--- title: "Hackers Hijacked a Family’s Smart Home, Spammed Nuclear Missile Alerts" description: "The Lyons family was the victim of a cruel prank by hackers, who gained access to their smart home and used it to terrorize them." date: "2019-01-23" modified: "2019-01-23" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/smart-home-hackers-nuclear-war" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "nuclear war" - "online security" - "Smart Home" - "the digest" --- # Hackers Hijacked a Family’s Smart Home, Spammed Nuclear Missile Alerts ![The Lyons family were the victims of a cruel prank by hackers, who gained access to their smart home and used it to terrorize the family]() *\Image: UX Gun/Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Nuclear Strike A California family's leisurely afternoon was interrupted this weekend when an emergency alert sounded from their living room, according to the [*Mercury News*]() — and warned them that nuclear war had broken out, with missiles headed for multiple U.S. cities. "It warned that the United States had retaliated against Pyongyang and that people in the affected areas had three hours to evacuate," Laura Lyons told the paper. "It sounded completely legit, and it was loud and got our attention right off the bat." ## Cruel Prank There were no missiles, of course. The Lyons family was the victim of a cruel prank by hackers, who gained access to their Nest security camera and used it to terrorize them — a dark vision of a future in which online mischief makers exploit smart home systems to exact horrific psychological tricks on unsuspecting users. The Lyons family isn't alone. Last month, hackers accessed a Texas family's Nest system and [used it to threaten]() to kidnap the family's baby. In September, the *Canadian Broadcasting Corporation* explored vulnerabilities in smart home systems by [hiring hackers]() to break into the Nest, Wink, and Amazon devices belonging to yet another family — though this time with the parents' permission. ## Hack Attack Nest didn't respond to the *Mercury News'* request for comment, but Lyons said that a customer support representative told her the hack was likely related to a data breach. "They have a responsibility to let customers know if that is happening," Lyons said. "I want to let other people know this can happen to them." **READ MORE:** [“5 Minutes of Sheer Terror”: Hackers Infiltrate East Bay Family’s Nest Surveillance Camera, Send Warning of Incoming North Korea Missile Attack]() \[*Mercury News*\] ***More on smart home security:*** [A Smart Home Device Successfully Reported an In-Progress Crime]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()