Your robot vacuum cleaner and smart refrigerator might soon get friendlier with your lightbulbs and locks.

A new version of Matter, the industry-favored internet-of-things standard, promises to make more connected devices compatible across different platforms, in what could be a major step toward a truly interoperable smart home.

While Matter’s debut last year only encompassed smaller gadgets like lightbulbs and thermostats, the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s (CSA) updated release this week brings the industry group’s protocol to bigger appliances. The new version spans nine new device types including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and vacuums.

“Siri, wash the dishes”: Matter ostensibly allows consumers to control any device included in the standard with any of the major voice platforms—Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and others—making it much easier to, say, cue your laundry to start after a dishwashing load or dim the lights as the temperature cools.

With backing from hundreds of industry companies, including voice-assistant makers like Apple, Amazon, and Google, as well as manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, and HP, the CSA is well-positioned to make this type of coordination happen. But the success of the standard still relies on these companies being willing to build support into their products.

Keep reading here.—PK

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Hey, Alexa: How do I ward off a cyberattack?

As internet-connected and “smart” devices proliferate in the business world, many organizations are sleeping on best practices that could protect their network from being one of this year’s top hacking targets.

According to a new study by IoT security firm Keyfactor and market research firm Vanson Bourne, “There is a marked sense of complacency with product security regionally for those that operate and use IoT and connected devices.”

The study, released Oct. 10, found 94% of surveyed North American IoT professionals agreed they could improve IoT security, while nearly two-thirds said they’re “as protected as they could be” from attacks on their connected devices.

The results suggest that “some businesses have reached a level of protection where they feel satisfied but haven’t further investigated or sought solutions to really delve into what ‘full’ protection might be,” the study said.

This false sense of security could prove devastating, as bad actors increasingly eye IoT devices as entry points into otherwise secure networks. CNBC reported that the roughly 17 billion IoT devices in the world, “from printers to garage door openers, each one packed with software (some of it open-source software) that can be easily hacked,” are a primary focus for digital criminal enterprises in 2023.

Keep reading on IT Brew.—KG

Amazon is dropping prescriptions from the sky—literally.

The tech giant announced on October 18 that it has started a prescription drug drone delivery service in College Station, Texas, and patients can get medications delivered within an hour of placing an order—at no additional delivery cost.

Customers in College Station only need to select “free drone delivery in less than 60 minutes” on Amazon Pharmacy’s website when checking out. The service is available for more than 500 medications, including flu, asthma, and pneumonia treatments, according to Amazon.

“We’re taught from the first days of medical school that there is a golden window that matters in clinical medicine,” Vin Gupta, Amazon Pharmacy’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “That’s the time between when a patient feels unwell and when they’re able to get treatment. We’re working hard at Amazon to dramatically narrow the golden window from diagnosis to treatment, and drone delivery marks a significant step forward.”

Amazon spokesperson Jessica Bardoulas told Healthcare Brew the company chose College Station for the prescription drone delivery because Amazon’s drone delivery testing program, Prime Air, has been operating in the area since December 2022, and has already “provided thousands of deliveries of common household items to date.”

Keep reading here.—MA