CYB 260: 2-1 Discussion: Convenience vs. Privacy ...

CYB 260: Legal and Human Factors of Cybersecurity

2-1 Discussion: Convenience vs. Privacy

Review the "Internet of Things: Convenience vs. Privacy and Secrecy" resource. Then create an initial post in which you consider the following questions:

• As internet of things (IoT) devices become more widely adopted, to what extent are you willing to sacrifice your privacy for convenience?
• Given your stance on privacy, what effect does the pervasiveness of IoT have on your choices as a consumer?

In your response posts, imagine that you are developing a new IoT device for a company. What aspects of privacy would influence your design based on the points your peers made in their initial posts?

Note: Privacy can be a highly personal topic. In your posts, remember to maintain professionalism. Focus on the topic and not on the person.

Sample Solution

Hello everyone,

Happy Monday! Internet connected devices are new and convenient. Since I have moved out of my parents house, there have been advancements in thermostats that I could not believe at first. When my husband and I moved into our house, the base thermostat was a Honeywell that had a few features but mostly just raised and lowered the temperature like our old apartment. When we invested in solar we were offered a google nest device which worried me. What if someone else gained access and controlled our temperature? What if the device lose connection and we cannot change the temperature? We live in Texas and that could be deadly for our dogs. My husband assured me that everything would be fine and we set it up. For the last 6 years it had run perfectly and we never had any issues. This summer has been different, the city has been changing our temperature on the thermostat and setting it to the upper 70's. We have a new baby and that will not work for us so we had to switch back to the Honeywell. We had to give up our convenience of changing the temp from our phone to having to change it manually so that we can use our thermostat as we need to. I think that the IoT can be incredibly useful and also scary to put your trust in a device to not fail.

The question of privacy vs convenience has also had me thinking. There are so many devices that make our lives easier like smart locks that allow you to come and go from your house or room without a key, you only need a passcode or fingerprint. Some locks even let you give one time codes to people like pet sitters so they can come in and walk your dog and then leave. However, the ease of these locks can also be their down fall. Before, we used to need keys to enter a house and these were not easily duplicated. The person trying to break in would either need to take your keys or make an impression of them to gain access. Now, a person only needs to watch you enter the code or know enough about you to guess what your passcode is. There is also the issue of having the lock die and you being locked out until you can get a battery to fix it. 

Finally, police body cams are important when they are used correctly. Body cams can show an unbiased video of what happened in a particular scenario. They are there for both the police officer and citizens safety. Just like if you get into an accident that is not your fault and you have a dash cam, the insurance can look at that footage and show/argue that it was not your fault and save yourself the struggle of determining fault. 

References

http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/nclr96&i=1521

Sample Response 

Hello ****,

Your experiences with IoT devices like thermostats and smart locks highlight both the conveniences and concerns associated with their adoption. As a developer creating a new IoT device, I would prioritize user control and reliability. Your story with the Google Nest thermostat underscores the importance of ensuring robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access and maintain reliable connectivity, especially in critical situations like extreme weather conditions in Texas. Designing intuitive interfaces that allow easy manual override in case of connectivity issues, like your switch back to the Honeywell thermostat, would be crucial. Additionally, for devices like smart locks, emphasizing strong encryption and secure authentication methods would address the privacy and security concerns you raised about potential vulnerabilities and unauthorized access.