New security features on the horizon

                                               New security features on the horizon   

               Google announced last week that their newest update, Chrome 70, is currently in Beta, and with it comes stricter security guidelines for Chrome extensions. Google has admitted that although Chrome extensions have been very successful, some companies have made extensions for malicious purposes. 

A quote from the post:   

             “Going forward, extensions that request powerful permissions will be subject to additional compliance review. We’re also looking very closely at extensions that use remotely hosted code, with ongoing monitoring. Your extension’s permissions should be as narrowly-scoped as possible, and all your code should be included directly in the extension package, to minimize review time.”  

               Going forward, Google will remove any extension that has been considered “obfuscated code,” if it is not changed to be transparent come January.   

               This update is coming from a rising concern over crypto hacks and mining malware coming from google extensions. This increase in scrutiny over what code extensions can have will significantly increase security within Chrome. 

                                                                

                                       

                                     Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash  

                                              

                                              A new Smart Wallet?  

               The startup company KZen Networks has been in the news recently as they have raised over 4 million dollars to build a new kind of Smart Wallet. In their announcement   

             “We wanted for ourselves and for the world something that did not feel like a pre-AOL experience, that was incredibly superior in terms of security and simple to use. We wanted a solution that brings peace of mind and that did not force the user into compromising between convenience and security which is, unfortunately, the current state of affairs.”  

               Although KZen Networks has not given any ideas yet as to what their Smart Wallet will be like they do have big name investors supporting them such as Samsung NEXT, Elron, BlockNation, Fj Labs and Collider VC.     Samsung NEXT released on their website as to part of their reason why they invested in KZen Networks.  

             “We saw in KZen a solution that was not just more secure than current alternatives, but also had a truly delightful ease-of-use. It enables users to generate and manage private keys in a way that all but eliminates security breaches and human error through a range of cutting-edge cryptographic and security techniques.” 

  Although their harsh words of calling wallets “pre-AOL,” I do agree a new version of a Smart Wallet is intriguing and welcome, and the fact that so many companies are backing them is a good sign.   

              It’s always comforting to hear that more companies are tackling the problem of security online while not creating solutions that infringe on our freedoms. I will be waiting to see what the KZen Networks Smart Wallet looks like and if this move inspires more companies to try and create something of their own.   

  -Written by James Hepburn