A group of researchers have found substantial security issues in the SoftBank Pepper robot, including unauthenticated administrative capabilities. The findings were detailed in a paper, published this month, written by Alberto Giaretta of Örebro University in Sweden, along with Michele De Donno and Nicola Dragoni of the Technical University of Denmark.
Other researchers found that these robots are susceptible to ransomware. Ransomware for robots is an increasing risk, as these devices can be exploited and locked to the detriment of business operations, according to research from IOActive, Researchers found that they could exploit an undocumented function that allows remote command execution on both the Pepper and NAOrobots—two of the most used in businesses, research, and education worldwide. With these robots, and others that perform similar functions, cybercriminals could use ransomware to halt their work, display inappropriate content or language to customers, or perform violent movements during work.