HACKERS could hold people to ransom through personal data obtained from their smartphones, watches, television and even fitness trackers, cyber security experts have warned.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said in a report that ransomware – which renders devices unusable until their owners pay to have them unlocked – has become increasingly prevalent over the past year.
Their joined report, presented to the CyberUK conference in Liverpool, said cybercrime is becoming more aggressive and the risk to business was “significant and growing”.
They warned that devices holding photos, emails and fitness information could be targeted, and increasing numbers of gadgets connecting to the internet meant greater opportunities for criminals.
The report said any devices containing personal data, such as pictures, which people considered valuable enough to pay for, could be targets.
“This data may not be inherently valuable, and might not be sold on criminal forums but the device and data will be sufficiently valuable to the victim that they will be willing to pay for it,” said the agencies.
“Ransomware on connected watches, fitness trackers and TVs will present a challenge to manufacturers, and it is not yet known whether customer support will extend to assisting with unlocking devices and providing advice on whether to pay a ransom.”
Their report also outlined how the most sophisticated criminal gangs were able to use the same high-tech tools as states to target financial institutions.
Others were able to carry out attacks using more basic software on smaller business and the general public.
With as many as 21 billion devices used by businesses and consumers forecast to be connected to the internet worldwide by 2020, cyberattacks will continue to evolve and security agencies and companies are pulling out all the stops to cope with them.
The increasing popularity of the Internet of things (IoT), which sees smart TVs, laptops and other connected devices that turn houses into “smart homes”, has triggered rising demand for home “firewalls”, designed to secure all your gadgets.
They have names such as RATtrap, from IoT Defence, F-Secure’s SENSE and Cujo, and retail from £100 upwards, but all have the same purpose.
Cujo – which takes its name from the rabid dog that featured in Stephen King’s novel of the same name – promises to CUJO secure everything from smartphones and laptops, to TVs and baby monitors.
The multi award-winning company says antivirus programs alone can’t protect people from hackers.
“You can install it on your laptop, but not on your iPhone, smart thermostat, and Wi-Fi camera,” it says.
“Traditional security solutions are outdated with cybercriminals creating new ways to reach into our homes every day.
“CUJO uses threat intelligence, machine learning, and cloud-computing to analyse your device behaviour.
“When we see a threat – we block it. You will get a friendly notification on your CUJO app that your home is safe.
“We guard every single connected device including baby monitor, thermostat, TVs, lights on your network, not just a PC.”
Cujo plugs into a home network through a network cable and will automatically break down local and internet traffic.
It then sends statistics on that data to the cloud for further analysis and if suspicious activity is detected, it will block it and let you know via a mobile app.
It also includes a parental control feature to allow parents to monitor and control their children’s online activities from a phone, computer or even a game console.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here