Networked Home Gadgets Offer Hackers New Opportunities - MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review, By David Talbot

Connecting a new appliance to your home’s Wi-Fi network or broadband modem could increase the risk that data such as passwords will be taken from computers in your house. Such is the warning from antivirus company Kaspersky Lab in a forthcoming report on the side effects of more and more home devices being connected to the Internet.

By now most consumers are aware that security is a major problem for their laptops and PCs, says David Jacoby, a security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. But they don’t realize that appliances like TVs, DVD players, and printers that connect to a home network are vulnerable to similar threats. What’s more, most such devices have no security protections built in whatsoever, he says (see “Securing the Smart Home, from Toasters to Toilets”). “Consumers need to understand that the devices that they buy might be vulnerable,” says Jacoby. Read more.