DeepMind, Google’s innovative AI solution is reapplying its board-game playing AI known as AlphaZero to discover a faster way to solve a fundamental math problem in computer science. And it’s doing such a good job that it just beat a standing world record in mathematical problem-solving, a record that has stood for over 50 years. The mathematical challenge known as solving for matrix multiplication is a needed calculation that is at the core of many different computer applications today. Matrix multiplication is used in an array of computer science applications and AI-based applications such as displaying images on a screen and simulating complex physics models. And as a San Francisco-based app developer squarely focused on artificial intelligence app development, 

Further, matrix multiplication lays the foundation for machine learning itself, so cracking the code on improving these fundamental operations is key to enhancing the longevity and usefulness that machine learning, AI, and an array of computer science-related functions rely on. François Le Gall, a mathematician at Nagoya University in Japan, noted how incredibly valuable this AI-based breakthrough is for tech development and society as a whole.  “Matrix multiplication is used everywhere in engineering,” he says. “Anything you want to solve numerically, you typically use matrices.” Although these calculations are so important, Nobody knows the best algorithm for solving it,” says Le Gall. “It’s one of the biggest open problems in computer science.”

Despite the calculation’s use in so many areas of technology and science, there is still a layer of mystery associated these this mathematical approach and fortunately, DeepMind is making tremendous headway in solving these sophisticated mathematical operations.

What is a matrix and why is it important?

A mathematical matrix is a grid of numbers that represents anything you want. Sounds simple right? Well, it gets complicated quickly. Matrix multiplication involves multiplying two matrices together by multiplying the rows and the columns of the matrix together to produce a multiplied value of the matrices. Now, once this matrix is multiplied, the basic technique for solving the problem is taught in high school, known as “ the ABC of computing,” says Pushmeet Kohli, head of DeepMind’s AI for Science team. However, when you try to find a faster method of solving the multiplied matrix outside the standard procedural prescribed operations, it gets complicated. 

This is because there are more ways to multiply two matrices together than there are atoms in the universe (10 to the power of 33, for some of the cases the researchers looked at). “The number of possible actions is almost infinite,” says Thomas Hubert, an engineer at DeepMind. To solve this, DeepMind turned this mathematical problem into a game called TensorGame. The board of this TensorGame represents the multiplication problem to be solved, and each move represents the next step in solving that problem. This allowed Google’s DeepMind to consider this challenge under its well-understood design parameters of game theory.

This approach resulted in Google researchers training a new version of AlphaZero, called AlphaTensor, to play this game. AlphaTensor was trained to make the best series of steps to make when multiplying matrices. In doing so, AlphaTensor was rewarded for winning the game in as few moves as possible.

“We transformed this into a game, our favorite kind of framework,” says Hubert, who was one of the lead researchers on AlphaZero. 

What does this mean for artificial intelligence?

This is yet another fascinating data point that artificial intelligence is here to stay and will continue to become more immersive in our daily lives each and every day. For those looking to bring an artificial intelligence-based application into their portfolio of solutions, working with a third party may truly be the best option.

By working with a dedicated development partner like Dogtown Media, you’ll gain access to an industry-leading team of developers that are dedicated to developing an ironclad, security-first AI application that is based on your unique application concept.

Contact us today to learn more about how Dogtown Media can be a trusted advisor as you look to bring your next artificial intelligence app to the marketplace.

Today, mobile apps power so many critical aspects of our daily lives. From facilitating our commute via

As a trusted App Developer in San Francisco, dedicated to developing the world’s most innovative iPhone apps and Android apps, we feel now is the time to dig into such a critical topic as mobile app privacy.

Today, it likely won’t surprise you to find out that individuals of all races and creeds, including top government officials use common-day applications just like the rest of us. And although these applications provide the same level of convenience, efficiency and communication, privacy and security risks have reared their face as a major challenge. In fact, many of us using everyday apps may be shocked to find that some apps bring potential harm. 

So, what mobile applications out there are really a cause for concern, you ask? Well, recently, Tom Hortons, the Candian coffee chain Tim Hortons fell under tremendous scrutiny when news broke that the Tim Hortons mobile app was secretly tracking and storing user geolocation data even while the app was closed. Under pressure from reporters to provide a statement, Tim Horton Representatives states that the metadata collected via the Tim Hortons mobile app was simply used for marketing purposes, and real-time geotracking wasn’t capable under the technical limitations of their mobile application, but those who broke the story don’t believe this tells the complete truth. Rather, investigators feel this type of technological capability is akin to mass surveillance as the collected data could infer highly specific user habits.

