Intruders for the Plugged-In Home, Coming in Through the Internet
Sometime soon, you may be able to turn your lights on with your iPhone. That, however, raises the question of what could happen if your device fell into the hands of a hacker.
Home, connected home. The front door opens with a tap on aniPhone. The lights come up as if by magic. The oven sends a text: Dinner is ready.
You will probably be hearing a lot about these sorts of conveniences this week from the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple is expected to unveil software that promises to turn our homes into Wi-Fi-connected wonderlands, where locks, lights, appliances — you name it — can all be controlled via an iPhone or iPad. You can bet that before long, refrigerators will come with “Made for iPhone” stickers.
These initiatives are all part of what is known as the Internet of Things. That is a catchall term used to describe connectivity — specifically, how people connect with products, and how products connect with each other…