Security News > 2021 > February > The cybersecurity issues of seismic monitoring devices

Seismic monitoring devices linked to the internet are vulnerable to cyberattacks that could disrupt data collection and processing, say researchers who have probed the devices for weak points.

Modern seismic stations are now implemented as an IoT station, with physical devices that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the internet.

Samios and colleagues launched a security assessment of seismic and GNSS devices attached to their own monitoring networks after a security incident at one of their seismic stations.

Using their cybersecurity skills, the researchers tested these weak points using a typical "Ethical hacking" process to surveil, scan and gain access to geophysical devices with their default settings.

"Security weaknesses between different devices do not depend on the type of the device, but whether this device uses insecure protocols, outdated software and a potentially insecure default configuration," Samios said.

"It is interesting that while these vulnerabilities normally appear on low-cost IoT devices priced at $50 or less, it was also confirmed that they are observed even in seismological and GNSS devices that cost many times more."

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