Hack Allows for “Rebel” Keurig K-Cups

[dlevere]

By Rick Osgood



If you haven’t actually used a Keurig coffee machine, then you’ve probably at least seen one. They are supposed to make brewing coffee simple. You just take one of the Keurig “k-cups” and place it into the machine. The machine will punch a hole in the foil top and run the water through the k-cup. Your flavored beverage of choice comes out the other side. It’s a simple idea, run by a more complex machine. A machine that is complicated enough to have a security vulnerability.

Unfortunately newer versions of these machines have a sort of DRM, or lockout chip. In order to prevent unofficial k-cups from being manufactured and sold, the Keurig machines have a way to detect which cups are legitimate and which are counterfeit. It appears as though the machine identifies the lid specifically as being genuine.

It turns out this “lockout” technology is very simple to defeat. All one needs to do is cut the lid off of a legitimate Keurig k-cup and place it on top of your counterfeit cup. The system will read the real lid and allow you to brew to your heart’s content. A more convenient solution involves cutting off just the small portion of the lid that contains the Keurig logo. This then gets taped directly to the Keurig machine itself. This way you can still easily replace the cups without having to fuss with the extra lid every time.

It’s a simple hack, but it’s interesting to see that even coffee machines are being sold with limiting technology these days. This is the kind of stuff we would have joked about five or ten years ago. Yet here we are, with a coffee machine security vulnerability. Check out the video demonstration below.

[dlevere]

DRM Protection Removed for... Coffee?

By Bryan Cockfield



Keurig, the manufacturer of a single-serve coffee brewing system, has a very wide following among coffee drinkers. Their K-cup (pre-packaged coffee grounds with a coffee filter, all in a plastic container) is an interesting concept and makes brewing a single cup of coffee much more efficient over making a whole pot. Their newer line of coffee makers, the Keurig 2.0, has some interesting (and annoying) security features though, which Kate Gray has found an interesting and simple way around.

The DRM security in these coffee makers is intended to keep third-party “cups” from being used in the Keurig. It can recognize an authentic Keurig cup, and can stop the operation of the coffee pot if a knockoff is placed in the machine. We can only assume that this is because Keurig makes a heap of cash by selling its canisters of coffee. The simple solution? Removing one wire from a wiring harness inside of the case.

There are other ways around the security on these devices, but when Kate Gray actually investigated, she found the security decidedly lacking. With something this simple, one can only speculate how much Keurig has really invested in making sure users don’t use third-party cups of coffee in their machines, but it also brings up the classic question of who really owns hardware if we can’t use it in the way we want, rather than the way the manufacturer wants.

You can read more about the project on its Reddit page. Thanks to MyOwnDemon for the tip!

[dlevere]

Keurig recalls 7.2 million single serve brewers, stock falls

By Anjali Athavaley and Ramkumar Iyer

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Keurig Green Mountain Inc is
recalling about 7.2 million single-serve brewing machines, the
coffee company announced on Tuesday, warning that the machines
could overheat and injure users by spraying hot liquids on them.

Keurig's shares fell 2.5 percent to $136.29 in morning
trading, as investors worried the recall would sow doubt about
the brand as the company tries to roll out new brewers and
expand beyond the single-serve coffee business.

The company said the machines could malfunction especially
if used to brew more than two cups in quick succession. The
recall affects 6.6 million machines in the United States and
564,000 in Canada.

"We believe the earnings impact specifically from the recall
is unlikely to be material but that it could hurt brand
perception, negatively impacting future brewer sales," Mark
Astrachan, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co said in a note.

The affected machines are Keurig Mini Plus brewers made
between December 2009 and July 2014 with the model number K10
and serial numbers starting with 31, the company said on its
website. bit.ly/1GT8a1G

Astrachan called the timing of the recall "notable in that
it is two days before Christmas." He recalled that in November,
the company had noted a problem with the brewers on its earnings
call about its fourth quarter ended Sept. 27. He said company
officials on the call disclosed a $22 million impact on sales
related to returns of Mini Plus brewers.

Keurig has received about 90 reports of injuries caused by
hot liquid escaping from the machines, the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission said.

Health Canada said Keurig had recorded 17 incidents of minor
burns in Canada. bit.ly/1vjxlmz

In a November filing, Keurig said that it had informed the
Commission and Health Canada about a potential issue involving
certain Mini Plus brewers. The company said that after
accounting for expected insurance claims, it had recorded a net
charge in its fiscal year 2014 of $10 million to remediate the
issue.

The company is working to establish how many of the reports
in the U.S. and Canada are related to problems associated with
the recall, spokeswoman Suzanne DuLong said in a statement.

The Keurig Mini Plus is a single serve brewing machine that
is used to prepare hot beverages such as coffee, tea and cocoa.
The brewer retails for about $100.00, and is sold through retailers,
department stores and Keurig's website.

DuLong said that the company "recently identified the issue
and took immediate action."

(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by dlevere, Ted Kerr
and David Gregorio)