CES 2019: All About Privacy

Pepcom and CES 2019 was an amazing experience this year! We’re proud to have been able to demo our AI-powered Smart Storage Platform Amber, as well as meet so many people with cool gadgets and interesting ideas to share.

One of the major buzzwords at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was privacy — which comes as no surprise, considering 2018 brought privacy to the forefront in virtually every industry worldwide.

Today, companies are realizing that they can differentiate themselves — and build trust — by being transparent about their practices around consumer privacy and data security. This trend was highlighted last week as hundreds of companies showcased their newest wares at CES, from smart home devices to entertainment systems and security solutions.

The following are some of the more interesting gadgets that were on display for the tech-savvy and privacy-conscious consumer:

1. Winston Privacy

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) forecasts that there will be a 23% increase in sales of smart home technology in 2019, with an expected 29.4 million units sold. But alongside all of this technology comes a potential privacy threat, as bad actors can remotely access unprotected IoT devices and glean information about users. That’s on top of the ubiquitous tracking that follows internet users online every day.

Winston Privacy is one solution to this problem, aimed at protecting your personal information from prying eyes. The Winston hardware unit scrambles, encrypts, and anonymizes all of your home internet activity while also blocking digital ads on all your devices. Winston’s dashboard will even tell you how many threats it has prevented from accessing your smart home devices like TVs, speakers, and thermostats.

2. Yubico Yubikey

Presenting the next generation in security keys, Yubico unveiled both the Security Key NFC and the Yubikey for Lightning. These small keys pack a huge punch, providing users with a simple and seamless experience across devices that offers “strong multi-factor, two-factor (2FA), and single-factor passwordless authentication.”

With near-field communication and USB-A connectivity, these keys give you the ability to log in to your accounts with tap-and-go authentication, and provide powerful protection against account takeovers and lost passwords.

3. Snips Voice Assistant

Snips is a private-by-design, decentralized voice assistant solution that allows you to create your own on-device smart assistant that works entirely offline. With the Snips assistant technology, you select your "wake" word, specify pre-trained capabilities (with help from community-created intents) or generate data to create your own intents via machine learning, and then deploy the assistant to your favorite platform (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Android, Linux, etc.).

The ultimate goal of Snips is to eventually make technology "disappear" by putting an AI in every device and enabling effortless connectivity and communication while keeping users' data safe and private.

4. LG Signature OLED TV R

LG's rollable TV was a hit at CES this year, showcasing the latest in TV technology. The LG Signature OLED TV can roll itself up into an unassuming piece of furniture, with the screen hidden away whenever it's not in use. The OLED screen technology doesn't need a backlight and can create perfect blacks and contrasts for superior viewing quality. The rollable feature is made possible because of the thinness of the TV and the lack of a backlight.

The TV offers three different aspect ratios: Full View (with the TV opened all the way up), Line View (partially rolled up so that the small section of visible screen can display the time, mood, music, or photos), and Zero View (where the TV is fully rolled down and out of sight).

5. Amber Smart Storage Platform

We had a blast in Las Vegas demonstrating our very own Amber, the world's first all-in-one smart storage platform! When it comes to data storage, we know that privacy and security are paramount. That's why Amber gives you your own private, personal hybrid cloud — a secure and safe way to store all your digital memories over the long term.

With Amber's secure platform, you can avoid commercial cloud services that may compromise your personal data — and also enjoy streaming capabilities, multiple user profiles, on-the-go access to your files, AI features, automatic backup and sync, plus super-fast WiFi.

Amber is basically your own mini datacenter that protects your most valuable files and precious digital memories. You can take advantage of the privacy and performance of local storage with the convenience of global connectivity and sharing provided by your private cloud. After all, it's not just your data — it's your life.

Learn more about Amber and how it works here.