The Internet of Things helps automate routine tasks both at the household level and on a national scale. It organizes the autonomous operation of a large number of gadgets and connects them with the user. It sounds great, but not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. The Internet of Things is fraught with many threats, which the guys from ESET Russia shared with us .
A little history
In 1989, engineer John Romkey connected a toaster to the Internet to control it remotely—thus, the first “Internet Thing” was born. But the term IoT ( Internet of Things ) was coined by British technologist Kevin Ashton in 1999. He introduced this concept for gadgets that can interact with each other and with the external environment without human intervention. By 2009, the world had moved from the Internet of people to the Internet of Things: there were more devices connected to the network than users. The simplest example of IoT is a smart home. This is not just a set of remotely controlled devices. Gadgets can work autonomously without the owner’s commands.
Where is the Internet of Things used?
Firstly, in everyday life. Voice control of gadgets, sound light switches, Smart TV and many other smart devices are all IoT. In the future, we are promised that the car will warn in advance about traffic jams, and the refrigerator will independently order food. But all this is a little later. Secondly, the Internet of Things is used in business and government. The energy, medicine, agriculture, oil and gas and mining industries have been using IoT for a long time. It helps track a bunch of different metrics and quickly responds to emergency situations. The Internet of Things is used in the city security system. This is clearly visible during quarantine - cameras throughout Moscow recognize faces and fine violators of self-isolation.
IoT vulnerabilities
Along with the opportunities of the Internet of Things, there are also challenges. The main one is the problem of cybersecurity. The more smart devices there are, the higher the chance that an attacker will find a way to outwit both the manufacturer and the buyer. In 2016, hackers using the Mirai botnet attacked the American operator DynDNS. They accessed the network using poorly protected smart devices. Criminals made it difficult to access Twitter, GitHub and other major services for the whole day.
House Hacking
Smart home is one of the main targets for hackers. It's funny that one of the first known cases of hacking of such housing was a Japanese robotic toilet. In most cases, the vulnerability is in the firmware of gadgets. Thus, an error was found in the code of smart switches for devices of the large American corporation Belkin , which allowed hackers to intercept control. There seems to be nothing dangerous about the switches, but they are very easy to start a fire with. Recently, Smart TVs have been replacing regular TVs, which has attracted increased attention from hackers. Attackers easily gain access to TV media, eavesdrop on the owners, and then blackmail them with compromising information. To protect yourself from possible cyber threats, use an antivirus. For example, ESET NOD32 Smart TV Security for Android devices. It will prevent leakage of confidential data, scan USB drives and protect against viruses.
Hacking cars
The automotive industry uses IoT in both passenger cars, such as car sharing, and trucks. But if hacking of personal vehicles does not threaten the activities of large companies, then in cargo transportation the damage can be significant. Criminals can hack the GPS tracker, disable the remote control system, and steal the truck while the driver is away. Most modern trucks have a standardized control code. This means that if you can hack one manufacturer, then you can hack all the others. This way, attackers can easily reach hundreds of thousands of machines. To prevent this from happening, trucking companies are partnering with IoT security firms. Tesla has made especially strong progress in protecting transport. She developed a bug bounty program in which white hat hackers are rewarded for finding vulnerabilities.
Business hacking
The Internet of Things is often used in control systems in enterprises with increased security measures. IoT devices monitor hundreds of indicators and quickly report unexpected situations, but they also pose a serious threat. Scientists around the world are concerned about the security of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. It is used to monitor and control industrial equipment - from nuclear power plants to oil pipelines. Unpleasant incidents have already occurred with SCADA, one of them was the network worm Stuxnet , which intercepted and changed information at Iranian nuclear facilities. The worst thing is that it is unknown how many such cyber attacks may still occur. ESET NOD32 has enterprise antivirus solutions that will help protect both small and large businesses from data interception and leaks of confidential information.
Personal data leak
Right out of the box, the smart gadget will ask you to enter a bunch of information - full name, phone number, email, or even social media accounts. If a hacker hacks the device, he will know everything at once. But sometimes the intervention of criminals is not necessary. In 2015, a scandal broke out around smart TVs Samsung SmartTV. Twitter user Parker Higgins noted that the company's privacy policy urged users not to discuss personal information in front of a device. It turned out that it was processed by third parties to improve the voice recognition function. In this regard, we have two pieces of advice: always read the privacy policy carefully and do not provide unnecessary information about yourself.
Failures within the system
Much does not depend on us - the provider may turn off the Internet, the electricity may accidentally go out, or some other unpleasant situation may happen. All this hits the Internet of Things hard, because the complex operation of the network is disrupted. Today there are systems that can operate autonomously for up to 12 hours. But this does not relieve the user of responsibility - each device must be carefully monitored and the quality of the services provided must be regularly checked.
What does the future hold for IoT?
Experts predict that by 2021, about 42 billion devices will be connected to the Internet of Things system. Smart gadgets will increasingly appear in homes, companies and on city streets. It is quite possible that IoT will cause mass unemployment - it will be much more profitable for entrepreneurs to spend money once on equipment than to maintain a staff of employees. Along with this, the number of cyber attacks will also increase. The Internet of Things stores a lot of confidential information, which is why it is an ideal target for cybercriminals now. Developers and governments will have to work hard to provide users with a decent level of security and develop a plan that will help gradually introduce gadgets without destroying the economy.
It sounds great, but not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. The Internet of Things is fraught with many threats, which the guys from ESET Russia shared with us .
Secondly, the Internet of Things is used in business and government. The energy, medicine, agriculture, oil and gas and mining industries have been using IoT for a long time. It helps track a bunch of different metrics and quickly responds to emergency situations. The Internet of Things is used in the city security system. This is clearly visible during quarantine - cameras throughout Moscow recognize faces and fine violators of self-isolation.
ESET NOD32 has enterprise antivirus solutions that will help protect both small and large businesses from data interception and leaks of confidential information.
Today there are systems that can operate autonomously for up to 12 hours. But this does not relieve the user of responsibility - each device must be carefully monitored and the quality of the services provided must be regularly checked.
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