Seems like a dick move that would only be loved by assholes.

You aren't teaching anyone, you're not sticking it to companies, you're not improving security. You're just breaking random people's shit before someone else could and pretending its some noble cause. Its not suddenly acceptable to break shit because someone else does an even shittier thing.

The hacker claims that the attacks actually attempt to secure devices before bricking them, though Janit0r doesn’t specify how.

That's because they don't.

Assholes love dick?

And dicks love assholes.

I'd be pissed if my new device got bricked while I'm setting it up... Is there any way to know how long the default passwords have been in use?

You could always just not connect your new device to the internet.

Well sure, but then it's already a brick essentially. (thinking of my nest cam, for example)

I was talking about devices that don't really need to be connected to the internet, like coffee makers, thermostats, juicers, that sort of thing.

Nest is thermostats, too. Would really suck if it bricked during pipe-freezing weather.

Why does a thermostat need to be connected to the internet?

The electrical utility provides them (where I live) for power balancing. If the homeowner permits, the utility can adjust their thermostat a few degrees during peak demand, to avoid brown-outs. They also encourage conservation with target energy-saving settings. Also, if you're out of town, you can use an app to check or change the temperature at home.

Interesting. I had to buy my own thermostat.

I wouldn't want a company to be able to adjust my thermostat remotely. I don't even like it when a family member does it. And if I'm going to be away, I set the thermostat to whatever I think is an appropriate temperature in order to save me money.

Small adjustments to balance the power demand makes sense to me. I can always override if I want, or even disconnect altogether.