经济学人82:网络安全 物联网

 Cyber-security网络安全The internet of things (to be hacked¹)（或将遭遇黑客的）物联网Hooking up gadgets² to the web promises huge. But security must not be an afterthought将各种东西交联到互联网上似乎前景极大，但首先应该考虑到安全问题。

CYBER-SECURITY is now part of all our lives. “Patches” and other security updates arrive for phones, tablets and PCs. Consultants³ remind us all not to open unknown files or plug unfamiliar⁴ memory sticks into our computers. The bosses of some Western firms throw away phones and laptops after they have been to China assuming they have been hacked. And yet, as our special report this week points out, digital walls keep on being breached⁵. Last year more than 800m digital records, such as credit- and debit-card details, were pinched or lost, more than three times as many as in 2012. According to a recent estimate by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank, the cost to the global economy of cybercrime and online industrial espionage⁶ stands at 445 billion a year—about as much as the GDP of Austria.

如今，网路安全与我们每个人息息相关。手机、平板电脑以及个人电脑上的各种“补丁”以及其他的安全更新应运而生。安全顾问提醒我们不要打开未知文件或将陌生的记忆棒连接到自己的电脑上。一些西方公司的老板如果在中国遭遇黑客，他们就会将手机跟笔记本电脑扔掉。正如本周的特别报道中指出的，数字墙正遭受着源源不断的攻击。去年，诸如信用卡和借记卡记录在内的超过800m的数字文件被删除或丢失，是2012年的三倍之多。据战略和国家问题研究中心—一个智库—最新评估称，全球经济网络犯罪和网络工业间谍活动一年耗资为4450亿美元，将近奥地利的GDP。

Now a new phase in this contest is emerging: “the internet of things”. This involves embedding⁷ miniature computers in objects and connecting them to the internet using wireless⁸ technology. Cisco, a technology company, predicts that 50 billion connected devices will be in circulation by the end of the decade, up from 11 billion last year. Web-connected cars and smart appliances in homes are becoming more common, as are medical devices that can be monitored by doctors many miles from their patients. Tech companies are splurging cash: witness Google's punt on driverless cars and the 3.2 billion it has spent buying Nest, a maker⁹ of smart thermostats¹⁰.

如今，这场对抗的新阶段正在形成——即物联网。包括将微型计算器嵌入物体中并利用无线技术将他们连入互联网。思科技术公司预测，在去年110亿的基础上，2020年底以前将有500亿连接装置处于流通。联网汽车和智能家电以及能供医生远距离监控病人的医疗装置越来越普遍。科技公司斥巨资于此，例如谷歌投资无人驾驶汽车并花费32亿美元收购智能恒温器公司Nest。

网络安全.jpgSuch connectivity offers many advantages, from being able to adjust your house's heating when you are in the office to alerting your doctor that your insulin level has risen. But it also gives malicious¹¹ hackers¹² an easy way to burrow¹³ deeper into people's lives. The small, embedded¹⁴ computers at the centre of the internet of things do not have as much processing power or memory as, say, a smartphone, so security software on them tends to be rudimentary. There have already been instances of nefarious¹⁵ types taking control of webcams, televisions and even a fridge, which was roped into a network of computers pumping out e-mail spam. And security researchers have found ways of hacking¹⁶ into some kinds of medical devices and cars, though this still requires specialist knowledge and kit¹⁷. The wireless heart monitor of Dick Cheney, America's former vice-president, was modified to stop remote assassination¹⁸ attempts.

这样连通性提供了许多好处，例如当你在办公室就能够调节房子的供暖设备，又或是在你的胰岛素水平上升时提醒医生。但同时它也使得恶意黑客们很容易就深入挖掘到人们的生活。物联网中心的小型嵌入式计算机没有像只能手机那样的多处理能力或内存，所以往往需要安全软件。已经有通过网络群发垃圾邮件控制摄像头、电视甚至冰箱的例子。尽管需要专业的知识和装备，安全研究人员仍发现一些侵入某些医疗设备和汽车的方法。美国前副总统迪克·切尼的无线心脏监视器就是通过修改来停止远程暗杀的。

Beware the fridge in Ealing当心伊林的冰箱For the companies building the internet of things, its vulnerability could be costly¹⁹. The tactic²⁰ of pumping out new software as fast as possible and then issuing patches later to fix flaws in the code may be tolerable if all that is lost is data, but if it involves personal safety, consumers will be less tolerant. In order to avoid lurid²¹ headlines about cars crashing, insulin overdoses and houses burning, tech firms will surely have to embrace higher standards. Just as with computers and phones, there will be more passwords and more updates, though that may make the internet of things less easy to use—a blow for a business based on making life more convenient.

对于构建物联网的公司而言，计算机的漏洞可能会使其付出巨大代价。如果只是丢失了数据，尽快推出新的软件然后发布补丁修复代码中的缺陷这一策略是可以被接受，但如果涉及到人身安全，消费者将不会那么宽容了。为了避免关于撞车、胰岛素过量以及房屋失火等耸人听闻的标题，科技公司必将执行更高的标准。就像电脑和电话，物联网将会需要更多的密码和更新，尽管使用上不再方便，但这是为了使生活有更多的便利。

For governments, the temptation will be to panic and do too much. They should make clear that web-connected gadgets are covered by existing safety laws and existing product-liability regimes: last year Japan's Toyota was successfully sued for installing malfunctioning²², but not web-connected, software. Wrongdoers should be punished, but the best prompt for securing the internet of things is competition. Either tech firms will find ways to make web-connected gadgets more dependable, or people will decide they can live without them. Who needs a smart fridge anyway?

对于政府来说，这种诱惑是危与机并存的。他们理应明确上网设备是由现有的安全法律、现有的产品责任制度所涵盖。去年日本丰田成功起诉了安装故障而不是网络连接或软件。违法者应该受到惩罚，但保障物联网的最好方式是竞争。是科技公司设法使上网设备更可靠，还是人们决定他们生活中是否应该依赖于此？到底是谁需要一个智能冰箱呢？

1 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

2 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

3 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

4 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

7 embedding   

把…嵌入，埋入( embed的现在分词 )； 植入； 埋置； 包埋

参考例句：

• Data embedding in scrambled Digital video complete source code, has been tested. 数据嵌入在炒数字视频完整的源代码，已经过测试。
• Embedding large portions of C++ code in string literals is very awkward. 将大部分C++代码嵌入到字符串中是非常笨拙的。

8 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

9 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

10 thermostats   

n.恒温（调节）器( thermostat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the basic operating principle of many thermostats. 这是许多恒温箱的基本工作原理。 来自辞典例句
• Thermostats can be used to regulate the temperature of a room. 恒温器可用来调节室内温度。 来自辞典例句

11 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

12 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

13 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

14 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

15 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

16 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

17 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

18 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

19 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

20 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

21 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

22 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网