Common IoT attack types

There are many attack types covered in this book; however, the following list provides some of the most significant as they relate to the IoT:

• Wired and wireless scanning and mapping attacks
• Protocol attacks
• Eavesdropping attacks (loss of confidentiality)
• Cryptographic algorithm and key management attacks
• Spoofing and masquerading (authentication attacks)
• Operating system and application integrity attacks
• Denial of service and jamming
• Physical security attacks (for example, tampering and interface exposures)
• Access control attacks (privilege escalation)

The preceding attacks are only a small sample of what exists. In the real world, however, most attacks are highly customized to a specific, known vulnerability. A vulnerability that is not yet publicly known, and for which an exploit has typically been developed, is called a zero-day (or O-day) vulnerability. Any number of attacks may exploit such vulnerabilities and any number of attacks may be marketed and sold on various sites (for example, TheRealDeal, AlphaBay, and Zerodium) that come and go in the zero-day marketplace. Well-placed security controls are vital to reducing either the likelihood or severity of an attack's exploitation of a vulnerability. The following diagram shows the ecosystem of attacks, vulnerabilities, and controls:

The types of attacks on IoT systems will grow over time and, in some cases, will follow profit motive trends similar to what we see in the evolving cybersecurity industry. For example, today there is a disturbing trend in the malware business whereby attackers employ cryptographic algorithms to encrypt a victim's personal hard drive data. The attackers then offer to return the data, decrypted, for a fee. Called ransomware, the potential for such an attack in the IoT realm is frightening. Consider a malicious hacker performing ransom attacks on physical infrastructure or medical equipment. Someone receives a note that their pacemaker was unknowingly compromised; the victim receives a short, non-lethal jolt to prove it, then is instructed to immediately wire funds to a destination account or risk a full-fledged, potentially lethal attack. Consider automobiles, garage doors opening (while on vacation), and other potential activities usable by malicious actors for ransom. The IoT must take these types of attacks seriously and not dismiss them as the musings of pundits. The greatest challenge in the security industry is finding methods today of defending against tomorrow's attacks given that many devices and systems are expected to operate years or decades into the future.