Jen Van Santvoord rides her Peloton exercise bike at her home in San Anselmo, California on April 7, 2020.
Ezra Shaw | Getty Images
When Joe Biden moves into the White House, he may have to leave part of his exercise routine behind.
The elected president’s peloton could be viewed as a security threat by intelligence agencies, according to a report by Popular Mechanics. The popular stationary bike is connected to the internet and has a camera and microphone that can pose a risk of hacking.
To get the all-clear for the exercise machines, Biden’s peloton may need to rip out some of its key features – the microphone, camera, and network devices that connect it to bike classes and make it look more interactive, Max Kilger, director of The University of Texas in the data analysis program of San Antonio announced to Popular Mechanics.
However, there may be a precedent to modify the bike or get a custom one. In a review posted in The Verge three years ago, author Lauren Goode said a person “close to the company” told former first lady Michelle Obama that they had a peloton with no camera and microphone. At the time, Peloton and Obama’s press office declined to comment.
Biden’s press team and peloton have been contacted to see if the president-elect’s bike may also receive a workaround.
Peloton, once the subject of ridicule, has become a success story of the Covid pandemic. Demand is growing as Americans seek safer alternatives to the gym and invest in exercise equipment for their homes. Share prices have increased more than fivefold over the past year, giving Peloton a market value of more than $ 46.2 billion.
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