Software Keeps Ruling More Our Lives

Our digital and physical worlds are converging, and people are losing control over their devices in the process. Also: What did the founders of the Library of Things learn after 10 years?

The average household in the U.S. now has 16 connected devices in their possession. This includes mobile phones, smart watches, doorbells, smart locks, security cameras, thermostats, and even kitchen appliances like (and I’m not joking) smart toasters. But when we aren’t toasting pop tarts, there are serious consequences of hooking up more significant parts of our lives to software—and oftentimes the internet.

Take for example, when I started seeing steering wheel locks pop up in cars all around my neighborhood last fall. Due to a design flaw in Kia and Hyundai cars, vehicles were far more susceptible to being stolen, made possible by the viral sensation known as the Kia Challenge. Los Angeles alone saw an 85% increase in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in 2022 compared to 2021. However, a recent software upgrade to cars with the flaw actually cut theft rates by more than half, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute.

lockdownyourcar.org

As consumers, we wouldn’t hesitate to call out problems with seatbelts and airbags, yet the public conversation around software risks receives little attention in spite of these glaring problems. And we see this trend extend beyond cars, software continues creating problems for consumers in all areas of life.

Avoiding an internet-of-trash

With 16 connected devices per household, the potential for disruption to our daily lives can be consequential even if our car isn’t being stolen. Belkin’s bricking of its Wemo security camera line is a prime example. The company abruptly stopped supporting its Wemo NetCam cloud service, which left its users with non-functional security cameras. Or take the more recent announcement by smart-lock company Yale, which decided to charge customers to upgrade their app or face being locked out of their homes.

This reliance on software isn’t the case for older devices. I don’t have to worry about software updates for my car made with a 2000 model year. My internet-free toaster cannot be shut down if it cannot access Toaster Inc. servers. But this won’t always be the case, because the continued growth of software-driven and internet connected devices is staggering. And even technologies that you wouldn’t expect, like computer mouses, have people on edge. Despite being around for decades now, the CEO of Logitech floated the idea of a forever mouse that you pay a monthly subscription for. Paying for a lifetime of software updates enraged the internet, because traditionally people think the products we purchase should come with those updates included. Logitech has since walked the comments back.

These dilemmas around software-driven devices will become more normal as the “internet-of-things” continues to take up more space in our lives. But will our only two options become either 1) paying a monthly subscription for every object we own to make sure it lasts, or 2) will we have everything we buy become obsolete in a year because the software updates stop?

Whether we like it or not, software is ruling more of our lives than ever. And the economic arrangements between consumers and companies leaves one party (consumers), with the short end of the stick. Devices don’t receive software supports for long enough, meaning they can become less functional and secure even if they have working parts. In other cases, devices like the Belkin cameras, need servers to run on in order to be function—and when those servers go dark there are rarely any pathways to making those devices function again. At least in a way your everyday person could get done.

The rise of software-driven devices won’t be changing any time soon, but what that future looks like will either be prioritizing devices that stay functional for as long as possible, or where companies can abandon devices at a whim.

---

Paul will be at DEF CON 32 today, an annual cybersecurity conference, discussing this exact topic as we continue our launch of the Secure and Resilient Future Foundation (SRFF), a nonprofit dedicated to forever burying the lie of “security through obscurity” that promotes anti-competitive, wasteful and anti-consumer business practices. SRFF (pronounced “SURF”) works to foster secure, transparent, resilient, and sustainable technology ecosystems.

The talk is called Bricked and Abandoned: How to Keep the IoT from being an Internet of Trash, and will take place today at 5:00 PM Pacific Time at DEF CON.

At Hacker Summer Camp: What To Do About Bricked & Abandoned Stuff?

Other News

What Library of Things have achieved after 10 years

Libraries of things are like book libraries but for even more useful objects we use everyday. The original “Library of Things” began in London ten years ago, and has been doling out objects ever since. The model is based around affordably renting items to do DIY, repairs, cleaning, gardening, hobbying and more while having members save money and reduce waste in the process. Do you really need to own a pair of hedge clippers or chainsaw you use twice a year? The libraries of things around London are now accessible across 18 locations, “reuse and repair hubs, shopping centres and arts venues in neighbourhoods” across the city.

South African organization launches right-to-repair whistleblower hotline