Whether nefarious or not, this example of mobile tracking identifies a major issue with the mobile apps we known and trust suggesting a serious privacy and security vulnerability may be present in more mobile apps than we can account for. 

The hidden risks of the mobile apps we love

If it’s true that Tim Hornton is secretly tracking users who have downloaded the Tim Hortons app, what does this say about other such vulnerabilities? For instance, threat actors could easily track specific individuals or nefarious actors could follow state officials and gain key insights regarding national secrets based on the actions of government officials.

In fact, while Tom Horton has come out and apologized for the error and promised to fix the tracking problem swiftly, it’s by no means the only mobile app that has had its fair share of challenges.

Some key mobile app privacy breaches over the past recent years:

An unforeseen vulnerability identified in the MyFitnessPal mobile app allowed malicious threat actors to gain access to sensitive user data, resulting in a data breach and PR blowback that cost Under Armour, (the company that owns MyFitnessApp) to sustain a market value loss of 3.8%.

In 2021, more than 21 million user’s sensitive information including licnese plate number was exposed after the ParkMobile app, used by many local governments, was breached. 

In 2019  the government issued Kilswitch/APASS software used by Marines and sailors was breached allowing threat actors and foreign adversaries to access sensitive military location data.

British Airways sustained a breach that leaked 380,000 credit card payments and compromised sensitive customer data. 

What This Means for Businesses Choosing an App Dev Partner

As hard as government agencies may try to limit risk exposure, in today’s technological fast-paced world, many government officials are going to continue to use their personal devices as well as use the applications of their preference on their phones. This not only creates a challenge for government agencies but it also puts companies bringing apps the market in the hot seat. 

Take, for example, a scenario where a company either develops its application in-house or outsources it to a third-party development house. Without the proper precaution (or the proper vetting of this given app development firm) they could quickly wind up in a situation where their new shiny app is causing major PR backlash after an unsuspected vulnerability arises, or worse, an apparent privacy safeguard is breached. 

This is an incredibly important consideration for organizations as they make steps toward bringing their mobile application to the market. Here, we highly recommend working with a third-party app development company that not only exhibits industry tenure and experience, but focuses on a security-first development approach. 

About Dogtown Media

Here at Dogtown Media we understand how important your mobile application is to deliver innovative health solutions in the mHealth space. 

To this,  we are more than just developers your hire. We are your partners, working in lockstep with you to create the best mobile application possible for your business that connects with your target audience. We get to know not just your project but your company and the people who make it a success. 

Take advantage of our free consultation to speak to our mobile application development experts.

Thursday, August 18th 2022, Apple released an emergency security update that aimed to patch a serious security vulnerability putting certain iPhone, iPad and Mac products at risk of fraudulent attack. Quickly after identifying the vulnerability, Apple disclosed the issue and rapidly released a safeguard patch to the Apple products that were at risk. 

Apple, known as an unlikely target for today’s cyber attacks, first sounded the alarm when developers identified the potential for an application to execute an arbitrary code with “kernel privileges”. This vulnerability gave cyber attackers an entry point, and a platform to execute code within the security perimeter of today’s most trusted Apple devices. However, the challenges don’t stop there. 

Following a thorough analysis, Apple identified a second issue that provided a second entry point for attackers. Here, an Apple WebKit, also known as a layout engine was identified to possess a security vulnerability, or secondary entry point-a hacker’s paradise. Apple said it was “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.” The issue could allow a potential attacker to take complete control of these devices.

As a premiere iPhone App Developer recognized as one of the top San Francisco-based app development firms, we’re dedicated to staying on top of the latest trends in the app development space, making this a critically important story to follow.

What are Apple Users To Do?

Of course, millions of Apple users are now asking themselves “what should I do to stay protected?” Experts that assess security vulnerabilities have categorized which devices require the Apple update. The list of devices is as follows: The iPhone 6 and later models; several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2; and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. The vulnerabilities also affect the iPod Touch 7th generation models.

And for those that choose not to update their compromised Apple device? The threat is substantial. Apple notes that these vulnerabilities can give hackers full administrative access to the device, allowing them to execute any action as if they were the actual user of the phone. This statement comes from Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, in the midst of this Apple vulnerability scare.

Rachel goes on to note”people who are in the public eye,” such as activists or journalists who might be the targets of sophisticated nation-state spying, Tobac said.

Has This Happened Before?

Unfortunately, there are many hacker organizations that have been trying to crack the Apple “code” for decades. For instance, the commercial spyware company known as Israel’s NSO Group are one such group known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws. In identifying and exploiting these vulnerabilities,NSO Group will surreptitiously infect targets’ smartphones, siphons their contents and surveys the target’s information in real time. This comes at a time when everyone is on the lookout to limit their exposure to security risks. 

