get introduced to new by the EESTEC branches cultures, for the first time this year that participate in the will be happening online and will project. Students of the be hosted by LC Belgrade in May. branch’s university have the Every year, more than 500 students opportunity to compete participate in the competition with each other in teams of from around approximately 15 to three and win themselves the 20 branches around Europe. opportunity to participate in the Final Round. The Final Round is the conclusion of the whole project. This is where every winning team of the Local Rounds from all over Europe come together to test themselves one last time on the topic of the year and win the title of EESTech Challenge Project Winner.

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To support this structure, ensure the alignment of all branches and the completion of the competition comes the EESTech Challenge Project board and teams. This year, the position working for the project are the EESTech Challenge Project Leader, who is responsible for the coordination of the whole project, the Ambassadors Coordinator, and Ambassadors Team, that are responsible for the support of the branches and the information flow between the international and the local level, the Academic Coordinator and Academic Team who strive to ensure the academic quality of the competition, the PR Coordinator and PR Team, that are responsible for the visibility of the Project towards our stakeholders and last but not least, the Designer, who is responsible for the visual identity of the Project.

That is all the information you would need if you had to explain with pen and paper what EESTech Challenge is. But the truth is, that EESTech Challenge is so much more than just another project or competition. From the information above, we are missing one last element. And this the answer to what makes EESTech Challenge special and why should we even be interested in it. The answer to this starts from and finishes with the people of the project. The people are the heart of the project and what creates its identity. From the multigenerational support of previous board members that want to see the continuation of their efforts and vision, to the people working annually so that every EESTEC branch can organize in the easiest way possible a Local Round, to the Local Round and Final Round organizers that devote their time and resources in order to provide this amazing opportunity to students of their universities and of course to the participants, that are giving life to all of our efforts and they are the ones that give EESTech Challenge its value.

Local Round

Final Round

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EESTech Challenge on a local level has always been a beginner-friendly project management event that has given a lot of new members their first experience and responsibilities inside EESTEC. The Final Round has been challenging the branches to develop and test themselves under a big professional circumstance. The project itself has offered an environment for its members to grow not only as EESTECers but as people and this is why we are always going to be treasuring it and asking you if you are #readyforthechallenge. In case you are an EESTECer and you feel ready, the summer call for Project’s new generation doesn’t look so far away. In case you are reading this and you want to collaborate with our Project in any aspect, you can always contact us through eestech-challenge@eestec.net. We are always happy to have more diamonds in our EESTech Challenge family, and we are more than willing to be answering to any of your questions regarding the project. On behalf of EESTech Challenge Project, We will be waiting for you. By Dimitris, Georgia, Elif, Vasilije, Mada, Simon, Utku, Giannis, Elaa, Vaggelis, Ege, Michał, Jaka, Hristijan , Alejandro, Tatiani.

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Cybersecurity: a MUST in our virtual lives Nowadays, we live in the ‘Information Age,’ so our ‘info’ has become what defines us as individuals, what unifies us as a society, and what drives us apart. But information is more than that. Our daily lives are based on data. The average hours we work, our income, our medical assurance, our bank loans, and so on...

Why is it needed? Everything is information, and most of it is virtualized and much more accessible than it used to be. The internet has changed our lives; technological progress amazes us and gets the human race further. But it also has made us much more vulnerable, our lives more exposed. Swords and guns are no longer needed in wars; the most significant damage a country could get is a cybernetic attack. A few clicks and all data a bank has is lost forever, medical services of thousands of citizens could be deleted in just a few seconds if it wouldn’t be for CYBERSECURITY. Cybersecurity is that one thing that keeps our virtual realities in balance. It keeps us safe, and it protects us. It has become a significant field divided into several sub-domains of which harmonic coordination leads to the cybersecurity program’s success.

