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back to article The company's biggest security hole lived in the breakroom

Welcome to Pwned, The Register's new column, where we highlight the worst infosec own goals so you can, hopefully, protect against them. Caffeine is an essential tool for most IT defenders, so, on balance, we're sure it has protected against a lot more exploits than it has caused. But in this case, the desire for everyone's …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Been there, seen that

    I was called in at a setup in London because they had a major infestation. For starters, they had a global network without any segregation so a virus infection would spread quicker than Covid in a room of heave breathers, and this one duly did.

    We set up separation and started cleaning up, keeping an eye on progress via a laptop running etherape (it's a simple tool, but a broadcasting virus shows up very well). After a few days we had a reasonable state, but we had two sources of broadcast left. One suddenly emerged and was quickly traced to a boardroom location where one of the very high ups from Far Far Away was giving a presentation (which got interesting politically), one was persistent and a swine to track as nobody knew what it was (I did mention a way too flat network). Eventually we figured it out: it was the switchboard, which was running a rather old version of Windows and had managed to pick up this virus too.

    Took quite a bit of brute forcing before the vendor decided that maybe an update was a good idea - the suppliers were only set up to sell an appliance, not to do anything more intelligent so it took a while to get through to the actual manufacturer.

    1. Eclectic Man Silver badge

      Re: Been there, seen that - re '=Flat network'

      Decades ago, I advised a client, major Government Department, that they should install internal firewalls to separate things like 'finance' and 'C-Suite' and 'R&D' operations from the rest of the network and their 'highly trained, motivated, valuable and loyal staff'*. This was roundly resisted and I was, well not exactly insulted' but it was made clear that my idea was NOT WELCOME.

      Anyway, after one of the higher ups brought in some work she had done at home on her home PC, with added Melissa I think they might have seen the light.

      * aka 'underpaid Wage Slaves'.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Been there, seen that

      During the early 2000s I had to buy a consumer firewall to insert in between the university internal network and and any new server we were provisioning because the servers would get infected before we were able to get the latest updates from the internet onto them. One they were up to date we could remove the firewall device.

      Finding out what was infecting them was a hopeless cause because anyone could plug in anything. That also used to be fun for the network team, trying to track down who had plugged a consumer wi-fi router into the network, which had then been handing out (obviously wrong) IP addresses to things on the same VLAN.

      Fun times, and of course nothing like that would happen now...

      1. Anonymous Anti-ANC South African Coward Silver badge

        Re: Been there, seen that

        Oh, I had the consumer wifi thing happen on my network as well.

        I managed to log into its portal and brick it with the wrong firmware.

  2. Nameless Dread

    Internet -connected coffee machine ?! Who in wherever installed that ?

    BTW, nice to see el reg doing some public service; right on, I say..

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Coffee machine. Check... IPad... Check

      In my main office, the coffee type is chosen via an IPad app..... Sometimes, you can't get your coffee shot due to lack of WiFi signal!

      Why???? What was wrong with the old methods?

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Coffee machine. Check... IPad... Check

        At least with the tea lady and her trolley there were no leaks.

        She only spoke Russian anyway

        1. segfault188
          Pint

          Re: Coffee machine. Check... IPad... Check

          At least with the tea lady and her trolley there were no leaks.

          Except for that notable incident when the tea urn developed a hole at the bottom and no-one got their Russian vodka-laced tea that day.

    2. UCAP Silver badge

      My question is - what the f**k was it doing on a *secure* network? At most, it should have been connected to the insecure/guest network.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Not just an issue for secure networks...

        We had a power cut one day and discovered that one of the coffee machines, which was outside the server room but against one of the server room walls, was on the UPS-protected supply. It became a very popular machine that day, but sadly, facilities quickly had that power socket rewired.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

          And how long after they turned their backs was it rewired again?

          I've been in places where this would happen while the door would still be busy closing on the facilities team :)

          1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

            According to Sarah Wheeler's book 'Terra Incognita' (ISBN 0-224-04-04184-3, and an excellent read, if I may say so) in the Italian base in Antarctica, the espresso machine was plumbed into the main water supply.*

            Oh and all the helicopter pilots had their machines serviced by the Italian engineers as the parts came back 'better than new'.

            * Nice to know that some people maintain civilised standards, wherever they are.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

              The input side of the machine, or the output side?

        2. Erythrite

          Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

          I retired from the EECS department of a large university that had a football team, a law school, a police force and (before my time) thermonuclear weapons.

