Safer Internet: Internet of Things

Summary

Q. How many engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?...
"Amazon Alexa is for...
There ever more types of internet-connected devices -- at home and on our person:
Home: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, security cameras, home automation, lightbulbs, thermostats, smoke alarms, appliances, water valves
Set-top Devices: camera, microphone, people identification (Kinect), playlist, game consoles
Wearable technology: watches, fitness trackers, glasses
[1] Be vigilant about cool new features: Helpful Assistant vs. 'Big Brother'
[1] Check list: privacy & security settings, changeable password, ongoing support, security updates, encryption, ...
-- or, don't purchase gadget, or disable 'smart' functionality altogether?

References

{TCYOP-4: 166-170; TCYOP-3: 140-144; Set-top Devices; Web-connected Cameras; appliances, light bulbs, home-automation equipment, home security systems, Google Home, Amazon's Alexa}
sections: Alexa (Amazon Echo), Ring; Apple; Camera; Cars; Google Home; Health; Home; Smart TVs; Wearables
Wikipedia: Internet of Things (IoT); ubiquitous computing
Wikipedia: 6LoWPAN acronym of IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks
Mozilla: Entertainment, Health & Exercise, Pets,
Smart Home, Wearables
product ratings -- minimum security standards:
Encryption: Does the app/service offer it?
Security updates: How regularly is the app/service updated?
Strong passwords: How strong are the app’s password guidelines?
Manages vulnerabilities: Is there a way for people to report bugs and other security issues with the app?
Privacy policy: Does it exist?
All of Your Smart Devices Are Spying on You LH; 8/16/2022
Steps to Simple Online Security: Secure small gadgets and smart-home devices NYT; 4/22/2022
The UK Just Banned Default Passwords and We Should Too
the new bill would require unique passwords for IoT devices and would
prevent those passwords from being reset to universal factory default; Giz; 11/24/2021
Thinking about selling your Echo Dot—or any IoT device? Read this first
deleting data is hard; factory reset; encryption? Ars; 7/2/2021
How Secure Is Your Digital Assistant? Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri; Giz; 12/11/2020
Critical Flaws in Millions of IoT Devices May Never Get Fixed Wired; 12/8/2020
Secure Your Smart Home Devices AAA Via, pp 26-27 Nov/Dec 2020
Ink-Stained Wretches: The Battle for the Soul of Digital Freedom Taking Place Inside Your Printer HP; EFF; 11/5/2020
Over 100 irrigation systems left exposed online without a password ZD; 10/26/2020
The WIRED Guide to the Internet of Things What you need to know about the promise (and peril) of networked lightbulbs, ovens, cameras, speakers, ...; Wired; 9/11/2020
Ripple20 vulnerabilities will haunt the IoT landscape for years to come TCP/IP library found at the base of many IoT products; ZD; 6/16/2020
Carnegie Mellon Researchers Design 'Nutrition Label' For The Internet Of Broken Things TD; 6/9/2020
6 devices to keep tabs on your aging family members without invading their privacy CNet; 5/1/2020
Critical bugs in dozens of Zyxel and Lilin IoT models under active exploit DDoS botnets abuse IoT flaws to conscript vulnerable devices; Ars; 3/21/2020
How to protect your personal data in the age of IoT TNW; 3/10/2020
IoT Trouble: The Sonos Example -- And More 1/26/2020
How hackable is your smart device? The UL IoT Security Rating and UL Verified Mark will tell you TH; 1/8/2020
FBI recommends that you keep your IoT devices on a separate network separate router? The FBI also recommends changing factory-set (default) passwords and not allowing an IoT device's accompanying mobile app to gain access to too many smartphone permissions; ZD; 12/6/2019
Diagnose Your Devices' Privacy Problems With This List From Mozilla Mozilla: Privacy Not Included -- minimum security standards vs. creepy; LH; 11/25/2019
The Debate Over How to Encrypt the Internet of Things lightweight encryption vs. AES? Wired; 11/23/2019
Researchers hack Siri, Alexa, and Google Home by shining lasers at them MEMS mics respond to light as if it were sound; Ars; 11/4/2019
The Internet of Things Is Still a Privacy Dumpster Fire biggest IoT study ever finds "smart" devices hoover up a universe of user behavior data and share it with a laundry list of global third parties, frequently with little transparency to the end user; MB; 9/19/2019
How to keep Amazon, Apple, and Google from listening to your Alexa, Siri, and Assistant recordings TH; 8/3/2019
200 million devices—some mission-critical—vulnerable to remote takeover elevators, medical equipment, and other mission-critical systems running VxWorks OS; Ars; 7/29/2019
[2] New Offensive USB Cable Allows Remote Attacks over WiFi BC; 2/11/2019

