It's coming from inside the house!
The Internet of Things just received a powerfully creepy meme payload, as a computer security firm claims to have found a botnet anchored in domestic devices. The attack included usual boxes, but also...
More than 25 percent of the volume was sent by things that were not conventional laptops, desktop computers or mobile devices; instead, the emails were sent by everyday consumer gadgets such as compromised home-networking routers, connected multi-media centers, televisions and at least one refrigerator. [emphasis added]
Ars Technica is skeptical. But the meme is now out there, and we can readily see it occuring in practice.
As a fearsome digital media thing, this is powerful. Note, first, the domestic aspect. It's home devices that betray us. It's food-related, that most intimate of connections. Second, such an attack works through other media (laptops, tvs above), which means a skilled storyteller can build on each device's preexisting scary reputation.
(thanks to Todd "Fridge Magnet" Bryant)
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