Tag Archive for: concern

Solar panels vulnerable to hackers, concern for network security

/in


Photo: DutchNews.nl

Domestic solar panels are vulnerable to hackers who could use them to steal personal information or launch denial of service attacks, the digital watchdog RDI has warned.

The inspectorate for digital infrastructure said vulnerabilities in the inverters, the devices that convert the solar energy stored in the panels into electricity, could also be tapped to power smartphones or laptops.

Inspectors from the RDI tested nine types of inverter from eight manufacturers, none of which met its security standards. Five had the potential to cause disruption to the electricity network.

The number of solar panel installations has grown rapidly in recent years from 1.8 million in 2015 to 16.3 million in 2021.

John Derksen, head of equipment at the RDI, said solar panel systems were too easy to hack via an internet connection and urged manufacturers to improve their security.

He said the findings were a wake-up call for the industry, which will be legally required to meet the RDI’s cybersecurity standards from August next year.

Inspectors are concerned that recent geopolitical events such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia have made attacks on western infrastructure more likely.

Derksen also said householders needed to be more aware of the warning signs so they could alert inspectors if their devices started behaving unusually.

“Even the aviation and shipping industries can experience disruption because of this,” he told NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “The average citizen has little or know knowledge of radio frequencies.

“They might notice strange things going on with their wireless devices and connections, such as bad wifi, but don’t connect it to solar panels, so we at the RDI aren’t informed about it.”

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation

Source…

No evidence of TikTok national security threat but reason for concern, experts say

/in


Social media app TikTok faces mounting bipartisan hostility in Washington D.C., where Biden administration officials and lawmakers are weighing a possible ban of the platform.

The app, which counts more than 150 million U.S. users each month but is owned by a China-based parent company, has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.

However, there is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or that the Chinese government has asked the app to do so, cybersecurity experts told ABC News.

Still, there’s reason to believe that the Chinese government could compel the company to share data on U.S. users or manipulate content on the app to forward a pro-China agenda, considering the nation’s authority over domestic companies and previous misleading statements made by TikTok on related issues, the experts added.

“We don’t have smoking-gun evidence,” Sarah Bauerle-Danzman, a professor who specializes in national security and business investment at Indiana University, told ABC News. “But we do know that if the [Chinese government] asks TikTok for any data, they would be compelled to provide it and we also probably wouldn’t know if they did.”

In a statement, TikTok cited Project Texas, an initiative that the company says keeps all U.S. user data on servers within the country.

“The whole point of Project Texas is to put TikTok U.S. user data and systems outside the reach or influence of any foreign government,” the company said in a statement to ABC News.

“Today, all new protected U.S. user data is stored exclusively in infrastructure in the United States, and today all access to that environment is managed exclusively by TikTok U.S. Data Security, a team led by Americans, in America,” the company added.

Here’s what we know and don’t know about the national security threat posed by TikTok.

No evidence that TikTok has shared US user data with the Chinese government

A key fear among lawmakers and other government officials is that TikTok could share sweeping data on U.S. users with the Chinese government or the…

Source…

New TSA security tech raises concern about the potential of misidentifying minority travelers – WPXI

/in


The future of airport security is getting more high-tech as the TSA continues testing a system that scans your face during the screening process.

The pilot program with facial recognition technology is running at several airports nationwide.

An agency official said the technology is only used at podiums manned by a TSA worker to match a passengers’ identification information “with a photo of their physical presence at that station.” The agency believes this will enhance security and cut wait times.

If the technology thinks you’re someone else, a TSA official said a security worker would manually check your ID.

“To me just invites, further law enforcement scrutiny invites further contact with authorities in ways that are not going to be helpful,” said Vincent Southerland, NYU Assistant Professor of Clinical Law.

Southerland helps run the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU. He believes an incorrect match could be problematic for minority travelers.

“Force the person to kind of have to prove or demonstrate their identity in weird ways that they otherwise would not have and that is going to course lead to conflict,” said Southerland. “And conflict often does not end very well for folks who have been traditionally marginalized, oppressed and targeted by law enforcement.”

It’s also happened before with facial recognition technology.

Take the case of Robert Williams – he’s a black man who the ACLU says was wrongfully arrested by Detroit Police in 2020. The organization said facial recognition software incorrectly identified him as a shoplifting suspect. The ACLU says the charges were eventually dropped.

In some cases, this software compares your image to another one or an entire database of photos.

So what happens when travelers don’t look exactly like their ID?

A 2019 federal government study by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) echoes some of those concerns. It found that Asian and African Americans were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than White people, depending on the algorithm and the search.

“The bigger finding from the 2019 study was that the false positive rates where somebody else could use your passport or…

Source…

New TSA security tech raises concern about the potential of misidentifying minority travelers – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

/in


WASHINGTON — The future of airport security is getting more high-tech as the TSA continues testing a system that scans your face during the screening process.

The pilot program with facial recognition technology is running at several airports nationwide.

>> Coroner IDs Dayton man killed in Monday crash

An agency official said the technology is only used at podiums manned by a TSA worker to match a passengers’ identification information “with a photo of their physical presence at that station.” The agency believes this will enhance security and cut wait times.

If the technology thinks you’re someone else, a TSA official said a security worker would manually check your ID.

“To me just invites, further law enforcement scrutiny invites further contact with authorities in ways that are not going to be helpful,” said Vincent Southerland, NYU Assistant Professor of Clinical Law.

>> UPDATE: License plate reader helps police catch Dayton homicide suspect

Southerland helps run the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU. He believes an incorrect match could be problematic for minority travelers.

“Force the person to kind of have to prove or demonstrate their identity in weird ways that they otherwise would not have and that is going to course lead to conflict,” said Southerland. “And conflict often does not end very well for folks who have been traditionally marginalized, oppressed and targeted by law enforcement.”

It’s also happened before with facial recognition technology.

Take the case of Robert Williams – he’s a black man who the ACLU says was wrongfully arrested by Detroit Police in 2020. The organization said facial recognition software incorrectly identified him as a shoplifting suspect. The ACLU says the charges were eventually dropped.

In some cases, this software compares your image to another one or an entire database of photos.

>> UPDATE: Police searching for suspect after Huber Heights bank robbery

So what happens when travelers don’t look exactly like their ID?

A 2019 federal government study by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) echoes some of those concerns. It found that Asian and African Americans were up to 100 times more…

Source…