Attackers penetrate "smart" vacuum cleaners through router vulnerabilities or a weak Wi-Fi password, and then gain access to all gadgets on the network, Sergey Zolotukhin, an expert at F6 cybersecurity company, told RIA Novosti.
Hacking smart vacuum cleaners, or rather their software, has long been a reality. <...> Going further through the "digital home" through router vulnerabilities or guessing the password to Wi-Fi, an attacker can gain access to all devices on the network.
According to Zolotukhin, it is impossible to visually determine a hack — the vacuum cleaner will continue to clean the apartment properly. The main goal of hackers is personal data that can be used for blackmail or manipulation. If the device has a microphone and camera, they can technically be activated for surveillance, even if it is programmatically prohibited.
He emphasized that security depends only on the users themselves — their cyber literacy and responsible attitude to "smart assistants".