Zipcar is not building a self-driving car, but it is trying to make sure it is ready to take advantage of autonomous cars as soon as possible. “We are in the mix as much as anyone could be,” said Nichole Mace, vice president of product and member experience for Zipcar. “From a member standpoint it’s just really an extension of what we’re doing today.” Zipcar is very clear to say the Boston-based company is not working on its own autonomous car, but it has started laying the groundwork for adding self-driving cars to its fleet. 

Researcher Marie Moe woke up after emergency surgery in 2011 with a new pacemaker to correct a heart condition. What she didn't realize at the time was that the lifesaving device in her chest exposed her to a completely different kind of threat. The pacemaker keeping her alive has wireless connectivity capabilities — a detail her doctors didn't tell her — meaning it could be hacked. Moe was understandably disturbed that it never occurred to her doctors to tell her that her device had wireless capability, and they had not considered the security implications.

The ever-inflating Internet of Things (IoT) could get a boost in the form of federal assistance under a bill just filed in the U.S. Senate. The text of the bill, short-titled the “Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act” — DIGIT, for short — estimates that 50 billion devices will be connected to each other by 2020 and acknowledges the huge potential that level of interconnectivity could have on society. Pilot projects are already underway to start setting up connections that could be used to improve government operations and better deliver service to citizens — for instance, San …

The security of Internet of Things devices was a popular topic here at the RSA Conference. In fact, there were more than a dozen sessions on IoT security, even though there was not a separate track for IoT at the conference. The session topics ranged from connected product security to connected car vulnerabilities and enterprise IoT security. Perhaps the most interesting discussion on IoT security did not even take place at RSA, but at a nearby after-hours event sponsored by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology and the Herndon, V.A.-based Mach 37 Cyber Accelerator. 

Amazon is putting Alexa, the brains of Amazon Echo, in more places via the Tap and Echo Dot and now has formed a comprehensive smart home strategy that links up with e-commerce. The Echo was Amazon's surprise hit last year. Simply put, Echo has become the platform Amazon will use to jump further into the Internet of things. Echo looked like a flyer at first, but wound up being a control hub in many homes. Via developers and third party connections, the Echo served up information and connected to various home automation points.

In less than five years, there will be more than 26 billion different connected devices in our homes, cars and businesses, according to Gartner. All are designed to make lives easier and facilitate tasks – and that figure doesn’t even include personal computers, tablets and smartphones. As the Internet of Things (IoT) converges with servitisation (also known as outcome-based services), machine-to-machine learning, 3D printing and wide spread cloud adoption, one of the biggest considerations is going to be around service.

There was a time when grocery shoppers seeking information about their food could get it straight from the farmer who grew it. As it turns out, today’s consumers are every bit as hungry for the same level of connection and insight — and recent tech advances are only increasing their appetite. Each product has a story to tell, and the data that results from the telling of that story can benefit consumers and retailers alike. Consider Coop Italia, the largest grocery chain in Italy with 18 percent market share; the system of consumers’ cooperatives includes 1,100 supermarkets and 100 hypermarkets stretched …

 Security experts say hackers aren’t just interested in your home computer anymore. Any Internet-connected device could be a target and a new type of search engine has made it easier than ever to find vulnerable devices. Dale Drew, Chief Security Officer at Level 3 Communications, wants consumers to know about the search engine Shodan, which CNN called the “scariest search engine on the Internet.” Shodan bills itself as “the world’s first search engine for Internet-connected devices,” allowing “authenticated account holders” to search for exposed Webcams, baby monitors, …

In the smartest Smart Home, everything plays nicely together, and IoT smartplug maker Zuli is further joining up its dots with the addition of Hue support. The Zuli smartplugs, which differentiate themselves by using Bluetooth to figure out when rooms are in use and adjust devices accordingly, can now command Philips' color-changing LED bulbs too. If you've not been keeping up with your IoT news, Zuli's system relies on compact plug-in adapters that pair via Bluetooth with your iPhone. From there, you can remotely turn on or off whatever device is plugged into them - be it a lamp, a heater, …

Back in December, Mozilla called it a day with its failed Firefox OS for mobile business, and said it would pivot the technology into a new Internet of Things strategy. Amid a good dose of skepticism that a platform (and organization) that failed in one area can succeed in another that is arguably even more complex, Mozilla has laid out the first projects in its IoT shortlist. Get ready for an intelligent “personal user agent”, a smart home initiative, a crowdsourced network based on sensors and a voice interface for IoT devices. Mozilla also says it is now looking for community members to help develop and test in each of …