Page 16 - Cyber Warnings December 2015

away and how it could be used. In many cases, an individual's data, when sold to a third party, can
be as lucrative as selling the device itself.

Be Mindful of your Network

The NEST thermostat is a virtual dream for travelers that have no idea when they will get home and
want to be able to turn on the heat en route from the airport. Likewise, two of the hottest toys this
year happen to connect to the Internet. In fact, many consumer devices from crock pots to wine
refrigerators can be managed remotely from a smartphone. While none of these products have
been the cause of catastrophe to date, the potential is there. We’ve seen baby monitors hacked, so
it’s no surprise that there should be some reservations around Mattel’s Hello Barbie. After all, this
Barbie remembers conversations and learns your child’s behavior in order to enhance the
interaction between toy and child. As these devices all make their connections to the Internet - and
your home network - not only is the data at risk, but it opens up your home network to new
mechanisms for a breach. If your family is looking at these toys in hopes of gifting Johnny and Jane
with the hottest gadget to date, remember that the risks are there and no one wants to become the
‘plaything’ of hackers.

And it’s not just fitness trackers that might be spying on you. Earlier this year news broke that
Samsung’s Smart TV is recording conversations and uploading the data to third parties to be
transcribed. But the encroachment on your privacy doesn’t end there. The TV’s bizarre facial
recognition capabilities allow the conversations to be associated with an individual. It is still unclear
what Samsung plans to do with this information, but you’d better believe it will be sent out to third
parties for marketing and sales purposes. What is even more concerning is the potential threat of
this information getting into the hands of an adversary. Consumers need to worry, but these TVs
are showing up in boardrooms too, making them attractive for advanced hackers targeting particular
companies.

Prevention is Key

To prevent a home or an enterprise from becoming a hacker’s wonderland, individuals and
organizations alike must begin to take IoT security seriously. The threat is real and consumers need
to understand the potential risks that IoT devices pose and decide whether they are worth those
risks. For enterprises, policies and procedures must be put in place, as it is only a matter of time
before they start to find compromises that are entering their networks through IoT devices.

About the Author

Chris Rouland is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Bastille a security solutions company
focused exclusively on providing intrusion detection and vulnerability assessment for the Internet of
Things (IoT). With more than 50 billion connected devices expected by 2020, Bastille is pioneering
security for enterprise IoT with a committed focus on detecting and mitigating airborne threats.

16 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – December 2015 Edition
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