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Cybersecurity
NIST Seeks Comments
on Guide Detailing Wireless Security Issues
The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public
comment on an initial security guideline for issues related to the
use of certain wireless technologies. The draft guideline states that
these systems have more vulnerabilities than traditional wired networks
and require greater security maintenance. It examines the benefits
and security risks of 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks, Bluetooth
Ad Hoc Networks and handheld devices such as Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs).
NIST’s
draft guideline advises federal agencies to use caution when launching
wireless networks. Additionally, agencies should understand that maintaining
a secure wireless network requires greater effort than for other networks
and systems. With these technologies, agencies frequently must assess
risks, along with testing and evaluating system security controls.
NIST
recommends that agencies not use wireless systems for essential operations
until they understand the risks involved; take prudent steps to mitigate
those risks; and are vigilant in monitoring, testing and maintaining
their security.
The NIST draft
guideline notes that attackers can use the airwaves to enter wireless
systems. Sometimes, attackers are merely looking for free Internet
access. Yet, they also can use insecure wireless systems to launch
denial-of-service attacks, spread viruses and engage in other malicious
activities.
The draft guideline
warns agencies that using physical controls to secure equipment is
especially important in wireless environments. It also recommends
the use of firewalls, anti-virus software, strong cryptography and
other measures that have become routine in wired systems.
Under the Computer
Security Act of 1987, NIST develops computer security standards and
guidelines for federal agencies to protect sensitive (unclassified)
information.
The full text
of the draft NIST Special Publication 800-48, Wireless Network
Security: 802.11, Bluetooth, and Handheld Devices is available
at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts.html.
Comments on the draft guideline are being taken until Sept. 1, 2002.
Send comments by e-mail to Tom Karygiannis at sp800-48@nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Phil
Bulman, (301) 975-5661
![[Back to Top]](/peth04/20041107205840im_/http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/update/upyellow2.gif)
Quality
Baldrige
Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary
On
Aug. 20, 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed the “Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987” setting
into motion a program that many credit with making quality a national
priority and helping to revitalize the U.S. economy during the 1990s.
Today, the Baldrige Program (see www.quality.nist.gov for more information)
and the Baldrige Award recipients are imitated and admired worldwide.
More than 43 states and many countries, including Japan, have programs
modeled after Baldrige. In particular, the Baldrige criteria for
performance excellence are widely used as an assessment and improvement
tool. Millions of print and electronic copies of the criteria have
been distributed.
Now
considered America’s highest honor for performance excellence,
Baldrige Awards are presented annually by the President of the United
States. The 46 award winners include Xerox Business Services, 3M
Dental Products Division, Cadillac Motor Car Co. and Federal Express
Corp., as well as two-time winners Solectron Corp. and The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Co.
In
1999, categories for education and health care were added to the
original three categories: manufacturing, service and small business.
Last year, the first three education recipients—the Chugach
School District, Alaska; the Pearl River School District, New York;
and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin—were honored.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Electronics
NIST to Operate
Deep Ultraviolet Lithography Calibration Service
Want
to make faster logic circuits and higher-density memory chips? You’re
in luck. A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
primary standard and calibration service will be available later this
year to support accurate measurements for next-generation deep-ultraviolet
(DUV) lithographic tools employing 157-nanometer excimer lasers, projected
for insertion into semiconductor production lines in 2003. These advanced
lithography machines will be able to make circuits less than 70 nanometers
wide.
NIST previously
developed primary standards and associated measurement systems for
248-nanometer and 193-nanometer excimer lasers, the preferred sources
for high-resolution lithography at this time. Reductions in the feature
sizes of integrated circuits are forcing a continual shift toward
shorter exposure wavelengths in the optical lithography process.
Because uniform
power and pulse energy are critical parameters in lithography, NIST
researchers developed a system for homogenizing the beam intensity
of excimer lasers. Each laser emits light of only one specific wavelength,
but the intensity of light across a cross section of the beam may
vary substantially. NIST scientists use a tiny array of overlapping
lenses—a fly’s eye approach—to mix various parts of
the beam together. The intensity of the more uniform beam then can
be measured with half the uncertainty of previous techniques.
NIST is the only
laboratory in the world providing these calibrations, which take about
one week each. Demand for the 248- and 193-nanometer calibrations
has risen recently, despite the downturn in the semiconductor industry.
Customers include suppliers of lasers, detectors and steppers. “People
are finding that metrology is more important than they originally
anticipated,” says Marla Dowell, a NIST physicist. “As they
move to shorter wavelengths, tolerances become tighter.”
