The rise of the so-called "Internet of Things" and "smart homes" in general is considered an inevitable feature of the near future, as more and more household devices gain the ability to connect to the Internet.
Although this is generally considered progress, HP Security Research sounds the alarm in its analysis, as, as it notes, this opens up new "avenues" of attack for hackers.
According to the report, HP Security Research examined 10 of the most popular devices that are part of the broader framework of «Internet of Things», resulting in the identification of a «disturbingly high average number of vulnerabilities», ranging from the notorious Heartbleed to Denial of Service, weak passwords and cross-site scripting.
The devices, as noted, came from manufacturers of televisions, webcams, thermostats, hubs for controlling multiple devices, “smart» locks, etc., and in the majority of them they used some form of cloud service. In all cases there were applications for portable devices that could be used to obtain access or remote control.
As reported, 90% of devices collected at least one «piece» personal data (via a mobile device, cloud or application), 70% used unencrypted network services, six out of 10 raised concerns about the security of their web interfaces, 80% did not sufficiently require «strong» passwords and 70% allowed an attacker to identify valid user accounts.
The final conclusion of the report is that the world of connected «smart» devices is already here, although it is in its early stages. «By 2020, according to Gartner studies, the Internet of Things will consist of 26 billion ʽunitsʼ. Fortunately there is still time to secure the devices before consumers are put at risk».
Source: naftemporiki.gr
