As reported by Wired and other outlets, on June 8th, 2021 many Alexa-enabled devices such as select Ring cameras and smart devices will automatically create a shared network across the United States for authorized devices by carving out a little bandwidth from their host networks. The only way to prevent your devices from participating is to opt out.
Maybe you are not interested in sharing even a small amount of bandwidth with other devices, perhaps you are wary of the types of security issues which may come along with new communication protocols, or maybe the opt-out model does not sit well with you.
I have had many rewarding conversations with information security professionals on defining value and finding their niche at various points of our careers. What has been interesting to me is how sometimes even those who consistently bring value to the team can feel like they don’t belong. Maybe these conversations start because much to do with information security can land on the thankless end of the spectrum. Not to mention how in some organizational cultures, information security combats an image of saying “no” or otherwise slowing things down.
Alright, that’s a pretty dramatic title! Here’s how my background in penetration testing helped keep me safe during an amateur project I took on recently.
My Trusty MultimeterIt was time to replace an in-sink disposal but while getting into the project I noticed that there had been some damage to the outlet. Being tucked out of sight under the kitchen sink, I wasn’t sure how long the issue had been there for, but now that I knew about it I wanted to get it taken care of.
I was approached by a coworker I didn’t know very well yet the other day with a simple question, “what antivirus do you use?” You probably sense it too: there has to be more to this question!
I asked whether they had specific concerns about AV.
They let me know that they had clicked something suspicious. We were making progress. They were worried they did something wrong, so ran three separate AV scans.