To curb some of the attacks staged by the NSO Group, the U.S commerce Department had blacklisted the organization as of Jan 2020. The United State govt has taken a hard stance on limiting the accessibility of sensitive information, and has staged a full blown cyber initiative to ensure government agencies are uniquely protected against the attacks put on by these malicious actors.

Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched. The company has previously acknowledged similarly serious flaws and, in what Strafach estimated to be perhaps a dozen occasions, has noted that it was aware of reports that such security holes had been exploited.

What Does This Mean for Organizations Looking to Bring an App to the Market?

For organizations looking to bring an app to the marketplace, this should act as a humbling reminder to proceed with appropriate caution. Unfortunately, organizations seem to be caught between  rock and a hard place when it comes to development. On one hand, there is a market urgency to bring applications and solutions to the market quickly, However, on the other hand, there is the impending reality that haste can and will expose security vulnerabilities if an organization isn’t careful. 

What then is an organization to do? Well, in our humble opinion, working with a seasoned professional development firm, one that prioritized a security-first development practice is critically important. 

We believe that partnering with a strategic partner to bring your app from ideation to fruition is the only way to adequately limit risk while developing in a manner than meets the needs of today’s fast-paced market. 

Interested in learning more? Contact one of our trusted account managers today. 

iPhone App Development continues to grow across all industries, here at Dogtown Media an iPhone app developer in San Francisco we love to see the excitment around the new release of iOS 16!

Producing a top-tier app campaign requires a deep understanding of the latest tools, technologies, integrations, and APIs available in a specific platform. While about 90% of the population uses smartphones, nearly half of these smartphone users carry iPhones which shows just how popular Apple products are.

Apple is known for constantly innovating their product line, including periodic software updates to their platform that provide arguably the most seamless and satisfying smartphone experience to date. Their native apps are unparalleled – so as a prospective app developer you’ll want to get the highlights on the upcoming iOS 16 updates so your third-party app can be just as engaging.

Later this year, Apple will unveil one of the biggest UX/UI improvements yet on their iOS 16 platform. Along with this revamp comes some powerful new features for app developers to harness. Understanding the top enhancements and what’s available under the hood will allow app developers to capitalize on this huge opportunity.

Top 5 new APIs 

Live Text This feature will allow developers to extract text directly from photos from the camera roll or in other apps. For FinTek and mHelath app developers, this could be a game changer for processing, organizing, and securely storing sensitive finance and health data. 

Focus Filters With this tool in place, you can align your third-party app experience to the user’s unique “Focus” mode such as “do not disturb”, “driving”, “work”, or “personal” – overall making the app feel more integrated with the iOS ecosystem.

RoomPlan This feature will harness the LIDAR sensors on the iPhone 12/13 Pro and ProMax as well as iPad Pro to generate 3D room plans. It will even calculate dimensions and sense furniture pieces throughout the space. With this totally new tool, we are sure to see some new types of apps that can help smartphone owners plan their home upgrades, purchase new furniture and appliances, and even ease with moving logistics.

MapKit Allows developers to pull 3D map data, a popular feature from the iOS 15 release, which provides an immersive experience for travelers in some of the world’s major cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, and more. 

Automatic Shortcuts App developers can enable shortcuts automatically, without any user setup required.

Developer features 

Xcode Cloud: A completely cloud-based platform, built to scale for any team size, that allows accelerated end-to-end app development. The suite has a range of subscription plans as well as a free version.

Xcode 14: The improved version boasts faster project builds with up to 25% more efficient and a 30% smaller application file to download. The new platform provides a centralized SwiftUI which allows parallel development across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS. App developers can view coding changes in real time thanks to live preview, as well as make look and feel changes to the preview without changing code. 

Metal 3 Graphics Framework: This capability allows game developers to harness the new Apple processor chip powerful computing engine to produce more realistic and responsive graphics. Equipped with the Fast Reseource Loading  API, coders will experience less latency when accessing high-density textures and geometry.

Game Center Integration: Another powerful tool Apple is giving game developers is the ability to integrate Activity data into the dashboard, allowing game users to see what games their friends are playing in real time.

WeatherKit: gives developers the ability to pull Apple weather app data directly into their environment. Equipped with machine learning prediction alogrthims and high-density meteorological data, coders can harness these features through Swift and REST APIs. 

AKAdNetwork API updates: Apple is enhancing privacy within this API to help advertisers track ad metrics while maintaining customer privacy, leading to optimize ad spend and better conversions. The Hierarchical source IDs and conversion values allow developers to track small and large ad campaigns without the risk of cross-app tracking of individuals.

