Remote firmware upgrades provide convenience with a disturbing twist
There’s no debating that there have been some absolutely epic battles regarding privacy in recent years. With social media changing the dynamic around things like privacy and ownership, it’s not unfair to say that for many, this is now a fringe issue that holds little importance.

However, it only takes one incident to reignite the debate around these topics and spark new conversations around old topics. In today’s article, we’ll be visiting an interesting conundrum that has several lessons to be learnt regarding privacy, ownership and remote access.

The Great Delete

One of the best examples that focus on people as the product is the all-to-common story that we hear regarding social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Typically, it entails the loss of a user's account at short notice, with little in the way of recovery options. In this situation the user will typically claim that “that’s my pictures” and on the surface that all sounds fair.
Perusal of the terms and conditions of the platform of your choice though, will typically show that the fine print indicates that these aren’t your photo’s at all. In fact, once you upload them to your chosen platform, the entire discussion around ownership, privacy and what’s generally acceptable changes instantly.

So, when someone tells you that “they don’t care about privacy” what they’ll typically mean, is that they don’t care about privacy until it directly affects them.

In a world full of remote devices an interesting discussion can be focusing on where that line is drawn. Most people are angry upon losing a social media account that’s been built up over the years. Yet many of these same people have little to say when they around found to be the victims of a data breach or privacy-related issue.

Cameras. Cameras everywhere. Source: Wikipedia.

The Great Sneak

If you like analogies you probably have heard the one about “boiling the frog”. It helps break down how things like creeping tactics slowly break down and reshape the boundaries regarding certain topics with minimal fallout or blowback. In this instance, it’s not just privacy but the general attitudes around data collection programs and the trade-off between privacy and security.

If you’re one of the people who are of the mindset that “this doesn’t affect you” then it might pay to give some thought to just what it is you see in comparison to how things were even 5 or 10 years ago.

CCTV cameras are far more prevalent than they once were. We carry mobile phones in our pockets, and strap smart devices to our bodies, allowing ourselves to be tracked while for the most part, asking few questions regarding how exactly, this data might be managed.

The most interesting change though, comes from the implementation and evolution of so-called “smart” vehicles similar to those made by companies like Tesla and BYD. While the technology that makes these vehicles smart is part of the allure of the product, the reality is onboard telematics, cameras and telemetry make it far far easier to map and detect devices and cities the world over.

Smart cars collect huge volumes of data. These are the systems fitted to a typical Model S. Source: Wikipedia.

Why Should I Care

There’s no denying that freedom is pretty damn cool. But, freedom isn’t free. More than a few people have made sacrifices in the name of our Western values, and the slow erosion of these values is something to be concerned about.

“I’ve got nothing to hide” is usually the throwaway line that most people use to console themselves when discussions around privacy-related issues are initiated. The reality is though, you don’t need to have anything to hide. Privacy is, and will remain an essential part of a free and functional society.

Who asked for cities to become hives of video and electronic surveillance? Source: Wikipedia.

With governments the world over becoming more extreme and less tolerant today’s data collection program can be used to implement tomorrow's social credit or surveillance program.

We now live in a world where women in the United States can face persecution and surveillance simply for pursuing reproductive health care and that is not a good thing. What’s the point of this you might ask? It’s simple really.

Governments and private entities should NOT have unrestricted or uncontested access to data sets of this kind and it’s our job to convince them of that.

Legal, But Controversial

It’s easy to look at privacy and the radio spectrum and think “Too hard, can’t be bothered”. To change your mind we’re going to look at a real-world situation that’s occurred.

For many, an automobile is both a large asset and a liability. If you’re young though, it’s fair to say that it also represents freedom. For many, purchasing a vehicle is one of the first real steps into adulthood. And when you purchase your vehicle, you expect that you own it and for the most part, you’ll get trouble-free service from it.

So it was for the owners of Fisker’s Vehicles. A modern, software-based car company Fiskers made good money selling vehicles packed full of modern technology. This included onboard telematics, computers that required “phoning home” to operate correctly and, more importantly, the ability to receive remote, over-the-air software updates.

What’s a software-based car you might ask? Essentially, it’s a car built from components made by other manufacturers, with Fiskers providing the software to bring it all together and make it work.

With vehicles retailing at under 50k, in the early days, this was a good deal. However, with production issues leading to financial problems, things started to become problematic. This would eventually come to a head in 2011 when production ceased outright and bankruptcy began to loom over the company.

The problem? The closing of production meant that the server facilities required for correct running would now no longer be available. The solution? Fiskers would conduct an over-the-air software update that “bricked” the vehicles outright leaving them inoperational.

Small groups of people and large multi-nationals benefit the most from an erosion of privacy. Don’t let them initiate the discussion. Source: Wikipedia.

Things To Ask?

The fact is that Fiskers made low-rate production runs, so, in context, this issue would be a far smaller problem than it had any right to be. The reality though, is that the same technology exists in other vehicles and that sparks some interesting discussions around ownership and security.

Remote updates provide significant levels of convenience and in some instances, far greater safety than we’ve seen in prior generations. Rather than having to attend a dealership for a software update, in some instances, it can now be done remotely.

But, with convenience comes risk. That same vector that allows remote updates could be a potential point of exploitation later on. And more importantly, if you’ve paid for a product, should it be acceptable that you lose access to that product with little warning through no fault of your own?

Tech is in fact, pretty cool and for the most part, we shouldn’t shy away from that. One other thing we shouldn’t shy away from is discussion around issues relevant to this topic. Yes, data collection is a thing and yes, it’ll still occur in the future.

However, rather than delegating this responsibility to a single person or company, we should be initiating and having these discussions as a society. The fact is, privacy matters to us all even if we can’t explain exactly how. Minimizing its value now makes it far too easy to erode into the future.

Be active. Start conversations. Make noise. It’s the only way to induce change.

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