You Can Now Hack Networks with a Fish Tank

Cyber Attack, Hacking, IOT, malware, Security, Security Threats, Uncategorized, , , ,
23
Jan 2018

The Internet of Things (IoT) can help run almost any device in use in your organization, but this also means you could be hacked by a fish tank.

This may sound highly unlikely, but this is exactly what happened to a North American casino and underlines just how vulnerable IoT devices are. It also demonstrates how every single IoT device, no matter how insignificant and harmless it may appear, is at risk. Hackers, after all, do not discriminate – if there’s a way to gain access to a network then they’ll exploit it.

As this is one of the more unusual attacks to have affected an IoT device, I’m going to take a closer look at it before advising you on a few tips to avoid getting hacked by a fish tank.

Hacking the Tank

The fish tank – which was situated in the unnamed hotel – had been installed with state of the art sensors which monitored and regulated factors such as water temperature, saline levels and release of food. Making devices such as these sensors compatible with IoT technology allows the tank to be controlled remotely, but this accessibility also opens up such IoT devices to the interests of hackers. Although the hotel had security measures in place, they were evidently not secure enough.

Many IoT devices lack advanced, internal security technology so any external security measures need to be as advanced as possible to pick up the slack. In this particular case, the fish tank’s sensors were hacked which allowed the hackers to transmit 10GB worth of data to a remote server based in Finland. The casino’s existing security tools were able to identify that data was leaking externally, but were unable to identify where from and where it was being transmitted to.

Thankfully, security experts Darktrace were able to pinpoint where the vulnerability was and were able to advise the casino to disconnect the fish tank sensors immediately. 10GB worth of data may not sound like a huge amount of data in this day and age, but when you consider the amount of personal and financial details a casino may hold, 10GB could cause a lot of concern for any patrons of the casino.

Securing IoT Devices

Being hacked through a fish tank is a highly embarrassing security flaw for any organization, so understanding how to secure IoT devices is paramount. Make sure you’re implementing the following security measures with IoT devices:

  • Change Default Passwords – Many IoT devices come preloaded with a default password and, by leaving this in place, you’re reducing the number of guesses and effort that a hacker needs to put into brute-force hacking the password. It’s estimated that around 15% of IoT device owners do not change this default password, so make sure you change this as soon as the device is installed.
  • Install Firmware – As I’ve previously mentioned, the security technology loaded onto IoT devices is sometimes sadly lacking. However, even worse than poor security software is outdated security software. And that’s why it’s crucial that any firmware updates are installed immediately to patch any potential vulnerabilities.
  • Separate Networks – The number of IoT devices operating in any one organization can easily run into the hundreds. Essentially, this means that there are hundreds of routes into your network and this could cause real chaos if just one device is breached. Therefore, penning off IoT devices into separate networks is a preventative step which can limit the reach of any hackers.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

 

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6 Tips to Keep the Internet of Things Secure

Internet of things, IOT, Password Security, Security, Security Threats, , ,
16
Jan 2018

The Internet of Things (IoT) relates to all those smart devices which can connect to your network and communicate with it, but how do you make the IoT safe?

We have smart devices not just at home, but also within our businesses and it’s no surprise to hear that it’s estimated up to 8.4 billion smart devices will be connected in 2017. Naturally, with such a huge number of devices accessing networks, it’s not surprise that they’re proving to be highly interesting to hackers.

As our business life is becoming more and more digital, the need for the IoT is increasing just as rapidly, that’s why I’m going to share 6 tips to keep the IoT secure.

1.  Understand What’s Connected

It’s important that you know which devices are regularly connected to your network. By understanding which devices offer a route into your network, you’re able to take preventative measures to help safeguard against any vulnerabilities. Make sure that a database is kept and regularly updated to include any new hardware so that you can fully understand the reach of your IoT.

2.  Keep IoT Devices on a Separate Network

If one of your IoT devices is compromised by a hacker then this represents a threat to everything on that network, so it’s important that you segment all your IoT devices onto a separate network. In the event of an IoT device being hacked you can then limit the data on offer to the hacker.

3.  Don’t Leave Devices Connected for Longer than Necessary

It’s impossible to hack a smart device which isn’t plugged in, so to completely minimize the risk it’s highly recommended that smart devices are disconnected from the network when they’re not being used. This is a good security practice that needs to be communicated to all employees as anything can be hacked be it a printer or a webcam.

