When it comes to cybersecurity, computers and phones are usually the things that we think of. After all, these are the ones that are often being chosen as hacking targets, as well as accessories for things like crypto mining and DDos attacks. But we don’t often think of the less powerful electronics, like toothbrushes. And that happens to be a blindspot that recently got exploited in a DDoS attack.
Swiss German newspaper Aargauer Zeitung reports that over three million infected electric toothbrushes were used to carry out a DDoS attack. It’s not a small-time attack either, as it resulted in collapsed servers, and subsequent loss of business worth millions of Euros.
The affected toothbrushes were noted to be vulnerable due to their Java-based OS, which allowed them features related to tracking and improving users’ oral hygiene habits. But because of their limited list of intended uses, the lax security opened them up to being infected, and then used as a botnet.
Quoting Stefan Zuger of Fortinet, the report notes that every device connected to the internet is a potential target or accessory for a cyberattack. This incident serves as a reminder that it applies to even the more mundane appliances with such capabilities such as toothbrushes and the like.
(Source: Aargauer Zeitung via Tom’s Hardware)
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