Privacy is being redefined in homes and small businesses
With all its potential, the Internet of Things has problems.
The single biggest one of these relates to privacy. This came into sharp focus last year when a smart TV producer revealed that their products were always on and could easily record private conversations. If the servers housing those recordings were hacked, it could put a variety of sensitive information into the hands of extremely unsavory people.
Late last year, recordings made by an Amazon Echo were requested to help in a murder investigation, which marks the start of a disturbing trend. This trend has consumers increasingly rejecting smart devices.
There's a lot of good. But no one really knows about all the bad. Yet.
In theory, smart devices are fantastic, especially when several are chained together. Your thermostat can track your comings and goings, only activating when people are home. Your blinds can be tied into the system, opening and closing based on your patterns of movement inside your home. Lights can learn to turn on and off automatically via the same principles, and cumulatively, these things working seamlessly, in tandem, can save you a tremendous amount of money.
The problem, though, is that the data required to make all that function has to be stored somewhere, which means it is at risk. Further, device manufacturers cannot survive simply by selling their smart products. They need to charge subscription fees to make up the difference, and customers have, so far, not expressed much interest in paying to expose their data to risk of theft.
What does this mean in your business?
Yesterday, we talked about some risks and problems we've encountered helping clients with IT services around Tampa who've integrated smart devices into their small businesses. The example Angel talked about in our Ask DataCorps Live weekly web show was about one of our clients who'd gone to a security company looking for cameras to secure their facility. When the client asked DataCorps to audit the devices, we found that the security company had installed the cameras, which are connected via wifi, to a completely unsecured wifi network. A hacker wouldn't have even needed a password to access the surveillance cameras and gather information from them.
If that sounds scary, don't panic. First, watch that web show. We give you a quick run down on what needs to be done to secure your devices. One simple, two-minute step will leave your network more secure than it was this morning. Next, give us a call. We are experts in outsourced IT and have helped businesses all over the Tampa and Lakeland area keep their clients' data safe.
In a world that increasingly connected, we've got your back.
