Small computers mean computers can be anywhere. Computers can be anywhere means computers can be hidden. Ubiquitous wi-fi and 3g means computers anywhere can connect to the net. Hilarity ensues.
Trust Me (I'm a kettle) - Charlie's Diary
The internet of things may be coming to us all faster and harder than we'd like.
Reports coming out of Russia suggest that some Chinese domestic appliances, notably kettles, come kitted out with malware—in the shape of small embedded computers that leech off the mains power to the device. The covert computational passenger hunts for unsecured wifi networks, connects to them, and joins a spam and malware pushing botnet. The theory is that a home computer user might eventually twig if their PC is a zombie, but who looks inside the base of their electric kettle, or the casing of their toaster? We tend to forget that the Raspberry Pi is as powerful as an early 90s UNIX server or a late 90s desktop; it costs £25, is the size of a credit card, and runs off a 5 watt USB power source. And there are cheaper, less competent small computers out there. Building them into kettles is a stroke of genius for a budding crime lord looking to build a covert botnet.