Online toilets were bound to be trouble.
During technology security firm Trustwave’s Home Invasion 2.0 presentation, a startling revelation was made: Using a smart toilet isn’t all that safe. The remotely controlled Satis toilet can be operated by anyone with the complimentary app, meaning it’s ripe for mischief making.
The revolutionary commode features heated seats, music and a self-cleaning mechanism. With the accompanying app, users can even track their bowel movements with the smart toilet — but hackers quickly found other uses for it. We spoke to managing consultant Dan Crowley who discovered the breach, along with several other worrying ways in which your home can be hacked.
Metro: So, tell us about the toilet.
Crowley: All that anyone has picked up on is the toilet and it was actually the least important thing in that talk – I unlocked a door on a stage, and still the media only mentions the toilet.
OK, but let’s discuss the toilet for a minute – have you actually heard of anyone hacking it?
It’s funny you say that, as I went to this party after the presentation and I met a guy there who was very excited to see me. The toilets at this Vegas hotel were smart ones, and people were stealing all the water from them!
Do you think anyone would actually do any real harm with the hack?
Say a prime minister or president has a smart toilet. It keeps records of your bowel movements, and so people could discover stuff about their health, that’s where it could be serious. I don’t want to over-blow it though.
Knowing what you now know, would you use a smart toilet?
To be honest I don’t think I would’ve used it before the presentation, but I’m doubly wary now.
You said the toilet was the least important discovery you made. What was the most important?
I found you could hack into Vera Lite (home automation system), so you could enter someone’s home when they’re not around. The first time I contacted Vera Lite to tell them they didn’t respond, just like the toilet company. They’re working with me now though since all the press attention.