          At the end of my career, the most important machines in the building were the super-automatic espresso machines. The care and feeding of these machines was critical to the day-to-day operation of the building. When these machines went down, faculty, students and staff would work from home, or work in nearby coffee shops. Like all things fancy, they had to go back to the shop regularly for cleaning or repair. (Never buy a car or a coffee machine that requires parts be shipped from overseas.)

          Your importance was easily measured by how many of these machines you could access if your usual machine was broken. For example, the chairman (there has never been a chairwoman or chairperson) had one in their office, but getting regular access required being the right faculty or being in good with the staff.

          Mercifully, they were not connected to the network, though we toyed with the idea so that we could map which ones were up, or had been recently cleaned and were said to make better coffee.

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

            >I retired from the EECS department of a large university that had a football team, a law school ..... thermonuclear weapons

            Rather negating the requirement to have a football team .... or indeed a law school

            1. Someone Else Silver badge

              Re: Not just an issue for secure networks...

              University of Chicago, then...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        It shouldn't have been connected to the internet at all!

        These Internet of Shite devices are a problem waiting to happen, especially given the lack of security and firmware updates which are common among this class of device.

        1. Dr Dan Holdsworth
          Boffin

          I reckon we might need another network adding to the usual set of Public, DMZ, Internal and Secure: Shite.

          The Shite network is accessible only to machines on it or via a specific secured gateway. It is a wired-only network specifically for the use of Internet of Things devices that need to be networked but which cannot be trusted to see the big bad world (and possibly start gabbling away to their Oriental masters).

          1. John Sager

            The worst offenders are probably cameras. Mine are on their own VLAN with severe firewall rules. They still try to talk back once a day though.

            1. Anonymous Anti-ANC South African Coward Silver badge

              Same here.

              Created a VLAN without any internet breakout, and added our CCTV cameras to this VLAN.

              What prompted me to do this was that some d00s was constantly logging into cameras and changing passwords and other settings, and that just pissed me off.

              Now everything is stable, the cameras can't see the internet and can't gabble to Dear Leader overseas...

              And I do 100% agree to a SHITE (or SHYTE) VLAN for all the IoT tat.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            re: wired-only network specifically for the use of Internet of Things devices

            Well, already you've got a contradiction in terms... the worst offenders can't be hardwired.

          3. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            ... Internet of Things devices that need to be networked but which cannot be trusted ...

            IoT crap devices should not under any circumstances be allowed on premises needing proper security.

            Stop.

            Anyone who actually thinks you need to network a common appliance (fridge, coffee machine, etc) because doing so is convenient (or whatever other marketing reason the droids have come up with) is an idiot.

            .

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        RE: on a secure network...

        Yes, this problem was discovered years ago. The US retailer Target had a breach of thier credit card readers (pre chip and tap encryption days). I believe it was the HVAC system that was also on the network that was originally hacked to get a toe hold on the network.

        I don't remember the year but I do remember I got new debit card number.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        At most, it should have been connected to the insecure/guest network.

        No.

        It should have never been connected to the network.

        The idiot who signed off on it should have been fired.

        .

    3. Christoph

      Internet -connected coffee machine

      Hard-code it to return Error 418 to all enquiries.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Internet -connected coffee machine ?! Who in wherever installed that ?

      Hmmm ...

      A certified idiot?

      .

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      pretty normal for a vending machine, but could easily have been circumvented using 5g.

  3. lglethal Silver badge
    Facepalm

    I dont doubt the story...

    ... but I cannot think of a single use case for an internet connected Coffee Machine in a business environment. Literally not one that makes actual sense.

    If people can order coffees from their desks, so that they just have to go and collect them when they're done, there is still no need for it to be talking outside of the network. (Not to mention the stupidity of such a system, where people would clearly just take whatever coffee is waiting there, and cause fights when someone grabs the wrong coffee. People have to get up and walk to the machine to collect anyway, so they can handle the 1 minute to actually make the coffee in front of them.

    A machine like this would almost certainly have a cleaning contract, so whoevers cleaning it can also handle the ordering of new beans/milk/etc. So again no need for it to ring outside.

    But a machine like this would absolutely appeal to the sort of brain dead upper management who like expensive toys that are utterly useless... So I do not doubt for a second this actually happened...

    1. spireite Silver badge

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      Just needs one of those Amazon drones/trucks to get it to your desk

    2. Bebu sa Ware Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      "I cannot think of a single use case for an internet connected Coffee Machine in a business environment. "

      I think the original idea was that these machines could phone home for more beans etc or when a service was required. Vending machines around the same era had 3G connections for the same purpose. OTA firmware updates were also considered "a good idea™."

