DARPA launches Data Protection in Virtual Environments

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched an initiative called the Data Protection in Virtual Environments (DPRIVE) program which seeks to develop a hardware accelerator for Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE).

Fully homomorphic encryption enables users to compute on always-encrypted data, or cryptograms. The data never needs to be decrypted, reducing the potential for cyberthreats.

DPRIVE aims to design and implement a hardware accelerator for FHE computations that is capable of drastically speeding up FHE calculations, making the technology more accessible for sensitive defense applications as well as commercial use.

DARPA has selected four teams of researchers to lead the initiative: Duality Technologies, Galois, SRI International, and Intel Federal. Each team will develop an FHE accelerator hardware and software stack that reduces the computational overhead required to make FHE calculations to a speed comparable to similar unencrypted data operations. The teams will create accelerator architectures that are flexible, scalable, and programmable, but will also explore various approaches with different native word sizes. Current standard CPUs are based on 64-bit words, which are the units of data that determine a particular processor’s design. Word size directly relates to the signal-to-noise ratio of how encrypted data is stored and processed, as well as the error generated each time an FHE calculation is processed. The selected DPRIVE research teams will explore various approaches covering a diversity of word sizes – from 64 bits to thousands of bits – to solve the challenge.

In addition, teams are exploring novel approaches to memory management, flexible data structures and programming models, and formal verification methods to ensure the FHE implementation is correct-by-design and provides confidence to the user. As the co-design of FHE algorithms, hardware, and software is critical to the successful creation of the target DPRIVE accelerator, each team is bringing varied technical expertise to the program as well as in-depth knowledge on FHE.

“We currently estimate we are about a million times slower to compute in the FHE world then we are in the plaintext world. The goal of DPRIVE is to bring FHE down to the computational speeds we see in plaintext. If we are able to achieve this goal while positioning the technology to scale, DPRIVE will have a significant impact on our ability to protect and preserve data and user privacy,” concluded Rondeau.

“Fully homomorphic encryption remains the holy grail in the quest to keep data secure while in use. Despite strong advances in trusted execution environments and other confidential computing technologies to protect data while at rest and in transit, data is unencrypted during computation, opening the possibility of potential attacks at this stage. This frequently inhibits our ability to fully share and extract the maximum value out of data. We are pleased to be chosen as a technology partner by DARPA and look forward to working with them as well as Microsoft to advance this next chapter in confidential computing and unlock the promise of fully homomorphic encryption for all,” stated Rosario Cammarota, principal engineer, Intel Labs, and principal investigator, DARPA DPRIVE program.

For its part, Intel says it plans to design an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) accelerator to reduce the performance overhead currently associated with fully homomorphic encryption. When fully realized, the accelerator could deliver a massive improvement in executing FHE workloads over existing CPU-driven systems, potentially reducing cryptograms’ processing time by five orders of magnitude.

With its expertise in cloud infrastructure, software stacks and fully homomorphic encryption, Microsoft will be a critical partner in accelerating the commercialization of this technology when ready, enabling free data sharing and collaboration while promoting privacy throughout the data life cycle.

“We are pleased to bring our expertise in cloud computing and homomorphic encryption to the DARPA DPRIVE program, collaborating with Intel to advance this transformative technology when ready into commercial usages that will help our customers close the last-mile gap in data confidentiality —– keeping data fully secure and private, whether in storage, transit or use,” said Dr. William Chappell, chief technology officer, Azure Global, and vice president, Mission Systems, Microsoft.

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DISH to acquire Republic Wireless - 200K subs

DISH Network agreed to acquire Republic Wireless, an MVNO service operating on the T-Mobile network with approximately 200,000 customer relationships. Financia terms were not disclosed. 

After the acquisition closes, the existing Relay division of Republic Wireless will continue to operate as a standalone company and will become a wholesale customer on DISH's 5G network. Relay provides communication and productivity solutions for frontline teams in hospitality, facilities management, manufacturing, healthcare and education, and will remain headquartered in Raleigh, NC.

"Republic has created a loyal following and established a brand known for innovation, customer service and value. We plan to build upon that strong foundation," said John Swieringa, group president, Retail Wireless and DISH COO. "As we continue to grow our retail wireless business, Republic broadens our existing customer base and positions us to deliver even more value to the market, expanding our portfolio of mobile solutions to meet a variety of customer needs. We look forward to welcoming Republic customers to the DISH family."

