IoDDoS - The Internet of Distributed Denial of Service Attacks A Case Study of the Mirai Malware and IoT-Based Botnets

The Internet of Things (IoT), a platform and phenomenon allowing everything to process information and communicate data, is populated by 'things' which are introducing a multitude of new security vulnerabilities to the cyber-ecosystem. These vulnerable 'things' typically lack the ability to support security technologies due to the required lightweightness and a rush to market. There have recently been several high-profile Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks which utilized a botnet army of IoT devices. We first discuss challenges to cybersecurity in the IoT environment. We then examine the use of IoT botnets, the characteristics of the IoT cyber ecosystem that make it vulnerable to botnets, and make a deep dive into the recently discovered IoT-based Mirai botnet malware. Finally, we consider options to mitigate the risk of IoT devices being conscripted into a botnet army.