WidgetKit API: Gives developers the ability to create a widget for their app accessible on the lock screen. Widgets can convey weather information, progress to goals, and other snapshot information similar to widgets on your Apple Watch face.

Is Your App Ready for iOS 16?

With so many features packed into this next wave of iOS, third-party app developers are going to be bursting with ideas for new apps and ways to adapt and enhance existing apps to the new platform. If you’re looking to develop an app on iOS 16, consider working with Dogtown Media – they boast a team of experts, an extensive portfolio, and proven track record to achieve your goal during every step of the process. 

If anyone was still questioning whether or not AI was here, this article should put those concerns to rest. As a prominent artificial intelligence app developer, we’ve explored in other articles how AI is making its way into a myriad of fields and is even positioned to

However, as we see the application of AI take form in various domains, it seems that Salesforce is betting on AI making a significant impact on voice-driven coding.

Salesforce started to explore the implementation of AI back in 2016 when it first launched its AI framework called Einstein. The intention of Einstein was to enhance a user experience that spanned the entire Salesforce stack. Here, Einstein gathers data on every user action and provides predictive analytics and natural language processing (NPL) and machine learning to enhance the user experience for Salesforce users. And as an iPhone developer based in San Francisco mobile app company, we couldn’t be happier to see our neighbor release some fascinating news regarding AI advancements. Let’s dig in.

Meet Salesforce Chief Professor Silvio Savarese 

Last year, Salesforce brought on former Stanford professor Silvio Savarese, to act as standing chief. Here, Salesforce aims to expand on its AI initiatives, make better use of massive Salesforce datasets and explore ways to enhance the user experience.

So, where does Dr. Silvio Savarese plan to take Salesforce regarding the development of its AI practices? For starters, he’s looking to build on his vast experience in voice-activated AI. “One of the major directions that I’m pushing here is really to bring AI to empower people in business in new ways, and I’m really excited to deliver that power with experiences that are so simple that anyone can use them,” Savarese explained. Building on this, he and his research team of over 100 data scientists and engineers, are developing a property Salesforce AI voice technology called CodeGen. The idea behind CodeGen is to allow people to describe a certain functionality and CodeGen builds the code behind the scenes the fulfill the user request. 

But it’s not simply telling the AI tech what you want; Savarese said it’s more of a conversation. “CodeGen really provides a new way of developing software. Rather than writing code directly, users would simply describe the problem they’re trying to solve in plain English in a conversation. So the conversation part is very, very important,” he explained.

To touch on this a Salesforce blog post explaining CodeGen:

In this post, Savarese goes on to elaborate how yes, this is early and experimental, but it shows incredible promise for new solutions in the AI voice space in the coming years.

Example of conversational coding from Salesforce using CodeGen tool. Image Credits: Salesforce

“The goal is to address a couple of users. One is more experienced developers, which in this case CodeGen will assist them with writing the code and take over those manual portions of the processing, those parts that aren’t that interesting from the coding perspective. The second user is those people with no coding experience, so almost zero expertise in coding, but CodeGen can still give them a way to build software to solve real problems,” 

What Does This Mean for the Future of Voice-Actived AI?

This news understandably made a huge splash in the world of AI development and honestly, it’s got a lot of organizations and development firms eyeing the technology and thinking of ways they could leverage this type of technology as it makes its way to more mainstream application and services.  

Our take is this technology is still in its infancy but like all things with AI, technology evolves extremely fast. So, don’t be surprised if more applications of voice-activated coding development crop up in competitive services or new product offerings within the market. 

Interested in learning how Dogtown Media can help develop your next AI app? Contact us.

Mobile applications are a multi-billion-dollar industry that will continue to experience impressive growth in the coming years. No matter the industry, having a mobile application is nearly a requirement for any company, making it a necessity to choose the right mobile app developer that can deliver on your unique needs. The potential loss of customers and revenue from not having a mobile application is steep. Without a mobile application, a company will be at a severe disadvantage to its competitors.

 The mobile application industry is an ultra-competitive sector, as the staggering number of offerings in an app store can attest. It only takes one misstep or ill-advised shortcut for a mobile application to fail. This article will explore three mistakes to avoid when developing a mobile application. No matter where a company is located, even in established tech hubs like San Francisco, avoiding these three mistakes will help ensure your mobile application development project has a better chance at success.

Listening to the Customer

There are many twists and turns in a mobile application development project. One of the very first goals is to conduct extensive market research. More than a few mobile applications failed because they weren’t designed for their target market. If the market research puts the customer first, the information collected will answer the important questions. The main goal of market research should be to answer one question: What pain point does the mobile application solve for a given customer base?

