Nizich on Cobots: Communications of the ACM

Communications of the ACM addresses cyberattacks on collaborative robots, or cobots, and extensively quotes  Michael Nizich, Ph.D., ETIC director and adjunct associate professor of computer science. According to the story, cobots count on Internet of Things devices, various data and software programming, and remote control for operation, productivity, and safety. All of which present unique opportunities for attack.

Criminal hackers can live off the land, using remote control tools IT has already installed with the cobots, such as Secure Shell (SSH). Attackers can use cobots’ SSH connections to reconfigure the cobot to perform all the wrong motions, Nizich explains. “Advanced SSH connection support provides an outside user full access to the robot’s operating system and controls and the software and scripts on the system that control the cobot’s behaviors,” he says. Unfortunately, it is often trivial for criminal hackers to learn these connection options and find cobots to attack. “Many times, vendors publicly advertise the features of software and hardware systems to make them more attractive from a sales perspective. Users discuss the intricate details of the system’s functionality on blogs and vlogs as they attempt to troubleshoot issues with the help of other system users,” explains Nizich.