Ransomware Coming to IoT and Connected Cars?

  • February 23, 2017
  • Scott at LoJack

Ransomware is a new concept that may be coming to a smart home device or a connected car near you.  The concept of holding something for ransom isn’t new, but holding a car, or your smart home is.  With a growing number of smart home devices and vehicles that are connected to the internet, they are becoming increasingly attractive targets for hackers.  A recent widely publicized event had Internet of things (IoT) devices enslaved to mount a denial of service attack on servers.

That attack showed that these IoT devices are vulnerable, and the next step may be to enslave them for ransom.  While it might be easy to get a new IoT thermostat installed, to remove the threat, it might not be that easy if your vehicle is infected.  If that vehicle is one of the futuristic driverless vehicles with no steering wheel, you may be in trouble.  See what reporter Pal Wagenseil has to say about how to handle the risk and what defenses can be used to keep the marauders at bay.