New research shows that vulnerabilities are becoming increasingly more common in our connected devices. As 'smart' Internet-connected devices become more prevalent, so does the potential attack surface for cyber-attacks.
While it's truly impossible for any Internet-connected device to be 100% secure from exploitation, manufacturers are not even doing the bare minimum to secure these devices by neglecting to include security by design into the development stage.
Research firm Independent Security Evaluators (ISE) published a study in 2013 that found 52 vulnerabilities across 13 SOHO wireless routers and NAS devices. The follow-up study recently conducted revealed the number of problems and vulnerabilities discovered has doubled, with 125 CVEs submitted. Millions of end-user devices are projected to be impacted by these vulnerabilities.
ISE successfully exploited the routers and NAS devices to obtain remote, root access in 12 out of 13 cases. Researchers claim that each device examined had at least one vulnerability that could be exploited for remote shell access or to gain unauthorized access to administration panels.
Vendors impacted by these findings were notified by ISE; three worked directly with ISE to solve the security issue, but several vendors have not even responded to the report.
It seems our state of IoT is only getting worse, even with efforts to streamline vulnerability disclosure practices and the adoption of popular bug bounty programs. Businesses and homes are still vulnerable to exploits that can cause significant damage and are operating these devices with little to no understanding of what vulnerabilities they're exposed to.
Without security in mind in product development, real-time monitoring, and continuous visibility into IT environments, these organizations will continue to be at high risk of attack.
Learn more about IoT Security in our latest article: Cyber Security of the Fridge - Accessing the Internet of Things Threat
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