In the age that has brought us the term the “Internet of Things,” just about anything and everything can be connected to the Internet, from light bulbs and thermostats to washing machines and fridges — and more. The We-Vibe, a vibrator that allows a partner to control the device over an Internet connection, made headlines in March after the company behind the device agreed to pay its customers up to $10,000 each in compensation after it was revealed that its vibrators were collecting highly sensitive information without consent.

If a vibrator that shares data could be considered a privacy risk, imagine a vibrator that doubles as a webcam that allows users to record their “love through pictures and videos.” Such a product does exist in the form of Svakom’s Siime Eye (not safe for work), an Internet-connected vibrator that features a small camera at the tip to allow users to share their pleasure online. That may sound either rather tame or risque depending on your own views of sex toys, but what isn’t acceptable about the device is its lack of built-in security.

Researchers from Pen Test Partners studied the vibrator and found that the device has its own built-in Wi-Fi server for easy access, but that server is not only easy to use but easy to hack, with a default password of “88888888,” meaning that anyone in range of the vibrator can not only connect to the device but hijack the video from it as well. If that’s not bad enough, with this access a hacker could potentially seize control of the vibrator’s operation as well.

Logically the answer to this security issue would be to set a new password for the vibrator, but that’s not possible. “The credentials are hard-coded in the official app, so any user wanting to use the Siime Eye the official way will never change these credentials,” Pen Test Partners noted. As if all that weren’t enough, researchers found that the IP address for the vibrator is static, or fixed, potentially allowing anyone online to trace where the vibrator is physically located.

It probably goes without saying at this point, but if you use an Internet-connected sex toy of any type, the risk is high that you may expose yourself in more ways than one.

Photo: Svakom