物物都联网，会是人类给自己布下的陷阱吗？

03 物物都联网，会是人类给自己布下的陷阱吗？

如果摄像头的安全漏洞就能引发全美的网络瘫痪，那么“智能冰箱”会不会被恶意程序侵入，鬼鬼祟祟地升温任细菌滋长？自动驾驶汽车会不会带你秒变自杀式袭击者？

上月21日，一场始于美国东部的大规模互联网瘫痪席卷了全美，而这可能是一场“摄像头引发的血案”。据FT报道：

Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiongmai is recalling some older versions of its webcams sold in the US after they were linked to the “botnet” attack that disrupted internet services from Twitter to the New York Times last month.

中国电子产品制造商雄迈正在召回其在美国销售的部分老款网络摄像头，这些产品被认为与上个月瘫痪美国互联网服务——从Twitter到《纽约时报》——的“僵尸网络”攻击有关联。

Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology said it would recall earlier versions of the webcams after cyber security researchers identified them as a contributor to the network that hackers used to flood Dyn, a domain name service provider, with traffic.

杭州雄迈信息技术有限公司称，将召回一些早期版本的网络摄像头。此前，网络安全研究人员确认，黑客利用了包括这些网络摄像头在内的设备，对域名服务提供商Dyn进行超大规模流量访问。

虽然直至目前为止，此次网络袭击的原因是否真是由摄像头的安全漏洞引起的仍未得到官方确认，不过该事件还是引起了不少人的思考。

FT作家Robert Shrimsley就不禁怀疑，我们跟着“物联网”的大潮涌向的地方，究竟是便捷智能的未来，还是物物皆兵的深渊？

When dumb appliances are the smart choice

傻瓜家电会成为更明智的选择吗？

As far as I am aware, we have never had an enemy of the state living in our house.I once had a friend who used to insist he was an anarchist but these days he's doing light-entertainment work for the BBC, so I'm not sure that counts.However, if the reports about the online attack that brought down large sections of the internet last month are to be believed, then we may all soon be hosting enemy combatants in our homes.

据我所知，在我们的房子里绝对没有全民公敌。我有个一直宣称自己是“无政府主义者”的朋友，不过最近他转去BBC做轻娱乐节目了。我不知道这算不算BBC的姑息养奸。不过，如果上个月关于网络攻击造成大片互联网瘫痪的报道都如实的话，那我们马上就真的是在家里豢养着军队战士了。

Without diving too deeply into the technical details, the incident saw a huge, co-ordinated attack on one of those largely unknown but crucial pieces of web infrastructure.The attack — called a distributed denial of service or DDOS — works by overloading a site's servers with far too many requests for it to process, causing it to fail.

就算不太深究技术细节，这个事件也让我们知道，那些我们不甚了解、却至关重要的网络设施，正遭受着巨大的、联合的攻击。这个名叫“分布式拒绝服务（又称DDOS）”的攻击，通过大量的访问让一个网站的服务器过载，致使其崩溃。

What was unusual about this attack was that it used malware planted in “smart” domestic devices to bolster the scale of the bombardment.In other words, your thermostat or smart fridge took time out from mainstream duties to become an internet saboteur.As the so-called internet of things — the notion of smart connected devices that can talk to each other — grows, this will become more of an issue.Every time you buy a new smart device, another potential recruit joins an army that can be deployed to crash the systems of society.

而这次攻击的非同寻常之处在于，其使用了植入在本地智能设备中的恶意软件，用以实施攻击。换而言之，你的空调或者智能冰箱都可能偷偷摸摸地“出轨”，变身网络破坏分子。所谓的物联网（智能互联设备可以相互交流的概念）蓬勃发展同时，将更多地带来一些问题。每当你买了一台新的智能设备，就像是增加了一位新的潜在佣兵，准备加入到可以摧毁社会系统的大军中。

Worse still, if the malware can be subverted in one direction, there is no reason why it could not incite your devices to turn against you.I can already see the movie: Terminator 5: When Fridges Attack.Up until now my main concern about the internet of things was that my devices would spend all their time bitching about me behind my back.Now I see that if they can bring down large corporations, it would be no effort to raise the temperature so food falls prey to listeria.Once we worried about revolutionary armies and terrorist groups; now we have to worry about Hotpoint.We can all see the benefits of smart appliances, but do we really want our microwave taken over by Vladimir Putin?