      Moving on to the ummentionable, HP printers do similar things for toner, paper etc.Big leased (pay per page) enterprise printers like Ricoh are often managed remotely but the printer can be placed on an DMZ network of some kind, but given the printers typically store/spool quite large print jobs any external access poses a risk of confidential material being exfiltrated.

      So much even consumer shit has wifi and ethernet (RJ45 or USB) built in, even effing lightbulbs, so if you value network security the Maginot Line strategy isn't going to work as the adversary is already inside the perimeter.

      Port authentication (802.1x) and encrypted ethernet might need to be considered.

      Every smartphone inside the perimeter is a potential gateway or bridge on to your network(s).

      Powerline ethernet could be quite nasty in a shared building.

      I suspect much of this stuff like the coffee machine uses a ubiquitous SOC and runs Linux for cheapness rather than using an ASIC. The SOC system invariably provides wifi, ethernet, usb etc hardware and Linux the drivers so adding network/internet support is often a low cost marketing ploy — feature creep or creepy feature ?

      As NPU / AI capable processors become de rigeur for these products it can only go from bad to worse. Even as we speak Talkie the toaster is probably talking off a production line somewhere in China.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        "I suspect much of this stuff like the coffee machine uses a ubiquitous SOC and runs Linux for cheapness rather than using an ASIC. The SOC system invariably provides wifi, ethernet, usb etc hardware and Linux the drivers so adding network/internet support is often a low cost marketing ploy"

        There's still a gap between having a networked coffee machine with a default password and the same being programmed to become a trojan. Was it running Windows rather than Linux in which case it could have become part of the viral epidemic? If not, who and how was it got at? Was it supplied like that and got at in transit? Was the manufacturer installing [possibly innocently] a trojanised version of Linux on all the machines of that model?

        1. Richard 12 Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          It's got a default root password, so someone just SSHs in and uses it to attack everything else on the network.

          It doesn't matter how secure your windows are if you leave the keys in the front door.

          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            "so someone just SSHs in"

            From where?

            I suppose if it has an IPv6 address it might be possible, providing the firewall is configured to admit ssh. Otherwise the implication seems to be that someone sshed in from within the company network and the machine is only a symptom of a bigger problem.

            1. doublelayer Silver badge

              Re: I dont doubt the story...

              Option 1: The machines are connected to a manufacturer's network and that has been breached, allowing the attacker to hop from there to networks of users of that machine.

              Option 2: Malware on another computer found this machine and the attackers established persistence on it so, even after their initial vector went offline, that machine could still be used.

              Option 3: The machine uses UPNP or some other method to obtain a public address or port, and the secure network wasn't very secure, which wouldn't be much of a surprise since someone's putting coffee machines on it.

              There are plenty of plausible possibilities other than an internal threat and more plausible ones than that someone managed to guess an IPV6 address to find the SSH connection which is hard to do with the size of IPV6 address blocks.

          2. NetMage

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            Why would it have two NICs or open incoming access?

            1. doublelayer Silver badge

              Re: I dont doubt the story...

              Usually, because a dev building the thing wanted a shell to see some logs or manipulate things to test that something worked, so they enabled an SSH server, and of course that's only for this prototype in pieces on the bench. Then someone, possibly the same dev but it could be someone else, took the dev's image and deployed it in production. You also have the occasional person who is much dumber and thinks that Linux doesn't get hacked, and if the customer ever breaks this then we'll need a way to go in and fix it and they deliberately put it in, but in my experience, leaving that in by accident is the much more common reason.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          ... a gap between having a networked coffee machine with a default password and the same being programmed to become a trojan.

          No.

          The gap is inside the head of whoever thought it was a good idea to install one of those in the first place.

          Basic common sense tells me that you just don't do that, it must be assumed that it is not in any way secure.

          If it needs to be networked, it is a no-go from the start.

          .

      2. NXM Silver badge

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        Huh, don't get me going on "smart" light bulbs. They work until you have to replace the router, then you find they'll absolutely not talk to the app to connect them to the new one.

        Binned the stupid things.

        1. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          I remember reading a - mildly self disparaging - blog about a guy who had gone all in on the smart home, one of the memorable entries was "ate dinner in the dark while the lightbulbs downloaded a firmware update".

