Policy Observatory
EU proposal for automated car emergency calls addresses privacy concerns
Thu 4 Dec 2014, 19:40
Samsung pledges to make an open Internet of Things
Tue 6 Jan 2015, 08:00
Samsung sold 665m devices last year, many of which already have internet connectivity. But Yoon promised that by 2017 90% of those devices will plug into the IoT ecosystem, and 100% in five years.
“I’ve heard people say they want to create a single operating system for IoT, but these people only work with their own devices. We can deliver the benefits of IoT only if all sensors can talk to each other,” said Yoon in his opening keynote for CES in Las Vegas where he laid out Samsung’s vision for the future of IoT. “I’m making a promise that our IoT devices and products will be open. We will ensure that others can easily connect to our devices.”
Obama holds cybersecurity summit
Fri 13 Feb 2015, 03:20
US President Barack Obama has asked tech firms to share more information with security services and each other to tackle cybercrime.
The White House confirmed ahead of a cybersecurity summit bringing together leading industry and law enforcement figures that the president would sign an executive order.
It will also develop a common set of voluntary standards for the organisations to follow, including the protection of civil liberties, the White House said.
Mr Obama has also launched an intelligence unit to co-ordinate cyber-threat analysis.
Facebook builds platform for companies to share cybersecurity threat data
Wed 11 Feb 2015, 16:40
Facebook has built a platform where organizations can share information about the security threats they face in order to better fend off cyberattacks. Facebook unveiled the new platform, ThreatExchange, on Tuesday. The idea behind it was born over a year ago when several Internet companies, including Facebook, were trying to stop a botnet that was abusing their services to send spam.
Security vendors have long had private channels for sharing such data among themselves, but this form of collaboration has limits, because, after all, many of them are competitors and have business models built around providing security intelligence to customers as a service. Some companies also share information about attacks through dedicated industry groups, but this leaves them blind to attacks on companies in other industries that could later affect them too.
Microsoft adopts first international cloud privacy standard
Tue 17 Feb 2015, 12:33
The standard in question may seem technical, but it has important practical benefits for enterprise customers around the world. It’s known as ISO/IEC 27018, and it was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to establish a uniform, international approach to protecting privacy for personal data stored in the cloud.
Google-backed genetic test approved
Fri 20 Feb 2015, 19:40
A Californian start-up will be allowed to advertise a mail order DNA test that screens for a rare genetic condition. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the 23andMe product would "provide people with information about possible mutations in their genes that could be passed on to their children".