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All for one secure system and one secure network for all users Network security -> a set of rules that consists of three types of controls: administrative, technical and physical to have our policies, software, and hardware prepared to address every kind of issue. Application security -> more and more hackers are targeting applications and avoiding these attacks from succeeding; a lot of attention is lately paid to Application security, which is focusing on keeping both devices and software free of threads, starting from the app’s design stage and continuing even when the program is deployed. Operational security -> it is the process that identifies the critical and private data, search for the possible threats and vulnerabilities and find the proper countermeasures. Cloud security -> As the pandemic urged most IT companies to expand their remote work, the vast majority of the worldwide companies had to move their data to the cloud, representing an ample opportunity for cyber attacks. In brief, cloud security is one of the crucial sub-domain in security at the moment. End-user education -> one of the most significant security risks in compromising security is an employee who accidentally uploads malware in the system. Unfortunately, many end-users still click on links that are not certified as safe and end up being phished. However, lately, the number of companies who fake their phishing is rising. With Office 365, superiors send a fake and unauthorized email to their employees to test their security

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actions. And most of them fail the test. One of the most efficient ways of fighting end-user cyber attacks is continuously training the employees and raising awareness. The threats countered by cybersecurity are:

Cybercrime: carried out by individuals or organizations, mostly committed for profit. Cyber-attack: usually involves politically motivated data manipulation, an attempt to expose, steal, disable or gain unauthorized access. Cyberterrorism: undermines electronic systems to cause fear and panic.

Most dangerous cyber threats 1. A Denial of Service (DoS) attack involves preventing a computer system from fulfilling legitimate requests by overwhelming the networks and servers with traffic. Distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) is considered the most potent weapon on the internet. The difference is that a DDoS attack not only puts the system out of action for a substantial period but it can also cause certain malfunctions that are irreversible. 2. Man-in-the-middle attack -> the cybercriminal is the third party who intercepts communication between two individuals/systems to steal data.

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3. SQL Injection -> is based on stealing data from a database; it is a web security vulnerability that allows interfering with the queries that an application makes to its database; this gives them access to the sensitive information contained in the database. 4. Phishing -> usually used to deceive people into giving crucial information about their bank account and personal data by sending a fake email that seems to be from a big company. 5. Social engineering -> it relies on human interaction to trick people into answering common security questions about their personal life, for example, posting our pet’s name or our favorite sports team. 6. Romance scams -> according to www.fbi.gov, ‘Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate or steal from the victim. The scammer’s intention is to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself to the victim, and gain trust. Scammers may propose marriage and make plans to meet in person, but that will never happen. Eventually, they will ask for money.’

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PROTECT YOURSELF! “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” Edward Snowden - Use strong passwords and do not repeat them on various sites. - Keep your software updated. - Manage your social media settings. - Avoid using unsecured WiFi networks in public spaces. - Do not open an email or any attachments from unknown senders. Although there is an increasing number of various sorts of secure our systems, now, more than ever, we, as users, have to protect our computer, our plans, our life because we are most vulnerable right now due to the global pandemic we started using our credit card whenever we pay, we order at home more than ever, we need our medical system to properly operate and so on with every need for our essential human lives. But only techniques cannot prevent everything. We have to cooperate, understand the circumstances, and act like it. As users, it is easy for an attacker to penetrate our system when we accidentally click on something we shouldn’t have. But we have to react fast and try our best to help technology protect our lives. - Andreea Nica

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Hacker crackers taxono the com underg

Did you know? There were 7.9 million denials of service cyber attacks in 2018? It is believed that by 2023 this number will have doubled, according to the Cisco Annual Internet Report.

For the past few decades, our world has seen a growing transition from paper to screens, switching to storing knowledge and information on websites and databases instead of encyclopedias or file cabinets. We have access to almost anything just by having a computer or a mobile phone at hand. And since according to the data provided by Ericsson’s Mobility Report and GSMA’s (also known as Global System for Global Communications or Groupe Spécial Mobile, an organization that represents mobile network operators’ interests worldwide) Intelligence report there are around 5.19 billion mobile phone users and over 8 billion mobile phones around the world, this means that more than half the world’s population does. But, even

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rs and s: a brief omy of mputer ground

though it is easier and more comfortable to have stored online, some things aren’t meant to be looked at by everyone, so they must be protected from unwanted access. This case is where cybersecurity appears. Cybersecurity is an area of expertise that protects online-stored data and information that is becoming more and more relevant each day. And the more important it becomes, the more people are drawn to it, but with many different possible approaches. We will analyze these approaches here: the various terms and names for the people whose lives revolve around cybersecurity. Of course, the first term is going to be a hacker. Many people use this word to refer to anyone that breaks into other people’s computers or databases to steal information, but this is not (entirely) correct. It does have that meaning, but a security hacker is also anyone that studies different ways of breaking into computer systems or networks by taking advantage of

