If a botnet comprised of Ikea smart home devices ever knocks out the internet,Covet: Island of Desire at least you'll know it's been done with Swedish efficiency.
On Tuesday, the homewares company announced it would be continuing the trend of connecting inanimate objects to the internet as part of its Ikea Home Smart project.
SEE ALSO: WhatsApp says it won't create an encryption backdoor, and that's a good thingBut must we? Humans don't have the best track record in this area. Just this week, The Registerreported that even an internet-enabled commercial dishwasher had a potential security bug.
Admittedly, these are some good looking objects to have around the home. The Smart Lighting package consists of bulbs and light panels, as well as motion sensor and dimming kits.
It can be controlled remotely with Ikea's Trådfri iOS or Android apps, and Ikea claims you can set it up without needing to call in an electrician.
"The Ikea vision is to bring affordable home furnishing solutions to the many people. We know from research that existing smart lighting technology is perceived to be too expensive and difficult to understand, so we have worked to remove those barriers to make smart lighting more accessible," IKEA Home Furnishing expert Helen Longford said in a statement.
In Australia, the kit will be available in early 2018 with prices yet to be announced. In the U.S, where it's also not yet available, a Trådfri gateway kit costs $79.99 (A$105.23).
Ikea promises the smart lighting system is "just the beginning" for the company, which also launched wireless charging in 2016.
"We want to use this innovative project to help people use technology in their homes in clever ways to enrich their lives or to simply make things easier," Longford added.
The problem is, we discovered just what an unruly internet of things (IoT) can do in Oct. 2016, when a gang of insecure devices helped carry out massive distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS).
Using a malware code known as Mirai that scans the internet looking for IoT devices that were still on factory settings, the stream of malicious traffic was aimed at the domain name server host, Dyn.
The result? The websites of Twitter, Spotify and Paypal were left inaccessible.
The furniture company is surely aware of these issues, but the fact remains that connecting anything to the internet makes it potentially vulnerable without vigilance. Ikea is known for cheap, sturdy furniture, but the IoT is no place to cut corners.
An Ikea spokesperson said safety is of the "highest importance" to the company.
While not answering specific questions about password protections and security updates, it said the Smart Lighting collection complies with all relevant regulatory requirements. "To further secure our smart lighting products, we have chosen a closed platform solution," she added.
Let's hope they're right, because the idea of an Ikea store's worth of smart furniture waking up is totally terrifying.
Best travel deal: Take 30% off Southwest flights
In Defense of “Moist”
Which 'Fall of the House of Usher' episode is which Poe story?
The art and life of Mark di Suvero
Best roborock deal: Save $400 on Q5 Pro+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
Staff Picks: Joanna Walsh, Benjamin Hale, Colin Barrett
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 16, 2023
Fabric of Our Lives
New Zealand will ban plastic bags for good
The Single Girl’s Guide to Art
Japan orders Google to stop alleged antitrust violations
Karl Ove Knausgaard, Publisher
Football: Three Impressions
The art and life of Mark di Suvero
Amazon Spring Sale 2025: Best Apple AirPods 4 deal
My Neighbor Is Practicing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Help.
Wordle today: The answer and hints for October 15
For authors, social media is a powerful tool for self
Waitin’ on the Student Debt Jubilee
My Neighbor Is Practicing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Help.
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange charged under the Espionage ActChevy cars won't let teen drivers start driving until they buckle upGuy Fieri finally got his star on the Hollywood Walk of FameMike Pence's neighbors are calling him out with rainbow flagsApple sends out media invitations for WWDC 2019 keynoteFacebook has already removed more than 2 billion fake accounts this yearOculus Quest: Every nonMom has magical excuse after kid misses school for Wizarding World of Harry PotterAnother day, another baby with an inconceivably full head of hairFake 'drunk' Nancy Pelosi video goes viral, and it wasn’t even that hard to make10 questions for King Bran after that 'Game of Thrones' finaleThe new Aladdin is the best part of Disney's new 'Aladdin': ReviewA sea of children dancing to 'Old Town Road' is the best thing you'll see todayThe Lonely Island's surprise Netflix drop is hilarious for no reasonLG to add Alexa support to its 2019 ThinQ TVsMike Pence's neighbors are calling him out with rainbow flagsTikTok owner ByteDance reportedly plans to launch Spotify rivalGwendoline Christie correctly predicted who would end up on the Iron Throne 2 whole years agoThe Boring Company wins contract to build Las Vegas tunnelGoogle adds food delivery to Maps and search results Ditch the cable forever with these smashing Amazon deals on wireless headphones This is how NASA's TESS will hunt for alien planets Oh no, Mark Zuckerberg left his notebook unattended during his senate hearing Medium app release notes make fun of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony This grandma actually printed out email jokes and saved them in a book Another 'Game of Thrones' death: George R.R. Martin's LiveJournal Mark Zuckerberg tells Congress that someone will be in touch Tim Draper makes a splash with bitcoin The FTC says those 'warranty void if removed' labels are illegal Student brings record player to exam to get around phone ban, aces the test The best iPhone 8 cases Cardi B has already won Coachella, according to Google Tesla has a staggering number of job applicants despite shady labor complaints Hackers exploit smart thermometer to steal casino information Live updates from Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in the House of Reps One of the largest revenge porn cases ever awards $6.4 million Why is Thanos such a big deal in 'Avengers: Infinity War'? Kanye's philosophy book explains why he deleted his Twitter history Pennsylvania schools are arming their teachers with very useful mini baseball bats People are dropping their phones for this 'Stranger Things' meme
1.5868s , 10133.625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Covet: Island of Desire】,Steady Information Network