Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 36 | Page 95

/////////////////////////////////////////////////// t cht lk PREVENT YOUR ENTERPRISE FROM BEING ATTACKED BY BOTNETS Not having enough network protection may allow your organisation’s devices to be damaged by the next botnet cyberattack, according to Harish Chib, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Sophos. He warns enterprises they need to take action to avoid becoming a victim of the next global botnet attack. B otnets are large volumes of distributed networked computers and devices that have been taken over by a cybercriminal. Botnets, also referred to as bots, are usually taken over by malicious software to enable remote control by a threat actor. They are set up and developed by a hacker to provide a powerful and dark, cloud computing network to conduct cyberattacks of a criminal nature. The growth in mobile and network devices has created large scale social and productivity benefits for us. We can now remotely access www.intelligentcio.com computers, security systems, cameras, appliances, and a growing list of devices, interconnected with cloud. Collectively this is referred to as the Internet of Things or IoT. A worrying aspect of the growth of Internet-connected devices is the absence of basic security precautions. Most end users rarely change factory defaults, which can be exploited by hackers to take control of the devices. Another door for cybercriminals to take control of connected devices is called the back-door entry. This is a manufacturer's access to the device through an undisclosed connection, used for remote testing and updates. “ A WORRYING ASPECT OF THE GROWTH OF INTERNET- CONNECTED DEVICES IS THE ABSENCE OF BASIC SECURITY PRECAUTIONS. INTELLIGENTCIO 95