 The identified pain point and how the mobile application solves it is the value proposition offered to its intended customers. The value proposition acts as the main guiding principle for the rest of the mobile application development process. Even after discovering the mobile applications value proposition, that doesn’t mean the end of customer engagement throughout the development process.

Testing and feedback are crucial steps in mobile application development. Failing to listen to customer feedback on early iterations of the mobile application is the same as conducting poor market research. The minimum viable product (MVP) is a great way to provide the target market with a low-cost testing method during the application development process.

Budgeting the Project

A mobile application succeeds or fails based on its budget. Even for an experienced project manager, getting the budget right is a daunting challenge. The bottom line is that mobile application development is expensive. It’s easy to balk at the upfront cost to develop a mobile application, and that’s before it sees an app store. Fortunately, market research helps identify many of the actual needs for the budget.

 The budget needed to complete the mobile application covers more than just labor hours or materials. Failing to account for all the different line items results in a budget that underestimates the actual cost. Few things cause more dread or tense meetings than running out of money just before the project is finished. Consider essential budgetary items such as onboarding costs, training, or marketing, in addition to the obvious ones.

 It is important to consider that the bulk of the cost for a mobile application likely isn’t the development. It’s in the sustainment cost. It is possible to budget only for the initial development costs if there’s a budget plan in place to sustain it. If a mobile application has a long life, going through updates and iterations, the sustainment cost could far exceed any development costs.

Partnering with a Third-Party Developer

It can be tempting, especially for a larger company or technical employees, to consider developing a mobile application in-house. And, depending on the circumstances, it might be the right choice to do the work yourself. There’s undoubtedly a cost-savings benefit to the develop-it-yourself approach. Developing an application in-house should certainly be explored, especially with the viability of low-code or no-code options.

 Despite the potential eye-opening cost savings by developing a mobile application in-house, consider some factors first. The most prominent is the potential – and probable – strain on personnel and resources by developing it in-house. If the project is large and complex enough, it becomes increasingly likely that either the development of the project or the primary responsibilities of the employees suffer from overwork.

 Many technical and development skills come together on a successful mobile application project. It is certainly possible that a company may have expertise in one area but lack the skills in another. Hiring a third-party mobile application development could be the answer to avoid these development pitfalls. While hiring a third-party developer comes with the potential for a higher budget, you are securing the experience and expertise needed for the successful development of a mobile application.

 Dogtown Media is an industry leader in mobile application development. Our successful mobile application projects cover many industries, including FinTech, Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things. We offer a free consultation to discover how to bring your mobile application to your customers.

When Apple released the AirTag tracking device in early 2021, it provided answer to the challenge of losing items. AirTags merged nicely with the native Find My application, installed on nearly every Apple device. And as a prominent iPhone app developer,

The concept is simple: provide a way for people to keep track of their essential items with a small disc integrated into Apple’s extensive network. AirTags do just that and provide Apple users with a competitive option to similar products such as Tile or the Samsung SmartTag.

 AirTags nefarious use to stalk unsuspecting people isn’t an entirely unexpected byproduct of a tracking device that works well. This problem is not new simply because AirTags are now on the market. Similar issues faced Tile and SmartTag before AirTags hit the market. The main difference is the breadth and scope of Apple products and their network, including major tech hubs like San Francisco.

 Apple does more to combat privacy violations than many of its competitors. Apple knew of potential vulnerabilities before AirTags debuted. Recent changes that attempt to stop unwanted tracking include how AirTags notifies unsuspecting people. Is it enough?

How AirTags Work

Apple’s AirTags are an easy way for people to keep track of their items. The thin disc, designed to fit into pockets, backpacks, or wallets, works seamlessly with Apple devices. Attachments hold the AirTag and can hang from things, such as keychains.

 Through the native Find My app, the AirTag plays an audible sound to help locate an item when an item is lost. No matter where the lost possession is, the distance and direction show up on an iPhone that leads the person to the lost item.

 AirTags work using Bluetooth by sending out signals that nearby Apple devices detect. Using iCloud and location, people find the AirTag on the map. AirTags talk to the millions of Apple devices connected to the Find My network.

 The entire process keeps data anonymous and encrypted. When a person tags an item as lost, the Find My network locates the AirTag and notifies the owner. Any Apple device used to help locate the lost item does not store the information and keeps the AirTag information anonymous.

