"New Method to Defend Against Smart Home Device (IoT) Attacks Developed by BGU Researchers"
A team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) developed a new method that Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can use to detect vulnerable smart home devices before they are used in cyberattacks. A study published in Computers & Security emphasizes the growing risk of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks via botnets composed of compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As customers often lack awareness and knowledge about the protection of vulnerable smart home devices from attacks, the responsibility of attack prevention and handling falls on TSPs and ISPs. The method developed by the researchers enables TSPs and ISPs to monitor traffic from each smart home device in order to verify whether vulnerable devices are connected to the home network and take preventive actions. This article continues to discuss the growing risk of IoT-based DDoS attacks, the difficulty in detecting IoT devices from outside the home network, and the new method developed to defend smart home devices against attacks.