Connected devices (IoT) pose multiple risks to our security, and a "dangerous" search engine amply demonstrates this.
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Shodan: The "dark" search engine
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Shodan is a search engine very different from Google and the well-known search engines, as it does not search the world wide web looking for pages, but rather moves through the "dark alleys" of the Internet and searches for servers, webcams, printers, routers and any kind of interconnected device.
The search engine operates 24 hours a day and collects information about 500 million devices and services every month.
Searching for vulnerable webcams with the help of Shodan is now easier than ever, as a separate section has been created exclusively for this purpose.
With just a few clicks and without requiring any special technical knowledge, even ordinary users – without having to be subscribers to the service – can gain access to vulnerable cameras, spying on strangers' homes, workplaces, public locations, etc.
With a simple search, users can locate images of marijuana plantations, bank backrooms, children's rooms, kitchens, living rooms, garages, gardens, backyards, ski slopes, swimming pools, colleges and schools, laboratories, cash register cameras in retail stores, just about anything, says Dan Tentler, a security researcher who has dedicated many years to researching camera security.
“You can access everything. Almost anything you can think of,” he emphasizes.
The Shodan search engine is just the latest reminder that the issue of IoT device security needs to be addressed immediately.
The images below, including a snapshot of a baby sleeping in his crib, are some of the disturbing results that emerge from a quick search, highlighting the extent of the problem.
