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Identifying the Exploitable Security Gaps in Remote Work Spaces - Content Contributor: Trend Micro Research

Working and living areas are getting smarter every year as owners adopt new technology and continuously upgrade old devices to fit into modernized spaces. This has enabled many professionals to work or run their business virtually from home. International conferences can be conducted from home office spaces, major projects can be managed and modified online, and much more can be done with the help of smart machines. Unfortunately, unprotected devices are seen as low-hanging fruit by cybercriminals, used in criminal campaigns or leveraged to gain deeper access to home networks.

Attackers targeting smart home devices are tenacious because these machines are proliferating, and becoming more powerful and valuable targets. Because of this, attacks continue to evolve to keep pace with the advancement of these technologies. This November, Pwn2Own 2021 Austin, a competition created to help discover (and subsequently patch) critical vulnerabilities, highlights security issues in the devices that surround homeowners and virtual workers. The same devices that enable professionals to manage their work from home can be used to gain access to private enterprise information or even be used in a cybercriminal campaign.

Cyberthreats that affect home workers and smart home owners

Modern homeowners and many users working from home have installed smart printers, network attached storage (NAS), speakers for home automation, smart televisions, and more. Unfortunately, cybercriminals targeting these devices are persistent and the attack surface of IoT is broad. It isn’t hard to find security gaps within the many smart devices being used at home.