A Casino Gets Hacked Through a Fish-Tank Thermometer
- Thread starter Robert Upndown
- Start date
That’s a good article about IoT. Hackers have gotten into research facilities by hacking into simple devices like thermocouples and electronic switches etc. The weakest point of access is usually the simplest.
If you really REALLY thought about all the points of access as in your phone, your router, your alexa/echo, that older computer on all the time acting as your server, your streaming boxes, your car, your (put name of gizmo here) ... everyone is exposed. And any determined hacker will get into your network.
Tinfoil hats and wire cage houses anyone?
Tinfoil hats and wire cage houses anyone?
It's shit like this that reinforces the idea that the "internet of things" is pretty much a scam.
Now, a casino, I can understand would maybe want to automate stuff if they have 100+ fish tanks to regulate. On the other hand, they could leave that to an actual person to go around and check the tanks. Of course, businesses do not like spending money when they can be cheap instead. Of course, having "smart" items linked to the internet (light bulbs, fish tanks, fridges, etc.) just means you're exposing more and more of your operation to danger.
The thing I don't get is: these are CASINOS. Are they not already used to having people try to rip them off in every conceivable way ? Do they not have IT security experts who know how to do things like air-gap or compartmentalize internal control networks? I bet they already do it for their security cameras, door locks, alarms, and other critical systems (and if they don't, shame on them). There is really no upside to having these systems interacting with public networks at all. There's probably no upside to running everything on one system - except of course that having one network running your facility instead of several different/separate ones is CHEAP.
Most of the time when you hear "convenient" the real meaning is "cheap". And that's the key take-away: we do this to ourselves.
