Imagine a robot working as a kitchen chef is cyber attacked by hackers sitting remotely. Just think about if someone hacks the robot chef- its wielding knives and god know what happens next….
Dr. Nicholas Patterson, a cyber security lecturer at Deakin University said that a single or a couple of hacks could bring the entire robotics industry to a halt. And with robotic vacuum cleaners and drones becoming common household items, Patterson feels that the threat severity increases to many folds.
Patterson feels that by the end of 2019 over 1.4 million new industrial robots will be installed in factories and more would begin entering our homes due to the technological advances.
According to him, smaller robots might not pose a physical threat. But their speakers and microphones could cause menace if someone hacks them and starts listening to the conversations happening around them.
The Deakin University lecturer fears that large robots- such as the robotic chef and the industrial type of robots could do more harm than we ever imagined.
What if a 200 pounds robot equipped with lasers, welding devices and claims starts acting on the commands of the hackers and destroys everything which comes into its vicinity?
What if a robot doing household chores starts attacking its masters based on the commands of overseas hackers..?
A series of studies conducted in the year 2017 by Politecnico Di Milano and Cyber security firm Trend Micro said that factory robots can wreck havoc if their network security is weak. The research found that tens of thousands of robots using IP addresses are prone to hackers as most of their addresses are easy to access.
So, what’s the solution?
Patterson suggests that the only thing we can do to prevent robotic hacking is to update anti-malware software and turn off Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi of the robotic device when not required. The lecturer also recommends regular changing of the password which is used to access the robot.
What’s you say on this?
You can share your views through the comments section below.
