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Internet of Things... IPv6... for Ham Radio - from the 2016 TAPR DCC

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by K4AAQ, Jan 10, 2017.

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  1. K4AAQ

    K4AAQ Ham Member QRZ Page

    HRN 290 IPv6 For QRZ 250.jpg
    Here are the next two forums from the 2016 ARRL & TAPR Digital Communications Conference (September in St. Petersburg FL), produced by HamRadioNow.
    Play the video/audio on the HamRadioNow web site.

    HRN 289 IoT POSTER SQUARE.jpg
    Episode 289: The Internet of Things - Control Anything from Anywhere.
    Scotty Cowling WA2DFI has been working on a little controller for a client's IoT device, and he details what that's all about (and more).

    HRN 290 IPv6 POSTER SQUARE.jpg
    IPv6 and Amateur Radio, plus a Tampa Bay HamWAN Update
    Brian Fields W9CR updates the status of IPv6 Internet addresses, and how they relate to ham radio. Then he shows off the 5 GHz HamWAN system he's got running in Tampa, just across the bay.
     
  2. KB1HQS

    KB1HQS Ham Member QRZ Page

    Cool. Thanks for sharing. IoT sounds interesting.
     
  3. W6RZ

    W6RZ Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

  4. W8MRL

    W8MRL Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    The MAJOR issue with IOT is that security is not a consideration. The "smart" lights, thermostats, DVR's etc get access to your network and their firmware will never be upgraded, even when someone finds a way to exploit them.
    If anyone wants to use them, but them on a totally different network than what any of your computers are on.
     
  5. K9WIS

    K9WIS Ham Member QRZ Page

    Im trying to get away from the cloud not embrace it.
     
  6. K4AAQ

    K4AAQ Ham Member QRZ Page

    That's a good point, one that engaged tech users are just starting to hear about, the industry is just starting to react to, and the public will never care about or understand. 'Internet of Things' devices have embedded, default passwords that can't be changed, but can be expolited. And they've been implicated in some recent DDOS attacks.

    I don't know how practical it is to keep them on a separate network (and away from the Internet). Is a standard router firewall of any help? (Apparently not?). Any other way to keep the crap isolated... for those who know and care?
     
  7. W0ZF

    W0ZF XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    It's actually pretty easy to put IoT stuff (or anything else) on a separate network and keep it away from the Internet. However...in most cases, that would neuter the very features that one buys these 'smart' devices for in the first place, so you might just as well buy regular 'dumb' devices. That's because most 'smart' devices connect to a cloud service someplace to serve as a rendezvous point so that you can connect to them from anywhere via your phone, etc. Most such devices make no provision for 'local only' access - they simply assume that they can talk to the cloud.
    It is possible to make things safer by segmenting your home network into multiple zones with specific rules to control traffic between them, but that's outside the skillset (or interest) of the average consumer that just wants the thing to work when they plug it in.
    As an example, the network video recorder for my home security cameras began connecting to sites all over the Internet (China, Singapore, Ireland, etc.) as soon as I plugged it in. So, I isolated the DVR and cameras on their own network (on a separate interface of my firewall) and set rules to block that network from the Internet, while still allowing my iPad on my normal local network to access the cameras. Most people simply are not going to deal with that, nor will they ever update firmware on these devices even if the manufacturers provide updates. We're in for some interesting times.
    What's this got to do with Ham Radio? Well, remote operation of ham stations over the Internet is getting to be very popular...and undoubtedly some of this will be set up insecurely, simply because there are so many ways to do so. I have no doubt that it can be done very securely (I've been in information security for a lot of years). I also know that any time something is connected to the Internet, bad things can happen if proper controls are not in place.
     
    WA0TDA and N0NB like this.
  8. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    The "Incredible Shrinking Man" had a similar sentiment...

    [​IMG]
     

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