President Obama’s just launched “national action plan” to boost government cyber security and general awareness to hackers may soon have to be expanded from the White House Situation Room to the restroom.
That’s because hackers have already targeted a “smart toilet” equipped with Bluetooth.
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Kohler’s smart toilet sells for $6,338, but comes with a remote and Bluetooth.
At a late 2015 Information Security Conference in Hong Kong, Hikohiro Y. Lin, head of Panasonic’s “Product Security Incident Response Team,” revealed that a smart toilet in Japan was hacked in 2013.
His report was revealed this week in London’s Mirror and Wednesday’s Christian Science Monitor “Passcode” newsletter.
According to the reports, the toilet was controlled by a smart phone, and the toilet was accessed through a simple password.
“Panasonic’s security team breached a bluetooth-enabled toilet using a smartphone. So, if you’re shopping for an Internet-connected toilet, buyer’s beware: Hackers can flush it – or send a jet of water flying from the bowl – just when you least expect it,” said Passcode.
Kohler sells a smart toilet that includes a Bluetooth receiver to let users stream music from their smartphone.
In a presentation Secrets found online, Lin gave a list of smart household appliances that have been hacked, including lights, refrigerators, thermostats and VoIP, standards in newer houses.
See his full presentation here.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
