hen you want to insult someone in tech-
speak, all you have to do is use the L-word:
‘Luddite’. Everyone knows what it means:
a stupid stick-in-the-mud who can’t handle the
wonders of technology.
At least, that’s what many people think. Its true
meaning lies in events in the early 19th Century, when
textile workers – supposedly led by one Ned Ludd –
revolted against new weaving technology that made
thousands redundant, in some cases with devastating
consequences.
So Luddites are actually people who are
concerned that technology is being foisted
on them by big business regardless of the
consequences. In which case, I’m a card-carrying
Luddite when it comes to the so-called Internet
of Things (IoT).
Don’t be fooled by the boring-sounding name:
the IoT really is a revolution in the making.
We all know how the internet has transformed
society. The IoT is an even bigger deal: a global
network of interconnected devices, able to
exchange data with each other. Everything from
TVs to lights to cars to... well, you name it.
So soon your car will drive you to your
destination, find the best parking spot, tell your
house when you’re returning home, get the heating
and dinner on, while your wristband monitor tells
your TV what mood you’re in and fixes the night’s
entertainment. Can’t wait for the arrival of this tech-
nirvana – or left cold by it? It makes no difference:
it’s coming your way.
You probably have some
‘IoT-ready’ technology
in your home already. That’s
because tech companies
can’t wait to ‘optimise your
experience’ – that is, collect
a tonne of data about you
and then sell it on to energy
utilities, health insurers and
any other ‘interested parties’.
Frankly, I’d rather put the central heating on myself than have that
lot knowing more about me. But that’s not my biggest concern
about the IoT. Relatively speaking, they’re the good guys. What
bothers me is that in the race to roll out this tech, too little is being
done to keep out the bad guys.
Forget the wide-eyed space cadet stuff about the IoT; the truth
is that most of the underlying technology is scarily primitive. And
with time, the IoT will no doubt become the target of choice
among hackers, spooks and terrorists. Security experts are warning
that the IoT already links together hundreds of millions of devices
whose vulnerabilities cannot be patched.The next web revolution could create a hacker’s heaven
The Last Word
ROBERT MATTHEWS is Visiting Professor in Science at Aston University, BirminghamThe resulting threat isn’t theoretical, either: one tech company
recently exposed this by using the IoT to hijack baby monitors, spy
remotely and take control of home computers. Meanwhile, the IoT
grows ever larger: industry estimates suggest that within five years
it will have connected up 10 times more devices than there are
humans on Earth.
It’s all happening far too fast for governments. By the time they agree
to global risk standards, we’ll all be caught up in this web. So what
can we do? I believe that our best hope lies in the good old-fashioned
internet. We can use this to detect and alert each other to all the dodgy
devices that threaten our safety and privacy – and get the companies
who make them named, shamed and sued. In short, we need to flip the
threat from the IoT around, and make sure big businesses know we are
keeping tabs on them.
The Luddites lost their fight because they lacked the power to make
profiteering fat cats take their concerns seriously. Two centuries on, we
have that power literally at our fingertips. We need to use it, as very
soon we may just lose it. ß“What bothers
me is that in the
race to roll out this
tech, too little is
being done to keep
out the bad guys”
W
The Internet of
Things brings
with it a raft of
new security
concernsILLUSTRATOR: DEM ILLUSTRATION