Is it time for internet of thing (IoT) devices to get a ‘Good Housekeeping’ seal of approval?
The post IoT is eating the internet appeared first on Avira Blog.
Is it time for internet of thing (IoT) devices to get a ‘Good Housekeeping’ seal of approval?
The post IoT is eating the internet appeared first on Avira Blog.
A massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against Dyn, a major domain name system (DNS) provider, broke large portions of the Internet on Friday, causing a significant outage to a ton of websites and services, including Twitter, GitHub, PayPal, Amazon, Reddit, Netflix, and Spotify.
But how the attack happened? What’s the cause behind the attack?
Exact details of the attack remain
Are your internet-connected devices spying on you? Perhaps.
We already know that the Internet of Thing (IoT) devices are so badly insecure that hackers are adding them to their botnet network for launching Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against target services.
But, these connected devices are not just limited to conduct DDoS attacks; they have far more potential to harm you.
The IoT botnet behind the some of the largest publicly recorded DDoS attacks is flooding its targets with HTTP traffic in Layer 7 attacks.
If you are concerned about the insecurity of Internet of Things, have good hands at programming and know how to hack smart devices, then you can grab an opportunity to earn $50,000 in prize money for discovering the non-traditional ways to secure IoT devices.
Internet of Things (IoT) market is going to expand rapidly over the next decade. We already have 6.5 billion to 8 billion IoT devices
In Cigital’s seventh annual Building Security in Maturity Model report, cloud, agile software development and IoT factor into maturing secure software movement.
With rapidly growing Internet of Thing (IoT) devices, they have become a much more attractive target for cybercriminals.
Just recently we saw a record-breaking Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against the France-based hosting provider OVH that reached over one Terabit per second (1 Tbps), which was carried out via a botnet of infected IoT devices.
Now, such attacks are expected
Smart cities are a real thing—could you live in one? Do you live in one?
Actually, a smart city is an “urban development vision” used to manage a city’s assets by integrating multiple information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions within the city. A smart city’s ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for its residents.
With just an internet connection and one of the endless number of devices available, residents can do a multitude of things like pay parking meters and purchase movie tickets. Did your device run out of battery while you were on-the-go? Go ahead and hook up to one of your city’s many public charging stations.
Yes, a properly planned smart city can make life more convenient, but this is also a double ended sword. However convenient, in regards to internet security, it is very dangerous. At the end of any given day, there’s a high possibility that any one of these connected devices could be hacked, while criminals getaway with your top private information.
City Bikes
The next time you take one of those public bikes for a spin, keep in mind that these electric bike stations are run by a computer… a computer that can be hacked like any other connected device. You’ll see that at each bike station there’s a small computer screen for riders to register, recharge passes, report incidents, and map the other stations in close proximity. But like any other computer, cybercriminals can use a lot of different techniques to take advantage of any vulnerability that these systems might have.
On these payment screens, in the maps section, there are various (public) sections on the platform, such as “Report an Error” “Privacy Policy” and “Terms of Use”. When these are tapped, an internet explorer window pops up. From there, the cybercriminals have access to a virtual keyboard—this will ultimately give them the power to execute those unwanted applications. This is the start of their hack—now they can access and collect info belonging to all those wanting to rent a city bike, getting their full names, verified email addresses and phone numbers. Some hackers will be able to steal customer payment data, too.
Taxis
New York City’s famous yellow taxi has jumped on the “smart experience” bandwagon. Aside from the tourist maps, Broadway ads and business cards that fill the back seat of the yellow cabs, passengers can use the tablet attached to the Plexiglas divider separating you from the driver. Go ahead and read the news during your commute, and when you arrive at your location, and make your payment from the same device. Just remember, if a cybercriminal gets in the back of this cab he could successfully install malware and gain access to a lot of customer information. Likewise, remember to watch out for the public chargers in the taxi. Just imagine all the people whose privacy could be in danger.
We leave you with a last note, if a city wishes to become a smart city, installing these intelligent devices requires that all businesses commit to the necessary security measures to safeguard government and public privacy. Keep your citizens safe by following adequate security assurances.
The post Smart cities with Invisible Dangers appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
Do you know — Your Smart Devices may have inadvertently participated in a record-breaking largest cyber attack that Internet has just witnessed.
If you own a smart device like Internet-connected televisions, cars, refrigerators or thermostats, you might already be part of a botnet of millions of infected devices that was used to launch the biggest DDoS attack known to date, with peaks of over
IoT security matters more than ever, explains ESET’s Cameron Camp, as the technology, which offers us so much, is vulnerable to attack from cybercriminals.
The post DDoS robots for the masses: IoT security comes of age appeared first on WeLiveSecurity.