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[dhouston]

The headline on and picture in, the NYT article I cited were probably supplied by an editor - the only two references to cars within the article say...

...it is a system that’s going to fail in the “internet of things”: everyday devices like smart speakers, household appliances, toys, lighting systems, even cars, that are connected to the web...Fast forward five to 10 years, and the world is going to be filled with literally tens of billions of devices that hackers can attack. We’re going to see ransomware against our cars.

The rest dealt with the IoT vulnerabilities that are not likely to be patched in the manner that Microsoft supplied patches for even unsupported versions of Windows.

And, given the limited number of car manufacturers, this is likely to be more manageable there. In fact there have been other vulnerabilities found over the past few years where the auto manufacturers patched problems in their cars. Do a web search using cars hacked and you'll find some cases found by university and/or DARPA hackers.

[HA Dave]

Yeah.... as of today.... not even ONE car (in the wild) has ever been hacked. Not one, not even once.

Make your own decision:

https://nworeport.me/2017/03/09/wikileaks-journalist-investigating-cia-assassinated-in-hacked-car-crash/

Jeff

Yes.... they even advertise their publication as "conspiracy news"! I am sure all their stories are thrilling fake stories for those want to believe that government has the power of Gods.

[HA Dave]

....... Do a web search using cars hacked and you'll find some cases found by university and/or DARPA hackers.

Yes! Absolutely true. And.... if you search on Big Foot.... you'll learn that big foot's are a protected [endangered] species in Canada. It's true! Don't believe everything you read. There are reasons why human minds believe some of the crazy crap that we convince ourselves is real. But... finding reference to it on the Internet.... ain't a good one.

No One.... in the wild.... has EVER hacked even ONE car... EVER. Yet.... MILLIONS of known deaths in cars from preventable accidents. It is a total waste.... to concern ourselves with some tinfoil-hat theory about hacking a car.

Much of this stuff is like telling ghost stories around the campfire. The adults know all the old stories... and they know they aren't true. But they tell the stories to scare the kids. And in return... the kids don't wander off into the woods by themselves and get lost. Scary stories keep the frightened kids huddled-up in their tents all night.

And scary story's about the Internet [of things].... may keep a few people from exploring some of the newer home automation technologies. But mostly.... I think it just reads as silly. 

[dhouston]

Here's a scary picture of the IOT future...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/16/the-next-ransomware-hack-will-be-worse-than-the-current-one/

Everything is becoming a computer. Your microwave is a computer that makes things hot. Your refrigerator is a computer that keeps things cold. Your car and television, the traffic lights and signals in your city and our national power grid are all computers. This is the much-hyped Internet of Things (IoT). It’s coming, and it’s coming faster than you might think. And as these devices connect to the Internet, they become vulnerable to ransomware and other computer threats.

And here's evidence that hackers can definitely think outside the box.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/07/21/how-a-fish-tank-helped-hack-a-casino/

[HA Dave]

And here's evidence that hackers can definitely think outside the box.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/07/21/how-a-fish-tank-helped-hack-a-casino/

Oh sure. I am an old man.... and I've never banked at a bank that has never been robbed... worked at a company or business that wasn't burgled, robbed, or otherwise stolen from. Nor [have I] ever lived in a city, town, community, or on a street that hadn't had a break-in.

There are criminals and thieves everywhere. If I had to chose between some drugged up punk with a gun breaking-down my door in the middle of the night.... or some Finnish hacker stealing my credit card number from a resort. I'll chose the hacker.

Hackers are a first-world problem. They aren't an actual danger. The 16 year kid (with a stolen gun he's never fired)... that demands your wallet in the parking lot... THAT is a danger.

[dhouston]

While inadequate, this is a step in the right direction...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-congress-idUSKBN1AH474

[HA Dave]

While inadequate, this is a step in the right direction...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-congress-idUSKBN1AH474

Great just what every working American needs. Added regulations that increase the cost of production by adding in more layers of deep-state inspections of American made products. Like the stuff the government buys doesn't cost too much already. Besides.... internal agency regulations already make those new laws both a redundancy... and an impossibility. As no Internet device or appliance is allowed to update from non-government servers. Not even MS patches.

In many cases software driven devices with reported bugs will be corrected internally with government hired/contractor code writers.

Maybe those "Bi-partisan" law makers should be working on cutting the trillion dollars of Obamacare taxes instead of wasting time on bills they don't understand. 

[bkenobi]

The bill looks like it only applies to devices sold to the US gov't.  That would likely affect many products consumers would use as the vendors would just make sure they comply.  I'm not a fan of gov't telling industry how to do things.  I personally think that the consumers wallet should direct companies on what products they produce.  If people are informed about how bad the security of product A has vs product B, I imagine most consumers would opt for product B.  So, this would force product A to disappear or be improved.  That said, it won't work if every product is the same and all vendors refuse to fix things.  People are dumb and will buy some product even if they are all flawed.  There's a lot of people out there with 3D HDTV's that upgraded for that feature.  Considering it was junk to begin with, never got fixed, and is now dead...yeah.

