IoT devices ranging from video conferencing systems to IP cameras are among the five riskiest IoT devices connected to networks, according to research highlighted by Forescout's cybersecurity research arm, Vedere Labs.
In their recent research, the company identified recurring themes, showcasing the increasing attack surface as more devices are connected to enterprise networks, as well as how threat actors are able to leverage these devices to achieve their goals.
“IP cameras, VoIP and video-conferencing systems are the riskiest IoT devices because they are commonly exposed on the internet, and there is a long history of threat actor activity targeting them,” The Forescout report said.
With the addition of IoMT in healthcare, the attack surface now includes IT, IoT, and OT in almost every organisation. Organizations must be aware of dangerous devices in all categories. Forescout recommends that companies implement automated controls and that they do not rely on siloed security in the IT network, OT network, or for specific types of IoT devices.
This latest study updates the company's findings from 2020, in which networking equipment, VoIP, IP cameras, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) were listed as the riskiest devices across IT, IoT, OT, and IoMT in 2022.
New entrants, such as hypervisors and human-machine interfaces (HMIs), however, are indicative of trends such as critical vulnerabilities and increased OT connectivity.
Vedere Labs examined device data in Forescout's Device Cloud between January 1 and April 30. The anonymized data comes from Forescout customer deployments and contains information on nearly 19 million devices, which the company claims are growing on a daily basis.
A device's overall risk was calculated based on three factors: configuration, function, and behaviour. Vedered Labs calculated averages per device type after measuring the risk of each individual device to determine which are the riskiest.
