Cybersecurity is an ongoing concern for many, especially with the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The importance of securing IoT is increasingly evident, as seen during the Internet of Things Global Summit earlier this month, as well as the recent IoT cybersecurity law passed in the state of California, for the first time ever in the U.S.

The bill was introduced last year and passed the state senate in late August. The law covers “smart” devices.

Source: The Race to IoT Security | iHLS

“Password123” isn’t an easy password option anymore. At least, it isn’t in California.

The Golden State’s governor just signed a law barring companies from selling Internet-connected devices with preprogrammed passwords that are easy to guess or crack and leave them vulnerable to malicious hackers. Starting in 2020, all Internet of Things devices made or sold in California — whether they’re refrigerators, thermostats or cars — must come equipped with unique passwords, or a feature that requires the user to set their own unique password.

The law makes California the first state in the country to set cybersecurity standards for the rapidly proliferating IoT business. It’s a step toward defending against cyberattacks such as the massive Mirai botnet that harnessed the power of hijacked devices to disable major websites in 2016.

Source: The Cybersecurity 202: California’s new Internet of Things law only protects against a small portion of cyberthreats – The Washington Post

The UK government has launched a new voluntary internet of things code of practice to help manufacturers boost the security of Internet-connected devices such as virtual assistants, connected home devices, smartwatches and toys.

Leading tech companies have voiced their support for the new IoT code and the importance of strengthened security practices in internet-connected devices, HP Inc. and Centrica Hive Ltd being the first to sign up to commit to the code.

The internet of things code of practice will ensure that businesses continue to strengthen the cyber security of their products at the design stage.

Source: Government launches internet of things code of practice | Software Testing News

Rival semiconductor giants ARM and Intel (INTC.O) have agreed to work together to manage networks of connected devices from both firms, clearing a major stumbling block to market growth of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT).

Britain’s ARM, a unit of Japan’s Softbank Corp (4726.T), said on Monday it had struck a strategic partnership with Intel to use common standards developed by Intel for managing IoT devices, connections and data.

Source: Rivals ARM and Intel make peace to secure Internet of Things | Reuters

Preventing bad things from happening—whether intentional or accidental—has become a shared responsibility for all of us. “If you see something, say something” has become a mantra many of us are familiar with.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has added to our overall safety, and here’s just a few examples of how.

Source: How The Internet Of Things Is Keeping Us Safe | Forbes

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed a bill regulating the cybersecurity standards of internet-connected devices, setting up the state to have the country’s toughest standards for the so-called “internet of things.”

The bill, SB 327, will require a level of “reasonable security” on IoT devices, which are defined as anything capable of connecting to the internet with a Bluetooth connection or internet protocol. Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, those devices will be required to come preloaded with unique pre-programmed passwords or newly generated passwords before they can be accessed for the first time.

Source: California governor signs ‘internet of things’ cybersecurity bill | State Scoop

Chinese ecommerce and technology giant Alibaba has announced that it is to set up a dedicated chip subsidiary.

It aims to launch its first self-developed AI inference chip, which could be used for autonomous driving, smart city applications, and logistics, in the second half of 2019, the company said this week.

The new subsidiary will make customised AI chips and embedded processors to support Alibaba’s push into cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The company’s aggressive drive to develop its own semiconductors comes as Beijing looks to propel China’s high-tech industries into leadership positions in AI, robotics, and autonomous transport, especially in areas such as healthcare.

Source: Alibaba announces A.I. chip unit, new Intel IoT edge partnership | Internet of Business

Have you ever stopped to think about how many items in your home are connected to the internet?

If you have (or even if you are doing it just now), have you stopped to wonder why? The umbrella term for all these connected appliances, electronics and other devices is “smart.”

We are living in the age of the smart home, smart car, smartphone, smart remote, smart thermostat, smart fridge … well, you get the idea.

Source: How to stay secure when your home devices rely on Internet of Things | MyAJC

Two high-profile open-source collaborations are putting their heads together to work out how to take Kubernetes, more familiar in hyperscale environments, out to Internet of Things edge computing projects.

The Kubernetes IoT Edge Working Group is the brainchild of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and the Eclipse Foundation.

Speaking to The Register, CNCF’s Chris Aniszczyk said the idea of using Kubernetes as a control plane for IoT is “very attractive”.

That sums up the brief of the working group, he said, “to take the concept of running containers, and expand that to the edge”.

Source: Open-source boffins want to do for the IoT edge what Kubernetes did for containers | The Register

Microsoft has announced an experimental release of Robot Operating System (ROS1) for Windows as a next step in bringing features like Machine Learning (ML), computer vision, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud services and other Microsoft technologies to home, education, commercial and industrial robots.

The announcement comes as part of the ROSCon 2018 that is being held in Madrid, Spain where Microsoft is demonstrating a ROBOTIS Turtlebot 3 robot that recognises and steers towards the person closest to it and runs on the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise solution.

Source: Microsoft Robot OS With Machine Learning, Internet of Things Integration Coming to Windows 10 | Technology News