Let’s face it, nothing is safe anymore. A security firm has now announced that smart appliances like TV’s and refrigerators are responsible for helping to launch a global cyber attack.
Proofpoint has discovered that a huge cyber attack has been launched from over 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets between December 23, 2013 and January 6, 2014.
The attack features virus laden emails which have been targeting businesses and individuals all around the world. Over 750,000 emails were sent out through “thingbots” which are robotic programs that can be remotely installed on digital devices.
“Thingbots” have become a major security concern due to the fact that smart appliances are often poorly protected and consumers have no way of knowing when they are infected.
Most connected home appliances also do not have anti-spam or anti-virus software, making these appliances an easy target for hackers.
Despite the emergence of the latest gadgets and smart software by big companies, there is always going to be some young-tech savvy hacker group that can easily reverse engineer the software and create viruses. The only thing you can do is protect your personal information is to understand that every time you type anything online, or search anything or download or upload anything, someone could be, and probably is watching.