I am often asked about cyber security on WiFi networks for international development projects in rural Africa. My response is usually a laugh, as I find it hard to believe that anyone would have both the cunning and the desire to go wardriving through northern Uganda.

Locking down computer data

But then I was told about smart Nigerian hackers who were breaking encryption at Lagos HIV clinics in hopes to find out anyone important who has AIDS. This has me thinking, is data security now an issue in ICT4D?

I still maintain that for the vast majority of technology deployments, especially in schools and community centers and rural locations, basic security measures are enough.

Require user accounts for each person, use WPA2 on WiFi links of importance, and if you want to have unsecured WiFi for the community, use a separate Internet router.

Its only in high-risk settings, where the data could be a serious privacy issue that you need to worry about data security, encryption, and the like. Health and banking implementations like eHealth and microfinance, or urban settings where ICT skills and knowledge exist in enough abundance to be an issue.

Yet what do I know? What's your opinion on the cyber security needs in rural Africa? Do we really need to be concerned about black hat hackers outside of capital cities?

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It's the classic dilemma: Google Earth has the fantastic interface you need to keep track of your GPS data, and high resolution imagery that lets you find the exact spot on the planet you're looking for. Radio Mobile puts powerful tools of radio line of sight calculation at your fingertips, but its interface isn't nearly as polished as Google Earth's. Where do you put your data first?

Do both! Radio Mobile units can be imported and exported seamlessly as KML files. In Radio Mobile, look under "File -> Units Properties" and click the Export or Import buttons on the right side of the window to get started. (screenshot)

Saving Google Earth places to KML

Importing a KML file to Google Earth is as simple as choosing "File -> Open". Exporting from Google Earth is almost as easy...just right click on the waypoint or folder full of waypoints and choose "Save Place As..."

When exporting, make sure you save your points as KML files (rather than the default compressed KMZ) otherwise Radio Mobile won't know what to do with them.

Thanks to import/export, you can use Google Earth as a tool to download your waypoints directly from your GPS, organize them into folders, and then export them to Radio Mobile. This saves time and helps you avoid typing mistakes that could cause you real problems later.

After you've modeled your wireless network, take the time to export any new radio sites you've created back to Google Earth and into your GPS. This will make it easy to find your project sites and turn them from points on a map into antennas on the ground.

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In 1999, the US and Japan jointly launched the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) into orbit. One of the goals of the ASTER instrument mission was to conduct detailed terrain mapping of the surface of the earth.

Colorized ASTER GDEM Map of Africa

The ASTER global digital elevation model (GDEM) covers the planet from 83 degrees north to 83 degrees south at 1 arcsecond resolution and is the "most detailed 3d map of the Earth ever made."

In June of 2009, the ASTER GDEM was released to the public.

For us as builders of long distance wireless networks, this is mostly of interest because it allows us to do more accurate computer modeling of radio lines of sight to answer the basic question "If I build antennas at point A and point B...can they talk to each other?"

If you want to try it out for youself, see our detailed technical guide on how to download and convert this data to a format compatible with RadioMobile, the widely used free software for modeling radio propagation.

• Obtaining ASTER GDEM Data and Converting to SRTM1 for Use With RadioMobile

We recommend ASTER GDEM in addition to SRTM3 (previously the highest global terrain model available) as some of our partners in Nepal have had significant difficulties with "voids" or blank spots in the SRTM3 data right in the middle of their project sites.

Using SRTM3, RadioMobile will tell you a line of sight through a void will work, when in the real world it might not. We have seen significantly fewer voids in the ASTER GDEM data. If SRTM3 has voids where you need to plan a link, try the ASTER data.

Recently Rebecca Wanjiku started talking about free WiFi hotspots in Nairobi, and Mac Jordan has followed up with free WiFi hotspots in Accra.

To join the theme, I've decided to add my list of free WiFi hotspots in Abuja. Here it is:

1. ________________

That spot is intentionally left blank, as I looked all over Abuja and didn't find a single free WiFi hotspot. I did find that you could pay 3,000 Naira for an hour of WiFi at the Transcorp Hilton, which is 1,000 Naira more than a day's enjoyment of their pool.

The utter lack of free WiFi in Abuja saddened me. It showed a lack of foresight by businesses who would earn back much more in patronage by net savvy customers. Or is shows that net savvy Yahoo Boys have already ruined any open access with bandwidth hogging 419 scams and dubious file transfers.

Most of the time, when our Inveneo engineers are setting up WiFi antennas it's to link schools or villages in rural Africa. Sometimes, though, we get to do a little networking right in our Bay Area backyard.

Testing the 24 dBi grid antenna

The Challenge: Test the Performance of Two Antennas Across the San Francisco Bay

Yesterday, we loaded up two teams with wireless networking gear and sent them out to locations on opposite sides of the San Francisco Bay. The day's goal was to compare performance of two antennas: the Teletronics International 24 dBi grid dish and the ARC Wireless 19 dBi patch for use in an upcoming deployment.

Prior to the test, we used radio link analysis software called Radio Mobile to identify locations with similar conditions to what we expect to see in the field for this project. We needed a 30 km WiFi shot from one point high on a hillside to another with lowland in between.

Our site on Google Earth

Once we had prospective test sites identified, we used Google Earth to make sure there were actually roads leading to the spots we wanted to reach. For permanent installations, we're glad to hike in equipment and coordinate installation of power infrastructure (we and our ICIP partners have done so many times).

For this quick temporary setup, though, we wanted to roll up, throw the antennas on tripods, and power the systems from car cigarette lighters using small AC inverters.

With this analysis complete, we had our sites: a secluded spot near the top of a ridge in San Bruno and a location in the Berkeley Hills.

Matt Berg, of Millennium Villages Project, and an interesting video on how MVP and Inveneo installed a large WiFi intranet network in Ruhiira, Uganda, to connect 5 clinics, 3 schools, and several other community institutions to the nearest Internet connection 35KM away:

Matt says, "The network is adding tremendous value by enabling free VOIP calls between sites and is also being used by the clinics to facilitate a central medical records."