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Bruce Schneier Calls for IoT Legislation, Argues The Internet Is Becoming One Giant Robot (linux.com)
"We're building a world-size robot, and we don't even realize it," security expert Bruce Schneier warned the Open Source Leadership Summit. As mobile computing and always-on devices combine with the various network-connected sensors, actuators, and cloud-based AI processing, "We are building an internet that senses, thinks, and acts." An anonymous reader quotes Linux.com:
You can think of it, he says, as an Internet that affects the world in a direct physical manner. This means Internet security becomes everything security. And, as the Internet physically affects our world, the threats become greater. "It's the same computers, it could be the same operating systems, the same apps, the same vulnerability, but there's a fundamental difference between when your spreadsheet crashes, and you lose your data, and when your car crashes and you lose your life," Schneier said...
"I have 20 IoT-security best-practices documents from various organizations. But the primary barriers here are economic; these low-cost devices just don't have the dedicated security teams and patching/upgrade paths that our phones and computers do. This is why we also need regulation to force IoT companies to take security seriously from the beginning. I know regulation is a dirty word in our industry, but when people start dying, governments will take action. I see it as a choice not between government regulation and no government regulation, but between smart government regulation and stupid government regulation."
"I have 20 IoT-security best-practices documents from various organizations. But the primary barriers here are economic; these low-cost devices just don't have the dedicated security teams and patching/upgrade paths that our phones and computers do. This is why we also need regulation to force IoT companies to take security seriously from the beginning. I know regulation is a dirty word in our industry, but when people start dying, governments will take action. I see it as a choice not between government regulation and no government regulation, but between smart government regulation and stupid government regulation."
>But the primary barriers here are economic; these low-cost devices just don't have the dedicated security teams and patching/upgrade paths that our phones and computers do. This is why we also need regulation to force IoT companies to take security seriously from the beginning.
I highly doubt regulation will cause many iot companies to take security seriously, unless it has some teeth. And then regulation becomes a barrier to entry for smaller companies, so there would be fewer IoT sellers, and maybe that's a good thing according to Schneier.
Many engineers who design bridges, roads, buildings, power systems, etc. are required to get a proefessional engineering certificate. There is no equivalent for computer scientist in the United States. Until there is liability for poor designs and implementation there will be changes to improve quality and security.
Don't buy IoT devices. Problem solved.
Everybody knows they offer marginally beneficial services to the user, and massive surveillance and privacy invasion opportunities for big data, unconstitutional government agencies and other sumbitches.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Yep. He needs to remember the old adage: be careful what you wish for; you might get it. He says see it as a choice not between government regulation and no government regulation, but between smart government regulation and stupid government regulation.
Stupid is what he's going to get.
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
Security cameras simultaneously turn off. The UK is particularly affected.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I don't think Bruce Schneier is an idiot, but otherwise, I tend to agree with this. Read Jacques Ellul ("The Technological Society", "The Technological System") to better understand this.
Schneier gives kind of a "shouting at clouds" vibe. The Internet is not like a truck you load things into or off of, it's not a series of tubes, it's not one giant robot that will turn into Skynet once it achieves sentience.
Internet Green is people! Wait, still the wrong movie, but closer.
The Internet is made up of billions of devices, each with different capabilities, each with their own purpose and "goals", influenced by others in its social network. Some of these influencers are nearby, some are far away; some are humans, some are machines. Some of these machines are robust against malicious interference, but most have weak points.
The Internet does not look or act like a single robot. It looks and acts like a network or society, not a monolithic entity, and talking about it as a monolithic thing encourages unwise reactions.
I had a 2 hour conversation last year with an IOT devices engineer who works for a multi-billion dollar Japanese Corporation. They guy didn't think Privacy was important or at risk at all through IOT devices. "Every home will have many of them soon" he said. He thought that realtime 3D face recognition - CCTV networks being able to identify you ANYWHERE IN PUBLIC with great accuracy even if you are not facing the camera, have grown a beard or are wearing a baseball cap - was a great step forward in human technological development. They guy kept talking about "new markets, new profits, a great future for our company". He literally DID NOT CARE what these technologies mean for people's Privacy. Every time I voiced even mild concerns about what these surveillance capable technologies might do to people's privacy, he acted terribly *shocked*. Apparently the corporation he works sees great profits in building IOT, face recog tech & other surveillance capable tech, and my bringing up concerns about them was something he was - wait for it - "uncomfortable with". =) This is what IOT is - faceless, nameless engineers crapping all over other people's lives because the companies that employ them expect a new XX Billion Dollar a year market from them.
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
Car and truck regulations, plane regulations, food and drug regulations, OHSA regulations, financial regulations, etc.
Without them, you'd be dead.
...If you think any legislative solution won't be perverted by mega corps to fuck people over even more your a delusional tool.
Even more delusional is you thinking you still have a chance at winning.
When 99% of the population is being tracked and you choose "not to play", you will be playing by default as the anomaly. You will be easily tracked because you will stick out and it will be rather obvious.
Many people have already accepted this fact, which is why attempting to regulate some constraint around it is the next logical step. If you must live with a monster, then you'll at least try and put it on a leash.