People have become positive at using the Internet of Things, in spite of the security breaches that this interconnectivity can lead to. All at once, the decision of ICANN to introduce a lot more web extensions can trigger even more security hazards for Internet users to deal with.
Internet of Things (IoT) includes Internet connectivity among all the devices within a household, an office, a whole city and the vehicles used by people. As you can imagine, it is far bigger than anything else we may have imagined in the past as to the impact of technology globally and it can affect our life to a great extent. However, this connectivity does not come without a price. In the case of technology and the web, the price is none other than security breaches emerging. Imagine you get a luxurious vehicle and lack the ability to control it completely, due to sophisticated hackers. This is one aspect of security breaches that people will most likely be forced to confront with in the near future.
Although there is great concern as to the security level of devices interconnected due to the Internet of Things, this does not mean that the will to cash out the digital convenience is diminished even to the slightest. On the contrary, as it turns out 2 out of 3 Americans are interested in adding at least one such device to their property, one way or another. Business Insider Intelligence highlights the popularity of the Internet of Things with intriguing infographics, in which it is estimated that by 2017 IoT will have exceeded PCs, Tablets and Phones! The distressing truth is that within 2015 the first smart home hacks will probably take place. On the bright side, advertisements aiming at informing the consumers on both entertainment and security options related to IoT are warmly embraced.
Along with Internet of Things, another emerging threat for the web nowadays is that of more web addresses. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has released new website extensions at a huge rate and the result has been the deterioration of the overall online security for Internet users everywhere.
Phishing has been made much easier and there are many people who fall for the wrong sites, regardless of the different extensions at the end of each site. According to security research manager of Sikich LLP, Morgan Tremper: “The idea behind phishing and malware attacks is you want to represent something the user trusts — their bank, their CEO, a vendor. With more domain names available, it will be easier to trick a user to trust a link that they shouldn’t.”
So, the two different sides of the same coin seem to be the alarming increase in the Internet of Things alongside with the huge introduction of various extensions for sites globally. These two different things lead to the same consequences, including security breaches and vulnerabilities that require extra attention. Progress does not come for free, after all!
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