Another example of the unintended consequences of poor security in the Internet of Things is Wired’s story about the possibility of hacking the power grid by accessing smart air conditioners.
In the US, electricity companies offer deals where consumers get reduced bills in return for the utility being able to throttle the usage of air conditioners during peak power periods.
Those devices turn out not to be well secured which opens the possibility of malicious actors causing brownouts or service interruptions in a targeted areas.
Sadly this story isn’t isolated, too many connected devices have poor security that opens up the a range of risks to homeowners, businesses and the community at large.