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A relative's daughter died in an apartment fire because the smart lock she had installed in her apartment malfunctioned under heat and locked her in her own house. She was the only casualty in the fire.

I've sworn off anything "smart" for critical infrastructure since then.




Sounds like something fire safety regulators might want to look into. Any smart lock system should be required and thoroughly tested enough to guarantee that that won't happen.

Also, what happens when electricity is out or you don't have a data connection for some reason?


This was in India so really can't expect much in terms of regulation. The market is flooded with Chinese products that rebadged and sold by local companies.


A lot of IoT tech outside of India uses Chinese products as well. Consumers don't ask questions as long as it's cheap and looks cool.

I remember a talk from a few years ago where someone in Germany could unlock all rent bikes in the vicinity by sending the Chinese manufacturer's default password...


Not just IoT tech. Lots of cheap Chinese products of many different kinds don't meet the requirements of other markets. There's even the infamous "Chinese Export" logo that's intentionally almost identical to the European "Conformité Européenne" mark that signifies a product meets EU standards. Much of the Chinese export economy sees to be based on deceiving consumers in other countries.

[0] https://starfishmedical.com/blog/conformite-europeenne-mark-...




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