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weaknesses, breaking defenses, or using any other method, or even just someone with high programming skills. Hacker is the generic word for anyone with advanced knowledge of computers. And today is when we begin our “taxonomical” trip. Inside the term hacker, we can differentiate members based on the two definitions we have for the word: those who study how to break into computers and those who know a lot about programming. The first ones are referred to as crackers. Again, all of Did you know? you familiar with the word will probably think these are the bad (or sometimes More than half the world’s good, depends on your point of view) population (4.67 billion guys that steal information. This people) has access to the statement is, again, not entirely true. A internet? However, this cracker is anyone that finds illegal ways distribution is not the of entering computers but not always same in every country: doing this illegally. How is this possible, connectivity in developed you may ask? Well, companies with nations is around 86%, sensible data online need to know it is while in most places it as safe as possible. How can you know doesn’t reach one internet this? By asking someone to try and steal access per 2 people. In the that information. It is like a safety test, Middle East and Africa, it’s and any holes or possible accesses these even less than 27%. search finds are closed after the check.

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Once again, we find ourselves with diverse groups to which the word cracker refers. So let’s go deeper into our classification. Depending on their actions’ legality and intention, crackers can be divided into five groups, although it isn’t always easy to know where one ends and another begins. We’ll start with the three “hats,” which are the easiest to differentiate. First of all, come the white hat hackers, those who test security systems by trying to break into them, hired (and therefore paid) by the company that developed it or will use it. Also known as “ethical hackers,” it is a critical job nowadays. We have the opposite, black hat hackers. They illegally violate computer security for nothing else than personal gain or even just for fun. The reason white hat hackers are so important is precise because this second type of hacker exists. Did you know? There are more mobile phones than people in the world? According to the GSMA, in 2018, the number of cell phones reached 7.8 billion while there were around 7.6 billion people alive, meaning there were 103 phones per 100 humans. Since then, this percentage has been rising relentlessly.

Last but not least in our three hats classification are grey hat hackers who, as the name implies, are a mix between the previous two. These crackers browse the web trying to break into computers and, when they do, they usually contact the owner and inform them of a security defect and offer to solve it for a price. Despite being illegal, it is not as persecuted as black hat hacking since this type of cracker doesn’t usually blackmail the computer owner into paying them to solve the breach by threatening to post their security hole or information online doesn’t pose that much of a threat. This type is considered black hat hacking,

more specifically ransomware hacking. Most grey hat hackers would probably define themselves as white hat hackers with an “aggressive” advertising campaign.

Now that we are done with the three hats, we can define our last two types, which are familiar to our Did you know? previous groups. On the one hand, we have government-paid hackers, The total cost for used mainly by intelligence agencies cybercrime in 2021 is and cyberwarfare, with a vast range expected to be 6 trillion of actions. Some of the things they dollars? With a price of do are usually illegal, but since they 3 trillion USD in 2015, follow the government’s instructions, it moved more money it is not like they will be prosecuted than all the drug trade for it. So in this category fall any white combined- in the world. and black hat hackers that work for the government. On the other side of the spectrum, we find hacktivists (I don’t get to choose the names, sorry), who use their informatics knowledge to publicize any ideological statement.

Now that we are done with the three hats, we can define our last two types, which are familiar to our previous groups. On the one hand, we have government-paid hackers, used mainly by intelligence agencies and cyberwarfare, with a vast range of actions. Some of the things they do are usually illegal, but since they follow the government’s instructions, it is not like they will be prosecuted for it. So in this category fall an Depending on the nature of their actions, they can be further dichotomized: cyber terrorists, which as the name indicates are those who try to cause mass

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disruption or fear in society (pretty much what terrorism does but merely putting a computer in the way), and those who pursue freedom of information, trying to gain access to information that hasn’t been made public and posting it online so anyone can have access to it (the best example of this is probably WikiLeaks). This last group’s morality is a matter of debate we will not get into, but people’s views are quite varied. There are more words related to this world, like a script kiddie, but these refer to the hacker’s level of expertise and not the activity they do. If we were to explain every word related to the underground computer slang, we would need a few more pages we don’t have. Did you know? IP traffic reached an annual rate of 2.3 zettabytes (1021 bytes) in 2020 and that the estimated size of the internet is well above 10 zettabytes.

