Air gapping a kiln?

 Occasionally I find my former security nerd tin foil hat wedged firmly on my head. Translation: I used to work in computer security, and I still worry about risk on my home network. 

Embedded devices are everywhere…. Running your thermostat, printer, webcam, etc etc. Some of these embedded devices tend to have security issues in them. So depending on the device (do I trust the company that made it), what it’s doing in my house (can it remotely unlock my front door?), or what pieces of my online identity and access it has to (really, this thing thinks it needs FULL access to my Google account?), I assess the risk differently. For instance, I can’t imagine having a web connected front door lock.

One such embedded device is my kiln controller. It’s made by a small manufacturer that probably doesn’t have security specific software engineers, and it controls a fire breathing 2300F dragon (my kiln). Yikes! 

So I don’t have it hooked up to the web so I can monitor it while it’s firing….. but I did just add a geeky way to still be lazy and check on it from my cozy chair, I have a wyze camera pointed at the screen. That way its still air gapped (no connection to any network or other computer). 

See, I’m still a security nerd.