Not good, not good at all....

RAMWolffRAMWolff Posts: 10,211
edited October 2016 in The Commons

Brace yourselves—source code powering potent IoT DDoSes just went public

Release could allow smaller and more disciplined Mirai botnet to go mainstream.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/10/brace-yourselves-source-code-powering-potent-iot-ddoses-just-went-public/

Post edited by RAMWolff on
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Comments

  • ScavengerScavenger Posts: 2,664

    ....what?

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,143
    Scavenger said:

    ....what?

    It means that just about any Tom, Dick, or Larry can now run a Distributed Denial Of Service attack on pretty much any web site using the 'Internet of Things' - web-connected thermostats, televison sets, refrigerators - just about anything with a web interface. And most of these things have crap security and virtually no code update provision.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,020

    ...brace yoursleves for a new age of cyber terrorism.

  • ByrdieByrdie Posts: 1,782

    With the possible exception of TVs, can somebody tell me why we need an "Internet of Things" anyway? Honestly, what the heck does my fridge or coffee pot have to do other than keep my food cold & make coffee and they don't need the internet for that. This is ridiculous!

  • Byrdie said:

    With the possible exception of TVs, can somebody tell me why we need an "Internet of Things" anyway? Honestly, what the heck does my fridge or coffee pot have to do other than keep my food cold & make coffee and they don't need the internet for that. This is ridiculous!

    Agreed. The internet of things is just another marketing scheme designed to sell more garbage.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,999

    Eh, it'd be nice to know if I'm in the grocery store to remember 'wait, do we still have that second container of milk?'

    Or to have a list that automatically updates as we run out of stuff. Or whatever.

     

    Do we 'need' it? That's a really finicky thing. I mean, do we need fridges?

     

  • j cadej cade Posts: 2,310

    Eh, it'd be nice to know if I'm in the grocery store to remember 'wait, do we still have that second container of milk?'

    Or to have a list that automatically updates as we run out of stuff. Or whatever.

     

    Do we 'need' it? That's a really finicky thing. I mean, do we need fridges?

     

    I mean depending on where you live and the local availability of food, yeah you really do. (Not just where food is coming from, but lets say your nearest grocery store is an hour + away)... I mean unless you're planing to live off canned food and root vegetables

    That aside, I think some of the iot is pretty silly, bit if it includes self driving cars, sign me up.
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,999

    If you CAN live off canned food and root vegetables, then a fridge isn't a necessity. And if you choose to live somewhere where fridges are required (or something), well, that's still not a necessity, you could move. And train yourself to make your own tools and weapons, and hunt deer...

     

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Well, I'm happy to say this is not something I am going to have to worry about anytime soon.

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,747
     

     

    Do we 'need' it? That's a really finicky thing. I mean, do we need fridges?

     

    I would say YES!

  • RAMWolffRAMWolff Posts: 10,211

    I think allot of folks are looking forward to having a "smart house" at one point so if there is a way to hack that, esp smart locks to homes and other places it's creepy to think someone could want to gain access against your wishes.  As for needing a fridge?  HELL YES I NEED A FRIDGE!  lol

  • How many people can honestly say that cameras in the fridge are a definite help? I cant keep up on cleaning my fridge all the time, but even when it is "spotless", something is always hidden behind something else. I need to look into my fridge to put together my shopping list. Even then, do I put internet enabled cameras in the kitchen cabinets to check on how much rice I have left? How about the pantry? Why dont I put cameras in the bathroom so that I know how much tp I have left?

    Maybe my tinfoil hat is on just a little too tight, but I strongly believe that marketing strategies that cater to consumer convenience do nothing more than create dependancy.

    And, yes. Refrigeration is necessary.

  • dreamfarmerdreamfarmer Posts: 2,128

    The Internet of Things is really helpful to a lot of people with various inborn and acquired (possibly via age) functional disabilities. They'll just have to improve security. It's an endless cycle.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    The Internet of Things is really helpful to a lot of people with various inborn and acquired (possibly via age) functional disabilities. They'll just have to improve security. It's an endless cycle.

    What happened to writing a list?  I'm not being facetious but, I write a list so I remember what I need.  I just can't see it as a necessity,  A luxury? yes if you are into that kind of thing.  Necessary? Not for me.  

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited October 2016

    I live in an old fashioned house.  It was built back in the 1830s.  No way this is ever going to be a smart house. Heck even wireless is almost a no no here, as the walls are 18'-24" think and built of stone.  My radio controlled clocks I have to put on a windowsill the night of clock change, to ensure that they do change.

    When I was a very young child we didn't have a fridge.  Milk was delivered to the door daily, and stored in the coldest room in the house (the larder), standing in a bowl of cold water which was itself stood on a an old piece of marble. A cloth was draped over  the top of the ,ilk bottle with the corners trailing in the water.  Elegant it wasn't, but it did work.  Meat was kept in a meat safe in the larder, which was airconditioned ( one window had a wire grid instead of a pane of glass  smiley )  Washing was done by hand and put through the mangle before being hung on the washing line.

