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How one man accidentally hacked thousands of robot vacuums  March 3, 2026

 

What's up, sunshine? Terrific Tuesday to you. I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10.

 

We're going to shake things up a bit today. We have some announcements. First off, this week marks the start of a very special time of year.

 

March is Women's History Month.It has its roots in International Women's Day on March 8th. This year's theme is Leading the Change, Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.

 

All month, we'll be highlighting some of the achievements of visionaries, both past and present. Also, to all my bookworms out there, this week is Read Across America Week, the annual celebration coinciding with Dr. Seuss's birthday, highlighting the joy and importance of reading.

 

visionary [ˈvɪʒǝˌnɛrɪ] n. 有远见卓识者

 

This year's theme is Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers, highlighting books that represent diverse cultures and those that promote inclusivity.

 

inclusivity [ɪnkluˈsɪvǝtɪ] n. 具有包容性

 

We'd love to hear about a great book that you might be reading right now, or one of your all-time favorites. Message us @CNN10 @CNN.com or on Instagram @CNN10, and we're going to share some of your responses throughout the week.

 

An update now on the United Statesand Israel's war with Iran.

 

As the war continues to expand throughout the region, many governments are scrambling to evacuate their citizens, but airspace closures over one of the world's busiest travel regions are spurring one of the worst global travel disruptions since the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Linda Kincaid has more on what some travelers are facing.

 

spur [spɝ] v. 促进，加速

 

Cancelled, delayed, diverted.

 

divert [daɪˈvɝt] v. 使转向；使改道

 

Words few travelers want to hear. But it's a reality for many airline passengers around the globe after several major travel hubs closed or heavily restricted their airspace because of missile and drone strikes across the Middle East. That conflict resulting in travel chaos, long lines and long waits, upending many trips.

 

upend [ʌpˈɛnd] v. 颠倒；（使）混乱

 

Unfortunately, our whole trip from our school canceled it, so we're no longer going to Dubai.

 

Commercial flights in and out of Dubai have been suspended. Airports in Abu Dhabi, Doha and other regional hubs were also either shut down or subject to severe restrictions.

 

All are popular transit points for long haul travel. And without these key connections, the flow of aircraft and flight crews has been disrupted. Many passengers left stranded.

 

We don't have any information. No one's sending us anything. We cannot get into contact with anyone.

 

We're trying to go home. That's the only thing that we want.

 

In one popular tourist destination, authorities in Bali, Indonesia, say more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at the airport Sunday after flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed.

 

It's a headache all round. The new routes will likely be longer for passengers and the fuel costs higher for airlines. At the Frankfurt airport in Germany, one passenger bound for Australia says she's trying to rebook after her flight was canceled, but it hasn't been easy.

 

The phone hotline is completely overloaded. We can't reach anyone, actually. It's not going so well at the moment.

 

The disruptions are also a serious concern for people who work in the Middle East but live in different countries, like these migrant workers in Bangladesh who say they're afraid they'll lose their jobs if they don't return soon.

 

Airlines are scrambling to reroute flights with some headed over Saudi Arabia, but it's unclear how long the disruptions could last. Right now, officials are urging people to check their flights and pack a lot of patience.

 

Now, the war with Iran is having widespread repercussions from the economy, even on sports. The Qatar Soccer Federation postponed all tournaments and matches until further notice.

 

repercussion [ˌripɚˈkʌʃǝn] n. (常复数）后果；影响

 

Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar closed their airspace on Saturday as the strikes on Iran affected flights across the Middle East.

 

Today marks 100 days until the FIFA World Cup this summer, and the president of Iran's soccer federation says he doesn't know if the national team will play World Cup matches. Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varsash3, what is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope. FIFA says it will be monitoring this situation.

 

Iran is scheduled to play in Los Angeles, opening with New Zealand on June 15th.

 

Ten second trivia.When was the first electric vacuum invented?

 

1791, 1835, 1867 or 1901? Answer is 1901.

 

British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth patented a large horse-drawn machine that used a motor-powered pump to create suction, pulling dust through long hoses into a filter system outside of the building.

 

Have you heard about the man who hacked 7,000 vacuum cleaners? A software developer experimenting with his own robotic vacuum discovered a flaw that allowed access to thousands of others, including their cameras and microphones, shedding light on potential security risks with smart home devices. Let's look at how it happened and what we should know.

 

So in theory, you could have used someone else's vacuum and navigated it around their home to see whatever you wanted to see.

 

Are launching deep cleaning at 420 for everyone? Yes.

