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Humans are the weakest link
May. 1st, 2013 11:53 amPut traffic light controls on the internet so anyone can shut down the system at any time? How about locking someone in an automated car wash? Or shutting down a hyrdoelectric plant? CNN's followup report on the Shodan search engine gives us more examples of unsecured devices attached to the internet.
These are examples of failure of imagination, and a lack of understanding of how technology works. For the hydroelectric plant, the physical control room is almost certainly a locked room, that requires a badge and/or key access. But the web access was open to anyone who could figure out the IP address.
If I were writing a technothriller, I'd be accused of lazy plotting if I used one of these as a plot device. But in real life, this happens all the time.
These are examples of failure of imagination, and a lack of understanding of how technology works. For the hydroelectric plant, the physical control room is almost certainly a locked room, that requires a badge and/or key access. But the web access was open to anyone who could figure out the IP address.
If I were writing a technothriller, I'd be accused of lazy plotting if I used one of these as a plot device. But in real life, this happens all the time.