May 2014

Now Your Phone’s Tilt Sensor Can Identify You

The sensor that lets your phone know which way the screen is oriented also -- thanks to minute manufacturing variations -- emits a unique data “fingerprint” that could allow your phone to be tracked, even if all other privacy settings are locked down, researchers say.

In addition to governing basic things like screen orientation, accelerometer data is widely used by apps such as pedometers and mobile games. Meanwhile, many apps often rely on advertising, which has led advertisers to search for ways to track users and their Web habits.

Even if you don’t allow apps to see your personal data or location, just the raw movements of the phone -- which can be measured without permission -- can betray the phone’s unique identity and track it over time, says Romit Roy Choudhury, an associate professor at the University of Illinois who cowrote a paper with colleagues at the University of South Carolina that describes the phenomenon.

“There has been a lot of work to catch the leakage of ID information from phones,” he says. “We are now saying that accelerometer data going out of the phone can be treated as an ID.”

When Hitting ‘Find My iPhone’ Takes You to a Thief’s Doorstep

With smartphone theft rampant, apps like Find My iPhone offer a new option for those desperate to recover their devices, allowing victims to act when the police will not.

But the emergence of this kind of do-it-yourself justice -- an unintended result of the proliferation of GPS tracking apps -- has stirred worries among law enforcement officials that people are putting themselves in danger, taking disproportionate risks for the sake of an easily replaced item.

Victims are often desperate to recover their stolen phones, which, as home to their texts, photos and friends’ phone numbers, can feel less like devices than like extensions of their hands.

Comcast to bring its X1 service to LA, New York within year of merger

Within a year after its $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable closes, Comcast aims to make its advanced X1 cable service available in areas such as New York and Los Angeles and other markets where it will gain a commanding new presence.

"We'll be within the first markets in a year," said Neil Smit, president and chief executive of Comcast's cable unit.

The new technology would "bring considerably higher Internet speeds to Time Warner Cable customers" in those cities, Smit said, and give them access to such X1 services as Internet applications, viewing recommendations and voice control. Features offered by the cloud-connected X1 cable box system could help Comcast pick up subscribers in major cities where Time Warner Cable's growth has stalled in recent years.

Gaining entry to the New York and Los Angeles markets was part of the strategic rationale behind Comcast's offer to buy TWC.

Remarks of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Before the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters

Broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission should have a good relationship.

Unfortunately, the relationship between broadcasters and the FCC has become strained of late.

I wanted to discuss with you four areas where I think we can make things better: recognizing broadcasting’s value, treating broadcasters fairly in the upcoming incentive auction, revitalizing AM radio, and beginning to reform our media ownership rules.

Can telemedicine help communities justify better broadband?

[Commentary] Telemedicine -- using telecommunications to enhance medical and healthcare delivery -- is lauded for advancing the public good, improving the quality of life and transforming the patient/doctor relationship for the betterment of both.

Broadband-driven telemedicine also impacts economic development.

But are communities prepared to ride this particular technology wave to better economic health? The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) indicated in a survey that 43 percent of its members think broadband-enabled medical and healthcare services are a primary economic issue for them. And 28 percent see these services indirectly impacting their local economy.

Contrary to conventional wisdom that rural communities have the greater need for telemedicine services, survey results show urban and suburban communities are just as likely rural ones to place high economic value on telemedicine. But only in a third of the cases do respondents say their communities’ current available broadband speeds are sufficient to attract new physicians, enable video-delivered health services and attract medical research projects.

Similar percentages say the current service is adequate, but could be better, indicating that these speeds will be less useful as telemedicine apps increase in number and capacity requirements.

[Settles is a consultant who helps organizations develop broadband strategies, host of radio talk show Gigabit Nation and a broadband industry analyst]

How can we trust the Internet of things?

[Commentary] How will we ensure that the Internet of things is safe? We need the ability to establish the true identity of any device that connects to the Internet, and any system or person that communicates with a device.

Without this, the IoT could enable criminals to attack high-value targets such as your home security system or to disable the alarm on your Internet-connected car.

We need to educate the public about the security risks of the Internet of things, and ensure they understand the importance of being able to authenticate connected devices.

I would like to see this cooperation result in a common standard to which every manufacturer can adhere, so that we do not confuse and alienate end users with a variety of different methods of authentication.

