Microsoft Acquires ReFirm Labs to Boost Its IoT Protection Services

Microsoft has obtained ReFirm Labs, the developer of the open-source Binwalk firmware safety-analysis product, for an undisclosed quantity. Microsoft officials introduced the deal on June 2, announcing that the acquisition of ReFirm will "beautify chip-to-cloud protection" abilties that Microsoft offers at the IoT the front.

Fulton, Md.-based totally ReFirm Labs says that its Binwalk open-source era has been used by greater than 50,000 organizations global. (The ReFirm crew brought Binwalk Open supply in 2010 and founded Refirm Labs in 2017.) Its tagline for Binwalk business enterprise is "locate the holes for your device safety beore attackers do."

Microsoft is touting ReFirm as enabling it to better provide firmware analysis and security on intelligent aspect devices, starting from servers to IoT.

"The addition of ReFirm Labs to Microsoft will convey each international-magnificence knowledge in firmware security and the Centrifuge firmware platform to enhance our capability to research and assist protect firmware backed by the electricity and velocity of our cloud," in keeping with Microsoft's blog submit.

Microsoft already offers Azure Defender for IoT and lately received CyberX to assist bolster IoT security. Microsoft officers stated last June that CyberX's technology would offer a supplement to other Microsoft Azure IoT offerings, as well as products like Azure Sentinel in a manner a good way to assist perceive threats that could span converged IT and operational technology (OT) networks.

Video takes wing with BirdDog’s NDI range

 NDI stands for Network Device Interface and is a great technology for pumping high-quality video over standard IT networks. It comes from the broadcasting world, but without the cost of broadcasting, and offers ease of use and flexibility for AV projects at all levels.

Australian manufacturer BirdDog has embraced the simplicity and elegance of NDI and incorporated it into the growing line of PTZ cameras, converters, monitor modules and wall panels that Holdan sells in the UK.

There are two types of NDI, but BirdDog only processes full NDI broadcast quality broadcasting content in HD or 4K. NDI is a unique technology in that apart from sending video over the network it also has other transmission functions such as measuring the view - so the moderator knows which camera to view - PTZ camera control and even the intercom. It also has simple automatic detection, which means that the source just appears on the network without any special knowledge.

Much less latency than frames, so NDI can be used for live events without the hassle of lip sync issues.

Many NDI tools are provided free of charge by NewTek, the developer of NDI. You can select and play any NDI video source on any Mac or PC, send a desktop from a computer via a network keyboard and mouse, and turn any computer into a multichannel network player without spending a penny.

The free virtual webcam plugin lets you use any NDI video source as a webcam on Zoom or Microsoft Teams or anything that sees a webcam.

BirdDog Converter

Affordable and with many unique features, we believe the BirdDog converter range is unmatched in the industry. Starting with the Flex 4K family. Dubbed "the world's smallest 4K NDI", this converter accepts HDMI and sends NDI to the network, or receives NDI and sends HDMI 4K. And with Power over Ethernet, you don't need an overloaded network adapter.

The 4K converter suite supports 4K at 50 or 60 fps and is housed in a heavy metal case. They can be set either as an encoder or as a decoder. The powerful 4K Quad can accept four 4K video feeds over SDI or output NDI streams back in SDI video. BirdDog also makes wall panel mounted NDI converters and monitor modules to streamline installation.

BirdDog PTZ Camera

BirdDog has taken the best of NDI hardware and integrated it into PTZ cameras to create a unique range. Because NDI transmits video, control, and display, each camera requires only one network connection. With minimal latency, ultra-high-quality videos can be sent from anywhere on the web. BirdDog even has waterproof outdoor cameras, one of which is used by major television networks to broadcast 24/7 from the White House.

BirdDog cameras and converters can be controlled remotely with BirdDog Cloud from anywhere in the world, and advanced audio systems can be activated with Dante.