I continue to be quite surprised at the lack of understanding that people have about personal assistants such as Alexa and Echo. It seems logical to me that when you yell out “Alexa, turn on the lights!” Alexa is using voice recognition technology to recognize your voice for the command and is processing that command … Continue Reading
Amazon has announced that it has developed and is offering a “CMMC Quickstart Package” to help contractors comply with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) required for contractors to enter into contracts with DOD. According to an Amazon spokesman, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be releasing a responsibility guide that “lists … Continue Reading
The transition from work-from-the-office to work-from-home has been rapid during the pandemic. All of a sudden, millions of workers are working from home, while data security personnel were not able to plan and operationalize the transition in an optimal way. Many security measures are being put in place now as everyone settles into the new … Continue Reading
It’s getting difficult to keep up with the jargon of all of the new digital scams. The SaaSes in the beginning became regular business terms, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Business Processes-as-a-Service (BPaaS). But then the criminal enterprises came up with Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) and now Crime-as-a-Service (CaaS). A new Crime-as-a-Service offering is targeting … Continue Reading
Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, announced Amazon Prime Air, a delivery-by-drone initiative more than five years ago, and last week, Amazon revealed more information about its delivery system–the design. The Amazon delivery drone will use vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology that is aerodynamic and “fully shrouded for safety.” Additionally, the drone features artificial intelligence to … Continue Reading
It has been reported that a hacker was able to break into the servers of TheTruthSpy, a company that is described as “one of the most notorious stalkerware companies out there” (Motherboard, August 2018) and was able to steal logins, audio recordings, text messages, and pictures of victims. Motherboard has issued a series of stories that … Continue Reading
Security researcher Chris Vickery has confirmed that web-monitoring data from the Department of Defense (DOD) was exposed through Amazon Web Services by the way the DOD configured access by authorized users. According to Vickery, anyone with a free AWS account had access to the DOD information, which included 1.8 billion internet posts that had been … Continue Reading
If you haven’t yet heard about it, Amazon is on the forefront of package delivery. And if you think that is old news (which it is!), have you heard about Amazon’s scanning technology capable of scanning the homes down below its delivery drone so that it can properly deliver that awesome new gadget you just … Continue Reading
Back in December 2016, Amazon executed its first customer delivery by drone in the United Kingdom. Now, as Amazon, and other large retailers, aim for widespread deployment of drones for the delivery of goods to consumers, it is increasingly clear that advanced weather data is vital for ensuring that these delivery drones can fly weather-sensitive … Continue Reading
As you head to the beach or hammock for a bit of R+R this summer, here is one that you might want on the reading list. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been publishing a report entitled “Who Has Your Back” since 2010. The point of the report is to assess major digital companies’ attitude … Continue Reading
By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that Alexa has been on a dollhouse shopping spree, and is also helping to solve a murder. Clearly, Alexa cannot be trusted and that’s why she has only limited trigger words, including options such as “Alexa,” “Amazon,” “computer,” and “Echo.” When you speak those words, or other “wake words” … Continue Reading
Police in Bentonville, Arkansas, are seeking records from an Amazon Echo device (for the second time) which may contain records in connection with a murder investigation in the home of James Andrew Bates where Victor Collins was found dead in Bates’ hot tub last year. Echo is an always-on digital assistant that can answer questions, … Continue Reading
Amazon’s Prime Air took off on its first fully autonomous package delivery flight. While there have been many hurdles for Amazon’s drone package delivery initiative in the United States, that has not stopped them in other countries around the world. Amazon’s website included a post about its first flight, writing, “We’re excited about Prime Air–a … Continue Reading
It’s here–last week, privacy groups and industry stakeholders that were participating in the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) Multi-Stakeholder process released a set of best practices for commercial and private drone use. Participants included Amazon, AUVSI, Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Technology Association, CTIA, FPF, Intel, X (formerly Google X), New America’s Open … Continue Reading
U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman denied Amazon, Inc.’s (Amazon) motion for summary judgment on October 7, 2015, in Illinois federal court, in a class action case over alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), stating that while Amazon said it offered plaintiff compensation to drop his accusations, “there is no offer of judgment … Continue Reading
Anonymous users of the almost 40 million users of the Ashley Madison website have filed suit against internet service providers (ISPs) GoDaddy and Amazon alleging that they have been damaged because the ISPs hosted the stolen data and allowed the stolen data to be easily accessible and searchable (view related posts Aug. 27, Aug. 21 and July … Continue Reading
While Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) did receive approval to fly its test drones from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back in March of this year for its July 2014 request, that approval proved to be useless after Amazon updated its drone technology before receiving its first approval. The FAA’s drone approval process was conducted slower than … Continue Reading
In February 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a framework for how it plans to oversee the operation of small drones weighing 55 pounds or less. Now, on March 20, 2015, the FAA has come to an agreement with Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon), and issued it an online retailer experimental airworthiness certificate, to permit it … Continue Reading
