wannacry

[#1]

did anyone watch horizon ?? interesting TV

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08vfzm0/horizon-2017-cyber-attack-the-day-the-nhs-stopped

[#2]

I did, and it was very enlightening to say the least. The bit about WiFi kettle was really worrying, not for me but for anyone who has one. You'd be more secure leaving your wallet out and your door open!

[#3]

Expect the return of this any time soon!?

[#4]

@Anonymous did you see the amount of items on his shelf , that they said were insecure ?

Personally i don't see the need for half of the stuff to be WiFi , and what he said about the thermostat was worrying 

[#5]

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@Luzern wrote:

Expect the return of this any time soon!?

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@Luzern - Well at least you know that's not going to phone home, whistle for attention but that's its limit.

[#6]

I agree with you @rongtw and even being fond of gadgets I do think that the IoT has the potential for great damage when in the wrong hands.

[#7]

I don't see the point of having devices like kettles, fridges, lights, thermostats and other things, that connect to your wifi to work, and of course, it's it's a great gateway into private and corporate networks, after all, how difficult is it to turn a knob or flick a switch, or, well, what does an internet-connected fridge do anyway??

[#8]

I suppose it will allow banks easier access to freeze assets

[#9]

I don't want my assets freezing

[#10]

everything is insecure though.
it only needs 1 person with the time and patience to break it.

it only takes someone to throw a brick thru your kitchen window and your house security has been breached.

[#11]

I'm with you @twocvbloke as far as appliances are concerned, what is the justification for owning something like this, thermostats and lights yes, if only for the convenience factor but a WiFi toaster or kettle, really!

[#12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

thermostats and lights yes, if only for the convenience factor

Even then they're susceptible to attack, just think, you're on holiday, you have wifi enabled thermostats & lightswitches or bulbs, some little number two manages to make a mass hack and turns on all these devices, thus burning gas and electricity away, all the while you're unaware of your bills being jacked up and anything in your house being boiled alive, or say its' the winter and you've been locked out of turning your heating up in the midst of a deep freeze and can't turn on the lights, yeah, I'll take a traditional setup of manually switched devices thanks...

And it's not an unjust concern, that Hive thing that is being peddled a lot on TV has had problems with hackers, so they've gotten in, and they know how to mess it up...

[#13]

They are valid comments but I for one would change the default password and upgrade to the latest firmware and isolate the LAN they were on to one where only control devices would live. But I do appreciate that not everyone knows about the potential mayhem that could ensue given an opportunity. I don't have these devices anyway as the price doesn't justify the benefit, however for someone with reduced or limited mobility these might be very useful to them.

Even then the security concerns around these devices shouldn't need to be addressed by the consumer but by the manufacturer, where upon installation a new sensible password is mandatory before the install can be completed.

[#14]

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@twocvbloke wrote:

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Even then they're susceptible to attack, just think, you're on holiday, you have wifi enabled thermostats & lightswitches or bulbs, some little number two manages to make a mass hack and turns on all these devices, thus burning gas and electricity away, all the while you're unaware of your bills being jacked up and anything in your house being boiled alive, or say its' the winter and you've been locked out of turning your heating up in the midst of a deep freeze and can't turn on the lights, yeah, I'll take a traditional setup of manually switched devices thanks...

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has there been any evidence of such a thing happening though?
or is it just the usual Daily Mail "there all out to get us" type of thing.

[#15]

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@Anonymous wrote:

however for someone with reduced or limited mobility these might be very useful to them.

Even then the security concerns around these devices shouldn't need to be addressed by the consumer but by the manufacturer, where upon installation a new sensible password is mandatory before the install can be completed.

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i suspect such a person would be more at risk of something phyiscally stealing from their house than being hacked.