Hello. It’s Cass again. I hope you enjoyed my last article, “How-to Improve Your Password Security”. Today I’m here to discuss recording devices, where they are, what they are listening to, and if we should be worried.
Let me ask you this: what items won\’t have these devices in them soon? I would go as far as to say that in coming years, it will be difficult to find and use products that don\’t have recording capabilities. It is quickly becoming an inescapable fact of life that we are being recorded by our phones, laptops and vacuums.
Safely Interacting
I bet you\’re wondering how this affects you. In most cases, it won\’t! However, it could mean the loss of millions of dollars for the remaining cases. As we become more disruptive to existing and entrenched institutions and fiat currencies, they will fight back. They can and probably will use recording devices to gain inside information. Corporate espionage is real. So is state sponsored cyber warfare. Hostile actors can use your devices to record your activity to know when you\’re there and when you\’re not. They can use that information to build up psychological profiles to determine who could be the weakest link in a protocol and how to exploit them.
These same devices can spot you putting in your passwords and see where you store information. Many companies state they don\’t save any of this information, and have been subsequently caught with that same information. Do not trust these companies. You should always consider anything connected to the internet as compromised. Once your information is on the internet you have lost all control over it. So, if this information isn\’t something you don\’t want to be made public take all the necessary steps to protect that information.
Protecting yourself
Now I bet you\’re wondering, \”how do I protect myself if they are everywhere?\” In most cases, the average user won\’t be affected aside from some eerily specific directed advertisements. However, there are a select few that truly need that additional security. In those cases, your best bet will be to handle all communications in person. Establish a clean room that doesn\’t allow any type of signal to be leaked outside and conduct your meetings there.
For the standard user, try to limit the number of devices around you that record. Do you need that robo-vacuum knowing that it might be recording your every conversation? For now, I beg you to continue asking What if…?. I will see you next time when we will continue to explore the many questions and possibilities around security.
