Philips Issues Response to Nov. 3rd New York Times Article

Philips refutes article, which indicated its Hue smart light bulb was susceptible to hacking.

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In response to a Nov. 3, 2016, article that appeared in The New York Times, regarding the susceptibility of smart home devices to hackers, and which specifically referenced Philips’ Hue smart light bulb, Philips has issued the following press release:


November 3rd, 2016
MEDIA ALERT: Reports of Philips Hue products being infected by a virus are inaccurate

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Philips Hue products were not and have not been infected by a virus. Researchers contacted us in the summer about a potential vulnerability and we patched it before the details of findings were disclosed publicly. At no time was a virus created or used to infect any Philips Hue products.

We recommend all our customers install the latest software update via the Philips Hue app, as with any other update that we release, despite assessing the risk to Philips Hue products as low.

The academics with whom we cooperated via our responsible disclosure process, merely demonstrated the possibility of an attack. They did not create a virus nor disclose information necessary for someone else to do so. Their research findings helped us to develop and roll out the software update.

For further information, please contact:
Philips Lighting (Europe)
Name: Elco van Groningen
Tel: +31 6 10865519
E-mail: elco.van.groningen@philips.com

Philips Lighting (US)
Name: Melissa Kanter
Tel: +1 718 309 4195
E-mail:

melissa.kanter@philips.com

Philips Lighting (US)
Name: Beth Brenner
Tel: +1 215 595 3102
E-mail:

beth.brenner@philips.com

About the Author

Elizabeth Donoff

Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

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