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Smart chastity cages reveal passwords, addresses and GPS data – and the manufacturer does not react
A chastity belt is actually a very private matter. But if you connect it to the Internet, that can change quickly.
© Marharyta Marko / Getty Images
Wearing a chastity belt is actually a very private matter. Smart specimens therefore carry a certain risk. A manufacturer lost all data due to a security gap – including GPS coordinates and customer addresses.
Once a device is connected to the internet, manufacturers should ensure that they make it as difficult as possible for attackers to take control or remotely harvest data. Ironically, a supplier of smart chastity belts did not succeed – and he is not even alone.
A security researcher reports to “Techcrunch” that an unnamed manufacturer of smart sex toys, specifically chastity belts for men, had made a massive mistake in protecting its customers.
10,000 records of the private kind
In total, he found more than 10,000 data sets that provide an insight into the most personal areas of life of those affected. As early as mid-June, the expert contacted the company responsible for the devices and drew their attention to the blatant security gaps, they say. But contrary to what one might think, there has been no reaction to date.
Luckily, the manufacturer, who has not yet been named, has not taken any precautions to secure their own homepage. Therefore, the security researcher, who asked for anonymity, was able to place a warning on the company’s website. Interestingly, this seems to have been noticed. Less than 24 hours later, the researcher’s warning was removed and the site restored. However, the weaknesses of the chastity belts have not been remedied.
The products are still available. The chastity belts are cages for male genitals that are controlled by an Android app (there is no iPhone app). Using a GPS chip, users of the app can locate the location of the person wearing such a belt at any time.
This is not the first time that smart sex toys have been the target of attackers – even if the manufacturer is very fortunate in this case not to have encountered a hacker who wanted to exploit the security gaps for malicious purposes. The fact that one has remained idle for months is all the stranger.
Smart sex toys always a goal
As far as chastity belts are concerned, this is not the first attack of this kind. Two years ago, a hacker managed to take control of some devices. He took the opportunity and demanded a ransom payment to unlock the belt lock, which could be unlocked with an app. If the manufacturer of the product in question still does not react, it is probably only a matter of time before its customers could also find themselves in extremely embarrassing situations.