A Fridge That Sends Spam

The BBC reports:

A fridge has been discovered sending out spam after a web attack managed to compromise smart gadgets.

The fridge was one of more than 100,000 devices used to take part in the spam campaign.

Uncovered by security firm Proofpoint the attack compromised computers, home routers, media PCs and smart TV sets.

The attack is believed to be one of the first to exploit the lax security on devices that are part of the "internet of things".

This news follows quite soon after my previous post where I mentioned Peter Bright's op-ed in Ars Technical where he warned that these types of security breaches would likely result from poor security in household appliances that are connected to the internet.

This fridge incident lends support to Bright's point, and indicates that developments in internet connectivity will bring concerns about computer security and privacy to many more areas of life beyond phone and computer use.