Month: February 2022

By: Geneva Bass The market for zero-days began with $10 and a pair of crocodile cowboy boots. In 2002, a Texan named John P. Watters bought the cybersecurity company iDefence for an Alexander Hamilton and the determination to restore profitability after months of hemorrhaging millions.  A zero-day is a computer-software vulnerability. It’s a bug, an undiscovered mistake in code. Its name originates from the fact that once a zero-day becomes known, the code developer has exactly zero days to fix it before it can be exploited. Under the direction of Watters in 2003, iDefence built its competitive advantage on alerting…

By: Shane Mumma Vanderbilt students, staff, and faculty who have 5G Verizon phones on supported plans may have noticed something new beginning on the second day of class of the Spring 2022 semester: greater access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband network across campus. The coveted “5GUW” symbol that was once a rare sight is now a frequent occurrence on my phone while trekking around Vanderbilt. On January 19, Verizon activated its C-Band spectrum of 5G Ultra-Wideband following a lengthy dispute with airlines claiming delays and safety concerns could arise from its eventual deployment. Airlines believed that C-band signals could disrupt airplanes’…