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What Is a Botnet?
- A botnet is a group of internet-connected devices that can be hijacked by bad actors for malicious purposes like distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, stealing data, and sending spam.
- Smart home devices and IoT are increasingly becoming targets of cybercriminals as many of them lack sophisticated security measures and ship with default usernames and passwords.
- A cybercriminal can compromise a vulnerable IoT device by scanning the internet and using brute-force password attacks to take control of it.
- A botnet can cause large-scale cyberattacks like the Mirai botnet attack of 2016, which caused disruptions across the US.
- To secure IoT and smart home devices, manufacturers must develop security measures for their devices, and consumers can protect their devices by using online protection software, changing default passwords, using multi-factor authentication, upgrading routers, and setting up separate network access for IoT devices wherever possible.
- Consumers should also read trusted reviews to purchase secure smart home devices that provide regular updates, security and privacy features.
- As more and more connected devices make their way into our homes, it is important to ensure that they are secure to prevent their involvement in botnet attacks.
- Smart home devices make up a $30-plus billion marketplace in the US alone despite still being a relatively young marketplace.
- Security vulnerabilities lie in the unchanged factory usernames and passwords of many IoT devices that are often published online and not compatible with multi-factor authentication.
- Cybercriminals are highly automated and use bots to add vulnerable IoT devices to their networks, that can potentially affect the entire home network they are in and all other devices and data on it.
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