Several American households have experienced firsthand the risks of appliances connected to the Internet. Hackers have managed to gain control of dozens of Ecovacs robotic vacuum cleaners, commanding them to shout racist slurs at their owners and chase their pets.
Photo: Ecovacs
Robotic vacuum cleaner Ecovacs Deebot X2.
Smart light bulbs, televisions, refrigerators or robotic vacuum cleaners. This is just a short list of household appliances that manufacturers have connected to the Internet in recent years in order to facilitate people’s routine activities and simplify life. Robotic vacuum cleaners have gone through many years of development and can now take over a large part of the household chores related to vacuuming, cleaning and washing the floor. All this only with the help of a mobile application, through which one of the household members tells them what to clean and when. Well, it doesn’t always go smoothly. The latest case of a hacker attack showed how home appliances connected to the Internet can be an easy target for hackers who can at best “just” make people’s lives uncomfortable.
As he reported magazine The Verge, several weeks ago several owners of Ecovacs Deebot X2 robot vacuum cleaners reported an incident that was disturbing to say the least. An unknown group of hackers managed to take control of dozens of vacuum cleaners in the United States, forcing them to shout racist slurs and chase pets around the apartment.
Weak security has opened up opportunities for hackers
How did the attack happen? Hackers took advantage of a vulnerability in the system of smart vacuum cleaners, specifically weaknesses in their protection mechanism, such as insufficient encryption of PIN codes. This gave them full access not only to controlling the movements of the vacuum cleaner, but also to its speakers and cameras. After taking control, the vacuum cleaners began to move around the apartment by themselves and shout derogatory and racist insults through the loudspeakers. In addition to cursing, they also chased dogs and cats around the apartment. The incidents were not isolated and occurred around the same time in various states of the United States from Minnesota to California.
Ecovacs immediately responded to the incident and admitted that the error was caused by a lack of security. The company promised a quick release of a security patch to eliminate this vulnerability. It also advised users to disconnect their vacuum cleaners from the Internet or use more secure connection methods, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), until the update is released.
Source: vat.pravda.sk
