IoT Device Takeovers Surge 100 Percent in 2020

silversurfer

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Aug 17, 2014
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Connected cameras, refrigerators and other seemingly-mundane internet-of-things (IoT) devices are a cybercriminal favorite this year, with new research showing a sharp increase (100 percent) in IoT infections observed on wireless networks.

IoT devices are now responsible for 32.72 percent of all infections observed in mobile and Wi-Fi networks – up from 16.17 percent in 2019. And researchers with Nokia’s Threat Intelligence Lab said, in the Threat Intelligence Report 2020 released this week, that they believe that number of IoT infections will continue to grow “dramatically” as connected devices continue to populate in homes and enterprise settings alike.

“It’s not a surprise that IoT devices are the crown jewels for cybercriminals,” Dirk Schrader, global vice president at New Net Technologies, told Threatpost. “Businesses around the world are transforming their processes, their production lines using digitalized assets. Having control over these assets means that a cybercriminal’s hand is – literally – at the main switch of a digitally transformed company. ”IoT devices are even a target for ransomware, he added: “The danger of being shut down almost completely is the reason why companies are more likely to pay even higher ransoms.”
 

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