Tag Archives: Internet Of Things
“Eavesdropping” toys could be banned in California over privacy concerns
by Jen McGuire, Romper
After receiving several complaints from consumer groups, the state of California looked at creating a new bill aimed at protecting children’s privacy…from their toys. Read More ›
Hey, Siri And Alexa: Let’s Talk Privacy Practices
by Elizabeth Weise, USA Today
The worry is that this trickle of helpful adjuncts could become a flood of invasive devices bent on listening and learning from everything we say around them. … Could there come a day when talking about buying a faucet in the kitchen could be overheard by your TV in the living room, changing the types of commercials that show up when you’re watching your favorite program the next night? … One concern has been that law enforcement might subpoena sound files recorded in a home when investigating a crime, or that they could be discoverable in a divorce proceeding. Read More ›
Get Ready For A World Of Hackable Cars
by Elizabeth Weise, USA Today
“If you’ve got GPS or Bluetooth access or a WiFi hotspot in your car — which is coming — there’s a wide range of hacks for getting in,” [one expert said.] … The convergence between connected cars and nefarious hackers (as opposed to research hackers) is coming, say [others. … One expert] says he does caution friends to avoid the dongles popular with some auto insurance companies that allow them to monitor a car’s actions. It’s one thing to trust Ford or Chevrolet. But with those, he said, “you’re not even trusting your insurance company, your’e trusting whoever they bought the dongle from.” Read More ›
Smart TVs An ‘Inevitable’ Path For Hackers To Attack Home PCs: Experts
by Herb Weisbaum, NBC News
“Smart TVs, like computers, host numerous software programs and apps that are susceptible to being compromised,” [One expert said]. “Both security researchers and criminals have figured out that you can jump from the smart TV or an app on that TV to the laptop or desktop or any other computer on the home network.” … While most users have security software on their computers, there is no anti-virus software specifically made for televisions. Read More ›
FTC Calls For Strong Data And Privacy Protection With Connected Devices
by Natasha Singer, The New York Times
Last year, for instance, an electronics company that marketed what it said were “secure” Internet-connected cameras, allowing parents to remotely monitor their babies, settled a complaint by the F.T.C. that lax security practices had exposed its customers to privacy invasions. A security flaw allowed anyone with the cameras’ Internet addresses to view, and in some cases hear, what was happening in customers’ homes. Read More ›
CES: Security Risks From The Smart Home
by Molly Wood, The New York Times
LAS VEGAS — The Internet of Things arrived in force at this year’s International CES, the huge trade show here. But while manufacturers at the event painted a rosy picture of connected grills, coffee makers, refrigerators and door locks, security experts and regulators warned that the Internet of Things could be a threat to both security and privacy. … Perhaps because connected devices are relatively new, there are few security features built into many of them or the apps and services that power them. Even fewer products exist to lock down your smart home. Read More ›