We often think of cybersecurity as a way to protect our businesses and personal bank accounts. Ransomware, identity theft and other attacks like account takeovers, cost us dearly but ultimately not our lives but money.
Hackers have increasingly hacked hospitals and medical facilities as they know they can extort payments via ransomware as lives could be on the line. They know, the only thing more precious than money is life.
IoT cybersecurity is generally looked at as a secondary concern to traditional cybersecurity where we protect servers, APIs and PCs from being compromised. IoT or internet of things devices are basically electronics that aren’t computers and servers – think autonomous vehicles, sensors and security cameras.
Sadly, the intersection of hacking and threatening human life has manifested itself in a recent IoT hack.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a post on Telegram that Russian intelligence had hacked two online surveillance cameras to spy on Ukraine’s Defense Forces in the city and to prepare its strikes.
One of the hacked cameras involved in Tuesday’s attack was on the balcony of an apartment building and was used by a nearby condo to monitor the local area. The other was in a residential complex, typically used to keep tabs on a car park, the SBU said.
Russia changed the angle of the camera on the balcony and connected it to YouTube so it could see what the camera was recording, the SBU said.
The attacks on the city and its surroundings killed four people and injured around 70.
As terrible as this tragedy is – the loss of life as a result of using a nation’s technology against it, this sort of hack and exploitation attack is likely to become far more common. Why? More devices are being manufactured and sold. Often, price is the most important factor when purchasing products and cybersecurity is an afterthought.
Certainly, there is more to cybersecurity than paying for a more expensive camera, sensor, etc. Companies need to think about how they architect their networks, how they manage the patching and updating of device firmware and they need to constantly monitor devices for potential problems.
Sadly, every year seems to be a record when it comes to money lost to cybersecurity – the loss of lives due to or related to hacking is likely to follow a similar trajectory.
Aside from his role as CEO of TMC and chairman of ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Four Points) (Member FINRA/SIPC). RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.
The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.
