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Home Automation Systems Easily Hacked via Powerlines
The X10 jammer was designed by researchers to hack home automation systems through power lines. (Photo courtesy of David Kennedy and Rob Simon via Wired.com)
According to Wired.com, the hackers showed how, using a sniffer device connected to the broadband network via an electrical outlet, they could manipulate 15 different neighbors' lights, HVAC and security systems that communicate via the powerline because those communication signals are not encrypted.
The hackers also showed how they were able to track the movements of 15 neighbors with automation systems inside their homes via their motion sensors and cameras, as well as jam signals for lights and alarms.
“None of the manufacturers have implemented really any security whatsoever on these devices," says Dave Kennedy, one of the hackers. "It's such an immature technology."
According to Wired.com, the hackers spent two months researching and designing their open-source tools to conduct the hacks. The hackers focused on x10 systems because that protocol "does not support encryption." They were also able to hack Z-Wave devices because the device they looked at did not have the AES encryption incorporated properly.
The hacking tools are being released to the public as the X10 Sniffer and the X10 Blackout, which jams signals to interfere with the operation of lights, alarms, security cameras and other devices, according to Wired.com. It may only be a matter of time before these devices are in the hands of burglars.
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Article Topics
News · Product News · Home Automation and Control · Control Systems · Lighting · Security · X10 · Zwave · Powerline Control ·About the Author
17 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Love it: “It’s such an immature technology.”... well x10 is…
I would like to see them attempt a hack on some of the more robust systems out on the market.
@Joe - Zwave supports encrypted communication, but the product they tested didn’t implement it correctly. No reason to believe other “secure” products don’t have similar faults.
@JohnA - someone may already have successfully done so, and wasn’t nice enough to publicize it at a conference.
nice copypasta bro
this ‘article’ should have just been a redirect to the actual wired.com page
sorry jason im sure you are a nice guy and all
X-10 was invented in the early seventies. There were no “hackers” back then.
Welcome to the 21st Century.
@don: I beg to differ
“Bruce Sterling traces part of the roots of the computer underground to the Yippies, a 1960s counterculture movement which published the Technological Assistance Program (TAP) newsletter.”
“A hacker is a member of the computer programmer subculture originated in the 1960s in the United States academia, in particular around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)‘s Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) and MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory”
Sorry, CEPro’s commenting system is a little broken with false-positives for spam, so no links - check Wikipedia.
Dosen’t really matter, The X-10 Factory has closed it’s doors and all remaining inventory is what it is.
here is our coverage of X10 closing: http://www.cepro.com/article/the_end_of_x10/
It’s a good thing absolutely no professional in the world uses Z-wave or X10
Z-wave is the x-10 of RF. The dumb dumbs out there will find this out the hard way.
There’s nothing wrong with Z-Wave or Zigbee for residential use. Both are miles ahead of x10 and offer encryption. They also have near zero transmission errors (unlike X10 over a powerline) assuming they are installed correctly.
However, there is one thing bad about Z-Wave: it offer’s customers a cheaper choice.
Since Z-Wave is about 1/5 to 1/4 the cost of hiring a “pro” and using a dealer only product, can you blame people for using Z-Wave when it works well?
In fact, Z-Wave thermostats are as low as $50. Even companies like RCS make thermostats in the Z-Wave world for much less.
Well my 2 cents X10 was born in the 70’s was the pioneer in my opinion, sadly it was never developed into something more current to deal with the current issues of today. I switched to Z-wave a long time ago beacuase of this, but lets give credit when its due.
Oh I forgot to mention, and I don’t see it here, and please correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it in order for this to work you would need to plug the sniffer in at the target house or building so that right there makes it a bit more difficult to implement.
@retroboy - not really. If you’re in a condo or apartment building, just plug into a hallway or utility closet nearby. Many homes have outdoor electrical outlets, or the neighbor’s house as demonstrated.
They also are developing a GSM-equipped sniffer so they can interface with it remotely.
thats what you get for going with the x10 or 2gig crap technology…(unsecured)