The Internet Of (Vulnerable) Things

The office had fallen victim to a crime. Data had leaked, strange emails were sent at 3 a.m., and the Wi-Fi groaned under suspicious traffic. Fingers pointed everywhere: the new intern, that “free” USB charger, even the guest Wi-Fi system was a suspect. The truth? The culprit was colder… much colder.

Like a detective at a crime scene, we sift through the evidence. The smart thermostat? It had the motive, always lurking on the network. The security camera? A known troublemaker in the IoT (Internet of Things) underworld. The conference room speaker? Too chatty, too easy to manipulate.

Each of these everyday gadgets—tiny computers in disguise—can be recruited by hackers to slip through digital defenses. Small businesses often overlook them. They assume cybercriminals only attack laptops or servers. But printers, cameras, thermostats, and even coffee machines can serve as back doors into valuable systems.

Protecting those devices is a matter of cybersecurity due care—the work performed by employees, IT professionals, vendors, and other specialists responsible for keeping systems secure.

But knowing that the work is being done is a matter of executive due diligence. Owners and executives do not need to configure the thermostat or secure the refrigerator themselves. They do need to ensure responsibility has been assigned, appropriate safeguards are in place, and someone is validating that they work.

And then, at last, the evidence was undeniable: it was the refrigerator. Yes, the sleek, stainless steel, Wi-Fi–enabled break room fridge. While chilling your sodas, it was moonlighting as a spam relay. While tracking your grocery list, it whispered secrets to strangers. It had the perfect cover.

Case closed. It wasn’t the shadowy hacker in a basement. It wasn’t the phishing email you almost clicked. The refrigerator did it!

And that is the executive lesson: you do not have to secure every connected device yourself. You do have to make sure someone does.