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High-tech fridges, ovens and washing machines powered by computer processors and linked to home assistant devices and smart phones are all vulnerable to attack from cyber criminals, specialists from geopolitics consultancy Stratfor said.

And, if hackers manage to hijack the software controlling them, they could use the appliance’s computing power to mine cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, then funnel off the proceeds into their own digital wallets.

Giving a briefing on upcoming security threats for 2018, Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis for Stratfor, said ‘smart homes’ with a number of connected applicances could be especially vulnerable.

He said: “The concern is when you have a centralised home assistant device like a Google Home or an [Amazon] Alexa, that connects to many other devices, whether its lights, thermostats, refrigerators, dishwashers, other appliances, we’re really concerned that provides a central node for an attack.