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That's not a fix. This is a field that cries out "decent regulation". Terrible IoT security? Please see massive fines, Senators on TV claiming national securi

That's not a fix. This is a field that cries out "decent regulation". Terrible IoT security? Please see massive fines, Senators on TV claiming national security at risk, never allow that brand to be sold "on our soil" again. I know there is no obvious technical framework that can be applied as " best practise", that IoT is a horrible wild west and governments choosing winners will lead down sub optimal paths but it's hard to see a real alternative fix.

dbtc 6y ago
Maybe the potential regulators are also enjoying the free surveillance infrastructure
nyokodo 6y ago
This is an extremely difficult problem. The proximate problem is that there isn't liability for industry when there should be. The proximate fix is adding liability into the equation one way or another. Using regulation may work, it theoretically ought to but Regulators tend to get captured by industry. Another way is to open the issue up to civil liability/class action lawsuits which requires a cooperating political and legal class who also tend to get captured by industry. The only way to overcome that is for the population to make it politically untenable to kowtow to industry. However, the population isn't educated on this and the political class which controls education for most people is unlikely going to push for it. Even if they were educated because the costs are diffuse and the interests are concentrated the population is unlikely going to feel the urgency to make this a political priority and the special interests certainly won't. Politically speaking the priorities of the Hacker News crowd amounts to very little. I would love to hear ideas about how to overcome these problems.
- tim333 6y ago
  The EU which is a bit more pro regulating stuff is having a go eg: >The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has released what it calls a globally applicable standard for cybersecurity in the Internet of Things (IoT). The new specification, TS 103645, seeks to establish a security baseline for internet-connected consumer products and provide a basis for future IoT certification schemes. https://futureiot.tech/europe-gets-first-global-consumer-iot-security-standard/ https://futureiot.tech/europe-gets-first-global-consumer-iot... Maybe if that works other places will follow.
p1necone 6y ago
I agree - I meant fix in the "here's how to selfishly make this work for you" sense, rather than the "actually fix this for everyone long term" sense.
- lifeisstillgood 6y ago
  Ok. English double meanings - great for jokes bad for comms!

dbtc 6y ago

Maybe the potential regulators are also enjoying the free surveillance infrastructure

nyokodo 6y ago

This is an extremely difficult problem. The proximate problem is that there isn't liability for industry when there should be. The proximate fix is adding liability into the equation one way or another. Using regulation may work, it theoretically ought to but Regulators tend to get captured by industry. Another way is to open the issue up to civil liability/class action lawsuits which requires a cooperating political and legal class who also tend to get captured by industry. The only way to overcome that is for the population to make it politically untenable to kowtow to industry. However, the population isn't educated on this and the political class which controls education for most people is unlikely going to push for it. Even if they were educated because the costs are diffuse and the interests are concentrated the population is unlikely going to feel the urgency to make this a political priority and the special interests certainly won't. Politically speaking the priorities of the Hacker News crowd amounts to very little. I would love to hear ideas about how to overcome these problems.

tim333 6y ago
The EU which is a bit more pro regulating stuff is having a go eg: >The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has released what it calls a globally applicable standard for cybersecurity in the Internet of Things (IoT). The new specification, TS 103645, seeks to establish a security baseline for internet-connected consumer products and provide a basis for future IoT certification schemes. https://futureiot.tech/europe-gets-first-global-consumer-iot-security-standard/ https://futureiot.tech/europe-gets-first-global-consumer-iot... Maybe if that works other places will follow.

p1necone 6y ago

I agree - I meant fix in the "here's how to selfishly make this work for you" sense, rather than the "actually fix this for everyone long term" sense.

lifeisstillgood 6y ago
Ok. English double meanings - great for jokes bad for comms!