Great, Now You Have to Worry About Your Face Getting Hacked

The MIT Technology Review reports on a study by the mobile security startup Lookout, which found a key vulnerability in Google’s new wearable computer, Glass. The hack exploits QR codes to gain access to Glass’s systems: 

The Lookout researchers found that by creating a QR code that caused Glass to connect to their own wireless access point, they could control traffic coming on and off the device, Rogers said. In theory, this would allow a hacker to spy on a user’s uploaded photos, or direct him to malware on the Web.

Similarly, the researchers found that a QR code could force Glass to connect via Bluetooth to a device of the researcher’s choosing, without the Glass wearer’s knowledge.

The problem was reported to Google and was fixed within two weeks. But as Lookout points out on its blog, this is just one example of new security challenges posed by the so-called "Internet of Things," the hacking of wireless-connected insulin pumps being among the most troubling.