Tag: smart home

Ikea Smart Light System Flaw

Security related ‘news’ that have Zigbee based lighting systems as the subject of their research make me feel on Groundhog Day. They show up repeatedly, and their content is about exchangeable, along with the solution. Ladies and Gentlemen, this time it’s Ikea Trådfri that Synopsys found a flaw in. The flaw exploits malformed Zigbee frames. The vendor patched the flaw in early 2022.

Ikea Trådfri

With just one malformed Zigbee frame, attackers could take over certain Ikea smart lightbulbs, leaving users unable to turn the lights down.

Source: Ikea Smart Light System Flaw Lets Attackers Turn Bulbs on Full Blast

October 6, 2022
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Develop Open Smart Home Standard

Source: Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance to Develop Open Standard for Smart Home Devices – MacRumors

Update: Google also reports on their blog.

December 19, 2019
Alexa and Google spy on you

Only after the Google SVP let the public know ‘He’d let guests know about smart speakers‘, there is more bad news on these smart home devices. Researchers found approved apps that deliberately turn these devices to spy on their owner.

Alexa and Google Home evasedrop

Amazon- and Google-approved apps turned both voice-controlled devices into “smart spies.”

Source: Alexa and Google Home abused to eavesdrop and phish passwords

October 21, 2019
Google chief: I’d disclose smart speakers

“Does the owner of a home need to disclose to a guest? I would and do when someone enters into my home, and it’s probably something that the products themselves should try to indicate.”

Well, d’uh. If Rick Osterloh, SVP of Devices and Services, says so. At least the BBC writes.

October 20, 2019
Google’s OnHub Gets New Smarthome Functionality

Googles approach to the smart home gateway on their OnHub Router.

This router wants to be more than a router—but Echo is still more robust for talking to your home.

http://fortune.com/2016/05/01/googles-onhub-smarthome/

May 1, 2016
Revolv Smart Home Service being shut down

Remember the Revolv home automation hub? Probably not. The device was released in late 2013, and while fantastic, it largely flew under the radar before Google’s Nest division bought the company,…

Well, neither do I remember the Revolv devices, and they’re apparently out of sale since they were acquired by Nest/Google. Now that their cloud service is being shut down, they make a good point for open standards though. Without the possibility to operate them further and their manufacturer out of business, the hardware will only be good as a doorstop starting May this year.

via: TechCrunch

April 5, 2016