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I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

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Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#91

Post by scrollaway »

theseatoms wrote: post #82
corobo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great my fridge just rebooted for a firmware update and bricked itself now the peas are rapidly defrosting and I am in a panic. Edit: Shoutout to Internet of Shit https://twitter.com/internetofshit

Add a physical switch for firmware updates, on an opt-in basis. How does Tesla implement updates?

So we're back to a couple of comments above: suggesting that people actually upgrade firmware.

An opt-in switch is merely convenience for the incredibly thin % that bothers with this kind of thing. And that % will actually be informed enough to not opt in.

Come to think of it, that % will likely be informed enough not to buy this kind of device in the first place.

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#92

Post by ttctciyf »

amelius wrote: post #63
dcexqm wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Under pressure in an interview, yesterday, I found myself saying "'The Internet of Things' is short for 'The Internet of Things you don't need, sending surveillance data you don't want, to people you don't know.'"

> to people you don't know What is worse, your data being sent to people you know or to people you don't know ?

There's surely a Wildean quote in there somewhere.. "The only thing worse than your data being sent to people you don't know..."

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#93

Post by corobo »

theseatoms wrote: post #82
corobo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great my fridge just rebooted for a firmware update and bricked itself now the peas are rapidly defrosting and I am in a panic. Edit: Shoutout to Internet of Shit https://twitter.com/internetofshit

Add a physical switch for firmware updates, on an opt-in basis. How does Tesla implement updates?

Opt-in just means nobody gets updates again. I realise this is more a techy audience but think of these things from the mainstream perspective. Especially when the tabloids and social network copypastes get the word out that hackers can turn your oven on or something if you enable updates

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#94

Post by z3t4 »

binarymax wrote: post #3

I feel like I'm missing out on a huge bulk of money simply because when I have ideas of "Internet of Things", I cant get over the security obstacles and cancel the ideas. If only I just didn't care (or didnt know) and just implemented whatever the heck brought in money from oblivious customers.

You have to put things in perspective. It just have to be secure enough. It's for example hard to build anything, if it has to endure a meteor strike.

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#95

Post by corobo »

jon-wood wrote: post #90
corobo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great my fridge just rebooted for a firmware update and bricked itself now the peas are rapidly defrosting and I am in a panic. Edit: Shoutout to Internet of Shit https://twitter.com/internetofshit

If you connected fridge can brick itself in such a way that it stops refrigerating things then it wasn't worth buying in the first place, especially for things like this where you could end up accidentally poisoning someone the failsafe in case of software failure should be switching to an old school circuit that just keeps things at a fixed temperature.

> wasn't worth buying in the first place

Hence my shoutout to IoS! :)

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#96

Post by csydas »

collyw wrote: post #46
joepie91_ wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Bolt-on security doesn't work. It is either possible to do something securely and won't really take significantly more time, or it's not possible to do it securely at all, and no future update is going to fix it.

So why do I bother clicking "install updates" on machine every few days?

I think the parent post is talking about a design for security rather than fixing security bugs. A device or system designed without security in mind likely isn't going to get security as a priority at any point in its lifetime, or isn't going to be worked on by security minded folk. Any updates are likely going to be superficial, poorly implemented, or simply not a priority for the developers.

In regards to IoT devices, as the article is lamenting, many are designed with no security in mind and instead seem to be thrown together as quick as possible to achieve a function, without considering the implications that a security breach may have with said device. (e.g., IoT baby monitors, thermostats, home locking systems)

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#97

Post by Klathmon »

corobo wrote: post #68
elorant wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in-mind that we're talking about always connected devices. Firmware updates could be done remotely without the end user needed to do anything, except perhaps give his approval.

Great my fridge just rebooted for a firmware update and bricked itself now the peas are rapidly defrosting and I am in a panic. Edit: Shoutout to Internet of Shit https://twitter.com/internetofshit

There are way to build things so that this isn't a problem. Modularize.

It's easy to build it in a way so that the worst that the software can do is cause it to turn into a "dumb" fridge.

My problem with this whole hatred of iot is that it's not productive.

it's a bunch of people commenting how the trend is dumb and how everything was so much better in the past. Nobody ever gives suggestions on how to improve it, or how to fix some of these issues, or even what they would like to see. It's always just "Who wants a wifi light switch anyway?" or "Oh great now my door lock can freeze".

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#98

Post by watty »

goodcanadian wrote: post #74

This is why I don't understand the "Internet of Things." A light switch is a pretty effective solution to the problem; there seems little advantage to networking it. Ditto for a toaster, refrigerator, et cetera, et cetera. Now get off my lawn!

This is not "Internet of Things", this is "Building Automation" and it's been the norm for decades.

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#99

Post by dazzla »

binarymax wrote: post #3

I feel like I'm missing out on a huge bulk of money simply because when I have ideas of "Internet of Things", I cant get over the security obstacles and cancel the ideas. If only I just didn't care (or didnt know) and just implemented whatever the heck brought in money from oblivious customers.

Android/iOS is an interesting idea for a business. They already have secure app distribution. A private channel in the Google play store or via app store adhoc. Communication between the devices via a server should be possible at least using HTTPS but also private/public key encryption. Doesn't have to be an actual server just one of the devices in server mode.

What could possibly go wrong?

Re: I stayed in a hotel with Android lightswitches and it was as bad as you'd think

#100

Post by robterrell »

corobo wrote: post #68
elorant wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in-mind that we're talking about always connected devices. Firmware updates could be done remotely without the end user needed to do anything, except perhaps give his approval.

Great my fridge just rebooted for a firmware update and bricked itself now the peas are rapidly defrosting and I am in a panic. Edit: Shoutout to Internet of Shit https://twitter.com/internetofshit

I wrote this rant, along the same lines, in 2001:

http://www.vgg.com/et/et_030701_TVCrash.html

Fifteen years ago. Wow, I love the way I gave Jini a shout-out.

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