According to a new study published in the journal Computers & Security, the ability to launch cyber attacks (DDoS) through a bot network is growing at an increased rate and is a real risk to every person with a smart device and also to the providers of communication services, whose infrastructures may be compromised
The Corona period has led us to stay at home for a long time, to an increasing use of technology and to increase the use of smart home devices. The use of devices is efficient and convenient, but carries serious security risks.
In light of the situation, researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a method that enables the early identification of potential threats.
One of the main disadvantages of today's smart home devices is the issue of information security. The smart devices are connected to the home internet network and actually allow burglars easier entry into the home along with potential cyber attacks such as theft of personal information and malware.
According to a new study published in the journal Computers & Security, the ability to launch cyber attacks (DDoS) through a bot network is growing at an increased rate and is a real risk to every person with a smart device and also to the providers of communication services, whose infrastructures may be compromised.
Instead of relying on the owners of smart home devices to protect their devices from cyber attacks, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new method that allows telecommunications providers to monitor these devices.
According to the doctoral student Yair Midan From the Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev: "Most home users do not have the awareness, knowledge or means to prevent ongoing attacks or to deal with them. As a result, the burden falls on the communication providers. Our method makes it possible to discover vulnerable models even before they have been exploited, thus dramatically reducing the risk of harm."
Typically, each connected device is assigned a unique IP address. However, home networks typically use routers with NAT functionality which replaces the original (local) IP address of the outgoing data traffic with the IP address of the home router. As a result, locating connected device devices outside the home network is a challenging task.
The researchers developed a method to detect connected and vulnerable smart home device models before they were compromised, by monitoring the outgoing data traffic from each device. With this method it will be possible to verify whether specific device models, known to be vulnerable to exploitation by malware for network attacks, are connected to the home network. This identification will make it possible to identify potential threats to their networks and those of the telecommunications companies, and to take preventive actions quickly.
Using the proposed method, in the event of a cyber attack it will be possible to take steps to reduce the burden that will be caused to the communication providers due to the huge volume of traffic generated by a multitude of infected local smart devices. This move will prevent the traffic surge that may cause damage to the communication infrastructure, reduce the likelihood of service interruptions and ensure the continued availability of the service.
Referring to the importance of the study, Meaden says that "unlike previous studies that evaluated their methods using partial data sets, the reliability of their labeling is questionable or they are not labeled at all, or they include only one type of smart device, our data is diverse and labeled explicitly and precisely with a model the device. We share our experimental data with the scientific community as an innovative benchmark to promote future research in the field in question."
This research is a first step towards a dramatic reduction of the risk posed by smart home devices. In the future, the researchers seek to verify in a deeper way the scalability of the method, using additional smart home devices that represent an even wider range of models, types and manufacturers.
The research received recognition and funding from the European Union's Research and Innovation Program (Horizon 2020, grant agreement number 830927), which is the world's largest platform for funding research, analysis and innovation.
Midan works in close cooperation with other researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev: Prof. Yuval Elovitch, head of the university's network security research center (CBG) and director of Deutsche Telecom's innovation labs, Prof. Assaf Shabtai and Racheli Segron from the Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering. Also, the close collaboration with the National University of Singapore allows researchers to deepen their knowledge and research.
Link to the full article
Link to the dataset
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