The Beeb has an article on cyberwar which then slips into talking about consumer products, I assume to highlight the point that these systems are also open to attack (as they’re designed by engineers and not coding pros, that’s what is says):
“In the home, fridges will automatically replenish themselves by talking to food suppliers; ovens and heating systems will respond to commands from your smartphone. Cars may even drive themselves, sharing GPS data to find the best routes. For industry, commerce and infrastructure, there will be even more reliance on cyber networks that critics claim are potentially vulnerable to intrusion.”
The threat they fail to think of is economically-motivated hacking, could we see viruses that swap products to particular brands when your fridge automatically orders? This could be to earn the miscreant referral bonuses or simply benefit a particular brand (“My fridge will only order XXX bread”). Instead of corporate espionage, we could see corporate-sponsored hacking. Continue reading
