Park Systems Engages Global Audience with Multilingual Showcase of Park FX AFM Solutions
Park Systems successfully hosted a global interactive online showcase for Park FX Large Sample AFM systems.
Originally introduced at key industry events, the Park FX Large Sample AFM Series was presented in a consolidated, digital-first format for the first time. Participants across Asia, Europe, and the Americas joined the event, which was broadcast in three different time zones and supported by regional breakout sessions in English, Japanese and Chinese. This global engagement effort marked a major milestone in Park Systems' digital strategy for customer engagement and interaction.
The highlight of the main session was a keynote interview with Dr. Sang-Joon Cho, Executive Vice President of Research Equipment Business Unit, who provided insights into Park Systems' vision for next-generation metrology in semiconductor and materials research. Following the keynote, a live demonstration of the Park FX300 IR system showcased the complete workflow—from probe auto-exchange to laser alignment, PiFM spectroscopy, and SmartAnalysis™-based chemical imaging—emphasizing speed, automation, and high resolution.
To accommodate different time zones and market needs, the online event was held in three sessions covering Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Each region conducted its own format of breakout or follow-up sessions, delivering tailored presentations in multiple languages such as Japanese, Chinese, and English. These sessions provided opportunities for deeper discussion, regional use case sharing, and live Q&A conducted in participants' native languages.
The Park FX Large Sample AFM Series is designed for advanced nanoscale analysis on sample sizes up to 300 mm, serving both research and industrial applications. The systems feature automated tip exchange, StepScan™ for multi-point measurements, and optional Fan Filter Units (FFU) for cleanroom operation. The infrared models (Park FX200 IR and FX300 IR) integrate PiFM spectroscopy to simultaneously deliver topographic and chemical information with high spatial resolution.
In addition to the live sessions, Park Systems introduced its SmartSimulator™, an interactive online demo that allows prospective users to remotely explore key AFM workflows, such as probe handling, scan configuration, and post-scan analysis. The demo also provides 2D and 3D image views in line profiling and region histogram profiling modes, offering users a hands-on feel for how intuitive and user-friendly Park Systems' AFM systems are — all without needing physical access to the instrument. This digital tool supports early-stage customer engagement and serves as a scalable asset in Park's continued commitment to customer satisfaction.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong), Limited
HONG KONG, July 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong), Limited (PICC HK) (Hong Kong). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect PICC HK's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect the strategic importance of the company to its parent, The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC Group) (China). As the sole overseas insurance entity and a key component of PICC Group's overseas strategies, PICC HK receives implicit and explicit support from the parent, including business development, management personnel and financial support. The revision of the outlooks to positive from stable reflects continued improvement in PICC HK's business profile, as demonstrated by the enhanced market position and more diversified book of business. According to statistics published by its domestic regulator, PICC HK ranked 13th with a market share of 2.3% in terms of onshore and offshore combined gross premium written (GPW) in 2024. The company's GPW grew by 65% cumulatively from 2020 to 2024. The active expansion in inward reinsurance also has contributed to improved business diversification, which was concentrated moderately on a whole-account quote share (WAQS) sourced from its affiliated company, PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C). The inward reinsurance business profile is diversified geographically with adequate profitability in the past four years. By leveraging the underwriting acumen and increasing synergies within the parent group, PICC HK expects the expanded business profile will be sustainable and profitable. PICC HK's risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remained at the strongest level at year-end 2024. The company's investment portfolio remains well-diversified, dominated by investment-grade bonds, cash and cash equivalents, and preference shares. Its investment strategy remains prudent, with limited exposure on unlisted funds and real-estate assets. Other supporting factors include a strong regulatory solvency position, as well as a strong liquidity position. PICC HK's operating performance remains adequate. It has maintained a mid-single digit return-on-equity ratio over the past two years. In 2024, the company's net profit was supported mainly by investment income consisting of mostly interest and dividend income. PICC HK also achieved positive underwriting results for 2024 as a result of the improved underwriting result of direct domestic business and a stable profit contribution from the WAQS. As the group's sole overseas insurance entity, PICC HK continues to be of strategic importance and plays a key role in the group's overseas strategies. There is a track record of multiple capital injections to PICC HK from PICC Group. In addition, the company continues to benefit from the group's resources and operational synergies, including business development, key management personnel, investment, information technology and overall risk management. Positive rating actions could occur if PICC HK's expanded business profile proves to be sustainable, while maintaining its underwriting profitability. Negative rating actions could occur if there is a decline in PICC HK's operating performance to a level that no longer supports AM Best's adequate operating performance assessment. Although unlikely, negative rating actions could occur if the support PICC HK receives from its parent weakens notably or the parent's credit fundamentals deteriorate materially. Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Aaron Li Financial Analyst +852 2827 3426 Lucie Huang Senior Financial Analyst +852 2827 3414 Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Gizmodo
