--- title: Hackers will hack anything — including your sex toys - The Hustle description: As the Internet of Things grows, vulnerabilities emerge in all sorts of devices — even sex toys. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1936390121-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-eggplantinacage_20230912220505.webp --- # Hackers will hack anything — including your sex toys ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: September 14, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 Far be it from us to kink-shame people who like sex toys, but we’re *definitely *shaming sex toy companies that don’t protect users’ data. ![An eggplant locked inside a birdcage against a pink background.](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1936390121-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-eggplantinacage_20230912220505.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1936390121-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-eggplantinacage_20230912220505.webp) Case in point: A security researcher [told](https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/02/smart-chastity-cage-emails-passwords-location/?mrfhud=true)* TechCrunch* he exploited two vulnerabilities in an app-controlled chastity device, accessing a database of 10k+ users, in June — but the device’s maker still hasn’t done anything about it. #### **Yikes, but…** … this isn’t the first time such a company has been caught with its security pants down. - Standard Innovation Corp. settled for [$3.75m](https://nationalpost.com/news/world/women-settle-lawsuit-with-canadian-maker-of-internet-connected-vibrator-for-us3-75m) in 2017 after two women claimed its We-Vibe toy and app collected intimate data including usage, settings, and email addresses. - In 2017, a security researcher [demonstrated](https://www.wired.com/story/the-next-security-risk-may-be-your-vibrator/) how a toy with a camera could be hacked, allowing others to see the feed. And there are far more Internet of Things (IoT) sex toys than you might think, per [the Internet of Dongs](https://internetofdon.gs/donglist/), a website that tracks and tests them. #### **Okay, but would someone actually hack a sex toy?** In 2020, connected chastity device CellMate was hacked via an exposed API. One user [told](https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7apnn/your-cock-is-mine-now-hacker-locks-internet-connected-chastity-cage-demands-ransom) *Vice* that hackers demanded $750 in bitcoin to unlock it. Fortunately, he hadn’t been wearing it. But this showcases a larger problem. There are [~17B](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/09/the-dark-webs-criminal-minds-see-iot-as-the-next-big-hacking-prize.html#:~:text=There%20are%20now%20an%20estimated,vulnerable%20entry%20points%20for%20hackers.) connected devices worldwide, per *CNBC*, including fridges, watches, toilets, lights, and, for some reason, this [smart egg crate](https://www.makeuseof.com/5-weird-things-add-to-your-iot/). And Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report 2022 found that “the security of Internet of Things (IoT)… has not kept pace” with software and hardware, making them an entry point for bad actors. As this tech creeps further into everyday life, companies owe it to their users to test for and fix vulnerabilities, and to be transparent about what data they collect and why — no matter the device. **Fun fact: **Hackers [once used](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/07/21/how-a-fish-tank-helped-hack-a-casino/) smart sensors in a casino fish tank to access its network and steal customer data. Topics: [Fraud And Scams](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/fraud-and-scams) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![People love stealing stuff from Target](https://media.hubspot.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/TheHustle+HubSpot_Lockup.svg) ### People love stealing stuff from Target - ![Saying you run a business is easier than actually running one](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1462085162-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay2030202023scheme.webp) ### Saying you run a business is easier than actually running one - ![Wash trading and crypto, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/396502987-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-14T013317.765Z.webp) ### Wash trading and crypto, explained - ![Scandal: JPMorgan accuses founder of faking 4m+ accounts](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2098235985-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-13T012419.889Z.webp) ### Scandal: JPMorgan accuses founder of faking 4m+ accounts - ![How LinkedIn’s handling its bots](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/959116611-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-12T014748.743Z-scaled.webp) ### How LinkedIn’s handling its bots - ![Zelle is a hotbed for fraud — and banks aren’t helping](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/906221785-News-Brief_2022-03-10T010459.015Z.webp) ### Zelle is a hotbed for fraud — and banks aren’t helping - ![Lonely Americans were swindled out of millions in romance scams](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/814149493-News-Brief_2022-02-01T032814.849Z.webp) ### Lonely Americans were swindled out of millions in romance scams - ![How scammers manipulate smart contracts to steal crypto](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/938033119-News-Brief_2022-01-28T004546.708Z.webp) ### How scammers manipulate smart contracts to steal crypto - ![How hackers keep North Korea’s economy afloat](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2134328136-News-Brief_2021-12-28T020543.038Z.webp) ### How hackers keep North Korea’s economy afloat - ![Black Oxygen Organics made a fortune selling magic dirt. Then it got caught](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1040641891-News-Brief_2021-12-24T093408.068Z.webp) ### Black Oxygen Organics made a fortune selling magic dirt. Then it got caught Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "datePublished" : "2023-09-14T00:39:56.000Z", "headline" : "Hackers will hack anything — including your sex toys", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1936390121-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-eggplantinacage_20230912220505.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/hackers-will-hack-anything-including-your-sex-toys", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:11:00+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-09-14T00:39:56+0000", "headline" : "Hackers will hack anything — including your sex toys", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1936390121-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-eggplantinacage_20230912220505.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```