Forty years ago, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft, and their goal was to put a computer on each desk.
Then, no one took them seriously, and tried to block them, and then before anyone achieved their goal: almost everyone has a Windows machine, and governments are still floundering to find a way to re-Microsoft «monopoly» to the bottle.
– Technology achievements
This kind of achievement is repeated time and again in the world of technology. For example, Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to connect "everyone" to each other, is looking for funny and hard-to-reach things. The owners of these dreams are protected from censorship and scrutiny, which is confirmed by the reality of the impossibility of achieving their plan, says American expert Farhad Mango. As we see their impact on society, it is often too late to do anything about them.
This is happening again today. In recent years, major powers in the technology world have focused their attention on a new goal of digital conquest.
– Internet things
What is the new goal of the industry? There is no computer on every desk, no contact between all the people, but something bigger: a computer inside everything, everything connected: cars, door locks, contact lenses, clothes, roasting machines, refrigerators, industrial robots, aquariums, toys, Toothbrushes, motorcycle helmets … These and many other things we use every day are listed on the «Switch to Intelligence» list. Today hundreds of small startups are involved in this trend, which is known in the world of marketing as "Internet things." But as with everything else in the world of technology, this trend is led by giants, including Amazon, Apple and Samsung.
"In general, I'm not pessimistic, but it's really hard not to be like that," said Bruce Schneier, a security consultant who studies the risks posed by the Internet.
Schneier discusses the economic and technical incentives for the internet industry and considers that they do not serve the security and privacy of society in general, as putting a computer in everything turns the whole world into a computer that threatens security. The attacks and loopholes discovered over the past few weeks in Facebook and Google illustrate the difficulty of achieving digital security, even for the largest technology companies. In a robotic world, cyber attacks will not only affect your data, but may endanger your property, life, and even national security.
– catastrophic attacks
"Only government intervention can save us from the catastrophic attacks. Speaking of other ideas, the security adviser points to the need for a new US federal agency, such as the National Cyber Bureau, which he sees as responsible for the task of researching, consulting and coordinating responses to the threats posed by the Internet.
At a press conference last month, an Amazon engineer showed how easy it was to create a "smart" fan by using an Amazon chip known as Alexa Connect Kit. This tool, which Amazon is testing today, in cooperation with some manufacturers, can connect to the fan console during assembly, and require manufacturers to write a few lines that act as symbols. In the example of the propeller, the Amazon engineer needed only half a page of symbols.
Finally, all the small digital parts in the fan (including security and cloud storage) will be handled by Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon, the fan will automatically connect to your home network and start obeying the orders issued by Alexa. All you have to do is connect to the Internet.
This system explains the biggest argument discussed by Schneier, that the cost of adding a computer to things will become very low, so manufacturers will feel that it is better to connect all kinds of devices to the Internet.
– Security problem
This trend will be a kind of logic in the market, even if its benefits are modest. At a certain point not far from today, non-Internet-enabled devices will become more scarce than others connected to the network.
But the problem is that business models for these devices do not often provide the kind of static and permanent security that we are used to in more traditional computing devices. Apple has an incentive to keep security updates in place to keep iPhone phones secure, and they do so because iPhones sell at high prices. The Apple brand is primarily based on keeping your safety safe from digital terror.
But makers of cheap home appliances have modest experience and fewer incentives. That's why the fragile security of Internet remains so fragile today. It was this vulnerability that prompted the FBI to warn parents last year of the dangers of "smart games," which is also why Dan Coates, director of the National Security Service, Smart devices as a growing threat to national security.
A representative from Amazon says the company was working to put security at the heart of its smart technologies. The company says Connect Connect allows Amazon to maintain digital security in smartphones, and the company will often be better at security than anyone else who manufactures home appliances. As part of its cloud business, Amazon also offers a corporate service that enables it to audit the security of Internet services.
But the Internet Internet Association, an industry group representing dozens of companies, avoids answering any queries.
Getting anything online can offer the community many benefits. But the threat that could result from such a contact could be much greater. So, we should not go quickly to this mysterious future.
