China's IoT manufacturers are reducing costs at the expense of our privacy and security

While the figure is much debated, there are expected to be 125 billion devices connected to the internet by 2030, a 360% increase from 2017. In China, the market for these devices is expected to reach $121 billion by 2022. Additionally, the number one shipper of IoT cellular modules in 2017, which allow machines to “talk” to each other over a mobile network, was Shenzhen-based. But the use of these devices comes with a caveat. As we measure and monitor the world around us, we too get drawn into the web. In 2016, a group of Chinese researchers found vulnerabilities in the Taiwanese-made Edimax smart plug, a device routinely used for home automation. The team was able to gain access to user credentials by exploiting cryptographic flaws.