The Internet of Things will host devastating, unstoppable botnets

[Razer]

Bwahahahahahaaahackcoughgasp-wheeeeeze!


> Bruce Schneier takes to the pages of Technology Review to remind us
> all that while botnets have been around for a long time, the Internet
> of Things is supercharging them, thanks to insecurity by design.
>
> Botnets are useful for denial of service attacks, but they're also an
> indispensable part of the spam ecosystem, clickfraud, extortion, and
> other bad news.
>
> Cheap IoT gadgets are manufactured by absentee proprietors and large,
> respected companies who ignore urgent warnings about their defects (or
> punish people who complain by remote-bricking their gadgets), leading
> to nightmarish breaches.
>
> Worse, IoT manufacturers use antiquated DRM laws to threaten security
> researchers who reveal the defects in their products with brutal
> lawsuits and even jail-time (and this will be a risk for any device
> controlled by a browser).
>
>> ..... Once you know a botnet exists, you can attack its
>> command-and-control system. When botnets were rare, this tactic was
>> effective. As they get more common, this piecemeal defense will
>> become less so. You can also secure yourself against the effects of
>> botnets. For example, several companies sell defenses against
>> denial-of-service attacks. Their effectiveness varies, depending on
>> the severity of the attack and the type of service.
>>
>>     But overall, the trends favor the attacker. Expect more attacks
>> like the one against Dyn in the coming year. 
>
>
> Botnets of Things [Bruce Schneier/MIT Technology Review] 


Clickthru boingx2 (some other links on-page):
http://boingboing.net/2017/04/12/forever-day-bugs-2.html