AMU Cyber & AI

IoT Cyber Attacks Will Likely Get Worse

Security experts still concerned about IoT security

Following the recent wave of Internet of Things (IoT) exploitation, Internet security firm McAfee Labs offered up small group of key points to clear up confusion about the IoT.

In October, a [link url=”https://amuedge.com/major-ddos-attack-slams-east-coast/” title=”massive DDoS attack”] hit the U.S. and pushed the Internet to a crawl in various regions. Cybersecurity experts later [link url=”https://amuedge.com/iot-blame-massive-ddos-attack/” title=”said that the IoT was to blame”] for large-scale attack.

More specifically, the [link url=”https://amuedge.com/half-million-iot-devices-susceptible-mirai-botnet/” title=”Mirai IoT botnet”] was to blame. By some accounts, hundreds of thousands of devices out there are still vulnerable to Mirai. The botnet largely takes advantage of factory-shipped, default credentials that exist for many of the devices; it exploits this detail to use thousands of devices simultaneously for large cyber attacks.

The Internet of Things (IoT) Generally refers to the connectedness of various devices. IoT devices include phones, buildings, vehicles, and a growing list of appliances and other devices. The IoT is the central force fueling the increasingly connected modern day society.

Five things to know about the IoT

In response to this series of events, McAfee Labs put forth [link url=”https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/top-5-things-know-recent-iot-attacks/” title=”five key points”] to know about the IoT as 2017 approaches.

  1. Insecure IoT devices pose new risks for everyone. Nearly every IoT device is hackable.
  2. IoT devices are valuable to hackers. Because of this, hackers will likely adapt quickly to maintain their current advantage.
  3. DDoS attacks from IoT devices are tough to combat. The sheer volume of devices involved in DDoS attacks make the attacks hard to defend against.
  4. Cybercriminals and hacktivists are driving these attacks. The next step is likely cyber criminals looking to exploit IoT weaknesses for financial gain.
  5. It will get worse before it gets better.

Cisco predicted IoT problems

Earlier this year, multinational technology conglomerate Cisco reported a [link url=”http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/security/cybersecurity-talent.pdf” title=”one-million-job gap”] in the cybersecurity field. The firm attributed the gap to a wide-ranging skills shortage. Included in the Cisco report was an ominous warning about inherent insecurity of IoT devices. This prediction turned out to be true as 2016 progressed.

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