[Storey is the product director at cybersecurity firm Intercede, which specializes in human ID security and access control]

State Needs Smartphones for The World Cup, The Pan Am Games And The 2016 Olympics

The State Department wants Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones to use at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, according to contracting documents.

The phones need to have 3G and 4G mobile capabilities. They also need a good map app (to get around foreign cities, presumably) and videoconferencing (to capture and relay the action back home).

“Extensive research was done to find a phone that is compatible with both applications and can be used in both Brazil and Canada,” the solicitation said.

The Galaxy S4 was chosen partly for its antennae, which are compatible with 3G networks in both nations. But anything that’s exactly the same as the Galaxy S4 will do, according to the solicitation, which requests this model “or equal.”

Lessons from the White House big data report: Learn to protect yourself

[Commentary] Recently, the Administration released a report on big data that highlighted both the positive opportunities of big data collection and how it dangerously compromises privacy, but failed to address the challenge of consumers willfully forfeiting their personal information.

The report emphasized big data’s potential to enhance lives through large scale information gathering. In particular, it noted the ability to create more efficient economic outcomes by identifying ways that industry and individuals can better use their time and materials. But the report also acknowledged that the mass collection of personal information creates significant privacy and security concerns.

Basically, big data can be good, we just need to reconsider how and why we use it and find ways to maximize the outcome while managing the risks. The White House Big Data report failed to pursue one crucial question: if all this personal information is so valuable, why do people give it away so readily and freely? An individual’s personal information is one of his or her most valuable assets. Before blindly signing away their information to the multi-billion dollar industry of consumer data analytics, consumers ought to consider the full cost of their actions.

[Tews is Chief Policy Officer at 463 Communications]

CompTIA Acquires TechAmerica

CompTIA announced the acquisition of TechAmerica, a leading voice of large businesses in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

With our acquisition of TechAmerica, we are creating a single platform to represent mutual interests, provide enhanced member services, and support the full ecosystem, a $3.6-trillion sector driving innovation, connectivity and efficiency for businesses, governments and consumers around the world. Connecting the continuum of companies, from small IT service provider to software to hardware to communications and distribution, allows CompTIA to tell a complete technology story to business, public sector and policy partners.

Putting the interests of the technology sector under one umbrella strengthens the industry’s voice, reach and influence at a critical time. Bottom line, this means we will better serve our member companies. Members of CompTIA and TechAmerica now have access to complementary strengths, where a single voice with a 360-degree view of the technology sector can represent them from the state house to the White House and overseas, from the commercial to the public sector and all along the business continuum.

By pooling resources, we will be able to expand our public sector, business networking, events and intelligence programs for all our members and continue to offer “best in class” education, research and industry certifications for our industry. CompTIA’s public policy on behalf of the technology sector remains member-driven, and we will continue to pursue current priorities, particularly along four main themes: accelerating the innovation cycle; building a 21st century workforce; maintaining secure, open access to the Internet; and ensuring state and federal governments are technologically equipped to address future challenges.

Internet of things could strip away personal privacy

A recent White House report on big data wonders aloud about the capability of sensors and smart meters to turn homes into fish tanks, completely transparent to marketers, police -- and criminals.

Smart meters with non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) technology, which can analyze individual power loads, make it possible to know what you are doing and using in your home. These systems can "show when you move about your house," said the White House, in its just released report on the privacy implications of big data.

The report explores both the benefits and perils created by these new systems, including ubiquitous deployment of sensors in the Internet of Things.

The White House concern about privacy in the home is based, in part, on research by Stephen Wicker, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University and a co-author of studies that have looked at some of the implications of "demand-response systems," or smart meters. The information these systems can discover can be useful -- and invasive. It can alert homeowners to failing appliances, as well as provide marketers with the age and make of appliances, information that can also be used to glean the socioeconomic status of a resident.

The smart meters are intended to help reduce electric costs by shifting some work, such as running a washing machine, to off-peak hours. After describing how smart metering system might be able to tell you what someone is doing inside their house, the White House report points out that once someone leaves their connected home, "facial recognition technologies can identify you in pictures online and as soon as you step outside. Always-on wearable technologies with voice and video interfaces and the arrival of whole classes of networked devices will only expand information collection still further.”

Benton

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