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New Payments Platform

by BusinessDigitalTechnology

 What is NPP?

NPP stands for New Payments Platform. NPP is an industry wide payment platform for Australia, providing national infrastructure for fast, secure, flexible and high data payments in Australia. It is a real-time low value payment platform.

What is the story behind NPP?

The payment system board of Reserve Bank of Australia reviewed and concluded the need of a real-time low value payment. This review identified opportunities for the Australian payments system to make payment in real-time. After which, the Australian payment network brought together industry representatives to form a “Real-Time Payment Committee”. Committee submitted proposals of NPP based on other international payment systems. Proposal recommended a ‘layered architecture’ for payment clearing and settlement for the new real-time wide range payment service to businesses, consumers, and government. In August 2014, “NPP Australia Limited” was formed to oversee the build, operation and management of Platform and went live In November 2017. At first, it was used among a small number of employees in the financial foundation to test NPP support and then on 13 February 2018, these foundations started rolling out NPP to their customers.

 Which are the organizations that own NPP?

NPP is mutually owned by 13 organizations:

  1.     Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
  2.     Australian Settlements Limited
  3.     Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
  4.     Citigroup Incorporation
  5.     Commonwealth Bank
  6.     Cuscal Limited
  7.     Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
  8.     INDUE Limited
  9.     ING Bank Limited
  10.   Macquarie Group Limited
  11.   National Australia Bank
  12.   Westpac Banking Corporation
  13.   Wise Australia Pty Limited

How does NPP Payment work?

  1.     The payer starts a payment through an online banking portal or mobile phone banking application.
  2.   If payer chooses to use PayID to identify the payee, the payer’s foundation will send enquiry message to addressing services for payee’s BSB and account number linked to PayID. The legal account name allied with PayID will return to the payer for confirmation, which reduce the incident of misdirect and fraud.
  3.   Payer foundation sends a message with all required payment details, related to any overlay service requirement, to the payee’s foundation using its payment gateway. Payee’s foundation clears the payment by checking payment details and sends a response back to payer’s foundation confirming it is able to credit the payee.
  4.   The payer foundation’s payment gateway automatically sends a settlement request to Fast Settlement Service (FSS), which tests that the payer foundation has enough credit funds.
  5.   FSS returns a settlement confirmation to both foundations indicating settlement has occurred.
  6.   After confirmation of settlement, the payee’s authorized deposit-taking institution will make the fund available to the payee.

 What are the benefits of NPP?

Ø  24/7 instant payments

Ø  Real-time line-by-line settlement via RBA’s fast settlement services

Ø  PayID, new and easy way to link financial account

Ø  PayID, easy to remember identifier

Ø  Open access platform

Ø  Overlay services to consumers, businesses, and government

Ø  Secure transaction


 Due to the changing payment platform around the world, Australia proposed to bring NPP. So what are you waiting for? Be the change around you!

We @CloudPloys provide information and software services, for you to be aware of the new technologies around the world and to develop a new technology for the world.

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VPN vs TOR

by BusinessDigitalTechnology

What is VPN?

“Virtual Private Network”, also known as VPN, is a Private Network used to build anonymity and secure networks through the public connection. VPN hides your original IP Address and creates a fake IP address so it is practically difficult to trace back to the user.

What is TOR?

TOR, short for “The Onion Router”, is a free and online application that creates an endless number of Nodes (redistribution point) by the volunteers and build secured and encrypted network, which makes it difficult for spoof to trace back.

How does TOR work?

TOR is an online router. It has thousands of volunteers. When a person uses TOR, their data passes through hundreds of servers and when someone tries to trace the original user, it tracks back to the exit node (last node). Therefore, it is difficult to trace back through hundreds of servers to find the original user.

Important things to keep in mind while using VPN:

VPN is a Private Network that is used to hide the actions of the user. User may be sitting in a garden but the IP address shows it as if the user is at the office. VPN supports sending and receiving data securely through the public network.

Ø  Firewall should be up all the time:

Firewall is a network security system, which keeps track of incoming and outgoing traffic of the network. In addition, it is the most secure way of not being hacked.

A multi-layered firewall security needs to be surpassed before taking over control of any device.

Ø  You must stay hidden:

One of the basic problems in today’s era is that most users forgets their browser and can give away a lot of sensitive information. There is a built-in security system in some browsers that keeps the network private even after not using VPN. For example: DuckDuckGo, Brave, Opera, etc.