AirTags and Unwanted Tracking

The ease of use with AirTags opened the door for people with unsavory intent to easily track and stalk unsuspecting people. As simple as it is for someone to place an AirTag in their purse or wallet to keep track of it, a bad actor can do the same to follow that person digitally. AirTags are slim and unobtrusive by design, so it isn’t difficult to attach one to the wheel well of a car, behind a license plate, or other out-of-sight locations.

 The potential for AirTags usage in unintended ways wasn’t lost on Apple when they first hit the market. An AirTag found near a person, but it didn’t belong to them, sent an audible chime to alert the person. This alert happened after three days of being separated from the original owner.

 However, three days is an eternity for someone unaware of a stalker. For those stuck in an abusive relationship, an AirTag used to track their every move would reset once it came within range of the owner. The person may never know that an AirTag follows their every move.

 At launch, only a person with an Apple device would get an alert that an AirTag was with them. This isolation left Android users with no means to identify an AirTag used for unwanted tracking. However, late last year, Apple released a tracker detect app for Android that closed this loophole.

AirTag Privacy Updates

Apple does more than most competitors to combat unwanted tracking and privacy violations. Recent updates to AirTag make it easier for people to detect unwanted tracking. One significant change is the notification window of an unknown AirTag. This update shifted the time frame from three days to a period of 8-to-24-hours when a chime sounds.

 AirTags come with a serial number, which is useful as it helps Apple work with law enforcement to track down the original owner. Serial numbers are not part of the update as this feature shipped with AirTag’s debut. However, Apple identified areas for improvement working with law enforcement agencies. The AirTag serial number remains integral to that relationship.

 Planned future software updates include a more precise location of an unknown AirTag. In addition to an audible sound, a visual alert will display on a person’s device. And louder tones will make the AirTag easier to locate.

Conclusion

Privacy concerns are ever-present with software and internet of things devices. Apple’s AirTags are no different. However, the steps to prevent misuse and privacy violations are amongst the most proactive in the industry.

 Dogtown Media understands the importance of privacy and personal safety. Whether your next app takes advantage of tracking devices or not, we put privacy and user concerns at the forefront of our mobile application development. Take advantage of our free consultation to see if we can meet your next mobile application requirements.

Did you know that the healthcare market is one of the biggest targets for cyberattacks? In fact, in 2020 the percentage of US healthcare breaches increased by over 55 percent; more than any other industry. And, with the increasing use of telemedicine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mHealth applications are no exception to this growing threat. 

In a recent Intertrust Technologies study it was found that out of the 100 different applications tested, telemedicine and health commerce apps were the most susceptible to cyber-attacks. But, why?

Interestingly enough, this study also revealed that 71 percent of these mHealth applications contained at least one high-level deficiency within the app’s security infrastructure. In other words, these applications are extremely vulnerable to exploitation of weak, or even missing security features. With a strong desire to serve our communities such as San Fransico, Las Vegas, New York and other major hubs, we’ve made it our mission to help deliver cutting-edge technologies in this extremely challenging time. 

You’re probably thinking “as if the healthcare market being a major target for hackers wasn’t enough, now mHealth patients have to question the security of their data within these apps”. 

We couldn’t agree more. 

Fortunately, this article is designed to highlight some of the many reasons why the healthcare industry is becoming a hotbed for malicious activity, along with a series of steps to take to ensure that your mHealth application is providing adequate protection for patients’ data. 

Why Hackers Target the Healthcare Market?

As we’ve mentioned prior, the healthcare industry is under siege with an overwhelming rate of breaches in patient data. And, while there are a number of reasons why healthcare organizations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, there are two factors that appear to play the biggest role. These factors are:

Patient data is a nice pay-day for hackers – It’s no secret that healthcare organizations store hundreds of thousands of patients’ records. However, what may come as a shock to most is that just one patient record can be sold for as much as $1000 on the black market. 

Yeah, that’s a lot of money. 

Similarly, attackers can choose to hold patients’ data hostage. Ransomware is becoming a popular tool for hackers within the healthcare industry as it provides these entities with leverage over healthcare organizations. And in many cases, these organizations have no other choice but to pay the ransom due to the highly-sensitive nature of patient data.

4 Steps to Take to Ensure the Security of Your mHealth App

While there is no foolproof way to completely shield your mHealth app against cyber threats, there are a series of steps you can take to increase your application’s security. These steps include:

1. Managing vulnerabilities- When your mHealth app is made available to the public it’s crucial to ensure that your app’s infrastructure is free from any malicious software or code that may have embedded itself when the app was in the construction phase. This can include anything from malware to viruses, and even hidden backdoors. In addition, it’s important to remain up-to-date with the latest security threats so that when new threats emerge, you are able to respond appropriately with an update to address these threats. 
2. Protecting the patient’s data – Encryption is a fundamental aspect of cybersecurity that can make it much harder on hackers to access patient data. Therefore, any information that is stored or transported within your mHealth app, including usernames, passwords and other sensitive data, must be encrypted with an industry-accepted form of encryption. 
3. Ensuring compliance –  HIPAA is the industry standard when it comes to the protection of medical data. Therefore, your mHealth app must comply with HIPAA standards to uphold a sense of CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) to patients whose data may be stored and transported within the application. 

