Internet of Things: Are Smart Devices Helping or Harming? | Rose Barker | TEDxSalem

when we added MDMA oh you went up to six [Music] a few weeks ago I went to the grocery store and quickly realized I'd left my shopping list at home no big deal I just pulled out my smartphone fridge app and quickly found my grocery list how would you feel if some hacker across the country knew what brand of milk that you buy or if you're really being faithful to your Paleo diet probably wouldn't care very much but what if that hacker were also a thief and they used your smartphone fridge app to gain access to your entire phone this actually happened by the way through a refrigerator and they got your Gmail login and password they started sending spam emails to your family and friends they got access to all of your apps online passwords accounts they've joined your bank account and you have no way to regain your privacy unfortunately this situation is all too real for many Americans today quick show of hands how many of you here have a login and password for an online account great glad you're here because this TED talk applies to you these smart devices technically called Internet of Things devices or IOT for short are generally defined as devices that have network connectivity they collect user data process and analyze that data and then return it back to the user this is an image of a typical Americans Internet of Things usage we on many devices and most are connected back to a central device like a smartphone or a laptop that we're going to call the anchored device Internet of Things devices could be your thermostat your baby monitor your car's Bluetooth phone system your Roomba a Fitbit there's even a Pet Sitting app that as you to watch her pets while you're not at home and you can toss your puppy a treat with the tap of an app but here's the thing if a hacker can gain access to just one of your Internet of Things devices oftentimes they can access all of your devices first they access the anchor device hack that and then they've got everything that's hosted on your anchor device and usually they can even commit crimes remotely from your hacked devices Gartner the leader in IT Research says that there are eight billion IOT devices in 2017 and that we're on track for 20 billion devices in 2020 that's in just two years as time passes this technology is transitioning from being what was an optional luxury feature to being baseline default in every device and we're forced to buy it and integrate it into our lives I'd like to back up a couple of steps and say this I am a fairly typical user of technology I like Facebook I love Amazon I run an Instagram account for my dog named foxy and I rely on my smartphone for just about everything I believe technology is beneficial it it saves time it's reliable and I feel safe traveling all over the world alone because of it for the last three years I've served as a contractor I trained individuals and companies on tactics that thieves use to steal identities and to breach companies on what to do when it does happen to you and on how to avoid it from happening in the first place and after every single presentation someone who has had their identity stolen quietly approaches me and tells me about the disastrous effect its had on their personal life identity theft takes hundreds of hours to clean up it's emotionally draining and it leaves people feeling vulnerable what we as consumers don't understand is how deep this rabbit hole goes what most people don't realize is is just how deeply identity-theft can affect your personal life I say this is an epidemic of tremendous proportions we are a database Society and every day you are more likely to have your identity stolen the Equifax data breach in the fall of 2017 was the worst the world has ever seen companies and thieves are making money off of every kind of personal information you can imagine essentially data is the new oil data trafficking is one of the top revenue generating crimes in the world internationally and the problem is just getting worse and you're going to continue to hear from the risk management industry that data breaches like Equifax and uber and all tourettes and whatever tomorrow's data breach is it is only the tip of the iceberg the problem is just getting worse there's just too much money to be made from identity theft and Americans are realizing that it gonna affect the most intimate parts of their lives speaking of intimacy there's even a smart vibrator you can give your partner control of your device in almost any way that you can imagine which is certainly a personalized way of using technology to stay in touch but that company chose to sell their users data without their clients and knowledge or consent and while they say the sale did not include full names or user names the clients still felt violated they crossed the line from what was impersonal appliance data usage to what was a violation of personal privacy I'd like to pause and show you just how easy it is to access an unsecured device here's a website open it available to the public with all kinds of devices that are connected online there's 72 thousand cameras some of these have passwords some of them don't I here's an example of a feed you might find we think that if we buy an Internet of Things device like a light bulb or a thermostat or a baby monitor but that object is ours and whatever we do with it is powers here's the thinking error the data that we think is private is intentionally sold by companies were hacked by thieves and that information that we thought was private is now public or available on the dark web there are no regulations on almost any consumer devices or the data that they collect currently companies don't have to tell us what data they're collecting who they're selling it to what third-party companies they are sharing our information with how they're storing our information most don't even have to tell us when they or their partner software companies have been hacked and that information that we thought was private is now public the bottom line is this we have no clue what information is being sold and who is buying selling and stealing it now in my risk management dream world I'd advocate that the information that's collected by a device also be owned by the person who purchased that device so software and hardware companies might store that our information front for us but they have no legal grounds to sell or transfer that information at very least we ought to have the right to opt out of a company collecting our information and sharing it with others but I don't think that's realistic in today's world where net neutrality is on the chopping block some of these companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying Congress to reduce regulations on data security we must employ measures to ensure that our identities remain uniquely ours for those of you who have already done your homework on risk manager and data security eventually blockchain technology developed by the Bitcoin world will become widespread and eventually it will be more difficult for a hacker to gain access to our personal data but until then most companies won't take sufficient measures to protect us as consumers unless they know they're going to lose money or credibility we must recognize and reject what these companies are trying to do and by our technology accordingly and we must support public movements and legislation that strengthen our rights as device owners a general guideline on whether or not to trust a company or device is the less the device and software cost the less the company is going to earn therefore the less motive they have to protect you and the greater risk you're taking when purchasing that device the major impact of identity theft isn't finding out that your bank account has been drained or that someone has filed your income tax report before you do it's the time and energy it takes to clean up the mess of identity theft what can we do now at home weak wireless connections and passwords are often easy targets to hackers update your device's with complex passwords when you're using free Wi-Fi in public make sure that it's password protected and that you're connected to the correct network if you accidentally log into a fake network a thief can see and record everything that you're doing read reviews before buying your devices and downloading new apps and when an app or software ask you to update update immediately avoid linking accounts and devices to your anchor device unless you are sure that it will save you time or money and you're okay knowing that all of the data that it collects could it become public lastly purchase identity theft coverage with comprehensive duration so you aren't stuck figuring out how to restore your own identity I told a fib earlier I don't own a smart fridge and I hope that I'm never forced to when you're considering buying and connecting a new device please weigh the costs and benefits ask yourself is it really worth it to have a smartphone fridge app to see your grocery list if you could lose your most valuable possession and that is your identity thank you you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 75,463

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Technology, Data, Internet, Privacy

Id: ipdTLJcIkWI

Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 05 2018