14 DAY TRIAL // Security researcher Nitesh Dhanjani has published an interesting paper on the Philips hue, an advanced lighting system comprising LED light bulbs that can be configured to any of 16 million colors.
Besides analyzing how the system works, the paper, “ Hacking Lightbulbs: Security Evaluation of the Philips hue Personal Wireless Lighting System,” also highlights the top cyber threats associated with the product.
For instance, Dhanjani has demonstrated that a piece of malware could leverage a vulnerability to cause a sustained blackout.
For the attack to be successful, the attacker needs to convince the victim to access a malicious website set up to exploit a Java vulnerability.
“Lighting is critical to physical security. Smart lightbulb systems are likely to be deployed in current and new residential and corporate constructions. An abuse case such as the ability of an intruder to remotely shut off lighting in locations such as hospitals and other public venues can result in serious consequences,” the expert noted.
The complete paper is available on Dhanjani’s website.