Hackers Target Russian Printers and Cameras

From January to June, the number of attacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices in Russia increased by 40%. The most common malware involved are Mirai, Gafgyt, and NyaDrop. Most attacks originate from IP addresses in China, the United States, South Korea, India, and Taiwan.

Fresh statistics on IoT threats were shared by Kaspersky Lab. In June, the company’s honeypots recorded 30,000 unique IP addresses, compared to 13,000 in January.

What Are Honeypots?

A honeypot is a trap that simulates a vulnerable device or service. Experts use them to analyze cyberattacks. In percentage terms, attacks on Russian IoT devices increased by 40% over the summer.

Most Common Malware and Attack Sources

The most widespread malware remains Mirai, Gafgyt, and NyaDrop. The majority of attacks come from Chinese and American IP addresses, with South Korea, India, and Taiwan also in the top five.

Main Targets and Hacker Motives

Routers, cameras, and printers are still the most popular targets for hackers. Cybercriminals build botnets from compromised devices, which are then used for DDoS attacks. IoT malware is constantly updated to exploit new vulnerabilities in devices.

For example, new versions of Mirai—a botnet that spreads autonomously and primarily targets IoT devices—appear every year. Six years ago, Mirai was used to launch a massive DDoS attack on the DNS provider Dyn, causing outages for many of its clients, including Twitter, PayPal, Amazon, Netflix, and CNN.

Risks for Businesses and Critical Infrastructure

Medical and industrial equipment are also at risk, according to Dmitry Galov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky Lab.

“Risks associated with IoT devices can affect the stability and reliability of transmitted data, which is the foundation for key end-to-end enterprise services,” adds Andrey Suvorov, Business Development Director for the KasperskyOS operating system.

For more on the threats and risks of integrating IoT into business processes, see our discussion on AM Live, “Internet of Things (IoT) Security.”