Security News > 2021 > September > IoT Attacks Skyrocket, Doubling in 6 Months
The first half of 2021 saw 1.5 billion attacks on smart devices, with attackers looking to steal data, mine cryptocurrency or build botnets.
According to a Kaspersky analysis of its telemetry from honeypots shared with Threatpost, the firm detected more than 1.5 billion IoT attacks - up from 639 million during the previous half year, which is more than twice the volume.
In real-world attacks, the end result of attacks on IoT gear is evolving, Kaspersky found: Infected devices being used to steal personal or corporate data as mentioned, and mine cryptocurrencies, on top of traditional DDoS attacks in which the devices are added to a botnet.
In addition to weak passwords offering a way to compromise IoT targets, more and more vulnerabilities are coming to light that make IoT gadgets more attractive to attackers, too.
"Some people believe they aren't important enough to be hacked but we've observed how attacks against smart devices intensified during the past year," Demeter said.
"Most of these attacks are preventable."