Bad software update kills many Wink smart home hubs
21 Apr 2015 • engadget.comNow for the downside of a house loaded up with “smart” devices to allow remote control and monitoring: turning your home into a computer means computer-like problems. Today’s example comes from the Wink Hub, a $50 device sold at Home Depot that’s supposed to simplify things by working across standards and link common home appliances (lights, thermostat, garage door, etc.) to your phone. That was the plan until yesterday when Wink sent out a software update that went wrong somehow, and now a number of users have a box “so secure that it is unable to connect to the Wink servers” (Wink’s words, not ours).
Imagine not being able to relieve yourself because your “smart” toilet is being held hostage by a Russian hacking group waiting for you to pay a ransom to decrypt and reboot it. That’s a future no one wants. This stuff needs to be just as reliable as your fridge or your toaster. Seems we still have a long way to go.