With this, we finish our superficial analysis of the various informatic tribes, which we hope has helped the reader understand the different terms and types of hackers (or should we say crackers?) there are. But this is a world in constant expansion, and doubtlessly in a few years, many more terms will be created and added to the informatic slang. And when that time comes, we will be here to walk you through this complex and exciting ecosystem that is becoming more important in our lives with every day that goes by. - Gonzalo Saenz de Ugarte

The foundation of modern society is the industrial revolution. It is practically impossible for most of us to think back to a time before industrial manufacturing was the engine that ran the world, a time before innovation occurred at astronomical speed and production even faster. The 1700-the 1800s marked the end of fully manual manufacturing as the first machines were employed to produce goods for consumers, and the world was changed forever. The advent of water and steam-powered equipment meant manual labor was reduced, and people’s quality of life improved. Years later, with electricity and steel coming to the market, the world witnessed the 2nd industrial revolution in the early 20th century. Electric machines enabled production to be scaled exponentially, and this is when the first assembly lines came into being, giving rise to mass production of goods. The following significant change was not too late to follow when in the 1950s, capitalizing on the invention of electronics and logical circuits. The already deployed machines were automated, and the shift from mechanical and analog systems took place. Through the years, machines continued to deploy more and more sophisticated automation. Incorporating IT into these systems allowed industrial production systems to become more customized, and their capacity to integrate complex algorithms increased. We have lived in this post-third industrial revolution era for most of our lives now, reaping the benefits of a sophisticated manufacturing sector which has brought innovation into the palm of our hands. Whether it is a pen or a smartphone, the advancements in manufacturing technology have made

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this world possible, surrounded by marvels of science. One of these marvels whose rise we have experienced in real-time is the internet. From a time when sending a single email through dial-up connection brought us to wonder to today’s experience of the world wide web of cat memes and 15-second videos of the latest viral dance moves, the internet has permeated into every aspect of our lives to the point that we take it for granted. Hardly is there any sector, be it education, finance, governance, or media, that has not been taken into the fold of the web and its numerous benefits. The industrial sector is not an exception, which brings us to the 4th industrial revolution, which we live through now.

The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), a system where everyday objects could be connected to the internet and serve as one of the nodes in the expansive interconnected network of networks, served as the catalyst for the 4th industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, coined by the German industrial sector. The refrigerator, the alarm clock, the doorbell, and virtually any and every object can be connected to the internet to boost functionality to be utilized to serve as an advanced digital device beyond their conventional use. The same concept can be extended to the industry to realize the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

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The connection of machines in the factory shop floor gives immense opportunity for optimization and updating of the manufacturing process. Machine-to-machine(M2M) connectivity powered further by contact through the internet to databases and remote visualization centers means infinite possibilities. The target is to transform the industrial production facility into a cyber-physical space. Imagine a factory where beyond the conventional pop-culture vision of completely robot-powered production, every machine speaks to each other through communication protocols, understanding bottlenecks in the assembly line and correcting them. A shop floor that does not require the human presence and whose production can be monitored and planned remotely through mobile devices.

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Thanks to technology, we now have access to the entirety of human knowledge from a device that fits in our pocket. The internet is humanity's greatest gift. - Nicky Verd

The scope of such an integration is immense. Connected factories with sophisticated web-hosted visualizations will allow for realtime access to machine performance data eliminating the need for physical presence in the factory for even a simple task of recording information. Implementation of Big Data Analytics and Enterprise Resource Planning through Cloud connectivity gives further opportunity to generate insights remotely. Remote visualization and data analytics, therefore, forms one of the pillars of Industry 4.0. The opportunity does not end here. Going beyond mere electromechanical units to cyber-physical systems allows for implementing technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. It won’t be far into the future that machines predict failures and breakdowns, self-diagnose and correct and even raise alerts for minimal human intervention. Augmented and Virtual reality are also not far behind

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and could allow for virtual assembly of parts and playing out assembly sequencing and improvements even before a machine is made ready. The possibilities are endless. Be it BMW, Mercedes, Bosch, Ericsson, Accenture cutting across sectors, every company is jumping on the Industry 4.0 bandwagon and racing to the future. And the most exciting part? We will be in the front row to witness this fourth industrial revolution and experience all that it has to offer.

- Anupama Vashishtha

Internet

For the last couple of decades, humankind has seen an immense and rapid development of technology, and ever since the 90s, our connections have only grown. With that in mind, it is only natural that eventually, we start connecting machines and devices other than our computers and mobiles to the internet, and just like that, IoT was born. With its

EESTEC Publications limitless possibilities, we can change our way of living like never before. When robots are added to the equation, chances are we will be able to automate our whole daily living, solve some longterm problems or make many jobs much safer. The fundamental difference between robotics and IoT lies in collecting and processing data that they receive. While IoT devices use sensors to collect information from their surroundings and then use networks for processing, robots do that all offline and don’t require a stable internet connection.

