Privacy challenges introduced by the IoT

As your family sits down after dinner and a long day of work, one of the children starts up a conversation with her new connected play doll, while the other begins to watch a movie on the new smart television. The smart thermostat is keeping the living area a steady 22 degrees Celsius, while diverting energy from the rooms that aren't being used at the moment. Father is making use of the home computer's voice control features, while Mother is installing new smart light bulbs that can change color on command or based on variations in the home environment. In the background, the smart refrigerator is transmitting an order for the next-day delivery of groceries.

This setting tells a great story of the consumer Internet of Things in that there are exciting new capabilities and convenience. It also begins to make clear the soon-to-be hyper-connected nature of our homes and environments. If we start to examine these new smart products, we can begin to see...