With all the electronic devices in my house I sometimes wonder, has someone figured out how to listen in on what’s happening at our house? After all, if you hacked our Echo or doggie camera, you certainly could. What’s more, last week at Blackhat a company by the name of Exploitee.rs revealed new zero day attacks on IoT devices that can be launched with a modified SD storage card.
Wired magazine wrote about the technique used and how relatively straight forward the hack was to execute. My house is loaded with devices that have an SD card readers. I’m guessing my household is not the exception to the rule. Most TV’s, Printers and Cameras have SD slots. Anyone with Smart TV has it on the network. Your computer is connected and so is your printer.
I wouldn’t necessarily panic yet, but I would encourage you to start thinking about your internet connected devices. If they can be password protected, protect them. Do not share your device with everyone and everything. Limit sharing to people and networks that you trust.
When in doubt, unplug
If you have an IoT device that you cannot secure, and or do not use all of the time, consider unplugging it. A device without power is useless to a hacker. I know that may not always be practical but it is an option. Also, use privacy shields on devices with cameras. A black screen is not nearly as interesting to look at!
Overall, try to keep in mind, a hacker only needs to breach one device that is on the network to get complete access to your data and devices. Hopefully, if I get breached, they’ll tell me when my bagel is done!