How a smart vacuum cleaner keeps track of your correspondence with your ex

[DronVR]

Or how to find out the password from a coffee maker or kettle?

Today I will tell you about how smart gadgets get into our lives and how dangerous it is. The average user has three personal devices with which you can control and transmit sensitive human information. Why does no one raise the question of what data these devices receive, where the information gets and what are the goals for future use? We’ll deal with this today.

I highly recommend thinking about the potential threats these devices pose to you and your home before breaking into the store for a new smart pen or camera.

What is the essence of smart devices?
Laziness is the engine of progress. The essence of smart actions comes down to simplifying a person’s life. For example, simplify device management with voice commands. Now you can control the kettle from anywhere in the room. Smart vacuum cleaners partially replace the human need for cleaning. Some devices work with data. For example, they show heart rate, sleep quality, time of movement, etc. Briefly summarizing the main advantages, it is simplicity, convenience and functionality. The main disadvantage is security.
Cases
Before you start analyzing and telling, it is better to introduce you a little to the course of things. After that, it will become clear to everyone what is wrong with security in gadgets. To do this, we will analyze some “smart” devices and positions of companies that develop them.

Samsung and LG Smart TV

Voice activation technology on Samsung and LG smart TVs captures all the upcoming conversations. After that, voice data is sent to the server in order to search for the requested information. The fact is that the company uses third-party solutions for voice search. And Samsung explained that if a user agrees to the terms of use of voice search, then his data will be processed by a third party. LG has a similar story.

Of course, when this hype arose, the company said it did not save or sell voice data. And the most interesting thing is that Samsung refused to give the name of the company that processes voice commands. Therefore, some users recommend not talking confidential and personal information near a smart device. After all, it is not known who processes the data and how it is stored or not.

Amazon Echo Column Witnesses Crime

Amazon Echo is a smart speaker that gives you the ability to control your home, order food and taxis, and perform other diverse commands using Alexa's voice assistant. It turned out that the column was at the scene of the murder and Arkansas police wanted to gain access to it.

According to official figures, Amazon refused to provide information from the column, and provided only information about the killer’s account and his purchases. But there is also evidence that the police managed to get some information from the device, but it is not entirely clear whether they managed to do something with it or not.

In addition to the device from Amazon, there were other smart devices in the room. A water flow meter showed that 530 liters of water were used that day to cover up the traces of the crime.

Smart cameras

Resigned to listening through Smart TV? We continue further, because there are still a bunch of interesting devices. For example, smart cameras or spies that can monitor a house, rooms, etc. But just look at how many vulnerabilities, standard access data that allow you to monitor the owners of these cameras.

It’s enough to go to the shodan or censis and open the list of cameras with open access. Hundreds of thousands of devices around the world provide an incredible amount of information. If your camera has standard login information or works with a non-updated version, then I would not recommend walking around the apartment in the morning in the same underpants.

How to find a password from a coffee maker or kettle?

It is very easy to get a password from a Wi-Fi network by attacking smart devices. Manufacturers very rarely think about safety. This was confirmed by researcher Ken Munro.

To carry out the attack, it was necessary to raise a fake point with a similar SSID and send a deauthentication packet. After the kettle loses access to the point, it connects to our point, with a stronger signal. After entering two commands, we get the password in text format.

This is a very common situation when using a smart device you can access Wi-Fi. Therefore, it is worth noting that security begins with each device. And if a smart gadget is the weakest part of protection, then this is the easiest way to access your data. This must be taken into account.

Live Vibrator

What could be more personal than sex toys? The manufacturers of the Slime Eye vibrator with an integrated video camera did not take into account the security vector. During active use, the device acts as an access point with a default password. It is enough to be in range and you can connect to the device.

Being in the coverage area, you can connect to the device and receive a live broadcast from the device. Also, it can be configured so that the videos are saved and come to Skype.

True, the owner of the toy will not be happy if such information quickly spreads over the network. In some cases, such information may be used as a subject of blackmail. Therefore, it is better to think about the need to use such toys.

Should I actively use such devices?
These devices have amazing features, make life easier and in many things can take part of the routine, but they are not vital. We lived well and could do without them.

The question is how important security is. In our business, this is the first question that you need to constantly ask yourself. The truth will be a fiasco, if during searches and checks, it will be possible to pull all the conversations on skype and phone from a smart speaker or from another smart device?

The question is critical. Not everyone understands that companies want to have all the information about us. What we eat, where we spend time, how we relax, with whom we talk, how much we watch TV, what commands we send for smart devices.

This all becomes the subject of receiving funds. And as you know, you can’t buy for money, you can buy for very big money. After selling your personal information, companies can manipulate this data, sell the necessary goods, palm off establishments, etc. Information becomes a commodity in great demand.

Conclusion
Refuse such devices and do not connect them with your life. You can brush your teeth with a regular brush, and start the TV using the remote control. No one will die from this, and the information will not go anywhere. People themselves buy sensors and bugs in their homes and complain about the lack of privacy. And you just have to give up marketing chips and new products. After all, such devices can cost your freedom.

Source - Kevin mitnick

 

[Матушкин Андрей Николаевич]