Skip to main content

Internet of Things was the source of largest botnet attack in history

Security news site and blog KrebsonSecurity, was hit by the world’s largest denial of service (DDOS) attack last week, with more than 620 gigabits per second hammering its servers into submission. While astounding in its own right, what’s of more concern is the source: not infected PCs, but internet of things (IOT) devices like cameras and routers.

But the attackers didn’t stop there. Whoever was behind the DDOS was only just getting started. Since then we’ve seen assaults that peaked at over a terabit of data per second, with concerns that the botnet has the potential to deliver a further 50 percent more data if the timing is right.

Recommended Videos

Although as Ars reports, these numbers have yet to be officially confirmed, the sources are rather reliable. It would be easy to dismiss them based on their extravagance, since to date, the largest recorded botnet attack threw 363 gigabits per second of data. However, considering we’ve now seen attacks in excess of three times that much, we would expect to see many more large-scale attacks in the near future.

Related: Two Israeli teenagers arrested over vDOS DDoS-for-hire service

The reason this was possible at all is because of the Internet of Things. IOT devices have long been considered a security hole in the technological landscape, as they so often operate under the radar, and so receive less scrutiny from users and security professionals. However, they often have the ability to upload a lot of data at once, so it’s not always obvious when they’re used as part of an attack like this one.

We’ve seen hints of IOT devices like home routers being used in DDOS attacks before. The famous downing of the Xbox Live and PlayStation networks in 2015 was in part caused by botnet-connected home network hubs.

Even if you do notice that your IOT device is behaving oddly, reclaiming control of your hardware may not always be easy. By their very nature IOT devices tend to operate behind the scenes, so they often have minimal interfaces or ability to change important settings.

One preemptive security step people can take is to never put their hardware online at all. That may often defeat the point of a bit of smart tech and would of course be redundant for routers or similar devices, but there are a number of devices that don’t really need to be connected online all the time.

At the very least users should change their default passwords. Make them long, make them unique, and change them periodically to play it safe.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
Alienware Area 51 gaming PC with RTX 5090, 64GB of RAM is $800 off
Alienware Area 51 gaming PC.

Even if money is no object in your quest to buy the most powerful gaming desktop available, you shouldn't ignore any chance at savings. Check this out: Dell is selling the Alienware Area 51 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card at $800 off, bringing its price down from $6,100 to $5,300. It's still an expensive machine even after what's already one of the largest discounts in today's gaming PC deals, but it's an offer that you shouldn't miss if you're willing to take the plunge into high-end PC gaming.

Why you should buy the Alienware Area 51 gaming PC

Read more
Amazon is selling this Sansui curved gaming monitor for only $230
A person playing video games on the Sansui ES-G34C5 curved gaming monitor.

You don't have to spend several hundred dollars to get a solid screen for your PC gaming setup. There are affordable monitor deals for gamers on a tight budget. Here's one from Amazon: the Sansui ES-G34C5 curved gaming monitor for only $230, following a 12% discount on its original price of $260. The $30 in savings doesn't look like much, but every dollar saved goes a long way in this hobby, so you should proceed with your purchase quickly to make sure you don't miss it.

Why you should buy the Sansui ES-G34C5 curved gaming monitor

Read more
Microsoft Edge Canary new tab page replaces MSN with Copilot
Microsoft Edge appears on a computer screen with plants and a window in the background.

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot-powered interface in the Canary version of Edge, replacing the MSN feed on the New Tab Page in an attempt to streamline browsing, according to Windows Latest. Users can enable it via experimental flags.

If the new design rolls out to the stable version, Copilot will replace the familiar MSN feed as the first thing you see when you open a new tab. You'll see a compose box in an uncluttered design with a greeting message that asks, "How can I help you today?"

Read more