It only takes three minutes to break into a computer network. This isn’t an exaggeration but a warning from many Internet researchers about the vulnerability of network-connected devices. Any device which is connected to the Internet makes it easier for cyber crooks to sneak into an organization’s database and steal important data, spy on their business operations or even vandalize their online portals.
The development of many IoT products presents an essential hazard to many organizations that use them. Even IP-connected security systems are susceptible to a potential breach. The Internet of Things has become the most favorite venue for cyber criminals to operate their malicious schemes.
Samy Kamkar is an American security researcher who postulated the perils of these Internet-connected devices. He also had once been a computer hacker himself but had converted to become a whistleblower instead. ForeScout published his findings in their online report.
Despite the fact that these IoT devices are missing the necessary security features, most of them are also operated on the outdated firmware. Hackers eye on these weaknesses to exploit them with malware and other spiteful software to attack the network’s security system. It has been an online trend that cybercriminals make us of these doorways to infuse robots into the company’s computer system to wage a so-called DDoS attack.
This premise had been proven when news had spread out about a certain DNS provider name Dyn had been reported. It had impaired the online operations of its clients including Twitter, Spotify and Reddit. The attack was said to have been initiated using these IoT devices.
The researchers strongly impose that hacking the Internet of Things is not a simple security concern. The devices can easily be exploited by mischievous individuals, but the consequences can be colossal. The fact that these IoT products connect wirelessly implies a significant threat not only to the computer system but the entire organization as well.
The IoT devices conveniently connect to smartphones that can be used to control the security system of an entire building. This gives criminals the ability to remotely manipulate a bank’s surveillance system so that they can wage a robbery and easily get away with it.
Cyber activists can destroy an organization using IoT by taking advantage of its weaknesses to inject malicious software that would impair its operations. Going overboard, the attack can become as sophisticated as manipulating the temperature control system in an office building so that it can physically injure people inside.
The Internet of Things is indeed a controversial development in our modern society.
