 |
| Courtesy of technotification.com |
By
Hector Cisneros
Our world
is an ever widening set of connections, growing in complexity and diversity every
day. With each new type of connection comes
the potential for hacking. Every
new Internet of things (IoT) device comes with the potential for loss of privacy.
With each new type of counter-surveillance comes the potential for abuse from the
government and criminals as well. Most of the technology we have invented
sprang from an idea of how to make things easier, more user-friendly, and more useful
to the average person. This approach often neglects the necessary safeguards
needed to protect unsophisticated users from very intelligent and sophisticated
criminals bent on taking advantage of the loopholes present in technology that
has been rushed to market. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will cover
the current state of US internet privacy and security, so that every consumer will
be prepared for the onslaught of loss of privacy that is coming. So read on and
learn how to protect yourself in the current era of Internet insecurity.
How did we get here? The road to perdition is
not a straight and narrow one. It is full of ups and downs, winding curves and lots
of dead ends. Our love affair with technology goes all the way back to the Stone
Age. Technology for the most part is designed to make life easier. In fact, it expands
our capabilities. Some would argue that our ability to create and use technology
is what separates us from the animal kingdom. But there is such a thing as too much
of a good thing! Especially if that “good thing” is not well thought out! Technology
evolves faster than does our wisdom to employ it safely. That occurs for the
most part due to the fact that our mental evolution is not linear.
 |
| Courtesy of grtcorp.com |
Our society
is not homogeneous when it comes to understanding, using and even being responsible
for the proper implementation of technology. (The Manhattan Project is an
example of the yin and yang inherent whenever mankind makes a technological
leap.) Using technology requires training, lots of learning and practice. To make
matters worse, new tech products are often released with minimal testing. In fact,
the release of today’s Internet-enabled products is often tested in the real world.
This laissez-faire attitude with products connected to the internet (i.e. The Internet
of Things) has left us very vulnerable to all kinds of malicious hacker attacks.
At the same time, it has made it possible for a massive invasion of our privacy.
Big Brother Built-In - Many of these new products
are designed to listen in and track most of what we do in our everyday lives. Some
would say that the scenario can’t get any more Orwellian, but it can and will. Many
of these new IoT products have artificial intelligence built into them as well.
This new technology is being implemented with minimal privacy safeguards. Since
all of these IoT devices are connected via the Internet, the possibility of losing
control of the infrastructure of our lives depend is extremely high.
What do I mean by losing control of the infrastructure
of our lives?
That’s simple. Today, traffic lights, water systems, electricity, banking, gas lines,
security monitoring, cell phone communications, air traffic control, our nation's
defense, food distribution scheduling, you name it, all most everything is now managed
via some kind of internet connection. Now many of these services are becoming more
automated. That means these new AI IoT devices are very susceptible to hacking!
Criminals, enemy governments, and terrorist groups no longer have to possess weapons
of mass destruction to do this country real harm. All they have to do is master the hacking of IoT.
Today evrything from Barbie Dolls
to your Jeep Grand Cherokee can be hacked. According to an article in WIRED called How the Internet of Things Got
Hacked-
 |
| Courtesy of hackersnewsbulletin.com |
“Security researchers Charlie
Miller and Chris Valasek forever altered the automobile industry’s notion of “vehicle
safety” in July when they demonstrated for WIRED that they could remotely hack a 2014 Jeep
Cherokee to disable its transmission and brakes. Their work led Fiat Chrysler
to issue an unprecedented recall for 1.4 million vehicles, mailing out USB drives
with a patch for the vulnerable infotainment systems and blocking the attack on
the Sprint network that connected its cars and trucks.”
Columbia University researchers Yossef Oren and Angelos Keromytis revealed a vulnerability in the main spec for the Digital Video Broadcasting consortium, Hybrid Broadcast-Broadband Television (HbbTV), which is used by the vast majority of smart TV makers.
