…a set of mobile acceptance best practices for merchants, software developers and device manufacturers who are using consumer mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet computing platforms to facilitate the acceptance of card payments. Visa best practices call for important security considerations such as encryption and tokenization of cardholder data and are designed to foster a better understanding of the merchant and service provider responsibilities related to securing cardholder data when a mobile phone is used as an acceptance device instead of a traditional terminal.
The emphasis on encryption and tokenization is a long time coming. Will this be extended soon into every POS? With the infrastructure in place for mobile, the addition of POS seems very likely in the near term.
It also begs the question of whether strong authentication measures, the entire emphasis of chip-based payment cards, will garner less attention now from Visa (non-chip transactions under 30% used to mean they did not force the PCI requirements).
Perhaps most interesting is Visa’s re-emphasis of a standards role for the industry that clearly is independent of the PCI SSC.
…Eduardo Perez, head of global payment system risk, Visa Inc. “As a payment technology leader, Visa is well positioned to provide the industry security guidance for emerging acceptance solutions.”
News is breaking right now that Intelligence operations led American forces to kill Osama bin Laden. Navy SEALs attacked from helicopters 30 miles North of Islamabad in Abbottabad, Pakistan a wealthy suburb and regimental center of the Pakistan Army. Simple human intelligence (HUMINT), such as tracking couriers, is said to have unraveled his location. Ironically the hideout was betrayed by its enhanced security — much larger with more control (taller fences, waste incinerators, no obvious sources of income) compared with other houses in the area.
A shipload of U.S. Marines and helicopters have arrived to boost relief efforts in flooded Pakistan.
The “USS Peleliu” arrived off the coast near Karachi along with helicopters and about 1,000 Marines.
While that was public news, this operation was kept secret even from the Pakistan authorities after several previous operations were known to have leaked — suspects fled the target buildings before US soldiers arrived.
Although the killing will stir controversy related to positive identification, let alone the dual-edge of humanitarian assistance or America’s relationship with the Muslim world, there is another reason to pause and review the details.
This is not the automation of smart bombs, laser shields, drones or nuclear deterrence. This news is America’s demonstration of classic intelligence and exceptional human capability.
The fact that it happens deep within the confines of another country means there is also a more traditional long-range global military support and supply chain element to the story — the helicopters were said to be launched from Ghazi, the site of a humanitarian mission. But the small team and low or no civilian casualty count suggests that America’s operational capabilities have evolved significantly in just a few years.
These aren’t the drones bin Laden was expecting.
Update: Some reports say one of the four helicopters in the mission was destroyed. Other reports, including eye-witness accounts, say only two helicopters were involved and they came from Jalalabad, Afghanistan; 200 miles East of Abbottabad. Perhaps there were two on the ground and two in a higher-elevation support role? The official line has been that a mechanical failure was the cause of the crash. A forced landing inside of the compound also could have been expected or even planned, similar to the 1970 Operation Ivory Coast in North Vietnam, designed to get troops on the ground as quickly as possible and distract from others.
The landing was a hard one, but successful. Rotors contacted some of the tall trees which bordered one side of the landing area. It was anticipated that damage would occur and the plan provided for the HH-3 to be considered a loss. By means of an explosive charge with a timing device, it was to be destroyed upon departure of our troops from the compound.
This video does a fantastic job capturing the feeling of racing a catamaran…on flat water.
It would be awesome to speed along at 30 knts but that is likely to come from wind above 10 knts, which combined with the tide often brings choppy waves to the city front. Are the giant cats foiling? They seem too smooth and too dry in the video — smooth and risk-free like a flight scenes from “How to Train Your Dragon”.
The engineering of these massive AC45 and AC72 catamarans is amazing; it will really push the envelope of sailing risk management. The speed and size puts huge stresses on a very thin and light infrastructure – more than 100 tonnes in multiple points. Another important consideration is what the air and water feels like at 30 knts — imagine sticking your head out the window of a car driving 40 mph in the rain. I remember when the PlayStation skipper (designed by the same person as the America’s Cup boats) said he ran pumps 24 hours a day to evacuate literally tons of water collecting in the reefs of their mainsail from the spray. And, speaking of details, where is the square-top main?
Regardless of fact or fiction, the video is inspiring — every time I watch it I feel the urge to take my miniature America’s Cup boat, the A-Cat, out on the Bay again and get bounced around. (Note: it’s no coincidence that an AC45 looks very much like an International A-Class Catamaran)
It’s definitely a different vision than the carnage from the eXtreme 40 series, but maybe that reflects the difference in racing style between designers Pete Melvin (Americas Cup) and Mitch Booth (eXtreme). Here’s another kind of “flying” when racing catamarans:
