Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Internet of Things (IoT) industry has increasingly developed in recent years. However, there are new security threats lurking as more and more objects are connected to the internet.
The latest report from Aargauer Zeitung reveals that 3 million smart toothbrushes have been hacked by hackers and become nests for bots.
A smart toothbrush connected to an application on a gadget such as a cellphone or tablet was used by bad actors to launch an attack on a company's website in Switzerland.
Because of this attack, the Swiss company suffered business losses worth millions of euros, quoted from TomsHardware, Wednesday (7/2/2024).
According to reports, hackers attacked smart toothbrushes due to a loophole in the Java-based operating system. The report did not mention the smart toothbrush brand specifically.
Normally, smart toothbrushes are connected to a mobile application for tracking so that the quality of the user's oral hygiene can be improved.
However, after being infected with malware, the smart toothbrush turned into a botnet that channeled user information to cybercriminals.
“All internet-connected devices are potential targets for cybercriminals,” said Stefan Zuger of the Swiss branch of cybersecurity firm Fortinet.
According to Fortinet's findings, it only takes 20 minutes to turn a PC that is not covered by security software into malware. Usually cybercriminals will trick their victims into stealing data and demanding certain fees. The data could also be sold to the illegal market.
For this reason, it is important to always ensure that your IoT device is connected to a secure internet network, turn off internet access periodically, and update security software.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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