Why Singapore is one of the top five destinations for IoT attacks

According to a report from security company F5 Networks, Singapore is one of the top five destinations for IoT (Internet of Things) attacks.

David Holmes, principal threat research evangelist for F5 Labs, says that home routers, wireless IP cameras and DVRs (digital video recorders) are among the most common devices attacked. They’re hijacked to become thingbots — botnets of infected IoT devices.

(Don’t underestimate the power of a DVR botnet. In 2016, the Mirai botnet brought down websites like Twitter, Netflix, and Reddit. The botnet consisted of IoT devices like IP cameras and DVRs.)

“These types of devices are chosen as they typically have higher processing power and higher bandwidth,” Holmes says. “Making for more capable bots, if and when compromised.”

There are an estimated 8.4 billion IoT devices in use, and unprotected devices at this scale are a goldmine for hackers. A new variant of the Mirai malware, called Okiru, is now exploiting IoT devices with ARC processors. Okiru can infect internet-connected products like cars, mobiles, TVs, and more.

F5 reports that China, the US, and Russia are among the top three attacking countries. From August to December 2017, the most attacked countries were the US, Singapore, Spain, and Hungary. Singapore is continuously in the top five attacked countries.

F5 believes there are three reasons why Singapore is an attractive target. One is the number of banks and financial institutions in Singapore. Second, Singapore has a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings. Third, Singapore’s automated systems may be attracting people who want to hack into them.

How can the ordinary person prevent their household IoT devices from being hacked? F5 suggests that first, you don’t buy or deploy compromised IoT devices. A quick Google check should help you with that. 

Secondly, reset the administrative password on every IoT device you can. Unfortunately, not all IoT devices come with this option. Thirdly, encrypt your home wireless traffic. You can do so by running a VPN, but there are some things you should know about VPNs.

Lastly, leverage NAT so not all of your home IoT devices are on the public internet. Then secure your one public access point — usually your router.

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