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Hacked Home Devices Can Spy On You

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Security


HACKED HOME DEVICES CAN SPY ON YOU

A vulnerability in up to a million LG SmartThink internet-connected home devices
can let hackers break into and take over all your gadgets.

A screengrab from a video of a hacked LG robovac.Check Point
Link copied
Oct. 26, 2017, 7:51 PM UTC / Updated Oct. 26, 2017, 7:51 PM UTC
By Ben Popken

If your "internet of things" dishwasher keeps flashing its lights, your smart
oven turns on or off by itself, and your webcam-enabled robotic vacuum cleaner
keeps stalking you from room to room, you might not be the victim of a
poltergeist, but a hacker.

A vulnerability in almost one million LG smartThinQ internet-connected home
devices can let hackers break into and take over all your gadgets, causing
mayhem and invading personal privacy, Check Point security researchers disclosed
Thursday. That includes any LG device or appliance connected to the account,
including the robot vacuum, refrigerators, ovens, dishwasher, mashing machines
and dryers, and air conditioners.




As opposed to hacking the individual devices, the researchers hacked the app
that controls them, creating fake LG accounts and using them to take over real
LG accounts.



“As more and more smart devices are being used in the home, hackers will shift
their focus from targeting individual devices, to hacking the apps that control
networks of devices. This provides cyber criminals with even more opportunities
to exploit software flaws, cause disruption in users’ homes and access their
sensitive data,” Oded Vanunu, head of products vulnerability research at Check
Point, said in a statement.

LG said it started working with the researchers in August after they brought it
to their attention and developed a software patch at the end of September. Under
best ethical practices, security researchers notify the vendor first and give
them a chance to develop a fix before announcing the vulnerability to the world
where bad actors could take advantage of it.

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TECH NEWSSPOTIFY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF AUDIOBOOKS FOR U.S. LISTENERS

LG smartThinQ users need to make sure to check their apps and make sure they're
updated to the latest version.



To update their firmware, users should click on the "smart home product" under
the smartThinQ application dashboard.

Over 400,000 LG Hom-Bot robotic vacuum cleaner were sold in the first half of
2016. In total, over 80 million smart home devices were shipped worldwide that
year, according to IHS Markit, 64 percent more than in 2015.


Ben Popken

Ben Popken is a senior business reporter for NBC News.



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