    We survived.

    Post edited by Chohole on
  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,168

    I DO need a fridge ;). Do I need a fridge that tells me what I need to get from the store? That has a camera on the inside and a tablet on the outside? NO....I've done without it for 50 years and think I can go the rest of the way doing things the old-fashioned way - writing lists and forgetting things sometimes :P. I don't use Facebook (have an account but never use it or look at it), Google Now, Siri or Cortana and don't intend to in the future. I value my privacy. And the whole Google/Microsoft thing wanting your info and that if I have nothing to hide it shouldn't matter? Well, I have nothing to hide, but it DOES matter. It's a messy bed we're making for ourselves in this Big Brother/1984 distopia, and soon we're going to have to lie in it.

    Laurie

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,999

    My point is that we like having our modern life because it makes life better, easier, more secure, etc. And people squinting at the next thing coming down the pike are being silly, given the long line of ancestors behind them squinting.

     

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 14,009
    j cade said:

    Eh, it'd be nice to know if I'm in the grocery store to remember 'wait, do we still have that second container of milk?'

    Or to have a list that automatically updates as we run out of stuff. Or whatever.

     

    Do we 'need' it? That's a really finicky thing. I mean, do we need fridges?

     

     

    I mean depending on where you live and the local availability of food, yeah you really do. (Not just where food is coming from, but lets say your nearest grocery store is an hour + away)... I mean unless you're planing to live off canned food and root vegetables

     

    That aside, I think some of the iot is pretty silly, bit if it includes self driving cars, sign me up.

    How do you think they survived without fridges in the past. They cured all their meats and fish so it will stay good for a very long time.

  • My point is that we like having our modern life because it makes life better, easier, more secure, etc. And people squinting at the next thing coming down the pike are being silly, given the long line of ancestors behind them squinting.

    I disagree completely. Modern life has become riddled with complications. Better? Modern things do not make life better. Its the people around you, your support structure that makes life better. More secure? The whole point of this topic was to demonstrate how at risk your security can really be.

    And my opinions are exactly that. I ask no one to subscribe to my beliefs. But they are mine even if they are silly.

  • frank0314 said:
    j cade said:

    Eh, it'd be nice to know if I'm in the grocery store to remember 'wait, do we still have that second container of milk?'

    Or to have a list that automatically updates as we run out of stuff. Or whatever.

     

    Do we 'need' it? That's a really finicky thing. I mean, do we need fridges?

     

     

    I mean depending on where you live and the local availability of food, yeah you really do. (Not just where food is coming from, but lets say your nearest grocery store is an hour + away)... I mean unless you're planing to live off canned food and root vegetables

     

    That aside, I think some of the iot is pretty silly, bit if it includes self driving cars, sign me up.

    How do you think they survived without fridges in the past. They cured all their meats and fish so it will stay good for a very long time.

    and of course some of them didn't survive, thanks to botulism, ergot, and various other fun things.

  • RAMWolff said:

    I think allot of folks are looking forward to having a "smart house" at one point so if there is a way to hack that, esp smart locks to homes and other places it's creepy to think someone could want to gain access against your wishes.  As for needing a fridge?  HELL YES I NEED A FRIDGE!  lol

    I keep joking to my husband that one day the art of actual lock picking will be lost, and we'd be more secure keeping an old fashioned lock rather than a smart lock.  Let's see them hack that with their fancy interwebs! :P

    Growing up in the Canadian prairies, we had basement cold rooms and root cellars to store food from the garden over the winter.  Wonder if they still build houses with those anymore.

  • BlueIreneBlueIrene Posts: 1,318

    I think a fridge is essential. None of those bottles of Amstel are long for this world - the least I can do for them is to make sure that their final hours are spent chilling out at optimum temperature. I'm kind like that :)

  • dreamfarmerdreamfarmer Posts: 2,128

    Writing a list is fine, unless holding a pen is painful. Then a 'smart device' that can help you make the list, by listening to you or scanning things, is useful. Writing a list is fine, unless you have a serious attention deficit problem and can lose track of what you need between finishing your current task and finding a pen or pencil. Then a 'smart device' you can talk to is _very_ useful.  Being able to control your lights with your voice: very useful if your mobility is limited. Being able to use your smartphone to connect up with somebody who can tell you if your outfit clashes: very useful if you're blind. Putting your house lights on an automated schedule? Very useful in many situations.

    Smart fridges and smart toasters and smart coffeeships aren't common and probably won't be for a while, but the stuff that IS getting picked up-- smart lights, smart thermostats, car efficiency monitors, gardening tools, security systems, object locators--is stuff that gets picked up because people actually find it _useful_ for their situation. Just because you've coped without something that didn't exist for X number of years doesn't mean your quality of life won't be vastly improved by a new technology. If it doesn't interest you, it's probably not FOR you, but the current crop of Big Box Store smart devices do help people. For example, I attach a Tile to my 8 year old autistic son everytime we go somewhere crowded.

