The Iot – Internet of Threats

17

October

2017

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Computer hacker silhouette. Blue binary code background. Seattle office.

Computers, smartphones, tablets, e-readers, televisions; all kinds of everyday consumer devices we connect to the internet. But the Internet of Things (IoT), as the web of connected devices is called, is containing more and more different devices or objects which we are able to connect, such as refrigerators, toys and water cookers. Last year, 6.4 billion devices in the world were connected, while it is expected that in 2020 this number will have increased over 20 billion (Van der Meulen, 2017).

Internet connection can provide a lot of convenient features and gimmicks for products we all use, while also potentially generate data for the producers to analyze and use to increase value to those same products. The question is whether there are any risks that come with this astounding growth in the number of connected devices. The biggest concern people have is safety. Safety has always been an issue when it comes to this subject and recently there have been some developments which increased the discussion.

Yesterday (October 16th 2017), a Belgium researcher named Mathy Vanhoef discovered a widespread vulnerability in Wi-Fi (Verger, 2017). More specifically, he found a weakness in the design of WPA2, a type of Wi-Fi security which is the main security for roughly 60% of all Wi-Fi networks in the world (https://wigle.net/stats#mainstats, 2017). According to Vanhoef, hackers are able to intercept all data flows through all devices connected to your WPA2 secured Wi-Fi connection at home. This means that a hacker is potentially able to obtain secure information such as usernames and passwords, and could even be able to transfer money from your to his/her account.

Next to that, NOS reported two days ago (October 15th 2017) that more and more devices contain very vulnerable software (Schellevis, 2017). The Dutch news broadcaster states that producers sell their devices with passwords pre-installed, which are very easy for hackers to trace back. They showed a video example in which a hacker breaks into cameras of local stores, a television in someone’s living room and a webcam in someone’s bedroom. All while the owners have absolutely no clue that someone is observing them.

The effects are significant. One woman claims her webcam started moving by itself, after which the hacker started talking to her through the webcam’s speakers (Brandriet, 2017). Moreover, NOS reported in the same article that there has been a toy on the market, through which hackers are able to record whatever the player is saying when close enough to it. What if a group of hackers with truly bad means break into someone’s Wi-Fi with the intention to do serious personal harm, such as blackmailing through video images?

Luckily, the WPA-2 weakness is fixable through updates producers can provide for anyone to download and install. But it is unsure whether consumers are even aware of this ‘Internet of Threats’ surrounding them, as well as whether consumer know how to fix the problem when solutions are provided. Hopefully in the near future, a simple solution will be found to secure us all of security flaws in our home networks. But with 20 billion devices surrounding us soon, who knows what might be coming up next.

References
Brandriet, F. (2017) ‘Vrouw doodsbang door camera van Action’ 4 october 2017 [online], https://www.ad.nl/bizar/vrouw-doodsbang-door-camera-van-action~a261aa3c/ [Accessed 17 October 2017]

Van der Meulen, R. (2017), ‘Gartner Says 8.4 Billion Connected “Things” Will Be in Use in 2017, Up 31 Percent From 2016’ 7 February 2017 [online],
https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917 [Accessed on 17 October 2017]

Schellevis, J. (2017) ‘Steeds meer slimme apparaten, die moeten dan wel veilig zijn’ 15 Otober 2017 [online], https://nos.nl/artikel/2198196-steeds-meer-slimme-apparaten-die-moeten-dan-wel-veilig-zijn.html [Accessed on 17 october 2017]

Verger, R. (2017), ‘Wi-Fi has a serious vulnerability. Here’s how to stay safe.’ 16 October 2017 [online], https://www.popsci.com/kracks-wifi-problem [Accessed on 17 October 2017]

Anonymous (webpage)
https://wigle.net/stats#mainstats, last update: 16 October 2017

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Will virtual reality change retail as we know it?

9

October

2017

5/5 (2)

Using a map and asking for directions, getting an answer to a question from books in a library, writing a paper on actual paper: these are all examples of things your (grand) parents tell you of how life used to be when they grew up. You probably can’t imagine that going to a store to buy a product is something we will be telling our children and their children in the future. Could virtual reality (VR) prove you wrong?

Even though it’s expected that Virtual Reality won’t be adopted by the mass within the next five years or so, big companies like Google and Facebook expect it to be the next big thing. Facebook for instance, paid $3 billion to take over Oculus, an American Tech-company specialized in VR, and plans to invest at least another $3 billion in the upcoming technology over the next decade (Matney, 2017). Assuming it will be that next big thing in the nearby future, VR will be changing a lot of things we do in daily life, including shopping.

One of the reasons for this possible takeover is the ability to try products at home (virtually). Something current e-commerce can’t deliver and crucial for a lot of products, such as clothes, televisions and shoes. It’s not surprising 35% of the people want to shop more online if they would be able to try products virtually (Cardew, 2016). Take clothing for example. You can try them on while you’re at home and AI-assistance can better fit to your personal taste than a shop assistant. Lighting can be perfectly simulated, as well as a setting to try the clothes in.

Next to that, it will become the shopping experience with the least friction. Less friction in the customer journey will end up in more sales (Price, 2016). Think of it: you put on your VR headset, you can try whatever product from whichever retailer in the world and there are no waiting lines for either a dressing room or for the counter; meaning you can pay immediately. If you combine that with the drones Amazon is developing, which will be able to deliver within 30 minutes (Johnson, 2016), there is hardly any friction left to think of.

Of course, one could argue traditional retail will remain alongside the future VR channel. Even though VR is able to simulate products around you, it’s still a simulation. It’s not reality. VR will never be able to simulate the sound a specific stereo will play, let alone distinguish the sound from substitutes.
Next to that, shopping is something people love to do. It’s not only the product you buy, it’s also the process of buying it, which probably can’t be fully captured in a simulation.
Finally, there are lots of products people won’t need to try before buying, such as groceries or books.

So, future generations might not be laughing at the idea of going to an actual store to buy something, but they probably will still be amazed by the fact that we are going out for shopping so often. It’s arguable that high streets in big cities will be less taken over by retail stores in the future. Technology will make it so easy for us to buy products at home, that every retailer of the present will have to adopt it to their business model in order to remain competitive and become a retailer of the future.

Cardew, H. (2016), ‘How virtual reality will change the face of e-commerce’ 21 April 2016 [online], https://www.smartcompany.com.au/technology/emerging-technology/how-virtual-reality-will-change-the-face-of-e-commerce [Accessed on 10 October 2017]

Johnson, T. (2017), ‘Amazon Prime Air: The Evolution of Amazon’s Drone Delivery’ 14 July 2017 [online], https://digitalstrategy.rsm.nl//2017/10/09/big-data-in-retail-its-easier-than-you-think [Accessed on October 10 2017]

Matney, L. (2016), ‘Facebook plans to invest more than $3 billion in VR over the next decade’ 17 January 2017 [online], https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/17/facebook-plans-to-invest-more-than-3-billion-in-vr-over-the-next-decade [Accessed on 10 October 2017]

Price, S. (2016), ‘How Friction Destroys the Customer Experience’ 16 May 2016 [online], https://sessioncam.com/how-friction-destroys-the-customer-experience [Accessed on 10 October 2017]

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