In this interview, Pablos Holman discusses why hacking is like fracking (when you apply pressure to a system, you yield new outcomes), privacy in the world of the IoT, “managing” rogue actors online, disruptive innovation and workforce dislocation, just to name a few things.

doylet

January 31, 2017

2 Min Read
Pablos Holman Futurist Hacker and Security Expert
Pablos Holman, Futurist, Hacker and Security Expert

Internet bad boy. Social provocateur. Thought leader.

Pablos Holman has been called these names and more—and for good reason: he pushes things to the limit. Take his presentation at the 2016 IoT Emerge event held in Chicago. While trying to make a point about “cracking” cyber defenses, he displayed a photo of a model in a thong bikini with her back to the camera. That got people talking.

So did his fall 2016 presentation at TEDxMidwest. There, he demonstrated how easy it is for a hacker to connect to a hotel network and seize control of televisions and more. When he showed screenshots of people’s viewing choices, bank transfers and other activities, the audience gasped. See for yourself:

When I sat down with him to discuss security and the IoT, I couldn’t help but like his charm, wit and straightforwardness. If you’re not familiar with Holman, here’s his bio straight from his web site:

Pablos is a futurist, inventor, and notorious hacker with a unique view into breaking and building new technologies. Pablos is consulting worldwide on invention and design projects that assimilate new technologies—making wild ideas a bit more practical and vice versa. He helped create the world's smallest PC; 3D printers at Makerbot; spaceships with Jeff Bezos; artificial intelligence agent systems; and the Hackerbot, a Wi-Fi seeking robot. Currently, Pablos is working for Nathan Myhrvold at the Intellectual Ventures Laboratory where a wide variety of futuristic invention projects are underway including a fission reactor powered by nuclear waste; a machine to suppress hurricanes; a system to reverse global warming; and a device that can shoot mosquitoes out of the sky with lasers to help eradicate malaria.

In our interview, he discussed why hacking is like fracking (when you apply pressure to a system, you yield new outcomes), privacy in the world of the IoT, “managing” rogue actors online, disruptive innovation and workforce dislocation, just to name a few things.

If these topics matter to you, take a listen here for more insights. This interview is brought you by the IoT Institute.

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