The Internet of Risky Things

Chapter 1. Brave New Internet

The coming Internet of Things (IoT) distributes computational devices massively in almost any axis imaginable and connects them intimately to previously noncyber aspects of human life.¹ Analysts predict that by 2020 humanity will have over 25 billion networked devices, embedded throughout our homes, clothing, factories, cities, vehicles, buildings, and bodies. If we build this new internet the way we built the current Internet of Computers (IoC), we are heading for trouble: humans cannot effectively reason about security when devices become too long-lived, too cheap, too tightly tied to physical life, too invisible, and too many.

This book explores the deeper issues and principles behind the risks to security, privacy, and society. What we do in the next few years is critical.

Worst-Case Scenarios: Cyber Love Canal

Many visionaries, researchers, and commercial actors herald the coming of the Internet of Things. Computers will no longer look like computers but rather like thermostats, household appliances, lightbulbs, clothing, and automobiles; these embedded systems will permeate our living environments and converse with one another and all other networked computers.

What’s more, these systems will intimately interact with the physical world: with our homes, schools, businesses, and bodies—in fact, that’s the point. In the visions put forth, the myriad embedded devices magically enhance our living environments, adjusting lights, temperature, music, ...