[Iclickart]
Internet of Things (IOT) is a fast-growing market with its value standing at 16.3 billion US dollars, along with other new technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality. But IoT devices could become a serious threat to daily life as many are found infected by malware, a Russian security firm warned.
IoT devices include home appliances and other electronic devices connected to the web, such as artificial intelligence (AI) assistants, smart TVs, smart freezers and smart boilers. Users can remotely control them or the devices themselves can decide when to operate by communicating with other devices through the internet.
Kaspersky said in its study published this week that about 300,000 IoT devices worldwide were found to be infected with "Hajime", a malware which means "start" in Japanese and targets webcams, internet routers and digital video recorders.
Hajime uses brute-force to bypass passwords of targeted devices and when it succeeds, the malware conceals itself, according to the Russia-based multinational cyber security firm, adding compromised devices can be activated by the malware's creator at any time. Kaspersky, however, could not find out Hajime's end goal.
The malware, also known as a "bot", allows an attacker to take control over an affected device. Since IoT devices are inter-connected, it is likely for infected ones to create a network of bots called "botnet".
The majority of the affected devices are located in Iran, Brazil and Vietnam, but the source of infection is centered in Asian countries including Vietnam, Taiwan, China and South Korea. Kaspersky advised users to regularly change passwords and set them to the most complicated level as possible.
Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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