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Canonical, maker of Ubuntu Linux and its Internet of Things variant, has discovered the obvious – that people cannot be trusted to secure their connected devices.
Thibaut Rouffineau, evangelist for Ubuntu Core and the Internet of Things, admitted late last week that developers and IoT device makers know people seldom update the firmware of connected devices. But, he argues, they probably don't realize how bad the security situation has become.
The distro maker says it surveyed 2,000 folks about how they dealt with connected devices. It found that less than a third of respondents (31 per cent) installed updates as soon as they were available. Some 40 per cent never knowingly updated their devices.
"In other words, consumers are leaving their devices open to exploits and hacks, from DDoS attacks to invasions of personal privacy or theft of personal data," said Rouffineau.
Why such disinterest? According to Rouffineau, almost two thirds of respondents felt that keeping software updated – their security – was not their responsibility.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22 2016, @03:27PM
*Pshaw* IoT (Internet-of-Things) is so passee.
The GoT (Grid-of-Things) is the new wave and my solar panels are feeding it daily ^_^
caveat: the barrier to entry for IoT is much much lower then for GoT.
Nobody cares if your IoT device becomes a node in a gigantic botnet that takes down medical equipment in a hospital or crashes an airport.
just buy and plug-and-go. like a dishwasher or fridge or washing machine or hairdryer or lamp or microwave-oven or water-heater or ...
To connect your GoT however, a ton of permits and certificates and permissions are required else your GoT might destabilize the Grid and then ... oh wait.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22 2016, @04:09PM
I'm not well sited for solar (too many big trees in the yard), but if I ever decide to add panels, I'm inclined to set up a non-grid connected system. For example, enough panels to keep some batteries charged on average, and an inverter to run the constant loads in the house like computers and the cable box that is always on.
Your experience with hooking to the grid reinforces this train of thought...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22 2016, @07:59PM
I'm not well sited for solar (too many big trees in the yard), but if I ever decide to add panels, I'm inclined to set up a non-grid connected system.
That's how you multiply the costs a few-fold. There is a reason why storage, not production, is the problem for solar and wind.