Abstract: An optical network including an optical splitter configured to split an optical signal incident on the optical splitter into at least a control signal and a data signal; an optical switch; a first optical path configured to carry the control signal between the optical splitter and the optical switch; and a second optical path configured to carry the data signal between the optical splitter and the optical switch. The optical network is configured to transmit the control and data signals such that the data signal is incident on the optical switch after the control signal. The optical switch is configured to selectively switch the optical network between a first configuration and a second configuration in accordance with the control signal.

Abstract: One aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method of automatically securing a computer system or network against a suspect binary file (SBF) by, in response to detection of the SBF, initiating an automatic defence strategy. The automatic defence strategy includes a first action known to mitigate a known threat posed by a known malicious binary file (KMBF); and a further action predicted to mitigate a predicted threat posed by a discrepant function present in the SBF but not the KMBF. Further aspects of the present disclosure relate to corresponding data processing systems, computer programs, computer-readable data carriers and data carrier signals.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of operating a software-defined network, the method comprising: obtaining specifications of a plurality of data plane elements which together form a path through a data plane suitable for carrying traffic associated with a category of applications and/or services; determining, based on the specifications, which one or more of a plurality of security profiles the path is capable of complying with; selecting one of the one or more security profiles to be an initial security profile; routing traffic associated with the category of applications and/or services via the path in compliance with the initial security profile; subsequently obtaining an alert that network performance conditions have worsened; and responsive thereto: selecting a different one of the plurality of security profiles, that is less resource-intensive than the initial security profile, to be a replacement security profile; and routing traffic associated with the category of applications and/or services in complian

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to predicting blockages in underground ducts. According to one aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method of identifying one or more locations along a route for an underground duct which indicate a blockage risk, the route extending between two ends, the method including obtaining a terrain elevation profile for the route; estimating a duct elevation profile for the route based on the terrain elevation profile; and predicting one or more blockage risk locations along the route by determining where water entering the duct from each of the two ends would settle, based on the duct elevation profile.

Abstract: A computer implemented malware protection method to mitigate malware spread within a set of communicating computer systems from an infected computer system is disclosed.

Abstract: This disclosure provides a method of operating a network node in a wireless telecommunications network, wherein the wireless telecommunications network includes a first access point having a transmitter configured to transmit in a first coverage area, including receiving, from a sensor, data indicating a location of an object within the first coverage area of the first access point's transmitter; determining, from a set of access rights including excluded, differentiated restrictions and no restrictions, that the object has the differentiated restrictions access right; responsive to the determination that the object has the differentiated restrictions access right, classifying, from a set of classes including a first class and a second class, the object in the first class, wherein the first class is associated with a first restriction configuration having a first electro and/or magnetic field exposure threshold and the second class is associated with a second restriction configuration having a second electro

Abstract: This invention relates to an electromagnetic field receiver controller including a first and second optical transmitter, a transmission medium and an optical receiver. The first optical transmitter is configured to transmit a probe signal to the optical receiver via the transmission medium at a probe frequency and the second transmitter is configured to transmit a coupling signal via the transmission medium at a coupling frequency, wherein the probe frequency is set to excite electrons of the transmission medium from a ground state to a first excited state and the coupling frequency is set to excite electrons of the transmission medium to a predetermined excited state so as to induce an Electromagnetic Induced Transparency (EIT) effect in the electromagnetic field receiver such that an incident electromagnetic field at the transmission medium causes a detectable change in power of the probe signal at the optical receiver.

Abstract: A computer implemented method of feature detection in temporal graph data structures of events, the method including receiving a temporal series of graph data structures of events each including a plurality of nodes corresponding to events and edges connecting nodes corresponding to relationships between events; rendering each graph data structure in the series as an image representation of the graph data structure including a representation of nodes and edges in the graph being rendered reproducibly in a cartesian space based on attributes of the nodes and edges, so as to generate a temporal series of image representations ordered according to the temporal graph data structures; processing the series of image representations by a convolutional neural network to classify the image series so as to identify a feature in the image series, the convolutional neural network being trained by a supervised training method including a plurality of training example image series in which a subset of the training examples

Abstract: Presented is a method of detecting a loop length change in a digital subscriber line. An Uncalibrated Echo Response (UER) trace is obtained from the digital subscriber line by running a Single Ended Line Test (SELT). A historical (baseline) UER trace from the same line is retrieved. A line that has experienced a small change in loop length will have the same overall shape, but be compressed or stretched in the frequency domain. Thus, to detect such a change, a comparison between the two traces is made to determine if the difference between the two traces is less than a threshold but non-zero. Then a range of scale factors are applied in the frequency domain on either one of the traces, before determining which of the scale factors results in the lowest difference between the unscaled and scaled traces. The determined scale factor is above a certain threshold, then the line is determined to have had a loop length change. The value of the scale factor can be used to determine the amount the length has changed.

Abstract: A computer system comprising a plurality of computers, each computer comprising at least one processor, respectively, such that the computer system comprises a plurality of processors, and an orchestration system comprising an orchestrator. The orchestration system is configured to: forecast a traffic load of the plurality of processors to obtain a forecast traffic load: determine, in dependence on the forecast traffic load, a clock frequency for each of the plurality of processors so as to decrease a power consumption of the computer system; and using the orchestrator, instruct adjustment of the clock frequency for each respective processor of the plurality of processors to the clock frequency determined for the respective processor. This patent application further relates to a telecommunications network comprising a computer system, and an orchestration system.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to the security of user devices connected to local networks, such as devices comprised in the Internet of Things' (IoT). An aspect relates to a computer-implemented method of securing functionality of a user device connected to a local network provided at a premises, the method comprising: determining a premises trust score indicative of a likelihood that an authorised user of the user device is present at the premises, the determining being in dependence on: (i) data received from one or more biometric-capable devices, distinct from the user device, connected to the local network, that data being indicative of continuous biometric authentication of a current user of the respective biometric-capable device; or (ii) a lack thereof; then causing the user device to respond to a request for functionality made through a local user interface it comprises in a manner which depends on the premises trust score.

