Antiviruses and IoT – Protecting Against IoT Threats

As we become more and more dependent on connected devices to run our businesses, homes and daily lives cybersecurity has been elevated to the top of many users’ priorities. The threats that IoT devices face are vastly different than the ones faced by traditional computers and require a whole new set of tools to safeguard their devices.

With a myriad of different IoT device types on the market, each with its own operating systems and software, it’s no surprise that malware attacks targeting these types of devices are increasing. The absence of standardized software also poses issues when trying to develop security tools that can be used on many devices.

In 2016, threat actors used an easy hack on IoT devices to launch one of the most massive botnet attacks ever and threw off parts of the Internet and rendering websites like The New York Times, Brian Krebs’s website, and French web host OVH unavailable for hours. The attackers just scanned the Internet for default usernames and passwords for IoT devices, then amassed an army of them to start the DDoS attack.

When it comes down to protecting against these kinds of threats, antiviruses and IOT have a significant role to play. However, this type security software should expand top 3 antivirus its surveillance to include monitoring how IoT devices communicate with each other and the outside world, while also maintaining strong password security practices, two-factor authentication and up-to-date patching. These measures, when combined with other security solutions to guard against IoT threats, are an effective security measure.