Hackable: 'Internet of Things' Threatens Security

As the number of internet-of-things (IoT) devices keeps growing every day turning every industry into the computer industry, these smart devices are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Even though connecting certain devices to the internet certainly makes sense, it does not necessarily mean that EVERYTHING needs to be hooked up to the web.

Computer experts say that event teapots and coffeemakers can be turned into spy tools and tell scary stories about cyberattacks on pacemakers and other vital medical equipment.

Jens Regel of German consultancy Schneider & Wulf has found out that the Miele Professional PG 8528 appliances, used in hospitals to clean and disinfect laboratory and surgical instruments, are equally vulnerable to cyberattacks allowing remote hackers to access sensitive data on the server, to drop and execute malicious code on the web server.

The worst part of all this is that the Miele Professional PG 8528 isn’t just an average dishwasher.

This is a "washer-disinfector” used in hospitals and medical labs and can be used  to steal private medical information and even hold the hospitals’ computers for ransom.

Each Miele Professional PG 8528 comes with a 5-meter internet cable. According to Regel, a remote intruder can link up to the web server and access private information via directory traversal.

In November 2016, Jens Regel contacted Miele to alert them of the issue, but the company never responded.

Regel also published a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code for this flaw thus enabling the vendor to fix the problem before it’s too late.

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