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,143

    The Internet of Things is really helpful to a lot of people with various inborn and acquired (possibly via age) functional disabilities. They'll just have to improve security. It's an endless cycle.

    What happened to writing a list?  I'm not being facetious but, I write a list so I remember what I need.  I just can't see it as a necessity,  A luxury? yes if you are into that kind of thing.  Necessary? Not for me.  

    +1

    You don't need to be able to lock the front door from some beach; rather than checking the baby-cam while waiting for the meal to be served, how about trusting the baby-sitter. There's no requirement to change the thermostat setting from the office.

    And I will never agree to an EULA for an appliance.

  • ScavengerScavenger Posts: 2,664

    I'm just saying.. you people and your enslaved Roombas will be the first against the wall when the robtos take over.

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,747

    It's funny, I am a modern, tech savy, computer person, yet my cell has no gps, I don't do social media and the only thing I rely on my computer for is the internet and even that I am very cautious on. let's face it, there is waaaaaay to much reliability on electronic gadgets these days and with the amount of ways electronics/internet can be compromised these days, it's hard for me understand why so many keep relying more and more on them. If MS and the govt can be hacked, what makes you think you are safe from it, LOL. My GF is wired beyond belief and she keeps trying to get me to be on the same page. The other day her power went out and I was amazed at how panicky and lost she was.

    As for self driving cars, that is a catastrophe waiting to happen, LOL.

  • hphoenixhphoenix Posts: 1,335

    Writing a list is fine, unless holding a pen is painful. Then a 'smart device' that can help you make the list, by listening to you or scanning things, is useful. Writing a list is fine, unless you have a serious attention deficit problem and can lose track of what you need between finishing your current task and finding a pen or pencil. Then a 'smart device' you can talk to is _very_ useful.  Being able to control your lights with your voice: very useful if your mobility is limited. Being able to use your smartphone to connect up with somebody who can tell you if your outfit clashes: very useful if you're blind. Putting your house lights on an automated schedule? Very useful in many situations.

    Smart fridges and smart toasters and smart coffeeships aren't common and probably won't be for a while, but the stuff that IS getting picked up-- smart lights, smart thermostats, car efficiency monitors, gardening tools, security systems, object locators--is stuff that gets picked up because people actually find it _useful_ for their situation. Just because you've coped without something that didn't exist for X number of years doesn't mean your quality of life won't be vastly improved by a new technology. If it doesn't interest you, it's probably not FOR you, but the current crop of Big Box Store smart devices do help people. For example, I attach a Tile to my 8 year old autistic son everytime we go somewhere crowded.

    I don't think anyone is claiming 'smart' devices are a bad thing.  Necessary, no.  Useful?  Definitely.

    The issue is the "Internet of Things" (IoT) where all these smart devices are internet-connected.....meaning they can access other devices on the internet, report status to servers, receive commands from other internet-connected devices, etc.  Pretty much EVERY item you mentioned does NOT require this kind of connectivity.  While it may be a convenience to control everything in your home from your smart phone, it just makes it that much less secure.  What if someone stole your phone?  Hacked that network.  Turned off the lights just as you were stumbling downstairs half-asleep so you fall and injure yourself?  Turn everything in every room except your bedroom on after you go to bed and off again before you wake up so your electric bill skyrockets and the power consumption risks electrical fires.  Lots of possibilities.

    These things do NOT need that kind of network connectivity.  Being able to monitor your security cameras from your phone is great, until you realize that if the 'bad' guys got access to it, they could turn them off while they rob you.  Being able to control your thermostat while not at home is great, until some hacker decides you annoy them and they set it so you come home to a house that is freezing in winter and boiling in summer, just because they can.  Being able to see what's in your refrigerator from the store is great, until a bug in the control app (or a hacker) decides to cause all such refrigerators to set the temp to 70F so that you (and thousands of others) come home that evening to a refrigerator full of spoiled food.

    I like the quote from Jurassic Park....."Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."

     

  • RAMWolffRAMWolff Posts: 10,211

    I'm a techo happy person . Right now I'm listening to the radio using the Amazon Tap.  What a great device.  I just ask it what the wheather is and I get a run down of the weather, then ask it to play me SomaFM Secret Agent Radio and on it comes... So if some where to hack this.... hey as long as I can listen to my radio I'm happy.  Have at it!  lol

  • hphoenixhphoenix Posts: 1,335
    RAMWolff said:

    I'm a techo happy person . Right now I'm listening to the radio using the Amazon Tap.  What a great device.  I just ask it what the wheather is and I get a run down of the weather, then ask it to play me SomaFM Secret Agent Radio and on it comes... So if some where to hack this.... hey as long as I can listen to my radio I'm happy.  Have at it!  lol

    Until someone hacks your playlist, changes it to nothing but Justin Beiber, and sets it to read-only..... wink

  • hphoenix said:
     

    I like the quote from Jurassic Park....."Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."

    yes

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