Broadcasting to Russia? The Thin Edge of the Wedge

It seems that the famous Russian hackers are tapping into webcams all over the world. Many of them are set up with "default' passwords, like admin, or 1234, which everyone knows about, making it easy to break in. The use of default passwords has been a classic means of hacking into business systems for years. A login ID of admin, with a password of admin will sometimes get you right into a system with lax security administration, and sometimes even give you access to the security administration function, which enables you to modify accounts or even create your own for future use.

But home wireless systems and things like webcams are the biggest culprits, and therefore the target of hackers worldwide. The problem is going to become epidemic when more "things" come onto the web. Password management in the home will become even more crucial.

Here's the story about Russia and webcams.

Credit Cards on your Wrist

Royal Bank is running a pilot testing an innovative concept in the race to find a workable means of electronic mobile payments. Much effort by various parties has gone into the use of mobile phones, and this ill continue, but there are other means being researched.

Royal may be onto something with this product, which involves wearing a band that is equipped with NFC technology enabling it to communicate with similarly equipped cash registers or terminals. The band would be linked to the wearer's credit card and the authentication process, rather than a password or pin, would be the heartbeat of the wearer. So if the band is lost, it wouldn't be able to be used, as everyone has a unique heartbeat. Kind of a portable cardiogram.

We can expect other innovations in the payments space, but this one has a lot of potential. Wearable technologies are the future and perhaps we will see technological rings, pendants, and other things that will be able to facilitate our shopping for us. For more on the Royal initiative, check this link.

Will That be Credit Card, Debit Card or Cell Phone?

The recent launch of Apple Pay had drawn attention once again to the use of cell phones for payments. Check out this article on the subject by Gerald Trites on Money.ca.

Cars and Data Privacy

Automobiles are increasingly using advanced technologies to improve safety and the driving experience generally. Many of these technologies involve internet connections, which means that data about the car and the individual driving it is also available on the cloud. many people have raised concerns about the privacy implications of this trend.

The Association of Global Automakers -- the trade association representing Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and other foreign automakers -- and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers -- the group representing U.S. automakers, Toyota, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and others -- both say they are working together to ensure driver data Relevant Products/Services privacy.

Their objective is to write a set of principles that could form the basis of their technology development. The principles could also form a basis for legislation. Privacy concerns extend beyond cars to all things being included in the internet of things and this will be a major issue for the foreseeable future. For more on the car makers actions, check out this site.