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Automation, Robotics & AI news
NeWS
New developments in the Automation, Robotics & AI industry
Researchers at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky have revealed a number of highly targetted attacks against various industrial holdings dating back to at least 2018.
These kinds of attacks are rarer in a world with advanced persistent threat (APT) actors than campaigns against diplomats and other highprofile political figures.
The toolset used in the attack - named MT3 by its authors, but dubbed “MontysThree” by the firm - uses a variety of subroutines and techniques to remain undetected, including hosting its communications with the control server on public cloud services and hiding the main malicious module using steganography.
A majority of APT attacks are usually aimed at government entities, telecoms firms or diplomats due them possessing highly valuable and confidential information in their day-to-day operations.
Attacks on industry are rare but can be equally as devastating, according to the cybersecurity leaders, owing to such targetted attacks having disastrous consequences on businesses and markets.
Because of this, once MontysThree was detected in the summer of 2020, the analysts as Kaspersky were quick to take note.
To carry out this espionage, MontysThree deployed a malware program consisting of four modules. The first - the loader - was spread using self-extracted archives such as .rar files containing pertinent information like medical records to trick employees into downloading the files - a common technique using in phishing.
The primary purpose of the loader is to ensure the malware isn’t detected. To do this, they employ a system known as steganography, the act of hiding malicious data in an ordinary, non-threatening file or message. In this case, the data was hidden in a bitmap.
The malware run by MontysThree uses several encryption techniques to remain undetected, namely the use of an RSA algorithm, typically used for secure data transmission. The algorithm used is specifically designed to target both Adobe and Microsoft files, while also being able to capture screenshots and “fingerprint” the target to see if it is of any use to the company.
Denis Legezo, a senior security researcher with Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team, said: “MontysThree is interesting not just because of the fact that it’s targetting industrial holdings, but because of the combination of sophisticated and somewhat ‘amateurish’ TTPs.
“In general, the sophistication varies from module to module, but it can’t compare to the level used by the most advanced APTs. However, they use strong cryptographic standards and there are indeed some tech-savvy decisions made, include custom steganography.
They offer and recommend companies providing staff with basic cybersecurity hygiene training, as many targetted attacks start with phishing scams or other such social engineering techniques. They also recommend setting up divisions with the latest threat intelligence software, as well as the implementation of EDR solutions for endpoint level detection.
They also recommend firms protect both industrial and corporate endpoints, using specialist software designed to trace and reveal them. Learn more at: www.kaspersky.co.uk
LiBiao Launch Parcel Sorting Robots In Europe
Chinese robotics company LiBiao has announced the release of their specialised parcel-sorting robots onto the European market with its “Mini Yellow” range of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
The line has been specifically designed as a cost-effective and highly-efficient alternative to the high capital expenditure sortation devices that have traditionally been used as part of global busy parcel and e-commerce companies.
They are actively seeking distribution partners to help them expand their markets in places such as the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Initially, two CE-certified models will be offered to Europe: the 5kg tilt-tray robot and a 30kg crossbelt model. The robots are far more compact than other AMR’s, with 350 models being able to cover an area of 1,300 square-miles supposedly at a throughput of 20,000 items per hour.
LiBiao also provides the control software for the robots, which they claim operates the robots in a smooth and efficient manner. The Chinese roboteers also claim the software should be compatible with all modern European warehouse management systems.
Due to their size, the Mini Yellows are quick and easy to set up and require minimal maintenance. The design requires no fixed infrastructure, therefore the modular system is scalable and more robots can be added as desired and the technology is fully portable, meaning technology can be switched and allocated between sites if necessary.
So far 10,000 LiBiao robots are active across China, New Zealand, Australia, the USA and South-East Asia and the technology has been deployed at a number of “blue-chip” client facilities worldwide, including Walmart in the US, Uniqlo in Japan and China Post in China.
The company estimate that roughly 2 billion parcels are handled by their models per year.
LiBiao Robot’s founder and chief executive, Xia Huiling, comments: “Demand for more efficient and smarter warehouse management is strong in Europe, where online shopping has been growing at a tremendous pace and driving up the number of parcels handled, so we believe that the market will benefit from our advanced mobile robot technology.
“The hardware, software and management system for the ‘Mini Yellow’ sorting system has been refined to the point where our clients usually recover the cost of their investment within one and a half to two years. And, such are the high levels of customer satisfaction with ‘Mini Yellow’ technology, that some 70 per cent of the businesses that have introduced the system so far have become repeat customers.” Visit: www.lotsofbots.com/en/libiao-robotics
INDUSTRYNEWS
Global Population Of Industrial Robots At Record High, Says IFR Report
Anew report from the International Federation of Robots (IFR) - has shown a record number of industrial robots operating in factories around the world. The report also found the continuation of strong sales figures, offering some signs of hope the robotics industry may have been left relatively unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Robotics 2020 Industrial Robots report found 2.7 million robots already working across the world. Sales of new robots remain high with 373,000 units shipped globally in 2019, a drop of 12% from the previous year - but still the third highest volume ever recorded.
“The stock of industrial robots operating in factories around the world today marks the highest level in history,” said Milton Guerry, President of the International Federation of Robotics.
“In addition to that, the consequences from the coronavirus pandemic for the global economy cannot be fully assessed yet. The remaining months of 2020 will be shaped by adaption to the ´new normal´,” he continued.
The report found that Asia remains the strongest market for industrial robots with new installations there accounting for around twothirds of global supply.
China is still by far the region largest adopter with robot numbers reaching 783,000 in 2019 - a rise of 21% - and while sales that year were below the record years of 2017 and 2018, it still doubles the number sold five years ago. Japan ranked second with 355,000 - up 12 %, and India rising by 15% to 26,300.
In Europe, Germany remains the main user with around 221,500 robots, which is three times as many as Italy (74,400 units), five times that of France (42,000 units) and about ten times that of the UK (21,700 units).
The adoption of human-robot collaboration is also on the rise, with cobot installations growing by 11%. With more suppliers than ever offering collaborative robots and the range of applications widening, the market share reached 4.8% of the total of 373,000 industrial robots installed in 2019, making it a fast growing but still infant market.
The report also gave an outlook for the future, post-coronavirus, concluding that the heavy impact the pandemic had on 2020, it did offer a chance for modernisation and digitalisation of production as the world recovers.
“In the long run, the benefits of increasing robot installations remain the same,” said IFR in a press release.
“Rapid production and delivery of customised products at competitive prices are the main incentives. Automation enables manufacturers to keep production in developed economies - or reshore it - without sacrificing cost efficiency.” Learn more at: www.ifr.org/
rockwell automation recognised for dedication To Equality by Society for Women Engineers
Rockwell Automation has been awarded the Diversity and Inclusion Programme Award by the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) - the world’s largest organisation advocating for further inclusivity for women in the STEM fields - an area they are still greatly underrepresented in.
Rockwell claims the award shows their dedication to encouraging all workers to bring authenticity to their roles as well as setting an example for other companies to follow.
They are to collect the award at the SWE’s annual convention, WE20, due to be held virtually from November 3-14.
Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell, said: “It is an honour to be recognised by the Society of Women Engineers. We believe in the value of diversity because diverse teams make better decisions. We know that having a competitive advantage in industry and talent means fostering an environment where all employees can and want to do their best work.”
The award recognises Rockwell’s “culture of inclusion” and continued dedication to showing that engineering can be a viable and fulfilling career choice for women of any background.
Michele Matthai, director for Culture of Inclusion and Diversity at Rockwell Automation, said: “We are always striving to better understand and remove barriers to full inclusion that may exist in our processes, procedures and everyday interactions.
