Is Your Fridge Spying on You?

As a subscriber to the MIT Technology Review, I receive regular emails from them. Today I read their email that began with this paragraph.

"Do you know how many internet-connected devices there are inside your home? I certainly don’t. These days, it could be almost anything: a thermostat, a TV, a lightbulb, an air conditioner, or a refrigerator. But what I do know, thanks to some of the conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks, is just how much data they’re producing, and how many people can access that data if they want to. Hint: it’s a lot."

I don't have any IoT devices, but do have some communications devices which I acquired for that purpose. I bet a lot of people do have new appliances or items meeting the IoT definition, and I thought to provide this information to those of you that may not subscribe to the MIT Technology Review.

IMG source - photo taken by the fridge and accessed by VTO Labs and Epifani. Courtesy of Mattia Epifani.

"...I certainly wouldn’t have expected that if I were under investigation, a police officer—with a warrant, of course—could see my hungry face each time I opened my fridge hunting for cheese."

While I have searched fruitlessly for this content on the link provided in the email, I did not find it there. I may simply be incompetent to ferret it out, so this is the best I can do to enable you to read the content itself. I am not comfortable simply reproducing the entirety of their content here. I believe if you subscribe yourself, you will be able to read that email I reference herein.

However, the thrust of the email is that researchers, and in particular police seeking evidence in criminal cases, are able to access IoT devices and the evidence they may or may not have collected. As noted above, such devices can take pictures, record audio, and undertake any number of means of recording data, which are today not only available to police seeking evidence of crimes, but to corporations and any random hackers that happen to seek it as well.

“I’m like … obsessed. Every time I see a device, I think, How could I extract data from there?...says Epifani."

In the case of minors, there is clearly a risk of violations of law protecting the data they generate from being collected. But that is not my primary reason for posting this information. If your light bulbs, toasters, or toothbrushes might be taking pictures of you, or recording audio, temperature, air pressure, or any of a million possible data points that are conceivable, I thought you should be aware of it.

I am not interested in my toilet taking pictures of my bowel movements, so I will not acquire an IoT toilet. I hope you will make your own informed choices regarding the appliances you buy and use.