Managing access and authentication – To reduce the likelihood of unauthorized access within your mHealth app, you must incorporate adequate authentication protocol including the use of strong passwords, limited login attempts and inactivity timeouts to name a few. In addition, your mHealth app should allow the use of two-factor authentication for users to further secure their patient accounts.

If you’re interested in learning how Dogtown Media as a healthcare mobile app development company can help bring your app ideas to market while maintaining a high level of security contact us. We’d love to help!

This past week a recent announcement by San Francisco-based NVIDIA marks a major milestone in the commercial availability of AI. NVIDIA, inventor of the GPU and major computing powerhouse has announced that their AI platform, known as the NVIDIA Base Command Platform will now be available for consumers to rent for month-long increments to North American organizations.

This advanced artificial intelligence platform built on the advanced capabilities of the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD is one of the first commercially available computing platforms made available by NVIDIA and is undoubtedly one of the most powerful commercially available AI platforms available to organizations today. This innovative AI platform is hosted remotely in the Equinix digital cloud through a strategic partner offering between NVIDIA and Equinix. This partnership and offering mark another major partnership for NVIDIA as the AI organization enters its first strategic hybrid-cloud partnership known as NVIDIA AI LaunchPad partner program.

Following this announcement, it makes a person question what the future of commercially available AI may look like. Will AI-based computing platforms become a household commodity? What will the future of consumer technology look like if AI becomes widely available?

“Base Command Platform offers an easy onboarding experience for AI developers,” said Abhay Parasnis, CTO and chief product officer at Adobe. “Our team is exploring the potential of Base Command Platform to simplify the machine learning development workflow.”

We set out to answer this question, by looking at the recent release of the NVIDIA Base Command Platform as well as other AI-enabled solutions making noise today.

Commercial Availability of AI 

Today, NIVIDIA’s Base Command Platform is available at a whopping $90,000 per month, with a three-month commitment. Of course, this rental model is only feasible for large organizations with an astoundingly large budget for AI, however, this points to some interesting changes taking place in the AI space today.

Take, for example, Salesforce one of the largest disruptors in the space of customer relationship management tools. Known for their initiative web-accessed CRM, Salesforce is also heavily investing in the space of commercially available AI. With the introduction of SalesForce Einstein, SalesFoces aims to deliver faster more personalized customer services, and help employees get more done in a short amount of time, by optimizing access to information through intelligent case classification, next best action, and recommendations. 

For organizations that use relational databases, SAP HANA is maybe the most popular relational database management system in the space today. Designed as an in-memory competitor in the relational database management space, SAP HANA has stood as an industry leader for running database servers and storing and retrieving data as requested by applications. Aside from holding a major market share in the relational database management space, SAP is also making sizeable investments into AI and analytics. 

SAP’s approach to AI and analytics rhymes to use real-time collective insight processing in the business landscape. Building on this approach and technology, SAP Lumira an AI-enabled SAP platform, delivers agile visualizations to help companies make sense of large datasets.

Where Do We Go From Here?

With major organizations adopting AI, and now organizations like NVIDIA making AI platforms accessible to other organizations where do we go from here? Will we have personalized AI embedded in our smartphones in a decade? If you don’t think so, just look at the technology used in your iPhone versus the technology used in the Apollo 11 launch.

Based on research presented by the Harvard Business Review, it’s likely that AI will make its way into our daily lives, and into foundational business operations in the following ways: 

Process Automation 

Process automation is the process of automating repeatable tasks with the intention to free up time for the owner of said task. With the help of AI, any number of monotonous tasks can be automated away with the help of process automation.  Process automation tasks include:

• Moving data between different systems to support a large business cause.
• Replacing data in several locations when one data entry is updated in a primary location
• Call automation, email automation, task processing automation also fall under this umbrella term of process automation

Cognitive insight

Cognitive insight is another major area AI is set to provide incredible value both to organizations as well as individuals. One great example of cognitive insight powered by AI is the new GitHub AI-enabled AI programming helper known as Copilot. This code suggestion tool is aimed to provide developers with code suggestions to optimize their coding process and move toward more effective and efficient code. 

