Can you trust your fridge?

Abstract

The Internet of Things has been touted as many things. But what you haven't heard is that it could be your worst enemy. Yet all of these incidents have actually occurred, according to news reports. And it's likely that even more disturbing transgressions have been taking place unbeknownst to homeowners. For example, researchers have discovered that in some cases, they can hack the Internet of Things to intercept each document you print and divert it to a remote site, use your smart TV to bug your house, and even control the tramc light on the corner outside your home. The vulnerabilities lie all around you. An HP Research study reported that the average Internet of Things gadget has an astounding 25 security flaws, and 70 percent have at least one such vulnerability. Many of these problems may yield to solutions like those adopted by the personal computer industry decades ago. There are also some that require new approaches that take into account the vast scale and narrow profit margin of the emerging world of Internet augmented products.