 

Software developer Sami Esdouffel was building an app to hack his DJI Romo smart vacuum.

 

He wanted to use his PlayStation controller to make it move. But in the process, he accidentally uncovered a major security flaw. With the help of an AI chatbot, Sami discovered he could also access what he's says were roughly 7,000 other vacuums, allowing him to get their approximate locations and even remotely control other people's vacuums.

 

He could also see through other users' live camera feeds and hear through their vacuums' microphones, features typically in place to help the vacuums navigate around a home and respond to voice commands.

 

When it happened, my wife started to hide the camera from the robot because she was scared. I don't know, I freak out or scared.

 

Sorry, this makes me laugh for nothing, but why are they going to put a microphone in a vacuum? Like, I don't know, I don't get it.

 

Sami immediately reported the flaw to DJI. After some back and forth, the company fixed it.

 

DJI did not respond to a request for comment from CNN. But Sami says there's an important takeaway here for consumers thinking about buying any smart home device.

 

Let other users be your beta testers before you.

 

So the company will fix the issue before you buy it.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10,a case of being in the right place at the right time with an incredible outcome. A police officer who took a different route to work and an off-duty firefighter who happened to have his gear in his car arriving at a fiery car wreck at the same time.

 

Both are former Marines jumped into action, saving a mother of three. Our Ryan Young has the story.

 

On the morning of February 18th, 2025, then officer Brian Larrison had just started his shift when he decided to mix things up in his daily routine.

 

My normal route is to go down south from my house. But for some reason that day, something just told me, take the 60.

 

It wasn't long before he happened upon a fiery wreck on US 60 near Mesa.

 

As I approached the truck, I noticed there was a young lady inside. You could see her hands were flailing around on the inside.

 

flail [flеl] v.（尤指手臂和双腿）乱动，胡乱摆动

 

Moments earlier, the vehicle had been rear-ended by a cement truck, flipping it over and trapping mother of three Amy Ruiz inside. She had just dropped off her kids.

 

rear-end [ˈrɪrˈɛnd] v. 撞上（前面汽车的）车尾，追尾

flip over 翻转

 

So I ran back to my motorcycle and I grabbed my PR 24 baton, which is a side handle baton.

 

baton [bəˈtɑn] n. 警棍

 

After a handful of strikes, officer Larrison was finally able to break open the window

 

But just as Amy was about to escape, the vehicle rolled back on its wheels, throwing her back inside.

 

At that point, I started running back up to the truck to reach in or try to get her out. And then that's when I looked to my right and I saw a fireman in his flame-retardant gear.

 

flame-retardant 阻燃的

 

Get her out of there. Get her out, dude. Off-duty at the time, firefighter and paramedic Asa Peguia was unusually prepared for the situation.

 

I don't normally bring my fire gear home with me. That day I had worked a overtime shift, so I happened to have my fire gear in my vehicle. I couldn't see her, but when I reached in, I felt her legs and I was able to grab her legs and pull her and help her out of that vehicle.

 

We got you. We got you. Anybody else in there?

 

She cried out for help and she was very confused or hypoxic.

 

hypoxic [hɪˈpɑksɪk] adj.（血液和组织）供氧不足的，缺氧的

 

So she had probably been low on oxygen from the smoke inhalation. And so she wasn't very cognizant of where she was or what's going on.

 

cognizant [ˈkɑɡnɪzǝnt] adj. 察知的; 认识到的; 注意到的

 

I'm glad you're here, brother.

 

The two former Marines modestly say they were simply doing their jobs. That's what they signed up for, to serve and protect.

 

modestly [ˈmɑdɪstlɪ] adv.谦虚地

 

I can't thank you guys enough for my life.

 

There's no words to describe. There's no word big enough.

 

All right, Super Estrellas.

 

We were talking about the World Cup earlier and this upcoming World Cup will be the first ever hosted across three countries, the U.S., Canada and Mexico. So I am sending a shout out to my friends in Mexico City. Mr. Stanaway and crew, thank you for this epic World Cup jersey.

 

Are you kidding me? Escuela Lomas Altas, rise up. Also, we have a shout out going to Mr. Russell at MS29, the Melrose School in the Bronx, New York. Thank you for subscribing and commenting on our CNN10 YouTube channel.

 

Tomorrow is Your Word Wednesday. So submit those vocabulary words to our latest post on Instagram, @ CNN10 or a@ CoyWire and we will choose a winner to work into tomorrow's show. Bring it.

 

See you later, alligators. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN10.