As we are becoming more dependent on connected devices to run our homes, businesses and lives cybersecurity has come to the top of many peoples’ priority lists. However, the type of threats that IoT devices are exposed to is vastly different from those found on traditional computers, and require a new set of tools and strategies to protect against them.
With a myriad of IoT device types on the market each with its individual operating systems software and features so it’s no surprise that malware attacks targeting these types of devices are on the rise. The lack of standardized software can create difficulties when creating security tools that are compatible with multiple devices.
In 2016, threat actors created one of the largest botnets ever created by using a simple hack on IoT devices. This destabilized parts of the Internet and rendered websites like the New York Times’s website, Brian Krebs’s site and French web host OVH unreachable for hours. The How to find a good mac antivirus attackers looked through the Internet to find default usernames and passwords for IoT devices. They then gathered a horde of IoT users to launch DDoS attacks.
Antiviruses and IoT play a crucial role in protecting against these types of threats. However, this kind of security software must increase its surveillance to include monitoring the way IoT devices communicate with each other and the external world, and maintaining secure password practices, two-factor authentication and up-to-date patching. When combined with other security tools they provide an effective defense against IoT threats.