18 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
HP 15.6″ Chromebook Crashes to 70% Off, Cheapest 4.5-Star Laptop Today Only at Best Buy
Juggling emails, streaming classes, and video chatting with family can be tough on an older computer, especially if it groans each time you open another tab. A fresh, lightweight laptop keeps everyday tasks smooth, and the HP 15.6″ Chromebook is aimed at exactly that kind of simple, reliable use. Whether you need a classroom companion, a second screen for the living room, or a travel friendly writing machine, this model covers the basics without piling on extras you will never touch. Head over to Best Buy to get the HP 15.6″ Chromebook Laptop for just $149, down from its usual price of $449. That's a discount of $300 and 67% off. See at Best Buy The large 15.6 inch screen gives you plenty of room to spread out a document on one side and a research tab on the other. Bright full HD resolution keeps text sharp and colors lively, so photos and movies pop even if you are working from a sunny patio. At the heart of the machine sits an Intel N200 processor and 8 gigabytes of memory, a combo that boots quickly and lets you slide between spreadsheets, chats, and playlists without the dreaded spinning icon. Storage lands at 64 gigabytes of built in eMMC, which is enough for homework files and offline Netflix downloads, and a microSD slot waits if you decide to double that space later. Because it runs ChromeOS, the laptop starts in seconds and stays updated automatically. That means no long installations at inconvenient times and no complicated antivirus programs. You sign in once with a Google account and your bookmarks, photos, and Drive documents appear like magic. Built in virus protection works quietly while you browse, so you can hand the computer to a curious child without worrying about surprise pop ups afterward. Portability is a strong point. The slim silver body slips into most backpacks, weighs a hair over three pounds, and gets up to eleven hours of battery life on a single charge, long enough for a full day of notes, lectures, and streaming on the bus ride home. Two USB C ports handle charging and fast file transfers, while a standard USB A slot keeps older peripherals in play. A 720p webcam with dual microphones is ready for virtual meetings, and Wi Fi 6 provides a solid internet connection in crowded networks like coffee shops or dorms. If you want a budget friendly laptop that boots fast, travels light, and nails the basics, this Chromebook is hard to beat right now. The price is still just $149 at Best Buy, a steep dive from the regular $449 tag. You'll probably want to buy a couple of these, just in case the kids need computers to work on. See at Best Buy
WIRED
20 minutes ago
- WIRED
How China's Patriotic ‘Honkers' Became the Nation's Elite Cyber Spies
Jul 18, 2025 11:28 AM A new report traces the history of the early wave of Chinese hackers who became the backbone of the state's espionage apparatus. Photo-illustration: Jacqui VanLiew; Getty Images In the summer of 2005, Tan Dailin was a 20-year-old grad student at Sichuan University of Science and Engineering when he came to the attention of the People's Liberation Army of China. Tan was part of a burgeoning hacker community known as the Honkers—teens and twenty-somethings in late-90s and early-00s China who formed groups like the Green Army and Evil Octal, and launched patriotic cyberattacks against western targets they deemed disrespectful to China. The attacks were low-sophistication—mostly web site defacements and denial-of-service operations targeting entities in the US, Taiwan, and Japan—but the Honkers advanced their skills over time, and Tan documented his escapades in blog posts. After publishing about hacking targets in Japan, the PLA came calling. Tan and his university friends were encouraged to participate in a PLA-affiliated hacking contest and won first place. The PLA invited them to an intense, month-long hacker training camp, and within weeks Tan and his friends were building hacking tools, studying network infiltration techniques, and conducting simulated attacks. The subsequent timeline of events is unclear, but Tan, who went by the hacker handles Wicked Rose and Withered Rose, then launched his own hacking group—the Network Crack Program Hacker (NCPH). The group quickly gained notoriety for winning hacking contests and developing hacking tools. They created the GinWui rootkit, one of China's first homegrown remote-access backdoors and then, experts believe, used it and dozens of zero-day exploits they wrote in a series of 'unprecedented' hacks against US companies and government entities over the spring and summer of 2006. They did this on behalf of the PLA, according to Adam Kozy, who tracked Tan and other Chinese hackers for years as a former FBI analyst who now heads the SinaCyber consulting firm, focused on China. Tan revealed online at the time that he and his team were being paid about $250 a month for their hacking, though he didn't say who paid or what they