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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

#141

Post by ska »

watty wrote: post #122
matthewmacleod wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, anybody should be able to do that with no legal consequences. If you don't want to give people access to your network, don't provide them with a fucking port and cable explicitly designed for doing so.

Come on now, you really think people should be able to unplug cables anywhere they go? This could have major consequences at a hospital. Edit: Completely agree Ska, no excuse for making it this easy. I'm just pointing out that just because it's easy to pick a lock or unplug some wires to MiTM doesn't mean it should be legal.

People shouldn't unplug equipment in a hospital without express permission, sure - they shouldn't do it in your home either.

If your security model relies on this, though, you have failed. Period.

It is maybe a little fuzzier in a hotel (should I be able to stream content to the TV from my device instead of paying you extra for a movie?) but similar applies.

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

#142

Post by Jemmeh »

Biganon wrote: post #112
Kliment wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the implication was that some asshole can obtain photos of you sleeping by opening the curtains and switching on the lights in the middle of the night. A nuisance, sure, but also a massive violation of privacy.

You'd need to access the balcony first, assuming there's one. Why would you think of that first?

I would say most hotels have a first floor with rooms. I was at one recently where the "balcony" was connected by a small path to the pool, so it was purposefully easy to access.

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

#143

Post by purplelobster »

zanny wrote: post #106
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!

You want to have your lights come on at a certain time. You want to add motion detection to lights turning on. You want to attach light sensors to have variable intensity bulbs be brighter or dimmer depending on ambient lighting conditions. You want your lights to turn on inside your garage when the garage door opens. You want your front hallway light to come on when your door is opened. You want to be able to check…

I wouldn't pay a dime for most of those features, even if it worked perfectly. Where I can see the use is doing things remotely, as in when you're far away: locking/unlocking the doors, making sure the lights and appliances are off when you're traveling, turning on/off the heat remotely etc. IF you could do those things securely.

Too lazy to walk up to the light switch when I'm at home? Just no.

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

#144

Post by elif »

eh, It doesn't scare me because they have the name, credit card, and exclusive control over the lock on the attacker's door. You'd have to commit so many counts of fraud and hacking in order to attempt getting away with it, that the reward just doesn't seem there to me.

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

#145

Post by pjc50 »

Klathmon wrote: post #97
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

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…

I think if people actually wanted the products, they'd be more likely to offer constructive solutions.

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

#146

Post by saint-loup »

I work in a flagship building in France, known for its environmental compliance and automation features. It's quite nice, but there's a web app to toggle the lights, the blinds and whatnot. And guess what, the logins to other floors are trivial to guess.

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

#147

Post by coldpie »

tedsuo wrote: post #139

All that internet, and the android tablets are still just sitting on the wall where the light switches used to be. What's the cost in hardware and electricity to move from light switches to android tablets for an entire hotel?

Look, the sales guy gave the president a _really_ nice lunch.

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

#148

Post by return0 »

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 ?

#2 I believe. Better the NSA than your auntie.

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

#149

Post by Johnny555 »

dsr_ wrote: post #123
draw_down wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I'm sure that the only thing standing between you and untold riches is your resistance to lax security measures in app-controlled sous vide machines.

The security risk in an app-controlled sous vide machine includes starting a fire that burns your house down. - Sous vide normally uses a water bath at a controlled low temperature over a long period of time. - Hike the temperature up past the boiling point, and the water is evaporated, allowing you to hike the temperature up to ignition points. - Or, cycle the electronics fast enough to overload the power supply. If…

It seems unlikely that the device received a UL certification without a simple thermal cutoff switch that is common even in low-end cooking appliances.

Even without deliberate hackers, the device needs to contend with software errors, running without water, or a stuck relay that could leave it boiling dry and overheating.

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

#150

Post by forgetsusername »

Kliment wrote: post #8
eloff wrote: post #5

Turning lights on at 3 a.m. is a nuisance. Knowing when lights go on and off can tell you when the people are not in their room - which could help if you wanted to break in and steal their stuff. Overall quite disconcerting how lax they are with security.

I think the implication was that some asshole can obtain photos of you sleeping by opening the curtains and switching on the lights in the middle of the night. A nuisance, sure, but also a massive violation of privacy.

>the implication was that some asshole can obtain photos of you sleeping by opening the curtains and switching on the lights in the middle of the night.

So, somebody is going to set up shop across the way, in what is probably another commercial building, commit a couple of crimes, all to take a picture of some random, likely unidentifiable person sleeping in a hotel bed?

Personally, I'm not very worried about that.

I mean, it's not like there aren't easier attack vectors for creeping on people in hotel rooms if you were so inclined.

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