X

The worst IoT, smart home hacks of 2020 (so far)

Millions of us have adopted smart home and IoT devices, but these products continually prove themselves to be vulnerable endpoints. Here are some of the most noteworthy IoT cyberattack examples of this year.
By Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
10.jpg
1 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Shadow IoT devices

Researchers warned at the start of 2020 that the emergence of 'shadow IoT devices' -- such as employee devices connected to corporate networks without the knowledge of IT teams -- are putting organizations at serious risk. 

Fitness trackers, smartwatches, and medical devices are only some of many IoT endpoints that can be exploited to gain a foothold into corporate networks.  

Via: ZDNet

11.jpg
2 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Smart building access systems

In February, an alert was issued that warned of a vulnerability in over 2,300 smart building access systems that was being exploited by attackers to launch DDoS attacks. Linear eMerge E3 systems were being targeted.

Via: ZDNet

12.jpg
3 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Smart cars

McAfee said in February that "model hacking" can be used to compromise the machine learning (ML) and intelligent systems in modern vehicles. A study into the security risks of smart vehicles revealed it was possible to compromise the MobilEye camera system, used in many car models today. 

Via: McAfee

14.jpg
4 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Smart home hubs

ESET, too, documented how other home IoT devices -- in this case, Fibaro, Homematic, and eLAN hubs used to connect and control full IoT setups -- were exploitable for nefarious purposes.  

The severe vulnerabilities included unauthenticated, remote code execution, full device hijacking, and Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks.

Via: ESET

15.jpg
5 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Kaiji botnet

In early May, cybersecurity researchers revealed a new form of malware, Kaiji, that is specifically targeting IoT devices and Linux servers. The malware is compromising devices via brute-force attacks to rope them into a botnet that has the capability to perform six different types of DDoS attacks.

Via: ZDNet

16.jpg
6 of 6 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

Supercomputers

While not your standard home IoT setup, high-performance supercomputing systems across the UK, Germany, and Switzerland were targeted and infected with cryptocurrency mining malware in May, forcing operators to close down numerous clusters.

Via: ZDNet

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
Holiday lights in Central Park background

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

21 Photos
Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

Related Galleries

Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

21 Photos
Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
3D Rendering Christmas interior

Related Galleries

Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

21 Photos
Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
img-8825

Related Galleries

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

26 Photos
A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
img-9792-2

Related Galleries

A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

22 Photos
Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

Related Galleries

Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

8 Photos
Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
Full of promises!

Related Galleries

Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

8 Photos