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By connecting robots to the same network as IoT devices, we give them access to much more information, thus granting them more control over their surroundings, which can be used in many different ways. So far, the robotics and IoT communities have been driven by varying yet highly related objectives.

IoT focuses on supporting services for pervasive sensing, monitoring, and tracking, while robotic organizations focus on production action, interaction, and autonomous behavior. A substantial value would be added by combining the two and creating an Internet of Robotic Things. The concept where sensor data coming from a range of sources are fused, processed with local and distributed intelligence, and used to control and manipulate objects in the physical world is how the term “Internet of Robotic Things” was created. A broader situational awareness is given to robots from the IoT sensor and data analytics technologies, which leads to better task execution. The combination of IoT and robotics opens the door to new possible uses of robots in various aspects of our personal and professional life.

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IoT applications could significantly improve upon robots’ perception, motion, manipulation, and decisional abilities. One of the most prominent implementations of those concepts that are fastly developing right now is automotive cars and traffic. The idea of self-driving cars isn’t new but has now reached the point where it is safe enough to be used outside of urban areas. For example, you can combine cruise control technology with the ability to connect multiple vehicles and set them to all drive at the same speed, one behind the other, thus greatly reducing gas consumption and making the trip significantly more efficient, both money and economy-wise. As you can probably guess, that system is easily applicable in heavy transport that includes truck convoys.

Imagine, then, if we can make a network of self-driving cars that communicate with one another inside some urban area. We could get rid of all traffic lights and rules because all they’re doing is helping drivers communicate with each other, but if cars are already always “on the line,” they don’t need any different rules. Some day there will be cities where all traffic operates in this way. What is halting that technology right now is the current inability of autos to react to pedestrians adequately, as they are unpredictable.

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For all of this to even be feasible, we would need a high-speed network with very low latency and a minimal chance of a mistake, and that’s also widespread. Until recently, we didn’t have technology that is cheap enough and reliable enough to make it happen, but with the introduction of 5G, that is about to change as well, so the future sounds very exciting. Furthermore, let’s look at a robotic personal helper. This robot is meant to analyze its surroundings and human behavior to fulfill various tasks. However, sensory systems in autonomous robots are limited to close-range perception. Infusing its surroundings with IoT sensors would allow for more effortless execution of specific tasks. Say the helper needs to open the front door but is located on the other side of the house. IoT sensors installed into the floor would allow the helper to gauge its surroundings and calculate the shortest route to the door. Or what if the helper needs to have the ability to decipher human emotions? It could achieve this through analyzing facial expressions and body language. However, adding a wearable sensor that collects information about heart-rate, sweat, and state of the skin would allow the robotic helper to understand better which emotion the human is experiencing and react to it appropriately. This addition would be handy in robots that deal with autistic and other mentally disabled persons, especially children.

Some fields that could greatly benefit from introducing the Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) are healthcare and industry.

IoT-enabled robots could be used to increase the connectivity and responsiveness between doctor and patient. IoT sensors in the nearfuture may determine when patients are in distress and send robotic nurses to deliver the medication or enable them to have a face-toface video chat with a medical professional who is otherwise unable to reach the patient. Robotic helpers could also aid in complex surgical procedures, gathering patient data from additional sensors to improve their efficiency and preciseness. Industrial production contains many menial, time-consuming, and sometimes dangerous tasks that are not fitting for humans but are too complex for a regular robot to conduct. IoRT machines are somewhere in between, and thus good candidates to take on such tasks. Certain companies, such as Amazon, have already begun implementing this idea. Amazon’s warehouses have combined the machine learning potential of robots with the communicative benefits of the IoT. These warehouse robots navigate independently by reading barcode stickers on the floor and communicate to avoid collisions with one another while picking and packing online orders.

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Overall, it looks like the fusion between IoT and robotics will be the thing that will satiate many of our species needs, which seem to be growing more complex each day. While it is still a novel concept, it is evolving rapidly, with people searching for the best ways to implement it to their benefit. Soon, without us even noticing, IoRT will become an integral part of our existence, and we won’t even be able to imagine what life had been like before we had a robotic helper by our side. - Dora Živanovic, Luka Elez

What do you get when you combine Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, IoT Sensors, and Machine Learning? An intelligent professional assistant that will likely correct us when we are wrong!

