Guaranteed Irish to host free workshop on best employment practices
Business membership organisation, Guaranteed Irish, is holding a free workshop for businesses on best practice in employment law and how to safeguard your business. The workshop, ‘Safeguarding your Business’ is being run in partnership with Guaranteed Irish member Peninsula and will take place at Guaranteed Irish offices at 1 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 at 8.30am Tuesday, 12th September.
The workshop will explore topics including the latest updates in employment law, how to increase staff performance and what the correct procedures for redundancy issues, and will be delivered by an employment law expert.
Commenting in advance of the workshop, Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, said: “At Guaranteed Irish, we’re acutely aware of the challenges our member companies face. Every company, no matter what size it is, will face employment law, HR and health and safety issues at some stage over its lifetime, and how they handle these issues will determine their success as a business. Our workshop will equip businesses with the tools they need to safeguard against these issues, and it’s not just for Guaranteed Irish members – all businesses are welcome to attend, they simply need to register in advance.”
Moira Grassick, Head of Commercial at Peninsula, added “The time and effort needed to ensure that your business complies and follows the most recent rules and regulations can be huge. The free workshop will show business owners how to comply with employment law legislation whilst allowing them to what they do best – run their businesses.”
Pitching opportunity
Ms. O’Connell continued: “New for September’s Masterclass, we’re delighted to announce our exciting initiative – ‘GI’s Perfect Pitch’! We’re offering two companies the chance to present their business pitch to a room full of Ireland’s leading brands. Attendees will be invited to vote using a smartphone app for who they feel had the ‘perfect pitch’. The winning company will be part of Guaranteed Irish’s online marketing campaign.”
To get involved in GI’s Perfect Pitch, companies need to simply:
Register their attendance for the event;
Tweet to @GuaranteedIrl, summarising their business pitch in 140 characters and using the #GIPerfectPitch hashtag.
The top two tweets will be selected by a GI judging panel and will then be notified that they have been selected to deliver their ‘perfect pitch’. In advance of the masterclass, the two companies will be profiled across Guaranteed Irish’s social media profiles platforms.
Google and Toyota Keynote Energy Independent Vehicle Event
When giants such as Google, Toyota and Nissan gather to consider something new it is time to pay attention. This “next big thing” is energy independent electric vehicles (EIVs) by land water and air. Their impact on society and industry will, in due course, be seismic. The event is the world’s first that is dedicated entirely to “Energy Independent Electric Vehicles”. It is at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands September 27-28.
More than half of the world’s population is still without Internet access. Project Loon by X, founded by Google, is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to extend Internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas worldwide. They have solar powered steering and they may be able to loiter. The result will be prosperity and education transformed, empowering the disadvantaged but of course enabling much more as well, much of it unpredictable. The company reports,
“We aim to launch and maintain a fleet of balloons to provide Internet coverage to users on the ground, with our Autolauncherscapable of safely and consistently launching a new balloon every 30 minutes. We have flown over 19 million km of test flights to date since the project began – with one of our record-breaking balloons surviving for 190 days aloft in the stratosphere. High speed internet is transmitted up to the nearest balloon from our telecommunications partner on the ground, relayed across the balloon network, and then back down to users on the ground. We have demonstrated data transmission between balloons over 100 km apart in the stratosphere and back down to people on the ground with connection speeds of up to 10 Mbps, directly to their LTE phones.
Project Loon balloons are designed and manufactured at scale to survive the conditions in the stratosphere, where winds can blow over 100 km/hr and the thin atmosphere offers little protection from UV radiation and dramatic temperature swings which can reach as low as -90°C. Made from sheets of polyethylene, each tennis court sized balloon is built to last more than 100 days in the stratosphere before returning to the ground in a controlled descent.
Project Loon has taken the most essential components of a cell tower and redesigned them to be light enough and durable enough to be carried by a balloon 20 km up in the stratosphere. All the equipment is highly energy-efficient and is powered entirely by renewable energy – with solar panels powering daytime operations and charging a battery for use during the night.”
Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx, says
“Google’s parent company has other energy independent vehicle technologies such as the energy positive tethered drones of Google Makani making up to 600 kW of electricity from the stronger, more consistent winds at 200 meters or more. We have four companies presenting on their energy positive drones. Another part of X had an energy independent solar drone to fly at 60,000 feet to beam the internet but that was abandoned, Facebook continuing with that type of EIV. The event cover all this and many other EIVs being trialled and even sold on the open market for land, water and air, bypassing electricity utilities and charging stations. Sometimes they need less battery or no battery. We reveal all the enabling technologies. At lower levels, electric aircraft are tapping wind and sun as are planned cars, actual boats and more. Eventually the largest ships will become energy independent using tide, wave power, sun and wind in many ways to make their electricity and saving the emissions of millions of cars for each ship. We show how. It all adds up to an addressable market of hundreds of billions of dollars. Of course, initial progress will be slow but it is vital to be in at the beginning”.
Fujifilm’s sophisticated new INSTAX SQUARE SQ10 has scooped a major international consumer electronics award within just six months of its European launch.Delivering the best of both worlds for photographers, the SQ10 hybrid combines the control and composition of a digital camera, with the enjoyment and spontaneity of real instant prints.
The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) selected Fujifilm’s first ever square format hybrid instant camera for one of its top awards, to be presented in Berlin in September at IFA International, the world’s leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances.
The INSTAX SQUARE SQ10 is the first hybrid instant camera to take and print square photos. Available in Fujifilm stockists nationwide at an RRP of €300, the sleek new INSTAX allows photographers edit and filter a shot they’ve captured on the digital LCD screen, before saving it or instantly printing. It has options to brighten, darken, or add vignettes to images, and to choose from 10 creative filters to apply, before printing.
A dream for photography and tech lovers, the INSTAX hybrid’s bright LCD viewfinder makes it easy to create and edit pictures, which are recorded in the internal memory or on a microSD card for sharing. The SQ10 saves up to 50 photos on its internal memory, and even more on the memory card, so moments caught but not instantly printed can be stored and revisited later.
EISA members nominating the SQ10 cited it as the first hybrid camera within its range with a digital image sensor and digital image processing technology. This vastly enhances the image quality and allows photographers creatively edit their compositions on screen, before printing.
The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) is a unique and longstanding collaboration between 55 of the most respected international specialist consumer electronics magazines.
These periodicals, their websites and forums produce regular independent technical reviews on new consumer electronics products, and their annual awards are based on the best innovation across photography, mobile devices, hi-fi, home theatre audio, home theatre display and video, and in-car electronics.
Independent Endorsement
Independent endorsement at the highest level from EISA reflects the SQ10’s high-tech edge, according to Jackie Farrell, Fujifilm Ireland Marketing Manager.
“These prestigious international awards recognise quality and innovation, from everyday affordable products to the most aspirational of modern electronics goods, and the Fujifilm Corporation is obviously delighted to have the INSTAX SQ10 counted among its top consumer electronics for 2017”, the Fujifilm Irish spokesperson said.
The award citation noted the instant camera’s ability to produce brighter photos in low-light conditions, for indoor and night scenes, as well as close-up shots from a distance of up to 10cm, thanks to its sophisticated automatic exposure control, human detection and auto-focus.
“Its filters, with different effects that control light intensity and brightness, can be used in advance or after shooting, and image editing in the LCD monitor is simple and intuitive”, reviewers of the SQ10 also reported.
Trend-setting INSTAX SQ10 prints have a retro square format, echoing that of INSTAGRAM™, the photo-sharing platform.
This year’s EISA Awards saw member magazines from over 20 European countries, plus affiliates in the USA and Australia, contribute their experience, identifying new products that combine the most advanced technology and desirable features with class-leading performance.
Android users have a new threat to be aware of: spyware apps that steal data from the devices they infect. Some samples made their way to Google Play, but the vast majority is coming from other online sources.
Researchers from SophosLabs and elsewhere have found three cases of SonicSpy-infused apps in Google Play: Soniac, Hulk Messenger, and Troy Chat – messaging apps that hide their spying functionality and await orders from command-and-control servers.
Google booted the apps from its store after they were discovered. Researcher Chen Yu said the Google Play versions had “tiny installation numbers and existed for a very short time”. Though three were found on Google Play, SophosLabs has counted 3,240 SonicSpy apps in the wild. Some reports place the number at 4,000.
According to multiple reports, a single bad actor – probably based in Iraq – has released these apps into the wild since February.
How it operates
The various SonicSpy-infused apps share the ability to:
Silently record audio
Take photos with the device’s camera
Make outbound calls
Send text messages to whatever phone numbers the attacker chooses
Retrieve data from contacts, Wi-Fi hotspots and call logs
On the devices it infects, SonicSpy removes its launch icon to hide itself. It then connects to a control server on port 2222 of arshad93.ddns[.]net, according to Michael Flossman, a researcher from Lookout who first reported the spyware’s appearance.
