Hacking connected objects: your radiator or light bulbs can cut the electricity in your neighborhood

quite likely to cause a dump running By attacking your connected light bulbs, thermostat or internet-connected air conditioner, say researchers from Princeton University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. Inside A study cited by our colleagues from Wiredthey present alarming results from a series of simulations.

Hacking connected objects: How your connected light bulbs could cause a power outage

To trigger an outage in a power grid involving up to 38 million people, a hacker simply only a 1% increase in electricity consumption. “If you can take control of many internet-connected devices, you will be able to highlight the electricity demand as you wish” Explains the researcher responsible for the study, Saleh Soltan.

To achieve the blackout, the researchers found that hackers could use hacking, for example. a total of 210,000 air conditioners or 42,000 water heaters. Once this is done, hackers will only need to overload a portion of the electrical grid. For safety, the network will cut off the power supply in the relevant area. “In the worst case scenario, most, if not all, electricity grids will be disconnected” warns the researcher.

According to the researchers, many connected objects such as thermostats may have already fallen under hackers’ control. For Ben Miller, a former cybersecurity engineer at Constellation Energy, an American power generation and distribution company, this work is off target. According to the expert, there is not enough connected objects yet in our homes to pose a real threat. What do you think about this study? Should we be worried about the presence of interconnected objects in our homes?