Security and the Internet of Things: opportunities and threats
Just as we have to deal with crime and vandalism in the analogue world, the same is happening in the digital world.
Especially with the further rise of IoT (Internet of Things).
What is going on and what can you do about it? IoT (Internet of Things) refers to the unlocking of all kinds of devices via the internet.
This allows appliances, ranging from a coffee maker and thermostat to a scale or refrigerator, to “talk” to each other.
When these devices are connected to the internet, they can make our lives easier.
Security devices are also part of the Internet of Things and can therefore send and receive data via the internet.
This provides ease of use and/or a higher level of security.
It also offers new possibilities, such as receiving video images on a tablet or smartphone, reading the status of the burglar alarm system via an app or opening a door via phone.
Unfortunately, there are also risks associated with unlocking devices via the internet.
Large-scale hack via security cameras
In the media, we regularly see reports of hacks on security systems.
Most recently, in October 2016, there was a major attack on the American internet provider Dyn.
It was carried out by an estimated 100,000 components around the world.
After analysis, it turned out that a manufacturer of CCTV Cameras (Mirai) had delivered the cameras in such a way that hackers could log in with the default username and passwords.
Because these cameras were accessible to hackers via the internet, they could easily install a program on the cameras and with that, a massive attack was carried out on the DNS provider Dyn.
The attack left services and sites like Twitter, the Guardian, Netflix, Reddit, and CNN unreachable and unusable.
Measures
How can these types of attacks be prevented?
We asked William de Ruijter, ICT Specialist at Mactwin Security.
“In the digital world, as in the analogue world, we need to take measures that detect an attack immediately and slow it down to such an extent that the criminal is caught for achieving his goal or is discouraged to such an extent that he refrains from making further attempts.
The following measures should be taken as standard, usually by the installer of the security equipment:
- change all set default passwords;
- installing a firewall that ensures that only those systems communicate to the outside world for which it is strictly necessary;
- Scanning devices for unnecessary services and protocols and deactivating them as much as possible.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to take (all) these measures. For example, in the aforementioned hack, it turned out that the manufacturer had neglected to enable the installer to disable unused services (telnet/ssh) on the device. In many cases, the user interface of the camera or video recorder was unaware of the existence of these services. Changing the (default) password on these services was not possible for the installer due to the lack of the option in the user interface.”
Security
“Network security in general has become increasingly important,” William continues.
“Sometimes firewalls from a location to the outside world are excellently set up and well monitored, but then the attack comes from a different angle. A well-known example is the so-called Target hack, in which a supplier of climate control systems was infected with malware. Through the connection to the Target network, credit card information could be stolen from millions of people. Obviously, suppliers need to have their affairs in order, but in this case, Target’s IT department should have been better equipped against such attacks. The question is whether these networks should have been linked at all and whether the surveillance could not have been better.”
What can Mactwin do for you?
Large-scale digital attacks are becoming more common.
It is therefore important to apply several layers of security, take adequate measures and always use up-to-date software.
Based on its vision of security, Mactwin not only looks at the question and objectives of every security issue, but also at organizational processes and the (possible) vulnerabilities in IP security components.
From the Mactwin Operation Center , Mactwin continuously monitors systems and their components and provides them with the most up-to-date software and security updates.