hacked. The pay increased to $1,000 a month after their summer hacking spree, according to a 2007 report by former threat intelligence firm VeriSign iDefense. At some point, Tan switched teams and began contracting for the Ministry of State Security (MSS), China's civilian intelligence agency, as part of its notorious hacking group known as APT 41. And in 2020, when Tan was 36, the US Justice Department announced indictments against him and other alleged APT 41 members for hacking more than 100 targets, including US government systems, healthcare organizations, and telecoms. Tan's path to APT 41 isn't unique. He's just one of many former Honkers who began their careers as self-directed patriotic hackers before being absorbed by the state into its massive spying apparatus. Not a lot has been written about the Honkers and their critical role in China's APT operations, outside of congressional testimony Kozy gave in 2022. But a new report, published this month by Eugenio Benincasa, senior cyber defense researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zürich university in Switzerland, expands on Kozy's work to track the Honkers' early days and how this group of skilled youths became some of China's most prolific cyber spies. 'This is not just about [Honkers] creating a hacker culture that was implicitly aligned with national security goals,' Benincasa says, 'but also the personal relations they created [that] we still see reflected in the APTs today.' Early Days The Honker community largely began when China joined the internet in 1994, and a network connecting universities and research centers across the country for knowledge-sharing put Chinese students online before the rest of the country. Like US hackers, the Honkers were self-taught tech enthusiasts who flocked to electronic bulletin boards (dial-up forums) to share programming and computer hacking tips. They soon formed groups like Xfocus, China Eagle Union, and The Honker Union of China, and came to be known as Red Hackers or Honkers, a name derived from the Mandarin word 'hong,' for red, and 'heike,' for dark visitor—the Chinese term for hacker. The groups were self-governing with loosely formed hierarchies and even had codes of ethics shaped by influential members like Taiwanese hacker Lin Zhenglong (known by his handle 'coolfire'). Lin believed hacking skills should be cultivated only to strengthen cyber defenses— to learn the ways of hackers in order to thwart them—and wrote an influential hacking manual 'to raise awareness about the importance of computer security, not to teach people how to crack passwords.' There were no simulated environments for hackers to build their skills at the time, so Honkers often resorted to hacking real networks. Lin didn't oppose this—hacking wasn't illegal in China except against government, defense, or scientific research networks—but he published a set of ethical guidelines advising hackers to avoid government systems or causing permanent damage and to restore systems to their original condition after Honkers finished hacking them. But these guidelines soon fell away, following a series of incidents involving foreign affronts to China. In 1998, a wave of violence in Indonesia broke out against ethnic Chinese there, and outraged Honker groups responded with coordinated website defacements and denial of service attacks against Indonesian government targets. The next year, after Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui announced his 'Two-States Theory' challenging the Communist Party's "One China" doctrine, the Honkers defaced Taiwanese government sites with patriotic messages asserting the existence of a unified China. In 2000, after participants at a conference in Japan denied facts around the Nanjing Massacre, in which an estimated 300,000 Chinese were killed during Japan's 1930's occupation of the city, Honkers circulated a list of more than 300 Japanese government and corporate sites, along with email addresses of Japanese officials, and prompted members to target them. The so-called patriotic cyberwars gave the Honkers a common cause that forged an identity unique from western hacking groups, which the Honkers had emulated until then. Where western hackers were primarily motivated by curiosity, intellectual challenge, and bragging rights, the Honkers bonded over their common cause to help China 'rise up.' In the words of a China Eagle Union pledge, the Honkers vowed 'to put the interests of the Chinese nation above everything else.' The patriotic wars put China's Honkers on the map and inspired more to join them. Honker Union swelled to an estimated 80,000 members, Green Army to 3,000. Most were just enthusiasts and adventure seekers, but a subset stood out for leadership and hacking skills. A particularly influential group among these, whom Benincasa calls the Red 40, would go on to found or join many of China's top cybersecurity and tech firms and become integral to the state's cyberspy machine. There's no evidence that the government directed the patriotic hacking operations, says Benincasa, but their activity aligned with state interests, and they drew government attention. A retired PLA rear admiral and former professor at the PLA National Defense University praised their patriotism. The public also appeared to support it. A report claimed that 84 percent of internet users in China favored the patriotic hacking. But in April 2001, this began to change after a Chinese fighter jet clipped a US reconnaissance plane mid-air off the coast of Hainan and sparked an international incident. The collision killed the Chinese pilot and forced the US plane to land on Hainan, where the Chinese military seized the aircraft and held the crew for more than a week. The incident stoked nationalist sentiments among