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The Internet of Things Is Still a Privacy Dumpster Fire, Study Finds

11 points by thread_id 7y ago

shakna 7y ago
Why would we ever expect the Internet of Things to _change_, when things are as they are now? > Vizio, for example, settled a $17 million lawsuit last year for secretly tracking and selling the usage habits of sixteen million Vizio owners for around three years. $1/user may be your fine, which can still allow you to turn a profit whilst doing absolutely everything the wrong way. Why would they spend more development on security or privacy? The incentive isn't there. Your device being hijacked into a massive botnet swarm doesn't mean that you as a company get hurt. People still buy your toy at a huge markup, and the regulations in place won't even put a dent in your profits. These aren't companies intending to go out and do things the right way, they're companies that churn. The good players get left behind because they don't have a new shiny product every 3-6 months, and the bad players can quickly and seamlessly change their name and registration and just keep churning out horrible security-compromising hardware and software. The consumers aren't cautious or knowledgeable enough, the regulations don't offer carrots or sticks that can make behaviour better. No part of the current state of things can encourage anything to change... So why would it?
- nesky 7y ago
  I own a Vizio, I think an E Series, 3 or 4 years back the thing received an 'update' and bricked the tv for nearly 48 hours. There was nothing I could do with the TV until Vizio sent out a patch. I never connected it to a network again after that. Just another 'feature' to smart tv's...
thread_id 7y ago
Here is the link to they study. https://moniotrlab.ccis.neu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ren-imc19.pdf https://moniotrlab.ccis.neu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/r... The findings are multi-layered and complex. But it is clear that some products/devices actively share data about consumer behavior to 3rd parties for analytics. It is part of the product design (and revenue stream). TVs appear to be worst offenders. Most consumers of TVs don't have the wear-with-all to understand the impact to their privacy and make effect product choices based on that criteria. Much less the motivation: Consumers want the latest technology at the best price.

11 points by thread_id 7y ago

Why would we ever expect the Internet of Things to _change_, when things are as they are now? > Vizio, for example, settled a $17 million lawsuit last year for secretly tracking and selling the usage habits of sixteen million Vizio owners for around three years. $1/user may be your fine, which can still allow you to turn a profit whilst doing absolutely everything the wrong way. Why would they spend more development on security or privacy? The incentive isn't there. Your device being hijacked into a massive botnet swarm doesn't mean that you as a company get hurt. People still buy your toy at a huge markup, and the regulations in place won't even put a dent in your profits. These aren't companies intending to go out and do things the right way, they're companies that churn. The good players get left behind because they don't have a new shiny product every 3-6 months, and the bad players can quickly and seamlessly change their name and registration and just keep churning out horrible security-compromising hardware and software. The consumers aren't cautious or knowledgeable enough, the regulations don't offer carrots or sticks that can make behaviour better. No part of the current state of things can encourage anything to change... So why would it?

nesky 7y ago
I own a Vizio, I think an E Series, 3 or 4 years back the thing received an 'update' and bricked the tv for nearly 48 hours. There was nothing I could do with the TV until Vizio sent out a patch. I never connected it to a network again after that. Just another 'feature' to smart tv's...

thread_id 7y ago

Here is the link to they study. https://moniotrlab.ccis.neu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ren-imc19.pdf https://moniotrlab.ccis.neu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/r... The findings are multi-layered and complex. But it is clear that some products/devices actively share data about consumer behavior to 3rd parties for analytics. It is part of the product design (and revenue stream). TVs appear to be worst offenders. Most consumers of TVs don't have the wear-with-all to understand the impact to their privacy and make effect product choices based on that criteria. Much less the motivation: Consumers want the latest technology at the best price.