WHITE PAPER▶ Insecurity in the Internet of Things

SECURITY RESPONSE
All of the potential weaknesses that could afflict IoT
systems, such as authentication and traffic encryption, are
already well known to the security industry...
Insecurity in the Internet of Things
Mario Ballano Barcena
Candid Wueest

Version 1.0 – March 12, 2015

CONTENTS
OVERVIEW...................................................................... 3
Key findings.................................................................... 5
Introduction................................................................... 5
Connected home devices............................................... 7
Home network topology........................................... 7
Example attacks........................................................... 10
Attack surface.............................................................. 11
Physical access....................................................... 11
Local attacks over Wi-Fi/Ethernet......................... 11
Cloud infrastructure attacks.................................. 13
Malware.................................................................. 13
Mitigation..................................................................... 14
Conclusion.................................................................... 16
Appendix...................................................................... 18
Wi-Fi networks (802.11)......................................... 18
Z-Wave protocol...................................................... 18
ZigBee..................................................................... 18
Powerline................................................................ 19
Bluetooth Low Energy ........................................... 19
Other RF protocols................................................. 19

The Internet of Things (IoT) market has begun to take off. Consumers can buy connected
versions of nearly every household appliance available. However, despite its increasing
acceptance by consumers, recent studies of IoT devices seem to agree that “security” is not
a word that gets associated with this category of devices, leaving consumers potentially
exposed.
To find out for ourselves how IoT devices fare when it comes to security, we analyzed 50
smart home devices that are available today. We found that none of the devices enforced
strong passwords, used mutual authentication, or protected accounts against brute-force
attacks. Almost two out of ten of the mobile apps used to control the tested IoT devices did
not use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt communications to the cloud. The tested IoT
technology also contained many common vulnerabilities.
All of the potential weaknesses that could afflict IoT systems, such as authentication and
traffic encryption, are already well known to the security industry, but despite this, known
mitigation techniques are often neglected on these devices. IoT vendors need to do a better
job on security before their devices become ubiquitous in every home, leaving millions of
people at risk of cyberattacks.
OVERVIEW

The use of weak
passwords is a
security issue that
has repeatedly
been seen in IoT
devices.
INTRODUCTION

1
Gartner Press Release, Gartner Says 4.9 Billion Connected “Things” Will Be in Use in 2015, published November 11, 2014,
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2905717
Key findings
During our research, we found issues such as the following:.
• Around 19 percent of all tested mobile apps that are used to control IoT devices did not use Secure Socket
Layer (SSL) connections to the cloud
• None of the analyzed devices provided mutual authentication between the client and the server
• Some devices offered no enforcement and often no possibility of strong passwords
• Some IoT cloud interfaces did not support two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Many IoT services did not have lock-out or delaying measures to protect users’ accounts against brute-force
attacks
• Some devices did not implement protections against account harvesting
• Many of the IoT cloud platforms included common web application vulnerabilities
• We found ten security issues in fifteen web portals used to control IoT devices without performing any deep
tests. Six of them were serious issues, allowing unauthorized access to the backend systems.
• Most of the IoT services did not provide signed or encrypted firmware updates, if updates were provided at all
Introduction
Recent Gartner research predicts that there will be more than 2.9 billion connected IoT devices in consumer
smart home environments in 20151
. These connected devices could provide a much larger surface for attackers
to target home networks.
Currently, most proposed IoT attacks are proof-of-concepts and have yet to generate any profit for attackers.
This does not mean that attackers won’t target IoT devices in future, even if it is just to misuse the technology or
have a persistent anchor in a home network.
The use of weak passwords is a security issue that has repeatedly been seen in IoT devices. These devices
often do not have a keyboard, so configuration has to be done remotely. Unfortunately, not all vendors force
the user to change the devices’ default passwords and many have unnecessary restrictions which make the
implementation of long, complex passwords impossible.
The Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) List of Top Ten Internet of Things Vulnerabilities sums up
most of the concerns and attack vectors surrounding this category of devices:
• Insecure web interface
• Insufficient authentication/authorization
• Insecure network services
• Lack of transport encryption
• Privacy concerns
• Insecure cloud interface
• Insecure mobile interface
• Insufficient security configurability
• Insecure software/firmware
• Poor physical security

