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Technology 19 November 2018

The Week in Internet News: The Bottom Line of IoT Security

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

The cost of IoT breaches: Companies struggling with Internet of things security are seeing a monetary impact, says WeLiveSecurity.com. About a quarter of companies struggling with IoT security have reported losses of at least US $34 million in the last two years, according to a recent survey.

International cyber deal: French President Emmanuel Macron called on other nations to join his country in an international pact against malicious activity online, reports ITworldCanada.com. Nations signing the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace would agree to “condemn malicious cyber activities in peacetime, notably the ones threatening or resulting in significant, indiscriminate or systemic harm to individuals and critical infrastructure and welcome calls for their improved protection.” The pact, advanced at the Internet Governance Forum in Paris, was signed by 51 other countries, 224 companies, and 92 non-profits and advocacy groups. But the U.S., Russia, and China declined, ZDNet notes.

Booted from social media: In a three-week period, Chinese censors have deleted nearly 10,000 social media accounts operated by the country’s residents, reports the South China Morning Post via Yahoo News. Accounts shut down include those of a talk show celebrity and an entertainment blogger. The Chinese Cyberspace Administration also warned social media services Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and WeChat for their “irresponsibility and lax management” and for “creating chaos.”

Not again: The Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir has seen 112 Internet shutdowns since 2012, reports The Tribune of India. That number includes 52 shutdowns in 2018 alone. Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times suggests that Internet shutdowns don’t really work. “We certainly cannot punish entire populations of a region, deprive them of Internet access to secure their safety,” the authors write. “Restrictions on rights, when left to unaccountable systems, ultimately increase in severity as they become a normalised implement of administrative control.”

Do you know the risks of what you’re buying? Get IoT smart!

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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