Tech News Today for January 2, 2017
Tech News for Monday January 2, 2017
2017 is fixing to be a big year when it comes to security, so why not kick things off with work by Security Research Labs that shows how easy it is to abuse flight reservation systems. Three systems make up around 90 percent of all reservations worldwide, and it turns out those systems have been in use since the 70’s and 80’s, with modern technology integrated in as opposed to recreating the infrastructure from the ground up. That, in turn, has weakened authentication, which the research shows makes it easy for anyone to capture personal and booking information for anyone using relatively simple brute force methods. Read more at pcmag.com.
Tesla is rolling out the first big update to its Enhanced Autopilot system, but only to the first 1,000 cars in its fleet for starters. The enhancements include Traffic Aware Cruise Control, which adjusts car speed based on vehicles directly in front. Forward Collision Warning alerts the driver when a collision is expected with a chime and a red highlight around the vehicle, as well as settings around how sensitive it should be. Finally, Low Speed Autosteer, intended for highway driving at speeds under 35 miles per hour. Read more at electrek.com.
Bitcoin apparently had a new year's resolution: To reach higher than $1000, and it did that thanks to a good year that saw it climb 125 percent in 2016. It reached $1,022 on the Bitstamp Exchange which is the highest it's been since the Mt Gox hack in late 2013 saw its value plunge from its all time high of $1163 to less than $400. So Bitcoin is hot again, but how long will it last? Read more at reuters.com.
At the top of many people’s New Year's resolutions list is likely to strike a better work life balance. In France, employment law is helping all of its workers do just that by affording workers the right to disconnect from technology during off-hours. Employers with 50 or more workers are now required to work with employees to negotiate ways that they can switch off when not at work. Read more at theguardian.com.
Jason Howell and Ron Richards are joined today by Russell Holly of VR Heads to talk about the best VR apps for exercise. Tech News Today streams live weekdays at 4PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern at twit.tv/live. You can subscribe to the show and get it on-demand at twit.tv/tnt.
