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MyWOT (Web of Trust) is a Helsinki-based Internet technology company. It is primarily known for its browser safety add-on. I have WOT enabled for Google Chrome browser on my computer at home.
I noticed a new entry on the MyWOT blog a few days ago, Hey Alexa, Send My Regards To The CIA – Connected Devices in The Age of Snowden. It is a good post. I left a comment, of course.
Small-time info merchant to big league data mogul
The Internet of Things (Internet-connected devices collectively known as the IoT) seems like a solution in search of a problem to me. I’m not worried about the CIA listening to me. I am worried about insights gleaned from unethical or illegal re-sale of user data. Revenue from data harvesting is built into the business model for much of the consumer-targeted IoT. For example, some insurance companies offer discounts to auto policy holders in exchange for attaching telemetry devices—referred to as telematics—to their vehicles. IBM describes how such data could be re-used throughout the transportation industry as the next phase of monetizing IoT data in an “age of sensorization”. IBM also acknowledges the questionable value proposition of paying a lower premium in exchange for having one’s driving activity recorded in real-time, uploaded, analyzed, and saved for future purposes that can’t be anticipated. Continue reading