Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
“Wake up, baby!”
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a stranger speaking to your baby through the baby monitor. For one Texas couple, this horror story became reality when a man hacked their internet-connected monitors to watch and stalk their child. In a similarly horrifying scenario, a hacker stalked Miss Teen USA, Cassidy Wolf, for a year via her webcam. The stalker had 24/7 access to her webcam and also traced the keystrokes on her keyboard to learn her passwords for various web accounts. Subsequently, the hacker used private information he learned about her from those accounts to blackmail her into doing whatever he wanted. Unfortunately, as the amount of technology in use increases, frightening stories like these become more common. It is not difficult to envision a scenario in which hackers can gain access to financial information, medical records, and other critical private information. In light of ever increasing technological advances, Congress must respond by enacting legislation that addresses the specific security and privacy concerns that internet-connected technology presents.
Disciplines
Consumer Protection Law | Internet Law | Law | Privacy Law
Recommended Citation
Nicole Smith Futrell,
Protecting Consumers in the Age of the Internet of Things,
93
St. John's L. Rev.
851
(2019).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/4744
Comments
Originally published in the St. John's Law Review.