China collecting data from ‘anything and everything’ — even smart coffee makers, says researcher

The worst part of waking up could be the Chinese spying in your coffee cup.

American researcher Christopher Balding said he uncovered evidence that China is devouring data collected through smart coffee machines made in the communist country.

Mr. Balding’s report at New Kite Data Labs said problems with the internet-connected coffee machines are part of a broader data collection effort aimed at Internet of Things devices with low security and unclear data policies.

IoT home appliances include robotic vacuums and thermostats that use machine learning to keep temperatures comfortable.