Internet of Things Security - Week 4 of Cyber Talk Radio
Listen to the replay: IoT Security with John Engates, CTO of Rackspace
Show Summary
This past Saturday, October 15, the fourth episode of Cyber Talk Radio hit the airwaves on 1200 WOAI and iHeartRadio streaming. Show archives are available on the Cyber Talk Radio web site or directly on the [Cyber Talk Radio YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa7Z6mcLJXK3Qm_9-omU3wg.
John Engates joined us to discuss the Internet of Things which is already everywhere around us and still only at the beginning.
We covered a ton of great topics. I’ll hit on three in this blog post.
Backdoors and Master Keys
John brought up a topic I’m very passionate about – backdoors or master keys – and his example of the TSA master keys is an easy to understand example of why master keys are a horrible idea. Combine an iPhone master key with IoT malware and the 600Gbps+ DDoS attack on Krebs would look like a tiny ripple compared to what a billion iPhones could do.
Do you have a connected thermostat? Today it is being used for good to help the utility grid… what if it was hacked? What if a lot were hacked?
John walks us through an example scenario of what a bad actor could do by controlling a large number of thermostats in a single city. This is a real concern today as many utilities are providing a smart thermostat themselves with remote management capabilities.
Using IoT security devices at home? Are they really keeping you safe from a focused attacker?
Security cameras? A smart doorbell like ring. John asks a great question and offers a practical test for everyone to try at your own home before an attacker tries it on you. Hint: You’ll likely want to plug your internet router, WiFi access point and critical devices into one of these.
Further reading recommended by John Engates
John follows a few news sites to help himself stay current including Hacker News, Techmeme and various groups on Facebook.
Recent episodes – available to stream from our YouTube channel
Upcoming episodes – Saturday nights from 11:00 p.m. to Midnight
- October 22, 2016: Human Hacking & Social Engineering with Tom DeSot of Digital Defense
- October 29, 2016: Healthcare Data Privacy & HIPAA Security with David Schulz, Executive Director of Cyber Risk Associates
- November 5, 2016: Authentication security with Paul Querna, CTO of ScaleFT
- November 12, 2016: Application security with John Dickson and Dan Cornell, Principals of Denim Group
Have an idea for a topic or want to be a guest?
Contact Cyber Talk Radio via our request a topic or be a guest form.
About Cyber Talk Radio
Cyber Talk Radio is a 1200 WOAI radio show that airs every Saturday at 11:00 p.m. The weekly show hosted by Bret Piatt, CEO at Jungle Disk, will feature guest speakers to discuss cloud computing, cybersecurity and Internet trends facing businesses in industries such as healthcare, financial services, legal and real estate. As a major Cyber City in the U.S. and home to over 80 information security companies, San Antonio is an ideal city to host Cyber Talk Radio and educate local businesses and listeners. To learn more about Cyber Talk Radio, request a topic or submit to be a guest speaker, visit http://www.cybertalkradio.com/.