• UK’s Halifax bank tests heartbeat sensor to unlock online banking services

  “Halifax’s system, which is currently at the proof-of-concept stage, uses a piece of wearable technology known as the Nymi band; it monitors and stores a user’s heartbeat via an electrocardiogram (ECG).

  Users must wear the Nymi on one wrist, and touch its top sensor with the opposite hand for it to work. The Nymi pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth, using a companion app for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Removal of the wristband invalidates biometric authentication.”

  Tags: halifax, sensor, banking, ITGS, privacy, security, biometric

  • – By dr tech

• Pearson is Now Spying on Students During Standardized Testing ? Ink, Bits, & Pixels

  “Luckily for the kid, it was only a single tweet. Had several students gotten together to form a study group, they might have been prosecuted for felony interference with a business model and gotten the death penalty.

  Do you suppose Pearson has hidden microphones set up around the schools so they can also listen in and see if students discuss the tests during lunch? I ask because that is basically the offline version of the student’s infraction.”

  Tags: pearson, spying, students, testing, ITGS, anonymity, privacy

  • – By dr tech

• Pearson and surveillance of students | D’Arcy Norman dot net

  “Pearson is apparently monitoring social media, to detect signs of cheating during exams. That’s insanely creepy, and a horrible violation.

  “And for those who think “Well, its Twitter, its public”, remember this: So is walking down the street. But is it OK for the government to monitor us with street surveillance cameras and send us fines for not crossing with the crosswalk?” via Pearson Caught Spying On Students. Big Brother Is Here. “

  Tags: pearson, surveillance, students, ITGS, privacy, anonymity, control

  • – By dr tech

• Twitter puts trillions of tweets up for sale to data miners | Technology | The Guardian

  “Selling data is as yet a small part of Twitter’s overall income – $70m out of a total of $1.3bn last year, with the lion’s share of cash coming from advertising, but the social network has big plans to increase that. Its acquisition of Chris Moody’s analytics company Gnip for $130m last April is a sign of that intent.

  Google and Facebook have built their businesses around sharing data, but their control of our private and public information has become a source of huge controversy. “

  Tags: tweets, sale, data, ITGS, privacy, anonymity

  • – By dr tech

• A Beacon System to Guide the Blind Through London’s Subways | GOOD

  “This challenge inspired the Royal London Society for Blind People to team up with design firm Ustwo and create Wayfindr, a Bluetooth enabled beacon system to guide people who are blind or visually impaired through the London Underground.”

  Tags: beacon, system, guide, blind, equalityofaccess, ITGS

  • – By dr tech

• Brute-force iPhone password guesser can bypass Apple’s 10-guess lockout – Boing Boing

  “The IP Box costs less than £200 and can guess all possible four-digit passwords in 111 hours.

  The device bypasses the secure wipe triggered by ten bad guesses by “aggressively cutting the power after each failed PIN attempt, but before the attempt has been synchronized to flash memory.” “

  Tags: iphone, password, bruteforce, ITGS, security

  • – By dr tech

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