In the age we live in, we witness many new technological developments every day. These developments, which make our lives easier in many ways, sometimes threaten our security at a serious level. Although security studies are carried out with some approval texts and permissions against privacy threats, it is almost impossible not to be affected by the negative consequences of these trends.
Although it is not possible to stop the problems that start to threaten our privacy, knowing the problem can be helpful in dealing with the problems it will create. We have compiled 5 of the most prominent technology trends whose dangers should not be ignored.
1. A Normalized Lack of Privacy
One of the most neglected but perhaps the most threatening problems to personal security today is the lack of privacy. In recent years, regulations on privacy laws have begun to be made in America and Europe. However, these regulations resulted in the normalization of privacy deficiencies. Because with these laws, commercial organizations were not prohibited from accessing personal user information, and permission was requested for privacy.
With the necessity brought, pop-ups asking us to accept the terms began to appear on almost all websites. However, this method applied led to notification density rather than creating a solution to privacy problems. Notifications at every step led users to accept all kinds of cookies and data requests.
2. Smart Home Assistant Devices
The first example of smart home assistants was the Amazon Echo speaker, released in 2014. Since those years, similar products of different brands such as Google Home and Apple HomePod have been produced. By 2022, it is estimated that many homes will have smart home assistant technology.
In order for such devices to work, a series of activation processes are required with the voices of the people. Rumors that these devices that work with certain commands are constantly listening to the sound in the environment are quite common. Although big technology companies such as Google Amazon report that they work after hearing certain commands for their products and do not listen to the sound in the environment, it is still not reliable. Moreover, many brands produce such products today, and equivalent products with lower prices, albeit of lower quality, can often be preferred. This can expose people to all kinds of security and privacy issues.
3. Facial Recognition Software
Face recognition devices, which have been in our lives for about 10 years, have developed rapidly and have been included in many moments of our lives. In addition to its benefits such as passwordless login, it even enabled the discovery of missing persons. With these software, close to perfect results can be obtained with a 99% success rate with appropriate ambient and light conditions.
However, in addition to the conveniences that face recognition software brings, there are also those who describe it as an eye that follows individuals. As with smart devices that work with voice, such software is considered dangerous with the idea that it constantly monitors the user.
4. Deepfake
Deepfake is a type of media in which one or more people in an existing image or video can be replaced with another person’s image using artificial neural networks.
Deepfake software, which is reached in today’s technology, can enable fake images of any person to be obtained for malicious purposes using only their social media photo. The popularization of deepfake images also threatens facial recognition software.
5. Autonomous vehicles
Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, unlike personal devices, endanger the physical security of users as well as information and data. As there is traffic, the danger of using such vehicles cannot be ignored.
Today, although automotive manufacturers present successful examples with the latest technology and comprehensive analysis, it is still not possible to consider them as the main means of transportation.