IoT’s biggest problem? Communication of Things.
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/gimlet-eye.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The Gimlet Eye joins us for a ‘blink’ from an undisclosed, low-tech dot on the map. The fave rave of 2015 is IoT, the annoying shorthand for Internet of Things. Well, can Aunt Madge go into a store and buy an Internet Thingy? But it seems fundamental that The Things Speak with each other, if only to compare football scores and conspire against their owner to drive him or her Stark Raving Mad by producing too many ice cubes in the fridge, turning lights on/off at the wrong times or sending out for a deli order of 20 pounds of Black Forest sliced ham. Our fear about The Things was in considering that they could be hacked in doing Things Against Their Will and Not In The Owner’s Manual. But never mind, it’s not this we should be concerned about, or whether Uncle Aloysius will go off-roading in his Google Galaxie after it’s hacked for fun by an eight-year-old Black Hat. It’s that practically all of these same or different brand TVs, parking meters, cars and health/activity monitoring devices to make life simple for Auntie and Oncle are built on different platforms without a communication protocol. The Eye is now relieved of the fear that IoT devices will be crawling out of the water onto her faraway from dull care beach anytime soon. But you may not be. The Biggest Problem with the Internet of Things? Hint: It’s Not Security (Tech.co) Hat tip to follower @ersiemens via Twitter
What caught my eye in the article linked to was: “Imagine a world where parking meters could be paid on a smartphone”. What?? Is Scottsdale, where the author lives, so far behind the times?
Glad to see that with 111 million identities compromised so far (and many already stolen and re-used) by hackers, that the biggest problem envisioned is devices’ inability to communicate with each other. Apparently, Jason Hope is very trusting — and particularly of host companies that will connect the information aggregated from devices, maybe that privacy protecting powerhouse, Google?
This is a classic example from tech history of ‘ready, fire, aim.’
Laurie Orlov
Laurie, in a way that may be IoT’s salvation–if devices can’t communicate with each other, the hacking will have trouble spreading. (s/o)
With all the talk of hacking and the Biggest Hack of All, EMPs (electromagnetic pulse as a weapon), perhaps the best investment is a pre-1990s car with no computer chips!