Nastier version of IoT botnet could brick your smart toaster

Two new versions of a nasty botnet called BrickerBot were spotted in the wild by researcher Pascal Geenens, who reported the latest attack for security firm Radware. Permanent denial-of-service botnets like these can infect poorly-protected IoT devices like smart toasters and web-enabled vibrators to bring down various connected web servers. These new BrickerBot iterations use scripts with even more commands and almost four times as many actual attacks as previous iterations to completely overwhelm their targets.

The IoT devices used in this most recent denial-of-service attach are the same type as those targeted by Mirai, the botnet software that shut down most of the web last year. BrickerBot seems to target IP cameras and DVRs, essentially bricking the devices. That means any any IoT device with factory default credentials could be targeted.

Of course, the makers of iOT devices need to get serious about security, but there are things you can do to protect yourself from this type of attack. Radware recommends several fixes, with the obvious "change the default password" at the top of the list.