Buying a robotic vacuum cleaner probably sounds like a great idea. Who the hell likes to vacuum? But if it was marketed as an internet-connected device with a microphone and camera that wanders your house at all hours of the day, you should probably skip out.
Researchers at Positive Technologies discovered a pair of vulnerabilities discovered in one robotic vacuum, which they believe may affect others, could allow a malicious hacker to hijack the device and use it to eavesdrop on its owners—or record them using its onboard camera, which comes conveniently equipped with night vision.
Thankfully, the exploits require the attacker to have either already infiltrated the robot’s network or gain physical access to the vacuum, according to the researchers. In other words, someone would have to be targeting your vacuum specifically. Read more at Gizmodo.