With the Internet
of Things (IoT)
finding its way
into the homes,
there are lots of
new devices that
can connect to the
same network.
CONNECTED HOME DEVICES

Connected home devices
There are many different smart home devices available on the market today, and the number is steadily
increasing. For this paper, we looked at 50 different devices from the following categories:
• Smart thermostats
• Smart locks
• Smart light bulbs
• Smart smoke detectors
• Smart energy management devices
• Smart hubs
Our findings could also apply to other IoT devices and smart home products, such as:
• Security alarms
• Surveillance IP cameras
• Entertainment systems (smart TV, TV set-top boxes, etc.)
• Broadband routers
• Network attached storage (NAS) devices
Smart home devices may also use a back-end cloud service to monitor usage or allow users to remotely control
these systems. Users can access this data or control their device through a mobile application or web portal.
Home network topology
Today’s home networks are typically made up of a broadband router offering internet access to devices through
Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections. Most of the devices that connect to these home networks include laptops,
desktop computers, and mobile devices, such as phones and tablets. Everything is connected in the local
network and can communicate freely with one another. Connections to the internet are directed through the
central router, which may contain basic firewall filtering functionality.
With the Internet of Things (IoT) finding its way into the homes, there are lots of new devices that can connect
to the same network. These devices can be classified in two basic categories. One category, which includes TV
set-top boxes, uses already-existing networking technologies such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections. The other
category, which includes sensors, may use different wireless technologies that better suit some of the devices’
needs, such as lower energy consumption or ad-hoc network coverage. There is currently no single standard
protocol in IoT.
As a result, we have seen IoT devices that support some of the following communication methods:
• Z-Wave
• Zigbee
• Powerline
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Other radio frequency (RF) protocols
Z-Wave, Zigbee and Powerline are the most common protocols used by home automation manufacturers at the
moment. There are some hybrid solutions that use both Powerline and custom RF protocols. Among the smart
hub devices that we tested, 66 percent offered Z-Wave and 48 percent offered ZigBee connectivity.

Devices that use a single wireless connectivity protocol often rely on a central hub device to handle the
coordination of the communication. This could, for example, be a smart light bulb that can be switched on or
off through a web portal running on a local hub. The user can access the web portal through their web browser
and control light bulbs connected to the hub. Due to IoT’s need to use simple integrations and the broad use of
the IEEE 802.11 wireless standards, many new devices have switched to regular Wi-Fi for communication where
possible.
Some classes of devices try to provide every possible option for connection. Out of all of the devices we looked
at, 58 percent supported Wi-Fi connectivity.
Table. Features offered in analyzed IoT devices
Home device features Number of analyzed devices that
support feature
Percentage of analyzed devices that
support feature
Supports Wi-Fi connections 29 58%
Supports Ethernet wired connections 18 36%
Offers a mobile phone application 42 84%
Uses a cloud service 34 68%
Figure 1. The smart home ecosystem

For our test,
we used the
precondition
that the attacker
has successfully
cracked the Wi-Fi
password and has
access to the local
network.
EXAMPLE ATTACKS

Example attacks
In order to show how simple it is to conduct an attack against connected home devices, we will describe two of
the attack scenarios that we performed during our tests. We used the LightwaveRF and Belkin WeMo smart hubs
in these examples, though similar attacks are possible against other devices.
For our test, we used the precondition that the attacker has successfully cracked the Wi-Fi password and has
access to the local network. We believe that this is a reasonable assumption to make, given that many people use
weak passwords to protect their wireless network at home.
By using a network sniffer
such as Wireshark to analyze
the network traffic, we
noticed that the LightwaveRF
smart hub generates
certain network traffic each
time it restarts and every
15 minutes to check for
firmware updates. The device
sends this traffic to a remote
Trivial File Transfer Protocol
(TFTP) server on the Internet.
Since this connection is
neither encrypted nor
authenticated, it can easily
be targeted by an attacker
with access to the network,
allowing them to conduct a
man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack.
In our tests, we chose to use Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) poisoning to redirect the smart hub’s request
to our own TFTP server. Since the firmware update is an unsigned blob in a raw format, it is easy to unpack and
modify it. Once the modified firmware update is served to the device and installed, the attacker gets full control
over the smart hub device and could start attacking other connected devices from there.
In addition to this, attackers can sniff the RF link for command packets and replay them. With a smart hub that
just turns devices on and off, it only receives a small number of different command packets. As a result, the
attackers don’t need to worry about breaking any pairing if they are close enough to the device to inject spoofed
packets. This can allow them to take control of the targeted device.
Another attack example focuses on the Belkin WeMo connected switch. In this case, we analyzed the network
traffic that was sent from the device’s controller application. The device did not require the user to provide
authentication in order to connect to it. If the attacker is on the same network as the device, they can send any
commands they want to the connected switch.
Researchers have created publicly available modules for the penetration framework Metasploit that could give
attackers a way to inject code in the Belkin WeMo connected switch. This could allow them to run commands as
the root user on the switch. Along with this, the switch’s firmware is encrypted with GNU Privacy Guard (GPG),
but the private key has been extracted and shared on the internet. Attackers could target both of these issues
and completely reprogram the switch. Researchers discovered further vulnerabilities in the switch last year,
which have since been fixed by the vendor.
Figure 2. Smart hub device running modified firmware

