2,388
03-05-2024, 01:38 PM
I mean really?
From CircleID: Millions of Smart Toothbrushes Hijacked in Cyberattack on Swiss Firm
Hackers have commandeered approximately three million smart toothbrushes, transforming them into a botnet for launching a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack against a Swiss company’s website, causing significant financial losses.
According to a report by Aargauer Zeitung, the attack exploited vulnerabilities in the Java-based operating system used by these internet-connected dental devices, which are typically designed to monitor and improve users’ oral hygiene.
...
The targeted Swiss company suffered extensive financial damage due to the DDoS attack, potentially exacerbated by a refusal to meet the hackers’ ransom demands.
Perhaps this is a demonstration of how "misinformation" gets rolling along... and as usual, by the press itself.
There has been a lot of backtracking on this story... and, petty though it may be, I find this very funny.
2 days after the report, the source's material was "updated" to read...
Security firm now says toothbrush DDOS attack didn't happen, but source publication says company presented it as real
... and it made me think... was this press-release turned "news" report actually something to bolster an insurance claim or something?
Update 2 — 2/9/2024 6:30am PT: The security company at the nexus of the original report that three million toothbrushes were used in a DDOS attack has now retracted the story and claimed it was a result of a mistranslation — but according to the news outlet that published the initial report, that statement isn't true. The reports of this story are not based on a mistranslation by the media. The publication claims Fortinet presented the story as having actually happened and approved the text of the article, which had been submitted to Fortinet prior to publication.
Oooh, we have a "he said/she said" scenario here... interesting... (if true.)
"Smart devices" ... just how smart are they?
Good for a giggle... which will fade away as you think about it.
From CircleID: Millions of Smart Toothbrushes Hijacked in Cyberattack on Swiss Firm
Hackers have commandeered approximately three million smart toothbrushes, transforming them into a botnet for launching a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack against a Swiss company’s website, causing significant financial losses.
According to a report by Aargauer Zeitung, the attack exploited vulnerabilities in the Java-based operating system used by these internet-connected dental devices, which are typically designed to monitor and improve users’ oral hygiene.
...
The targeted Swiss company suffered extensive financial damage due to the DDoS attack, potentially exacerbated by a refusal to meet the hackers’ ransom demands.
Perhaps this is a demonstration of how "misinformation" gets rolling along... and as usual, by the press itself.
There has been a lot of backtracking on this story... and, petty though it may be, I find this very funny.
2 days after the report, the source's material was "updated" to read...
Security firm now says toothbrush DDOS attack didn't happen, but source publication says company presented it as real
... and it made me think... was this press-release turned "news" report actually something to bolster an insurance claim or something?
Update 2 — 2/9/2024 6:30am PT: The security company at the nexus of the original report that three million toothbrushes were used in a DDOS attack has now retracted the story and claimed it was a result of a mistranslation — but according to the news outlet that published the initial report, that statement isn't true. The reports of this story are not based on a mistranslation by the media. The publication claims Fortinet presented the story as having actually happened and approved the text of the article, which had been submitted to Fortinet prior to publication.
Oooh, we have a "he said/she said" scenario here... interesting... (if true.)
"Smart devices" ... just how smart are they?
Good for a giggle... which will fade away as you think about it.