        2. J. Cook

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Yep. I ditched every single one of my wifi smart bulbs after having the completely rebuild the configuration for the house (and re-add each. individual. bulb. seperately.) for the fourth time in under a year, because the app got an update, and trashed the database it had on the local tablet, or lost sync with the server it was talking to for the configuration.

          Went Hubitat and Zigbee bulbs, and am looking at migrating to Home Assistant this year, mainly to have a local on-prem voice assistant so I can get rid of the 'nicely designed but otherwise eWaste' amazon devices.

          1. CountCadaver Silver badge

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            I'm still fighting to get the android voice add on for home assistant to recognise voice rather than just text...not quite sure whats not playing nice and cant be bothered tinkering with it too much.....yet

        3. segfault188
          Happy

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Huh, don't get me going on "smart" light bulbs. They work until you have to replace the router, then you find they'll absolutely not talk to the app to connect them to the new one.

          No problem with Tapo wifi light bulbs. I changed mine from one internal network to another. Procedure is: go into the Tapo app & delete each bulb's profile, then go through the procedure for adding a new bulb (switching the light switch on & off 3 times in synchrony with the animation in the app) and then select the new wifi SSID & enter the password.

          1. CountCadaver Silver badge

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            I just added switchbot relay switches either in the light roses or in the switch back boxes

            1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
              Pint

              Re: I dont doubt the story...

              I use Sylvania SMART+ bulbs ($4 for two that were for a time plentiful in Dollar$tores) across my house (& outside it).

              Bluetooth only & controlled via Alexa\Google Home Assistant for dimming, tunable whites & color.

        4. Anonymous Anti-ANC South African Coward Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Friend of mine lost internet access. His wife complained that there was no light.

          So he used the Luddite way, and switched the power on at the light switch on the wall.

          All of the smart bulbs reverted back to factory state and he had a hell of a time to reset and reconfigure these.

          He binned them and got dumb bulbs instead.

    3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      I cannot think of a single use case for an internet connected Coffee Machine in a business environment.

      It's a very common one - being expensive "This is a very important business with very important people in it. We have to have very important surroundings. We need a very important [i.e. expensive, the two are often confused by the confused] coffee machine to go with the very important [ditto] furniture."

      Literally not one that makes actual sense.

      Manglement thinking doesn't make actual sense, especially when prestige is taken into account.

    4. Ordinary Donkey

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      The use case is it doesn't need a salaried employee to check if it's running out of beans.

      Beancounters don't like the competition you see.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        But it does need someone to clean it, empty the used grounds, etc - and that person could put any required beans, milk, etc in it at the same time. Once it's been in place for a few weeks the refilling frequency will be pretty obvious anyway and can be scheduled.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Hi there downvoter! Have you invented a coffee machine that doesn't need cleaning and doesn't need its grounds bin emptying?

          1. drand

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            No they haven't, they just work in marketing.

            1. ITMA Silver badge
              Devil

              Re: I dont doubt the story...

              Now there's an oxymoron - "work in" and " marketing"..... in the same sentence!

              ;)

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            > Hi there downvoter! Have you invented a coffee machine that doesn't need cleaning and doesn't need its grounds bin emptying?

            The downvote was probably because you completely missed joke - or at least appeared to - because if you had understood the joke you would have realised that no comment was necessary.

        2. Roland6 Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Yes, however at the wages they pay the machine minder, the machine minder could probably double their earning s by running a side business selling coffee beans, sugar, milk powder…

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          What's that? Buy technology and "maintain" it? You must be mistaken...

    5. mike.dee
      Coat

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      There's an RFC that specifies a protocol to interact with coffe machines: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2324

      1. richardcox13

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        That doesn't require an Internet connection .

        Or, have all requests from outside the local subnet return a short and stout 418.

    6. big_D Silver badge

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      No different to the internet connected printers that phone home with page counts and requests for new toner from the leasing company. I suspect the same model, when the machine is getting empty, it calls for help and somebody comes out with the right selection of powders to refill it...

      Only, it should never be on the office network, it should be on a separate network, just for such devices, or if that isn't possible, at least on the guest network, where it can't do any real harm.

      At home, my "smart" TV from Sony (2015 model) stopped getting security updates in 2016. It hasn't been online since! I just plug in a FireTV or Apple TV, the Sony Bravia is still showing great images, it has been through 3 FireTVs and now an Apple TV 4K in the meantime. When the FireTVs stop getting security updates, they are just 20€ in a Prime Day deal to replace, the Apple TV a bit more, but still a bargain compared to replacing a 55" TV every 18 months, when the "smarts" stop being so smart.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        Business-grade printers do get regular firmware updates, and the standard of security on them is normally miles ahead of that on the typical cheap IoShite consumer device.

