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Researchers Demonstrate Bricking Assault Across City through IoT Worm


Security researchers from Dalhousie University of Canada jointly with Weizmann Institute of Science of Israel have released one study on certain proof-of-concept malware which's capable of proliferating from one IoT device to another adjacent to it within an attack they portray as "city-wide bricking assault."

For demonstrating the assault, the researchers made use of smart lightbulbs connected to Philips's Hue technology, with an effective delivery on the target from one motorcar at a distance of 70 meters as well as from one aerial drone at a height of 350 meters.

While spreading from one bulb to another the malware utilizes skeleton keys as well as is capable of even contaminating more lightbulbs at a distance of 400-or-more meters.

Researchers Achi-Or Weingarten, Adi Shamir and Eyal Ronen all from the Weizmann Institute of Science performed the operation of abusing the Hue connected Philips bulbs. Betanews.com posted this, November 14, 2016.

Of late, one survey questioning 1,527 American adults discovered over 40% fully unconfident of the security, safety and ability of IoT devices towards safeguarding personal information, while according to 50%, worries regarding any IoT device's cyber-security discouraged them to buy any Internet-of-Things device.

Ever-since Philips issued one firmware patch to fix the problem in its Hue lightbulbs, although to obtain it, users require first loading as also configuring Hue application. Moreover, the loading and other tasks should be completed prior to the occurrence of an attack since the worm can supersede any probable updates.

Explaining further how the worm works the researchers said it proliferated via jumping directly among neighboring bulbs, utilizing solely their in-built wireless connectivity called the ZigBee along with the physical closeness of the lamps. For an effective attack, it's enough to have just one tainted lamp at any place within the city, while subsequently it'd dangerously proliferate all over in minutes time, making it possible for the attacker towards switching off or on the city lamps, brick them for good, else exploit them within an enormous denial-of-service assault.

And although created as proof-of-concept, the worm outlines the non-security of numerous present connected devices as also the requirement of enhancing security within Internet-of-Things appliances.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/18/2016

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