Encryption for us, not for you: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is researching ways to improve mobile encryption for federal users, even as the FBI continues to fight against encrypted data on the smartphones of ordinary users. FifthDomain has a story on the DHS effort.
Safety labels for the IoT: The Internet of things needs food safety-style labels detailing the safety and privacy controls on IoT devices, suggests a story at Motherboard.
Consumer Reports and other groups have begun working on a new open source standard intended to help make Internet-connected hardware safer, the story says.
Let’s Encrypt gains support: Let’s Encrypt, the Internet Society-supported secure certificate authority, has picked up endorsements from major root programs like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Mozilla, Oracle, and Blackberry, Packt Hub reports. The zero-cost service allows website operators to pick up SSL certificates for free.
That’s a lot of AI: Intel sold $1 billion worth of Artificial Intelligence chips in 2017, Reuters reports. That’s even a conservative estimate, Intel says. Prepare now for the smart robot takeover!
Hired by AI: Meanwhile, AI is coming to the hiring process, Bloomberg reports, and that may not be such a bad thing. AI may actually be less biased than more human-powered hiring processes, the story says. Employee referrals, for example, leave a lot of people out of the hiring pipeline.
Seven-month blockade: A new documentary details a 230-day Internet shutdown in Cameroon, QZ.com says. During the shutdown, between January 2017 and March of this year, the government blocked the Internet or stopped access to some social media platforms with the goal of stifling dissent and ending calls for secession.
Silencing protests: Bangladesh has also gotten into the Internet shutdown game, by blocking mobile access in parts of the country, The Malaysian Insight reports. The shutdown was an attempt to quell student protests over unsafe roads.
Do you know the risks of what you’re buying? Get IoT smart!