        1. Roland6 Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          Depends on what you mean by regular, the last update my business printers got was in Feb 2024.

          Personally. If the OEM is regularly updating the firmware on well established range of printers/MFPs, something is wrong.

          1. Sub 20 Pilot

            Re: I dont doubt the story...

            I have a big printer and a large format plotter. Neither are allowed to access the outside world.

            The large format plotter nags to be let online to update every time I turn it on. It works so shut the fuck up. Any update I assume will either make it worse by adding shite I don't need, move all the icons around needlessly or cripple it in some way that means I need to get a new one.

            The printer. a big xerox commercial one worth a few thousand, keeps doing the same as well as nagging me every day that I urgently need to purchase some new genuine xerox toner cartriges as I am about to run out of toner. It has been doing this for 14 months.

            Is there actually a non crooked printer compay out there?

    7. retiredFool

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      Agree, completely stupid. And expecting a story next week about the connected fridge, connected microwave, connected tv, ... And probably at NSA no less.

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: I dont doubt the story...

        Well fingers crossed we don’t get a story about the connected rocket in the next 10 days…

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: I dont doubt the story...

          The in-flight video of them having to enter a pin to unlock the flight iPad was interesting.

          Hope they haven't set an SMS for the 2FA

    8. Eclectic Man Silver badge
      Pirate

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      I cannot think of a single use case for an internet connected Coffee Machine

      I suspect you are considering the use cases only of the customer, not the provider. Look at all the information these big corporations collect on us prey, sorry, customers . Coffee drinking habits can tell you who is in the office, whether there is sudden drop in activity due to a staff trip out, late night working etc. and, of course genuinely legitimate things like how often it actually breaks. Try thinking from the perspective of an avaricious capitalist pig, and you will see the opportunities are endless.

    9. DS999 Silver badge

      I do doubt the story

      There's no point to an internet connected coffee machine, but what I really doubt is there would be a cat5 jack in the breakroom and if there was that it would be on the company's secure network.

      1. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: I do doubt the story

        Why is a cat5 jack in the room so unbelievable? They'd be used for WiFi APs or, if the room was also a group space, a computer running a big screen for presentations, so are frequently put in a lot of rooms. They're also easy to add when installing plumbing for the machine, and if the company has bought an expensive internet-connected machine and thinks they should connect it, they could easily provide a port. Now that we have one, putting it on the secure network is a mistake in the switches or configs, and it sounds like they had plenty of mistakes in that area.

        1. Cliffwilliams44 Silver badge

          Re: I do doubt the story

          I can almost guarantee you it was WiFi connected. The scenario is as follows.

          Company installer arrives at office, sets up in break room, ince coffee machine is set up he tells the nearest person that he needs to connect the machine to the WiFi, they person gives him the corporate WiFi SSID and password, NOT the guest one because they don't know it!

          Believe me, I've seen this same thing over and over, and then we block these devices until someone screams and we tell them it can't be on the corporate WiFi, call the vendor out and have them connect to guest!

    10. SP2000

      Re: I dont doubt the story...

      Just milk it for all it’s worth.

  4. Blackjack Silver badge

    internet-connected coffee machine? I am getting tired of saying this but di called smart devices are a stupid choice. My old aluminum coffee maker is s pain to clean but it comes malware free.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why does the coffee machine need to be on the network?!

    1. Synonymous Howard

      Just because you can and you don't want to waste time checking coffee status manually ...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Room_coffee_pot

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Default and dumb passwords

    A client of mine had CCTV installed. Password set by the CCTV company was clearly the same one they use on all installations as it was "cctvcompanyname123". Assume it was to make their support easier. Get a client list of theirs and you'll happily compromise the lot. Which could be fun.

    Password now changed. I bet they would have never updated the firmware anyway.

    1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Default and dumb passwords

      Ahem: warning, tale of woe.

      The front door to my block of flats is frequently broken, the lock preventing the local drug dealers and users from 'doing their business' away from prying eyes. (This sounds like I live in a terrible area, but, umm, ok, I may need to work on the rest of this sentence. It is not that bad, really.)

      A while ago, I noticed there were 'intruders' in the common part (stairwell) of my block of flats*. Anyway, I contacted the local Police and had a nice chat with a PCSO**. Result was that his boss would have a talk with the useless a*&^eH%£e who runs the management company.

