Apps, games, systems in multiple languages — more than one billion pieces of software rest in a closely monitored storage facility on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. More like an evidence locker than a storage closet, the National Software Reference Library, or NSRL, is a critical resource for law enforcement, government and industry. When criminal investigators seize a computer, they need to quickly push aside the information that doesn’t relate to a potential crime and get to the point. The NSRL helps by providing a digital fingerprint (aka, “hash”) that identifies each piece of software. That way, the investigators can quickly find any suspicious programs, such as multiple QuickBooks apps on a computer owned by a suspect accused of financial malfeasance. Beyond criminal investigations, the NSRL also can help organizations quickly rid all of their computers of unwanted software. For example, when federal agencies were required to stop using Kaspersky cybersecurity products in 2019, IT specialists turned to the NSRL to get the software off all of their computers. When Napster reigned over the music industry and pop culture in the early 2000s, multiple companies used the NSRL to help wipe corporate computers after their employees plugged in their personal devices with the software. The physical library has multiple rows of shelves that house some nostalgia-inducing contents, including The Sims Online, Warcraft II: Battle Chest, The Oregon Trail 5th Edition, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 and After Dark (the computer screensaver software that displayed flying toasters). Its digital counterpart, a server in another room, has many more exciting additions. Quarterly captures of messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat (not including your personal messages), more than 4,200 titles available via Steam, more than 200 titles of virtual reality software ... the list goes on and on. As more apps push live and systems hit the market, our experts are ready to incorporate them into the library. Curious to learn other ways NIST researchers are strengthening forensic science? Check out an upcoming virtual workshop: https://lnkd.in/djABg4id #ForensicScienceWeek #ForensicScience #DigitalEvidence #InformationTechnology #IT
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Research Services
Gaithersburg, MD 358,551 followers
Measure. Innovate. Lead.
About us
We are the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more than a century, NIST has helped to keep U.S. technology at the leading edge. Our measurements support the smallest of technologies to the largest and most complex of human-made creations. NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. See what innovative work we’re doing to support it: https://www.nist.gov/
- Website
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http://www.nist.gov
External link for National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- Industry
- Research Services
- Company size
- 1,001-5,000 employees
- Headquarters
- Gaithersburg, MD
- Type
- Government Agency
- Founded
- 1901
- Specialties
- Standards, Metrology, Advanced Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Bioscience, Chemistry, Physics, Fire, Forensic Science, Environment, Cybersecurity, Mathematics and Statistics, Manufacturing, Electronics, Energy, Construction, Public Safety, Nanotechnology, Materials, Information Technology, Neutron Research, Health, Infrastructure, Buildings, Resilience, Transportation, Climate, and Performance Excellence
Locations
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Primary
100 Bureau Drive
Gaithersburg, MD 20899, US
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325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80305, US
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331 Ft. Johnson Road
Charleston, South Carolina 29412, US
Employees at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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Krishna Sankar
SVP/Distinguished Engineer − Generative AI Red Teaming, Guardrails & Explainability @ U.S.Bank
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Robby Moss
Supply Chain IT Solutions | Digital Transformation | Manufacturing Execution | Logistics IT | IoT | ERP
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Charles Clark
Chief Research Scientist @ Aspen Quantum Consulting | NIST Fellow Emeritus
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Peter Mell
Updates
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NIST postdoctoral researcher J. Trey Diulus studies alternative materials for electronic devices, including computer chips. Most chips are made with semiconductors such as silicon. (That’s where the term “Silicon Valley” comes from.) But increasingly, consumer products require electronics to handle more electric power than ever before. Cars, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, phones and more now require advanced electronics that we need to make in the most energy-efficient way possible. During National Postdoc Appreciation Week this week, learn more about Trey and his contributions to NIST’s research: https://lnkd.in/dqXuTuNb #Semiconductors #PostdocWeek
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Congrats to NIST researcher Alexey V. Gorshkov for being named a finalist for the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists! Alexey is recognized for advancing the design of large quantum systems through pioneering research at the intersection of quantum physics and information science with groundbreaking implications for quantum computers, sensors and networks. Learn more about the award: https://lnkd.in/e4vQpX2Z #Quantum #QuantumPhysics #InformationScience #Excellence
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Around the world researchers are developing new devices called quantum computers, which have the potential to perform certain tasks much faster than regular computers. If sufficiently powerful quantum computers could be built, they would decode today’s digital information, including confidential emails and electronic transactions. In order to develop secure defenses against such attacks, NIST is helping through its post-quantum cryptography project. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dwDAfRs7 #InformationTechnology #Cybersecurity #Cryptography #Standards #QuantumComputers
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More than 40 million mammograms are done in the U.S. each year. Each one is a chance to save a life. Those mammograms need to be both safe and effective, so mammography machines must expose patients to the smallest amount of radiation needed to get a good image. Careful measurements ensure that the benefits of these tests far outweigh the impacts of the exposure. We know that U.S. hospitals achieve this balance because they trace that radiation amount back to one of our labs here at NIST. This is one of many hundreds of examples of how measurement science affects daily life — whether you think about it or not. Learn more in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://lnkd.in/gXZBYd5c #Metrology #Measurement #Radiation
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It’s TIME for some congratulations. Elizabeth Kelly, director of the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI), has been recognized by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in AI. Elizabeth is responsible for providing executive leadership, management and oversight over the AI Safety Institute as well as coordinating with other AI policy initiatives throughout the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST and across the government. Learn about how she’s bringing AISI’s vision to fruition: https://lnkd.in/dqBsFbJd #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #WomenInTech #Leadership #Excellence
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Congratulations to Long Phan and Marc Levitan, winners of this year’s Service to America medal by Partnership for Public Service for their work studying tornadoes and developing new standards to withstand them. Every year, more than 1,000 tornadoes touch down in the US. When Marc and Long first started working at NIST, the word “tornado” did not appear in the model building code. Their decades of effort and leadership have led to a new code provision that will ensure critical infrastructure can withstand the windstorms they’re likely to face, saving buildings and lives. Learn more about the award and their accomplishments: https://lnkd.in/enhDtWMq #Sammies2024 #Awards #Engineering #Buildings #PublicService
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To accelerate biotechnology innovations, such as the development of lifesaving drug therapies, scientists strive to develop faster, more quantitative, and more widely available ways to observe biomolecules in living cells. Now, for the first time ever, NIST scientists have developed a new method that captures clear images of biomolecules in single live cells using infrared (IR) transmission imaging. The method has the potential to speed up advances in biomanufacturing, cell therapy development and drug development. Learn more about the imaging technique in our news story: https://lnkd.in/eWWD-i4k #Microscopy #Imaging #AnalyticalChemistry #Bioscience
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Let’s get fired up! Check out our latest roundup of position openings at NIST: Librarian: https://lnkd.in/e9Axp4yj Supervisory Mathematical Statistician: https://lnkd.in/eWM6jT5J Biological Science Technician: https://lnkd.in/eVWZqGzX Browse our full listing of current openings at NIST: https://lnkd.in/d6KBevq #NISTjob #JobOpening #JobOpportunities
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Companies that make dental products — such as toothpaste, fillings and crowns — sometimes spend years developing these items, only to find out in final testing that they are too irritating to go in a human mouth. But what if we could test dental products on a model of the human mouth tissue early in the development process? A NIST researcher is working toward making that a reality in the lab, and that knowledge may help unlock other scientific advances, too. Learn more in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://lnkd.in/duDBGhB8 #RegenerativeMedicine #Dental #Research