Online refrigerators - a step too far ?

Elementary / preliminary level English 

Imagine going to the supermarket to buy your favourite ice cream. You open the freezervery cold refrigerator, but the ice cream is warm like soup! This really happened recently in France. A cyber attack hit French supermarkets. In the middle of the night,  hackerscomputer criminals changed the temperature of the freezers up to 50°C. All the food went bad and had to be thrown away. It cost a lot of money. This made many people ask a very simple question. Do supermarkets freezers really need an Internet connection?

Supermarkets began using freezers long before the Internet was invented. They just kept food cold, and nobody could hack them from a computer miles away. Today, companiescorporations, firms want everything to be connected. In the United Kingdom, big supermarket chains like Tesco connect their fridgesrefrigerators and freezers to the internet. The idea sounds good: computers can checkinspect or monitor the temperature automatically. If something goes wrongdoes not function correctly, the computer sends a text message to a worker. But there is a risk. When everything is online, hackers can find a way in.

It is not just supermarket freezers. We hear stories all the time about massive cyber attacks in the United States and other countries. Hackers stealtake without permission the private information of millions of users, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and home addresses. They steal them from big computers that are permanentlyalways linked to the Internet.

Is there a simple solution to this modern problem? Many experts say yes. And it's a very simple solution! Do not store important databaseslarge collections of electronic information on computers that are always connected to the internet.

If a computer has no internet connection, hackers cannot steal the data. If a freezer is not online, nobody can change its temperature from their bedroom.

Of course, businesses love connected systems because they can saveuse less time and money. In the USA, big companies use cloud computers,data centres which managecontrol or organise thousands of stores at the same time. But this convenience comes with a huge risk. When everything is connected, one small mistake can create a disastera catastrophe.

When will businesses and governments wake up? They do not need the internet for everything. Sometimes, the old way of doing things is the safest way. Some systems obviously need to be "connected" all the time, but others, like supermarket refrigerators or the personal details of students, do not! In the age of hackers, offline can be a much safer place to be. 

Words - freezer: a very cold refrigerator - hackers: computer criminals -  companies: corporations, firms - fridges: refrigerators - check: inspect or monitor something - goes wrong: fails, stops working - steal:  take something without permission - permanently: for ever - databases: collections of electronic information - save: use less - cloud computers: data centres - manage: control or direct - disaster: - catastrophe.

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Student worksheet

Exercise 1: Reading Comprehension (Multiple Choice)
Choose the correct answer (A, B, or C) according to the article.

1. What happened to the supermarket freezers in France?
        A) They broke because they were too old.
        B) Their temperature went up to 50°C.
        C) They stopped working because of a power cut.

 2.   Why do UK supermarkets like Tesco connect their fridges to the internet?
        A) To automatically send a message if there is a problem.
        B) To let customers check the temperature from home.
        C) To sell more ice cream online.

 3.   According to the author, why do big businesses love connected systems?
        A) They are safer from cyber attacks.
        B) They save time and money.
        C) Shops like them.

 4.   What simple solution does the article suggest?
        A) Stop selling ice cream in the winter.
        B) Put all supermarket freezers in the USA.
        C) Keep important systems disconnected from the internet.

Exercise 2: Vocabulary & word building (contextual blank fill exercise)

Complete the sentences using the correct word from the box. There is one extra word you do not need.

    temperature  |  invented  |  private  |  modern  |  passwords  |  safest

    Supermarkets used refrigerators long before the internet was _______________.
    Hackers often try to steal _______________ information like addresses and credit card details.
    Keeping computers disconnected from the internet is often the _______________ choice.
    Cyber attacks on connected freezers are a _______________ problem.
    In France, the hackers turned the _______________ up, and all the food went bad.

Exercise 3 - Words and their endings.
The words in red are not complete. Put back the missing endings. Boxes will grow, to accept longer words.

 

For teachers 

CEFR level

This text contains a fair amount of "advanced" vocabulary which will not cause any problems for most students at A2.2 level. Excluding modern technical internationalisms, like computer and supermarket, the sentence patterns and vocabulary of this article align firmly with CEFR Level A2.

Grammar

 First Conditional (Real Conditionals)
The text uses first conditional structures to express real possibilities.

    "If something goes wrong, the computer sends a text message..."
    "If a computer has no internet connection, hackers cannot steal the data."
    "If a freezer is not online, nobody can change its temperature..."


Exercise 3: Note the indefinite pronouns that need to be completed: nobody, everything, something.  The "b" is provided for the word nobody, to remind students that the original article used the word nobody, not no one, which would also have been acceptable.

Careful listening
As your students listent to the audio text, they should note any differences with the written text. These are deliberate, and mostly concern synonyms or alternative expressions. This is a good exercise in vocabulary acquisition and consolidation, allowing students to absorb new words and meaning by subconscious assimilation, as they do in their native language.

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