IoT news of the week for July 2, 2021

New gesture sensor sees a bit farther: Maxim Integrated has announced a new infrared-based gesture detection sensor that can see from about 8 inches to 16 inches away. Maxim imagines the sensor, which comes encased in glass, being used for gesture detection on screens in automotive or home environments. It could become especially helpful in cars, as it can be tough to take your eyes off the road to find a specific icon on an in-car display and then physically touch it. In the home, it could help in situations where touching a screen isn’t practical, such as when cooking. (Maxim)

GE’s new Cync lighting app is now here: A year after Savant acquired the historical GE Lighting brand and smart device portfolio, it has finally launched its new Cync app, which combines some of the higher-end Savant features such as the ability to take a photograph of a room with the lights at different levels and then create a unique lighting scene based on that image. But lights aren’t the only device in the Cync portfolio. An outdoor plug and an indoor camera also launched this week. (GE Lighting)

IoT security is overwhelming and this article is proof: Are you in charge of securing IoT devices? Or maybe you’re someone who just calls on devices to be more secure? Either way, this article provides an epic amount of information about the current thinking and standards associated with IoT security. It also provides practical advice about implementation. There’s a lot here, but if you want to have good conversations about IoT security it’s worth setting aside half an hour to read it and take notes. (Semiconductor Engineering)

Detect Technologies raises $12M for industrial IoT: Chennai, India-based Detect Technologies has raised more funding for its IIoT startup. Detect provides sensors and software to analyze industrial assets for problems, and has a large list of customers including Shell, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, and more. The funding helps it expand operations and invest in more R&D. I included the story here because India is a hub of innovation in IIoT deployments and eventually I think I should take a reporting trip to meet some of them. (Times of India)

WHO releases guidance on AI ethics in healthcare: The World Health Organization has released a comprehensive report on the use of artificial intelligence in health care that I’d love to see influence discussions on how we plan to use sensor data to help assess and treat disease. The report doesn’t offer a lot of new information but does a good job articulating the areas where policymakers, medical professionals, and technologists need to establish rules around transparency, privacy, and how medical professionals and insurance firms should use AI. I especially liked the framing and graphics detailing what the report calls “biomedical big data,” which you can find on page 35. (WHO)

Bad news for private factory 5G networks: Private 5G networks sold by operators to companies are seriously lacking security capabilities, according to a new survey by Trend Micro and the GSMA. The switch to software-based virtualization that is part of the transition to 5G has created weaknesses for operators that don’t have the tools to monitor for vulnerabilities. More complicated infrastructure also means there are more places to hack. Since security is a selling point for choosing a cellular solution over Wi-Fi when plant operators evaluate 5G, this news is very concerning. (Threatpost)

Yes, the government is already surveilling you in scary ways: A report out from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) documents how many federal agencies are using facial recognition for law enforcement purposes. The agency surveyed 42 federal agencies that employ law enforcement officers and discovered that many agencies use facial recognition systems owned by other agencies and don’t have a mechanism to track what systems their employees are using. It also means these agencies don’t have any oversight on how those systems protect citizen’s privacy or any clue as to whether or not they’re biased. For example, the FBI has its own system, which it has presumably vetted, but it is also using other systems without having vetted them for accuracy or privacy violations. Not only is this a potential violation of civil rights, it could could also hurt prosecutions in federal court when defendants point out the lack of FBI oversight. (GAO)

SnapAV is now Snap One: SnapAV purchased Control4 in 2019 to combine professional smart home and AV installations with its distribution network. And last year, it purchased Access Networks to round out its home automation portfolio. It’s planning an IPO, and part of its pre-market prep is changing its name to Snap One to reflect that it now does more than sell AV equipment. It’s also expanding the number of locations where it stocks parts so integrators can get faster delivery and shop for parts online. (CE Pro)

Want to dig into a bunch of security papers? This week, I spoke at the ACM WiSec 2021 conference and sat through a few presentations about papers on various exploits in the smart home and wireless world. There are too many for me to review here, although I will highlight a few in the weeks ahead. But if you want to glance at some of the recent research topics, take a look at the agenda, which includes links to the papers that were presented. (ACM WiSec)