Last month we published the first article on “Internet of Things” and since indications are that there is significant growth in this crime, more information may be useful. You may recall that Internet of Things simply refers to all devices in your home which are accessed in any way via an internet connection. While some statistics are from the U. S. Federal Trade Commission, it’s safe to assume Canadians have the same kind of risk.
The primary targets of criminals seem to be routers and connected cameras – those representing 90% of the attacks. Many families have routers in their residences and Home Automation systems frequently include connected cameras. ConsumerAffairs reported that there were an average of 5233 attacks on such devices each month in 2018, with an increase of 12% in the attacks on cameras alone.
Symantec has reported that criminals have frequently used the following passwords to access systems: 123456, [BLANK}, system, sh, shell, admin, 1234, password, enable and 12345. Those passwords are obviously very common, since cybercriminals have been successful at gaining access to systems so often.
Based on this information and whether or not you have routers and /or cameras, make sure you have secure passwords and keep all security systems updated.
Please go to lloydkenney.wearelegalshield.com for more information on how you can protect you and your family through IDShield and LegalShield. Contact us at callcraft@shaw.ca.
For information on other services we have available, please visit performanceplanning.ca.
Please share this information to help keep others safe.