In case you’ve been out of the radar, there’s a brand new cyber threat that’s taking over the web, and it is zeroing in on devices that are actively connected to the Internet.

It’s such a dangerous thing that a warning’s been issued by our country’s SingCERT (Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team) a few days back (22 Oct).

The cyber threat is eerily similar to 2016’s Dyn attack. Here’s a recap on exactly what that was – Dyn was dubbed the biggest distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack to ever take place. It managed to penetrate and infect not one, but two million devices across the globe.

Dyn actually took on a host of very familiar websites. We’re talking about the likes of Twitter, PayPal and even Netflix.

Dyn used devices with Internet connectivity on to execute its attacks. Why, even webcams weren’t spared leh.

Moving on about this year’s nightmare – the Reaper.

The Reaper malware has been designed to look for devices that are raw – in other words, unpatched and then suck themselves in and infect the device.

The kind of vulnerable devices spoken about here are something we need for Internet by hook or by crook. These are routers from D-Link, Linksys and Netgear, as well as web cameras. If yours has the brand names JAWS, Goahead or AVTECH, you might want to give it a second look.

The list isn’t limited to just those brands and devices, and is expected to grow as Reaper evolves itself to attack more devices.

Sounds like something from an Iron Man movie leh, but this is real life!

If ever there’s a successful attack by the malware, the hackers behind the Reaper can overtake the control you have on the devices. They can get into the info that’s stored within and if you have saved files from your CCTV or IPCam in them, it’s exposed to their dirty and bad hands.

You’re basically left naked to attacks by cyber criminals as well as a host of other malicious activities. The most recent observation from SingCERT says that even Wi-Fi points are being attacked.

If you’re using Internet-connected devices (as you obviously would, duh), be sure to install the latest software updates as they roll in, as it’s probably your only chance at keeping the ransomware at bay.

You see, if you know any IT people, you’ll have heard of this before: no matter what happens, always update to the latest software. It’s the first, and best defence, against any cyber-attack.

Also, make sure you never keep an automated remote access for your devices. If the hackers try and reach out to you remotely otherwise, you die lah.

SingCERT also had an extra thing to say about passwords. If you’ve got a default generic password that you’ve been using from day one with your Internet device, it’s high time you changed it too, as hackers can check on it and get in very, very easily with that.

It’s time to get your security mode on full drive and make a few checks on your Internet devices. You don’t want the Reaper to come knocking on your door now, do you?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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