Cybercriminals are making the most of this uncertain business ecosystem by targeting IoT solutions across industries.
Threat actors are taking the advantage of this rapidly evolving digital world with cyber-attacks against online applications. Currently, the attacks on IoT solutions are on the rise – this is targeting the IT business ecosystem at an alarming rate. With a vast majority of enterprises operating remotely, poor security protections are inevitable.
The threat actors are using automated tools like never before to exploit such vulnerabilities. A recent study by Nokia revealed that IoT cybersecurity devices are the “most infected”. The IoT devices or the internet-connected solutions account for nearly one-third of all the infected devices – which is up by almost 16% in 2019.
These findings are based on the data combined from observing global network traffic on more than 150 million devices. The hurried implementation of IoT devices into medical devices, smart home security monitoring systems, drone etc. is projected to continue growing.
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More customers and businesses are geared up to make the most of such high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and fundamentally innovative digital networking capabilities – which 5G enables. Conversely, the success rate of infecting IoT tools is dependent upon the visibility of devices on the internet.
In networks where the apps are repeatedly assigned public-facing IP addresses, high infection rate is found. Again, in the case of systems where carrier-grade Network Address Translation is in operation, the infection rate is less. This is undoubtedly because the vulnerable tools are not detectable on network scanning.
As Bhasker Gorti, President and Chief Digital Officer at Nokia mentioned in the company blog post – “The sweeping changes that are taking place in the 5G ecosystem, with even more 5G networks being deployed around the world as we move to 2021, open ample opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of vulnerabilities in IoT cyberattack devices.”
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Certainly, the threat actors are benefiting from the current, uncertain market – as they find it as the prime time to uphold their agendas. In fact, they are using this emergency situation to take control of user data through different types of malware. Many hackers even target applications to plant malware in the victims’ computers to exploit their data.
As a result, Nokia suggests that people install apps only from the verified and trusted app stores. There is a significant need for businesses as well as consumers to level up their cybersecurity measures and practices. It is also legitimate for IoT device producers – in order to stay afloat amid the economic turmoil.