• Code suggestion tools
• Ad placement insight (targeted ads based on purchase history)
• Real-time decision making for AI-powered vehicles

Education theme hologram over woman’s hands writing background. Concept of study. Double exposure

Today, many individuals and business leaders in the healthcare space are unaware of the massive a shift that is underway in how healthcare services are offered. From medical wearables to more advanced patient record technologies, the emerging field of connected healthcare is today valued at 55.2 Million USD, however, is projected to grow and completely change how the healthcare industry operates and healthcare application development operates.

Built on the increasing proliferation of the internet around the world, advances in medical technology, and adoption of medical wearables and remote-medical devices, the global connected healthcare market is projected to grow to a whopping market valuation of 420.8 billion dollars by 2027. So, with connected healthcare on the precipice of explosive growth over the next 5 years how can organizations prepare? In this brief write up we’ll provide some helpful tips and considerations that can be used to better prepare for this incredible shift in healthcare over the next five years, allowing organizations to be proactive rather than reactive in the face of this major change.

Connected Healthcare Essentials

Before we offer some tips and considerations around connected healthcare, we should dig into what exactly connected healthcare is and how it provides value to patients and organizations within the healthcare space. Connected healthcare is an emerging field within the healthcare space that leverages technology to enhance healthcare management and delivery of healthcare-related services remotely. Connected healthcare aims to remove boundaries in how people get access to healthcare. From home-based remote healthcare to bringing healthcare around the world, organizations are re-imagining their approach to products and services that focus on the remote, patient-centric model.

Play Offense Over Defense

One of the most important tips or considerations we’d like to share around preparing for this shift in connected healthcare is to act proactively rather than reactively. As major healthcare organizations such as UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp and San Francisco-based McKesson Corp Consider this major shift in healthcare as an opportunity to bring new products and services into the healthcare marketplace. By moving ahead of the curve, organizations can capture market share as more and more people around the world begin to adopt remote healthcare services. 

Also, activating proactively in this market shift not only allows you to capture market share but also keeps you protected through innovation. Imagine the alternative of neglecting to innovate, while other competitors in the space chose to move with this rising tide in healthcare. What would happen? Well, inevitably that competitor would capture market share and grow to add risk to your existing organization. Truly, our approach is to stay ahead of the competition, innovate and benefit from this massive change in healthcare, rather than allow others to capitalize on it. 

Invest in Market Research

If innovation and staying ahead of the curve makes sense, market research should follow. Investing in market research will allow your organization to assess how your unique product offering can evolve to meet some of the opportunities presented in this new connected healthcare space. It’s important to emphasize here that we see a lot of success in taking what you’re doing well today and innovating that solution to fit in tomorrow’s market. The point is, you may not have to reinvent the wheel to be aligned with the massive changes in connected health that are around the corner. 

Now, the last point we’ll make here is there can be great opportunity to take your existing product or service and look at parallel channels of opportunity in the growing connected healthcare space. What we mean here is again, not to reinvent the wheel, but to look for synergistic growth opportunities that bridge from your current solution offering into new areas of value in the coming connected healthcare market.

Invest in Innovation

This of course all points to investment in innovation. If you’re looking to capitalize on tomorrow’s connected healthcare market, it’s going to require investing early in your solution and in your people to be ready for this change. Of course this first requires making the decision to act proactively and to invest in the appropriate market research to ensure your investment makes sense. From here, the question comes down to resources.

Often, organizations run into a challenge here as they don’t have the needed internal resources to work on both critical day-to-day development projects as well as future-state innovation. Of course, left with this challenge, often organizations opt to stick with the status quo and focus on critical projects related to the needs of the immediate future. This is where working with a trusted partner can be very useful.

Work with a Trusted Partner

If you’re looking to join in this massive adoption of connected healthcare working with a trusted development partner who has years of experience in the healthcare development space may be an effective strategy. By partnering with a development partner, you not only gain the value of having a dedicated development team take an idea from concept to implementation, but you can also lean on the immense expertise and insight that the organization has built by solely focusing on development in the healthcare space.

The resounding feedback here is that by working with a trusted partner, organizations are gaining access to higher-quality deployments that meet market opportunity, without needing to engage internal resources. Counterintuitively, this process can actually save organizations money as they don’t have to skill-up or onboard more developers to complete this product deployment, creating a win-win for both organizations.

Are you looking to capture the value in the oncoming shift to connected healthcare? With nearly 10 years of healthcare development expertise, and over 250 mobile products brought to market, we’re confident we can help you with that connected healthcare solution and add value to the growing connected healthcare marketplace.