ExpressVPN film festival focuses on dangers of IoT
ExpressVPN’s first ever Digital Privacy Film Festival will focus this year on the dangers of what happens when the Internet of Things (IoT) goes wrong. This film festival is specifically for the younger generation, as the entrants can only be between 16-25 years of age.
ExpressVPN often focuses on privacy causes around the world, and this time it has chosen to focus on the less-talked about area of the Internet of Things – a growing market, as more and more people are buying connected devices.
As you may recall, the Internet of Things is a network of devices, vehicles, and home appliances that are connectable – usually by Bluetooth or wifi. To make it even easier, IoT devices are generally connected devices that are not laptops, desktops, or smartphones.
Therefore, this can include:
- refrigerators
- toothbrushes
- pet feeders
- light bulbs
- electrical plugs
- thermostats
Since the list is pretty much inexhaustible, and growing at a rapid pace, it’s often under-emphasized just how dangerous they can be. Because we hardly notice them around us, we don’t realize that they, too, gather and transmit a lot of data about us. This lack of focus on IoT devices also leads manufacturers to place less importance on their security, and IoT vulnerabilities can cause a lot of damage.
You may not have heard about it, but the 2016 Dyn attack was the largest DDoS attack ever, and it was made possible by huge security lapses in IoT devices.
That’s why ExpressVPN’s Digital Privacy Film Festival is such a great idea. It pushes a lot of attention onto an area that is sorely under-emphasized. It’s even better that the film festival is only open to the younger generation, as they will be the ones most connected to these IoT devices.
ExpressVPN asks that entrants submit videos up to 2 minutes in length between November 12, 2018, and March 30, 2019. The videos will then be hosted on Youtube for audiences to vote on between April 8 – April 22, 2019. The prizes are as follows:
- Grand prize winner will receive a $2,500 cash reward
- First runner-up will get to choose between a Canon EOS 80D camera or a Wacom Cintiz Pro tablet
- Second runner-up will get a 12-month subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud
All the finalists will get a 12-month subscription to ExpressVPN.
In order to enter the contest, or to read more about it, you can head over here.
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