The security personnel of the new US president, Joe Biden, and the Central Intelligence Agency, are facing a security problem inside the White House because of the president's sports bike "Peloton", which cybersecurity experts believe may be a way for the Russians and the Chinese to eavesdrop and infiltrate the White House.
The New York Times explained in its report, Wednesday, January 20, 2021, that Joe Biden's personal weight control and training system will also face a pressing question of a different kind: Can he bring his Peloton bike to the White House?
She added that cybersecurity experts say the answer is yes, sort of. But "somewhat" is the closest answer to reality.
Biden's Peloton bike raises concerns
The Peloton bike, for those who don't know it, is an indoor stationary bike and a social network at the same time. They are very expensive bicycles - the price exceeds $ 2,500 each - and include tablets attached to them that enable riders to broadcast live or take lessons on demand and communicate with each other.
Each contestant has a unique identifying name on the leaderboard, which appears on the board next to the potentiometers with which the rider is training.
When Biden was isolated during the wave of the Corona virus in the spring, the New York Times reported that he used to start every day with "training in an upper gymnasium that includes a Peloton bike, weights, and a treadmill."
It has cameras and microphones that can be hacked
While Joe Biden's team did not respond to requests for comment, a person close to the president-elect said that Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, were engaging in regular morning negotiations to determine who would get to ride the bike first.
While the Peloton bike tablets have built-in cameras and microphones that allow users to see and hear each other if they choose to, and herein lies the problem for Biden.
The last thing the CIA wants is for the Russians or the Chinese to be able to eavesdrop on the gymnasium inside the White House . And last week, Popular Mechanics warned of the security risks of the issue under the headline, "Why Can't Joe Biden Bring His Peloton Bike to the White House?"
The Secret Service may modify Joe Biden's bike
The article sparked a storm of chatter in the Peloton universe. In fact, however, cybersecurity experts said that if Joe Biden wanted his bike, he would of course be able to bring it with him, although it will undergo some modifications to come out slightly differently than usual after the NSA and Secret Service finish it off.
To make the bike more fit in the White House, the camera and microphone would have to be removed from the tablet, according to Richard Ledgate, a former deputy director of the National Security Agency. Biden also advised choosing a random username and changing it every month, and keeping the bike away from anywhere you have sensitive conversations.
"If he's the kind of person who rides a bike while talking to people, that will be problematic," Ledgate added, admitting that he is a Peloton bicyclist.
While Jennifer Lucisas, the federal employee who also uses Peloton bicycles, said: "I didn't think of him as an energetic young man, but the fact that he's training on a Peloton bike means to me he has more energy than I thought."