Defensive measures
Sophos customers are protected from the SonicSpy apps, which are detected as Andr/HiddenAp-W, Andr/Axent-CY, Andr/FakeApp-BK and Andr/Xgen-Y.
The continued presence of malicious Android apps demonstrates the need to use an Android antivirus such as our free Sophos Mobile Security for Android.
By blocking the install of malicious and unwanted apps, even if they come from Google Play, you can spare yourself lots of trouble.
In the bigger picture, the average Android user isn’t going to know what techniques the malware used to reach their device’s doorstep, but they can do much to keep it from getting in – especially when it comes to the apps they choose. To that end, here’s some more general advice:
Stick to Google Play. It isn’t perfect, but Google does put plenty of effort into preventing malware arriving in the first place, or purging it from the Play Store if it shows up. In contrast, many alternative markets are little more than a free-for-all where app creators can upload anything they want, and frequently do.
Avoid apps with a low reputation. If no one knows anything about a new app yet, don’t install it on a work phone, because your IT department won’t thank you if something goes wrong.
Patch early, patch often. When buying a new phone model, check the vendor’s attitude to updates and the speed that patches arrive. Why not put “faster, more effective patching” on your list of desirable features, alongside or ahead of hardware advances such as “better camera” and “higher-res screen”?
Avaya today announces that David Flood is stepping up as head of the sales leadership team in Ireland, strengthening its position in both the UK and EMEA. David, who takes over as the Regional Sales Lead for Avaya Ireland from the departing Jason Flynn, brings over 22 years of experience to the role.
David joined Avaya in 2009 and has held multiple regional and global sales management roles, focused primarily on System Integrators and Solution Providers (SI/SP), including IBM, CSC, Vodafone, BT and Capita. In his time with Avaya, David successfully led the transformation of Avaya’s global SI/SP and built a strong track record in defining and executing go to market models that create sustained partnership, customer success and revenue growth.
Avaya Ireland works with the country’s leading banks, emergency services, education institutions, government departments and global technology and pharmaceutical companies. The country’s largest operators, including BT, eir and Vodafone, are Avaya partners, along with a community of channel partners that includes Capstone, Maintel, Eyrco, Damovo and Rainbow Communications.
Galway is also home to Avaya’s global R&D team for contact center technology. The team is responsible for architecture and development of Avaya’s contact center solutions, including the flagship next-generation technology, Avaya Oceana.
Ronald Rubens, Vice President Europe North, Avaya says.. “As the new regional sales lead for Ireland, David’s focus will be to continue building exceptional customer experiences and to help customers achieve their digitisation goals and address critical challenges within their businesses. David brings exceptional value and experience to the table, so I have the utmost confidence he will drive our business in Ireland to even greater success.”
David Flood, RSL, Avaya, Ireland says.. “Having worked with our customers and partners in Ireland for many years, it is a privilege for me to progress into this new position. I am looking forward to helping more customers in their journey toward digital transformation and cloud adoption using Avaya’s leading-edge software and services.”
The study, which included over 250 Irish respondents, found that third-party reviews and recommendations are of crucial importance to information seeking younger consumers. 43% of 16 to 24-year-olds feel reviews are the most impressive factor influencing their decision to choose a brand, compared to only 20% of over 55s. It was also found that half of the youngest age group surveyed feel frustrated when they are unable to interact with a brand through social media, compared to just over a quarter of over 55s.
A new study from technology specialist Ricoh Ireland has highlighted generational differences in customer service expectations. Older age groups are revealed as being less forgiving of brands, while younger customers expect far more information at the consideration stage, along with deep post-sales interaction to build lasting brand relationships. The survey of 3,600 consumers was conducted by Censuswide across Europe and included more than 250 Irish respondents.
– Ricoh Ireland research shows 43% of 16-24 year-olds view third-party reviews and recommendations as the most important factor in choosing a brand, compared to 20% of over 55s
– 55% of customers would abandon sales processes that they find difficult, rising to 62% for over 55s and lowering to 43% for 16-24 year-olds
– 57% of customers spend more with brands that make them feel valued
– Half of 16-24 year-olds are frustrated when they are unable to contact a brand through social media, while only 26% of over 55s feel likewise
– Chas Moloney sees “huge opportunities for Irish businesses to connect with, and learn about, their audience”.
