Imagine a world where the technology that you hold so dear has turned on you. Most minds would immediately imagine a Terminator situation with massive casualties and chaos. Although it sounds impossible, researchers say a technology takeover could be possible, on a much smaller scale.
Researchers at the University of Washington believe that it is high time we take a second look at technology security, in particular robot security. Believe it or not robots are beginning to pop up in more and more homes across the country. Mostly in the f0rm of toys but also in house hold cleaning devices such as the iRobot’s Roomba vacuume cleaner. Tadayoshi Kohno, an assistant professor at the University of Washington stated “We were shocked at how easy it was to actually compromise some of these robots.” Some of the modern day robots are said to run on wireless access points and are quite susceptible to hackers. Once hacked into, the robots can be controlled through the Internet and used to spy on people or to vandalize property. “We think that consumers should at least be aware that there is the possibility that someone would listen in on their robot and take over their robot and have mobile eyes and ears in their home,” said Tamara Denning a PhD student who also worked on the paper. Although these bots won’t become self aware and begin to attack your family like the bots in Terminator, studies have shown that security in the current line of robots is little more than an after thought during development.
While none of the people researching this problem believe that it can lead to a Terminator or Matrix like scenario, it is important to realize that there are still risks that your robot could be hacker. Whether it be for spying purposes or vandalism, one thing is for certain: there should be more of an effort on the manufacturer’s end to ensure that this cannot happen so easily.
(Via PC World)
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