Week 3 Posting - Threats and Vulnerabilities Associated with Specialized Technology and Operating in the Cloud; Mitigating Controls for Attacks and Software Vulnerabilities

 

Vulnerabilities

            According to Fortinet, four IoT threats to devices include limited hardware, a mix of transmission technology, vulnerable components, and user security awareness (Fortinet, 2023). In most cases, consumers of any IoT products have limited amount of security and security awareness since some of these devices lack built-in security to combat cyber threats. For example, Chapman and Maymi explains the functionality of the Mirai botnet, a malware that attacks IoT devices (Chapman & Maymi, p.130, 2020). To put things into perspective, the attacker attacks the control server which initially attacks the compromised hosts and ultimately affects the victim by attacking traffic. Another vulnerability to consider are weak or defaulted passwords or passcodes. Users settle for easy and fast passwords to access their devices and ignoring the risks of implementing harder passwords, which should include special characters, numbers, and extended character requirement. For example, “R3ign0ver!37” a solid password should be around 12-15 characters added with special characters and capital or lower-case sensitivity. 

References:

Chapman, B., & Maymi, F. (2020). CompTIA CySA+ Cybersecurity Analyst Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Second Edition (Exam CS0-002). McGraw Hill Professional.

Top IoT Device Vulnerabilities: How To Secure IoT Devices | Fortinet. (n.d.). Fortinet. https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/iot-device-vulnerabilities