Weekly H/W

Amazon stops encryption on Fire tablets, leaving data vulnerable to attack

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/03/amazon-fire-encryption-user-data

The article is about how Amazon'ds new update has gotten rid of encryption on their tables, media devices and the Kindle. This means that personal data is now at a much higher risk and could cause problems for users. The change comes in the form of an update to Amazon's OS that got rid of it with Amazob confirming it.

• Amazon has quietly removed the ability to encrypt data stored on its Fire tablets, streaming media devices and Kindle e-readers
• latest update to the Fire OS operating software
• The change, which has been confirmed by Amazon
• “In the fall when we released Fire OS 5, we removed some enterprise features that we found customers weren’t using,

In my opinion this is a stupid idea and cannot be justified by Amazon as encryption of files should be the choice of the user to allow them to keep their files safe from things like hackers. By getting rid of this ability Amazon could potentially lose a lot of customers.

Startup pitches anti-drone launcher as answer to rogue UAVs

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/03/british-startup-drone-openworks-engineering-skywall-net

The article is about how a new device allows the safe capture of drones that have gone rouge. The device shoots a net at the drones and captures them safely and without any damage to the drone itself. The company is based in Northumberland and made these to give authorities a way to capture drones that may be flying in sensitive areas or have lost control all together.

• The launcher weighs 10kg
• can fire almost silently at drones up to 100m away
• reloading in 8 seconds

In my opinion this is a good idea as drones are so easy to pick up nowadays that they can be used by anyone to do things that other people may not like. With the arrival of this launcher it means that these things will be prevented and also shows the advancements in technology.