Feb 24, 2026
3 min read
When Sammy Azdoufal discovered he had access to data from robot vacuums around the world, he told a tech publication.But the results could be disappointing.
Name: Random Hacker.
Age: It doesn't matter how old Samy Doufal is.What he does is what matters here, and what he does is very long.
And what did Azdoufal do?It combines the DJI Romo vacuum cleaner with its PS5 controller.
Why?Because, he told New York tech news outlet The Verge, it sounded interesting.
Okay, another story, how did he do it?He used Claude Code, an artificial intelligence programming assistant, to redesign how a home robot vacuum cleaner interacts with DJI's remote cloud server.
Wow, you're losing me.To be honest, I lose myself too.Look, Azdoufal is a software engineer, he's the head of AI strategy at a vacation rental company, and he knows how to do this.But what is interesting is what happened next.
What happened next? Apparently he is lying on the sofa and directing the vacuum cleaner with a joystick - which sounds interesting, although it kind of defeats the whole point of the robot. He discovered that not only could he control his own robot, but he could also access data from other robot vacuum cleaners.
What data?Live camera feed, microphone sound, maps from nearly 7,000 devices in 24 countries.
Tinker Tailor Cleaner Spy!By accident, Astuffal discovers a backend security flaw that allows vacuum cleaners/a whole host of web-connected surveillance devices to spy on them without their owners knowing.
Unbelievable!What did he do with such power?As I said, he took his findings to the Verge.One of his reporters gave Azdoufal the serial number of a DJI Romo vacuum he had just tested for review;Within minutes, Azdoufal could be seen cleaning the journalist's living room, which had 80% of its battery left, and created and forwarded a floor plan of the house.
This is scary.Is there a chance that an actor more vile than Azdoufal is spying on us with this robot vacuum cleaner?DJI's Chinese company, Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Ltd, initially told The Verge that the problem had been "resolved," but Azdoufal says DJI hasn't fixed all the bugs it found.Since the Verge published its report, DJI has also told Popular Science that the issue has been "resolved."
Of course they did.But the event is sure to highlight some of the caveats and fears surrounding smart home devices and robots and how they can become targets for hackers.Or maybe it's…
Say: “Yes, I know you have scary eyes and a funny smile, but I'm rooting for you, Henry.
Don't say, "You missed something at the turn, yes, you there, in Taipei. And we're watching..."
