Episode 357: Too many companies are paying ransomware

Episode 357: Too many companies are paying ransomware

Author: Stacey Higginbotham, tech journalist February 3, 2022 Duration: 58:35

This week we kick off the show with an explainer on Sigfox’s receivership before delving into grim news from Claroty, a cybersecurity firm.  Claroty surveyed 1,100 IT and OT (operational technology) pros and discovered that three out of five of them worked at companies that paid up after a ransomware attack. I can’t believe it, but the research offers compelling reasons why. We then move over to some Matter news, starting with an update from Assa Abloy on backward compatibility for its Yale locks, and concluding with an update from Nanoleaf, which is delaying some of its products thanks to Matter being delayed. We then cover Walmart teaming up with Angi to install some smart home products for consumers as part of the rush to invest in smart devices that we discussed last week with Angi’s CEO. In quick news, we talk about a new IoT satellite service, an acquisition by connected health company Withings, and Peloton’s new $90 smart heart rate monitor. We conclude the show with a good idea from one of our listeners who set up a sort of call system using Wyze outlets and smart bulbs.

Withings purchased a subscription workout app to add to its wellness hardware. Image courtesy of Withings.

Our guest this week is Simon van der Jagt, CEO of Nowi. Nowi makes an energy harvesting chip that is easier to use in a variety of sensors. We talk about why, before moving to a discussion of plug and forget devices, and what those will entail. The idea is that companies can build energy-harvesting sensors that could last for the life of a road or container or other product, and thus we can forget about them. We also talk about trends in designing chips for the IoT such as sales challenges and the growing demand for highly specific chips that can consume the least amount of power while getting the work done. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Simon van der Jagt, CEO of Nowi
SponsorsRightpoint and Hologram

  • What led to Sigfox’s “bankruptcy”
  • You’ll never believe the size of these ransoms
  • Is Matter causing product delays?
  • What kind of chips does the IoT need?
  • Let’s design plug and forget devices

The post Episode 357: Too many companies are paying ransomware appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.


For anyone trying to make sense of a world where everything from your thermostat to a factory floor is getting smarter, The Internet of Things Podcast-Stacey On IoT offers essential context. Veteran tech journalist Stacey Higginbotham, who brings her experience from Fortune, and co-host Kevin Tofel break down the weekly flood of news, separating genuine innovation from mere hype. Their analysis spans the entire connected ecosystem, diving into the gadgets in our homes, the sensors transforming industrial workspaces, and the complex enterprise systems tying it all together. This isn't just theoretical; it's a practical guide to the business and technology decisions shaping our networked future. You'll hear from a range of voices that have built and critiqued this landscape, including pioneers like Vint Cerf, insightful commentators like Om Malik, and practitioners from companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and IBM Watson. Listening to this podcast provides a crucial framework for understanding the real-world implications of connectivity, whether you're an industry professional, a curious developer, or simply someone wondering how all these "smart" things actually work-and what they mean for privacy, security, and daily life. It's the clear-eyed conversation you need to navigate the ever-expanding Internet of Things.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT
Podcast Episodes
Episode 377: Why there were 56 OT vulnerabilities this week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Episode 373: Matter’s security details explained [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Episode 371: Smart screws and massive IoT [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:32
This week’s show was recorded a few hours before the annual Google I/O event so we didn’t discuss the new Pixel Watch, but we do discuss Google’s thoughts on the Matter smart home standard from an article in The Verge, w…
Episode 370: How to build the infrastructure for public tech [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:47
This week’s show kicks off with research suggesting Amazon uses data from Alexa devices to advertise its own products, and that Amazon is selling some of the insights derived from Alexa requests to third parties. This is…
Episode 369: Amazon’s $1B industrial IoT fund [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:35
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Episode 368: So long Insteon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:24
This week we start the show with the end of Insteon, which is probably the biggest smart home story this week. We talked about what we know (which isn’t much) and why saving cloud-based smart home services is not as easy…