Alexa, Ring

An Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers Amazon has patched the flaw, but remember to lock down your voice assistant interactions; Ars; 8/15/2020
Ring cameras are more secure now, but your neighbors still snoop with them Ars; 2/18/2020
How to Prevent Ring from Sharing Your Data with Marketing Companies LH; 2/18/2020
3 privacy issues to consider before bringing an Amazon Echo into your house Sharing with law enforcement; Tracking health issues; Transparency; TNW; 2/6/2020
Hi, Alexa. How Do I Stop You From Listening In On Me? also, Apple Siri, Google Home; NYT; 8/21/2019
Amazon confirms it keeps your Alexa recordings basically forever recordings and their transcripts never expire automatically; Ars; 7/3/2019
Prevent Amazon From Eavesdropping On Your Alexa Conversations LH; 4/12/2019
Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa A global team reviews audio clips in an effort to help the voice-activated assistant respond to commands; 4/10/2019
Think about privacy the next time you ask Alexa the weather TNW; 3/16/2019

Apple

AirTag bug could let a hacker steal iCloud passwords MW; 9/29/2021
When You’re Told an AirTag Is Moving with You TB; 6/4/2021
The Two Faces of Find My
Find My device (Internet);
Find My network (crowdsourced);
TB; 5/23/2021
13 AirTag Tracking Scenarios
Something Lost:
Bill's Wayward Keys;
Manjula and the Missing Messenger Bag;
Nic's Missing Laptop Bag;
Martyn's Post-Bender Panic;
Ruth Bader Ginspurr Escaped the House;
Something Stolen:
Chai's Snagged Bag;
Sorry, Charlie;
Fenchurch's Double AirTag;
Bad News, Vicente;
Someone Stalked or Tracked:
Yuen's Ex-Boyfriend;
Annelise's Nosy Neighbor;
A Package for Betsy;
Florian's Mystery AirTag;
TB; 5/15/2021
[2] How to Unlock That Hidden Debug Mode for AirTags in iOS 14.5 LH; 5/6/2021
AirTag review: They work great—maybe a little too great Ars; 5/5/2021
How to Delete Siri Audio History on iPhone & iPad OSXD; 11/11/2019
Apple's promised Siri recording opt-in feature arrives in iOS 13.2 beta Verge; 10/10/2019
Apple was a little behind on Siri privacy, now it’s way ahead Verge; 8/29/2019
Siri records fights, doctor's appointments, and sex (and contractors hear it) drug deals, etc.; Ars; 7/26/2019

Camera, Drones

Burglars Using Wi-Fi Jammers to Disable Security Cameras 3/13/2024
Popular Chinese-Made Drone Is Found to Have Security Weakness NYT; 7/23/2020
Security cameras can tell burglars when you're not home, study shows amount of data uploaded; CNN; 7/6/2020
Who's Watching Your Porch? NYT; 1/20/2020
IoT device vendor Wyze says a server leak exposed data, including email addresses, camera user IDs, and WiFi SSIDs, of ~2.4M customers from Dec. 4 to Dec. 26 ZD; 12/29/2019
How Hackers Are Breaking Into Ring Cameras MB; 12/11/2019
Human Employees Are Viewing Clips from Amazon's Home Surveillance Service Cloud Cam; Giz; 10/10/2019
Hacker spoke to baby, hurled obscenities at couple using Nest camera, dad says CBS; 1/31/2019
Protect Your Privacy From Your Own Cloud Security Cameras LH; 1/11/2019

