The Expert Podcast

…Here's a topic we've covered a few times in the past but this is an interesting spin on it. This comes from cyber security hub where they talk about smart devices on your network. And most people have very strict intentions on wanting to protect their computers, their cell phones from hacking or viruses or cyber attacks, but consider the other devices that are within your network. Even something as simple as a wifi Router.

That router connects to your internet and connects to your network. So that it's a portal where people can attack it We have a client where the attack that came into their network actually came in through a wireless smart thermostat. It was a device that was on the wall of their office that covered. or controlled their heating and cooling system in their office. And it was something where it automatically turned on and off based on certain time of day but also it had a wifi.

Connection in a hardwired connection to their network so that when their office opened up, for the week, it noticed when people came in the door when computers turned on and raised or lowered the heat accordingly. There was also part of the programming for this wifi thermostat. To be able to detect the number of people that were logged into systems so that it could. Put a certain amount of heat load into the programming for this system. Now.

You probably have antivirus software or protection software on all your computers but your wifi thermostat. Is probably not a device you think of protecting, but because it's connected to the internet, a hacker was able to get into it because it connected to other computers. They use it as a vector to get usernames passwords logins for some of these computers, that was our entry point. Anything that is a device connected to the internet or to your wifi network.

As a potential portal it's kind of like if you lock all the doors and windows to your house, but you have a dog door that is open Somebody could crawl through it Still doesn't lock your house That's what this device did So keep track of all your smart devices even things like garage door openers.

lights. any kind of automation you have smart devices are all. Potential threats And even the word smart If it's smart enough to control your network, it's also smart enough to do damage If somebody else gets a hold of it that's not the person. That you want to trust with your, computer access.