From: Forbes
The idea that household appliances need internet-connected capabilities has always seemed over the top. Take the example of Samsung’s infamous “smart fridge.” Debuted at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show, their RF4289 model came with an LCD screen above the ice dispenser that allowed you read the news and send Tweets. At the unveiling a Samsung executive explained why they chose those features, and without a hint of irony, he asked, “Are you going to watch YouTube on your refrigerator? … That’s what the TV is for.”
Like many “smart” appliances of the time it was just frivolous extravagance marketed as innovation. But after three years and a $3.2 billion acquisition by Google, the “connected-home” is starting to generate a lot of excitement again. With the success of Nest Labs, hardware entrepreneurs and large corporations alike are dreaming up new plans to blanket your home in sensors.
The products are finally becoming practical. However, before these technologies become mainstream the industry will need to address a major issue: can they convince consumers that these devices are secure and non-invasive?
Three days after the news about Nest Labs reports emerged that researchers had discovered the first large-scale cyber attack involving the “internet of things.” In this case, internet-connected televisions, speakers, routers – and at least one fridge – were used to send hundreds of thousands of malicious e-mails. Like news in the past that U.S. Chamber of Commerce had their thermostat compromised by hackers in China, or that a Forbes editor was able to hack into the home automation systems of complete strangers, the attack served as yet another reminder that there are consequences to bringing computer vulnerabilities into every corner of the physical world.
Cyber-security expert Bruce Schneier thinks we have reached a crisis point with embedded systems, he wrote, “The industries producing these devices are even less capable of fixing the problem than the PC and software industries were.” Many of these products simply aren’t designed with security in mind, and many of the companies involved aren’t ready to acknowledge the scope of the problem. A couple in Texas who recently had their internet-connected baby monitor hacked had to complain to the media before the manufacturer would take the vulnerability seriously enough.
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