IoT - Internet of Threats?

Two things happened this week that caused me to reflect on the proliferation of IoT connected home technology and people's seemingly relaxed attitude to personal security.

Google was forced to admit that its Nest security alarm appliance had been fitted with a microphone for future use, which has now been enabled to work with Google Assistant. Unfortunately the company had neglected to include this in the product spec sheet or inform the consumer of this fact.

It is one thing to knowingly bug your home with your favourite Internet speaker or camera appliance, but it is a very big deal to do this unwittingly.

Colleagues of mine have proudly shown off their home CCTV systems from the comfort of their office chair, their ability to play with their central heating controls from a phone app or the fact that they have an Amazon Echo in every room. Clearly they and many others see a great benefit in this. It can be convenient and fun to use but of course there is a trade-off. Do they know what data is being hoovered up and for what purpose? Can they really trust that company to have their best interests at heart? Can they be sure that no-one else is spying on their kids through their connected CCTV?

As a technologist, I spend my professional life promoting cutting edge solutions for large multi-national corporate clients. In contrast, in my personal life, the supposed benefits of all this home tech are still far outweighed by the well documented risks of being hacked by the bad guys or the very real issue of having my data hoovered up by the surveillance giants. Unlike the corporate environment, security is very much an afterthought for your average connected home appliance so it's definitely a case of 'buyer beware'. In this area I'm quite content to be a technology laggard for the time being.

In one of those strange coincidences; or perhaps my attention was already primed, I noticed an uptick in the number of so-called 'questionnaires' on Facebook asking you 'what was your first car', 'what was your pet called' etc. You know the drill; the sort of questions asked for online security enrollment which only you should know. It never ceases to amaze me how many people willingly volunteer their private information on-line, thinking it's a bit of innocent fun. You are literally giving the bad guys the keys to the kingdom.

Data privacy, or lack of it, is a hugely important topic with very real-world implications for society and perhaps even our democratic way of life. Bringing it back to what we can do to protect ourselves here and now: take basic precautions with any connected home appliance by changing the factory supplied username/password. On social media, don't be tempted to give away any information that could useful to someone who wants to do you harm. Remember the old adage: 'If it appears to be free, you are the product'.

Stay safe.