Roughly 500 lbs of e-waste is disposed of every second across the U.S.1 One main reason: Abandonware. When digital device manufacturers stop providing software and security updates, IoT gadgets are either bricked or left exposed to cyber attacks.
We shouldn’t doom hardware with years of useful life to a premature death or an afterlife as a cybersecurity vulnerability. It’s time we abandoned abandonware and pursued solutions to keep our devices running securely. Join us in the call to abandon abandonware.
Seeking a fix for abandonware
A simple solution exists, however: devices need to last longer. Unfortunately, current practices frustrate efforts to extend the useful life of software-powered devices. As a rule, as new models of electronics roll out, older models are off-ramped: left without the software, cybersecurity patches and support needed to keep them functional and secure. That is because smart device makers face no restraints on abandoning products they have sold to consumers, businesses – even governments. This software-driven problem of bricked and abandoned devices, a byproduct of the ballooning Internet of Things, has helped drive our electronic waste problem.
The cost of EOL decisions: greater cyber risk
It is also fueling a cybersecurity crisis: as “end of life” software powering smart devices from broadband routers to Internet-connected cameras to virtual private network (VPN) appliances festers on sensitive home and business networks before falling victim to cybercriminal and nation state actors.
Of course, you shouldn’t need to be a tech expert to keep your electronics out of a landfill. When companies decide to leave a device behind, we need a system that ensures everyone can keep their devices functional and secure, without needing to resort to complicated technical solutions.
Wanted: rules of the road(‘s end)
That’s why SRFF is advocating for new “rules of the road” governing end of life decisions for smart connected products: some responsibilities (to consumers, businesses, the planet) on the part of manufacturers to go along with their right to walk away from hardware and software they’ve designed, manufactured and sold. With clearer guidelines and an emphasis on long lived and secure devices, we can stop the scourge of abandonware and EOL devices.
If you support the call for more rules governing end of life decisions affecting smart, Internet connected stuff, let us know!