Monday, 6 March 2017

Can technology solve Chicago's gun crime problem?

US police have turned to technology to help fight crime, but can the solutions really solve the problem?

US surveillance law may see no new protections for foreign targets

Any reform of a controversial U.S. law allowing the National Security Agency to spy on people overseas will likely focus on its impact on U.S. residents, without curbing its use elsewhere.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires on Dec. 31, and some digital rights groups are calling on Congress to overhaul the law to protect the privacy of residents of both the U.S. and other countries. Congress will almost certainly extend the provision in some form. 

But a congressional hearing on Wednesday focused largely on the NSA's "inadvertent" collection of U.S. residents' data, with little time given to the privacy concerns of people overseas.

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Thursday, 2 March 2017

Smart teddy bear maker faces scrutiny over data breach response

Did a toymaker ignore warnings about a data breach? That’s a key question swirling around Spiral Toys, a company behind a line of smart stuffed animals that security researchers worry can be easily hacked.

On Tuesday, Spiral Toys said the breach, which affects 800,000 user accounts, only came to its attention last week on Feb. 22.

The statement is raising eyebrows. One researcher named Victor Gevers began contacting the toymaker about the problem in late December, when he noticed that a company MongoDB database storing customer information was publicly exposed.

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Car wars

A row has broken out over who should control access to all the data your new car generates.

Londoner accidentally gets Uber to Croydon, via Bristol

Uber is refunding the £467 taxi fee as a "goodwill" gesture, describing the trip of 280 miles as an "unfortunate mistake".

MWS 2017: 5G - the next mobile revolution

The next-generation 5G mobile network causes lots of excitement at the Mobile World Congress trade show.

MWC 2017: DJI M200 drone works in rain and winds

A new drone is being pitched to business that want to safely carry out inspections from the sky.