There are literally billions of devices connected to the internet today – many of them cheap, insecure IoT devices… smart thermostats, doorbell cameras, webcams, cheap WiFi routers and other smart appliances. As we like to say, the “S” in “IoT” is for security. And when insecure devices are no longer supported, the security bugs will never be fixed. We’ll discuss the implications of this growing problem and potential solutions with a passionate right-to-repair advocate and the founder of the Secure Resilient Future Foundation, Paul Roberts.

Interview Notes

• Secure Resilient Future Foundation: https://secure-resilient.org/
• The Security Ledger: https://securityledger.com/
• Tech Timebombs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koZERADCyug
• Secure Repairs: https://securepairs.org/
• Paul’s Congressional testimony: https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/there-right-repair
• FULU Foundation: https://fulu.org/
• US PIRG: https://pirg.org/
• Institute for Security and Technology: https://securityandtechnology.org/
• NIST 800-232: https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/232/ipd

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book
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• Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch

Table of Contents

• 0:01:42: Interview terminology
• 0:03:22: How did you come to found SRFF?
• 0:08:24: Why are abandoned IoT devices “tech time bombs”?
• 0:16:53: What are the dangers of hacked IoT devices?
• 0:18:28: Is there any real liability for making insecure IoT devices?
• 0:23:36: How important is transparency to law making?
• 0:29:07: How does the right to repair interact with IoT security?
• 0:38:33: How should consumers be made aware of abandoned devices?
• 0:43:56: Can we rely on ISP’s to block insecure devices?
• 0:46:42: What other groups are working on improving IoT security?
• 0:52:24: Should the gov’t be funding research into securing IoT devices?
• 1:01:20: What can we do to help?
• 1:06:58: Patron podcast preview
• 1:07:31: Looking ahead