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
Internet of Things
Smart Stethoscopes and Smart Toilet Seats – Coming to a Doctor Near You?
By Deborah George on
Posted in Internet of Things
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”
By Guest Contributor on
Posted in Internet of Things
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
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity, Internet of Things
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
By Deborah George on
Posted in Internet of Things
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
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity, Internet of Things
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
By Deborah George on
Posted in Internet of Things
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
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Internet of Things
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…
How Much Data Does Your Car Collect? Here’s a Reminder
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Internet of Things
People don’t think of their cars as IoT devices. Our cars are increasingly more connected by Wi-Fi, what does that mean for data collection about the driver? Our cars are collecting much more data than you think. [view related posts here and here]. Cars can collect information related to where you’ve been, what you’re…
Privacy Tip #158 – IoT Passwords
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Internet of Things, Privacy Tips
California lawmakers have taken the lead in trying to address privacy and security issues with Internet of Things (IoT) devices (which we have been writing about for years), by passing the country’s first IoT security bill, which is now headed to Governor Brown’s desk for signature by September 30.
One of the issues addressed by…