Toys, cars and even refrigerators are being hooked up to the internet, but more must be done to stop your appliances turning into botnets.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/05/23
By: Timothy Ferry, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Photo Credit: AP / TPG

People have long followed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s example of taping a piece of paper over their notebook’s camera to ensure their privacy, and Chinese manufacturer Huawei’s plans for the U.S. market have likely been permanently derailed by chronic rumors that its devices send private information straight back to the Chinese government.

Yet the market for web-connected IoT (internet of things) smart devices continues to rise despite well-known vulnerabilities to hacking. News accounts abound of household devices such as smart thermostats and IP cams becoming surreptitious monitoring devices that acquire vast stores of private data, including images and recordings used for blackmail, revenge, financial data theft, and even burglary.

IoT devices rely on slim, low-power processors that generally can’t run antivirus software, rendering them vulnerable to hacking. Even products of leading international brands have been shown to have backdoors by which hackers are able to gain entry and control.
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