There is no denying the fact that the Internet of Things or devices that are connected to the internet are increasing on a daily basis. However, the threats associated with such devices are growing at an exponential rate at the same time.
The primary cause for such devices being under threat is largely because they have not been implemented securely. This includes devices like Smart TVs, set-top boxes, printers, security cameras and microwaves. These devices are commonly targeted by hackers and are in turn used as weapons for countless cyber attacks.
Previously, hackers managed to do the unthinkable by using no less than 100,000 Smart Refrigerators and TVs to send out spam emails for their hacking campaigns. But that is not all; hackers have also shown how capable they truly are when they used set-top boxes and printers to mine Bitcoins.
If that was not enough, this time around hackers have managed to be highly successful in hacking CCTV cameras. The purpose for doing so is so that they can launch massive DDoS attacks.
According to the researchers at Sucuri, a staggering 25,000 CCTV cameras have already been hacked. The discovery was only made when the researchers were trying to defend a small jewelry shop from a DDoS attack.
Sucuri may have been successful in saving the jewelry shop’s site which was flooded with no less than 35,000 HTTP requests, but its researchers warn that the attack was nothing in comparison to what is actually being planned. Hackers are planning to unleash a Layer 7 DDoS attack, which is specifically going to target businesses. By doing so, these hackers will be able to overload these businesses’ web servers and will thus have complete control of their resources.
It is important to note that this is not the first time CCTV cameras have been used to launch such an attack and it will most certainly not be the last either. Keeping this in mind, businesses and individuals will need to take additional steps to protect their online security and anonymity. Fortunately, they can easily make this possible by taking advantage of PureVPN which encrypts devices along with any and all communications that goes on between them and the internet.
