Internet of Things (IoT) vs Privacy

[bbj3n546pt]

The source document, below, is written by the staff of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), of which I am a member. I’m posting this information in the belief that it may benefit members of this forum.

Source: http://theinstitute.ieee.org/technology-focus/technology-topic/the-value-of-privacy

Quoting from the source document ...

The Internet of Things [IoT] is a network of items—each embedded with sensors—which are connected to the Internet.

Many IoT applications are already here. Sensor technology products for smarter homes, for example, can provide families with peace of mind, as their ads suggest. With just a click on a mobile device, users can activate a security system in a home, turn off lights while away on vacation, turn up the thermostat on a cold night while still an hour from home, or lock the front door from the driveway. Signals from all those sensors travel through a wireless network to be stored in the cloud [emphasis added], with the information analyzed and acted upon.

“Who is controlling what’s in the cloud? Do I trust my cloud-computing system?” asks IEEE Senior Member Neeli Prasad, vice president at SAI Technology, a developer of mobile cloud network systems in Santa Clara, Calif. “Do I trust the people who have access to my information?”

But with the IoT, or what some call the “Internet of Everything,” companies are planning to turn information about our every move into valuable market data. Soon, personalized ads—like those that follow online users from one website to the next—are likely to follow us in text messages and on face-scanning screens as we walk down store aisles. Information such as the purchases we make, our genders and ages, and the places we frequent will be collected to inform us—whether we care to know or not—what we might want to buy next. Although some argue that this brings added value by personalizing the shopping experience, others believe such uses of the IoT are invasions of privacy.

“Privacy as we know it will have to be completely redefined,” says IEEE Senior Member Raul Colcher, CEO of Questera, an information technology consulting company in Rio de Janeiro.

“[Consumers] may think we’re in charge of our shopper cards and our mobile apps and our smart fridges—but … let’s not fool ourselves. [The information] is not ours. It belongs to Google, and IBM, and Cisco Systems…and the global Mega-Corp that owns your local supermarket. If you don’t believe us, just try removing ‘your’ data from their databases.”

[Mad Hatter]

Ah yes the IoT, raison d'être for IPV6...

What does this say about the ethics (or complete lack thereof) of the IEEE, since so many of their membership work on or develop 'smart'(dumb) grid technologies. Pot, meet the kettle.

I'm always stunned by the complete lack of foresight of purportedly intelligent individuals that seem perfectly happy digging their own graves due to a complete lack of ability to see past the sales reps next thought bubble or managements inability to comprehend anything post the current 24hr spin cycle.

Case in point from this tosser...


“Privacy as we know it will have to be completely redefined,” says IEEE Senior Member Raul Colcher, CEO of Questera, an information technology consulting company in Rio de Janeiro.

where he goes on to say...


[The information] is not ours. It belongs to Google, and IBM, and Cisco Systems…and the global Mega-Corp that owns your local supermarket.If you don’t believe us, just try removing ‘your’ data from their databases.”

Is that so? Really. Newsflash for you genius -

Suppose my image, DNA, signature, etc. etc. etc. and any derivative works thereof are all owned by me under common law copyright or trademarks... you never know, I (along with some ever money hungry lawyers) may even make so much filthy lucre I'll be able to retire and live in a manner to which I would like to become accustomed!!

Bring it on I say (especially since the antagonists have such deep pockets) :p

[Dennis Leahy]

Good reason to buy old, used devices (such as household appliances, cars, etc) and fix them as they break or parts wear out. Those older devices are a lot less likely to have the "smart" sensors/connectivity.

I sure as hell do not want to open my refrigerator, grab some product, and later that day see a coupon for that item, or a recommendation for a competitor, or be harassed that I may need to see my doctor because I eat too much of something.

The home automation stuff (turn lights on or off, raise or lower the thermostat, lock or unlock doors) is an invitation to black ops people to screw with you and your home - and further invade (maybe even physically.) No thanks.

Dennis

[Craig]

Futurama had that episode where dreams were actual adverts something about light speed briefs, they often made a mockery of the habits of the consumers - I do miss that show

But I don't missing typing this up on an old iPhone

[toad]

Connecting anything to the internet just enhances its vulnerability, some things have no reason to being connected, but marketing is powerful enough to invent such reasons.

[Hervé]

Top U.S. Official Admits – Government Will Use “Internet of Things” to Spy on the Public (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2016/02/10/top-u-s-official-admits-government-will-use-internet-of-things-to-spy-on-the-public/)

Michael Krieger (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/author/mkriegs/) | Posted Wednesday Feb 10, 2016 at 10:12 am


http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screen-Shot-2016-02-10-at-9.56.57-AM-1024x436.jpg


You can’t say you weren’t warned. The writing on the wall that “smart devices” would prove to be manna from heaven for spy agencies and hackers around the word has been obvious for a very long time.