The research found that added services, such as the inclusion of third-party reviews and recommendations, are vastly more important to younger consumers than older generations. Some 43% of 16 to 24-year-olds rated this as the factor that impresses them most when choosing to buy from a brand, compared to only 20% of over 55s.
Chas Moloney, director, Ricoh Ireland and UK
Customers also seek streamlined user experiences, with the research finding that 62% of over 55s would walk away from brands with laborious sales processes, compared to 43% of 16 to 24-year-olds. Of all age groups, 55% of customers would abandon a purchase if they found the process difficult.
Older customers were also revealed as being less interested in loyalty programmes and incentives for frequent purchases. Only 19% felt this was an impressive factor in brand selection, compared to 38% of 16 to 24-year-olds.
Chas Moloney, director, Ricoh Ireland and UK, said: “Our research highlights a core challenge facing brands today – how they can navigate a varied set of preferences from customers across generations. Understanding why young people build affinity with a brand is a crucial factor in ensuring future success, while continued attention to other age groups’ needs is integral to customer satisfaction and retention. For those that get it right the rewards are there for the taking, shown by the fact that 57% of customers spend more with brands that make them feel valued.”
Ricoh’s research also found that customers are increasingly going to great lengths to access information pre-purchase. Younger consumers are more frustrated by not being able to interact with a brand via social media, with 50% of 16 to 24-year-olds saying it irritates them, compared to 26% of over 55s.
Moloney continued: “Brands cannot shirk the responsibility of providing lines of communication for their customers. This is now taken for granted by young consumers, leading to frustration in its absence. It’s paramount that Irish businesses are on social media and fully aware of their consumers’ behaviour. Significant numbers of Irish consumers are using social media to interact with brands prior to purchase. This provides huge opportunities for Irish businesses to connect with, and learn about, their audience.”
The announcement of the relaunch Glass EE brings Google back in the game it kick started -for all intents and purposes- back in 2013, and this time the AR headset finds itself in a battle of the (enterprise) niches. Major upgrades between the explorer and the enterpriseedition include a modular structure, a better camera (from 5 megapixels to 8), extended battery life, faster Wi-Fi and processor, and a new red light that turns on when recording video. Arguably, there’s not that many differences between the first iteration of Glass some 4 years ago and the new headset. In reality, and most critically, it’s not so much that Glass EE is a new device, it’s the playing field’s rules that are new.
AR in 2013: a brave new world
Augmented reality (AR), although first demonstrated in headsets in the early 1990’s and implemented in consumer applications insimple ways from the late 2000s/ early 2010s, saw a dramatic rise in awareness of, excitement, and hype with the launch of Google Glass in 2013. The headset, although criticized at the time of its launch and eventually pulled off the market in early 2015, lead to a precipitation of interest and investment in research & development in the space for AR, with tens of prototypes, demos and products hitting the market in the few years immediately after, with Pokemon Go!, the quintessential “killer app” and the pinnacle of global AR frenzy to date.
As discussed in the IDTechEx report on the topic “Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2017-2027: Technologies, Forecasts, Players – Headsets, components and enabling technologies for future AR, MR, & VR devices”, the launch of Glass impressed, disappointed andsent waves of alarm throughout the electronics industry all at once: it “forced” competition to launch non-ready, clunky products, for fear of being considered as late arrivals in the AR space. Products with limited functionalities, short battery life, dim displays, that overall offered a dissatisfying user experience were revealed too early to convince consumers of the vision of AR and the capacity to achieve it. Instead, technology developers took severe criticism and a step or two back from the ambition of their initial plans and refocused their efforts onto more achievable goals: niche markets with specific needs, and problems with solutions that can be implemented through an AR headset in sectors where a clear ROI is associated with deploying said solutions.
This oversimplified summary describes the basic process through which Glass EE as well as most other AR headsets came to serve enterprise applications.
Meanwhile in the VR market not that far away…
At the same time the first Glass hit the market in 2013, developers of VR headsets were only just digesting what is considered a seminal discovery for the VR industry: Valve’s discovery and sharing of the breakthrough of low-persistence displays in 2013, which made lag-free and smear-free display of VR content possible.
