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Hack that Used a Drone to take Control of a Tower’s Light bulbs


Global researchers have shown with demonstration the simplicity of hacking into 'Internet of Things' referred to Internet-connected devices. With the proliferation of connected appliances across the globe, the dangers getting caused with hacking assaults along with resultant disruptions are also increasing.

The huge DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) assault of October 2016 either collapsed or staggered the pace of many prominent ISPs (Internet Service Providers) all over USA. Although information was spared from theft, still the disruption impacted widely-used services like Spotify and Twitter. Those who asserted they were behind the attack said they were demonstrating the presence of vulnerability.

In the latest instance of hacking IoT device, a drone was used for targeting an office building's lightbulbs from Philips, making the bulbs virus-infected so the hackers could make the lights get on or off, while showing an SOS missive written via Morse code. Fortune.com posted this, November 3, 2016.

An identical procedure was also applied to home-control hubs of Logitech Harmony Ultimate and thermostats of Nest, amidst other appliances. Exploiting vulnerability within Philips' encryption for compelling an update of firmware, the global experimenters thrust their virus into the bulbs while got them to do as desired.

There is vulnerability in ZigBee too which can let hackers thrust virus into a lightbulb that subsequently disseminates to other lightbulbs within the network. The research consists of a video film showing one drone having an USB stick which lingers close to the bulbs for taking hold over them.

In 2015, the possibility of this kind of assault was described in a research work entitled "IoT Goes Nuclear" and the current drone attack is the foremost being conducted in reality.

The researchers observed the hack used in several sinister instances, like 'bricking' the Internet of Thing appliances followed with disabling them for good, and continuing onto clogging wireless networks all over towns and cities by utilizing test procedures for inundating 2.4 GHz frequency that WiFi devices commonly use. Still further is hacked 'smart-lightbulbs' inside some city for turning them off or on again-and-again, thereby pressurizing the power grid alternatively having the vulnerable encounter epileptic seizures.

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