[jaybeavers]

Probably a much simpler answer. The programmers who work on a washing machine are probably inexperienced low wage disempowered help. And there’s an innocent rx/tx loop for a home grown notification system and noone on the team knows better or knows how to use a packet sniffer or perf analyzer.

Never attribute to malfeasance what incompetence can explain.

Put a packet sniffer on it. Bet it doesn’t use https, that costs extra for microcontrollers. Dollars to doughnuts it’s a teenager on a road trip.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?