A recent report that shows China could spy on Americans via smart coffee makers is very concerning, since Beijing is waging what is known as unrestricted hybrid warfare, according to data security expert Rex Lee.
Evidence that coffee makers manufactured by China-based firm Kalerm are insecure was uncovered by American researcher Christopher Balding. According to his report (pdf), these internet-connected machines collect information, such as payment data, time, and location, from users in China.
“While we cannot say this company is collecting data on non-Chinese users, all evidence indicates their machines can and do collect data on users outside of Mainland China and store the data in China,” the report warned. “The data is collected at the point of operation from software embedded in the coffee maker.”…