So How to Defend Yourself?<\/i><\/p>\n
Wherever you\u2019re sitting right now, take a moment to note the connected devices around you. In your pocket or handbag, you probably have an electronic key fob and perhaps a rechargeable subway card embedded with RFID. You likely have a smartphone, which is connected to a Wi-Fi network and also has voice-mail service. You might be wearing a Nike FuelBand<\/a>, or a Fitbit<\/a>, or possibly even a new pair of Google Glass. Maybe you can spot a traffic light or an orange highway sign out of your window. A power strip is likely not too far away.<\/p>\n All of these devices share one thing in common: They can be hacked.<\/p>\n As we herald the coming Internet of Things, it\u2019s easy to forget that our ever expanding tech playground is mostly unsupervised. There is no playground teacher to blow a whistle when another kid takes control of your Bluetooth headset. There is no Norton antivirus software for your garage door opener.<\/p>\n If you can plug it in or connect it to a network, your device\u2014no matter what it is\u2014can be harnessed by someone else. And that someone doesn\u2019t have to be a Chinese superhacker to do some serious damage with it, either on purpose or by accident. It can be your Uncle Roger, who doesn\u2019t have his new iPhone figured out and is cluelessly turning your lights on and off via your Belkin WeMo<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a hobbyist. Because I study emerging technology and the future of media, I\u2019m often tinkering, breaking things, and putting them back together. Once, I wanted to see if I could break into the protected Wi-Fi network we set up for my daughter at home. Less than an hour later, I\u2019d failed to penetrate her network but managed to shut down the main network for our house. Which I knew, because of my husband\u2019s sudden yelling upstairs: \u201cWhy is the IRS website redirecting to Sesame Street?!\u201d<\/p>\n Part of what makes new technology so exciting is that, unlike the old days, it works right out of the box. You no longer need to know how to build a computer, connect a modem, run a terminal emulator, and install bulletin board system, or BBS, software in order to send a racy message to a co-worker. Now any tech idiot can download Snapchat and accidentally send a racy photo to his sister-in-law. The tech playground is more accessible and, as a result, increasingly problematic.<\/p>\n Just after the annual Black Hat<\/a> Internet security convention a few months ago in Las Vegas, I asked a group of my friends\u2014a Navy engineer, a professional hacker, and a hobbyist\u2014to help me come up with a quick list of devices that will be vulnerable during the next few years as the Internet of Things becomes widespread.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our (incomplete) list. (Entries with a * are those we\u2019ve tried hacking at home, for fun.):<\/p>\n Obvious:<\/b><\/p>\n smartwatches* Less Obvious:<\/b><\/p>\n power strips (can be infected with malware)
\nsmartphones*
\ncomputers*
\ntablets and phablets*
\nhome computer locks*
\nthe cloud (services, storage, software)
\nATMs at banks
\nprinters
\nGPS devices*
\nWi-Fi routers*
\nwebcams*
\nthumb and portable USB drives
\nhotel and gym safes (they tend to use a single default passcode)
\ncable box or DVR
\nvoice mail (especially those with a global call-in number that doesn\u2019t lock out after successive failed attempts\u2014we saw this with the News of the World<\/i> scandal)<\/p>\n
\npower cords for your devices (code can be implanted)
\nluggage trackers (such as the Trakdot<\/a>)
\nconnected glasses (Google Glass, Oculus Rift. As of now, Google\u2019s QR barcodes for Wi-Fi store the full access point name and password as plain text)
\ngaming consoles: PS3, Kinect, Nintendo*
\nrefrigerators (such as Samsung)
\ncars with computer operating systems
\nsmart pens (like the Livescribe)
\ngesture control devices (such as the Leap<\/a>)*
\nSD cards
\ncameras
\nsmart alarm clocks*
\ncoffee makers
\nkey fobs
\nlight switches*
\nmoisture sensors*
\nkitchen and pantry trackers (such as Egg Minder<\/a>)
\ninsurance driving monitors, such as Progressive\u2019s Snapshot device
\ntraffic lights (MIRT transmitters<\/a> can change lights to green in two to three seconds)
\nhighway signs that spell out text<\/a><\/p>\n