Amazon Dash Was Hacked For Data Tracking

Earlier this year, in March, Amazon rolled out the Dash Buttons, which allow customers to reorder household goods like detergents, toilet paper and diapers with just a press. Amazon’s smart device is adhesive and sends a notification to the users’ smartphones for canceling or proceeding with placing the order.

The $5 buttons have received mixed reviews, with some praising Amazon’s initiative that saves them time, and others thinking out loud whether the buttons shouldn’t have been free. Then, there are those worrying their ten month old will be pressing the button non stop and those complaining about Amazon’s prices and lack of product variety.

While some spend their free time criticizing the single purpose buttons, the Amazon Dash was hacked by Cloudstitch CTO, Ted Benson, who wanted to enlarge the device’s horizons and make it do other stuff. Like track data.

Benson broke down his Amazon Dash button’s functioning mechanisms and noticed the device sends out a signal every time the users press it. He didn’t want to crack open Amazon’s button and tinker with the hardware, so instead he turned towards the network to see what he can do there.

After the unique signal from the button gets picked up, Benson set up a script that will do anything he wants. His experiment involved one Dash button keeping tabs on his baby’s diaper getting changed and another device recording when his baby woke up from his naps. All the data was automatically recorded in a Google Spreadsheet.

But how do you prevent the hacked Amazon dash from ordering any products? The answer is simpler than you could imagine. Just skip the initial configuration process after you receive the device. If you don’t enter an SKU, the button won’t know what to order for you.

However, there’s still a catch, even if you tackle the accidental household products ordering. Amazon’s Dash can act on its own, but the hacked, modified button will require something else. You’ll have to leave your computer on at all times. Also, make sure your computer is always connected to your network so it can pick up the button presses and upload data points to the spreadsheets.

If you’re no stranger to Python coding, Benson offered all the instructions and the script you need for hacking your own Amazon dash. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the next hacker to set out a demo for turning on the coffee machine in the mornings or automatically locking the doors at night.

Image sources 1, 2, 3

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.