4.  Always Install Firmware Updates

As with any other piece of hardware or software, firmware updates for smart devices need to be installed as soon as possible. Not many people are aware of the security risks associated with smart devices, so firmware updates are often ignored – this is why hackers are starting to target them more and more often. So, once you see that update request, make sure you click it.

5.  Limit Personal Device Usage

99.9% of the population appears to have a smartphone, so this means that almost all of your employees will be bringing a smart device to work every day. And, to ensure that they can keep up to date with Facebook, they’ll be piggybacking onto your company WiFi to create an internet connection. Therefore, it’s important that you limit personal device usage or, at least, create a sign in method which uses company email addresses. 

6.  Password Protect Everything

Finally, you must make sure that you password protect every single smart device within your business. As previously mentioned, it’s easy to assume that a printer is never going to get hacked, but it happens. By establishing a set of passwords (all different of course) for all your smart devices you’re putting that extra layer of defense in front of your business. And the more defenses you have, the less attractive your network becomes to hackers.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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4 Real Life Examples of the IoT Being Hacked

Cyber Attack, Internet of things, IOT, Security, Security Threats, ,
09
Jan 2018

It’s easy to talk about the IoT (Internet of Things) security issues in theory, but what actually happens when the IoT gets hacked?

Understanding exactly what happens when IoT devices get hacked and how they get hacked is crucial in helping to protect your organization. Knowledge, of course, isn’t a cast iron guarantee you will avoid be hacked, but it certainly puts you in a much stronger position.

Let’s take a look at four real life examples of the IoT being hacked.

Unsecured University IoT

Verizon’s Data Breach Digest 2017 report details the example of an unnamed university where the network was flooded with Domain Name Service (DNS) requests for seafood restaurants. Whilst it sounds like a student prank, it was actually an outside attack by hackers which used 5,000 IoT devices such as vending machines and lighting systems. The hack was achieved through a brute force attack which took advantage of weak passwords so that malware could be deployed and bring the university’s network to a standstill.

IoT Cameras Hacked

The popular IoT security camera range – NeoCoolCam – has been found to contain a major security flaw which means that they can easily be hacked from outside the network they’re on. Given the security nature of the devices, these cameras can easily be compromised for unauthorized surveillance or even as a stepping stone to get even deeper into a network. Researchers at Bitdefender have found that all it takes is for the easily accessible login screen to be manipulated in order to take control of any of the 100,000+ cameras currently in use.

The Mirai Botnet

Poor password management is one of the biggest flaws in data security and the Mirai botnet certainly takes advantage of this. A piece of malware which infects network devices running on Linux, Mirai instructs these devices to constantly search the internet for vulnerable IoT devices. The fatal flaw contained within these IoT devices is that their factory set default username and passwords have not been changed. As Mirai is loaded with a list of these default details, it’s able to quickly take control of these devices and Mirai was even involved with an attack on Liberia’s internet infrastructure.

Hacking a Jeep

Perhaps the most disturbing and dangerous example of IoT devices being hacked is the case of a Jeep Cherokee 4×4 vehicle being compromised. Security researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek were able to identify a zero day exploit which allowed them to send instructions to the vehicle through its entertainment system. Not only did this provide them with the opportunity to remotely change the in-car temperature, they could also influence the vehicle’s steering and braking systems. All it required was knowledge of the individual vehicle’s IP address to take control.

All four of these examples demonstrate just how far behind that IoT device manufacturers are when it comes to the security of their devices. Naturally, the manufacturers have a lot to do to ensure that their devices are safe from the moment they’re installed, but the owners of these devices also need to be mindful of good password practices.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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The Main Security Challenges That IoT Faces

Internet of things, Security, Security Threats, ,
02
Jan 2018

The internet of things (IoT) is getting us connected like never before, but with its increase in popularity, the security challenges are intensifying.

With IoT creating an unprecedented number of connections into our organizations, it’s no surprise that hackers are viewing it as a potential entry point as opposed to traditional routes such as email attachments or USB sticks. And, as IoT is such a new technology, the vast majority of users aren’t as well schooled in the accompanying security challenges.

If you can understand these security challenges, though, you’re maneuvering your organization into a highly advantageous position. You may be wondering what the main security challenges that IoT faces are, so let’s take a look!

