Your Smart Devices Are Now Cyber Weapons: Here’s How to Stay Safe

It could possibly be like a stranger, that too a criminal, had unrestricted access to your home.

Picture is for representational purpose. (Photo: Reuters)

A cyber attack on Friday shook the internet and it warns of the potential threat to the internet and the vulnerability of the digital space that we can’t live without.

The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in the United States on Friday that temporarily shut down websites like Twitter, Spotify, Amazon and Reddit, is bigger than what anyone would have imagined.

It also showed how seemingly harmless devices that are connected to the internet, such as routers, cameras, printers and even baby monitors, can be turned into powerful cyber weapons.

It is like a stranger, that too a criminal, having unrestricted access to your home.

Hackers Take Advantage of Lack of Security

Apparently, the attacks seem to have been caused by a Mirai botnet. It is a type of malware that looks for connected devices using factory default usernames and passwords, according to experts. The botnet consisted of private devices and it was used to flood its target with junk traffic so it couldn't function.

Experts say the hackers take advantage of lack of security in these devices.

Manufacturers often deploy these devices without concern for various types of tampering, nor are they aware tampering is possible. We definitely have a lot of work to do. Any device that has an IP address is vulnerable to tampering.

Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com to NBC News

The attacks had hit internet services in parts of the United States. (Photo: iStock)

With technology bigwigs launching smart home devices, the ecosystem will only continue to grow.

That means manufacturers and consumers are going to need to take smart home security more seriously, Jason Haddix, head of trust and security at Bugcrowd, a bug bounty company, told NBC News.

Don't Use a Default Password

Haddix and Siciliano say that consumers should make it a priority to change their passwords from the default ones set by manufacturers. This is what made it easy for Mirai to compromise so many connected devices.

Keep Updating Your Device

Whenever your device sends prompts for new software and firmware updates, be sure to download them. Other than improving functionality, these may contain patches for security issues that may have been discovered after you purchased the device.

Do Your Research Before You Buy

With the marketplace getting larger — whether it’s a camera or a DVR, do some quick Google searching around the brand and see if it has a track record for doing security right.

Jason Haddix, head of trust and security, Bugcrowd

If the company has been known to acknowledge and fix its security issues quickly, it shows they’re on top of handling their security.

Don’t Throw the Packaging

Keeping the packaging that the devices come in could also prove to be helpful.

Those labels that come on the packaging can be very helpful. Plus you don’t want anybody pulling those boxes out of the trash and knowing what you have. Destroy them.

Robert Siciliano to NBC News

(With inputs from NBC News)