At the beginning of the week, we posted a blog about how new internet-connected gadgets could bring the internet to its knees- read it here. The blog mention that hackers could access thermostats, security cameras, smart TVs and now your refrigerator.
The attackers used a novel piece of malware called the Mirai Botnet. This device creates its zombies by grabbing devices from the Internet of Things. Instead of linking together infected laptops, the hacker used webcams, thermostats, cell phones and anything else with the ability to get online to generate traffic.
This was a brand new type of attack and this affects how the internet will work moving forward. These DDoS attacks leverage millions of LoT devices. These devices tend to contain little sensitive information, which means hackers rely on them for easy access to the internet.
This a solvable problem, as the systems can build in protections such as rate limits, which can cut off connections by source and destination. However, as of now, this is a huge problem for consumers because there is no way to combat an attack on the internet of things. The number of internet connected devices is estimated to grow over 50 billion, making things a hard.
Friday’s attack on Dyn’s DNS systems has shown a frightening vulnerability in the internet and the infrastructure built around it. Read more at TheStreet.
