High tech toilets have always fascinated us as a civilization. Well, maybe not always — toilets didn’t even used to exist for a while there — but there’s something oddly appealing about a crapper that dazzles us with flashing lights. You know, except when it falls prey to hackers and floods your bathroom, because that’s now a thing that’s possible.
Satis produces state-of-the-art toilets that do everything you’d want your fancy Japanese toilet to do after watching that one Simpsons episode — its features include deodorizing spray, bidet nozzles, automated seats, playable music, and even app synchronization via Bluetooth.
It’s that last feature that allowed clever techies to hack their way into the toilet mainframe, so to speak. Turns out that in order to connect your Android app with your commode, every Satis toilet has the same hard-coded Bluetooth PIN. According to an advisory notice put out by Trustwave, that means the following:
[A]ny person using the “My Satis” application can control any Satis
toilet. An attacker could simply download the “My Satis” application and
use it to cause the toilet to repeatedly flush, raising the water usage and
therefore utility cost to its owner.Attackers could cause the unit to unexpectedly open/close the lid, activate
bidet or air-dry functions, causing discomfort or distress to user.
Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Someone can force your toilet to close its lid while you’re still on it. Great, because the thought of a toilet trying to eat me definitely wasn’t a debilitating fear I had when I was a small child or anything.
Satis has yet to comment on the matter. They should hurry up and do something, though — this mess isn’t going to flush itself. Unless it gets hacked, of course.
(via The Atlantic)
- What will Bill Gates say?
- Imagine if you could hack a motorcycle like thaOH WAIT
- The stuff we pee into probably should not be given so much power
Published: Aug 2, 2013 05:00 pm