October 7, 2020 – In Breaking News – Forbes

Warnings that our IoT devices might be spying on us are nothing new—remember the smart speaker fiasco last year?

But at least we expect those devices to be listening and can exercise some caution.

The latest such warning, though, takes these risks to a new level. It turns out that there may be surprising little spies hiding in our living rooms.

Last December, the FBI warned that the perilous state of IoT security means that “hackers can use an innocent device to do a virtual drive-by of your digital life.”

A week earlier, that same FBI office had cautioned on the danger that smart TVs can allow “manufacturers, streaming services, and even hackers an open door into your home.”

Now a new security report from the team at Guardicore, issued today, has combined those two FBI alerts, showing just how easy it is to exploit vulnerabilities in our everyday devices.

And this isn’t a data theft risk—it’s much more creepy, playing like something from a spy thriller.

It’s an attack scenario that “conjures up the famous ‘van parked outside’ scene in every espionage film in recent memory,” Guardicore says.

“At the low end of the risk spectrum,” the FBI warned on smart TVs, “they can change channels, play with the volume, and show your kids inappropriate videos.”

“In a worst-case scenario, they can turn on your bedroom TV’s camera and microphone and silently cyberstalk you.”

(The FBI issued a statement earlier this month warning consumers about smart home devices that could be vulnerable to hacks. Courtesy of TomoNews US and YouTube. Posted on Dec 12, 2019.)

In its report, issued today, Guardicore says it has proven that a standard voice-enabled TV remote can be hijacked to be used as a secret listening device, accessed and attacked remotely from a vehicle out in the street.

The team says it was able to remotely attack and then trigger this eavesdropping on demand, operating continually if required—subject to battery life, transmitting private conversations.

Continue reading… FBI ‘Drive-By’ Hacking Threat Just Got Real: Here’s Why You Should Be Concerned

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Building a digital defense in your Internet of Things.

Courtesy of the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday

Last week we talked about smart TVs—and how that built-in Internet connection can allow manufacturers, streaming services, and even hackers an open door into your home.

This week, we are looking at the larger Internet of Things (IoT).

Basically, this means everything else in your home that connects to the world wide web.

If you look at the holiday wish lists that your kids, spouse, and parents conveniently dropped on you last week at Thanksgiving—most everything on there probably makes the cut.

Digital assistants, smart watches, fitness trackers, home security devices, thermostats, refrigerators, and even light bulbs are all on the list.

Add to that all of the fun stuff: remote-controlled robots; games and gaming systems; interactive dolls; and talking stuffed animals … well, the list seems endless.

(The FBI is alerting parents that “smart” toys that connect to the internet can put a family’s privacy and even its safety at risk. Courtesy of TODAY and YouTube. Posted on Jul 19, 2017.)

What these all have in common is that they send and receive data.

But do you know how that data is collected? And where it is going?

Another concern is that hackers can use that innocent device to do a virtual drive-by of your digital life.

Unsecured devices can allow hackers a path into your router, giving the bad guy access to everything else on your home network that you thought was secure.

Are private pictures and passwords safely stored on your computer? Don’t be so sure.

Here’s what you can do to build that digital defense:

• Change the device’s factory settings from the default password.

  • A simple Internet search should tell you how—and if you can’t find the information, consider moving on to another product.

• Passwords should be as long as possible and unique for IoT devices.

• Many connected devices are supported by mobile apps on your phone.

  • These apps could be running in the background and using default permissions that you never realized you approved.

  • Know what kind of personal information those apps are collecting and say “no” to privilege requests that don’t make sense.

• Secure your network.

  • Your fridge and your laptop should not be on the same network.

  • Keep your most private, sensitive data on a separate system from your other IoT devices.

• Make sure all your devices are updated regularly.

  • If automatic updates are available for software, hardware, and operating systems, turn them on.

As always, if you have been victimized by a cyber fraud, be sure to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Nominated in 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Awards

The mission of the Internet Crime Complaint Center, also known as IC3, is to provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity and to develop alliances with law enforcement and industry partners.

Information is analyzed and disseminated for investigative and intelligence purposes to law enforcement and for public awareness.

(Actress Kirsten Vangsness, who plays tech-savvy FBI analyst Penelope Garcia on the show Criminal Minds, is intended to promote awareness of Internet crimes and scams and encourages the public to report suspected criminal cyber activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and YouTube.)

Since 2000, the IC3 has received complaints crossing the spectrum of cyber crime matters, to include online fraud in its many forms including intellectual property rights (IPR) matters, computer intrusions (hacking), economic espionage (theft of trade secrets), online extortion, international money laundering, identity theft, and a growing list of Internet facilitated crimes.

It has become increasingly evident that, regardless of the label placed on a cyber crime matter, the potential for it to overlap with another referred matter is substantial.

Therefore, the IC3, formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), was renamed in October 2003 to better reflect the broad character of such matters having an Internet, or cyber, nexus referred to the IC3, and to minimize the need for one to distinguish “Internet Fraud” from other potentially overlapping cyber crimes.

Enter today to Compete in the 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland SecurityAwards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.

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License Plate Recognition	Detection Products	And Many Others!

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Submit your category recommendation for consideration to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

The 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program surpassed expectations with a record number of nominations received from industry leaders and government agencies, and drew over 200 attendees to the ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Banquet – an exclusive gourmet luncheon and networking opportunity which filled to capacity, before having to turn away late registrants.

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Commissioner Bratton, one of the world’s most respected and trusted experts on risk and security issues and Executive Chairman of Teneo Risk a global advisory firm, was recognized as the ‘2019 ‘ASTORS’ Person of the Year’ for his Lifetime of Dedication and Extraordinary Leadership in Homeland Security and Public Safety.

Why the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?

American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’

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Why American Security Today?

The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old school basics to what is Today – a fast changing security landscape.

The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old school basics to what is Today – a fast changing security landscape.

American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 75,000 readers at the Federal, State and local levels of government as well as firms allied to government.

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The AST Digital Publications is distributed to over 75,000 qualified government and homeland security professionals in federal, state and local levels.

‘PROTECTING OUR NATION, ONE CITY AT A TIME’

AST Reaches both Private & Public Experts, essential to meeting these new challenges.

Today’s new generation of public safety and security experts need real-time knowledge to deal with domestic and international terrorism, lone wolf attacks, unprecedented urban violence, shifts in society, culture and media bias – making it increasingly difficult for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Military and Private Security Professionals to implement coordinated security measures to ensure national security and improve public safety.

These experts are from Government at the federal, state and local level as well as from private firms allied to government.

AST provides a full plate of topics in our AST Monthly Magazine Editions, AST Website and AST Daily News Alerts, covering 23 Vital Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities, and Emergency Response among others.

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For information about advertising opportunities with American Security Today, please contact Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

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