Ethics, Society & Politics

Internet of Fails

Where IoT has gone wrong
Saal Borg
Barbara Wimmer
Expect current examples of IoT fails that I collected during my work as a journalist in regards of privacy and security. What do such fails mean for society? What are possible solutions and what can customers do?
The internet of things (IoT) is growing. A lot of (mobile) network operators talk about „next big thing“: A world of always-on devices. So far, IoT is more a wide range of disaster plots with a lot of security and privacy concerns that are a danger for the internet rather than they are the world-saving development the tech guys predict. One example: connected (sex) toys. Some countries already banned them or are planning to ban them. Another example are digital home assistants that tend to change our sense of privacy. But what can we do? We can’t stop the development, but we can make products safer. In my talk I am going to present current examples where IoT fails in terms of privacy, security and use case. Rather than going into technical detail of „How did that hack work out?“ I want to concentrate on the ethical and practical problems that arise out of connecting everything. I also want to focus on how consumers can influence the market and what we all can do as a society. For example: Currently manufacturers take care primarily of their business to bring the products quickly to the market, and less to the safety of it. In my talk, I would like to show some examples and explain why this becomes the problem for all of us - and what regulators plan to stop that. As customers we are also not doomed, we can help to stop this internet of fails.

Additional information

Type lecture
Language English

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