- Kevin Coleman

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Quantum computing could shift our understanding of the world. It could transform the way we think, how we communicate, the use of artificial intelligence, the medication to save lives; let us diagnose the illness sooner, and revolutionize the whole era!

But what exactly is quantum computing as a thing capable of doing all these? How does it work?

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What is Quantum Computing? Quantum computing is the use of quantum mechanics and phenomena such as superposition and entanglement to perform computing. Instead of bits -a kind of digital switches that can be in on or off position- used by regular computers, qubits being used in quantum computing. In this way, quantum computers, hypothetically, can reach incredible processing speeds that ordinary computers can never get.

How do Quantum Computers work? Instead of a regular computer, a quantum computer tries every single possibility at once and can hold uncertainty in its head. While a bit can be in an on or off position at a time, qubits in quantum computers can also be in the place called “superposition.” In superposition, qubits can be both on and off simultaneously or on the spectrum between on and off, so a qubit allows for uncertainty. Although physicists still don’t fully understand how or why it works, there is another thing that qubits can do called “entanglement.” So basically, when you flip two coins, the result of one coin has no impact on the other one. In entanglement, two particles are linked together even if they are physically separate. In the realms of quantum computing, it means that you can move information around, even if it contains uncertainty. As a result of this, if you manage to combine multiple qubits, you can quickly

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solve complex problems that would take our best supercomputers millions of years to solve.

What can Quantum Computers do? Quantum computers can solve any problem that classical computers can solve. Contrariwise, any computational problem that a quantum computer can solve can also -in principle- be solved by a regular computer if given enough time. So, what is the point of Quantum Computers? Well, a quantum computer can work up to 100 million times faster than a classical computer. Indeed, that they are incredibly fast, but they are not just about doing things more quickly. They let us do things that we couldn’t even dream of without them.

They allow us to simulate the They have the potential to formation of the universe and accelerate the development of go even beyond it. According artificial intelligence rapidly. to the latest analyzes, by Google is already using them using a quantum computer, to improve the software of -theoretically- we can predict self-driving cars. They’ll the end of the universe! also be vital for modeling chemical reactions. Right now, supercomputers can only analyze the essential molecules. But quantum computers operate using the same quantum properties as the molecules they’re trying to simulate (see Quantum Chemistry). Even for small molecules like caffeine,

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the number of quantum states can be enormous, so that it would be impossible for conventional computing memory and power. Quantum computers are also great for solving optimization problems, from figuring out the best way to schedule flights at an airport to determine the FedEx truck’s best delivery routes.

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So, When Will I Use a Quantum Computer? Most likely, you will never have a quantum chip in your smartphone or laptop. Most of the significant breakthroughs so far have been in controlled settings or using problems to which we already know the answer. In any case, reaching quantum supremacy doesn’t mean quantum computers are ready to do anything useful. Researchers have made significant progress in developing the algorithms that quantum computers will use. But the devices themselves still need a lot more work. To keep them stable, they need to be real cold (approx. -460 degrees Fahrenheit), and the temperature is not the only problem, so it is such a challenge for operators when the computer is active. Quantum computing could change the world – but right now, its future remains uncertain. - Hakkı Arda Acar

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Progressive Web Apps

If you’re like anyone else who browses the web, either on a desktop or a smartphone, chances are you’ve already encountered this technology. Sometimes it’s subtle, appearing as a small additional icon at the edge of your browser’s address bar, and sometimes it’s quite noticeable, especially when a website offers to be added to your phone’s home screen.

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hese are the Progressive Web Apps or PWAs for short, and one of the neat things about them is that they use existing web technologies, and making such apps is mostly the same as building a regular web app. HTML, CSS and JavaScript, it takes nothing more than these three languages to get it running. They run inside of your web browser, but unlike regular websites, they are far more powerful. This article is dedicated to those who’ve not yet heard of PWAs and is intended as a teaser rather than a comprehensive guide.

They intend to bridge the gap between regular native applications and web applications and provide a more app-like experience. There are several essential characteristics of PWAs, and a lot of them in isolation aren’t unusual even for regular websites, though a couple are specific to PWAs. We’ll touch on a few, such as installability, offline capability, and security. As alluded to earlier, these apps can be added to your home screen or desktop. There are two critical components required to do this: a web app manifest and a service worker. A manifest describes your app, its name, icon files, how the app should be displayed, that is, if it is in a browser-like UI, for example, its starting page, and much more.