Abstract: This disclosure provides a method of receiving a plurality of data streams at an electromagnetic field receiver in a wireless telecommunications network, the method including obtaining data indicating detection of a first electromagnetic field incident at a transmission medium during a timeslot of a first subset of a plurality of timeslots; associating the detected first electromagnetic field with a first data stream of a plurality of data streams; obtaining data indicating detection of a second electromagnetic field incident at the transmission medium during a timeslot of a second subset of the plurality of timeslots; and associating the detected second electromagnetic field with a second data stream of the plurality of data streams.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to a method of allocating a resource in a virtualized radio access network, wherein the virtualized radio access network includes a first virtual machine delivering a first service type and a second virtual machine delivering a second service type.

Abstract: This disclosure provides an electromagnetic field detector, and a method of operating the electromagnetic field detector in a wireless telecommunications network, the electromagnetic field detector including a first optical transmitter, a second optical transmitter, and a transmission medium, wherein the first optical transmitter is configured to transmit a probe signal at a probe frequency and the second optical transmitter is configured to transmit a coupling signal at a coupling frequency, wherein the probe frequency is set to excite electrons of the transmission medium from a ground state to a first excited state and the coupling frequency is set to excite electrons of the transmission medium to a predetermined excited state so as to induce an Electromagnetic Induced Transparency (EIT) effect such that an incident electromagnetic field at the transmission medium causes a detectable change in the probe signal.

Abstract: A system of transmitting optical pulses from a transmitter to first and second receivers for the purposes of quantum key distribution is disclosed. The system can include a transmitter configured to transmit a plurality of optical pulses; first and second receivers configured to receive some or all of the plurality of optical pulses; a guide for guiding the plurality of optical pulses, the guide having first and second output ports, the first output port being in optical communication with the first receiver and the second output port being in optical communication with the second receiver, the guide being configured to output a proportion of the optical pulses at the first output port and a proportion of the optical pulses at the second output port, modification means for modifying the guide so as to change the proportion of the optical pulses output at the first output port.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method (300) of operating a telecommunications network (110-1), said telecommunications network comprising a plurality of nodes (150), and the method comprising the steps of: storing: a set of historic reconfiguration instructions, said instructions having been used to reconfigure the telecommunications network; first status information from each of the plurality of nodes, wherein said first status information is received prior to reconfiguring the telecommunications network according to a given historic reconfiguration instruction; and second status information from each of the plurality of nodes, wherein said second status information is received after reconfiguring the telecommunications network according to the given historic reconfiguration instruction; receiving a new reconfiguration instruction (310); prior to reconfiguring the telecommunications network according to the new reconfiguration instruction, identifying from the set a similar historic reconfiguration instruction havin

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of analysing anomalous network traffic in a telecommunications network, said telecommunications network comprising a plurality of network entities (120, 110) and a security analyser (130-3), wherein the method comprises the steps of: receiving at the security analyser a network communication from a first network entity; identifying the first network entity; by means of the security analyser: analysing the network communication and/or a performance of the first network entity thereby to identify the network communication as an anomalous communication (310); in response to identifying the network communication as an anomalous communication, communicating an instruction to the identified first network entity to respond with origin information regarding the anomalous communication, wherein the origin information identifies a preceding network entity from which the anomalous communication was directly received by the first network entity (320, 330); and commencing with the preceding n

Abstract: A method of operating a radio access point so as to provide network slicing functionality, the radio access point providing a radio access network for a telecommunications network and the radio access point comprising a plurality of antenna elements, the method comprising the steps of: reserving a portion of the plurality of antenna elements for use only by a given network slice, the reserved portion of the plurality of antenna elements forming a set of antenna elements; receiving, at each of the plurality of antenna elements, a wireless signal from a User Equipment of the telecommunications network identifying the UE from the received wireless signal; determining that the identified UE is allocated to the given network slice; in response to the determining, the radio access point processing only the wireless signal as received by the set of antenna elements.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method (200) of managing a telecommunications network (110), the telecommunication network comprising a network orchestrator (120), a plurality of network nodes (150) and a network ledger (140) for electronically storing data, the method comprising the steps of: the network orchestrator generating an instruction for reconfiguring at least one of the plurality of nodes (210); in response to generating said instruction, requesting and retrieving first status information from the at least one of the plurality of nodes (240); recording the instruction and the first status information to the network ledger (240)); communicating the instruction to the at least one of the plurality of nodes thereby to effect the instructed reconfiguration (230); in response to effecting the instructed reconfiguration, requesting and retrieving second status information from the at least one of the plurality of nodes; and recording said second status information in the network ledger (280).

Abstract: This disclosure provides a network node for a wireless telecommunications network, and a method of operating the network node, the wireless telecommunications network including a first access point configured to transmit in a first coverage area, a second access point configured to transmit in a second coverage area, and a first User Equipment (UE) connected to the first access point, the method including causing a reconfiguration of at least one of the first access point or the second access point to implement at least one of first transmission parameters or second transmission parameters.