Most of us aren’t going to spend hundreds of dollars on an Apple Watch for our kids, but there are many less-expensive, kid-targeted smartwatches available. Unfortunately, a new report claims that your young one’s tiny screen may also be a huge privacy risk. [More]
the internet of things
‘South Park’ Screws With Viewers’ Google Home, Echo Devices
By 9.14.17
Fans of the show South Park who watched the season premiere last night got more than the usual fart jokes and foul-mouthed rants: Amazon Echo and Google Home devices were woken up throughout the episode, triggered by commands from the characters. Of course, hilarity — or headaches, depending on your point of view — ensued. [More]
FTC Awards $25,000 Prize To App Designed To Make Your Stuff’s Security Suck Less
By 7.26.17
Your stuff may be increasingly “smart,” but the security on it almost certainly isn’t. If something of yours connects to the internet, it can be hacked — leaving your private data vulnerable, and potentially sweeping your stuff into an international criminal botnet. Now, the FTC is awarding a cash prize to a developer who’s designed an app to hopefully help you make your stuff more secure. [More]
The Code Running Millions Of Samsung Devices Is Full of Giant, Gaping Security Holes
By 4.5.17
The Internet of Things — the amorphous, rapidly-growing mass of devices that are always on and speaking to the great cloud — has never exactly been known for its great security practices. And according to one researcher, the system Samsung uses in everything from its TVs to its phones is “worst code I’ve ever seen,” containing multiple major vulnerabilities. [More]
Court Denies Vizio’s Request To Dismiss Users’ Privacy Lawsuits
By 3.7.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
We learned back in 2015 that while all smart TVs collect data on your viewing habits, Vizio was going above and beyond, collecting more information than most, and telling you even less about it. As you might expect, loads of folks who owned Vizio TVs were deeply unhappy about this, and sued the company. And now, a judge has denied Vizio’s motion to dismiss that suit, meaning it will indeed have to defend itself in court. [More]
CloudPets “Smart” Toys Leak More Than 2M Voice Recordings, Other Personal Data
By 2.28.17
CloudPets are not cute little adoptable cumulonimbus and cirrus toys for your kid to play with. Instead, they are traditional dog, cat, and bear stuffed animals that relay voice messages between an adult and a kid through the digital cloud. Which in and of itself is not necessarily a bad idea, even if it’s not your style. What is a bad idea, however, is failing to secure your server, and making more than 2 million of those very personal messages public, for anyone on the internet to grab. [More]
Don’t Want Your TV To Report Back Everything You Watch? Here’s How To Turn That Off
By 2.10.17
Vizio got busted early this week for spying on users and sharing their data without permission. But the key there is the “without permission” part, because pretty much all smart TVs are collecting and sharing some kind of data on you. And so many consumers are now asking: Can I make them stop? [More]
Samsung “Smart” Camera Is Ridiculously Hackable
By 1.18.17
A security camera in your house, that you can access remotely, might seem like a good idea at first. You can log into it from anywhere, to see what’s going on and if it really was the cat who opened your kitchen cabinets every day last week. But the problem with a thing you can access remotely is that a sufficiently determined bad actor can, too. And sometimes it doesn’t even take much determination to do. [More]
Got An Idea On How To Make ‘Internet Of Things’ More Secure? You Could Win $25,000
By 1.5.17
Internet-connected (“smart”) devices are becoming ubiquitous, but they have this persistent problem: they’re internet-connected. A huge number are extremely vulnerable to being taken over by bad actors, for a whole host of reasons. And so, before your fridge becomes part of the next record-breaking botnet, the Federal Trade Commission wants to give someone cold, hard, cash money for coming up with a way to prevent it. [More]
Insurers Not So Sure Smart Gadgets Make Your Home Any Safer
By 12.22.16
The insurance industry seems to have a love-hate relationship with smart gadgets: auto insurers want drivers to use tracking technology so they can offer more personalized rates (something many drivers don’t want), but home insurance companies aren’t likely to give homeowners with internet-connected safety systems a break on their bills. [More]
Report: Amazon Working On An Alexa-Controlled Speaker With A Touchscreen
By 11.29.16
Are we heading toward a future where you control everything in your home by speaking to a disembodied voice? Amazon certainly seems to be going in that direction, with a new report that it’s working on a premium speaker powered by Alexa, a sort of souped-up Echo, featuring a large screen. [More]
Millions Of Hijacked “Smart” Devices Already Aiding Criminals, Research Finds
By 10.13.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Ever since “smart,” connected devices began to form the internet of things a few years back, some experts have warned that we could be facing a future where your toaster, washing machine, and TV become part of a sophisticated botnet used to attack others. Well, those experts say, the future is now. [More]
TCP Disconnects “Smart” Lightbulb Servers, Leaves Buyers In The Dark
By 8.19.16
This is, unfortunately, becoming one of the most predictable stories of the early 21st century. It goes something like this: new tech product comes on the market. Consumers, finding product solves their problem, eagerly buy. Then the company that made the product turns off the server that made the thing “smart,” and suddenly early adopters are up a creek with no recourse. [More]
Glitch In Auto-Feeding App Could Leave Pets Waiting For Meals
By 7.28.16
The internet of things provides convenience in basically any area of your life, but that technology can also become quite inconvenient when technical issues arise. For pet owners who used an auto-feeding system controlled by an app, that meant their furry friends might’ve missed a few meals when the app’s servers suffered an outage. [More]
Your Home Router Was Probably Out-Of-Date And Insecure Before You Even Plugged It In
By 1.19.16
Here’s some depressing news for your morning: even if you set up your home network yourself and followed all of the best practices for doing so, it’s probably got some big fat vulnerabilities in it. [More]
Security Researcher Successfully Steals Home WiFi Passwords By Hacking Into Tea Kettles
By 10.19.15
While it might be super convenient to have everything in your home connected to the Internet, that interconnectivity can also give attackers a chance to sneak in through seemingly innocent devices. Take the humble tea kettle: a security researcher in England has been hacking into smart kettles across the country and gaining access to private WiFi networks. [More]
Hackers Can Now Remotely Attack A Gun, Change Its Target, And Lock The Owner Out
By 7.29.15
Over the past few years we’ve heard a lot about the smart, connected devices that make up the internet of things. From ceiling fans to cars and cameras, they’re everywhere. Unfortunately, anything that can connect to the internet can be hacked through the internet… and now, it seems, that includes guns. [More]
Visa And Pizza Hut Want You To Order And Pay For Pizza With Your Car
By 3.2.15
Have you ever had one of those days where you just want pizza to come to you as easily as possible, using as few tools to procure said pizza as possible? Then you might be into a new concept from Visa and Pizza Hut, that wants to get drivers to order and pay for their pizza without ever leaving their cars — or picking up their smartphones, for that matter. [More]
