I've been worried about this for a while...

I've been worried about this for a while...  Over the past few years, the number of Internet-connected devices in our home has grown steadily.  Every time I dump the MAC addresses from our home's WiFi router, I'm surprised at just how big the list is.  Without consciously trying to build a “Internet of Things” at home, we've done it.  Sometimes when we buy a device, we're not even aware that it has Internet connectivity.  The proliferation of these devices made me wonder – and worry – about how some hacker might cause me grief by attacking them.  Bruce Schneier agrees, but puts a lot of the focus on routers and firewalls, rather than on the devices.

Earlier this year, I noticed a new MAC address showing up on my router, one that was failing to authenticate.  Thinking that I might be seeing someone trying to hack into my network, I borrowed a field strength meter and tracked down the source – it was our new FJ Cruiser!  Something in the car is Internet enabled, but it doesn't have the password to our WiFi and can't get in.  I finally figured out that the radio/navigation system can use WiFi to upgrade its software.

Elsewhere in our house, the devices connected to our WiFi include a TV, a DVD/BlueRay player, a DVR, a thermostat, two DSLR cameras, a microwave oven, an alarm, a weather station, two LED light bulbs, several Kindles, and a variety of things you'd expect (laptops, iPads, iPhones, etc.).  In almost all cases, the fact that the device was WiFi-enabled was incidental to our purchase.  In most of the cases, connectivity turned out to be either essential or desirable for the devices function.  In a few cases (like the microwave oven), we didn't need or want the connectivity, and we ignored it (I don't really care if I have the latest update to the mashed potato reheating algorithm).

My office has one of our Internet-connected LED lamps in it (a LIFX device).  Sometimes the bulb's software crashes and the lamp starts blinking – and every time it does, I wonder if a hacker has attacked my lamp :)  There are things that a malicious attacker could do might cause us some harm.  For instance, if a hacker could get into our Nest thermostat, they could find out whether we're home or not (the Nest knows when we walk past it).  Not good.  There are more things like that to worry about. 

Still, though, the number one Internet security concern I have is related to web site security, especially for our financial accounts.  There someone could do some real harm...