The IoT Threat: How to Hack Smart House

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According to recent studies, the market of devices for the “smart” house will grow annually for 16.9%. By 2023 their quantity will reach 1.6 billion. The forecast can quite correspond to reality; the interest of users in home smart gadgets and the Internet of Things does not weaken. New smart devices gradually replace ordinary household appliances or allow them to expand their opportunities considerably. At the same time, not all owners of smart devices know enough about how the Internet of Things works and about problems that can arise at its use. And where there are security concerns, there also cyber threats usually appear. Of course, we cannot install antivirus on our robot vacuum cleaners. Still, the Avast Omni review shows which system can be used to secure your home.

Fortunately, in real life, cybercriminals do not work so quickly, as in movies: they can’t crack the system in a couple of hours. It can take weeks to assess the safety of some smart houses. But that day, when they define the most favorable vectors of the attack will become a result of these weeks. Thus, hackers will be able to crack insufficiently protected devices of the smart house.

Smart Devices and Risks

For example, a smart refrigerator can order food on its own on the internet if the stock of any products comes to an end. If hacked, cybercriminals can ravage the family budget by ordering products from the store or raising temperatures to the point where food in the fridge is spoiled.

The smart toilet adjusts the water temperature and pressure to the preferences of the users and can save water. If it is hacked, instead of saving, owners risk getting a huge bill for a constantly working drain.

Smart toys help to educate children; they are often equipped with webcams and microphones so parents can look after the child even from work. The hacked toy can transmit voice and video recordings to intruders or become a convenient entry point to the home network.

The home gateway serves for communication between different smart devices and allows you to manage them or connect to the internet. If it is hacked, it can install malware to gadgets, forward owner accounts to cybercriminals, and redirect device requests to hacker-controlled resources.

At first glance, it seems that most such attacks can cause minimal harm, but the point of vulnerabilities is that cybercriminals most often use them in a bundle rather than separately. After all, among the vulnerable devices for hacking, there are both smart vacuum cleaners, which create their own maps of premises, and smart locks, which can let hackers into these premises.

Attack Consequences

Instead of physically entering the apartment, intruders can simply monitor owners and collect information. Gradually, they will hack into their devices and accounts, getting more data. They, in turn, can be used to steal funds from accounts or blackmail.

In general, attack scenarios (and their targets) can be divided into several categories:

  • receiving money;
  • creation of hubs for crypto mining;
  • carrying out DoS and DDoS with the help of hacked equipment;
  • creation of a botnet;
  • theft of financial and personal information;
  • destruction of “smart” devices;
  • destruction of property and intimidation;
  • sending false messages and information;
  • start of false alarm actions.

What allows hackers to hack smart devices? First of all – insufficient level of safety “from the box.” That is the lack of protection mechanisms for the devices themselves, which developers should think about. The second reason is the actions of users who care about their own comfort, not safety. For example, leaving default passwords or disabling some of the authentication mechanisms.

What to Do?

People living in smart homes should know about them as much as possible. This is especially true of understanding how different gadgets work. Knowing their vulnerabilities and “normal behavior” combined with the right security settings will help protect the home from hacker attacks. Every year, more smart devices appear on the market, and thus attacks vary. In this environment, a comprehensive approach to home security and following the simple rules will help users to enjoy the full benefits of new technologies and the Internet of Things without unnecessary risks.

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