‘Hackermania running wild,’ part 2

September 5, 2014 | by

Apple flying around the iCloud for Apple HealthKit. Making headlines this week was a few overly personal celebrity photos (foolishly) stored on iCloud accounts going public online. According to Apple, the accounts were hacked probably by ‘brute force’ password attack and not through an iCloud flaw. TechRepublic  But more of concern to digital health developers eager to get all that health and fitness data integrated via the Apple HealthKit API is that Apple is saying ‘nein’ to anyone using the iCloud to store data. Why the concern? Mobihealthnews lays down Apple’s eight ground rules.

Is CyberRX 2.0 a prescription for HIT? HITRUST (Health Information Trust Alliance), with participation from (US) HHS, will be hosting an October cyber attack simulation exercise with over 750 healthcare organizations participating. Exercises are at three levels depending on organization size and will include targeting information systems, medical devices and other technology resources of government and healthcare organizations. Press release. Website.

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ESD-America.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]And the weakest point may be ‘over the air’. ‘Interceptor’ fake cell towers can defeat smartphone encryption to ‘over the air’ eavesdrop on calls, read texts and possibly push spyware onto Android phones. According to the CEO of ESD America, they have detected at least 17 powerful towers, likely more, scattered around the US–many near military bases. (more…)

Samsung vs Apple: Go big or go home

September 5, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/gear-s-hands-on.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Implications for mobile health abound in the fight for the innovation throne. Kicking off the autumn intro season was Samsung’s big reveal Wednesday at IFA Berlin and NYC of their new phablets (Note 4, the oddly curved/fallaway screen Note Edge), the big ‘n’ curvy almost-phone Gear S smartwatch and the virtual reality headset Gear VR for the Note 4. Clearly Samsung is pushing the boundaries on size and innovation leadership–as well as the sheer number of phones/phablets/wearables in market with something for everyone. Its health developer platform SAMI and the Simband hardware [TTA 30 May] plus joint research with UCSF on ‘novel vital signs’ [TTA 2 June] positions it in the health tech area as the alternative to Apple. ZDNet, Gizmag (Gear S), CNet (Gear VR) which may have some health uses.

Next Tuesday is Apple’s premiere of two new iPhone 6 models with 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch screens to go on sale this month, plus an announcement for a yet-unnamed Apple wearable, but a rumored price of $400 for on-sale next year. Their developments with (more…)