US and Chinese hackers alike, and both sides lobbed cyberattacks against the other country's systems. The Chinese government grew concerned over its lack of control of the Honkers and feared they could become a liability and escalate tensions. The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper likened the hacking to "web terrorism,' and the head of the Internet Society of China issued a statement through China's official state media condemning it as well. The retired PLA rear admiral who previously praised the groups now warned they were a threat to international relations. The Honkers got the message, but with their patriotic mission shelved, the groups now became less cohesive. There were leadership clashes and disagreements over direction and priorities—some wanted to turn professional and launch cybersecurity companies to defend China's systems against attack, others wanted to go rogue and sell malicious tools. The former left to join tech firms like Baidu, Alibaba, and Huawei or cybersecurity firms like Venustech and Topsec. Some became entrepreneurs and launched their own security firms, like NSFocus and Knownsec, which became leaders in vulnerability research and threat intelligence. Some, however, shifted to cybercrime. And others, like Tan, became contract hackers for the PLA and MSS, or founded firms that served these operations. Honker Recruitment According to Benincasa, the PLA and MSS began hiring Honkers around 2003, but the recruitment became more structured and earnest following the 2006 hackings attributed to NCPH and Tan. The recruitment expanded during and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and was likely helped in 2009 with the passage of China's Criminal Law Amendment VII, which criminalized unauthorized intrusions into any network as well as the distribution of hacking tools. Hacker forums began to shutter, and some Honkers got arrested. Word spread that Tan was among them. According to Kozy, Tan faced seven and a half years in prison, though it's unclear if he served any time. Kozy believes he cut a deal and began work for the MSS. In 2011, it appears he launched an antivirus firm named Anvisoft, which may have served as a front for his MSS work. Former Honkers Zeng Xiaoyong (envymask) and Zhou Shuai (coldface) also became contractors for the PLA and MSS and worked on operations conducted by APT 41, APT 17, and APT 27, according to Benicassa. Some worked through shell companies, others worked through legitimate firms who acted as intermediaries to the intelligence services. Topsec and Venustech were two firms alleged to have assisted these efforts. Topsec employed a number of former Honkers, including the founder of the Honker Union of China, and Topsec's founder once acknowledged in an interview that the PLA directed his company. In 2015, Topsec was linked to state-sponsored cyber operations, including the Anthem Insurance breach in the US. Over the years, many tools used by China APT groups were built by Honkers, and the PLA and MSS mined them for vulnerability research and exploit development. In 1999, Huang Xin (glacier), a member of Green Army, released 'Glacier,' a remote-access trojan. The next year, he and Yang Yong (coolc) from XFocus released X-Scan, a tool to scan networks for vulnerabilities that is still used by hackers in China today. In 2003, two members of Honker Union released HTRAN, a tool to hide an attacker's location by rerouting their traffic through proxy computers, which has been used by China's APTs. Tan and fellow NCPH member Zhou Jibing (whg) are believed to have created the PlugX backdoor in 2008, which has been used by more than 10 Chinese APTs. According to Benincasa, Zhou developed it even further to produce ShadowPad, which has been used by APT 41 and others. Over the years, leaks and US indictments against former Honkers have exposed their alleged post-Honker spy careers, as well as China's use of for-profit firms for state hacking operations. The latter include i-Soon and Integrity Tech, both launched by former Honkers. Wu Haibo (shutdown), formerly of Green Army and 0x557, launched i-Soon in 2010. And last year, someone leaked internal i-Soon files and chat logs, exposing the company's espionage work on behalf of the MSS and MPS. In March this year, eight i-Soon employees and two MPS officers were indicted by the US for hacking operations that targeted US government agencies, Asian foreign ministries, dissidents, and media outlets. Integrity Tech, founded in 2010 by former Green Army member Cai Jingjing (cbird), was sanctioned by the US this year over ties to global infrastructure hacks. This year, the US also indicted former Green Army members Zhou and Wu for conducting state hacking operations and sanctioned Zhou over links to APT 27. In addition to engaging in state-sponsored hacking, he allegedly also ran a data-leak service selling some of the stolen data to customers, including intelligence agencies. This isn't unlike early-generation US hackers who also transitioned to become cybersecurity company founders, and also got recruited by the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency or hired by contractors to perform hacking operations for US operations. But unlike the US, China's whole-of-society intelligence authorities have compelled some Chinese citizens and companies to collaborate with the state in conducting espionage, Kozy notes. 'I think that China from the beginning just thought, 'We can co-opt [the Honkers] for state interests.'' Kozy says. 'And … because a lot of these young guys had patriotic leanings to begin with, they were kind of pressed into service by saying, 'Hey you're going to be doing a lot of really good things for the country.' Also, many of them started to realize they could get rich doing it.'