A service worker, on the other hand, is a special kind of web worker. A JavaScript file running in a separate thread Offline capability is not entirely required. Chromium will happily take the fact that can intercept network you are only listening for network activity requests, interact with even if you are not caching anything. Still, the cache and give you it provides for a better experience, even if push notifications. it’s just a custom offline page. This feature

is where a service worker shines. Given its abilities mentioned above to intercept traffic, whatever passes between browser and server can be cached. You could build up a cache of HTML pages and images, either as the user goes through them or quietly download them in the background. Even API responses can be cached. This ability lets us build web apps that work even in horrible network conditions, such as those on the road, but it also makes our apps load faster than they ever would, even in the best conditions.

The exact requirements vary from browser to browser. For example, while Chromium-based browsers require a service worker and fetch event handler, Firefox does not. But given how immensely popular Chromium is, it might as well be considered a requirement for better or for worse.

With all this power comes great responsibility. While HTTPS is a solid recommendation for ALL sites, for PWAs, it becomes a requirement.

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The sentiment that HTTPS is only needed when sensitive data is being handled has been getting a lot of pushback in the past couple of years. The number of sites operating with HTTPS enabled is steadily increasing. This increase is all with good reason, as HTTP does not protect your site or web app from the Man In The Middle attacks.

There is a great blog post titled “Here’s Why Your Static Website Needs HTTPS” by security expert Troy Hunt. You might have come across his site “Have I Been Pwned,” which allows you to check if your email account has been a part of any data breaches. The blog and accompanying video show how outside content and scripts can be injected into an unsecured website.

This function becomes extremely important to guard against in PWAs. You don’t want malicious scripts injected into your site, incredibly as powerful as service workers, which persist across tabs and even when all tabs have been closed. A service worker will not be loaded on HTTP , which means your app will not function offline and thus not be installable. The only exception to this is if the site is served over localhost for ease of development. - Mihajlo Milosavljevic

I hope this article has piqued your interest in PWA. If not, at the very least, I hope that the takeaway from this article is “I need HTTPS” if you’ve not yet put it on your site.

Blockchain Security What is blockchain technology? Blockchain concept becomes more common and gets more popular day by day. It doesn’t seem very easy, and it can be due to its gamechanger properties on the current day’s dynamics and having applications in various fields. Blockchain is a specific type of database. Let’s take a quick look at database concepts to be able to understand blockchain. A database is a collection of information that is stored electronically on a computer system. In databases, information or data is typically structured in table format to allow for

easier searching and filtering specific details. While a database may be accessible to many people, it is often owned by a business and managed by an appointed individual who has complete control over how it works and the data within it. So how does a blockchain differ from a database? The blockchain is an

anonymous peerto-peer payment system that relies on secure cryptographic protocols.

It uses a public ledger and database to record all transactions. However, it’s decentralized. In other words, there is no governing body controlling the blockchain.

What’s wrong with the current system? The crucial rule for trade to happen is that the fact that there must be trust between traders. Every person wants to believe that they are not being scammed and wants to make sure that their trade is paid off. As Douglass North stated, “Institutions are tools to lower the uncertainty so that we can connect and exchange all kinds of value in society.” We are now entering a further radical evolution of how we interact and trade. Because for the first time, we can lower the uncertainty not just with political and economic institutions like banks, corporations or governments, but we can do it with technology alone. Payment systems, cryptocurrencies generated by using blockchain technology are seen as the hand to replace these middlemen with cryptography and code. For instance, when you use a check to pay your mortgage, a series of agreements occur in the background between your financial institution and others. Cryptocurrencies replace those background agreements with chains of digital blocks that contain records of transactions. Also, networks in blockchain are continually updated and kept in sync. Since they are not held in a central location like traditional database

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servers, blockchains do not have a single point of failure avnd can not be changed from a single computer. In other words, blockchain theory ensures that no one can force the blockchain to accept a particular entry to the ledger with which others disagree.

What is the future of it? Blockchain technology is like a newborn baby, such that the cryptocurrencies and other applications of it that we saw until today are just the first words that it has said yet. Moreover, to see what blockchain can achieve, defining the blockchain in other terms is beneficial. We can think of blockchain as an open infrastructure that stores many assets. It can keep even personal information other than contracts, ownerships, locations, etc. Since blockchain technology can store personal information securely, we shouldn’t be surprised by using this wonder cryptography even in voting, paying taxes, bills etc.

