Please do not insult yourself. Not having knowledge in a technical discipline does not mean anything about your intelligence.
So, I think that that OP explained pretty well but, I will try to provide some additional info and context, because I’m a neurospicy Linux nerd who has worked with Linux-based tech for over a decade:
There are a couple of terms and topics that need to be explained for this to make sense:
Private vs Public network (and common home networks)
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Secure SHell (SSH)
First, public vs private networks. I’m not going to do a full CCNA course but a high-level here. I’m going to simplify while trying to remain accurate.
What is a network? A group of devices (PCs, printers, phones, etc.) that can all talk to each other, without needing a router to connect them. Generally, everything goes through a device called a switch.
What is a router? A device that connects two or more networks.
What is a switch? A device that passes traffic between devices on a network.
What is a public network? Effectively, this is interchangeable with “the Internet”. Every server and device that is directly connected to the Internet has an IP address.
What is a private network then? It is a network in which only local devices are able to connect. The IPv4 addresses will generally be 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x (172.16-18.x.x is also reserved for this purpose). These addresses are special in that they are, by the IP protocol specification reserved for this purpose and not allowed for use or routing on the Internet.
How does this relate to home networks? First of all, most common home networks use a “gateway” device that is a combination of a router, switch, and wireless access point. This device generally is dynamically assigned a public IP address by the ISP and handles routing traffic between the private network of customer devices and devices on the Internet. This is, intentionally, one way (private network -> public network), both to improve customer security and to allow upcharging those that wish to self-host their own websites, etc.
Generally, all local traffic is on one private network (occasionally with a separate “guest” network). What this means is that any device on the home network is able to talk to any other device on it.
TL;DR #1 - Private network is your home network. Public network is the Internet.
What is a VPN? First, let me say what it is NOT, because there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation on the topic. A VPN is NOT a privacy/anonymization tool. A Virtual Private Network is simply a way to securely connect two or more private networks, using public network endpoints. The traffic routes through pubic network nodes, just like any other traffic, but is encrypted, so that the data is not readily known but, the origin and destination are basically plain text.
TL;DR #2 - VPNs connect two or more private networks, using encryption over the Internet.
What is SSH? Secure SHell is a protocol that allows one to securely connect to a Linux or other unix-like device for command-line access. Frequently, a piece of SSH functionality called reverse tunnels is used by tech companies to remotely support Linux-based appliances. This effectively provides the same functionality as a VPN but with access specifically to the Linux host.
How does this relate to backdoor, etc? This means that the smart bed company can log into the Linux computer in the bed and do anything that a device on the customer’s private network is allowed to do.
This could include things like:
Logging into any device (PC, printer, smart oven, etc) that has default or weak credentials.
Causing network congestion.
Compromising the customer’s gateway device to act as a Man-in-the-Middle to spy on network traffic.
Pulling known illegal content from the Internet to act as incriminating evidence against a political dissident to justify their arrest.
Please do not insult yourself. Not having knowledge in a technical discipline does not mean anything about your intelligence.
So, I think that that OP explained pretty well but, I will try to provide some additional info and context, because I’m a neurospicy Linux nerd who has worked with Linux-based tech for over a decade:
There are a couple of terms and topics that need to be explained for this to make sense:
First, public vs private networks. I’m not going to do a full CCNA course but a high-level here. I’m going to simplify while trying to remain accurate.
What is a network? A group of devices (PCs, printers, phones, etc.) that can all talk to each other, without needing a router to connect them. Generally, everything goes through a device called a switch.
What is a router? A device that connects two or more networks.
What is a switch? A device that passes traffic between devices on a network.
What is a public network? Effectively, this is interchangeable with “the Internet”. Every server and device that is directly connected to the Internet has an IP address.
What is a private network then? It is a network in which only local devices are able to connect. The IPv4 addresses will generally be 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x (172.16-18.x.x is also reserved for this purpose). These addresses are special in that they are, by the IP protocol specification reserved for this purpose and not allowed for use or routing on the Internet.
How does this relate to home networks? First of all, most common home networks use a “gateway” device that is a combination of a router, switch, and wireless access point. This device generally is dynamically assigned a public IP address by the ISP and handles routing traffic between the private network of customer devices and devices on the Internet. This is, intentionally, one way (private network -> public network), both to improve customer security and to allow upcharging those that wish to self-host their own websites, etc.
Generally, all local traffic is on one private network (occasionally with a separate “guest” network). What this means is that any device on the home network is able to talk to any other device on it.
TL;DR #1 - Private network is your home network. Public network is the Internet.
What is a VPN? First, let me say what it is NOT, because there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation on the topic. A VPN is NOT a privacy/anonymization tool. A Virtual Private Network is simply a way to securely connect two or more private networks, using public network endpoints. The traffic routes through pubic network nodes, just like any other traffic, but is encrypted, so that the data is not readily known but, the origin and destination are basically plain text.
TL;DR #2 - VPNs connect two or more private networks, using encryption over the Internet.
What is SSH? Secure SHell is a protocol that allows one to securely connect to a Linux or other unix-like device for command-line access. Frequently, a piece of SSH functionality called reverse tunnels is used by tech companies to remotely support Linux-based appliances. This effectively provides the same functionality as a VPN but with access specifically to the Linux host.
How does this relate to backdoor, etc? This means that the smart bed company can log into the Linux computer in the bed and do anything that a device on the customer’s private network is allowed to do.
This could include things like:
Logging into any device (PC, printer, smart oven, etc) that has default or weak credentials.
Causing network congestion.
Compromising the customer’s gateway device to act as a Man-in-the-Middle to spy on network traffic.
Pulling known illegal content from the Internet to act as incriminating evidence against a political dissident to justify their arrest.
Holy shit dude, this explains so much. Thank you for taking the time to type that all out.
You’re very welcome! I’m glad that I could help make it a bit easier to understand :D