IoT devices are all those devices that we have in our homes connected to the Internet. For example we can mention smart light bulbs, a television, printer, video players … They are devices that sometimes go unnoticed but are actually permanently connected to the network. This could be a danger, as a report that we echo in this article shows.
The Internet of Things, in the crosshairs of cybercriminals
We can say that hackers aim to attack what has more users or is used the most. For example, if we talk about social networks, we can say that Facebook is one of the objectives. This means that with more and more connected devices in homes, they see here an opportunity to access the network.
According to a report by the cybersecurity company Zscaler , attacks against IoT devices have increased by 700% in the last two years. It is undoubtedly a more than significant figure, but you also have to be aware that it will increase.
Users increasingly have more Internet of Things devices at home. We have more devices connected to each other, our router has greater capacity and also the Internet connection is more powerful. But all this has its risks and you have to be aware of it. But these attacks are also targeting companies.
They mainly take advantage of IoT devices that are out of date . This is a very common problem. Users often buy any device to have at home connected to the router. We believe it is risk-free and we don’t pay much attention to it as long as it works well. The problem is that time passes and that device is left without updating. That’s when the problem starts.
They tend to attack Internet of Things devices that have some vulnerability. Even in many cases, when we buy cheap equipment of this type, which do not receive frequent updates, they may already come with factory vulnerabilities and are never corrected.
Many IoT computers send data in the clear
This same report shows that a large number of computers on the Internet of Things share data on the network without encryption. In fact, they indicate that only 24% of them send data in encrypted form . This is a major problem. The ideal is to always use good passwords and configure the devices well so that they do not expose personal data that can be stolen on the Internet.
Therefore, we must always be aware of the importance of maintaining security in this type of devices connected to the network. We must at all times be protected, keep them updated and know that at any time there could be a vulnerability that is exploited by an attacker.
Just as we leave a fingerprint when browsing, we can also leave a lot of personal information available on the network if these devices are not properly protected. This logically affects privacy and could also lead to cyber attacks that affect other computers that we have on that network.
