It’s called “The Internet of Things”; “IOT” for short. It’s the latest annoying buzz-phrase that seems to be showing up in more places more often than Kim Kardashian’s tush. You’d better get used to it, though, because IOT is based on last year’s most worn out and meaningless buzzword: smart.
You know, “smart” this and “smart” that. Smart phones, smart TVs, smart cars, even smart clothes dryers. Everything has to be “smart,” which generally means constantly monitoring you, your habit patterns, your preferences, your movements, actions and overall behavior, and then guessing at what to do in an effort to fulfill your wishes.
Smart devices also facilitate associating all of this juicy device usage information with your name, address, email, bank and credit accounts, along with information provided by the likes of Yahoo, MSN, Cox, AOL, Amazon, AT&T, Google and eBay. Your personal smart device information is also combined with every mouse-click and other identifiers that can be found on social media websites like Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Google+ and YouTube. Police reports, court filings, voting registrations, party affiliations, property records and tax payments are added to the mix, too.
Smart device manufacturers, Internet moguls, advertisers and data brokers then gather this information, where it is compiled, sliced, diced, analyzed, aggregated, segregated and then bought and sold like chopped liver on a rapidly-growing data marketplace that is worth billions of dollars per year. An entire data industry has been based on your personal information, but you will never receive a penny for it, or even be told it is happening.
The other thousand-pound gorilla sitting in the corner is even worse than the one just described. The name tag hanging around its neck is one that all the data dealers wish would just go away, but never will. It reads “Hackers. Crooks. Safety and Security.”
“Smart” things and the “Internet of Things” represent, in a perfect world, a utopian paradise of magical Internet-connected devices bending to our will, doing our bidding, freeing us from the drudgery of turning house lights on and off, changing thermostats, locking our doors and measuring laundry detergent. Imagine an environment which you would control, a world of interconnected and automated thermostats, dialysis machines, refrigerators, airplanes, children’s toys, credit cards, alarm systems, neurostimulators, drones, traffic signals, wrist watches, restaurants, cell phones and toilets.
But wait, there’s more! Add to the list of “smart” IOT devices baby monitors, automobiles, security cameras, toll roads, routers, texting programs, email, music players, heart monitors, eye glasses, electric utilities, guitar amplifiers, fax machines, door locks, window shades, televisions, bank accounts, pacemakers, bathtubs and showers, clothes washers, web cameras, fire extinguishers, lawn mowers, grocery stores, municipal water systems, drug infusion pumps, vacuum cleaners, defibrillators, wheelchairs, and the list goes on and on. Every imaginable device could be controlled by you, the Device Master, giving you omnipotent power over your world, allowing you to pursue the things that actually matter in life.
Unfortunately, it seems most IOT smart devices are built and deployed with nary a thought given to Internet safety and security. Crooks and ill-willed hackers are aware of this sad situation, and smart devices are being hacked, compromised and abused at an alarming rate. Next week, we’ll look at some of these devices, how they have been hacked, and what you can do to stay out of trouble.