The Internet of things connects billions of devices to the internet and involves the use of billions of data points, all of which must be secured. Due to the extended attack surface, IoT security and IoT privacy are cited as major concerns.
In 2016, one of the worst, notorious IoT attacks belonged to Mirai, a botnet that infiltrated domain name server provider, Dyn, and shut down many websites for a long time in one of the largest distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks ever. Attackers gained access to the network using IoT devices with poor security.
Because IoT devices are closely connected, all a hacker has to do is exploit a single vulnerability to manipulate all the data and render it unusable. Manufacturers who regularly or never update their devices leave them vulnerable to cybercriminals.
In October, connected devices often ask users to enter their personal information, including names, ages, addresses, phone numbers and even social media accounts, which are invaluable to hackers.
Hackers aren't the only threat to the Internet of things; privacy is another major concern for IoT users. For example, companies that manufacture and distribute consumer IoT devices may use these devices to receive and sell users ' personal data.
Beyond leaking personal data, IoT poses a risk to critical infrastructure, including electricity, transport and financial services.
