Author Archives: Scalper1
Amazon Confirms It’s Ending Fire Tablet Encryption, Takes Heat
E-commerce leader Amazon.com ( AMZN ) has confirmed that it has disabled encryption on its tablets running Fire OS 5. News of the change comes at an auspicious moment, as a debate in the U.S. rages about whether Apple ( AAPL ) should create a tool that would give government access to a terrorist’s iPhone. Apple says that giving the feds such access would make all other iPhones more vulnerable. Amazon spokeswoman Robin Handaly emailed a prepared statement to IBD about the encryption change: “In the fall when we released Fire OS 5, we removed some enterprise features that we found customers weren’t using,” the statement reads. “All Fire tablets’ communication with Amazon’s cloud meet our high standards for privacy and security, including appropriate use of encryption.” Industry observers have been critical of Amazon’s decision to eliminate the security measure from its devices. “Removing device encryption due to lack of customer use is an incredibly poor excuse for weakening the security of those customers that did use the feature,” Jeremy Gillula of digital-rights nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation told IBD via email. “Given that the information stored on a tablet can be just as sensitive as that stored on a phone or on a computer, Amazon should instead be pushing to make device encryption the default — not removing it.” “Amazon’s decision is backward — it not only moves away from default device encryption, where other manufacturers are headed, but removes all choice by the end user to decide to encrypt it after purchase,” Nathan White, senior legislative manager at digital rights organization Access Now told Wired . “The devices themselves also become more attractive targets for thieves. Users should no longer trust these devices: If you wouldn’t post it to the Internet publicly, don’t put it on a Fire Tablet.” Amazon stock was flat in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . Typically, device encryption is used by device owners to protect their data in case the the device is lost or stolen. Amazon’s own chief technology officer just last month gave a speech strongly supporting encryption in general. Reports of the company terminating encryption have sparked debate on Amazon Web forums. Amazon, however, has joined 14 other tech giants in filing court papers that support Apple and its fight against the FBI. The government is attempting to gain access to an iPhone used by one of the dead terrorists in the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings. Other companies involved include Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google, Facebook ( FB ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ).
Bluebird Bio Up As Gene Therapy Scores Against Rare Disease
Biotech Bluebird Bio ( BLUE ) stock rose Friday after the company released positive data on its gene-therapy treatment for a rare disease. Late Thursday, a number of abstracts were released for presentations at next month’s meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Bluebird highlighted its Starbeam study, which treated 17 boys with cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disease that leads to a breakdown of the nervous system. Bluebird used Lenti-D, which modifies the patient’s own stem cells to correct the gene mutation and re-implants them. Bluebird said that six months after treatment, subjects showed no worsening in neurological function and were expressing the protein needed to prevent the neurodegeneration. The company said that one serious adverse event possibly related to the drug had occurred, as a patient was infected with the BK virus, which is associated with transplants. However, Bluebird said the case had been resolved. Lenti-D is one treatment Bluebird is developing using its lentivirus platform for delivering gene therapy to patients. The better-known treatment LentiGlobin is being studied as a treatment for severe anemia, and it has driven the stock up and down over the last year as early trial results have trickled in. “While Lenti-D represents only a very modest commercial opportunity, we believe positive interim data at AAN should provide investors with more comfort that Bluebird’s technology can be applied effectively and consistently as a potential curative approach for severe genetic diseases,” Leerink analyst Michael Schmidt wrote in a research note. Bluebird will report full results at the AAN meeting in Vancouver on April 20. Bluebird stock was up 6.5% in midday trading on the stock market today , near 57. The stock is still more than 70% off last May’s record high above 197.