I attended a meeting of cybersecurity professionals recently and overheard several of them talking about their new security cameras and how great it is to see everyone who comes up the driveway and to the front door, and monitors the family members and pets in the home. One mentioned how his wife doesn’t approve of
Internet of Things
My Own Internet of Things (IoT) Nightmare (Almost) – The Smart Light Bulbs Took Over My House!
So this week’s blog article takes a page from my very own “smart” home devices. Monday morning at about 3:42 a.m. our entire household woke up because every “smart” lightbulb in the house came on at the same time! It was a bit distressing and once we got up and shut off all the lights,…
Federal Privacy Law – Could It Happen in 2019?
This was a busy week for activity and discussions on the federal level regarding existing privacy laws – namely the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). But the real question is, could a federal privacy law actually happen in 2019? Cybersecurity issues and the possibility of a…
Smart Stethoscopes and Smart Toilet Seats – Coming to a Doctor Near You?
My fascination with Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues, and this week I found two new medical uses of AI that are pretty interesting. Digital Trends reported on two exciting developments: smart stethoscopes and smart toilet seats. In the first example, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the startup Sonavi Labs are developing an updated stethoscope, a piece…
California Law IoT Devised to Have “Reasonable Security Feature”
On September 28, 2018, California passed Senate Bill No. 327, Chapter 886, which regulates the security of all internet of things (IoT) devices sold in California. Collectively, IoT broadly refers to all internet-enabled devices and includes everything from doorbells and lamps to cell phones and wearable devices. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2020, will…
McAfee® Report Outlines Recent Threats from Q3 2018
For data security buffs like me, the recent McAfee® Labs Threats Report, December 2018 is, or should be, a top pick on the list. Well, maybe not for the holiday reading list, and we need to be careful not to bring up the results during holiday parties.
I warn you that it is not…
The Latest Hack into a Smart Home Camera – Another Reason to Use Two-Factor Authentication
Sometimes I feel like I’m the Grinch at a party when I talk shop about the latest massive data breach or horrible hacker story that is in the news. We say things like, “It’s not if, but when” there will be another data breach. Well, this week was no different, as we saw news reports…
IoT Security Challenges are Costly
Some analysts have predicted that by 2020, there will be 20 billion Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices worldwide, which could grow to over 80 billion by 2025. Sales of IoT devices were $80 billion in 2017, and are predicted to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2021. With the exponential growth of IoT devices, experts…
Buy a Beer By Using Your Fingerprint? You Can in Seattle
What’s worse than standing in a huge line to get into the stadium to watch your favorite team? Standing in another huge line to get your favorite beer. CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC, now offers the option of entering the stadium and purchasing food and beverages using biometrics fingerprint scanning…
IoT Sensors Collect Real Time Oceanographic Data
The Australian Institute of Marine Science is using an IoT drifter manufactured by Myriota to collect oceanographic data in almost real time. The drifters connect to low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, so they are not using traditional mobile telephone networks, and avoid connectivity issues.
The drifters monitor ocean conditions, including water temperatures, currents and barometric…