He hacks a remote connected coffee maker, the machine goes "crazy"

A coffee machine (illustration).

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Less than a week.

This is the time it took Martin Hron, a cybersecurity specialist, to hack a connected coffee machine remotely, reports the tech media

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The researcher dismantled an older generation device from the Smarter brand.

Deemed too vulnerable, this model had been replaced by a new one.

However, no warning had been communicated to users of the initial coffee maker.

A "typical" vulnerability of certain connected objects

From a distance, Martin Hron therefore took control of the machine and made it work in an anarchic manner.

The coffeemaker heated up, spat water and steam, beeped while displaying an imp's head on the digital screen.

The only way to put an end to the malfunction was to unplug the device.

Coffee machines aren't the only possible targets.

“I did this to show that it happened and that it could happen to other smart objects,” says Martin Hron.

“This is a prime example of the problem with ready-to-use devices right out of the box.

There is no need to configure anything.

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The vulnerability identified by the expert comes from the wireless connection.

As soon as it is plugged in, the machine becomes a Wi-Fi access point with an unsecured connection to the brand's mobile app.

Martin Hron simply had to identify the uncoded exchanges and then used his own program to control the connected object.

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• High-Tech

• Cybersecurity

• Coffee

• Connected objects

• Piracy