The era of the ‘Internet of things’ train to insecurity

The era of the so-called ‘ Internet of things ‘, ie interconnected everyday objects (refrigerators, washing machines, clocks) is only just taking off. While picking up speed, the future of this train technology that no manufacturer wants to lose glimpses of deeper blue color, almost black as far as security is concerned.

The apparent ease with which they can illegally access this type of ultraportable devices and appliances connected to the Internet opens the debate about safety levels in this market segment is expanding rapidly. Bracelets that monitor human activity, refrigerators that alert users the lack of stock of a product, which recommend televisiores. The list of products whose software creates a perfect symbiosis with the Red network is extensive.

The trend has changed within several years. Until relatively recently, to connect to the internet is required for a computer to do so. “In recent years, almost everything has an IP address and is connected to the network. Internet security is increasingly vulnerable as the more devices are connected, more doors have cybercriminals to launch their attacks, ‘the expert security company Kaspersky Lab.

The security interest is not current. Since computers came into the home, there has been a need to protect against any type of cyber threat, but in the so-called “Internet of things” is still much work to do. “People who design and software operating systems Apple, Google or Microsoft always have safety in mind, despite receiving multiple reviews of vulnerabilities and exploits contained within its products.However, this does not occur on other devices that can connect to the network as insulin pumps, appliances, automobiles, commercial aircraft, appliances. They are vulnerable to any kind of cyber attack and no one is designing specific security solutions for them so that the barrier between the device and the malware is nonexistent, “underlined.

“As more people have smart phones and are used to being connected at all times, the trend towards the ‘Internet of Things’ ranging from home security systems to refrigerators and its increase will allow greater control and management of confirmed our lives, “asserted Gary Shapiro, president of the employers Consumer Electronic Association.

This “full Internet” has revolutionized technologies and businesses, while various facets of field lega l. “Today, internet connected computers and networks, including the first, devices like smartphones, along with many other types of objects such as televisions, video game consoles, home appliances, cars, elements of buildings, infrastructure such as bridges or highways, thus opening the door to interaction ‘machine to machine’ as well as people with these objects, you can even connect animals, as already happens in some farms, he added in an entry on his blog Pablo Garcia Mexia, an expert on Internet privacy.

There are few experts have detected a total lack of security in this kind of devices. “We are at a crisis point with respect to the security of embedded systems. These embedded computers are riddled with vulnerabilities and no good way to fix them, “wrote Bruce Schneier in the magazine “Wired” recently.

As you remember, the first attack on these devices occurred in late 2011 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where a thermostat in a Capitol building was communicating with an IP address from somewhere in China. Employees admitted that cybercriminals had accessed their systems stealing emails, meeting notes and commercial paper.

Another more recent attack occurred just a few weeks ago. A group of cybercriminals used the internet connectivity of some refrigerators to send more than 750,000 spam messages and phishing. According to experts at Kaspersky Lab, these devices can “act as a bridge to attack other terminals connected to the same network,” such as a tablet, “SmartTV” or a “smartphone”, which may contain personal information or financial information, ” the ultimate goal of cybercriminals to monetize.