As we’ve said before, one of the dangers that are faced with connected appliances is the possibility of them being hacked, be it just for fun or something more malicious, and it has now happened.
A Dutch student accommodation facility that used machines which accept digital payments was hacked and made to wash students’ laundry for free.
Whilst this is not exactly the most dangerous thing that’s ever happened, it demonstrates that it is entirely possible to hack these IoT washing machines, as these are commercial machines with digital payment facilities and are likely to be much more secure than domestic machines or you’d like to think so.
The company that operates the machines, Duwo, was forced to shut down all the connected machines, leaving students with some problems, but they seem to be largely solved for now. The brand of machines was not given.
Interestingly, Duwo are now set to replace the machines with dumb, unconnected appliances, and it’s not hard to figure out why that might be! Perhaps a warning for others operating similar facilities.
“There are lots of bright minds on that campus who also know how to program. It gives you a huge kick when you hack into a washing machine like that,” said ethical hacker Sijmen Ruwhof and adding, “If I were a student and saw those digital washing machines, as a hacker, I would be getting the itch, too.”
We can’t say for sure as we’re not experts in the space, but it seems to us that there are security concerns around connected appliances, and we’ve been on about it for many years. This suggests that our concerns are perhaps not misplaced after all.