  • Updates aren’t always automatic – PC updates never used to be automatic and this used to leave them open to attack. Thankfully, software/hardware manufacturers quickly realized the importance of this and built automatic updates into their products. Although this approach still relies on human compliance to authorize, it’s highly effective. With IoT devices, however, there’s such a rush to bring out new products mean that firmware updates are allocated little priority, so IoT devices can soon become unprotected. 

  • IoT devices are relatively simple – Many IoT devices are limited in their capabilities, be it in terms of storage or memory. Whilst this allows them to remain compact and low cost, it also leads to a lack of room for security. As a result, they become susceptible to security attacks and the chance of adequate encryption being in place is unlikely. Therefore, it’s crucial that extra security steps are put in place such as specific networks with dedicated firewalls to help house these IoT devices. 
  • More devices mean more monitoring – The amount of devices which can make up the IoT is staggering, but it also means that there’s an increased security risk. With all these entry points in your organization’s networks, the amount of data which needs monitoring is going to increase dramatically. And this means that you need to monitor the data coming in and out of your organization much more closely. Leading to increased labour and technology costs, this is one of the most pressing challenges presented by the IoT. 
  • Predicting and preparing for attacks – Advances in technology mean that more and more devices are entering the IoT market which, on one hand, means accessibility for almost anything you can think of is possible but, on the other hand, it’s making threat detection more difficult. Pinpointing exactly how a hacker will abuse an IoT device is difficult – will they use it as a stepping stone into your network? Will they simply misuse the device? Or a bit of both?

These challenges could easily be misinterpreted as a list of reasons why you shouldn’t get involved with the IoT, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, these are challenges which, if tackled correctly, can help your organization get the best out of the IoT. Sure, there’s going to be a level of investment and new structures to consider, but what price can you put on progress?

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

 

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PDF Software Represents a Real Security Threat

Foxit, PDF Software, Security Threats, Software Security Patches, , , ,
20
Sep 2017

security-265130_1280

PDF files are vital for business as they allow files to be sent from business to business without room for editing. However, the software is far from safe.

The most popular software for viewing PDF files is Adobe Reader and this has regularly had its security flaws laid bare by hackers such as a font vulnerability in 2015 and a ransomware exploit earlier in 2017. Considering that Adobe are considered the kings of PDF software, it’s no surprise that other builders of PDF software are struggling to cope with security flaws being exploited; a case in point is the Foxit PDF reader.

A popular alternative to Adobe Reader, Foxit PDF saw early success when it was able to gain customers from Adobe due to well publicized security flaws in Adobe Reader. Now, though, hackers clearly have their eyes on Foxit’s huge user base and are keen to discover security flaws in Foxit PDF. Let’s take a look at what’s been happening.

Discovering the Flaws in Foxit

Steven Seeley and Ariele Caltabiano – two security researchers – systematically dismantled the code for Foxit Reader and were able to uncover not one, but two serious security flaws. Capable of tricking Foxit Reader into loading malicious websites, these flaws had the potential for malware to be downloaded and whole systems to be compromised. Once these findings were made public, Foxit claimed that their software had an in-built security procedure – known as ‘Safe Reading Mode’ – to counter this. Whilst this is all well and good, many users had deactivated this procedure due to its oversensitive calibration.

At first, Foxit were resolute in their belief that a patch was not required to prevent any exploit taking place through its software, but the company eventually relented and a patch was released that allowed users to deactivate ‘Safe Reading Mode’ but not at the expense of any vulnerabilities being opened up. However, while this patch was made available, it was the users’ responsibility to ensure that this patch was executed and installed on their systems.

cyber-2120014_1280

Patches are CRUCIAL!

The Foxit Reader vulnerabilities have highlighted that software can never be 100% safe and, in fact, many of these vulnerabilities may be completely unknown to the vendor – a flaw known as a zero-day vulnerability. Thankfully, most software manufacturers regularly provide updates and patches to help secure and improve their products. Executing and correctly installing these patches though is a manual task that users must make sure they complete as soon as possible.

Patches are usually released as automatic updates that sync with your software, but this can easily be deactivated – mostly because PC users don’t like to be irritated by popups. However, this small irritating task which, let’s face it, only occasionally takes up a tiny fraction of your day, can make a huge difference to the security of your system. Ignore software patches and you run the risk of your entire system being compromised and your organization being forced to down tools.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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