‘Smart’ gadgets start to win over shoppers

SMART gadgets are taking over our homes, according to the retailer John Lewis, which said the number of people shopping for them has risen sixfold in a year.

Its annual retail report, published today, reveals a sharp surge in sales of intelligent lighting and heating systems, despite mounting fears that people who use them are becoming a target for cyber hackers.

John Lewis said searches for the smart lighting system, Philips Hue, which lets users change the colour and type of light in different rooms, trebled in a year. It also saw rising demand for smart air purifiers, heating systems and fridges, all of which can be controlled remotely via a smartphone.

Searches for smart home products on johnlewis.com were up 670 per cent overall this year, the company said. The growing appetite for gadgets that make home life easier comes despite repeated warnings from cybercrime experts that new technology could leave them more vulnerable to the theft of their bank details.

David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Labs, said: “Unlike traditional laptops and computers which are usually protected with encrypted passwords, many passwords for smart devices are generic and non-encrypted, meaning they are much weaker.

“This makes it easy for criminals to access. Then, once they are in, they can use the device to look at data sent to and from smartphones and gain access to bank details. And, if hackers can find enough devices to hack into at once, they could threaten to cut off services en masse.”

All of us have days when the world seems to be against us. The obvious reaction is to retreat homewards, put the kettle on and have a nice cup of tea. But what if the kettle, too, was captured by some malign spirit and refused to come to the boil? Such are the perils that experts warn of when it comes to “smart” devices in the home. These can be anything from fridges to light bulbs, connected to the internet, and thus controllable via a smartphone. Unfortunately, they can also be susceptible to the unwelcome attentions of hackers, who might seize control and so, potentially, deny the comfort of that soothing cuppa. Not that such fears are putting off shoppers happy to take the risk. These are the “early adopters”. They might find that with gadgets, as so much in life, it’s often best to be fashionably late.