A year ago, I published two articles on this topic. The first highlighted the revelation that Samsung’s Smart TV can and will listen to your conversations, and will share the details with a third party. The second had to do with the release of a high-tech Barbie that will listen to your child, record its words, send them over the internet for processing. If you missed these posts the first time around, I suggest you get up to speed:
A Very Slippery Slope – Yes, Your Samsung Smart TV Can Listen to Your Private Conversations (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/02/09/a-very-slippery-slope-yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-can-listen-to-your-private-conversations/#more-21060)
Big Barbie is Watching You – Meet the WiFi Connected Barbie Doll that Talks to Your Children and Records Them (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/02/23/the-internet-of-things-meet-the-wifi-connected-barbie-doll-that-talks-to-your-children-and-records-them/)
Moving along to today’s article, we learn that the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, admitted that the government intends to use the “Internet of Things” for spying on the public. As Trevor Timm of the Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/09/internet-of-things-smart-devices-spying-surveillance-us-government) notes:

If you want evidence that US intelligence agencies aren’t losing surveillance abilities because of the rising use of encryption by tech companies, look no further than the testimony on Tuesday by the director of national intelligence, James Clapper.

As the Guardian reported (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/09/internet-of-things-smart-home-devices-government-surveillance-james-clapper), Clapper made clear that the internet of things – the many devices like thermostats, cameras and other appliances that are increasingly connected to the internet – are providing ample opportunity for intelligence agencies to spy on targets, and possibly the masses. And it’s a danger that many consumers who buy these products may be wholly unaware of.

“In the future, intelligence services might use the [internet of things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,” Clapper told a Senate panel (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/09/internet-of-things-smart-home-devices-government-surveillance-james-clapper) as part of his annual “assessment of threats” against the US. Of course, James Clapper is the guy who lied to Congress (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/01/27/darrell-issa-james-clapper-lied-to-congress-about-nsa-and-should-be-fired/) and faced zero repercussions. As is always the case when it comes to government criminality.

Privacy advocates have known about the potential for government to exploit the internet of things for years. Law enforcement agencies have taken notice too, increasingly serving court orders on companies for data they keep that citizens might not even know they are transmitting. Police have already been asking (http://fusion.net/story/50925/police-have-asked-dropcam-for-video-from-peoples-home-cameras/) Google-owned company Dropcam for footage from cameras inside people’s homes meant to keep an eye on their kids. Fitbit data has already been (http://fusion.net/story/158292/fitbit-data-just-undermined-a-womans-rape-claim/) used in court against defendants multiple times.

But the potential for these privacy violations has only recently started reaching millions of homes: Samsung sparked controversy last year (https://twitter.com/xor/status/564356757007261696) after announcing a television that would listen to everything said in the room it’s in and in the fine print literally warned people not to talk about sensitive information in front of it.

While Samsung took a bunch of heat, a wide array of devices now act as all-seeing or all-listening devices (http://fusion.net/story/49352/all-the-smart-gadgets-are-spying-on-you/), including other television models, Xbox Kinect, Amazon Echo and GM’s OnStar program that tracks car owners’ driving patterns. Even a new Barbie has the ability to spy on you (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hello-barbie-security-concerns_us_565c4921e4b072e9d1c24d22) – it listens to Barbie owners to respond but also sends what it hears back to the mothership at Mattel.

Then there are the rampant security issues with the internet of things that allow hackers – whether they are criminal, government or something in between – to access loads of data without any court order, like the creeps who were eavesdropping on baby monitors (http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/09/9-baby-monitors-wide-open-to-hacks-that-expose-users-most-private-moments/) of new parents. Just a few weeks ago, a security researcher found that Google’s Nest thermostats (https://motherboard.vice.com/read/nest-thermostat-leaked-home-locations-over-the-internet) were leaking users’ zipcodes over the internet. There’s even an entire search engine (http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/01/how-to-search-the-internet-of-things-for-photos-of-sleeping-babies/) for the internet of things called Shodan that allows users to easily search for unsecured webcams that are broadcasting from inside people’s houses without their knowledge.

While people voluntarily use all these devices, the chances are close to zero that they fully understand that a lot of their data is being sent back to various companies to be stored on servers that can either be accessed by governments or hackers. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

For related articles, see:
A Very Slippery Slope – Yes, Your Samsung Smart TV Can Listen to Your Private Conversations (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/02/09/a-very-slippery-slope-yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-can-listen-to-your-private-conversations/#more-21060)
Big Barbie is Watching You – Meet the WiFi Connected Barbie Doll that Talks to Your Children and Records Them (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/02/23/the-internet-of-things-meet-the-wifi-connected-barbie-doll-that-talks-to-your-children-and-records-them/)
Big Brother is Coming to Healthcare – How Hospitals are Entering Your Credit Card Info Into Algorithms (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/06/28/big-brother-is-coming-to-healthcare-how-hospitals-are-entering-your-credit-card-info-into-algorithims/)
Big Brother is Coming…To Your Brokerage Account (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/05/06/big-brother-is-coming-to-your-brokerage-account/)
Retail Big Brother – Mannequins Are Now Using Facial Recognition Technology (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2013/12/14/retail-big-brother-mannequins-are-now-using-facial-recognition-technology/)
Mayor Bloomberg on Drones: “Oh it’s Big Brother. Get Used to it” (http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2013/03/23/mayor-bloomberg-on-drones-oh-its-big-brother-get-used-to-it/)
In Liberty,

Michael Krieger