Would You Let Hackers Control Your Thermostat?

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Maryland, one of the most liberal states in the country, is getting ready to force their residents to replace their home heating controls with a gadget that can be remote controlled, presumably, by the homeowner. But like all web-based applications, it will be prone to phishing and hacking.

From MyFoxDC here:

As part of a test of newfangled energy-saving devices, electric utility Allegheny Power is proposing installation next year of “smart thermostats” in hundreds of homes in the Urbana area about 40 miles northwest of Washington.

The gadgets would enable customers to control their home temperature remotely through a Web site that conveys hourly energy price and usage information. The utility says the thermostats could also include a text-messaging feature.

The devices are part of the company’s plan for meeting the state’s goal of a 15 percent reduction in energy consumption by 2015.

This is a dumb solution for a dumb problem.  Maryland’s government is maggoty with ecozealots who are convinced that global warming is real and that they have to reduce carbon.  So they are forcing people to adopt remote control thermostats, which are web-enabled.  This would give more than just the owner access to the system-  The power company, the government, hackers, and anyone with a web browser.  Imagine ecohackers sending out phishing emails to steal your thermostat’s password so they can reduce their carbon for you.  Or worse, imagine the government doing it.