Electrical to Electronic … Information Needs, Training and Liability?

Today’s article in The Wall Street Journal entitled “‘Smart Homes’ Are a Hacking Risk” gave thought to a number of potential opportunities, and implications, for electrical distributors.

The article focused on ‘smart homes’ and how we’re becoming a more interconnected, and wireless, society and hence subject to the possibility of being hacked.  A number of appliances / technologies were mentioned … some of which are sold by electrical distributors.  Consider:

• home automation systems
• security systems / cameras
• lighting controls
• future LEDs (as they are electronic devices and probably will become wifi enablers)
• thermostats

and then they mentioned Internet enabled televisions, appliances, smartphone applications that interact with lighting and home controls and even toilets. Examples where provided where individuals hacked into televisions and used the television’s camera to view the viewers. Another hacked into an electronic toilet (no comment) and changed the ring tone for flushing (who knew there were ring tones for toilets!)

And while the article focused on the residential market, there are many more products that would be applicable for commercial and industrial applications … and products that electrical distributors sell.

This gave thought to opportunities and implications:

Opportunities

• With more products being electronic and subject to security breaches, customers may ask about safeguards.  Knowing the security protocols of products you sell my help you further differentiate yourself as a knowledge resource. Manufacturers should be able to provide this information, and information on how systems can be upgraded over time.
• Maintaining a database of what is sold to whom may enable you to offer an upgrade service, or at least a notification service.
• With electronic distributors moving more into the electrical channel (pursuing traditional electrical customers with LED lighting solutions, security, automation, data centers, etc) and distributors selling more electronic items as mentioned above, are there areas of the electronic business to consider pursuing to diversify your offering?
• Is there an opportunity for your IT department, if it has security expertise, to offer seminars? become a revenue generator and offer some services?

Implications

• With more technology comes the concern about “what if one of your customers, or their customers, is hacked?” What, if any, liability may you have? Should you be notifying purchasers of upgrades? Providing contact information to suppliers? Ensuring that suppliers recognize liability? In a litigious society, what is needed to protect yourself  (or your current liability insurance may already indemnify your organization against these types of issues)
• With more going electronic and manufacturers willing to sell whichever channel can best reach a market, could more “electrical” products be sold by “electronic” distributors?