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| Lucas Apa, senior security consultant at cybersecurity company IOActive, handles robots by UBTech and SoftBank Robotics during a demonstration in Singapore August 21, 2017. Picture taken August 21, 2017. Jeremy Wagstaff |
My fond childhood memories of "The Jetsons" didn't include the possibility she could have been hacked or weaponized, but such is the world we share with sociopaths. I assume this might be a plot for the proposed live action reboot if it survives its pilot episode (it might be intriguing, but I don't expect Astro to do anything but bark, unlike his pre-Scooby-Doo dialogue). As robots become ubiquitous in our lives, along with the Internet of Things, this becomes a more likely possibility.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Researchers who warned half a dozen robot manufacturers in January about nearly 50 vulnerabilities in their home, business and industrial robots, say only a few of the problems have been addressed.
The researchers, Cesar Cerrudo and Lucas Apa of cybersecurity firm IOActive, said the vulnerabilities would allow hackers to spy on users, disable safety features and make robots lurch and move violently, putting users and bystanders in danger.
While they say there are no signs that hackers have exploited the vulnerabilities, they say the fact that the robots were hacked so easily and the manufacturers’ lack of response raise questions about allowing robots in homes, offices and factories.
“Our research shows proof that even non-military robots could be weaponized to cause harm,” Apa said in an interview.
“These robots don’t use bullets or explosives, but microphones, cameras, arms and legs. The difference is that they will be soon around us and we need to secure them now before it’s too late.”
Robot makers slow to address cyber risk: researchers, Jeremy Wagstaff, Reuters Science
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