Hackers gained access to the functionality of Deebot X2 robot vacuums, manufactured by the Chinese company Ecovacs Robotics Co, after which the devices attacked their owners in several cities across the United States.

According to ABC News, the vacuum cleaner of Minnesota lawyer Daniel Swenson suddenly began "shouting racist insults" in front of him and his 13-year-old son. Another device in Los Angeles, while loudly swearing, chased its owner's dog. A third cleaning robot woke its user in the middle of the night and began hurling obscenities at them.

There are also reports that a robot vacuum working in a hotel in Cambridge (UK) ran away from its job. Hotel staff were forced to turn to social media for help in locating the runaway device.
Cybersecurity experts had previously warned Ecovacs about issues with PIN codes and Bluetooth, which allow attackers to gain access to the devices. When hacked, a hacker can not only monitor video and audio through the robot's built-in camera and microphone but also give commands to the vacuums and shout obscenities through their built-in speakers. This is exactly what happened in this case.

"It cannot be stated with 100% certainty that this hack was the direct cause. However, after a sharp increase of more than 35% in recent days, Ecovacs Robotics Co's shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell by 16%. Of course, this drop could simply be a normal market correction," commented analysts at XPBEE.