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Think Twice About Buying Internet-connected Devices Off Ebay (qz.com)

Posted by msmash on from the know-what-you're-signing-up-for dept.

If you're thinking about buying gadgets from auction sites such as Ebay, you will want to consider the potential risks. From a report: When you're buying from a third-party seller, it's a lot more difficult to tell where products have come from, whether you're getting exactly what you think you're getting, and if anything has been done to the product since it was manufactured. "It is possible for internet-connected devices to be tampered with and resold on the web," Leigh-Anne Galloway, lead cybersecurity resilience analyst at the cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies, told Quartz. "It's similar to buying a secondhand cellphone without it being restored to factory settings." In fact, buying a second hand gadget can potentially expose the user to some pretty extreme scenarios. "Cameras and IoT devices can contain spyware and malware, which can cause a plethora of problems for the user," Galloway added. "These devices could possibly listen to you, watch your every step, communicate with and attack other devices connected to the same local network, such as PCs, laptops, and TVs." Galloway said devices could also be used to perform botnet attacks -- where an unsecured internet-connected device is accessed by another computer and used along with other breached devices to take down websites or internet services, as what happened with the Mirai botnet attack in 2016.

4 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. As Nietzsche once said by Clueless+Nick · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

    So, when you buy that spycam, be informed that it might also be spying on you.

    --
    Chat with other atheists http://secularchat.org
  2. Re: I would argue it's not just Ebay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Chinese have an interest in spying on everybody, all of the time.

  3. Re: I would argue it's not just Ebay by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Every corporation has an interest in spying on everyone, all the time. Data is money.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. Re: I would argue it's not just Ebay by mccrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

    yeah? why is that?

    Because you don't always know ahead of time what will turn out to be valuable. So the standard operating procedure these days is to collect everything. Over time, historical data becomes valuable as well.

    --
    Hey, Windows users, there is no such thing as "forward" slash, there is only slash and backslash.