LG's webOS 3.5 Security Manager is the first smart TV platform to land UL certification “for its effective cybersecurity capabilities,” LG said in a Tuesday announcement. UL tested the webOS 3.5 Security Manager for malware susceptibility and vulnerabilities, software weaknesses and security controls under its 2900-1 Cybersecurity Assurance Program, LG said. “UL assessed the effectiveness of each webOS 3.5 security layer by subjecting the software to a variety of virtual network penetrations and vulnerability attacks.”

Smartwatch and fitness wearable growth has “begun to slow” and will own just over half of wearables revenue by 2021, compared with an expected 75 percent this year, Juniper Research reported Tuesday. Smart glasses will be the highest growth sector of consumer wearables over the next five years, reaching 11 percent, it said. Smart glasses revenue is forecast to grow from $327 million this year to $9 billion during the period. Healthcare wearables are forecast to see a $7 billion increase in annual revenue from 2017 to 2021, though the volume of information could make interpretation difficult, said analyst James Moar.

Internet Society Vice President-Global Policy Development Sally Wentworth acknowledged the Domain Name Association’s Copyright Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy (ADRP) proposal and the Public Interest Registry’s (PIR) intention to implement a pilot version of that process (see 1702080085 and 1702170058) have sparked a lively debate among ISOC members. Participants in the group’s internet policy discussion list have been debating the copyright ADRP, with several urging ISOC to weigh in, since the group formed PIR in 2002. Wentworth said in an email to the discussion list that she has “been following this discussion closely” and recognized that “a number of important points have been made about this issue. I don’t have all the answers just yet but am working to get greater clarity on where this proposal stands.”

FTC staff recommended that a draft template to help security researchers disclose cybersecurity vulnerabilities to industries, particularly for automobile and medical device manufacturers, can be "useful tool for any company providing software-based products and services to consumers," said the agency in a Thursday news release. Commissioners voted 2-0 to authorize staff to comment on the draft template that was produced by an NTIA-driven multistakeholder process (see 1612150074). The FTC said its staff suggested "the draft template be revised to make clear that the recommendations could apply to more than just safety-critical industries. In its comment, the staff noted that companies that provide Internet-connected products or collect sensitive consumer information should consider implementing a vulnerability disclosure policy and related processes."

D-Link began selling a HomeKit-enabled webcam at Apple.com Wednesday, with plans for Apple Store availability later this month, said the company. When activity is detected, users receive a notification on their lock screen, delivered by the Apple Home app, that shows a live feed from the camera.

Millennials ages 18-29 are among those least likely to own an energy-related IoT product and participate in utility-driven energy management programs, said a report on a survey by the Association of Energy Services Professionals and Essense Partners. Energy-related IoT products in the study included smart thermostats, power strips, air conditioners and washing machines. The survey of more than 2,700 consumers asked people in various age groups whether they own IoT home devices and whether they participated in what the industry defines as demand-side management programs their utilities sponsor. Findings showed 85 percent of millennials didn’t own IoT home products or participate in energy-saving programs from a utility, compared with 79 percent of consumers aged 30-44, 81 percent aged 45-59 and 84 percent 60 and older. Though the association expected a lower rate of participation among younger people "who may not be homeowners yet,” the survey found a “consistent trend of higher participation rates as people get older” that will inform planning and design of participation programs, said AESP Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Jones. The highest participation rates were in Washington, Oregon and California, followed by Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The lowest participation rates were in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, it said.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited ComScore "for its mobile viewable impressions and related viewability metrics for display and video ads, in mobile web and in-app, in validated Campaign Essentials," said the measurement company in a Wednesday news release. “We’re working hard to help our clients and the industry bridge the gaps that divide devices and platforms," said Dan Hess, comScore executive vice president-products. "Cross-platform ad verification -- including mobile viewability -- helps close one such gap.” The accreditation builds on another by MRC of comScore's Sophisticated Invalid Traffic detection capabilities that "provide media buyers greater assurance that their desktop and mobile ads have the opportunity to be seen by a real person," the company said.

The FTC cleared Cisco’s $3.7 billion acquisition of application-performance monitoring company AppDynamics, in an early termination notice released Tuesday. Cisco announced the deal last month. AppDynamics will become a software business unit in Cisco's IoT/Applications business (see 1701250060).

“Mega” distributed denial-of-service attacks increased 140 percent year-over-year in Q4, Akamai said Tuesday in a report. Akamai said it considers any DDoS attack larger than 100 Gbps to be a “mega” attack. Twelve such attacks took place in Q4, it said. The largest DDoS attack during Q4, from non-IoT botnet Spike, peaked at 517 Gbps, Akamai said. Seven of the 12 mega attacks are “directly attributed” to the Mirai botnet, which caused the October DDoS attacks against Dyn, Akamai said. The number of IP addresses associated with DDoS attacks also grew during Q4 even though the overall number of DDoS attacks dropped, the company said. The U.S. was the source of the most IP addresses associated with DDoS attacks during the quarter, and remained the top source country for web app attacks, Akamai said. “As we saw with the Mirai botnet attacks during the third quarter, unsecured [IoT] devices continued to drive significant DDoS attack traffic,” said Senior Security Advocate Martin McKeay in a news release. “With the predicted exponential proliferation of these devices, threat agents will have an expanding pool of resources to carry out attacks, validating the need for companies to increase their security investments. Additional emerging system vulnerabilities are expected before devices become more secure.”

Roughly half of U.S. broadband homes want the ability to monitor and adjust thermostats remotely, and a third find voice control very appealing, said a Parks Associates report Tuesday. Voice control is “transforming the smart home user experience” and offering a way for companies to expand consumer engagement with their services and solutions, said Parks analyst Patrice Samuels. In the past six months, 2-4 percent of U.S. broadband households purchased an Echo, said Parks, saying both the Echo and Google Home have the ability to drive adoption of multiple smart home and energy management products. The research firm scheduled a panel, “Leveraging Voice Control and AI in Energy Management,” at its Smart Energy Summit next week in Austin.