Ø  Disable all the geo-location services:

Geo-location services could give away the location of the user. For a person who wants to stay incognito needs to disable the geo-location services from all the devices.

Ø  Be aware of Cookies:

Cookies are one of the reasons for giving away sensitive information about the user. No one in today’s busy world gives attention to cookies. Cookies contain personal information such as ID, Password, Bank Details, Etc. While using the browser, a notification pops up, asking about whether to accept all cookies or Decline. Simply, click on “Decline”.

 

VPN vs TOR:

When a user is using TOR, they are protected from the spoof but the information and the actions of them can be hacked by the exit node. Even though he/she cannot trace it back to the original user. Exit nodes can hack into the packet of information and use it for their own needs.

In comparison to TOR, VPN is vulnerable. VPN creates a “Private Network” no doubt, but it can be easily hacked. I mean for god’s sake who knows if the VPN servers are hacked. Therefore, it is deficient to use VPN instead of TOR.

Conclusion:

TOR provides hundreds of nodes, which is difficult to trace back to the original user. Meanwhile, VPN provides a single proxy server and is easy to decrypt data and trace backwards. Although we @CloudPloys know, TOR is more reliable than VPN but every case is subjective and here is where the advice of our experts in the field is needed, because your security is our top notch priority.

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Are tech companies hiding the truth of war crimes?

by BusinessDigitalTechnology

What are “War Crimes”? 

War Crimes is breaking an International Humanitarian Law and offense of war laws by committing crime against civilians such as torturing war prisoners, killing civilians in cold blood.

How do tech companies hide the truth of war crimes?

According to tech companies, they do not hide the “truth” of war crimes, rather they are protecting the policies regarding the content. For e.g. take one famous social media, obviously there will be children, weak heart condition people, emotional and mentally disturbed individuals who use social media. Now, if we were to say, someone posted highly disturbing or violent content on a social media platform, all those above mentioned people are going to see it, which will leave them with trauma. If content is less disturbing, with the proper context that content can be allowed to stay on the platform. If not, the company has to remove it from the platform. 

So what are the contents related to war crimes that go against policy?

  • Terrorist activity
  • Violent content
  • Offensive content
  • Adult content

War is messy and it is something that a person could never forget if they saw or experienced. War includes terrorist, offensive, violent and disturbing activities. Supposedly, there is a war going on between X and Y countries. X is very powerful in comparison to Y. Therefore, X declared a war on Y. Y country is in crisis and people are dying. 

Is it possible that there are no other crimes being committed by X country except the ones that are being forecasted on television? 

No of course not! Supposedly, there is Z Company, which is a platform for users to post small videos and photos. If someone posted a video of war crimes on the platform of Z Company. Z Company will remove it from the platform immediately. 

Now where is that deleted content stored? 

The answer is: In Z Company’s data storage. Every truth, every video, every photo of war crime is stored in that. Mystery solved!

Is it illegal for tech companies to hide the truth? If not, are they wrong to do it?

It is legal for tech companies to hide the truth. Honestly, they are not hiding anything. They are just following their policy and regulation. 

But are they wrong to do it? 

Partially, yes! Also, as explained earlier, allowing such disturbing and violent content is harmful to those users. Therefore, they are partially correct to remove such content.

Now after knowing a two sided perspective, it depends on you as an individual to decide if removing evidence of war crimes from websites is good or bad.

Stay tuned for more interesting articles from @Cloudploys. We spread the knowledge we gather because we believe that everyone has a right to know and learn! 

WFH

Permanent Work From Home – New HR Contract Model

by with No Comment BusinessDigitalTechnology

The most trending HR employee contract model now includes “Work from ANYWHERE” apart from the usual “Permanent |  Full-Time | Causal | Part-Time | etc.” This model essentially allows employees to choose whether they want to be full time at the Office | Home | Office and Home.

Spotify is the latest tech company which has recently adapted this model. The company will adhere to implementing extreme flexibility even around locations, giving employees the freedom to even choose the country and city where they would like to work from. The company has decided to provide co-working space memberships for its employees who choose to work remotely and at the same time desire for a dedicated workspace. Hence, giving them the best of both worlds!!!