Today, and only 4 years later, the market for VR is a very different landscape, with over 25 million headsets forecasted to be sold in 2017. And although it’s very true that AR and VR are not quite the same thing, they do have as many similarities as they have differences; a lot of the challenges relating to form factor, ergonomics, power consumption or development of better, lighter componentry have similarities that can lead to a very useful cross feeding of critical breakthroughs, and as IDTechEx forecasts, a convergence in later years that will see headsets being capable of both AR and VR.
According to Jay Kothari’s promotional piece on Glass EE, on the left is an assembly engine manual that GE’s mechanics used to consult. Now they use Glass Enterprise Edition on the right. GE was one of the first businesses to utilize Glass in the workplace. Today the list includes AGCO, DHL, Dignity Health, NSF International, Sutter Health, The Boeing Company, and Volkswagen. Source: Google X
Niches within niches
Until then, AR headset developers are choosing their areas of focus, largely based on the form factor and capabilities of the headsets they’re launching. Some examples include:
Hololens: Comparisons with Microsoft’s visor device are inescapable, but the differences between it and Glass EE almost ensure little competition between the two for the same chunks in the search of “niches within niches”, at least initially. Hololens, with its unusual look will probably remain deployed in indoors applications as it’s too “unexpected” for people walking down the street (that’s not a bad thing necessarily, as it allows itself constant proximity to grid power and thus, the capability to tackle hjgh processing power tasks without concerns of running out of juice), whereas the diminutive in size EE can be discrete enough for the great outdoors but will probably steer clear of processing power intensive applications due to its small size.
Snapchat spectacles: I love this example for two reasons: first, because it reminds everyone that AR content doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive and complex, but given the right application, it can be fun and engaging, even if it only allows you to film 10-second clips of yourself for your snapchat account. Second, because the spectacles’ marketing campaign and sales model has made them a global sensation and something for the textbooks for generations of marketeers to come.
Oakley Radar Pace: Lastly, Oakley’s headset; a reminder that AR doesn’t have to be about visual content only: if you’re an athlete at the top of your game, you don’t have time to glance at your near eye display to see how fast your heartbeat is, or what distance you have to cover to get to the finish line: so Oakley did away with the power hungry display module and all information is accessed and exchanged with the wearer through voice commands.
So welcome back Glass. We’ve definitely been expecting you. Let’s see how you fare, 4 years on.For more insights on the AR & VR markets please contact Dr Harry Zervos, principal analyst at IDTechEx Inc. at h.zervos@idtechex.com
Going back to school can be complicated, but choosing your phone isn’twith Tesco Mobile.
Choosing school subjects can be complicated, but choosing your phone doesn’t have to be, and Tesco Mobile is here to help with great new pay-as-you-go offers, that will make getting back into the swing of school that little bit easier.
Killian O’Neill, Head of Marketing, Tesco Mobile Ireland said: “It can be complicated getting back into every-day school life, especially after such an enjoyable, warm summer – and we’re just not used to those in Ireland! But switching to Tesco Mobile is so easy, and we’re excited to be launching our Back to School range of value offers which will remove the hassle out of choosing your phone at least.”
With a range of new sleek and value phones as part of its Back to School campaign on offer from Tesco Mobile, students and families are sure to find the perfect one for them. The Alcatel Pop 4, which was €99.99, is now €49.99 with Tesco Mobile, and allows users to watch movies on the stunning 5” black crystal display, which is fully laminated to give vibrant colourful images. With an 8MP rear camera with an LED flash, HDR can be used to perfectly expose images, while a video zoom improves the video recording experience and the 5MP selfie camera has a wide angle 84 degrees lens. The phone has 8GB of internal memory and up to 32GB external memory.
Tesco Mobile is also offering the Samsung J3 for €129.99, down from €139.99, with features including a beautiful new design and large 5″ display, external memory and powerful front and rear camera. The J3 2016 is the latest edition to the J Samsung series family. The phone has 8GB of internal memory and up to 128GB external memory.
Tesco Mobile is available in the following Tesco Ireland Stores
The Alcatel Pixi 4 4 which was €49.99, is now €39.99 and is the ideal phone for a first-time user. This 4″ Handset offers its owner a smartphone with all the features they need, including a reliable battery, fast connectivity and easy-to-use interface. Bundled with the Alcatel Move Band that offers motion detection, activities monitoring and unread reminding, this is a ‘no-brainer’ starter pack for a busy student.
