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OLPC Security Fears
6 comments- TAGS:botnets, OLPC, One Laptop Per Child, security, third world countries
- IT TOPICS:Emerging Technology, Internet, Linux, Security, Windows & Microsoft
There is an article at The Guardian that is talking about the security fears of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project going on across the world. If you have not heard about OLPC, it is basically a mission to get computers in the hands of kids in developing nations so they can have opportunities that they would not otherwise have. And I, for one, am totally for this.
However, there are issues that need to be addressed. I blogged about this over a year ago, and there were some comments on what security measures were getting thought through and put in place (probably mostly outdated by now). But my main concern with the project was the mesh that will be created by default with these machines. After some investigation, I found this article on the OLPC wiki. A direct quote says, "The current implementation of the mesh in OLPC does not provide mechanisms to control access to the network nor to ensure confidentiality." So this has not been addressed according to the wiki. This kinda scares me.
You can search the wiki for security topics and find all kinds of information, and there are probably topics that I have not seen that will help alleviate some fears. But this machine is rolling and it ain't gonna stop. I am sincerely all for this project as far as its desire to help underprivileged children in developing nations. But I also sincerely hope this does not become a huge problem that criminals start exploiting. These kids need help. They DON'T need to become members of botnets.
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