Smart home devices make our lives easier, but sometimes they can also become a threat to your privacy. Recently a strange case has come to light where a user tried to operate his home robot vacuum with a PlayStation controller. During this time, a major technical flaw was detected, due to which the video and map inside thousands of houses around the world was leaked. This case is related to DJI Romo robot vacuum, which costs around $2,000 i.e. around Rs 1.6 lakh.
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How did this security flaw come to light?
This flaw was discovered by a tech expert named Sammy Adoufal. He was doing some experiments with his vacuum cleaner and wanted to connect it to the PS5 controller. During this time, he found a way into the system through which he was able to see not only his own data but also the data of more than 6,700 other devices around the world.
According to reports, DJI’s servers lacked ‘access control’. Because of this, users started seeing signals coming from vacuum cleaners of 24 countries including America, China and Europe. The most frightening thing about this was that no hacking was required for this, rather the weakness of the system itself exposed this data.
What information was leaked and the company’s response
Due to this mistake, people’s very personal data became accessible. This included live video feeds, indoor sounds (from microphones), floor plans of rooms and cleaning methods. Sammy Adoufal told that it is very strange for a vacuum cleaner to have a microphone and for it to be so unsafe. He immediately informed the company so that it could be rectified.
DJI has given its clarification on this matter. The company has confirmed that there was a problem with their servers, which has been fixed by sending an update in early February. The company says that they had released security patches even before this news became public. However, experts believe that people should always be cautious about cameras and mics while using smart devices.
