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> they can't access anything interesting anyway A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen, a fitness tracker is (

by Reelin 8y ago

> they can't access anything interesting anyway A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen, a fitness tracker is (of necessity) monitoring your physical activity, ... you get the picture. I'm not paranoid that someone is tracking me in particular, or even that they would find anything interesting if they did (I'm really pretty boring in the greater scheme of things). Rather, not knowing what is being collected, by who, where it is stored, how long it is retained for, what metadata is attached to it, if their database has been (or is likely to be) breached, etc, means that there's no way for me to confidently assess what my future risks might be. Keep in mind that anonymous data often isn't so anonymous (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-anonymization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-anonymization). At this point, something not being an IoT device is a major selling point for me.

stordoff 8y ago
> A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen And? There's no outbound traffic, so it can't do anything with it. The only risk is if it caches everything indefinitely and if I happen to connect to another network. I should have added that anything that _needs_ Internet access gets vetted much more closely. I was also thinking more of home automation like devices, where it does _almost_ eliminate the risk. It can't access my main network, so it can't see any of my traffic, it can't phone home, and I don't have to worry about security vulnerabilities (it's not exposed to the Internet, so you'd probably have to compromise my main device first-at which point I have bigger problems and even if it was compromised it can't initiate any outward connections, blocking, e.g., its use in a botnet).
- Reelin 8y ago
  Whoops, just reread your previous comment and somehow I missed the "no outbound traffic" part. That would indeed seem to largely eliminate the issue, although I wonder how long it will be until devices start communicating with each other wirelessly to exfiltrate cached data. I realize that last sentence sounds paranoid, but nonetheless it would already appear to be well on its way to a home near you. For example (http://www.m-87.com/ http://www.m-87.com/), > Our software for the Internet of Things creates a Proximate Internet, intelligently discovering and connecting edge devices when they are in offline environments with poor or non-existent network connectivity. This opens up new edge networking solutions for data trapped in IoT sensors, controllers, or mobile computing devices in challenging environments. I'm willing to bet your cell phone has a data connection, and while I'm sure yours is running LineageOS or an equivalent, what about that friend you invited over for dinner later?
  - stordoff 8y ago
    > although I wonder how long it will be until devices start communicating with each other wirelessly to exfiltrate cached data At that point I'd have to reconsider. I did wonder about the devices finding a open WiFi point, but at some point you have to draw the line between reasonable precautions and paranoia, and there are none near me (currently) anyway.

by Reelin 8y ago

stordoff 8y ago

> A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen And? There's no outbound traffic, so it can't do anything with it. The only risk is if it caches everything indefinitely and if I happen to connect to another network. I should have added that anything that _needs_ Internet access gets vetted much more closely. I was also thinking more of home automation like devices, where it does _almost_ eliminate the risk. It can't access my main network, so it can't see any of my traffic, it can't phone home, and I don't have to worry about security vulnerabilities (it's not exposed to the Internet, so you'd probably have to compromise my main device first-at which point I have bigger problems and even if it was compromised it can't initiate any outward connections, blocking, e.g., its use in a botnet).

Reelin 8y ago
Whoops, just reread your previous comment and somehow I missed the "no outbound traffic" part. That would indeed seem to largely eliminate the issue, although I wonder how long it will be until devices start communicating with each other wirelessly to exfiltrate cached data. I realize that last sentence sounds paranoid, but nonetheless it would already appear to be well on its way to a home near you. For example (http://www.m-87.com/ http://www.m-87.com/), > Our software for the Internet of Things creates a Proximate Internet, intelligently discovering and connecting edge devices when they are in offline environments with poor or non-existent network connectivity. This opens up new edge networking solutions for data trapped in IoT sensors, controllers, or mobile computing devices in challenging environments. I'm willing to bet your cell phone has a data connection, and while I'm sure yours is running LineageOS or an equivalent, what about that friend you invited over for dinner later?
- stordoff 8y ago
  > although I wonder how long it will be until devices start communicating with each other wirelessly to exfiltrate cached data At that point I'd have to reconsider. I did wonder about the devices finding a open WiFi point, but at some point you have to draw the line between reasonable precautions and paranoia, and there are none near me (currently) anyway.