Working with Arizona and Apple, the Transportation Security Administration has deployed digital verification for state-issued mobile driver’s licenses or identification cards stored in the Apple Wallet app on iPhones and Apple Watches. While 30 states say they are exploring digital IDs, Arizona becomes the first in which the TSA has begun using the system, activated Wednesday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. For now, the feature is available only for TSA PreCheck passengers at select checkpoints at one airport, but as other states’ device manufacturers sign on, TSA says it will expand the program. Continue reading Arizona Is First State to Accept Identification via Apple Wallet

Apps and other products that enable encrypted communication are on the rise. Even tech giants like Google and Yahoo have promised to give encrypted sites a higher ranking in search results and to start encrypting emails. However, the creators of encryption apps, such as ProtonMail or Bleep, are still looking for mainstream users, not just gadget enthusiasts or security-conscious professionals. These companies are targeting mainstream users concerned about their privacy. Continue reading Encrypted Communication Tools Seeking Mainstream Users

More than twenty tech companies and civil liberties groups have started a coalition to fight the National Security Agency’s mass Internet surveillance programs. On June 5, these groups will participate in a “Reset the Net” day of action by posting the campaign’s splash screen on websites and mobile apps. The coalition is distributing free privacy protection software tools to users and calling on developers to add NSA resistant features to sites and apps. Continue reading Reset the Net: Campaign Opposes Mass Internet Surveillance

BitTorrent’s new file-syncing technology, BitTorrent Sync, can synchronize files between computers and mobile devices without copying data to a cloud server. The company is hoping that, in light of the National Security Agency’s controversial harvesting of information stored in data centers, people will be attracted to the new technology. The only way the NSA could gather this data would be by going directly to the source where the information is stored. Continue reading BitTorrent Sync Transfers Data Without Help From the Cloud

In an effort to join the official conversation on how to come up with a solution for copy protection of videos on the Web, the Motion Picture Association of America has joined the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which makes official decisions on Web standards like HTML. A new HTML component allows websites to host video directly on their sites instead of having to use a video tag, which doesn’t enable copy protection. Some, however, don’t care for the new approach. Continue reading MPAA Joins W3C to Help Standardize Video Copy Protection

The engineers behind the Internet Engineering Task Force are responding to public outcry over Internet surveillance by encrypting Web traffic with plans for a revamped system by the end of next year. In light of National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s exposure of the agency’s mass Internet surveillance, the effort will introduce the default of encryption in Internet browsing, intended to reduce the ease of snooping. Continue reading Engineers Defaulting to Encrypted Browsing for the Internet

The Dyle mobile digital TV venture announced that its service is now positioned to reach a wider range of smartphones and tablets following the debut of the new “mobiletv” receiver from Audiovox, developed by Siano. When paired with the Dyle app, the new receiver captures Dyle TV signals and sends them to iOS and Android mobile devices using an integrated Wi-Fi radio. Earlier Dyle-compatible receivers could only plug into iPads and iPhones via 30-pin hardline interfaces. Continue reading New Audiovox Receiver Cuts the Hardline for Dyle Mobile TV

Led by the popular photo-sharing app Snapchat, a number of startups are challenging the belief that everything one posts online is destined to be online for eternity. Even social networking giant Facebook recently released a Snapchat-like feature called Poke, which enables users to send notes, pictures and videos to their friends that dissappear after an allotted amount of time. Continue reading Snapchat and Fleeting Messaging Apps Grow in Popularity