Never use the default settings on your IoT devices.Here are a few ways to keep your IoT gadgets safe from hackers: So how can you protect your IoT devices from these determined hackers? Fortunately, you can take back control by becoming just a little more cyber smart. How you can keep your Internet of Things gadgets safe from hackers This form of assault is especially popular for launching distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, in which all the bots in a botnet collectively flood a target with network requests until it buckles and goes offline. Having turned these zombie IoT devices into bots, the hackers then collectively use them to stage what’s called a botnet attack on their target of choice. Using bots to launch a DDOS attackĪlthough most people never notice it, hackers can and do infect IoT devices with malware en masse, gaining control over them in the process. (This is because most home networks are designed to trust devices that are already connected to them.) When these malicious actors are ready, they can launch a ransomware attack that brings your entire digital life to a halt – unless you agree to fork over a hefty sum in bitcoin, that is. Once cyber criminals have gained access to an IoT device, they can go after other devices on the same network. Bad actors know that most people aren’t keeping their IoT gadgets’ software up to date in the same way they do their computers and smartphones, so they take advantage of that false sense of security. Hacking your network and launching a ransomware attackĪny device that is connected to the internet, whether it’s a smart security system or even a smart fridge, can be used in a cyber attack. With the victim being none the wiser, the attackers can use that information to commit identity fraud or stage even more ambitious cyber crimes. They can piggyback on a voice assistant’s privileged access to a victim’s online accounts or other IoT gadgets and make off with any sensitive information they desire. Many bad actors prefer the quiet approach, however, slipping in undetected and stealing information. Once an attacker has compromised an Echo, they can use it to unlock doors, make phone calls and unauthorized purchases, and control any smart home appliances that the Echo manages. According to Ars Technica, academic researchers have discovered that the Amazon Echo can be forced to take commands from itself, which opens the door to major mischief in a smart home. Like any IoT gadget, however, they can be vulnerable to attack. Using voice assistants to obtain sensitive informationĪccording to Statista, 132 million Americans used a digital voice assistant once a month in 2021. It’s a helpful protective measure, but not a failsafe one. Cameras now often come with an indicator light that lets you know whether they’re being used. This has become an even more serious problem in recent years, as people have been relying on videoconferencing to safely connect with friends and family, participate in virtual learning, and attend telehealth appointments during the pandemic. Hackers have been known to gain access to these cameras and spy on people. Have you ever seen someone with a sticker covering the camera on their laptop or smartphone? There’s a reason for that. Gaining access to and control of your camera Here are just a few examples of how cyber criminals are already infiltrating the IoT. While we’ve become comfortable asking voice assistants to give us the weather forecast while we prep our dinners, hackers have been figuring out how to commandeer our IoT devices for cyber attacks. How hackers are infiltrating the Internet of Things How can you keep yourself secure in today’s IoT world, where hackers aim to outsmart your smart home? First we’ll look at how hackers infiltrate the IoT, and then we’ll look at what you can do right now to make sure the IoT is working for you – not against you. But as our digital lives have become more convenient, we might not yet have considered the risks involved with using IoT devices. According to Gartner, we were expected to use more than 25 billion internet-connected devices by the end of 2021. The Internet of Things (IoT) is here, and we’re using it for everything from getting instant answers to random trivia questions to screening visitors at the door.
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