Security ‘decade behind’

Source: Xinhua | 2017-05-16

HACKERS at a cyber security competition in Hong Kong demonstrated yesterday how easy it was to hack into sharing bikes, smart locks, smartwatches designed for children and cars with automated features.

As people become more reliant on new technologies like the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, related security is “a decade behind the booming technologies,” Wang Qi, chief executive of Shanghai-based Keen, the organizer of the competition, said in Hong Kong.

During the GeekPwn 2017 competition, the hacking experts hacked into various smart devices to expose their vulnerabilities in a bid to improve security level of the smart devices people use every day.

One expert hacked into a smartwatch designed for children and called and impersonated a child’s parent. Another expert hacked into user accounts of four Chinese bike-sharing companies and was able to access the accounts.

The cyber security competition is held annually.