?? IoT Security Alert: 2.7B Records and Network Credentials Found Exposed (but that's not the point!)
Robert Hines
Leadership and Order from Chaos | Application and Cybersecurity | Programs | Development
Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered an unprotected 2.7 billion record database of WiFi network credentials linked to Mars Hydro IoT products.
A concerning disconnect? While the app's privacy policy states "no user data collected," a massive database of network credentials exists. Though we don't know how and why collection takes place, we should not hope or assume this is the only IoT device to do this.?
Traditionally, we might turn to Federal oversight and standards as an option. But now??
The real headline, "IoT devices collect and publish your private network credentials by the billion."?
#CyberSecurity #IoT #PrivacyMatters #DataSecurity #NetworkSecurity
Head of Security at The Arena Group
3 周Yikes. I think we’ll have to move away from static credentialing in general, toward per-device creds.
Associate Vice President | CISSP | Leadership | Cybersecurity | Information Security | Application and Cloud Security | Engineering
4 周This is just my opinion, but I think the following would help: ? Network Segmentation & Zero Trust?– Isolate IoT devices on a separate network (e.g., guest WiFi or VLAN) and implement a Zero Trust model to restrict their access and reduce risk. ? Manual Configuration & Device Audits?– Avoid using default or cloud-based setups; manually configure devices and regularly audit network traffic to detect unauthorized data collection. ? Policy & Firmware Control?– Block unverified outbound connections using firewall rules, regularly update firmware, and disable unnecessary features to minimize data exposure. ? Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?– Even if credentials are exposed, MFA helps prevent unauthorized logins, reduces the effectiveness of credential-stuffing attacks, and adds a detection layer for suspicious activity. It is especially important for?router admin access, IoT cloud management accounts, and remote access tools.?However, it does not protect against exposed WiFi credentials stored in IoT devices, so?network segmentation and auditing remain critical. Might even want to consider a framework such as NIST IoT Cybersecurity Framework, IoT Security Foundation (IoTSF) Compliance Framework, or OWASP IoT Top 10.