Tomcat
Professional
- Messages
- 2,687
- Reaction score
- 1,026
- Points
- 113
A recent Forescout report has revealed the most insecure category of electronic devices.
According to a recent report by Forescout titled "The Most risky Connected Devices of 2024", the number of vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices increased by 136% compared to last year. The study covered data from nearly 19 million devices and found that the share of vulnerable IoT devices increased from 14% in 2023 to 33% in 2024.
The most vulnerable types of IoT devices are Wi-Fi access points, routers, printers, VoIP devices, and IP cameras. About a third (33%) of all analyzed IoT devices had vulnerabilities.
Rick Ferguson, vice president of security for Forescout, noted that attackers primarily target IoT devices connected to corporate infrastructure, such as IP cameras and building management systems. These devices provide attackers with the ability to break into organizations ' systems and leave them undetected.
The researchers also noted a significant risk associated with medical IoT devices (iomts). 5% of them contain vulnerabilities. Medical information systems, electrocardiographs, DICOM workstations, image archiving and transmission systems, and medicine delivery systems were the most risky. Ransomware attacks on the latter, by the way, have already been recorded more than once, which hindered the normal treatment of patients.
IT devices accounted for the majority of vulnerable devices (58%) in this year's report, although these figures are still significantly lower than last year's 78%. The most risky IT devices, in turn, were network infrastructure devices, including routers and Wi-Fi access points.
Ferguson noted a decline in some categories of IT devices and an increase in others, with attackers focusing on devices that are often left out of control, such as Wi-Fi access points and routers. While last year, hypervisors were the most common entry points for major ransomware compromises.
In the Operational Technology (OT) category, the most risky devices were uninterruptible power supplies( UPS), distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLC), robotics, and building management systems (BMS). A total of 4% of all OT devices examined had some kind of vulnerability.
The highest average risk of using devices by industry is observed in the technology sector (8.3), education (8.14), manufacturing (7.98) and the financial sector (7.95). Interestingly, healthcare, which was the riskiest industry in 2023, now has the lowest risk at 7.25, according to Forescout. This is due to significant investments in the security of devices used in this industry over the past year.
The highest average risk of device use by country was recorded in China (7.32), the Philippines (6.97), Thailand (6.96), Canada (6.51) and the United States (6.44). The UK showed the lowest level of risk among the analyzed countries — 6.0.
To improve cybersecurity, organizations need to prioritize upgrading legacy hardware, fixing vulnerabilities in a timely manner, and implementing advanced security tools to effectively monitor and manage connected devices.
According to a recent report by Forescout titled "The Most risky Connected Devices of 2024", the number of vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices increased by 136% compared to last year. The study covered data from nearly 19 million devices and found that the share of vulnerable IoT devices increased from 14% in 2023 to 33% in 2024.
The most vulnerable types of IoT devices are Wi-Fi access points, routers, printers, VoIP devices, and IP cameras. About a third (33%) of all analyzed IoT devices had vulnerabilities.
Rick Ferguson, vice president of security for Forescout, noted that attackers primarily target IoT devices connected to corporate infrastructure, such as IP cameras and building management systems. These devices provide attackers with the ability to break into organizations ' systems and leave them undetected.
The researchers also noted a significant risk associated with medical IoT devices (iomts). 5% of them contain vulnerabilities. Medical information systems, electrocardiographs, DICOM workstations, image archiving and transmission systems, and medicine delivery systems were the most risky. Ransomware attacks on the latter, by the way, have already been recorded more than once, which hindered the normal treatment of patients.
IT devices accounted for the majority of vulnerable devices (58%) in this year's report, although these figures are still significantly lower than last year's 78%. The most risky IT devices, in turn, were network infrastructure devices, including routers and Wi-Fi access points.
Ferguson noted a decline in some categories of IT devices and an increase in others, with attackers focusing on devices that are often left out of control, such as Wi-Fi access points and routers. While last year, hypervisors were the most common entry points for major ransomware compromises.
In the Operational Technology (OT) category, the most risky devices were uninterruptible power supplies( UPS), distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLC), robotics, and building management systems (BMS). A total of 4% of all OT devices examined had some kind of vulnerability.
The highest average risk of using devices by industry is observed in the technology sector (8.3), education (8.14), manufacturing (7.98) and the financial sector (7.95). Interestingly, healthcare, which was the riskiest industry in 2023, now has the lowest risk at 7.25, according to Forescout. This is due to significant investments in the security of devices used in this industry over the past year.
The highest average risk of device use by country was recorded in China (7.32), the Philippines (6.97), Thailand (6.96), Canada (6.51) and the United States (6.44). The UK showed the lowest level of risk among the analyzed countries — 6.0.
To improve cybersecurity, organizations need to prioritize upgrading legacy hardware, fixing vulnerabilities in a timely manner, and implementing advanced security tools to effectively monitor and manage connected devices.
