Record numbers of women who were abused and controlled through technology were referred to Refuge's specialist services during the last three months of 2025, including a 62% increase in the most complex cases to total 829 women. There was also a 24% increase in referrals of under-30s. Recent cases included perpetrators using wearable tech such as smartwatches, Oura rings and Fitbits to track and stalk women, disrupting their lives through smart home devices that control lights and heating, and using AI spoofing apps to impersonate people.
Most of us have some internet of things (IoT) devices at home, whether it's a phone, a tablet, or a collection of security cameras and sensors. When you learn that 120,000 home security cameras were hacked in South Korea for sexploitation footage, it makes you think twice about adding such devices to your home, which is your most sacred space for privacy.
The modern front door has a lot to juggle. Couriers drop parcels, friends arrive unannounced, kids race in and out, and somewhere in the background, there is a quiet worry about missing something important or not catching something suspicious. Many homes already have a patchwork of doorbells, lights, and locks that only half cooperate, or lean heavily on cloud subscriptions and frequent battery swaps that never quite stop being a chore.
Lockly has introduced a series of smart locks that have native Matter compatibility, meaning that they will be able to be used across different smart home systems. The Affirm Series of smart locks will come in both deadbolt and latch editions. What's more, the locks will support several ways to allow access, including not only the usual numeric keypad, but NFC access, so they can be used with physical and digital NFC key cards.
ADT (NYSE:ADT) operates the traditional model: 6.5 million customers paying monthly fees for 24/7 professional monitoring. The company generates $5.11 billion in annual revenue, with $1.10 billion from recurring monitoring subscriptions. Their strategic bet centers on the ADT+ platform, integrating AI capabilities through a partnership with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Resideo Technologies (NYSE:REZI) brings Honeywell Home, First Alert, and Control4 brands to 150 million spaces worldwide.
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Signify is using both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi options on the Hue doorbell, as well as a Zigbee radio to pair with Hue lights. You can configure the Hue doorbell to automatically turn on other Hue lights when someone approaches your front door, and it also comes with a plug-in chime that can act as a siren for the Hue security system. The chime is also a requirement as the Hue doorbell won't work with any existing doorbell chime.