Day: March 11, 2019

Radio gaga: Techies fear EU directive to stop RF device tinkering will do more harm than good

Posted on by Robin Edgar

EU plans to ban the sale of user-moddable radio frequency devices – like phones and routers – have provoked widespread condemnation from across the political bloc. The controversy centres on Article 3(3)(i) of the EU Radio Equipment Directive, which was passed into law back in 2014. However, an EU working group is now about to Read more about Radio gaga: Techies fear EU directive to stop RF device tinkering will do more harm than good[…]

Why Is Customer Service So Bad? Because It’s Profitable.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

American consumers spend, on average, 13 hours per year in calling queue. According to a 2010 study by Mike Desmarais in the journal Cost Management, a third of complaining customers must make two or more calls to resolve their complaint. And that ignores the portion who simply give up out of exasperation after the first Read more about Why Is Customer Service So Bad? Because It’s Profitable.[…]

Smart alarms left 3 million cars vulnerable to hackers who could turn off motors, unlock doors remotely

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Two popular smart alarm systems for cars had major security flaws that allowed potential hackers to track the vehicles, unlock their doors and, in some cases, cut off the engine. The vulnerabilities could be exploited with two simple steps, security researchers from Pen Test Partners, who discovered the flaw, said Friday. The problems were found Read more about Smart alarms left 3 million cars vulnerable to hackers who could turn off motors, unlock doors remotely[…]

Freelance devs: Oh, you wanted the app to be secure? The job spec didn’t mention that

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Freelance developers hired to implement password-based security systems do so about as effectively as computer science students, which is to say not very well at all. Boffins at the University of Bonn in Germany set out to expand on research in 2017 and 2018 that found computer science students asked to implement a user registration Read more about Freelance devs: Oh, you wanted the app to be secure? The job spec didn’t mention that[…]