Attack surface
Attackers can intercept or change the behavior of smart home devices in many ways. Some methods require
physical access to the device, making an attack more difficult to conduct. Other attacks can be carried out over
the internet from a remote location. The following sections list the different attack scenarios based on the
access level that the attacker may have.
Physical access
An attacker can gain the highest level of access to the smart home device if they get physical access to it.
Although this might seem like an improbable attack vector, it is still a plausible threat. Your friends could gain
physical access to your IoT device to play a prank while visiting you. An ex-boyfriend or girlfriend could attempt
to reconfigure some of the devices while they still have access to the home. For some devices, such as security
camera, an attacker could simply cut the cables to turn them off.
Another plausible physical access attack scenario takes advantage of the market for second-hand IoT devices.
Some users might buy a used device off the internet in order to save some money, but could end up with a device
that has been compromised to spy on people.
Smart home devices could also be compromised through supply chain hacks. In this scenario, attackers
compromise a supplier company’s network and Trojanize their software updates, allowing the threat to spread
to any device that avails of the poisoned update. This is not a new scenario; we have seen attack groups conduct
supply-chain attacks to spread their malware to traditional computers many times before, such as during some
of the Hidden Lynx attackers’ campaigns. Unfortunately, there is currently no easy way to verify that an IoT
device has not been tampered with.
Having physical access to the device allows the attacker to alter configuration settings. These could include
issuing a new device pairing request, resetting the device to factory settings and configuring a new password, or
installing custom SSL certificates and redirecting traffic to a server controlled by the attacker.
Physical access may also allow a skilled attacker to read the device’s internal memory and its firmware. They
could do this by accessing programmatic interfaces left on the circuit board, such as JTAG and RS232 serial
connectors. Some microcontrollers may have disabled these interfaces, but could still allow direct reads from
the attached memory chips if the attacker solders on new connection pins.
Reading the internal memory and reversing the firmware allows an attacker to better understand how a device
works, allowing them to find vulnerabilities, cryptographic key materials, back doors, or design flaws that could
be used to perform further attacks. If the attacker gains a full understanding of the firmware, they could use
this knowledge to create their own malicious version of the firmware and upload it to the device. This could give
the attacker full control over the device. This act of reflashing the device may be conducted through the JTAG or
RS232 connection.
Most new devices offer ways for users to update the firmware throughout the lifecycle of the device. These
updates could arrive through a USB connection, an SD card, or over the network. The majority of tested devices
did not use encrypted nor digitally signed their firmware updates, making it easy for an attacker to generate a
valid, malicious firmware update that could be installed.
Local attacks over Wi-Fi/Ethernet
An attacker with access to the local home network, either wirelessly or through an Ethernet connection, is able
to perform various attacks against smart home devices. There are generally two common modes of for smart
home devices: cloud polling and direct connection. Depending on the function, the device may use either of these
methods to receive commands.