更糟糕的是，如果恶意软件可以朝着特定方向被颠覆，那它也很有可能煽动设备们背叛你。我仿佛已经看到了《终结者5：冰箱侵袭》。目前为止我对于物联网的主要担心是，智能家电将把它们的时间用于在我背后对我碎碎念。如今我发现如果它们可以搞垮大公司，那一定也可以把温度升高，让食物滋生李氏杆菌。曾经我们担心反叛军和恐怖组织，如今是要提防着Hotpoint冰箱了。我们可以看到智能家电带来的优越，但是你真的想要我们的微波炉被普京控制吗？

Thankfully, my fridge remains essentially dumb — though I like to think of it as happy.And this, I think, is how it will remain.Yes, I will lose the ability to have my fridge automatically fill my online shopping list with items I need.But on the upside, I will not have to spend my days reminding it not to crash GCHQ's computers.

谢天谢地，我的冰箱还是“傻瓜式”的，这真是个好事。我也认为这样的想法将会一直延续下去。的确，我不能享受到冰箱自动地根据我的需求将线上购物车填满的便捷了。不过好处是，我不用花整天的时间去提醒它别去入侵英国政府通讯总部的电脑了。

The same goes for voice-activated personal assistants such as Alexa.I can see myself in the kitchen asking the time of a dinner party, only to be told to wait till it finishes dismantling the apparatus of the state.It will also be a real pest making sure the appliances change their passwords every month.I know for a fact that the coffee-maker is still using its birthday and mother's maiden name.

同理的还有那些声控个人设备，比如Alexa（亚马逊家庭语音助理）。我仿佛可以看到自己在厨房里问它，晚餐会何时开始？而它回应我：“等着吧，我先干掉国家设施再说”。更超级讨厌的是你还要费尽心思地确保每个月给你的智能设备换密码。我知道那台咖啡机还在用它的生日和它妈妈的娘家姓当密码呢。

Similar fears are likely to keep me away from self-driving cars.I don't mind if Google is driving, but suppose Julian Assange hacks his way in and drives me to the Ecuadorian embassy.Even worse, some terrorist group takes over every Volkswagen and tries to smash them into the Houses of Parliament.I know I may be exaggerating this risk, but if all that stands between me and suicide-bomber status is the latest version of McAfee anti-virus software, then I prefer to drive myself.

类似的恐惧还让我对自动驾驶汽车敬而远之。我不管是不是谷歌在驾驶，不过一想到阿桑奇黑进了自动驾驶路线，把我载向厄瓜多尔大使馆……或是更恶劣的，如果一些恐怖分子控制了所有的大众汽车，试图让它们全部冲向国会大厦……我知道我可能危言耸听了，但是如果我和人体炸弹之间只隔着一道最新的McAfee杀毒软件的话，我还是自己开车吧。

All of a sudden dumb, old-fashioned appliances are looking really rather attractive.I may be missing out on some of the newest features and, no doubt, I am making my life altogether less convenient.But we have been taught a hard lesson this month.Just as the interconnectedness of the financial system was responsible for the scale of the financial crisis, so it could be with the internet of things.The network is only as secure as its weakest device — and who the hell expected to need high security on a tumble dryer? These smart appliances are the Northern Rock of the web, the weakest links that sink a system.Last week's attack was only the beginning.

这样看来，那些傻瓜、老式家电就看起来吸引人多了。我可能会失去那些最新的设备功能，并且毫无疑问地让我的生活少了些许便捷，但是我们在10月已经遭受到了严厉的教训了。正如那些金融设备的互联性应当为金融危机负责，那物联网也应如此。互联网的安全性只取决于最脆弱的设备，而又有谁在意滚筒烘干机的安全等级呢？这些智能家电就像是北岩银行（英国金融界中第一个美国次贷危机的受害者），最脆弱的一环拖垮了整个系统。上周的网络攻击事件仅仅是一个开始而已。

When it comes to the internet of things, I'm beginning to wonder if the smart move is just to stay dumb.

于是，我们把相同的忧虑和眼光投向物联网时，我不知道，是不是家电保持“傻瓜式”才是更“智能”的选择。

词汇总结

anarchist ['ænəkɪst]

n.无政府主义者

adj.无政府主义的

I once had a friend who used to insist he was an anarchist but these days he's doing light-entertainment work for the BBC.

我有个一直宣称自己是“无政府主义者”的朋友，不过最近他转去BBC做轻娱乐节目了。

combatant ['kɒmbət(ə)nt; 'kʌm-]

n.战士；争斗者

adj.战斗的；好斗的

We may all soon be hosting enemy combatants in our homes.

那我们马上就真的是在家里豢养着军队战士了。

co-ordinate [kəu'ɔ:dənit]

v.使……协调

Without diving too deeply into the technical details, the incident saw a huge, co-ordinated attack on one of those largely unknown but crucial pieces of web infrastructure.

就算不太深究技术细节，这个事件也让我们知道，那些我们不甚了解、却至关重要的网络设施，正遭受着巨大的、联合的攻击。