Profanity Detected in Chinese Robot Vacuum... Reports from Various US Locations
Robot Vacuum Believed to Have Been Hacked
Manufacturer States "Device Upgrade Scheduled for Next Month"
Hacked Chinese-made robot vacuum cleaners have shocked users by spewing out profanity and racist remarks.
On the 17th (local time), the New York Post reported that the "Ecovacs" robot vacuum cleaner, manufactured in China, unleashed profanity and racist comments. According to the media, Daniel Swenson, a lawyer living in Minnesota, heard a "sound like a broken radio signal" coming from the robot vacuum cleaner while watching TV in May.
Swenson recalled, "It sounded like someone's voice faintly." Curious, he checked the robot vacuum cleaner and discovered that a stranger had hacked the live camera feed and remote control functions of the automatic dust cleaner through the vacuum cleaner's app. At first, he thought it was a mechanical error, so he reset the password and rebooted the vacuum cleaner.
Then, suddenly, the robot vacuum cleaner started moving and began spewing obscene curses. The vacuum shouted "FXXX" towards the family and repeatedly made racist remarks.
Similar incidents have recently been reported across the United States. Not long ago, in Texas, an Ecovacs robot vacuum cleaner was reported to have hurled racist insults at its owner. In Los Angeles, it was also reported to have continuously chased and threatened the family's pet dog.
It remains unknown how many products have been hacked or who the hacker is. Users are calling for investigations, suggesting that hackers may have bypassed security measures to control the camera and microphone.
Meanwhile, Ecovacs, the manufacturer, issued an official statement saying, "The defect has been fixed, and the device will be upgraded next month."
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