Welcome to Tech Beat, your daily look at the stories shaping our connected world.
In Rhode Island, transportation officials are fighting copper wire theft with an unusually blunt instrument — literally. The state's Department of Transportation has been placing seven-hundred-pound concrete blocks over manhole covers to stop thieves from stripping the wires that power streetlights. Low-tech, unglamorous, and by early accounts, it's actually working.
Across the Atlantic, a wave of cyberattacks targeting internet-connected refrigerators in Europe is raising uncomfortable questions about smart appliance security. The incidents are prompting fresh debate about whether the United States, with its rapidly growing fleet of connected vehicles, is adequately prepared for similar vulnerabilities hitting the road rather than the kitchen.
And in the world of gaming, footage is circulating online that many believe could be a first look at a remake of the original Persona title. The clip is convincing enough that even skeptics are taking a second look, though no official confirmation has come from the studio. Whether authentic or an elaborate fan creation, it has the community genuinely buzzing.
That's the pulse of the tech world today. Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
