Total Home Design

Details of the exhibition

As the number of connected gadgets in our homes increases, it stands to reason we’ll see an increase in IoT security devices like these. Konttinen cites increasing sales in Wi-Fi connected devices, and the attendant rise in security concerns, as F-Secure’s motivation for designing the icy, supremely Scandinavian Sense. Atias says looking forward, it’s safe to assume all our devices will plug into the network. “Samsung, Bosch, Siemens—in three or five years, they will not have a single device out of their factory that’s not connected,” he says, based on conversations he’s had with other companies. Products like Dojo and Sense address a real need in this new marketplace, Young says. “When people talk about the Internet of Things, they say, ‘oh you can hack the smart TV,  but I don’t care, it’s a low level risk to me.’ But the thing is, that TV gives you away to other parts of the network,” Young says. Not caring, “throws the traditional thinking of risk management on its head. You can’t easily envision what the worst case scenario is from your home.”

It’s tempting to regard products like Sense and Dojo the way you might an upcharge by your local auto mechanic. You mean I have to buy a device to protect my other devices? On the other hand, as the objects in our homes send more and more personal information to the cloud, protective devices like these sure seem prudent. Beautifully designed products like Dojo and the Sense have the potential to make an unsexy topic a little more attractive. Atias and Amit hope that will, in turn, make consumers consider the issue more seriously. “Most people are not aware of the amount of data being collected,” Amit says. “Both the big guys and the hackers don’t want to talk about how much data is sifted from homes. We think now you can control it in a very easy way.”

Details of the exhibition

In Finland, a company called F-Secure is gearing up to launch a very similar product. The F-Secure Sense is a white, diamond-shaped mini-tower with a set of functions nearly identical to Dojo’s: it uses algorithms to analyze all the traffic flowing through a given Wi-Fi connection, and detects abnormalities. Samu Konttinen, EVP of consumer security at F-Secure, says it’s meant to be a hands off, all-in-one device. “We really started thinking of a solution where you wouldn’t have to install security software. We thought, let’s design something that will protect all of those devices, but this one solution could solve all of your security problems.”