Hacker turns a Wi-Fi smart light bulb into a covert local web server for sharing banned books

A hardware tinkerer built the Banned Book Library, modifying a Wi-Fi smart bulb to host digital books through an open local access point and web server. The concept is to hide a low-cost, hard-to-notice digital dead drop in public spaces where people nearby can access restricted texts over Wi-Fi.

The project highlights how cheap connected devices can be repurposed as resilient, offline information networks. It also reflects a broader cyberpunk trend: using everyday IoT hardware for censorship resistance, local-first publishing, and covert community infrastructure.