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Not appy, Jan. How smart devices can fuel misery
Hackers remotely raised temperatures in seven countries, spoiling tonnes of food and exposing the security risks of internet-connected appliances.
- Hackers targeted internet-connected store fridges across Europe, spoiling tonnes of food by remotely increasing temperatures in seven countries. In France, 700 supermarkets had their cooling units forced into defrost mode.
- Commercial fridges began connecting to the internet in the 2010s to reduce staffing costs by managing settings remotely. This shift created a costly vulnerability that previously did not exist for localized, manual systems.
- While tonnes of food spoiled across the continent, security measures successfully protected critical infrastructure when one cyber attack targeting French blood banks was detected and thwarted before temperatures could be manipulated.
- Major supermarkets are now rethinking the internet-appliance nexus following the attacks, as the widespread compromise of connected systems combines with consumer App fatigue to push businesses toward reconsidering smart technology efficiency.
- Critics argue that connecting appliances introduces unnecessary complexity where simple manual switches suffice. This incident aligns with broader concerns that Technological progress often provides efficient means for going backwards.
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62 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources62
Leaning Left48Leaning Right0Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution86% Left
Bias Distribution
- 86% of the sources lean Left
86% Left
L 86%
14%
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