Silent Appliances - The Secret Invasion from China (Fall 2013)

Silent Appliances - The Secret Invasion from China (Fall 2013)

In October 2013, cyber weapons hidden in home appliances imported from China were discovered in the St. Petersburg region of Russia. The targeted products were seemingly ordinary products such as electric kettles and irons, but inside them were spy chips with Wi-Fi modules. When in use, these devices searched the surrounding wireless LAN, penetrated and connected to routers with weak security, such as WEP, and could be exploited to send spam, spread malware, or even be part of a botnet. The communication distance reached 200 meters, and it was possible to infiltrate not only homes, but also neighbors' houses and offices. The discovery came about after Russian security experts detected suspicious communications in their daily surveillance work and traced their origin, leading to the startling discovery that the culprit was a household appliance. First reported by the Russian-language media outlet Rosbalt, the story was subsequently picked up by Western media outlets such as Gi
zmodo and The Register, attracting international attention. Russian authorities investigated the distribution channels and seized the products in question, and there was discussion of strengthening the monitoring of imported products from the perspective of national security. The incident coincided with a period when allegations of espionage activities were concentrated on Huawei and ZTE, and it increased distrust of Chinese-made electronic devices in general. This event, in which everyday consumer electronics quietly turned into a cyberwar front, was remembered as a shocking incident symbolizing the invisible aggression of the modern age.