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DT completes first 5G SA data connection in Germany

Deutsche Telekom has carried out a video call at its first 5G standalone site.  The call was made via the standalone antenna in Garching to Bamberg in Telekom's first 5G standalone core network and from there to Bonn. In Garching, the response time was 13 milliseconds.

"True technical innovation is made up of implementation strength and pioneering spirit. Telekom has clearly demonstrated both with 5G. More than two-thirds of people in Germany can already use Telekom's 5G network today," said Walter Goldenits, CTO of Telekom Deutschland. "And the next step has also been taken. With our first data connection via 5G Standalone, we are making history again. As the first network operator in Germany."

The 5G technology currently deployed in Germany is based on the 5G Non-Standalone (5G NSA) network architecture. 

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/first-5g-standalone-data-connection-in-germany-successful-621114

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OSA Biophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences, 12 – 16 April

The OSA will host an all-virtual OSABiophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences, from 12 – 16 April 2021. The conference will feature three dynamic plenary talks highlighting advancements in biomedical research spanning molecular and cellular investigations to clinical applications. Conference attendees will explore the latest techniques in using optical tools for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

In her talk titled “Alternative Strategies for 3D Single Molecule Localization Microscopy,” plenary speaker Sandrine Lévêque-Fort, CNRS Researcher Director at the Institute of Molecular Science, Paris Saclay University, France, will explore recent developments of 3D imaging in Single Molecule Localization Microscopy. Lévêque-Fort’s current work focuses on varying strategies to improve spatial and temporal resolution for fluorescence microscopy. Lévêque-Fort’s plenary talk is scheduled for 13 April 2021 at 13:00 UTC. Use this link to convert the session to your local time zone.    

Dan Oron, Professor, Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, will discuss “Quantum Enhanced Superresolution Confocal Microscopy.” Oron will demonstrate how the resolution of a standard confocal can be increased fourfold with a twofold axial resolution increase. This is achieved utilizing the quantum phenomenon of fluorescence antibunching. Oron’s area of interests are at the interface between light and the nanoscale in which he studies the interaction of light with nanostructured materials, optical super-resolution methods and the optics of biological nanostructured materials. Oron’s talk is scheduled for 14 April 2021 at 14:00 UTC. Use this link to convert the session to your local time zone.

R. Clay Reid, Senior Investigator,  Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA, will review approaches for analyzing neural circuits in his talk, “Petascale Microscopy for Brain Mapping: Electron and Light Microscopic Approaches to Connectomics.” His pioneering work includes new methods for recording increasingly large ensembles of neurons to study sensory processing. Reid’s plenary is scheduled for 15 April 2021 at 19:00 UTC. Use this link to convert the session to your local time zone.

Registration is now open for participants. Advanced registration is required to receive the web link and access the conference. 

https://www.osa.org/en-us/meetings/osa_meetings/osa_biophotonics_congress/exhibition/

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Airspan to go public through merger with a SPAC

Airspan Networks announced a merger agreement with and into New Beginnings Acquisition Corp. (NBA), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The combination is expected to have an enterprise value of nearly $822 million. Upon closing of the business combination, expected in the third quarter of 2021, NBA will be renamed “Airspan Networks Holdings Inc.,” a publicly listed company, which is expected to be listed on the NYSE American with the ticker symbol “MIMO.”

“These seismic 5G industry trends play right into Airspan’s strengths,” said Eric Stonestrom, President and CEO of Airspan. “This transaction is expected to help fund our growth plans and accelerate our vision of providing our customers with leading edge 5G networks. We are at the precipice of a significant capital-intensive upgrade as 5G deployments drive the future growth of existing mobile carriers, new market entrants, and private and enterprise buildouts that we believe will transform numerous industries.”

“We are delighted to partner with Airspan, a first mover in this exciting and rapidly expanding new 5G market,” said Michael Liebowitz, CEO and Director of New Beginnings Acquisition Corp. “As 5G networks are rolled out, Airspan is leading the way with its breakthrough Open RAN technology with significant potential for growth serving incumbent and emerging carriers, and also addressing new “private 5G” segments including in building 5G, Distributed Antenna System (DAS) building replacements, connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), automated port operations, air-to-ground in-flight connectivity, Smart Industry 4.0 factories and optimized Smart Grid driven utilities. This transaction will bring the vision of Eric and the Airspan team to fruition.”

