Common Attacks on Embedded Systems and How to Prevent Them

Software-Based Attacks

These attacks target the core application that manages the device. A hacker can gain access to the internal data and control of the device as well. Software-based attacks do not require any special skills from the hacker. Plus, attackers can execute them remotely.

Some software-based attacks are:

1. Malware attacks: Hackers initiate malware attacks by intercepting the app data with a piece of malicious code. It affects the embedded systems as it affects other systems. Attackers usually deliver malware through fake firmware updates, drivers, or security patches. During a successful malware attack, the victim loses control over the embedded systems and might lose the relevant data as well.
2. Brute-forcing: It is the process of guessing the access credentials of the embedded systems. Hackers typically exploit the graphical user interface provided by most embedded systems. You must put in strong passwords that are hard to crack in order to prevent brute-forcing. Pro tip is to limit the number of login attempts.
3. Memory Buffer Overflow: In this type of attack, hackers exploit the system vulnerabilities to swamp the device’s memory. Attackers manually fill the memory buffer allocated to contain the moving data inside the embedded systems. The OS of the embedded system will attempt to record some data in the memory section next to the buffer. But, eventually, it will fail.

Network-Based Attacks

Hackers initiate these types of attacks by exploiting the vulnerabilities within the victim’s network infrastructure. Through these hacks, attackers can monitor and intercept all the network traffic transmitted to or from the embedded systems.

Some common network-based attacks are:

1. Man in the Middle Attack: Here the attacker sits between the sender and the receiver and intercept or alter the data transmitted. Hackers exploit the weaknesses in the connection between two devices and place the third one between them. Then they try to get access to the cryptographic key used by both the devices to eavesdrop.
2. DNS Poisoning: Attackers exploit the DNS server’s vulnerabilities to reroute from the targeted website to another one.

Along with these major network-based attacks, the following are some more attacks you need to be aware of:

• DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks
• Session Hijacking
• Signal Jamming