A virus targeting IoT devices? Maybe we have finally 'made it'.

Over the weekend, while looking for something to watch for a long treadmill run, I came across some of the old Roasts from the Comedy Network.  The one that really cracked me up was the Roast of David Hasselhoff…quite funny if you like that sort of humour. 

What brings this to mind is the idea that you “only roast the ones you love”, which also means that you only roast someone when they have achieved a certain level of success in the world.  In a weird way, this is similar to how viruses work…you only bother writing one when they are enough devices to make it worthwhile to attack.

It is actually for this reason, not necessarily because of its impenetrable nature, that Windows devices are more hit by viruses than Mac-based ones…why go after 10% of the PC market (with mostly students, academics and artists who tend not to have as much money anyways) when you can target 90% of the market with Windows-based attacks, including most businesses in the world?

Over the past month or so, I have been following the activity closely on the Linux/Mirai virus, which seems to want to attack IoT-based devices, Web cameras and even DVRs.  It does so using default passwords and terminal services on many devices.

So, it makes me wonder, with a tear in my eye, does this mean that IoT has finally “made it”?

At one point, no one bothered to attack IOS-based devices, believe it or not.  There simply was not enough of them to justify the effort.  Well, that certainly has changed, as there are now millions upon millions of them.  The same now seems to hold true for IoT-based devices.  It seems that hackers are starting to delve into this area, mainly due to its increasingly growing base and maybe because they often are attached to some pretty desirable targets…like ATM devices, hydro meters and traffic light controllers.

With the level of importance in our day to day life increasing, it is to be expected that IoT devices will be targeted at an even greater frequency.  We have all heard stories about how baby monitors have been hacked, how people can use it to open garage doors and even stories about how some cameras have been hacked.  However, as we move more and more of our devices to the world of IoT, security is playing a huge role in this.

One way to secure yourself is to simply use a good modem.  Lower cost modems often lack many of the security functions that are needed to ward off such attacks.  It doesn’t mean that you need to spend thousands of dollars per site, but you need to choose a modem that will provide you and your information with 7x24 security to protect your business.

No device is now immune from attack on the Internet, I think we all know that…or, at least we should.  Simple steps can prepare your modem to prevent such attacks.  Our friends at Sierra Wireless have posted a Technical Bulletin to help their customers with this issue.  We will post any other vendors information as it becomes available.