An intelligent cleaning robot cleans your home by mapping its surroundings after taking instructions from your smartphone app. A smart meter tracks your energy consumption down to each appliance, and knows when you go on holiday.

These so-called Internet of Things (IoT) or connected devices gather intimate details of their users. Much of this information is stored in the cloud, on online servers. Yet, the rules surrounding how they are being protected in cyberspace are lax, raising concerns about major privacy and security risks as such IoT devices proliferate.