Week 11 Takeaways

The Internet of Things (IoT)

Monday, 20 March 2017

• Actual case: a woman claimed that she had been raped in the middle of the night, and had been wearing her wearing her Fitbit. However, the Fitbit data showed no accelerated heart rate, unusual activity, etc. That woman ended up being prosecuted for making a false case.

• The IoT is sometimes referred to as the “internet of everything”
• What is the internet of things?
• It is inanimate objects collecting data, which are connected to the internet or to each other

• Recent developments:
• IRS suspends data retrieval tool
• Reason: Discovered vulnerability in the data security
• Consumer Reports magazine
• Announced that they are developing new privacy standards, and will be evaluating and rating every product that they review for  its safety/reliability/etc on privacy standards as well (Is it secure? Firewalls? What info is collected? Who has access to data?)
• Could be a significant development in educating the public about privacy concerns
• Recent IoT products:
• SenseGo socks
• Have sensors to detect rubbing and pressure points to let user know before foot ulcer develops
• Connected to manufacturer’s server and customer’s phone
• Wrist band
• Records glucose levels, temperature, HR, etc
• Connects to smartphone and can be directly linked to your physician
• PillCam
• Will soon replace colonoscopies
• Swallowed, goes through entire GI tract, has hi-res camera that is continuously send info back to doctor over internet

• Searching on the Internet of Things
• Shodan
• Derivation of google
• They have web crawlers, which are constantly searching worldwide web for devices that are connected to internet and either not password protected, or are weakly protected
• Original idea: raise people’s consciousness to get people to secure their devices that connect to the internet.
• Now: manufacturers and purchasers of devices use this site to search where their devices are being used. Has turned out to be very helpful for manufacturers and purchasers
• Unfortunately, it’s also a tool for hackers
• Opentopia.com
• Free webcams
• Earthcam.com
• Can watch live feeds of cameras all over the world, most of which are not intended to be broadcasted to the world.
• If any cameras aren’t secure, they are susceptible to being intercepted and hacked.

• Blog posts
• Steven
• The number of devices connected to internet will exceed the number of phones in the world by next year
• Federal regulation of IoT is necessary because companies have shown little willingness to safeguard consumer privacy in the past
• “...social media was the start of the fall of privacy, the IoT will be the last nail in the coffin.”
• Christian
• The IoT provides more doors into your personal life, but not necessarily more locks.
• Industry best practices are not adequate
• Federal regulation is imperative

• IoT
• In terms of privacy protection, the IoT could be regulated by:
• FTC or other government agency
• Industry self-regulation
• The marketplace
• What privacy standards/practices are desirable?
• Valerie- keep info secure
• Simon- regular security updates
• Molly- disclosure of info collected
• Alex- minimize data collected
• Kate- don’t associate data with the individual
• Kali- regulate access to data

Wednesday. 22 March 2017

• Current Developments
• Carlsbad, CA considers a plan to photograph every car entering the city in an effort to solve more crimes
• If we were residents, what questions would we like to have answered?
• Where would the cameras be located?
• How long will the data be kept?
• Who has access to the data?
• Is this plan justifiable?
• Would there be a database of Carlsbad residents?
• Would cars from outside the city be tagged/flagged?
• Is it being monitored in real time?
• Or is the data only accessed when law enforcement needs it?
• Would they need a warrant?
• Would data be sold for marketing purposes?
• Question of the Week Overview
• Should the FTC require all advertisements for “smart devices” to list possible privacy and security risks?
• Majority: no (11), only (5) yes
• Why say no?
• Side effects of meds pose physical harm, whereas privacy risks pose no direct physical harm
• Hacking these devices can pose some risk, though
• There’s not really a choice in whether or not they take their meds, but you can choose whether or not to purchase smart devices.
• Product warnings
• "Caution: this is a smart device that poses a threat to your privacy if not properly secured."
• Would requiring warnings on ads for smart devices significantly increase the cost of products?
• Best way to minimize privacy risks with smart devices?
• Mandatory privacy warnings in ads?
• Mandatory privacy warnings on devices or packaging?
• Comprehensive consumer education?
• Requiring adequate privacy safeguards to be built into devices?