Hacked U.S. robot vacuums are yelling racial slurs, chasing pets

[oldbrownhat]

Article here

Robot vacuum owners in multiple U.S. cities have reported their cleaning machines have been hacked, with one man reporting that his vacuum starting yelling racial slurs at him. A report from the Australian Broadcast Corporation pins a security flaw in the Chinese-made Ecovacs Deebot X2 on the hacks of the widely distributed machines...

When he went to check his Ecovacs app, he could see a stranger messing around with its remote control feature and live camera.

He said he quickly reset his password and rebooted the vacuum before returning to the couch with his wife and teen son. That’s when the real trouble started, with a voice coming through the robot loud and clear.

“F— n——s!” the voice began shouting repeatedly.
TechCrunch reports that Ecovacs are apparently quite easy to hack and it’s been a known issue for quite some time...
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Naturally, the manufacturer denies all responsibility...


As Kevin J posted in "Memes" a week or so ago, this is probably a better option

 

[Eric300]

That's what you get for being lazy. Pick up a vacuum and do it yourself!!

 

[oldbrownhat]

That's what you get for being lazy. Pick you a vacuum and do it yourself!!

Ah yes- "the smart home" with everything connected online. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[swsig]

Ah yes- "the smart home" with everything connected online. What could possibly go wrong?

Except for smart door locks. They're absolutely foolproof, un-hackable, and totally secure, right?

 

[lihpster]

We aren't asking the right question. Why does a vacuum need to be able to speak? I don't need to know the vacuums thoughts on race. I don't need a vacuum that has thoughts. I just need one that sucks up the dirt. Without conversation.

 

[Rule3]

Look up the Saturday Night Live Woomba skit on You tube!

I am not gonna post it.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Except for smart door locks. They're absolutely foolproof, un-hackable, and totally secure, right?

Just ask this guy...
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDC-9d88r20[/ame]

I'm waiting (NOT) for a remake of "I'm No Angel" where Mae West'd character says, "Beulah, peel me a grape" and Beulah is a robot

 

[Kevin J.]

Just saying...

 

[Telecaster]

The Stepford Wives sounds great until they get hacked…

 

[wood714]

I just turned mine on. I'll keep an eye on it.

It came with some kinda app for my phone, but I never set it up. Actually works great.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The Stepford Wives sounds great until they get hacked…

They are all hacked before you meet them. That is what public schools are for.

 

[gunnertwo]

Reminds me of the time my Alexa started arguing with my television.

I kept the TV, the Alexa went away. It was yelling at me from inside the trash can...

G2

 

[TX-Dennis]

We once had an Alexa device. My son changed the wake work from "Alexa" to "Computer." Very entertaining while watching Star Trek reruns.

I unplugged and tossed it when my wife started hearing other people's conversations from it while she was home alone. I'm not sure how that happens, but enough is too much.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Look up the Saturday Night Live Woomba skit on You tube!

I am not gonna post it.

Ye gods... Is nothing sacred? (Hahahahahahahaha!)

 

[johngalt]

Why does everyone think all their devices need to be on the internet?

 

[oldbrownhat]

Why does everyone think all their devices need to be on the internet?

For the most part they don't. But seemingly that doesn't matter. Apparently The Cloud is The Place to Be.

But I remember when the war in Ukraine began and John Deere locked out the Russian tractors

 

[Chuck24]

Wonder if I can teach it to cheer for my football team?

 

[1sailor]

I am not paranoid regarding online electronics but don't kid yourself, they are listening. Some time ago my son and I were talking about getting a new rubber mallet. We were face to face. I don't have Alexa or anything like that, but my son always carries his smart phone. The next day when I turned on my computer and went to my home page there were about a half dozen ads for rubber mallets. Never before in my life have I ever seen an ad for rubber mallets on my home page. I have heard similar stories from others.

 

[CalifEd]

Except for smart door locks. They're absolutely foolproof, un-hackable, and totally secure, right?

Yes. Until the power goes out along with the wireless router.
Then they go super secure and only the neighborhood thief can get into your house.

 

[TX-Dennis]

My electronic door locks aren't "connected." They are not on the internet, and I can unlock any door with my fingerprint. Very handy to have. There's also a code if the fingerprint reader doesn't work - which it doesn't sometimes if my fingers are grubby from yard work or working on a vehicle. These are battery operated, and can be "jump started" with a cellphone and USB cable if the battery is dead.

I'm sure they're not top notch security, but they're at least as secure as most residential locksets.