Dogtown’s Rob Pope Will Speak at Internet of Things World

The market for internet of things devices is booming right now. In 2015, there were 15.4 billion IoT devices installed around the world; that number is expected to more than triple by 2021. People love the idea of a life made more efficient by a network of interconnected devices, but there are mounting concerns over privacy and security, some of which are legitimate and some of which border on the paranoid. Fortunately for IoT developers, there is Dogtown Media co-founder and CTO Rob Pope to cut through the hype and hysteria surrounding smart devices.

Pope will be giving a talk titled “Internet of Scary Things: My Toaster Is (Not) Spying on Me” at the Internet of Things World expo on May 18. With his roots in ethical hacking, expertise in cybersecurity, and experience as an IoT developer, Pope is uniquely qualified to offer a levelheaded assessment of where we are in IoT security — and where we have to go from here.

Reports last October of a major internet outage caused by a horde of zombie IoT devices infected by Mirai malware understandably alarmed a lot of people. Consumers struggled to understand the exact vulnerabilities of their devices and how these botnet attacks work. The media — never renowned for nuance, especially when it comes to complicated tech stories — exaggerated the dangers to the average consumer and launched into overwrought extrapolations about what major attacks may be next. Unfortunately, these kinds of sensational headlines steer the conversation about security issues in the internet of things — and steer it away from actual substance, as IoT developers know all too well.

Pope’s presentation will steer us back to substance. He’s aware of the vulnerabilities (and he’ll prove it by performing a live hack on some smart devices), but he’s encouraged by the improving solutions IoT developers are rolling out. He’ll discuss some of the latest developments and point out the areas that still need improving. We hope to see Bay Area internet of things app developers (and out-of-town friends too) at the Santa Clara Convention Center on May 18th to hear Pope’s refreshing perspective on this rapidly expanding industry.