Dubbed the “red-button attack”, this man-in-the-middle hack could be used to intercept data – including sound and pictures – and use the stream to takeover apps being shown on the TV, letting hackers post to your Facebook, for example. “
My last example is one from MIT Technology Review written by Tom Simonite where he discusses how the Chinese were caught trying to infiltrate U.S municipal water control systems. The article states: “The group, known as APT1, was caught by a research project that provides the most significant proof yet that people are actively trying to exploit the vulnerabilities in industrial control systems. Many of these systems are connected to the Internet to allow remote access (see “Hacking Industrial Systems Turns Out to Be Easy”).
 |
| Courtesy of |
APT1, also known as Comment Crew, was lured by a dummy control system set up by Kyle Wilhoit, a researcher with security company Trend Micro, who gave a talk on his findings at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas.
The attack began in December 2012, says Wilhoit, when a Word document hiding malicious software was used to gain full access to his U.S.-based decoy system, or “honeypot.” The malware used, and other characteristics, were unique to APT1, which security company Mandiant has claimed operates as part of China’s army (see “Exposé of Chinese Data Thieves Reveals Sloppy Tactics”).”
If you do an Internet search you will find hundreds of examples of how IoT devices are being hacked. I know that security experts are working on plugging the security holes, but a lot of that work is happening after the fact, not in pre-release testing! No one is testing cheap Chinese electronic devices being sold everywhere (Including on the internet). Heck, I would be willing to bet that some smart hacker is going to start selling his own vulnerable IoT devices to the unsuspecting public so that they can have their own crew of zombie devices in the field, ready to do their bidding – without having to actually hack them. They will just use the built-in back door already there.
 |
| Courtesy of ilkleyitservices.co.uk |
What can we do as individuals?
Make sure you take responsibility for your own privacy and internet security by
thoroughly completing your due diligence on any IoT product you plan on purchasing
or using. Make sure you have proper safeguards in place to protect your personal
information and assets. We have written blogs about how to protect yourself from
hackers in the past. Check out the recent article we wrote called “The Crypto Crunch – Ransomware Run Amuck”
- to find 13 things you can do to protect
your digital devices.
What can we do as a Business
to protect itself? A
lot! Read our article called “Are You Prepared for the Onslaught of Cyber-Attacks?”
It provides more than two dozen ways a
business can implement procedures, security products and techniques to protect
themselves.
You can purchase dedicated security devices to increase network
protection for the office. You can also employ intruder traps and a variety of hardware,
software detection devices to help stem the tide of cyber-attacks by hackers. Using
a commercial grade secure smartphone can also be a wise move as well. US government
officials use specially hardened smartphones to protect their communications. Anyone
can purchase a Blackphone or encryption software from Silence Circles (and others)
to exponentially increase their privacy and security.
Use a VPN to Mask your
IP Address - Something that has been getting a lot of attention
lately is the use of VPN’s. Virtual Private Networks are not new. However, using
them as a gateway to get on the internet will hide your IP address is. Hiding your
IP address makes your IP address anonymous and thus eliminates many forms of censorship
and tracking. An Article on Guiding Tech by Yadon provides
a great explanation on what it is and how it works. By using a VPN, you
can mask your IP address which ensures a greater level of privacy and security.
 |
| Courtesy of arkwebshost.com |
There’s More - There
are also many plugin’s and browser settings that can increase privacy and security. You can always turn off cookies in your browser
and many browsers have an incognito mode (although not totally private) as well.
I use SearchLock in my Chrome Browser and it provides a higher level
of privacy than just using the incognito setting. If you go to the browser store
and search for privacy plug-ins you will find several you can try. Along these same
lines you can get popup/Adware blockers you can add to your browsers as well. We
have mentioned many ways to protect your systems privacy and security in other articles.
In my article the “Piracy of Privacy - The looting of Privacy in
America”, I provide 12 ways
you can improve your privacy without breaking the bank. In my article entitled
“Is Google Watching you”, I further provide another half dozen ways
to protect your privacy on the internet.
