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By James Lint
Faculty Member, School of Business, American Military University
Senior Editor for InCyberDefense and Contributor, In Homeland Security
Cyber defenders need to know what future technology will look like so they can protect networks and systems now and in the future. CES 2018, which will run January 9-12 in Las Vegas, is the global stage for innovation and where next-generation technology is introduced to the marketplace. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the show has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years.
It is hard to know how new technology will affect current systems. There are no definitive answers yet, but knowing about some of the new technological devices will help us to think about future solutions.
Touch Bio Is An Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor to Identify Customers
According to Ashley Song of BEFS in South Korea, Touch Bio uses ultrasonic waves that penetrate the human body to identify users. It combines biometric information with fingerprint depth and blood flow.
Using ultrasonic waves to identify endodermal fingerprints in a 3D form is a new concept. This technology will increase the user’s ability to prevent forgery or spoofing over old-fashioned 2D fingerprint technology.
BEFS hopes this device will be used as a biometric financial technology solution. The company is also creating fingerprint-secured flash memory devices in addition to a new identification and password manager device.
Touch Bio is a new way to look at fingerprint sensing security. It will be connected to networks and increase their defense and protection.
Botley Robot Teaches Coding Skills to Young Children
The Botley marketing team cited a recent survey by the educational toy company Learning Resources, which found that 70% of parents believe children should start learning basic coding skills as early as age five. The Botley Robot comes ready to use right out of the box.
Its creators say that it will have children as young as five coding in minutes. It teaches early coding and STEM skills without the use of a smartphone, tablet or computer.
Botley’s robot is an activity set that teaches the concept of coding. When the coding cards are combined, they create different actions, just as snippets create a larger code product in real coding work. The robot comes with a full activity set, allowing children to create obstacle courses as a coding activity.
Among others, this product teaches object detection, if/then logic, looping and black line following. If children learn these skills at age five, imagine where they will be when they enter the job market.
Cyber Defenders Beware
Cyber defenders must always possess a situational awareness of emerging technology and tactics. Botley kids’ activity sets are not connected to a system or network, so they probably will not pose a threat to our systems for a few years. On the other hand, the Botley robot might create future cyber workers and a workforce with skills that outpaces its competitors.
These two products should improve security and learning. Technology does not slow down for any company or person.
How will these two innovative devices affect future network security? No one knows for sure. But CES 2018 is a great place to ask that question and many others.
As a member of the media, writing for a university that is heavily focused on future technology, I welcome your questions and will ask them on the CES 2018 conference floor. That way, I can get your questions answered from many of the exhibitor companies.
CES 2018 Question Topics
If you have a question that you’d like me to ask at CES 2018 on your behalf, include them in the Comments section of this article or send them directly to me on social media including LinkedIn and my blog. Here is a list of the topics at CES for 2018.
At the top of each CES 2018 guide page, as shown above, you will see a tab for topics and the exhibitors. For your questions, please provide the listed location, booth number and point of contact for the company.
Examples of Potential Questions
Sanbot Nano works with Amazon Alexa. The company literature states: “Sanbot Nano has an Android based Open API system, which is open to app developers from all over the world. You can directly search for the app you need in Sanbot’s App Store.”
Questions you could ask Sanbot Nano include:
- “What else can it do?”
- “Can it film movies?”
- “Can it act as a house alarm?”
- “Can it control my dog?”
Similarly, the MYNT AI robot functions as an all-purpose agent, a business assistant, a security guard and a reliable workforce helpmate. It provides reliable, intelligent and helpful conversations through speech recognition and its processing AI to assist customers in reaching the right place with the right information.
The MYNT security robot ensures the safety of large facilities through automatic mapping, automatic navigation, and object tracking. The company says the emergence of a security robot is a new milestone in the evolution of security systems.
This device could mean the demise of the security guard profession. MYNT was at CES last year and displayed a similar robot that greeted people by addressing their name in the language on their nametag.
Sample questions you could ask MYNT include:
- “How long can the robot operate without a battery change?”
- “Humans work an eight-hour shift, so which is better, a robot or a human?”
- “How do you audit the robot’s actions?”
- “How safe is the robot in not bumping into explosive components in an industrial plant?”
- “Can the communications from the robot to the remote control site be encrypted?”
A San Francisco company called Spire just launched the Spire Health Tag, which monitors your stress, activity and sleep to discover how they affect each other. The machine washable device is permanently attached to your clothes, so you don’t have to remember to charge it or even put it on.
You buy multiple tags with a battery life of one year. The feedback comes via your phone app.
Questions to ask Spire include:
- “Would this be good for people with sleep problems?”
- “Has it been used with soldiers who have PTSD?”
- “Would this be useful for long haul truck drivers?”
- “Could it be used for security guards who work shifts and must stay awake?”
- “Could it alert wearers when they are dangerously close to falling asleep and must exercise to stay awake during their shift?”
By Asking Questions, You’ll Contribute to the InCyberDefense Knowledgebase
Experts in cyber and technology like Jeff Moss, Dan Kaminsky, Bob Gourley and Chris Stevens will be the first to tell you that they do not know everything. In fact, no one person knows everything about all of the innovative technology or advances in the cyber fields.
So here’s your chance to ask questions of CES participants and add to the APUS InCyberDefense knowledgebase. In a couple of weeks, your questions and their answers could find their way to articles in this blog. Get your questions in now!
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About the Author
James R. Lint recently retired as the (GG-15) civilian director for intelligence and security, G2, U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command. He is an adjunct professor at AMU. James has been involved in cyberespionage events from just after the turn of the century in Korea supporting 1st Signal Brigade to the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis as the first government cyber intelligence analyst. He has 38 years of experience in military intelligence with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, government contracting and civil service.
Additionally, James started the Lint Center for National Security Studies, a nonprofit charity that recently awarded its 49th scholarship for national security students and professionals. James was also elected as the 2015 national vice president for the Military Intelligence Corps Association. He has also served in the Department of Energy’s S&S Security Office after his active military career in the Marine Corps for seven years and 14 years in the Army. His military assignments include South Korea, Germany and Cuba, in addition to numerous CONUS locations. In 2017, he was appointed to the position of Adjutant for The American Legion, China Post 1. James has authored a book published in 2013, “Leadership and Management Lessons Learned,” a book published in 2016 “8 Eyes on Korea, A Travel Perspective of Seoul, Korea,” and a new book in 2017 “Secrets to Getting a Federal Government Job.”
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