In the age of sex tech, the proliferation of widely available WiFi-enabled sex toys means a loving and trusted partner can control your toy remotely from anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, security flaws and glitches mean hackers and and other bad actors can also take over control. And when the smart toy in question is a chastity cage, designed to be locked around a user’s penis to prevent sexual activity, that could mean a user might end up getting stuck in the toy for good.
This risk was recently identified by U.K.-based security firm Pen Test Partners, who said a flaw in the Qiui Cellmate internet-connected chastity lock could leave the toy vulnerable to hackers who could easily take over and put a user’s genitals on indefinite lockdown.
“We discovered that remote attackers could prevent the Bluetooth lock from being opened, permanently locking the user in the device,” the security firm wrote in a blog post. “There is no physical unlock.”
This, according to Pen Test Partners, means users who fall victim to hackers and get stuck in the toy may have to take “an angle grinder or other suitable heavy tool” to the area in order to free themselves.
Other internet-connected sex toys have been linked to security risks as well, but as Pen Test Partners’ Alex Lomas told BBC, “Most times the problem is a disclosure of sensitive personal data, but in this case, you can get physically locked in.”
It’s a brave new world of teledildonics, and many people are actually taking advantage of the opportunity to have their sex toys controlled by strangers on the internet — like the Twitter user who invited his followers to control his butt plug from afar. But while letting a stranger on Twitter stimulate your prostate is one thing, accidentally getting your genitals locked up by a hacker and having to go down there with an angle grinder is probably few people’s idea of kinky fun.
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