We have heard about the Internet of Things for years , the Internet of things . Something that seemed to come from a distant future. But little by little it is becoming a reality in offices, public and private buildings and also in domestic homes . Home appliances, thermostats, automatic windows, air conditioners, surveillance cameras, smart speakers, robot vacuum cleaners, sensors … Homes are increasingly connected to the Internet . And one of the security challenges they face is DDoS attacks. What is a DDoS attack and how can it be prevented?
There is still a long way to go when it Wallis and Futuna Islands Email List comes to the Internet of Things, but we have already come part of the way filling the house with appliances and devices connected to the Internet with which we can meet daily needs with the help of the mobile phone or orders. voice.
prevent your IoT devices from participating in DDoS attacks
All of them connected to the Router through WIFI connectivity. With the convenience of not filling the house with cables.
But accessing the Internet has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, endless opportunities. On the other, certain precautions must be taken to avoid security problems. The same that happens with our computers or smartphones, but applied to the entire connected ecosystem of your home.
What is a DDoS attack
The Internet Security Office explains clearly and precisely what a DDoS attack consists of. DDoS is the acronym for Distributed Denial of Service . In English, Distributed Denial of Service . This type of cyber attack is related to DoS, more popular than the previous one. It is known as denial of service , in English Denial of Service .
DDoS attack – DDoS – IoT – Internet of Things
Source: OSI (Office of Internet User Safety)
In the words of the Internet Security Office, “a denial of service attack aims to disable the use of a system, an application or a machine , in order to block the service for which it is intended. This attack can affect both the source that offers the information, such as an application or the transmission channel, as well as the computer network ”. DoS and DDoS attacks have been popularized by attacks on pages and websites . The goal is to saturate your servers to prevent that page from still standing.
what prevent your IoT devices from participating in DDoS attacks
This can be an inconvenience if it is a news or travel page. But the problem is aggravated if the affected page belongs to a public agency or body such as the Tax Agency or Social Security. Many citizens depend on them to interact with the public administration.
The particularity of the DDoS attack is that it uses several computers or devices connected in a coordinated network. As the OSI says, “a DDoS attack is more difficult to detect , since the number of requests comes from different IPs and the administrator cannot block the IP that is making the requests, as is the case in the DoS attack.”
Internet of things and DDoS attacks
What is the relationship between the Internet of Things or IoT and DDoS attacks? For years, cybercriminals have used networks of computers but also connected devices to carry out DDoS attacks , which are part of a connected office or home. Any device connected to the Internet today is a miniature computer. And you can be part of a zombie network .
A zombie network or botnet is a network of computers or devices that have been infected with malware and that act as bots for the owner of that network. Without the owner of the computer noticing. Its behavior is usually the same, in appearance, but on its own it performs the tasks requested by the botmaster or owner of that network.
To find out if your device is part of a botnet type network, you can consult the AntiBotnet services offered by the Internet Security Office in collaboration with Telefónica . But you can also prevent it wisely and with security tools.
The reasons behind a DDoS attack
The OSI explains why cybercriminals carry out DDoS attacks: “The objective of cybercriminals is to cause harm , both to the users who use the service, and to the administrator who offers it, disabling its functionality and causing losses, both economic and of prestige . “
Sometimes it is about benefiting the competition. In other cases, extortion. Be that as it may, the ultimate goal is to make money by harming a third party. Something that has happened all your life but that has now mutated into a technological practice in which, indirectly, you can participate yourself without knowing it .
Secure connection, protecting your connection
In the old days, when only computers connected to the Internet, security tools targeted them in the form of firewalls and antivirus programs . Over time, security challenges have become more complex. As we said at the beginning, today there are many devices that connect to the Internet. IoT devices can be victims of cybercriminals and become part of IoT botnet networks to carry out DDoS attacks.
The question is, how do you protect all connected devices? Doing it one by one becomes complicated. And the key is found in the Router and in the Internet connection itself. To begin with, your Movistar Router not only provides you with Internet access. It is also responsible for protecting the devices that access it, acts as an intermediary. Hence the importance of keeping it updated and not giving your password to just anyone.