The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IOT) is a concept of delivering Internet to almost anything that has a chip in it. Cool for the end user, but for the cybersecurity minded person, an inevitable nightmare.

In January, a refrigerator was used as part of a SPAM/Phishing attack. That’s right. Italicized below is from Business Insider.

In the press release, Proofpoint explains:

• The hack happened between December 23, 2013 and January 6, 2014, and featured waves of malicious email, typically sent in bursts of 100,000, three times per day, targeting enterprises and individuals worldwide.
• About three-quarters of the emails were sent by regular computers, but the rest, slightly more than one-quarter, were sent by hacked home appliances.
• Hackers didn’t have to be amazingly smart when breaking into home appliances. Many times they gained access because the home owners didn’t set them up correctly, or used the default password that came with the device.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hackers-use-a-refridgerator-to-attack-businesses-2014-1#ixzz2vypg7JJa