October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
From phishing to password attacks, there are several types of cybersecurity issues. The one that is overlooked the most is the Internet of Things Security (IoT).
It is projected that by 2025. over 22 billion devices will be networked through the internet of things (IoT). Examples of IoT devices include:
Connected appliances
Smart home security systems.
Autonomous farming equipment.
Wearable health monitors.
Smart factory equipment.
Wireless inventory trackers.
Ultra-high-speed wireless internet.
Biometric cybersecurity scanners.
So what does the Internet of things have to do with cyber security and productivity?
Related story: Your smart home devices can easily be hacked – CBS
Information can be stolen from vulnerable IoT devices which are accessed/hacked through your router and cell phone.
Related Story: The dark side to technology…woman cyberstalked in her own home
“Vulnerable IoT devices can be accessed and have information stolen, or the devices manipulated in a way that could cause a physical disruption.” Alternatively, IoT devices in buildings could be hacked into remotely to cause physical disruption, i.e., a polling station.” Source: Center for Internet Security
That can lead to down time because you don’t know what to do and infringe on productivity. The excessive radiation can cause poor quality of sleep. Some 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disturbances and most don’t factor in the radiation from the tech around them.
From power lines (the source of extremely low-frequency radiation) to cell phone towers (the source of high-frequency radio and microwave radiation), our living spaces, workplaces, and everywhere else is bombarded with electromagnetic radiation from artificial fields. Electromagnetic fields or EMF are invisible electrical and magnetic forces. Everything around you generates EMF. The earth naturally creates one as does the human body.
EMF risks are growing at an alarming rate. Artificial fields from technology (appliances, lighting in the home, electrical outlets, cordless phones, televisions, computers, cell phones, wiring in the home, etc.) are overlooked because they are invisible, and very little is known about how they affect human health, productivity, and performance. However, research shows that these electromagnetic fields can cause biological stress.
An excessive amount of EMF radiation can lead to adverse health effects and property damage.
Research shows that EMF exposure in access of 2 mG will begin to develop biological stress.
Studies also show that extensive exposure to levels between 2 and 12 mG+ is linked with cancer and other adverse health conditions.
Research further shows that the hormone, melatonin which is vital for sleep, mood regulation, and well-being is suppressed with exposure to 12mG (magnetic field).
How it can affect productivity
Have you ever awakened from a rough night and shrugged it off thinking that you would make up for it the next one, but that one night of poor, disrupted or no sleep at all became several nights and eventually an ongoing problem?
That happened to me, and, my cell phone is the primary culprit. My experience led to extensive research and consultations with experts. I bought an emf meter, and, shockingly, found that the electromagnetic fields in my living space were astronomically high (swipe for meter reading). You can’t see emf radiation with the human eye, but it’s all around us.
One security expert said, “If it’s digital, it can be hacked.”
The normal range for magnetic fields that’s safe for human beings to be in without adverse health effects is less than 2 mG. Mine was 377+ mG…OMG. Unaware of the serious electromagnetic hazards associated with everyday use, not to mention being hacked, I kept my cell phone in my sleeping area. I later learned that it was hacked along with other IoT items, the cybersecurity link to poor sleep or insomnia.
I immediately took action to reduce my exposure, i.e., removed electronics from my bedroom, changed lighting, put my cell phone in airplane mode, powered it off, and removed it from my sleeping area to name a few things.
According to research, exposure to EMF (electromagnetic fields) in that range is unsafe for human beings. So, I quickly took measures to reduce my exposure, i.e. removed electronics from my bedroom, changed lighting, put my cell phone in airplane mode, powered off and removed it from my sleeping area to name a few things.
However, there were still significant disturbances. Additional research led me to discover that my cell phone and wifi router were possible culprits as they could be hacked, used to access anything in my living space that has a sensor, and attack me and or my property using high-frequency radio waves which both devices emit. I started unplugging my wifi router every night as well.
Despite that change, the problem continued. That’s when I began to discover that the disruptions were malicious. Everything that I did and measure that I took to mitigate the problem was either very short-lived or didn’t work at all. I had every professional that could be called to the scene check their equipment. They all reported “normal” measures because they weren’t using a meter that could detect the abnormal activity.
Someone, I suspect two estranged individuals from my past, gained access to my information and used it to hack into my home automated system and attack. That led me to the second part of the ongoing problem, domestic violence.
Related Story: Ethical hacker shows us how easily smart devices can be hacked and give access to your personal info
What can you do?
As a researcher and survivor, I simplified the oftentimes mind-boggling phenomenon involved with the experience in my The E-Factor book to empower people.
Key points:
1. Awareness that these invisible forces, many of them serious crimes, exist
2. Detect with special emf meters
3. Mitigate (get my free The E-Factor ebook, a guide and strong life plan for a 21st-century living)
4. Spread the word to empower others
Recent Comments