Cyber Attack: Choose Action Over Panic

Recently, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security issued a joint alert warning of a global campaign by Russian state-sponsored cyber actors.

- Barrie Dempster

While the alert focused on network infrastructure devices, threats apply to all internet connected devices, especially IoT devices, of which Gartner estimates there will be 25.1 billion connected to the internet by 2021. So, while panic is not necessary, CIOs and business leaders should take notice and action to ensure they’re not allowing a backdoor to their company’s data and information.

What is the threat: It’s important to note that while there may be an uptick in activity, the threat itself and the techniques are not new. Nation-states and malicious groups have long used IoT device vulnerabilities, and compromised systems via over-the-air (OTA) updates to deploy malware, build botnets such as the Mirai, execute large-scale DDoS attacks or just for monitoring and eavesdropping.

Russian, or indeed any other, cyber actors do not need to leverage zero-day vulnerabilities or install malware to exploit these connected devices and conduct a campaign of disruption. As hackers are known to do, they’ll likely follow the path of least resistance which in the case of vast IT estates peppered with legacy devices there are several options.