The spotlight was placed back on the Internet of Things (IoT) recently when Bosch, the multinational engineering and electronics company, tweeted on Nov. 12 about their Cross Domain Development Kit (XDK), a programmable sensor device and IoT prototyping platform, in partnership with IOTA. A number of definitions for IoT exist, of which Ernst and Young (EY) describes it in the simplest terms: “The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the connection of devices — any devices — to the internet using embedded software and sensors to communicate, collect and exchange data with one another.” The industry has taken off significantly in …

The satellite operator owned by South Korea’s largest telecommunications company KT Corporation is exploring blockchain, local newspaper EDaily reports Friday, Nov. 23. KT SAT, which is reportedly Korea’s sole satellite communication operator with 50 years of satellite expertise, has set up a working group to address the use of major emerging technologies, including blockchain, in order to expand the existing limits of the satellite industry. Announced yesterday, Nov. 22, at the company’s event “2018 KT SAT Partners Day,” the new initiative, dubbed KT SAT Eco Alliance, aims to bring together companies focusing on such tech fields as the Internet of …

A startup says the tokenization of assets represents the next big milestone for blockchain technology – and is creating a platform that’s going to enable individuals and businesses to digitize real-world items. According to IDA, its infrastructure helps to solve a dilemma facing the world today: an effective link between physical and digital economies. The company says digitizing assets can help strengthen rights of ownership, allow everyone to track resources and prevent waste, and create a tamperproof record of transactions. In its white paper, the company has set out why this evolution matters. IDA claims that digitized assets are going …

Hitachi Payments has partnered with the State Bank of India (SBI) to establish a nationwide digital payments platform, according to a press release published by Hitachi Oct. 29. Under the aegis of the government’s “Digital India” campaign, Hitachi will provide SBI with solutions including its Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform "Lumada," which was implemented as the base platform for a major blockchain proof-of-concept (PoC) for supply chain management undertaken with Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group last year. Hitachi Payments is a wholly-owned subsidiary in India of multinational tech conglomerate Hitachi, which provides technology-led payment solutions for financial institutions. It reportedly has 55,000 ATMs …

Many startups, major conglomerates, supply chain operators, and distributors have attempted to integrate blockchain technology over the past two years, to increase transparency and reduce the power of central entities in data processing. With billions of dollars being invested annually by major corporations in blockchain development, the emerging technology has become the focal point of the long-term vision of many companies internationally. The exponential increase in demand and interest in blockchain technology has enabled multi-billion dollar markets for the blockchain in major sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, retail, supply chain, IoT, and payments. Blockchain in manufacturing to be $566 million by …

Samsung’s production wing, Samsung Foundry, has launched a new production process of its 7-nanometer (nm) Low Power Plus (7LPP) process node, which could reduce its energy consumption by up to 50 percent, according to an official press release Oct. 18. The new process, based on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, makes the new 7LPP chips more dense (area efficient) and energy efficient. This could have positive implications for crypto miners usings Samsung’s hardware, as energy costs prove to be a critical factor in the industry’s profitability. As mining hardware develops at a rapid pace, chips continue to become smaller and …

The adoption of blockchain technology is slowly taking shape across a multitude of industries. At the forefront of the amalgamation of payment systems and logistics is US tech giant International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), which has established itself as a leader in terms of blockchain-based products and offerings. The latest developments aim at the logistics sector – but IBM has been keen on blockchain for over 5 years that reveals a slow and steady approach to the adoption of enterprise-scale blockchain solutions. Exploring the Internet of Things Their beginnings in the space were focused on research on the capabilities of …

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY) and KPMG, better known as the “Big Four” auditors, all have established solid long-term blockchain roadmaps to remain relevant in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. The four professional services conglomerates, which combined employ over a million individuals, have different roadmaps and perception of the future of the blockchain industry. Deloitte for instance, the biggest auditor out of the four with an annual revenue of around $43.2 billion, has stated that the blockchain sector is close to seeing a breakthrough with the technology. “Ultimately, [blockchain is] more of a business model enabler than a …

As part of its pivot into security and computing, software company and former smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has released a blockchain-powered platform. The new product focuses on the healthcare field, according to a press release published Oct. 4. Per the announcement, BlackBerry has partnered with technology firm ONEBIO to develop a blockchain-backed “ultra-secure” ecosystem. The system is designed for the storage and sharing of medical data, where information can be entered by patients, laboratories, and Internet of Things (IoT) biometric devices. Once entered, data will further be anonymized and shared with researchers. BlackBerry CEO John Chen said: "We are applying our …

Russian state nuclear energy corporation (Rosatom) will develop "advanced" digital technologies, such as blockchain, according to Rosatom IT department head Evgeniy Abakumov, cited by corporate outlet Strana Rosatom Monday, October 1. As per Abakumov, Rosatom intends to focus on three areas of new technologies, namely blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). "We are committed to integrating 4.0 technologies on a wider scale. IoT, AI, blockchain and others are to increase the efficiency of manufacturing process," Rosatom’s IT department head said. Abakumov also stated that Rosatom is looking to bring on new talent in the three aforementioned areas. …

The number of crypto mining malware attacks used by hackers has continued rising, with total samples growing by 86% in the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest threat report by cybersecurity firm McAfee Labs released September 25. In the report, cybersecurity experts stated more that than 2.5 million new malware coin miner samples were found in Q2. In comparison, the number of crypto malware attacks in Q1 amounted to around 2.9 million, which is a 629 percent rise from around the 400,000 samples found in Q4 2017. The report concluded that coin miner malware “remains very active,” following …

IBM has won a patent for the autonomous self-servicing of networked devices that form part of its Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT) environment. The patent, first filed in late June 2016, was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) September 18. IBM first unveiled a proof-of-concept (PoC) for ADEPT in partnership with Samsung back in March 2016. The system uses a blockchain protocol as a basis for a distributed network of devices — what Samsung has called “a sort of decentralized Internet of Things (IoT).” As IBM explains as a background to its new patent filing, “IoT controllers …