We are seeing more and more big-scale companies adopting the remote work model as a more permanent and concrete option due to adversities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This framework will give more assurance to companies in leading a more persistent growth. 

With this dynamic shift in workplace concept, companies are at the forefront of reassessing their office spaces across the globe for increased perseverance, flexibility and prosperity to ensure that all of their operations, regardless of the situation, goes on unobstructedly, comfortably and efficiently. The main objective of this new employee roadmapping approach is to ensure that employees in the uncertain long-run have a permanent & backup place where they can perform with focus, collaborate without obstruction, innovate and recreate and the possibility of this should prevail whether at an office/home desk, in a conference room, a cafe or a co-working space.

Spotify is not the only tech company, there are other significant companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Square, etc. who have considered and implemented this dynamic employee contractual setting. Salesforce recently announced to let its employees choose whether they would consider coming into the office again? While Simultaneously emphasizing that the 9-to-5 workday routine is dead. Square and Twitter are letting employees work from home #wfh FOR GOOD! And lastly Microsoft also offered its workers high flexibility to work from home.

 

 

As evidently seen that we have a rising number of companies who are proactively considering remote work as a more permanent option due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I think it is time that all companies should prepare for the same and evolve with the changing time. The world is not the same anymore. In this world only the digitally adept will survive. @CloudPloys we help companies in upscaling and proofing their business against such adversities, so please reach out for a consultation and a relaxed discussion! 

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ZipPay VS Afterpay – How are the two different or similar?

by with No Comment BusinessDigitalTechnology

When we talk about buying shares the two most trending shares these days are those of Zip and After pay. But the business models of both are similar that it is hard to identify a clear distinction between the two. The buyers often cannot make a clear comparison between the two.

So here we have listed out a few key features for both:

 ZipPayAfterpay
What does the company offer? Offers buyers an instant credit of $1000 for buying products. It can be redeemed in online or other purchases. The user has the flexibility to decide their instalment repayment plan. Most flexible! Offers buyers to buy now and pay later with four split payments in equal portions deducted fortnightly from the registered credit/debit card. Most convenient! 
Buying Limit Offers an instant shopping credit of $1000 without any need for an initial deposit at the time of purchase. For any order greater than the $1000 value the buyer needs to pay the difference upfront. Offers a total transaction of up to $1000 with the first quarter payment payable by the buyer at the time of purchase. 
Fees & Charges No fee incurred if instalment is paid on time. 0% interest & $0 set up. No fee incurred if instalment is paid on time. 0% interest & $0 set up.
Late or Missed Instalment ChargesCharges $5/month after the first month for any outstanding amount irrespective of how big or small the amount is. 
This means if you pay off before the end of the first month you will never be charged a fee!		Charges $10 for a late payment. However, they do send follow-up reminder emails ahead of time. 
This means if you pay on time you will never be charged a fee!
Summarised Distinction Flexible process, no deposit required Simpler process and get to pay off faster. 
User Eligibility Only available for Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents over 18 years old. Only available for Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents over 18 years old. 
Bank Card Requirements A user must have a valid debit card and be employed with a minimum salary of $300/wk A user must have a valid credit/debit card and sufficient funds to cover the first quarter instalment.

These are the few clear distinctions which might support you in decision making amongst two crucial companies. @CloudPloys enjoy exploring such exciting & enriching topics. So if you are someone like minded and enjoyed reading this blog then stay attuned for more topics yet to be explored! 

lockdown

Is your business COVID proof? Can it survive recurring lockdowns?

by BusinessDigital

Take your business ONLINE before the lockdowns take them OFFLINE!!! @CloudPloys

Melbournians were truly taken aback with the fourth lockdown with coffee & food culture being the charm of the place this recent lockdown announced on 11th February, 2021 affected the cafes & restaurants quite impactfully especially with Valentines weekend being round the corner…who knew that on Valentine’s day I would be writing a blog instead of going out for a sunny date out?

The adversity of these state restrictions sinks quite deeply into the education industry, hospitality and recreation sectors but this is something not even the Victorian Government can knowingly help but you surely can…by doing your business a favour and transitioning ONLINE as much as possible. It is understandable that there are few aspects of the business which cannot be virtual but it is better to have a cloud shield for those operations where possible.

