THE PRICE OF PROGRESS
IOT MOBILE
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THE PRICE OF PROGRESS
However , these advancements come at a price . “ As our world becomes more connected , it also becomes more complex ,” stated a recent report by leading Swedish telecom Ericsson . As the number of IoT devices currently in operation skyrockets , so does the risk to the people and enterprises that use them . Figures vary , depending on who you ask but , according to Statista , there are an estimated 31bn IoT devices in the world right now - meaning there are just over four smart devices for every person on the planet .
Every single one of those devices is a potential entrypoint for hackers .
Back in December of last year , a smart camera belonging to the LeMay family in Tennessee turned itself on and began speaking to the LeMays ’ eight-year old daughter . “ I ’ m your best friend … I ’ m Santa Claus . You can do whatever you want right now . You can mess up your room . You can break your TV . You can do whatever you want ,” said the voice , suspected not to have actually been jolly old Saint Nick after all . The local news outlet that broke the story revealed that a stranger remotely accessed the camera - which is somewhat ironically designed to help protect smart homes against intruders - and “ found a way to manipulate it , turning the security device into a room of horror .” Around the same time , another Ring device was breached , allowing a stranger to demand that a Calabasas , California , woman called Tammy , “ show me some [ unprintable ].” While Ring , which is owned by Amazon , has stated the breach did not occur on their end - and that the breaches were due to the LeMays and Tammy
SEPTEMBER 2020