Smart Coffee Machines Security Vulnerabilities

Smart Coffee Machines Security Issue

Technological advancements have transformed nearly every sector of society including the business environment. As a result of these advancements, the most important transactions are usually carried out over the Internet. People carry out transactions over the Internet because of the increased connectedness and convenience associated with it. For instance, smart coffee machines have been developed and are used for many transactions. However, the increased connectedness that makes people’s lives become easier is also associated with some risks to personal data and other security issues. Hackers continue to devise multiple ways to steal personal data, which exposes people to numerous security risks when using electronic devices. This paper discusses the security vulnerabilities and threats associated with smart coffee machines, which can be used by hackers to steal personal data.

Problem Covered in the Article

Goud (2020) published an article that examines how smart coffee machines enable hackers to steal personal data such as ID and passwords. In this article, the author states that smart coffee machines are electronic devices connected to the Internet and used for transactions by homeowners. These machines can be remotely operated by homeowners using their smartphones or voice commands. These voice commands usually come with a virtual assistant like Amazon Alexa. Using voice commands, users of these machines can give the machines vocal commands.

While these machines are increasingly used by homeowners, they are vulnerable to security issues. They can be used by hackers to steal personal data such as people’s identities and passwords. As smart appliances, coffee machines are usually not secured, which implies that hackers can easily access them remotely and obtain personal data like banking details. Therefore, the nature of the problem covered in this article is security vulnerability. This vulnerability stems from the fact that smart coffee machines are usually not secured. According to Nimmo (2019), these machines are not designed for security and are extra vectors to get into an individual’s home network. Consequently, there are vulnerable to security issues and threats, especially from hackers who want to steal personal information.

Brief History of the Issue

Smart coffee machines are examples of advances in the Internet of Things (IoT), which has become common in today’s society. The Internet of Things is used to increased connectedness and provide convenience for everyday transactions and activities. Smart coffee machines are coffee markers that make coffee by the push of a few buttons. They can also make coffee when operated with an app on a smartphone or other electronic devices like a tablet. Similar to many IoT devices, these machines connect to the home network through their own Wi-Fi network, which is designed to be used to set up the machine (Hron, 2019). In most cases, consumers safeguard the Wi-Fi network with a password through many devices are sold without a password for Wi-Fi network protection.

The lack of a password for Wi-Fi network protection is a major vulnerability in these devices since the network is visible to anyone. Consequently, the network can be exploited by hackers to compromise the device through various measures such as uploading malicious software to it. Once the coffee machine is compromised, hackers can also access other devices in the home including mobile devices and computers connected to the network. This issue has become a major security problem in the past decade as IoT contributes to the proliferation of electronic devices used in various settings at home, work or school. The issue can affect unsuspecting consumers or homeowners who use these machines to make coffee without protecting the network with a password.

Discovery of the Issue

The security vulnerability of smart coffee machines has been in existence for nearly a decade but was first discovered in 2015. The issue was first discovered in 2015 after a group of researchers at Pen Test partners, a London-based security firm (Goodin, 2020). The group discovered that they could recover a Wi-Fi encryption key used in Smarter iKettle, one of the first versions of smart coffee machines. These researchers also found that the second and current versions of this machine have additional problems. Some of these problems that reflect security vulnerabilities include a lack of firmware signing and no trusted enclave in the chipset that created the brains of the machines. Consequently, they concluded that these machines could be exploited by hackers who could substitute the factory firmware with a malicious one. The issue was also exploited by Avast software security experts in 2019 who infiltrated a coffee maker through the Wi-Fi. After infiltrating the machine, they set up malicious software updates that forced the machine to do unexpected and potentially dangerous things (Hron, 2019). One of these unexpected things was sending ransomware messages demanding payment.

While smart coffee machines are associated with some security vulnerabilities, there are some fixes on solutions to safeguard them. Hron (2019) states that some of the fixes or solutions to these problems include securing the wireless network, changing default passwords, considering cybersecurity solutions like Avast Smart Home Security, connecting the device only when necessary, and updating software always.

Companies/Organizations Affected by the Security Exploitation

As evident in this discussion, smart coffee machines have inherent security vulnerabilities that can be used by hackers to steal personal information. There are several real-world examples of companies or organizations that have been affected by hackers’ exploitation of the security vulnerabilities in these machines. Smarter is an example of a company that has been affected by this security exploitation. Martin Hron, a senior research with Avast security, devised a ransomware attack on an older generation of Smarter coffee maker. While the machine was an older generation and no longer supported model, the attack showed the vulnerabilities inherent in some of the coffee makers produced by companies like Smarter (Winder, 2020).

Statistics on the Issue

The exploitation of security vulnerabilities in smart appliances used at home such as smart coffee machines has become a major security issue. There are several incidents that have been reported in the recent past demonstrating how the IoT is increasingly exposing people to security threats and attacks. According to Hron (2019), it is estimated that nearly 66% of North American homes have at least one IoT device and 40% globally. 90% of IoT devices in the market are made by 100 vendors like Smarter. This indicates that most of the devices in the market could be vulnerable to exploitation and large-scale attacks like the ransomware attack on Smarter’s coffee machine. There are several real-world examples of incidents similar to the attack on Smarter’s coffee machine. One example of a similar incident is the hacking of a Smart Home setup of a Milwaukee-based couple. Hackers took over the couple’s smart home by launching malicious software on the network or Nest system and compromising connected devices in the home (Srinivas, 2020). They attacked the video system and played music at high volume as well as the thermostat through which they changed the room temperature to 90oF. Another real-world example is the hacking of smart security Xiaomi Mijia cameras in which Dio-V’s home cameras were hacked. After the hacking Dio-V received random images from other people’s homes when streaming content from his camera to a Google Nest Hub.

Precautions to Prevent the Compromise

Smart appliances or IoT devices possess security vulnerabilities that are brought by various factors including their design. As previously indicated, most of these devices such as coffee makers or smart TVs are not designed for security. Consequently, they are vulnerable and can be exploited by hackers to carry out unexpected activities and even demand a ransom. However, there are some precautions that can be undertaken by a homeowner or user of these devices to prevent compromise or exploitation. These precautions also act as potential fixes in case of exploitation. Some of these precautions include connecting the devices only when necessary, updating the firmware regularly or as soon as the latest patches and versions become available, changing default passwords that come with the devices, and securing the wireless network (Hron, 2019).

Available Options to Avoid the Use of Compromised Technology

In addition to taking precautions to avoid security exploitation, there are other options available in the market to avoid the use of compromised technology, device or operating system. One of the available options in the market is cybersecurity, which includes different IoT security products developed by different companies. These products such as Avast Smart Home Security provide protection to these devices and can prevent hackers from exploiting them. Secondly, users should consider using encrypted computer hard drives. Encrypted computer hard drives are available in the market and can be used to store confidential information. Such hard drives help to avoid the use of compromised technology or device by safeguarding the user’s sensitive or confidential information. Firewalls, antivirus software, two-factor authentication, and anti-spyware packages are additional options available in the market that can be used to avoid the use of compromised technology, operating system or device.

Applicable Federal, State or Local Government Issues

Exploitation of IoT devices could have significant implications for individual users and companies. Individual users are increasingly vulnerable to losing their sensitive information to hackers, which could result in loss of money. Hackers can steal an individual’s banking information or credit card details and use it to carry out multiple transactions that result in a financial loss for the individual. Organizations/companies can also suffer from losses brought by hacking in terms of their operations, reputation, and financial profitability. In some cases, companies or organizations could face lawsuits that generate substantial legal implications on their operations and profitability.