Regardless of the fact that we are heading to something called a “New Normal” era but the uncertainty around the world with respect to such viruses can never give a surety of a definite normal. There are still some businesses for whom digital transition will be a challenge as they would not be able to speculate that which operations can actually be done online and this is where @CloudPloys come in. We listen, analyse and present you with strategic and COVID proof business solutions. We do the thinking for you, you just have to reach out!

Take example of this lockdown we know it is going to last for 5 days but are we confident that it won’t get extended ?? In a situation where the government is not certain what is coming ahead how can we as individuals have our own speculations?

Therefore, it is utterly vital that we proof our business and be ready for anything that comes at us. As a responsible business it is your liability to take the first step and as an expert it is our responsibility to give you a viable solution.

cyber security

Cybersecurity Dilemma – Securing Internet of Things (IoT) Networks

by BusinessDigital

The two trending buzzwords in the IT industry that have evolved imminently are “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) and “Machine Learning” (ML). More so these two words often seem to be used reciprocally.

However, they are not actually reciprocal, but the perception that they are could lead to false information. Therefore, read this article to make an informed distinction between the two.

AI & ML both appear frequently when the topic under consideration is Big Data, Analytics, and other such tech areas which are popular throughout our world.

To loop it together, Artificial Intelligence incorporates and functions tasks using Machines in a way that we would consider “smart”.

Whereas, Machine Learning is an active application of AI propagated by the idea that we should really just be able to feed machines with data and let them learn for themselves.

But how did this idea evolve in the first place?

AI has been an aged concept even the ancient Greek mythology contained stories of mechanical men designed to mimic our own behavior. Soon after this myth, early European computers were perceived as “logical machines” and by performing capabilities like arithmetic & memory, provoked engineers to create even more smart mechanical brains.

With emergence of tech along with our adeptness in understanding how a human mind works, our concept of what constitutes AI has evolved too. Instead of focusing on increasingly complex calculations, work in the field of AI concentrated on replicating human decision making processes and carrying out tasks in ever more human ways.

Artificial Intelligences = Machines designed to act intelligently 

Are often classified into either of two fundamental groups:

  1. Applied AI – This is far more common, for example systems designed to wisely trade stocks & shares, or action an autonomous vehicle would fall into this category.
  2. General AI – This is less common than the former, these are systems or devices which can in theory handle any task. This has led to the development of Machine Learning, considered as a subset of AI, it can be thought of as the current state-of-the-art and this is where some of the most exciting advancements are happening today. 

Emergence of Machine Learning

This was provoked by two fundamental breakthroughs:

  1. Realization – This concept means that rather than teaching computers everything about the world and how to intelligently carry out tasks, it might be possible to teach them to learn for themselves.
  2. Emergence of the internet – The huge increase in the amount of digital information being generated, stored, and made available for analysis.

With these innovations in place, engineers realized that rather than teaching computers & machines how to do everything, it would be far more efficient to code them to think like human beings, and connect them into the internet to feed all of the information in the world. 

About Neural Networks

This has been the key to teaching computers to think and comprehend the world in a human like manner, while retaining the typical advantages it holds over humans like speed, accuracy and unbiasedness.

A “Neural Network” is a computer system designed to work by classifying information in the same way a human brain does. It can be taught to recognize various aspects like graphics or images and furthermore, classify them according to elements they contain.

It works based on data fed to it upon which it is able to make statements, decisions or predictions with a degree of certainty i.e. Probability. The insertion of a feedback loop enables “learning”, upon sensing whether its determination is correct or not, it modifies its future approach. 

ML Apps can smartly “read” text to analyse if the writer of the text is making a complaint or applauding. It can also “listen” to music and determine if it’s happy or sad music, and find music of the same genre. Furthermore, they are trained to even compose their own music with similar themes, or which they sense is likely to be commended by the listeners of the original piece.

About Natural Language Processing

Another field of AI “Natural Language Processing” (NLP) is another thrilling innovation in this era, and one which is heavily reckoning on ML. Elaborating the idea to different heights, i.e. we should be able to communicate and interact with electronic devices and digital information, as naturally as we would with another human being. 

NLP Apps attempt to study natural human interactions, both in written or spoken format, and communicate in return using similar, natural language. ML is used here to help machines cope with vast distinctions in human language, and train it to respond in a way that a particular audience would likely receive from another human.