Helsinki&Oulu-based cybersecurity startup Test of Things has raised €1.2 million in a pre-seed round led by Vendep Capital, with participation from angel investors including Aapo Oksman, Zach Shelby, Neil Costigan, Ääkköset Oy, and ScanABC, alongside public support from Business Finland. The company is building an AI-powered platform that automates cybersecurity testing and compliance for connected devices—replacing slow, manual processes with continuous testing and auto-generated regulatory documentation as frameworks like the EU Cyber Resilience Act tighten requirements. The fresh capital will be used to expand the engineering team and accelerate product development, as the seven-person, pre-revenue startup pushes to help manufacturers ship secure IoT and industrial devices faster while reducing the growing compliance burden. When a company builds a connected device — whether it’s a smart lock, a hospital monitor, or a piece of factory equipment — it has to make sure that device is secure before selling it. That sounds reasonable. The catch is how they do it today: cybersecurity testing and compliance documentation is largely manual work of highly skilled experts, thus very expensive. And it doesn’t scale when today’s market is flooded with connected products. “Cybersecurity of products is in everyone’s interest,” says Marko Kaasila, CEO and co-founder of Test of Things. “But the current way of assuring it — manual, not systematic, and expensive — is unsustainable.” Every insecure device that makes it to market is a potential door left unlocked for cyber criminals to exploit— hack your personal data, the operational systems of the factory, or the controls within an office building, even threatening essential critical infrastructure such as the electricity grid. Test of Things is building a platform that automates cybersecurity compliance testing end-to-end. Instead of a team of cybersecurity experts spending weeks combing through a device’s security manually, their AI-powered software handles the heavy
Mar 31, 2026 · via arcticstartup.com
The fight against IoT botnets took a significant turn recently. Law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada, and Germany have dismantled the infrastructure of four massive botnets. These cyber networks, known as Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid, and Mossad, were responsible for conducting numerous disruptive attacks, even affecting the US Department of Defense systems. This takedown highlights the vulnerability of IoT devices, which hackers transformed into a “residential proxy” network. Here, attackers disguised malicious activities as coming from legitimate consumer devices. Such tactics make detection complicated, allowing hackers to bypass security filters. Unfortunately, the context enabling these botnets still exists. Consumer gadgets—routers, webcams, smart TVs—often feature weak default passwords. Coupled with infrequent firmware updates, they serve as fertile ground for hackers. Without vigilant security practices, many devices remain vulnerable long-term. From an industry perspective, these botnets represented a profitable cybercrime-as-a-service business model, renting out access to their infrastructure to other criminals. Addressing these vulnerabilities requires heightened security measures from IoT manufacturers and consumer demand for better security. In response to these threats, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a surprise move. It issued a ban on consumer-grade routers manufactured abroad unless they undergo approval by governmental departments. This ruling targets potential supply chain vulnerabilities associated with foreign-produced routers that could destabilize US critical infrastructures. The United Kingdom and European Union are adopting legislative measures to curtail such threats. In the UK, the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act enforces tight security measures on manufacturers, banning easily guessed default passwords. In the EU, the Cyber Resilience Act mandates cybersecurity requirements on interconnected consumer products. Both regions aim to bolster protection against cyber threats. However, while Wi-Fi remains a popular entry point for attackers, wireless technologies such as Bluetooth are not immune. Many IoT devices operate with obsolete security standards, making them
Mar 31, 2026 · via voip.review
Caregiving is exhausting, usually leading to burnout from constant vigilance and lost sleep. Fortunately, wearables and IoT now provide a digital safety net, helping protect caregivers’ health. This article discusses how such technology is reshaping caregiving. Continuous Monitoring Without Constant Presence The primary advantage of wearables and IoT in caregiving is distant observation. Smartwatches assess vital signs and notify caregivers before they are in an emergency. Motion sensors instantly detect falls or unusual inactivity. These tools immediately send alerts without requiring continuous supervision. This ongoing flow of information offers reassurance that was previously attainable only with constant monitoring. The emotional relief is significant. The caregivers are constantly anxious about whether their loved one has fallen, taken medication, or is safe. This inhibits actual rest, even on breaks. Wearables break that pattern by providing reliable updates at a moment’s notice. A quick smartphone glance ensures security so that caregivers may unwind. This lets them return refreshed and ready to provide compassionate support. Data Insights That Guide Care Decisions Wearable data also provides insights that improve care decisions by eliminating guesswork. Data on the amount of sleep, for example, helps identify times when the loved one may have been uncomfortable, thus indicating pain. Movement data helps determine if the loved one is moving around as required. Heart rate variability helps identify illness at the earliest stages. This changes care to proactive rather than reactive and handles problems when they are manageable. Cumulative data also strengthens discussions with healthcare providers. Caregivers can report objective patterns observed over weeks or months instead of subjective observations. Doctors identify hidden patterns and modify treatments as needed. This collaboration among technology, caregivers, and healthcare providers establishes a more robust support network. The caregiver transitions from continuous monitoring to strategic response. This creates a more sustainable approach that
Mar 31, 2026 · via sqmagazine.co.uk
When a single infected USB drive can shut down an oil refinery, cybersecurity stops being a technology problem and starts being an economic one. Schneider Electric is making that argument, loudly, across Sub-Saharan Africa. The French industrial giant is pushing deeper into the continent’s operational technology security market as African energy, mining, and power companies grapple with a problem decade in the making: critical infrastructure built on aging control systems that were never designed to withstand modern cyberattacks. Africa’s cybersecurity market sits at roughly $680 million today and is on track to more than double to $1.44 billion by 2031, according to industry estimates. Schneider wants a significant slice of that, particularly in the industrial corridors where its automation hardware already runs production lines, refineries, and power grids. “One of the biggest cybersecurity gaps we see is the lack of segmentation between IT and Operational Technology networks,” said Elijah Daniel, Schneider’s country sales director for process automation and software in Anglophone Africa. “A compromised email, a malicious file, or an infected USB device can become a bridge from IT systems into OT environments where critical production processes are controlled.” The vulnerability he’s describing isn’t hypothetical. Ransomware groups have spent the better part of five years targeting energy infrastructure globally, and African operators, many still running end-of-life Distributed Control Systems and Safety Instrumented Systems, present an attractive, underprepared target. State-sponsored actors and AI-assisted attack campaigns have widened the threat surface further. What makes the African market particularly complicated is culture as much as technology. Many plant operators still run on what the industry calls a “run to failure” philosophy, fix it when it breaks, not before. That approach made a certain rough sense in an era of mechanical failures. It’s a liability now. “If a system is working, it does not
Mar 30, 2026 · via businessday.ng