This hacked toy can open many garage doors in seconds
Have you put much thought lately into what’s stored in your garage? If you have valuables in there next to your car, you might want to think about the hacking potential of your garage door. As it turns out, even your children’s old toys can be ideal for hacking into your home.
Samy Kamkar, a security researcher, has found a way to hack a common Mattel toy to turn it into a universal garage door opener. The toy Kamkar used, IM Me, is a discontinued pocket computer. It allows children to chat with pals who are nearby.
IM Me isn’t much more than a piece of open source hardware and an antenna. However, it turns out that the toy is actually incredibly hackable. Kamkar enabled the device (which he is calling OpenSesame) to crack any garage code door, making it a universal “key” to garages everywhere. Anyone could walk by, use the device, and open your garage door in seconds without you noticing it, he tells Wired.
