Popular robots 'dangerously easy' to hack, experts warn

Some of the most popular robots on the market are'dangerously easy' to hack, experts are warning. Seattle-based cybersecurity firm IOActive Inc. discovered several consumer and industrial robots can easily be turned into bugging devices or even weapons with just a little hacking, with one even able to cause a skull fracture if taken over by someone with malicious intention. The machines studied include robots from Softbank Robotics, UBTECH Robotics, Universal Robotics, Asratec Corp, ROBOTIS, and Rethink Robotics. Seattle-based cybersecurity firm IOActive Inc. discovered several consumer and industrial robots can easily be turned into bugging devices or even weapons with just a little hacking Overall, these vulnerabilities lead to a plethora of dangers, including the possibility they could be hijacked and used as secretive listening devices or even weapons. For example, Universal Robots's industrial devices are designed to work directly alongside humans, but IOActive was able to remotely disable the robot's key safety features in a way that could result in someone programming it to injure nearby humans.