Newswise — The Internet of things (IoT) – smartphones, vehicles, smart buildings, home appliances and other devices that use electronics, software and sensors – have transformed the way people around the world live and work. But not without risks. Data breaches and cyberattacks affect millions of businesses and households each year, hindering the integrity of critical systems, leaking private information and paralyzing Internet infrastructures.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science have generated a first-of-its-kind, large-scale analysis of the magnitude of compromised IoT devices worldwide and recently launched FloridaSOAR (security operation and response). The program has been designed to detect exploitations as soon as they are encountered, and then store and share that relevant threat information with IoT operators across the globe. FloridaSOAR can pinpoint malicious attacks and infections in near “real-time” by targeted sectors and Internet services providers within cities and counties in the United States and around the world.
Elias Bou-Harb, Ph.D., an assistant professor and director of the Cyber Threat Intelligence Laboratory at FAU and FloridaSOAR in FAU’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has received a $175,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation to work on proactive inference of malicious IoT events.
“We know that most attacks originate from infected machines on the Internet,” said Bou-Harb. “The technical challenge of dealing with this issue has been obtaining access to large volumes of data that represent an Internet scale perspective of this problem. FloridaSOAR is addressing this issue with large scale data analysis of a very specific type of traffic that is providing a global, Internet-wide look at infections.”
Bou-Harb and his team recently scrutinized more than 5 terabytes of Internet-scale data to provide a unique 24-hour glimpse of cyberattacks and threats in Florida and the U.S. Results from this new report show that within a 24-hour timeframe:
- There were 250,779 malicious activities in the U.S.
- The top 10 infected states were California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Virginia, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan.
- California had 51,208 attacks; New York had 23,739 attacks; Texas had 18,342 attacks; and Florida had 15,694 attacks.
- Targets hit the hardest were power utilities, water facilities and manufacturing, with Georgia, California, Oregon, New York and Texas at the top of the list.
- In Florida, counties with the highest infection rates were Miami-Dade (4,074), Orange (1,667), Broward (1,663), Hillsboro (1,281), and Palm Beach County (903).
- Florida cities with the highest infection rates for all hosts were Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Hialeah, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale with Boca Raton ranking in the No. 10 spot.
- Florida cities with the highest IoT infection rates were Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.
- In Florida, IoTs most affected by malicious activities were webcams, routers, firewalls, voice over IP and storage devices.
- In Florida, for denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks (perpetrators target a machine or network to make it unavailable to its intended users), the top targeted industries were Internet service providers, data services and telecommunications.
- Florida counties with the most DDoS victims for all hosts were Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Orange and Broward; for IoT victims it was Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Broward.
- Florida cities with the most DDoS victims for all hosts were Miami, Orlando, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach; for IoT victims it was Miami, Orlando, Boca Raton and Hollywood.
Bou-Harb’s NSF-funded project is three-fold: to detect compromises in consumer sectors to remediate privacy issues and provide resiliency to critical infrastructure; to understand how these attacks are coordinated and launched; and to place the information generated in an accessible database that other IoT operators can use for remediation. To that end, the research team is building the techniques, algorithms and methods needed to detect coordination patterns and strategies used by cyber attackers.
“Professor Bou-Harb’s work in the Cyber Threat Intelligence Laboratory and through FloridaSOAR will have a tremendous impact on addressing a rampant issue that affects millions,” said Nurgun Erdol, Ph.D., chair of FAU’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “Moreover, this program will help to train diverse and highly qualified professionals in the cybersecurity field who are in great demand in the industrial world.”
It is estimated that there will be about 6 billion Internet users worldwide by 2022 or 75 percent of the projected world population of 8 billion.
- FAU -
About FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science:
Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science is committed to providing accessible and responsive programs of education and research recognized nationally for their high quality. Course offerings are presented on-campus, off-campus, and through distance learning in bioengineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, geomatics engineering, mechanical engineering and ocean engineering. For more information about the college, please visit eng.fau.edu.
About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu.
RSS