Independent hackers were able to hack into a smart vibrator called the We-Vibe 4 Plus and were able to turn it on anytime they liked remotely.
The We-Vibe 4 Plus is just one of the many hackable Internet of Things products that are slowly growing in numbers. IoT is an industry that is expected to become even larger as the years go by and especially as the new 5G network standard is already being prepared to be rolled out.
Like all connected things, IoT products are at high risk of being hacked by malicious hackers especially as they are mostly situated at home. We-Vibe 4 Plus could even be a bigger risk for some as it is an intimate item.
Hackers "follower" and "goldfisk" have recently unveiled their troubling findings regarding the smart vibrator at the Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas. Follower said that the smart vibrator hacking is a serious issue because there are over 2 million people who may be at risk of being sexually assaulted by their own vibrators, The Guardian has learned.
They both believe that the unwanted activation of the smart vibrator can be sexual assault. We-Vibe 4 Plus connects to a smartphone app that couples can use to sexually stimulate each other by controlling it remotely through the app.
Goldfisk and Follower have also discovered that the We-Vibe 4 Plus smart vibrator actually sends temperature data of the device itself back to the company's servers, Gizmodo UK reported. Standard Innovation, the company that makes the smart vibrator in question, said that the collection of data is only for hardware diagnostics and nothing more.
In fact, the hackers have not disclosed how the temperature data can even be used to harm an individual. The worst possible case is that some hacker will be able to determine how often the smart vibrator is inserted and it could be used to blackmail someone.
Despite the small probability that someone does hack the smart vibrator, people are still encouraged to be wary of all their connected devices. It can also be used to jump into the home's wireless connection and into computers where sensitive data can be siphoned.