Moreover, blockchain can disrupt insurance and real estate and end the cybersecurity field due to its high security. In conclusion, no matter which sector, blockchain technology can trace all the transactions and operations. Hence, we should think twice before saying, “In Crypto, We Trust.” - Ozan Çetin

Knowledge Sharing in Tech The tech scene is so frantic and fastpaced nowadays, and everything happens so fast that you either are in a constant state of learning or can’t keep up with it. This constant change means that traditional ways of learning are starting to show some significant flaws. Books are fine if you want to get the fundamentals; papers and scientific journals are very detailed and indeed contain high-tech content but are often too “pro-oriented” and require a lot of previous knowledge in the field to follow up. Student-to-student knowledge sharing is the activity where students organize knowledge-sharing events aimed at other students. These events include tech workshops, engineering competitions, and programming hackathons where students share their latest new learnings about tech. Many of these tech student clubs, associations, and communities are responsible for some exciting projects that include everything from volunteer work in Africa (helping

to get power to remote villages and building bridges) to spreading the love for electrical engineering with project fairs at local high schools! Knowledge Sharing is a worldwide and growing phenomenon. Hundreds of local student communities (many of them EESTEC’s LCs) organize dozens of tech and engineering-related workshops and events aimed at tech lovers! These are small communities of makers that are eager to share their latest projects and discoveries with others. To start your own makers’ community, you need the right people and a good portion of enthusiasm. The love for technology is what moves people in these communities. Because of that, motivated people will have no difficulties creating workshops, competitions, and tech events! Let’s grow these communities of enthusiastic students, let’s celebrate being a maker, and let’s share our passion for engineering! - Armando Rodrigues

Why do people resist new technologies?

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Can you imagine living in a world without technology? Various technologies are a part of our everyday life. The main idea behind the creation of technology was to make life simpler and more manageable. From electricity and house appliances to mobile phones, television, internet, these innovations do make our day-to-day lives much more straightforward. In its way, the technological industry changed and shaped the world in which we live. Technology has always been in a state of change since new developments are continually emerging. Many of the innovations we used years ago seemed impossible.

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Just one of many examples is the internet, which during the pandemic helps us to stay connected to our friends and family, helps us stay informed, and offers almost everything we need from the comfort and safety of our homes.

Without a doubt, it can be said that technology and its innovations are leading components of the 21st century. Besides all the positivity and improvements that technology has made, there is still a lot of resistance and skepticism in brand new technologies. Usually, people fear the new things they will have to encounter, as they don’t know how this change would affect their current state. This fear has been a case for many years

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and many things, such as the usage of printers, computers, and telephones. Nowadays, humans are skeptical about a couple of things: artificial intelligence (AI), robots, drones, and gene editing. These new technologies, to people, appear differently than something they have already known. One technology can have many positive aspects, but people usually look for the negative side-effects of it in the beginning. Professor Ph.D. Calestous Juma wrote the book “Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies.” In his book, he looks back at 600 years of technological resistances that explain why humans oppose technological innovations.

With this look back on the relationship history between humans and technology, professor Juma concludes that significant technological changes can amplify anxieties. The fear of loss drives the resistance mainly. He states,

“Humans are instinctively designed to react to novel things in a way that aims to protect oneself.”

The professor goes on to say,

“People often reject technology because it presents changes, big or small, to their immediate world, a world to which they have worked hard to adjust.” When we experienced this refusal, a close event was when 5G technology was introduced to the world back in 2019. Shortly after its introduction to

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the world, many conspiracies started circling about its effect on human health. Even after many authentic research pieces that the electromagnetic waves used in this technology don’t cause harm to humans, the refusal and conspiracies about it still live among us. After finding why people resist new technologies, how do we find the solution for fixing the problem? Few things that can make the process of technological adaptability easier:

The first step is to understand the technology, meaning, and understanding The second step of the latest technology’s usage and goal. is continuous education; some people don’t have a knack for technology, but training and attending educational classes can comfort new solutions. The third step is a vision for the future; to understand how this technology will affect and help you in the long run. And the last piece of advice is to take one technology at a time. People like routine and constancy. Previous examples have shown that humans react poorly to change in their lifestyle. But, as we live in an era of technology, adapting to it and its innovations is crucial.

It is essential to understand the technologies and to acknowledge the positive effects they have on our lives. If you are ever unsure about the impact technology has, ask yourself the first question:

Can you imagine life without the means of technology?

- Marija Shtergjiska