Thu. Oct 17th, 2024

Robot vacuum cleaners hacked with racist insults and control of commands

After this robot vacuum cleaner that tried to kill a young woman, some of these household appliances attacked their owners. Controlled remotely by hackers, they began to insult their victims through the microphone. Attacks occurred several times, and which also concern other devices of the brand in question.

Robot vacuum cleaners hacked with racist insults and control of controls

Malicious robot vacuum cleaners

Being attacked by your own vacuum cleaner-here, a Deebot X2-, a shame for these customers of the Chinese brand Ecovac. Indeed, according to ABC, in recent months, several American consumers have been targeted by hacking of their household appliances. One of the victims told the television channel that his robot began to act abnormally and “snippets of voice, a kind of radio signal” was broadcast over the loudspeaker. The person then rebooted and restarted the machine, but this did not resolve the problem, as a voice on the loudspeaker began “yelling racial obscenities” nonstop, such as “fucking n*ggers”.

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Robot vacuum cleaners hacked with racist insults and control of controls

A major accident that the brand investigated last May, without making any public comment on the subject. However, according to an expert report relayed by the specialist media TechCrunch, other Ecovacs brand devices have been hacked, like lawnmowers. These household appliances would be controlled via Bluetooth, within a radius of about a hundred meters around their target. And it doesn't just concern the speaker control, since according to ABC, the hacker could also control the vacuum cleaner's camera and microphone. When he realized he was being listened to and watched, the owner immediately turned off his robot. Other people have seen their robot vacuum cleaner chasing their dog or starting to shouting racist insults in the middle of the night.

Robot vacuum cleaners hacked with racist insults and control of commands

A useful reminder of the potential danger posed by our electronic devices, even the most seemingly innocent ones.

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116

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