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Greedy datagrabs, crap security will KILL the Internet of Thingies

IoT still lacks definition, for one

No internet, just networks

I was strangely assured to hear Tata’s Elliot say he would never install a Wi-Fi webcam in his own home – because it was certain to be hacked. If the panel’s biggest evangelist for a connected-everything IoT didn’t want a connected-everything world, maybe it was going to be a hard sell.

The more I examine the IoT, the more concerned I become about security. Most connected devices don’t use basic encryption, let alone a VPN. Here’s an HP security audit of 10 random connected appliances (PDF). It’s pretty horrific.

I didn’t think an "internet" for things is at all necessary: most data (like sensor data) doesn’t need to leave your house. Any that data does, both can and should be sent in a strongly encrypted bundle. Even Kevin Kelly, who thinks humans are badly programmed robots and who promotes the ‘Quantified Self’ — obsessive self-monitoring – doesn’t think we should be sending everything into the cloud.

The problem with the IoT is the "internet" part. There is no internet — it's lots of networks talking. So, if an IoT looks like today's internet — something with no security, no ownership rules, and which is ruled by a few massive consumer data processing companies — who is going to want in? Far from being the people who know best, Silicon Valley’s VCs and entrepreneurs – who don’t respect data as property — are probably the people least capable in the world of convincing us that it will work.

I’m talking at the tenth Battle of Ideas at the Barbican this weekend — talking about whether it’s time for the technology industry to grow up, and on "Can We Tame The Weather?" which has full of interesting and lively battles.

Other Reg reader-friendly highlights from the dozens of battles include whether narcissism like social media and selfies killed serious journalism, whether Big Data is worth the risk (and hype), whether robots will take all our jobs and (I’m going to enjoy this one) looking at the compulsory-coding-for-kids mania. ®

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