IoT (Internet of Things) stands for smart devices that are able to connect to the Internet and communicate with each other through this global computer network.
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Typically, these are devices that allow you to monitor or control certain functions remotely. It is possible to connect to them via a smartphone or computer tablet via the Internet, even if the user is on the other end of the planet.
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The global computer network can be used in this way by various recorders, weather stations, but also smart light bulbs, for which it is possible to adjust the temperature of the light.
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However, the problem occurs when the servers to which these devices connect fail. And that’s exactly what happened in the US on Thursday.
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“I can’t luxuriate because the Amazon server crashed,” one of the owners of the robotic vacuum cleaner was angry on Twitter. “Welcome to the future,” another stabbed him. And at least hundreds of dissatisfied customer reactions affected by the outage can be found on various forums and social networks.
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The outage lasted several hours
The outage involved Amazon Web Services (AWS), which, for example, stores information and commands from iRobot’s devices, such as the well-known Roomba vacuum cleaners. Although they do not require an internet connection for their functionality, all commands are given to them via a cloud service. And it was completely inaccessible on much of the east coast of the United States for several hours.
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Of course, the outage also affected other devices that use the mentioned protocol, such as the Ring’s smart bells.
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Although in this case it was more of a user inconvenience, the failure of Amazon’s servers clearly shows how vulnerable the world of smart homes is.
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