      Boss had chat, and suddenly, well a few days later, there is a 'workman' in the building, installing CCTV cameras and controller. As a leaseholder, and therefore funder of the management company and person paying a share of the cost, I asked him how much it was costing. He refused to tell me, saying that he didn't need my permission to spend lots of (my) money as it was "an emergency", so he could do what he liked and I would find out the price when he deigned to do the accounts, some time in the distant future.

      Anyway, I checked with the Information Commissioners Office, and it seems that in the event of a breach of the UK's GDPR, the management company is considered to be the data controller, so would be liable to pay any fine. I am not convinced that the aforementioned a*&^eH%£e has legal authority to impose that level of financial liability on the rest of us without our permission.

      Oh you will be wondering at the "Joke Alert" icon - it is not even turned on.

      * OK, they were sleeping on the landing, and the mattress used blocked the door to the lobby for my front door. 'Noticed' as in 'could not get out in an emergency'.

      * Police Community Support Officer

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Internet of Crap

    One of my customers has a small gymnasium in their offices, treadmill, cross trainer, bike and a multigym weight machine.

    These were connected to the company wifi network in order to allow gym users to be able to download their fitness stats to their smartphone or watch.

    Thankfully that only lasted until there was a cyber security audit.

    1. Gene Cash Silver badge

      Re: Internet of Crap

      > download their fitness stats

      Officer reportedly leaks location of French aircraft carrier with Strava run

      No worry about endangering the lives of however many sailors in the carrier strike group...

      I'd sort of excuse it if it was some 18yo enlisted, but an officer... bloke should be keelhauled.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Internet of Crap

        To be fair, the location of an 50,000 ton aircraft carrier is easily detectable by anyone with the necessary clout to tactically inconvenience one.

        It's like claiming that Goodies episode revealed the location of the secret Post Office Tower to the USSR

        1. druck Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Internet of Crap

          That is a very unwise assumption to make.

          Timely and accurate location information from a fitness app would be ideal for targeting a low cost drone swarm by a relatively unsophisticated advisory.

      2. Xalran

        Re: Internet of Crap

        To be fair, it was announced on French TV, no less, the general area where our CVN was headed. (as in Eastern Mederranean, near Cyprus)

        Every country that matters probably had space assets pointed towards that area even before it got there. They had precise coordinates (and proably still have), so even if it's a clear breach of OPSEC, it's not as Iran (and others) didn't know where the CVN was. They probably still know where it is and where it's headed.

        There even was a news team from France.tv aboard last week and they were brought by an helicopter from Cyprus. Knowing the range of the helicopter and the airport/air base they left from and you can get a fairly precise location just through OSINT

  8. disgruntled yank

    Old news

    Some time ago, my employer had [big vendor] in to run scans on our network. There were some findings that pointed to configurations we need to update or otherwise secure. Then there were items like

    [weird IP address]: obsolete version of Apache

    [another weird IP address]: obsolete version of PHP

    To the best of my recollection, one of these was a conference room camera and the other was a projector. I don't remember what we did about them--perhaps a bit more tightening down of the egress rules.

  9. UCAP Silver badge
    Coat

    it could have been worse ...

    ... It could have been a smart toaster.

    Mine is the one with the packet of waffles in the pocket.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: it could have been worse ...

      Aah, so you're a waffle man

  10. chivo243 Silver badge
    Go

    Exactly why!

    We searched high and low for a TV that didn't connect to the network, no LAN, no WiFi. Only standard connections, HDMI, VGA etc..

    1. eldel

      Re: Exactly why!

      I'd be interested in the outcome of your search. My TV is 11 years old and at the time it was a search to find a 'none-smart' one. It's starting to show signs of failure and I'm dreading replacing it. If only because of the network messing around.

      1. chivo243 Silver badge

        Re: Exactly why!

        Our search was a few years back, even then, didn't need no smart tv and didn't want no smart tv...

        It was a samsung.

        1. stiine Silver badge

          Re: Exactly why!

          Buy a 24" model from a retailer with a decent returns policy, and take it home to test it. You can get one for less than $100. If it works like you want -- keep it, but if you want a larger model, return it and swap it for a larger model.

          I have a Samsung 50" smart tv that I use as a monitor only (I don't play games so i don't need high refresh rate) connected to two laptops via HDMI and it works fine. My only issue is the nag message every time I power it on when it asks me to accept the T&Cs...

    2. David Newall

      Re: Exactly why!

      Most don't come connected to the Internet, and you don't have to plug them into your network or configure the WiFi. If you're looking at VIZIO, look elsewhere.

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