US DHS Forming Defences Against IoT Hacks

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The American Department of Homeland Security released a few days ago a public statement that it is closely monitoring events arising from the DDoS attack on Dyn on October 21. They stated: “We are aware of one type of malware potentially used in this incident. It’s referred to as ‘Mirai’ and compromises Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as surveillance cameras and entertainment systems connected to the Internet. The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center is working with law enforcement, the private sector and the research community to develop ways to mitigate against this and other related malware”.

The Department also claimed that it’s working on a set of strategic principles to secure the Internet of Things, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

In a report by thedrum.com, Drew Ianni, chairman of the IoT Influencers Summit, was quoted questioning DHS’s late timing to work on the afforementioned guidelines to combat threats to the IoT.

“One would think this specific kind of cyber threat is something that the Department of Homeland Security would have had on their radar for quite some time now,” Ianni said. “And the citizenry would also assume, after what we learned from 9/11, that cross-agency information sharing should be of the highest priority in the fight against terrorism and that DHS would have been working with the CIA, the NSA, the FBI and other relevant agencies, for several years now on anticipating these kinds of threats.”