"Your Philips Hue Light Bulbs Can Still Be Hacked — And Until Recently, Compromise Your Network"
In 2016, security researchers demonstrated the use of a drone to hack Philips Hue smart light bulbs from the outside of a building. Today, security researchers from Check Point conducted another test on Philips Hue models. They discovered that the same vulnerability used to demonstrate that attack four years ago was never fully addressed as the researchers recently exploited it to hack into a home's computer network. According to researchers, the exploitation of this vulnerability requires patience because it involves uploading a malicious over-the-air update to a Philips Hue Hub and trying to get the owner to reset and re-add the bulb to the network by altering its color and brightness. Although Philips issued a patch to fix the problem, researchers say other brands of smart home systems may also be affected by the same vulnerability stemming from the Zigbee communications protocol. This article continues to discuss the technique used in 2016 to hack Philips Hue smart light bulbs, researchers' recent use of this technique to infiltrate a home network, and how the same protocol flaw may impact other smart home brands.