For more information,
contact Marla Dowell, (303) 497-7455, mdowell@boulder.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Fred
McGehan, (303) 497-7000
Radio Frequency
Noise-Temperature
Service from 1 to 65 Gigahertz Available
NIST’s
noise metrology project has completed the testing of the 1 to 4 gigahertz
portion of its coaxial radiometer and has reopened the noise-temperature
measurement service for that frequency band. This marks the completion
of a multiyear effort to restore and extend noise-temperature measurement
services for co-axial and waveguide noise sources. It means that noise
temperatures of noise sources now can be measured at virtually any
frequency from 1 to 65 gigahertz, as well as at two low-frequency
points at 30 and 60 megahertz. Customers for the service include the
military, manufacturers of noise sources and manufacturers of amplifiers
who need to measure the noise performance of their products.
With the expanded
service, noise sources with common coaxial connectors can be measured
up to 40 gigahertz, and waveguide noise sources can be measured from
8.2 to 65 gigahertz, with the exception of the 26.01 to 26.5 gigahertz
range of the WR-42 band. Noise sources with noise temperatures from
about 50 to 15,000 Kelvin and reflection co-efficients up to 0.2 can
be measured. The typical expanded uncertainty in the measurements
ranges from about 0.9 to about 1.8 percent, depending on frequency
and connector type, for noise sources with noise temperatures from
1,000 to about 12,000 Kelvin and a reflection coefficient of less
than about 0.1.
For more information
about this service, contact Jim Randa, (303) 497-3150, randa@boulder.nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Fred
McGehan, (303) 497-7000
NIST Develops
Metrology for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
Just
as 300-millimeter-diameter silicon wafers require highly accurate
measurements of flatness and thickness, advanced lithography systems
require precise assessments of the curvature of specialized lenses
and mirrors. The readings have to be consistently within 0.25 nanometer,
equivalent to the diameter of one or two atoms. The National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) is tackling these measurement
challenges in a variety of ways.
For example,
a new NIST-developed device called XCALIBIR (for X-ray optics CALIBration
InterferometeR), which measures the form of flat, spherical and
aspheric optics, is intended to provide US semiconductor manufacturers
with atomic-level measurements of the optics used to affix circuit
patterns to wafers. A NIST researcher recently uncovered and corrected
a major source of uncertainty that limited device performance. Light
scattering back from the interferometer by surfaces of the beam
expander used in the large-aperture mode was causing noise patterns
at the center of the field of view. Scientists designed a spatial
filter and installed it in the imaging arm, reducing the systematic
uncertainty for measurement of optical flats to 0.5 nanometers over
the entire field of view. Analysis and development are ongoing to
achieve the design performance goal of 0.25-nanometer measurement
uncertainty over the entire field of view.
NIST also is
developing metrology and calibration services for extreme ultraviolet
(EUV) optics—for production of high-quality images at wavelengths
below 40 nanometers—for photolithographic systems proposed
for the next generation of integrated circuits. The performance
of EUV multilayer mirrors can be predicted accurately if both the
optical constants of the constituent materials and the structure
of the multilayer are known. EUV optical constants are difficult
to measure for the same reason that multilayer mirrors are needed
for imaging: the radiation penetrates only a few nanometers into
the surface. This leads to a vanishingly small normal-incidence
reflectivity for natural materials, meaning that grazing-incidence
must be used to obtain any significant reflectance. It also means
that any impurity layer significantly affects measured optical constants.
Among its activities
in this area, NIST has an EUV multilayer characterization facility
designed to measure the reflectance or transmittance of mirrors,
filters and gratings as a function of wavelength, angle of incidence
and position on the optic. NIST can measure the entire surface of
an optic over 35 centimeters in diameter and has reduced absolute
uncertainty in reflectivity measurements at 13 nanometers to 0.35
percent. A major upgrade is under way aimed at reducing the uncertainty
in both absolute and relative wavelength to the levels required
by EUV lithography.
For technical
information on XCALIBIR, contact Ulf Griesman, (301) 975-4929, ulf.griesmann@nist.gov.
For technical information on EUV, contact Charles Tarrio, (301)
975-3737, charles.tarrio@nist.gov.
Building
Research
Robots in Construction
Conference to Showcase Innovations
From
laying pipe on the ocean floor to helping build structures in space,
robots are increasingly being asked to do construction tasks that
are dangerous, tedious or difficult for humans to perform. Robotics
and automation can transform the construction industry, generating
cost savings, faster project delivery and improved safety. However,
many challenges must be overcome before automation and robotics are
widely used tools on a construction site.
The National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST), the International Association
for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC) and nine other
organizations are co-sponsoring the 19th International Symposium on
Automation and Robotics in Construction on Sept. 23-25, 2002, at NIST
headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md. Experts from around the world will
discuss the latest research and development innovations, including
advanced sensing and imaging technologies, control systems for construction
equipment, and design and development of construction robots. In addition,
six NIST research projects in automation and robotics will be demonstrated,
including autonomous vehicle navigation, remote control of a backhoe,
and automated steel construction.
For more information
on the symposium, including an online registration form, see www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/new020923.htm.
Go back to NIST News Page
Editor: Michael E. Newman
Date created: 8/13/2002
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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