Technologies

Tech Companies Need to Be Held Accountable for Security, Experts Say

All that tech may look cool, but it also needs to be secure.

It’s easy to get caught up in the flashy and futuristic tech rolled out at CES. Where else are you going to see flying cars, toilet sensors that test your pee and so, so many robots?

That all may seem incredibly cool, but that new tech, which is often collecting oodles of personal data from untold numbers of consumers, highlights the need for tech companies to make security and privacy a priority and build it in from the get-go.

Often, when it comes to tech design, data protection concerns are pushed to the back burner in favor of exciting new features, keeping costs low, and getting the tech to market as fast as possible, Jen Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said during a CES panel.

That’s partially due to a lack of accountability from both the government and the public in general.

«We don’t seem to be recognizing that as a fundamental safety issue,» Easterly said, adding that while companies have lots of incentives to make products cheaply and quickly, there isn’t a lot out there to entice them to make them safe.

That, unfortunately, puts the burden of securing technology on consumers, who are least able to understand cyberthreats and defend themselves against them, Easterly said.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kutz, speaking on the CES panel, said average people shouldn’t have to think about security beyond the most basic of levels.

When consumers buy a piece of tech, such as a home security camera, they should get some kind of guarantee that it’ll be secure and supported with software updates for a certain amount of time, say five years, Kutz said. After that, they might be on their own, but they won’t have to think about it in the meantime.

«Until there’s some level of oversight and regulation and, you know, some sort of sensible practice in how people purchase these things and how they look at security as a differentiator, you’re going to have the same situations occur over and over,» Kurtz said.

Dan Berte, head of internet of things research for Bitdefender, said it wouldn’t be asking a lot for tech companies to secure and support their products for at least a few years.

Berte’s team spent much of the last year dissecting vulnerabilities in several brands of internet-connected cameras. They discovered security problems in several products, which they then reported to the companies, but he said it was a battle to get many of those companies to acknowledge and fix those problems.

«I think responsibility should be required by law — that you provide instant patching and support for three years, especially if a vulnerability is reported,» Berte said in an interview with CNET.

Companies that fail to do this should be fined, and repeat offenders should have their products pulled from the market, he said.

If nothing else, tech companies should be required to be transparent with consumers about what their technology contains in terms of security protections, just like how food makers are required to list ingredients in their products, Eastery said.

That way people will have a better chance at making smart choices about what kinds of tech they bring into their homes. That transparency also could push tech companies to put more emphasis on securing their products by default, she said.

«Technology companies are actually pushing and trying to get there, but from a consumer perspective we really need to be demanding better safety in our products,» Easterly said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, July 13

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 13.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a little meta. Two clues refer to Wordle, another super-popular game from The New York Times. We have answers for that puzzle, too. In fact, iff you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Gibbon or gorilla
Answer: APE

4A clue: Bird whose name is an excellent starting guess in Wordle, according to WordleBot
Answer: CRANE

6A clue: Cry from a judge
Answer: ORDER

7A clue: Family nickname that would make a terrible starting guess in Wordle
Answer: MAMMA

8A clue: «Hooray!»
Answer: YAY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Widespread display
Answer: ARRAY

2D clue: Lakshmi who was a longtime host of «Top Chef»
Answer: PADMA

3D clue: «Don’t let perfect be the ___ of good» (aphorism)
Answer: ENEMY

4D clue: URL ending
Answer: COM

5D clue: Historical period
Answer: ERA

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 13, #293

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 13, No. 293

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has some fun categories. There’s only one requiring last names, and one requiring teams, so if you can sort those easily, you should be in good shape. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Bad news for a golfer.

Green group hint: Aries animal.

Blue group hint: Think California capital city.

Purple group hint: No charge.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Mess up a golf shot.

Green group: Rams

Blue group: Sacramento Kings greats.

Purple group: Free ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is mess up a golf shot. The four answers are duff, flub, mishit and shank.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is rams. The four answers are Colorado State, Los Angeles, Rhode Island and VCU.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Sacramento Kings greats. The four answers are Divac, Richmond, Stojaković and Webber.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is free ____. The four answers are agent, kick, safety and throw.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 13, #1485

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 13, No. 1,485.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a fun word, but not easy to guess. That first letter doesn’t come up in any of the starter or secondary words I tend to choose. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.