You've seen the inexpensive surveillance camera sets at Costco. Smart thermostats are all the craze. Your pool is now completely automated and you can control the chemicals right from your phone... but could all these conveniences actually be working against you?
Last year we saw an onslaught of low-priced devices compromised in an attack that created the largest collection of computers ever used to target websites and services.
The devices included routers, security camera systems, cable modems, and other devices that are the hallmarks of today's convenience.
How did it go so wrong so quickly?
The devices all used easy to guess, hardcoded passwords to privileged accounts and had access to their management interfaces exposed by default. Firewalls were not in use and convenience-minded consumers and business who did not have security expertise exposed them freely to the internet.
Attackers had been studying vulnerabilities in these devices then wrote software to find them, catalog them, and track them so they could be used later.
What can I do to protect myself?
Use Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections and avoid exposing any of these devices to the internet directly. Do not port-forward on your firewall and use strong passwords. When choosing a firewall, consider the Sophos line of products. Their basic firewalls are free and available from our website. Companies like Sophos are constantly testing their software for vulnerabilities and updating it. They also avoid default passwords, exposure of management interfaces, and hardcoded passwords.
Security is your responsibility, take it seriously!
