How to Guard IoT Devices against IoT Botnets
Tags: iotdevices, iot
Published: 2020-05-13 05:25:29

While connected devices are changing our lives in multiple ways, they are also an enlarging security threat where attackers are hijacking these devices and revolving them into the internet of things botnets (https://www.hiotron.com/5-things-know-before-building-iot-device/). Some industries already have hundreds, thousands of IoT devices in their organization and each one represents a risk that must be protected against different cyber threats as hackers catch the opportune entry points in IoT devices. 

We also have a developing and keen market to instrument areas such as industrial manufacture and the consumer space with IoT, which offers huge benefits, but also increases the attack surface and options for bad factors to engage with. Botnets are specifically challenging because they grow over time and new forms continuously evolve out. A botnet is a collection of hijacked computers that the attacker can handle. 

An attacker utilizes a device's weakness, likewise an unprotected network port, to install malware that can then be utilized to hijack and handle the computer, or bot. 

What Exactly IoT botnet is?

The attacker whether it is a single hacker or a collection of hackers or an arranged entity such as a hostile nation-state and then integrates the hijacked computers together to generate a botnet capable of launching immense attacks. An IoT botnet especially targets IoT devices to produce the hijacked network but serves the same function as traditional botnets.

Few Examples of botnet attacks

The world has already accomplished remarkable IoT botnet attacks. Threat researchers at CenturyLink’s Black Lotus Labs currently found a new module of IoT botnet called TheMoon, which attacks vulnerabilities in routers within broadband networks.
Attackers are utilizing botnets such as TheMoon for the extent of crimes, containing credential brute-forcing, video advertisement fraud and general traffic complications.

In 2016, the Mirai virus-contaminated a described 600,000 IoT devices, utilizing them to launch a huge DDoS attack that took down the internet in much of the eastern U.S. The Mirai botnet rest one of the considerable threats to IoT deployments.

On the other hand, similarly, security officials in 2017 recognized the Reaper botnet, which attacks known exposures in wireless IP-based cameras and other IoT devices, but, same as the Hajime botnet, has not initiated attacks on the scale and scope of the Mirai botnet.

Similarly in 2018, the Mirai-based Satori botnet evolved, infecting thousands of IoT devices at the outset with the described aim of allowing its operator to launch DDoS attacks. 

Offsetting the threat to IoT devices

It is clear that the continued development of the IoT ecosystem means more potential access points and weak areas that require to be reduced.

1. Evaluate IoT devices before buying and assure they meet evolving security standards and protocols. Assure the vendor involved security in the design of the device itself for patching and security upgrades throughout the device's lifecycle.
2. Maintain an inventory of IoT devices(https://www.hiotron.com/) and where they're situated.
3. Expand a plan for controlling and securing the IoT devices, similar to plans utilized to manage and secure other technology within the organization. The lifecycle plan should contain an end of life for all devices. 

When IoT devices are situated within a business environment, best practice edicts that a distinct network segment known as a VLAN should be utilized. This then enables IT, teams, to analyze for both known and unknown traffic impacting the devices. It also enables teams to assure that network traffic raised from known locations.

4. Examine network segmentation to wall off IoT devices as doubtful. Segmentation from the crucial parts of the network could assist to prevent a compromised device from being utilized to penetrate the enterprise's core systems.

It may be the attackers are frequently one step ahead, but by being more dynamic, security teams can also rise ahead on occasions.