Traeger security bugs bad news for grillers with neighborly beef

Keen meatheads better hope they haven't angered any cybersecurity folk before allowing their Traeger grills to update because a new high-severity vulnerability could be used for all kinds of high jinks. With summer in full swing in the northern hemisphere, it means BBQ season is upon us, and with Traeger being one of the most …

[Doctor Syntax]

Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

First world problem. You get what you pay for, it's just that it isn't always what you thought it would be.

[gv]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

"Your bbq-ers were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

[brett_x]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

Yes, it's a first world problem. But I bought a different brand without WiFi and pretty much immediately regretted it. When you have an expensive slab of meat on the fire for sometimes 12+ hours and a plan to feed a bunch of people with it, it is really good to get alerted to any problems (like you ran out of pellets) along the way.

There are plenty of other tech extras that don't quite add up to the value of this one.

[abend0c4]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

I take it you don't have M&S over there.

[Korev]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

I don't think Percy Pigs BBQ very well...

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

I take it you don't have M&S over there - We did they shut up shop in 1999 apparently.

I thought there was a US physical presence as well but seems to be mail order only these days as well.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/ca/

https://www.marksandspencer.com/us/

[xyz]

Re: Wifi controlled barbecue problem?

Ffs... Seriously, there's an app for that? The whole point of a bbq is to get ratted, eat rawish meat and see if you can get laid.

I mean what does everyone do... Sit in silence, watching a realtime IR video stream and send each other whatsapps or are they in different cities watching virtual meat being cooked or do they have their own "loser" portion of bbq meat and a mini slave bbq tied to the master bbq. Meanwhile bbq manufacturers are selling your data to advertisers before being bought out by META's meat division etc etc.

Mercuns need to stop buying shit.

[brett_x]

>> A second, less severe vulnerability (4.3 – medium) was also disclosed

I think medium is 5 or above. 4.3 seems like medium-rare.

[Anna Nymous]

IoT

In IoT, the S stands for Security, and the P for Privacy.

[Mage]

madness

What's the point of a BBQ that's not charcoal purely manually operated? Though years ago I also used both peat (turf) and peat briquettes on occasions. My dad used to simply use the bin lid upside down and the back door scraper on top. Both hosed first.

[Korev]

A more conniving trick would be to crank up the temperature and burn whatever food is inside the grill to a crisp, which is exactly what Bishop Fox did to a block of tofu, changing the temperature to 500 degrees from the recommended 165 and consequently incinerating it.

Celcius or Kelvin?

[Doctor Syntax]

Maybe the recommended was to chill.

[Blazde]

Honestly as tofu goes, that 500° scorched block looks pretty appetising. Maybe they're on to something

[Terry 6]

What's the f****ing point?

It's a barbecue.

You have the f and f round, you cook and eat* meat and stuff outside, rather than someone being stuck in a kitchen, so that you can be sociable and eat a special kind of smokey food outdoors. And it's quite fun.Why the hell would you want to make that simple low-tech pleasure into a serious techfest?

*Except when, in the UK, you grab the stuff off the BBQ and head inside as the rain starts.

[Emir Al Weeq]

Re: What's the f****ing point?

Agreed.

My barbecue is made quite literally from bits of my old kitchen. Metal sink with metal plug, four very long handles screwed into the sides for legs and and old cupboard door with holes drilled through which I hammered the legs (interference fit) to stop it wobbling. No rulers used, all quickly by eye.

A barbecue should be rough and ready.

[PB90210]

I'm worried this could also affect my wi-fi enabled pencil sharpener!

Where will this all end?

[Yorick Hunt]

Yeah, I had to retire my cloud-controlled toilet brush after it got hit by ransomware and refused to scrape the political promises off the porcelain :-\

[Spoobistle]

Pesky kids

Somehow I think the most likely use of this bug will be as a plot device in an straight-to-free-streaming-service movie (was going to say straight to DVD but that would be showing my age).

[Terry 6]

We actually have toothbrushes with some sort of Bluetooth thing. Which begs the question as to how you can brush your teeth while manipulating the mobile phone. Not to mention the nasty spray........

[Martin Summers]

I'm not one to bash someone else's hobby, I absolutely love BBQ meat and will quite happily eat the results thrown out of one of these grills. I'd also quite happily go without it to avoid the stress of having to piss about with one of these grills. Especially when there's an app and firmware updates to do as well.

Sadly I don't know anyone rich enough to possess one of these grills and I'm not popular enough to get invited to a BBQ either. All in all this article has made me hungry and depressed.