There are times when technology can be a pain in the neck. And then there are times when technology can be a pain in rather more delicate regions – as some users of Cellmate, a line of internet-connected male chastity cages, reportedly discovered. It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to report that malicious hackers have been taking penises hostage and demanding bitcoin for their release.
Don’t worry, we’ll gently unpack this together. Without getting too graphic, Cellmate is a “smart” sex toy that allows someone, usually a trusted partner, to lock up the user’s genitals via an app. (What could possibly go wrong, eh?) The device made headlines last October when researchers said that the product had a security flaw that meant hackers could take control of the products. Which, according to a recent report by Vice’s Motherboard, is exactly what happened. The report was largely based on screenshots of conversations between the hacker and their victims that were obtained by a security researcher who goes by the name Smelly.
Cellmate would be far from an isolated example of “smart” objects going wrong. Users of internet-connected ovens have reported them turning on in the middle of the night and heating to high temperatures. Hackers have broken into baby monitors and whispered creepy things to kids. Last year dozens of people sued Amazon’s subsidiary Ring, saying they were subjected to death threats after their smart cameras were hacked. As well as compromising your personal security, cheaply made internet-connected devices, which often have poor security settings, can also be a global security threat. In 2016 major websites, including Amazon and Netflix, were knocked offline, after hackers weaponised an army of “smart” objects. The moral of this story, I think, is clear. Be very careful about what kind of junk you connect to the internet.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
