I have worked in computer hardware engineering, microprocessor programming, and a wide variety of software systems and communications networks. I have particular expertise in FPGAs, communication hardware, and network/communication security. Over 14 years of technology consulting as an entrepreneur (small business), I have gained real-world design experience and have produced designs both for industry and government.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering (University of Manitoba), and Master's degree in Electrical Engineering (University of Waterloo),
PC-Tools.Net (launched 2000): freeware, trialware, and open-source software Jem has written over the years. All software is written in C, C++ or assembler and runs on DOS, Windows, or Unix-like (Linux, BSD, Solaris, etc.)
CleanSoftware.org (launched 2004): a resource to help Windows users find the best free daily-use software, free from nasties: adware, spyware, harmful/intrusive components, and threats to privacy. The site is a response to the increasing amount of dishonest, misleading, and dangerous "free software" spread around the Internet. CleanSoftware.org has been featured on Slashdot and p2pnet
Side-Channel Monitoring of Contactless Java Cards (completed 2008), thesis for Master of Applied Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. The thesis is based on lab work which examined side-channel attack techniques for contactless smart cards (RFID cards). Some of the card monitoring and measurement techniques developed are the first ever documented procedures of their kind, using only unmodified COTS hardware without requiring any custom or proprietary hardware/protocols.
renattach-1.2.2 (released 2004) is an efficient and highly effective Unix mail filter. It catches potentially dangerous attachments based on file extension, helping protect general users from malicious content in emails. Because it's not actually a virus scanner, there are no virus 'definitions' to maintain and there is very little processing overhead. The dangerous attachments can be renamed, deleted from the message, or the whole message can be killed/absorbed. The filter can run on Unix-like (including Linux, BSD) mail servers and is currently being used by several universities.
Design of a Voice over IP System that Circumvents NAT (completed 2004), by Berkes, Czyrnyj, Olivier, Schaub at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Manitoba. We were thrilled to receive IEEE's Ted Glass Award as well as IEEE's Group Design Project Award for 2003-2004.
JBMail 3.2 (released 2003) is a small but powerful win32 email client designed for portability and security. It's one of the very few Windows mail clients with full SSL/TLS functionality for both POP3 and SMTP. Other features include server-side mail storage, stripping of HTML down to plaintext, and advanced header-based junk filtering. JBMail is used worldwide and has the support of several Internet Service Providers.
Manitoba Cycling Association (Recreation and Transport Committee)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (Winnipeg chapter, Canada)
Digital Copyright Canada group for citizens' interests. Involved in the Petition for Users' Rights with respect to copyright law in Canada. Read my Q&A on proposed changes to Canadian copyright law.
Network Security presentation covering Wi-Fi security (802.11) and insecure communication channels. Invited lecture at University of Manitoba, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, February 2009.
Berkes, J. Side-Channel Monitoring of Contactless Java Cards. MASc thesis, University of Waterloo, 2008.
Berkes, J. Design of a DDoS Attack-Resistant Distributed Spam Blocklist. In Proceedings of 2nd IASTED International Conference on Communication and Computer Networks (CCN), Cambridge, MA, November 2004. [presentation]
Berkes, J., Schaub, D., Czyrnyj, T., and Olivier, J. Design of a Voice over IP System that Circumvents NAT. Technical report prepared for undergraduate design project, University of Manitoba, 2004.
Letter to MP regarding Bill C-60, An Act to amend the Copyright Act. In my opinion, these changes to law threaten the rights of Canadians with respect to privacy, freedom of speech, and consumer choice. Bill C-60 also threatens business and innovation in Canada by providing special powers to select industries.
