Smart home security devices most at risk in IoT-targeted cyber attacks

Smart home security cameras equate to 47% of the most vulnerable devices followed by smart hubs such as Googlehome, Amazon Alexa, with the top countries executing attacks coming from China followed by USA, according to SAM Seamless Networks.

Other findings reveal the USA and China are the foremost countries for both executing attacks and being targeted. The average home receives five attempted attacks per device per day via smart networks.

Email malware and phishing are the most common attack types in Europe, whereas ransomware is more prevalent in the USA. Furthermore, one in three people see a direct, damaging effect on their privacy as a result of weak security measures on their home networks.

During the first week of May 2019, researchers witnessed a massive amount of remote access attempts, originating primarily from three countries: China, USA and Iran, 50% of which were by botnets. Researchers also recently discovered new variants of the dangerous Mylobot malware that disables Windows Defender and has infected PCs running Windows in over 170 countries.

“The target of attacks is no longer just enterprises,” said Sivan Rauscher, CEO of SAM. “High profile hacks on home networks have positioned these at the forefront of cyber crime. We need in-depth and continual investigations to understand where the vulnerabilities are coming from.

“The upcoming regulation and government policies on IoT and connected devices bring further attention to the problem but they are not enough. We hope our Threat Assessment Lab will enable valuable processes for protection and awareness to be implemented.”