Cars

Google Home

A Google Nest Hub might join you for your next hotel stay Nest Hub (as opposed to the larger Nest Hub Max) doesn’t have an integrated camera, and guests will always be able to flip a switch to disable the display’s microphone. Also, you won't have to sign in to the Nest Hub with your Google account to use the display, and 'any activities' will be wiped from the device before the next guest checks in; TH; 8/25/2020
Google contractors are secretly listening to your Assistant recordings TNW; 7/10/2019
Bought a used Nest security cam? The previous owner can spy on you Nest Cam Indoor paired with a Wink hub; NYT; 6/20/2019
How to Prevent Google from Saving Your Voice Recordings LH; 5/1/2019

Health

Viral news story of botnet with 3 million toothbrushes was too good to be true
journalists reported on hypothetical toothbrush botnet
as if it were real; Ars; 2/8/2024
Half of internet-connected devices in hospitals are vulnerable to hacks, report finds
IV pumps were the biggest risk; Verge; 1/19/2022
Your Pricey Peloton Has Another Problem For You To Sweat Over
malware apps; monitor users via bike's camera and microphone; NPR; 6/16/2021
The Dick Jail Is 'Safe' Again, but Use at Your Own Risk Qiui Cellmate Chastity Cage; Giz; 2/10/2021
Internet-Connected Chastity Cages Hit By Bitcoin Ransom Hack TD; 1/12/2021
GE puts default password in radiology devices, leaving healthcare networks exposed Ars; 12/8/2020
IoT Chastity Penis Lock Can Be Hacked TD; 10/9/2020
Why fixing security vulnerabilities in medical devices, IoT is so hard Ars; 2/19/2020
600,000 GPS trackers left exposed online with a default password of '123456' ZD; 9/5/2019
Comcast Working on Health Monitoring Device For the Elderly But Don't Call it an Alexa Giz; 5/21/2019

