Big Brother is definitely watching. We all knew there was the possibility the government may spy on us, but when recently a US intelligence chief has acknowledged that agencies might use a new generation of smart household devices to increase their surveillance capabilities, all hell broke loose.
It suddenly became obvious that connected household devices are a potential treasure trove to intelligence agencies seeking unobtrusive ways to listen to and watch a target, and we came to realize that, although the increasing number of connected devices in our homes is designed to offer added convenience, it can easily backfire on us.
Moreover, there have been red flags all along in the media: police have already been asking Google-owned company Dropcam for footage from cameras inside people’s homes meant to keep an eye on their kids. Also, Fitbit data has already been used in court against defendants multiple times. In February 2015, news reports revealed that microphones on Samsung “smart” televisions were “always on” so as to receive any audio that it could interpret as an instruction. Also, a new Barbie has the ability to spy on you, listening to Barbie owners to respond but also sending what it hears back to the mothership at Mattel.
What is their excuse? The US government sees the use of Internet of Things as an opportunity to assess the threats facing the state, especially when dealing with terrorism. And this strikes a sensible chord in the minds of a nation that is in a constant fight with an ever-present invisible enemy.
However, this comes as a contrast to FBI’s recent claim that they are “going dark”, by losing the ability to spy on suspects because of encryption, mainly because federal agencies have so many more avenues for spying, and now Internet of Things is another option to play peeping Tom with claims national security is at stake.
The effect on the common user of this new information brought to light is chilling. More users become concerned about smart home-style technologies that threaten to impinge on domestic privacy, and if IoT becomes synonymous in the public mind with ‘I spy’, this could be a knock-on effect on the adoption of IoT devices.
In a nutshell, these small and innocent-looking devices seem to have not just the ability to track your real-time location, look into and harvest visuals and ambient noise from your domestic environment, but also the capability to crack into the content of your digital communications. Still, do not fear, companies are not so eager to just share any type of information with the government, and the data that they do share is often encrypted. So you can sleep safely tonight - just don’t forget to plug in your smart alarm clock.
About Andreea Nita
Andreea has been a news editor at The Paypers for two years, and she is specialized on the topics of web fraud, digital identity and online authentication as well as Bitcoin and blockchain. With a keen passion for writing and an eye for the new technological developments, she is always on the lookout for the most recent updates in the industry, bringing her own view into the picture.
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