To these 18 ways to protect yourself, I would also add:
 |
| Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk |
- Minimize the use of Artificially Intelligent devices. These devices keep your private information on tap to function.
- Use a throw away email address whenever possible (one you get from Gmail, yahoo etc.).
- Use one-time use credit cards to limit your financial exposure.
- Only use
https addresses when browsing on the internet. These addresses are more likely to be legit, which is why Google gives them a higher ranking factor. - Use PayPal to add an additional layer of protection to your purchases.
- When traveling (especially overseas) use a prepaid smart phone without installing any of your private info on it.
- If you want the best security, buy a secure smart phone like the Blackphone from Silent Circle.
As a society, we are now
dependent on the internet for many daily activities. These include: banking transactions,
product and service purchases, travel reservations, TV access, most of our communications,
you name it, we rely on the internet for too many things to be without it now. Americans
would go through tremendous withdrawal pains to say the least. With this in mind,
we need to step up to the plate and take responsibility to protect ourselves and
to urge the business community and our government to take decisive action to make
the internet safer. This responsibility starts with educating ourselves and taking
action using what we have learned.
Here is a list of articles we have written that can help you
get a broad overview and a deep understanding of this subject.
 |
| Courtesy of t3kd.com/internet/hp-report |
- Dirty Tricks Can Deep Six Your Business
- The Hack Attack Is Back
- I-Spies Are Looking for You
- The Trouble with Texts - New Text Virus Hits Europe
- The Grinch Goes Digital
- How to Safely Whet Your Appetite for Smartphone Apps
- It’s Time for Some Hi-Tech Spring Cleaning
- How Do I Hack Thee? Let Me Count the Ways – A Cyberstalking Primer
- How to Survive a Big Mac Attack
- Attack of the Botnets
- Who Wears a Black Hat on the Wild, Wild Web?
- How Close is the US to Experiencing a Digital Pearl Harbor?
Cyberstalking for Fun & Profit - Is There a Cyberstalker in Your Future?- Big Data Comes Wrapped in Big Danger
- Spring Cleaning Means Taking Out the Cyber Trash
- Chinese Hack Attack!
- Trick or Tweet? The Vulnerabilities Inherent to Twitter and All Social Networks
- How Freeware Can Cost You BIG
- Are You Prepared for the Onslaught of Cyber-Attacks?
- The Crypto Crunch - Ransomware Run Amok
- The Byte Before Christmas
- Working the Web - Is There a Cyber Attack in Your Future?
- Cyber Security Shuffle
- Is Google Watching you
- Piracy of Privacy - The looting of Privacy in America
 |
| Get your FREE copy below. |
I hope
you do the research necessary and take the time to learn and understand this grave
threat tour modern life. It is one of the gravest threats to our generation (even
greater than that of ISIL terrorists). The above articles will provide a broad understanding
along with a wealth of links and information to help protect you and your businesses.
Since the government is asleep at the switch when it comes to cybersecurity this
problem is ours to deal with. I hope you decide to roll up your sleeves and do your
part.
That’s
my opinion, I look forward to hearing yours.
In this article I have discussed the current state of privacy
and internet security in America today. I have provided many examples of what we
can do to improve our privacy and security, to keep cybercrime and hackers at bay.
I have also included dozens of links to other articles that provide further details
and options to help you improve your privacy and security, both in business and
your personal life.
If you feel your business could use some help with its marketing, contact us at 904-410-2091. We will provide a free marketing analysis to help you get better results. If you found this article useful, please share it with friends, family and co-workers. You can find other articles on our blog by typing in “marketing” or your desired search term in the search box at the top of this blog. Also, don’t forget to plus us, on Google+.
Hector Cisneros is
COO and director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web to Win,
an award-winning Internet marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida. He
is also co-host of the weekly Internet radio show, "Working the Web to Win"
on BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a syndicated
writer and published author of “60 Seconds to Success.”
Related articles
No comments:
Post a Comment