[HA Dave]

The bill looks like it only applies to devices sold to the US gov't.  That would likely affect many products consumers would use as the vendors would just make sure they comply. ....

Yeah... but that isn't the way it works. Let's say your a vendor... maybe you make a computer operating system like "windows". If you want to sell windows to the government (and MS does) you would have to open your system for government review and inspection (and they did). Then any patches are also submitted for review/inspection and DL'ed to Government PC's viva government servers ONLY.

The same applies to PC's, printers, everything that CAN connect to a network.

The ONLY way to control the safety and security of every bit and bite of code.... is with the iron fist of government oversight. Who among are ready to turn our homes over to the "federal cyber inspectors" to browse though our hard drives? The NSA has already over-reached far past and constitution government power allowed.   

[dhouston]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/technology/personaltech/cybercriminals-spies.html

...refused to buy any “Internet of Things” devices, like a Nest thermostat, fearing that all those devices did was give hackers entry into my home.

The above quote is from a cybersecurity reporter for the New York Times.

[HA Dave]

.... refused to buy any “Internet of Things” devices, like a Nest thermostat, fearing that all those devices did was give hackers entry into my home.

The above quote is from a cybersecurity reporter for the New York Times.

Yep... Nicole Perlroth is the reporters name. She has won a few awards for her writing. She is blatantly open about her paranoia of an Internet intrusion. If you read through some of her work.... I am sure you'll agree she has physiological... challenges. But hey... her struggles with her admitted fears... also pays her bills. What's a gal to do? Get medical help... and loose her job? Or stay scared for the sake of a roof over her head?

Interestingly... the most common of phobia's had for decades has been "speaking in public": Glossophobia. But in recent years technology related phobias
have taken the place of the old fashion fears of yesteryear.

Technophobia: fear of technology. Technophobia is the granddaddy of them all.
Nomophobia: fear of being without a mobile device. ...
Cyberphobia: fear of computers. ...
Telephonophobia: fear of telephones. ...
Selfiephobia: fear of taking a photograph of oneself.

[bkenobi]

I didn't read the article (I've read enough that sound similar that I didn't have the interest in a rehash).  But, I wanted to say that the fear someone will break into your home is real but remote.  The odds increase in areas where there is higher crime (more criminal activity per capita) and decrease in less populated areas (less criminals because less targets?).  However, when we talk about the technophobia fear of IoT intrusions, local has nothing to do with it nor does number of criminals.  The issue with these devices is that a script kiddie can launch a mass attack on a wide range of addresses and devices with little knowledge and just let the computer tell them what they've come up with.  It's not like someone has to go to every home and do all the work to break in.  They simply download a prepackaged tool and hit the run button.  Yes, I'm over simplifying, but it's still on point.  Oh, and this ignores the NSA issue because that's not going away and is certainly worse.

Until the device manufacturers make security concerns a priority, people who write these type of scare tactic articles will have a base to sell to and will keep a roof over their heads.  It's not her fault she has a job.   

[HA Dave]

.........
Until the device manufacturers make security concerns a priority, people who write these type of scare tactic articles will have a base to sell to and will keep a roof over their heads.  It's not her fault she has a job.   

When device sales drop.... or because of real concerns by either governments, lobbyists, constituents, or the device buying public. Then and only then will something be done. Need equals product. Leonardo da Vinci actually conceived the parachute idea in 1485 although few seemed interested in the inverted tent idea...... until someone made airplanes

I don't expect my next iPhone to be made super-volcano resistant.... even if my Internet searches make me paranoid of an erupting Yellowstone Park.  However.... if an actual threat besieges my phone I am sure I will see appropriate protections. 

Every Internet device will eventually be infected, or hacked in some way. Also.... every American will be a victim of some sort of crime.... most will be victim to violent crime. I'd much prefer the Chinese learn my shopping habits via a malware add-on to a free game trial.... than roll around in a parking lot with some meth-head with a big hunting knife.
   
Sure it can be great to have Paul riding through the night waving his lantern (an American reference to a legitimate timely warning)..... but it is a pain in the rear to hear the constant wild scream of WOLF, WOLF, WOLF. And unfortunately.... I am left to wonder. Does a longtime highly valued contributor of HA technology have a health issue.... or is this meant to be a naughty prank of some kind?

   

[dhouston]

It looks like another major botnet is on the horizon...
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/get-ready-reaper-botnet-it-s-already-infected-over-million-n813826

[dhouston]

And today's IoT vulnerability is...
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/hacked-home-devices-can-spy-you-n814671