Internet-connected devices have been a part of our lives for quite some time now. Yes, we’ve been hearing the term internet of things (IoT) at conferences for nearly a decade, but only recently has the security industry seen cyber attackers flex their muscles by leveraging IoT technology.
“Obviously the Mirai botnet was the eye-opener for everybody,” Justin Fier, director of cyber intelligence and analysis at Darktrace told InfoSec Insider during a recent video interview. “We introduced all of these devices into our lives, and everyone got used to them, but no one realized how they could be used against us. I think that was the real big eye-opener for everyone.”
The main challenge for security managers revolves around visibility, he said. The insight that security teams have into their network is a massive drawback. Many times, based on his experience, security managers don’t realize just how many devices are connected to the network.
From smart TVs in conference rooms, vending machines in the break area, and even the turnstiles down at the badge desk, everything in buildings in this day and age is connected to the internet. There are also plenty of other IoT blind spots security teams need to be aware of. It's the security team's mandate to monitor those devices, and if they don't have visibility into them, they can't protect them, Fier said.
In this exclusive video interview with InfoSec Insider, Fier discusses the impact that IoT attacks have had on the enterprises, shares some examples of how creative attackers are getting to leverage connected-devices to do their dirty work, but most importantly, highlights what security managers can do to face these challenges head on.
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