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II-VI expands manufacturing in California

II‐VI is expanding its manufacturing footprint in Santa Rosa, California, with a plan to double over the next five years its manufacturing capacity of optical filters for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instrumentation and 5G optical access networks.

The rapid growth in PCR testing for COVID-19 and the ongoing buildout of the 5G optical access infrastructure are simultaneously driving the demand for optical filters with high performance and reliability, necessitating sustained multiyear investments in production capacity. II-VI initiated the buildout of recently secured manufacturing space in Santa Rosa, and began procuring manufacturing equipment, including coating chambers, to double manufacturing capacity over the next five years.    

“We would like to thank the inventors, designers, manufacturers, and operators of PCR test systems whom, we estimate, enabled hundreds of millions of PCR tests that helped mitigate the global spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Chuck Mattera, Chief Executive Officer, II-VI Incorporated. “We were proud in 2020 to focus on our contributions to the global PCR testing capacity with our state-of-the-art filter coatings capabilities. Now, in 2021, we are doubling down on our pledge to support the growth of PCR testing over the next five years. "

https://ii-vi.com/news/ii-vi-incorporated-to-double-manufacturing-capacity-of-optical-filters-for-pcr-instrumentation-and-5g-optical-access-over-a-five-year-investment/

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Coherent says II-VI merger proposal is superior to Lumentum's

Coherent's board of directors notified Lumentum that it has received from a superior acquisition proposal from II-VI Incorporated. 

Under the terms of II-VI's revised proposal, each share of Coherent common stock would be exchanged for $170.00 in cash and 1.0981 shares of II-VI common stock at the completion of the transaction. 

Coherent has notifed Lumentum that it intends to terminate their merger agreement unless Coherent receives a revised proposal from Lumentum by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 11, 2021 that the Coherent board determines to be at least as favorable to Coherent's stockholders from a financial point of view as II-VI's revised proposal, after taking into account all aspects of any such proposal Coherent may receive from Lumentum.

Lumentum has notified Coherent of its intention to review the II-VI proposal under consideration of its matching rights as defined in the definitive merger agreement. 

Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Coherent would be required to pay a $217.6 million termination fee to Lumentum if Coherent terminates the definitive agreement in order to enter into an agreement with II-VI.

II-VI outbids Lumentum in competition to acquire Coherent

Monday, February 15, 2021    

 II-VI made an offer to acquire Coherent, a global laser technology leader, in a cash and stock transaction priced at $260.00 per Coherent share (Coherent’s shareholders would receive $130.00 in cash and 1.3055 II-VI common shares for each Coherent share), based on the company closing stock price on February 11th.II-VI’s proposal represents a premium of 24.0% to the implied value of Coherent’s merger agreement with Lumentum, based on Lumentum’s...

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Lumentum to acquire Coherent for its photonics and laser expertise

Tuesday, January 19, 2021  Lumentum, Mergers And Acquisitions  

 Lumentum agreed to acquire Coherent in a cash and stock transaction valued at $5.7 billion, with Coherent stockholders receiving $100.00 per share in cash and 1.1851 shares of Lumentum common stock for each Coherent share they own. The combination will create a leading photonics company with significant positions in the growing market for photonics, an expansive global customer base and a well-diversified revenue mix. The transaction value...

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Microsoft previews AI-driven Azure modules

 Microsoft unveiled the public preview of Azure Percept, a platform of hardware and services that aims to simplify the ways in which customers can use Azure AI technologies on the edge – including taking advantage of Azure cloud offerings such as device management, AI model development and analytics.

The Azure Percept platform includes a development kit with an intelligent camera, Azure Percept Vision, and a microphone module called Azure Precept Audio.

Azure Percept Vision and Azure Percept Audio connect to Azure services in the cloud and come with embedded hardware-accelerated AI modules that enable speech and vision AI at the edge, or during times when the device isn’t connected to the internet. In addition, Azure Percept devices automatically connect to Azure IoT Hub, which helps enable reliable communication with security protections between Internet of Things, or IoT, devices and the cloud. 

Potential applications could include elevators that respond to voice commands, cameras that notify store managers when to restock shelves and video streams that keep tabs on everything from cash register lines to parking space availability.

https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/with-azure-percept-microsoft-adds-new-ways-for-customers-to-bring-ai-to-the-edge/

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