In this humorous story, I wanted to imagine what a 'hack' of a washing machine might look like in the near future, using voice interfaces, intelligent systems, and ubiquitous donations.
I couldn’t sleep. It was 3:47 on my smartphone, but it was already quite light outside for summer. Yarik kicked off the edge of the blanket and sat up.
‘I definitely won’t get any sleep now,’ he thought, scanning the room. A crumpled pair of jeans and a t-shirt were hanging on a chair in front of the couch, and a pile of clothes lay nearby. I really should do laundry. He walked over, picked up the t-shirt from the chair, brought it to his nose, sniffed it, and grimaced.
‘Is this how I walk around the office? No wonder she avoids me.’
The new girl had started in the office recently and immediately caught Yaroslav’s eye. Big green eyes and a short haircut. He remembered well the first time he saw her and their eyes met. Something strong thumped in his chest, shivers ran down his spine, and he awkwardly froze, afraid to look away. Her name was Irina, and she was the only thing keeping Yarik from leaving the tedious office.
He tossed the t-shirt onto the pile of laundry. After thinking for a bit, he threw in the jeans as well. Gathering everything in his arms, he trudged to the bathroom and dropped the clothes next to the washing machine. The light turned on obediently in the bathroom, the washing machine door clicked, and opened slightly. He loaded the laundry into the drum, closed the door, and pressed the start button. The machine beeped, but didn’t start. He pressed Start again. It only beeped once more. Yarik sighed and looked up:
— Vika, what’s wrong with the washing machine?
— The device is functioning normally.
— Then why won’t it start?
— According to government decree 197/2 dated June 2, 2029, regarding the enforcement of Federal legislation on disturbing silence during night time and morning hours on weekends and holidays, the start is blocked until 7 AM.
‘No, if I start the machine at 7, I won’t make it to work’ — thoughts of Irina and the sight of crumpled clothes in the washing machine door kept Yarik restless.
— Vika, how do I hack the washing machine?
— According to Federal law …
— Stop… switch to developer mode.
— The system has been switched to developer mode.
— System switched to developer mode.
— List of vulnerabilities for washing machines.
— A list of washing machine vulnerabilities and other similar materials are available in the diagnostics service for developers and household system security specialists by subscription only. Would you like to pay for a developer subscription?
Yaroslav sighed heavily.
— Is a trial period available?
— A trial period is not provided. As a limited offer, you have access to a 24-hour trial for 299 rubles. The offer expires in 15 minutes.
He pondered for a couple of seconds: "Three hundred rubles — that's a lunch at the cafeteria" — but, imagining Irina's face evaluating his outfit, he said:
— Pay through Sberbank.
— Please state your payment password.
— Goodbye, Balblo.
A smartphone chimed in the room.
— Subscription payment has been successfully processed. Access granted for 24 hours.
— So, Vika, request the system for the list of vulnerabilities for washing machines.
— The system asks for the brand and model of the device.
Yarik darted into the room for his smartphone and took a picture of the washing machine.
— Vika, send the latest photo.
— The photo has been uploaded, the brand and model have been recognized, and the geolocation data identified the location and serial number of the device. The diagnostics system suggests connecting to the device to scan for vulnerabilities.
— Let it execute.
— A device from an external network requests access to the washing machine. Grant access?
— Of course!
— To grant access, please state the code word.
— Irina.
— Access to the device has been granted. System scanning has begun. The process will take approximately ten minutes.
The washing machine blinked rhythmically with lights. Yaroslav slowly moved to the kitchen, poured filtered water into the kettle, and set it to heat. He sat, listening to the water bubbling in the kettle and thinking about work. Just a month ago he was actively looking for a new job, but with the arrival of the new hire, he had lost all interest in changing jobs. Even job offer emails he now deleted without reading. The kettle clicked, and the hissing stopped. Yarik got up, took a mug, placed a tea bag in it, and poured hot water.
— System scanning is complete. Four vulnerabilities found. Do you want to proceed with the update installation to fix them?
— No! Delay the installation! — he almost dropped the mug in surprise.
— The update installation has been postponed for 24 hours.
Yarik sighed with relief. He needed to find a way to start the machine bypassing the lock.
— Perform an analysis of current vulnerabilities for potential remote activation.
— No vulnerabilities of this type have been discovered.
Yaroslav pondered while sipping tea from his mug:
— What vulnerabilities are currently not closed?
— Currently, there are active vulnerabilities for the following systems: door lock systems, voice advertising playback systems, payment systems, and time synchronization systems.
Out of all the mentioned, only the last vulnerability was of interest. He went to the kitchen and set the mug with the unfinished tea in the sink.
— Vika, the description of the time synchronization vulnerability.
— Vulnerability number 4126. This vulnerability allows for remote modification of the system time until the next synchronization session with the precise time service. Potentially vulnerable systems: voice advertising system, subscription payment system, and delayed start system.
Yaroslav raised his eyebrows in surprise — 'The delayed start system is an option.' He quickly moved back to the bathroom.
— Vika, set the delayed start for the washing machine to 7 AM.
— The delayed start has been set.
— Switch the diagnostic system to test mode for the time synchronization vulnerability.
— Transition completed.
— Menu of available commands.
— The command to increment the system time is available.
Yaroslav looked at his smartphone. The clock read 4:15 — 'So... we need to move the system clock forward by 2 hours and 45 minutes.'
— Execute the command to increment the system time by 165 minutes.
— Command executed.
He stared at the washing machine. Nothing was happening. Perhaps the vulnerability code didn't trigger, or he miscalculated the increment. Yarik began to sort through options when suddenly the machine clicked loudly as the locking mechanism engaged and started drawing water for washing.
He was in the room and lying on the sofa when the machine had already filled with water and began to slowly rotate the drum. Yaroslav leaned back on the pillow, stretched contentedly, and closed his eyes.
"Yes, that's why the boss calls me a 'hacker' — he thought and smiled.
Source: habr.com
