Voice assistant, connected bulbs, smart locks or video surveillance: connected homes are nowadays very popular for their efficiency. The goal: to simplify everyday life. But many people would be surprised at the extent to which these devices can be misused, according to Jodi Leedham, head of the technology abuse team at the charity Refuge.
Indeed, attackers are increasingly using this type of everyday technology to terrorize and monitor their victims, generally their partners or ex-partners. “It is not a technological problem in itself,” the manager explains to The Independent, “it is a problem of human behavior, a problem of domestic violence.”
At Refuge, the technology abuse team helps women whose ex-partners use sophisticated technology to torment them. This is an abuse that does not require proximity. Smart locks, for example, are a major concern because criminals can monitor when doors are unlocked and who comes and goes, with the click of a button via an app.
Another important mechanism of technological abuse is the hiding of cameras in clothing and toys given to children by abusers. “Survivors sometimes come to us to tell us that their partner or ex-partner knows things they shouldn’t know, and that they have no idea how they could have learned it,” adds- she said. We then carry out an evaluation and a complete inventory of all the technologies present in the house.
-Speaking about the dangers of everyday technologies when they fall into the wrong hands, Jodi…
Read more on Slate.fr
Health
