Posted on 08/10/2015 5:02:14 PM PDT by BenLurkin
“Smart” devices are all the buzz, whether in the connected home (thermostats, lightbulbs, garage door openers, locks and various appliances) or new wearable devices. They promise convenience along with improved control and efficiency in our lives. But, as highlighted by the recent hacking of automobiles, connectivity can come at a significant cost.
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The consequences range from annoying (lights turning on and off, coffee makers starting up in the middle of the day) to creepy (messages on a smart refrigerator, locations being tracked, cameras being hijacked) to downright dangerous (thermostats/appliances being manipulated to the point of physical damage or fire, locks and garage door openers being compromised).
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IoT offerings also present a unique challenge because of the balance between functionality and connectivity (e.g., does the connectedness of your coffeemaker have any impact on its use to make coffee?), the nature of their interconnectivity (e.g., how much should devices be evaluated as standalone versus in the context of overall use, as in a connected home?) and the long-term nature of their use (e.g., how to deal with the “smart” nature of home devices long after the warranty has expired).
In the security arena, many of the IoTWG’s recommendations complement widely accepted standards and practices in place today, including encrypting data in transit and at rest using current best practices, using randomly generated usernames/passwords, using Always-On SSL or other appropriate methods to protect session data and mechanisms that ensure updates and consumer notification are not sent from fraudulent sources.
What complicates the landscape is that the majority of devices are dependent on apps, mobile platforms and back-end cloud services that often integrate with “home automation hubs” — all of which can become an attack vector for any new devices added to the network.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
Crass and total violation of the KISS Principle.
No sale at any of my establishments. End of comment.
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