(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
THIS REALLY spiked our interest: toothbrush has been hacked.
Why it matters: hacking and digital security is so much a part of our life in this day and age of the internet that securing our cyber presence and activities is much a part of every day safety.
And so it was that the digital new platform ZDNet ran a headline: “3 million smart toothbrushes were just used in a DDoS attack. Really.”
Really.
Tech site Tom’s Hardware also headlined: “Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks.”
The Sun, a London newspaper, had this to say: “Over 3 million toothbrushes could be ‘hacked’ and ‘turned into secret army for criminals,’ experts claim”.
It attracted our attention because while hackers target smart devices, the motives are almost always how to make a fast buck, or peso if you will.
In the case of a toothbrush, the digital information that hackers could mine is nothing much more than personal data about oral hygiene, in this case when, how often and how one person brushes her or his teeth. Not much financial gain there.
In contrast, much money could be hacked instead from digital fraud, breaching cybersecurity to access personal information and numbers and ransomware.
Back to the toothbrush. Or digital toothbrush to be more precise.
A digital or “smart” toothbrush uses an app that collects information about one’s brushing habit. The feedback informs the user – or the dentist – how effective the personal toothbrush habit is and how it could use some improvements, if any.
A variation to the theme is the augmented reality (AR) toothbrush that generates computer-generated images displayed on a connected device. And yes, there is a virtual reality (VR) toothbrush that doesn’t really brush your teeth but mimics the real one just as well. Oh well.
After the electric toothbrush, the digital toothbrush has been called one of the most significant developments in oral health technology. Sensors analyze brush head pressure on the teeth, coverage, brushing duration and other data in real-time then send the information back to the user. Users are supposed to learn how to improve their brushing technique.
The hack attack on the smart toothbrush supposedly involved denial-of-service attack. It is a malicious way to disturb the normal functions of a smart device by overwhelming it with information, in the process denying the user access.
The denial-of-service attacked happened in Switzerland last year. Or so it was though. It so happened that it was fake news.
It was later learned that the hack attack was hypothetical to illustrate what could happen in case such attacks were to happen.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
