Pitfalls of embedded network programming

Check out this account of what happens when bad embedded networking code in
a consumer product can cause DDoS-like effects:

http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~plonka/netgear-sntp /
(Title: Flawed Routers Flood University of Wisconsin Internet Time Server)

Towards the end of the article are a number of suggested practices to take
when designing an Internet appliance.