A new article from the FBI offers insight into IoT risks and ways to reduce them.  

Following the FBI’s May request to router owners to reboot their devices, the bureau has released a “Security Tip” about risks associated with the Internet of Things (IoT). Included among suggestions to be alert to unusual increases in network traffic and reminders about the wisdom of firmware updates are statements regarding the importance of the IoT and the true nature of the risks involved.  

Security professionals, who likely won’t find anything surprising in the tips, might want to share the document with non-IT employees. The article, which begins with a statement that IoT devices are defined by their ability to “… talk to other machines and trigger additional actions,” briefly walks through the dangers posed by these connected devices and the data they can access.  

The suggestions offered are basic but important, and could require help from IT staff for employees to implement. For organizations in which employees work from home, the FBI’s latest security primer can be the start of a valuable conversation.  

Cyber actors actively search for and compromise vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices for use as proxies or intermediaries for Internet requests to route malicious traffic for cyber-attacks and computer network exploitation. IoT devices, sometimes referred to as “smart” devices, are devices that communicate with the Internet to send or receive data.