Should We Worry About the IoT Being Used as a Weapon of Mass Control?
A shows that 35% of women, worldwide, have experienced violence, and 39% of women were murdered at the hands of their partner. These figures are frightening, and as a woman who has experienced this type of violence, I know how easily it can happen. However, what I want to explore here is the role that technology, specifically connected systems termed under the banner of the “Internet of Things (IoT)” have on domestic violence and abuse?
Before I begin, we need to look at what the word ‘violence’ means. Firstly, violence can be both physical and non-physical. It is an aggressive act, performed using methods that can be psychological, sexual, emotional or economic. I gave figures above showing violence against women, but of course, men experience violence too – including domestic. However, technology may add a particular slant to violent and controlling acts – offering a reach to the abuser that they may otherwise not have.
What if you had a one-night stand? While at your place you let this person use your Wi-Fi. You have, quite rightly, password protected your network. So, you hand over your password which gives them global access to your home network. They get up at 6 am and walk out the door, still holding your password. You forget to change it, easily done. What’s the worst that can happen? Well, if this person turns out to be malicious and wants to hurt you, they can potentially use this access to perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack, stealing your personal data; insert malware; download porno images via your IP address. They could also potentially hijack your IoT devices. All that is needed is a readily available Wi-Fi Pineapple and an unsecured IoT device.
This does not have to be the case, of course, but it comes down to design, education, and the policy makers – more on this later.
According to research by , around 90 percent of U.S. consumers now have a smart home device. But who is controlling those devices?
Researcher and Lecturer at University College London (UCL) Dr , has, along with her team members , , Professor and , looked at how the IoT can, and will likely, contribute to gender-based domestic violence. Their interdisciplinary project is named “” (#GIoT) and part of the .
I spoke with Leonie, who has extensive knowledge in this area. She pointed me to some of their GIoT resources, including a tech abuse , a dedicated for support services and survivors, as well as a new that features some of the research groups pressing findings.
Leonie also shared some relevant insights, some of which I would like to highlight below.
Leonie and her team have been working for the past year at how Internet-enabled devices could be used as a controlling mechanism within a domestic abuse context. The team has, so far, concluded that the threat is imminent but not yet fully expressed. As of now, Spyware, and other features on laptops and phones are primarily being featured in tech abuse cases. However, with the expected expansion of IoT systems as well as their often intrusive data collection and sharing features, IoT-facilitated abuse cases are a question of when, not if.
What unique issues exist between IoT and domestic violence?
One may try to regulate the security of an IoT device by putting some of the best and most robust protection measures in place. However, in a domestic abuse situation, coercion can override any of these processes. If one partner is responsible for their purchase and maintenance, and has full control as well as knowledge over their functionalities, the power imbalance can result in one person being able to monitor and restrain the other. The team’s emphasises this dynamic quite vividly.
Can you map the IoT device use pattern with an abusive relationship?
When it comes to the safety and security of a victim and survivor – in particular, in regards to tech – we have to consider the three phases of abuse. These phases interplay with the security practices a person has to adopt.
