Defending your home from Internet hijackers

New York

MODERN homes today are getting Internet-connected light bulbs, thermostats, TVs and speakers. So with a simple voice command or the touch of a button on our smartphones, we can set the temperature, turn on a light or prepare the TV to record a programme.

If one of these devices gets hijacked, hackers could potentially snoop around for sensitive data such as financial or health information. Or they could use a network of compromised devices to perform a widespread attack that takes down major websites, which is what happened in October.