Attackers broke into the “smart home” of a couple from Milwaukee and turned their life into a cyberpunk-style nightmare.
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are rapidly becoming an integral part of everyday life. This forces cybersecurity expert to pay close attention to the IoT field, paying attention to the multiple vulnerabilities that make IoT devices an attractive target for attackers.A vivid example of vulnerability in “smart” household appliances to cyberattacks is the case of a married couple from Milwaukee (Wisconsin, USA). According to local media, one day their “smart home” went crazy.
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In 2018, Samantha and Lamont Westmoreland purchased a thermostat, a doorbell, and a Nest security camera. For some time nothing disturbed the peace of the couple, until one day they heard a voice from a camera installed in the kitchen.
Returning from work, Samantha Westmoreland found that the house was very hot – the thermostat heated the air to 89.6 F. Having attributed everything to a short-term malfunction, the woman set the usual temperature, but soon the temperature rose again, and arrived a voice came from the camera and music began to play.
“It gives me the chills just talking about it. The thermostat continued to go up — and a voice began speaking from a camera in the kitchen — and then playing vulgar music. So I unplugged it and turned it facing the ceiling,” — Westmoreland said.
Spouses changed passwords, but everything continued again. Westmorelands turned to their Internet provider, which, on their request changed their network ID. According to the spouses, someone hacked their Wi-Fi network.
“Probably, we should have taken some measures. I think Nest should strengthen security,” – said the couple.
Google, which owns the Nest system, said that system itself was not compromised. The company said the couple likely used a compromised password and such situation can be avoided by switching to a two-factor verification.
Nest users have the option to migrate to a Google Account, giving them access to additional tools and automatic security protections such as Suspicious activity detection, 2-Step Verification and Security Checkup. Millions of users have signed up for two-factor verification.
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