Home

Unwanted Connection: Who Has Control of Your Smart Home? NYT; 2/17/2023
A New City, Built Upon Data, Takes Shape in South Korea
smart city, homes; NYT; 3/28/2022
Nobi will watch over your grandparents, literally, from a ceiling mounted smart lamp this AI powered gadget is smart enough to know if you're sitting, standing or laying down and will reach out for help if you fall down; CNet; 1/12/2021
When coffee makers are demanding a ransom, you know IoT is screwed watch along as hacked machine grinds, beeps, and spews water; Ars; 9/26/2020
Amazon Unveils Drone That Films Inside Your Home. What Could Go Wrong? NYT; 9/25/2020
How to Secure and Protect Your Smart Home
Secure your network;
Use unique passwords;
Stick with reputable brands;
Directly protect your devices (2FA);
Read the fine print;
Take responsibility; NYT; 9/18/2020
Consumer Reports Study Shows Many 'Smart' Doorbells Are Dumb, Lack Basic Security TD; 8/24/2020
Meet the Star Witness: Your Smart Speaker requests are rising from law enforcement for information on the devices, which can include internet queries, food orders, and overheard conversations; Wired; 8/23/2020
Petnet 'Smart' Feeder Customers Are Stuck In IoT Purgatory TD; 7/16/2020
Tips and best practices for optimizing your smart home TH; 5/6/2020
Philips' Internet-Connected Lightbulbs Will No Longer Connect to the Internet Philips no longer feels like supporting 1st generation; MB; 3/6/2020
Security experts warn of vulnerability in Philips Hue smart lights vulnerability could have let hackers infiltrate users' home or corporate networks; Fortune; 2/5/2020
Smart homes will turn dumb overnight as Charter kills security service lack of interoperability in alarm systems; Ars; 1/17/2020
Change Your Ring Account Password Right Now LH; 12/19/2019
Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant might soon all speak the same smart home language Project Connected Home over IP (CHoIP); also includes: IKEA, Samsung, Hue, NXP, Silicon Labs (Z-Wave chips); TH; 12/18/2019
Amazon Ring doorbells exposed home Wi-Fi passwords to hackers TC; 11/7/2019
Smart Lights Enhance Home Security and Shine a Light on Crime NYT; 9/19/2019
HP printers try to send data back to HP about your devices and what you print 9/15/2019
Smart ovens have been turning on overnight and preheating to 400 degrees Verge; 8/14/2019
Security flaws in a popular smart home hub let hackers unlock front doors Zipato; TC; 7/2/2019
America's Favorite Door-Locking App Has a Data Privacy Problem Great for landlords. Not so great for you; Med; 4/29/2019
Spy on your smart home with this open source research tool IoT Inspector; TC; 4/13/2019
The Easy Way to Create a Smart Home NYT; 4/2/2019
What Sony's robot dog teaches us about biometric data privacy CNet; 4/1/2019
How to Protect Your Smart Home from Hackers password protect network; isolate via guest network; unique passwords; reputable brands; secure devices (updates, 2FA); erasing; NYT; 3/27/2019
Can Your Refrigerator Improve Your Dating Life? Samsung's Refrigerdating app lets users look at the inside of a potential mate's refrigerator; NYT; 3/12/2019
Are You an Amazon or an Apple Family? home innovations like smart microwaves and toilets could lock us into a digital caste system; NYT; 3/9/2019
Google says the built-in microphone it never told Nest users about was 'never supposed to be a secret' BI; 2/20/2019
Flo by Moen smart water valve review: The high price of prevention system monitors and reports on your home's water usage. It can also shut off the water supply to prevent catastrophic damage; TH; 2/8/2019
Best smart bulbs for your connected home TH; 2/8/2019
Best smart smoke detector to keep your home safe Smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors don't just sound the alarm, they also alert your smart phone and more; TH; 2/8/2019
Samsung SmartThings still hasn't earned my trust in the smart home CNet; 2/3/2019
This Hacker Showed How a Smart Lightbulb Could Leak Your Wi-Fi Password LIFX Mini white; MB; 1/31/2019
For Owners of Amazon's Ring Security Cameras, Strangers May Have Been Watching Too teams in Ukraine and the US had unfiltered cloud access to unencrypted home security camera videos and live feeds; 1/10/2019

Smart TVs

Vizio TV buyers are becoming the product Vizio sells, not just its customers
Vizio's ads, streaming, and data business grew 133 percent year-over-year; Ars; 5/12/2021
Can I Save Money by Buying a 'Dumb' TV? not really, but you can disconnect it from internet; Wired; 11/26/2020
Behind Roku's Ad-Supported Streaming Strategy WSJ; 3/29/2020
How to Make Your New Smart TV as Secure as Possible Make sure your accounts are secure; Always install firmware and apps updates for your TV; Disable (or tape up) your TV’s camera and mic; Tune up your home network’s security; LH; 12/3/2019
You watch TV. Your TV watches back. in our latest privacy experiment, we tracked how four of the most popular TV brands record everything we watch; WaPo; 9/18/2019
No, your smart TV isn't catching viruses a misguided tweet from Samsung; TH; 6/20/2019
As smart TVs become the only option, your privacy choices fizzle out Automatic Content Recognition shares data about everything you're watching on the TV with advertisers. Other TVs can collect audio through recordings, while apps can be used to track viewings by listening through the phone; CNet; 6/18/2019
Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs users are reportedly not enjoying Google's 'pilot program'; Ars; 4/4/2019
Smart TVs could get annoying ads just like your web browser does Vizio is developing an open standard with nine partners; Verge; 3/12/2019
Vizio is telling you how to get paid for TV-spying lawsuit by taking over your TV VizioTVsettlement.com; Verge; 2/12/2019

Wearables

Wikipedia: Wearable computer; Smart watch; Google Glass
Could Someone Hack My Microchip Implant? Giz; 10/5/2020
A Software Update Is Breaking Nike’s Expensive, Auto-Lacing Sneakers Giz; 2/20/2019

Printer-friendly version