tech
February 24, 2026
The accidental hacker: how one man gained control of 7,000 robots
When Sammy Azdoufal found he had access to data from robot vacuum cleaners around the world, he told a tech publication. But the implications could be mind-boggling
TL;DR
- Sammy Azdoufal, a software engineer, gained access to data from robot vacuum cleaners.
- He used an AI coding assistant to reverse-engineer how the vacuums communicate with cloud servers.
- Azdoufal found he could control his own robot and access data from nearly 7,000 other devices worldwide.
- The accessible data included live camera feeds, microphone audio, and maps.
- The security bug could turn web-connected vacuum cleaners into surveillance devices.
- DJI, the manufacturer, initially stated the problem was resolved, but Azdoufal claimed vulnerabilities remained.
- The incident raises concerns about the security of smart home devices.
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