“We have some great mobiles on offer with all the best new features that make the ideal treat for young people and adults alike, as well as perfect Back to School options for first-time users and busy students that need a reliable battery and easy-to-use interface. Summer is also a great time to buy a phone for your kids with them out later than usual enjoying the fine weather, so why not get the best-value mobile phones around to stay in contact and make sure they’re safe. Call our Tesco Mobile customer care team today or drop into one of our 24 phone shops or Talk & Tech shops to find the best Back to School mobile phone deal for you.”
If you are not a Tesco Mobile user, it could not be easier to switch over or join. You can buy a Tesco Mobile phone or SIM card in-store and when set up, register your mobile number and details online with My Tesco Mobile. If you are switching over and want to keep your existing mobile number, you can do this via My Tesco Mobile on www.tescomobile.ie/.
When at an ATM, we all zone in on the task at hand. Getting cash. Completely forgetting what those behind us can see and how they might be planning to also access our account. Unlike popular pantomimes, it now seems that worrying about what is behind you is only the tip of the iceberg.
Witnessed in Oklahoma, a wafer-thin infrared device was discovered collecting information from both the ATM itself and video footage of the ATM keypad. Providing the criminal everything required to clone a card and go on a shopping spree at the expense of someone else.
While infrared is not new technology, in fact we use it to control our TV’s and it can even be traced back to the Cold War. It does however indicate that the criminals had to be within line of sight of the ATM to receive the transmission of data.
When we think of infrared technology, our minds go in many different directions at once as we march through the variety of uses for infrared. For those who follow the myriad television crime dramas, their minds no doubt go to the use of infrared photography at crime scenes. For those who are birdwatchers, infrared video can capture the hummingbird’s expenditure of energy. For most us, we think of the remote control which connects us from our couch-potato position to our television.
Well, there’s one more to add to this list – use of infrared video to transmit data captured at your bank’s ATM by criminals wishing to clone and use your bank cards.
The newfangled ATM skimmer was found in Norman, Oklahoma and according to the Norman police department, the device which they discovered in June 2017 was wafer-thin and undetectable by the victim. This skimmer had an antenna attached which served to broadcast the collected information to a tiny camera, which had visibility of the ATM’s keypad.
Security investigative reporter Brian Krebs dug a bit deeper into this skimmer and learned that these criminals had mastered, using infrared technology, to not only transmit the data captured by the skimmer, but also to transmit the accompanying keypad video.
Furthermore, the use of an infrared transmitter greatly reduces the odds of having their transmissions inadvertently detected, when compared to WiFi or Bluetooth, which is present on every smartphone.
The criminals had only placed themselves at risk during time they put the device and video camera in place (Krebs has posted a photo of the two Oklahoma suspects), and when receiving the infrared signal (being in proximity to the ATM).
You’d have thought the criminals were Cold War history buffs, as their use of the concept of collect, store and forward data was previously perfected by the Russians. The KGB doctored several electric typewriters within the US embassy in Moscow in the 1980s which stored the key strokes and then used signal bursts to send the data to listening posts nearby. The implants were, like the ATM skimmers, deeply embedded in the hardware of the typewriter.
Available information doesn’t tell us if these ATM skimmer devices used directed or diffused infrared, a point of interest from a defensive standpoint. If the criminals used directed infrared, then their data collection point was within line of sight of the infrared transmitter – in other words, they would have to see the ATM, and thus could be seen from the ATM.
If their infrared signal used diffused infrared, then their collection point need only be in signal proximity, as the signal is more forgiving to line-of-sight disruption and therefore, a bit harder to observe.
The ever-reducing costs of readily available component parts make these devices essentially throw-away devices. Run the device for as long as the internal battery provides energy, and then move on.
What can the financial institutions do?
Review the video at their ATMs with regularity – in this instance, it appears that the criminals were visible on video at the ATM but do not conduct a transaction.
Install touchless technology, like NFC (near field communications), which will enable users to use their EMV/NFC debit/credit cards, key fob or smartphone to access their accounts.
Or as has recently been implemented in Macau, by the Macau Monetary Authority, “Know Your Customer” technology requires that each ATM use facial recognition technology.
What should we do?
The low-tech solution is to cover your keyboard hand with a newspaper or your other hand when entering your pin codes – which will certainly stop anyone sneakily filming you as you tap in your PIN.
For tips on how you and financial institutions can remain protected while at an ATM, take a moment to review the following Naked Security article.