Cloud polling
In the case of cloud polling, the smart home device is in constant communication with the cloud. The device
checks the cloud server to see if there are any commands to be executed and then uploads its current status. The
device may use this method if it wants to keep polling the cloud server to check if there is a new firmware version
available that needs to be downloaded and installed.
Attackers may need to perform an MITM attack to target such an implementation. For this to succeed, the
attackers can try and redirect network traffic with network-level attacks, such as ARP poisoning or by modifying
the domain name system (DNS) settings. A self-signed certificate or tools such as SSLstrip can help attackers
intercept HTTPS connections.
Unfortunately, some of the tested devices do not verify if the certificate is trusted and belongs to the vendor at
all−they approve of the connection as long as it’s done over HTTPS. To make matters worse, none of the tested
devices perform a mutual SSL authentication, where both sides authenticate with one another instead of just
the server authenticating with the client. Most devices completely ignore certificate revocation lists, allowing an
attacker to use keys that were obtained through a data breach without any problem.
Direct connection
Some devices use direct connections to communicate with a hub or application in the same network. For
example, a mobile app may be able to scan the local network for new devices and locate them by probing every
IP address for a specific port. Another method is to use the Simple Service Discovery Protocol/Universal Plug and
Play (SSDP/UPNP) protocol to discover the devices. This means that any attacker could do the same to easily find
these devices.
A common mistake that we’ve seen in these devices is the use of unencrypted network communications. Almost
two out of ten (19 percent) of the tested devices communicate to their back-end cloud service or application
without encryption, such as SSL. For communications in the local network, the number of unencrypted
connections is even higher. The lack of encryption raises a major privacy concern. Devices may pass personal
data, login credentials, or tokens in clear text, letting an attacker intercept them.
The most common method for users to interact with an IoT device is through a web browser or a smartphone
app. More powerful devices run a small web server and allow the user to use a web-based GUI to send
commands. Other devices offer their own application programming interface (API) that the user can interact
with. If the user wants to remotely control the devices when they’re not at home, then they need to be able to
open an inbound port at the router. This may be done through a UPNP request or may be manually implemented
by the user.
Many of these interfaces have been found to be vulnerable to common and known types of vulnerabilities,
including the following:
• Use of unauthenticated requests to perform actions (for example, reconfiguration, data retrieval, management
functions, etc.)
• Ability to perform unrequested firmware upgrades
• Command injections
• Buffer/heap overflows
• OWASP’s List of the Top Ten Web Vulnerabilities:
• Infection flaws
• Broken authentication
• Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• Insecure direct object references
• Security misconfiguration
• Sensitive data exposure
• Missing function-level access control
• Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
• Use of components with known vulnerabilities
• Invalidated redirects and forwards

Cloud infrastructure attacks
A smart home device may include a back-end cloud service, depending on the category of the device. In our tests,
68 percent of the devices offered a cloud service. Such a service could be used for statistical purposes, such
as logging the home’s electricity usage or CO2 levels over a number of months. Other cloud systems allow the
remote management of IoT devices, such as light bulbs or heating. Some vendors even force the user to connect
to their cloud back-end system and do not provide users with the option of locally managing their devices. The
companies either provide access to the cloud service through a smartphone application or a web portal, where
users can log in.
Unfortunately nearly all of the tested IoT cloud services allow the user to choose weak passwords, such as
“1234”. Even worse, many services prevent the user from using strong passwords with a sufficient level of
complexity, due to unreasonable restrictions. One service, for example, restricted the user to a PIN code with
a maximum length of four numbers. This makes it easy for any attacker that knows the user’s email address to
brute-force their PIN code and take over their account.
Most of the analyzed services don’t lock users out of their accounts after a number of failed login attempts,
further allowing attackers to brute-force accounts. None of the analyzed back-end cloud services provided the
option of two-factor authentication (2FA).
Some of the cloud interfaces have an unsecure password recovery method or reveal too much information
during the recovery process, such as displaying the validity of an account. This could lead to account-harvesting
attacks, which may allow the attackers to take control of the IoT devices and gather the users’ personal data.
All of the tested cloud management consoles used SSL encryption for communications. The servers were patched
against the OpenSSL Man in the Middle Security Bypass Vulnerability (CVE-2014-0224), more commonly known
as the Heartbleed bug. Unfortunately, some of the services were still vulnerable to the SSL Man In The Middle
Information Disclosure Vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566), also known as the Poodle bug, and allowed the use of
weaker cipher methods.
Some cloud services have logical errors, which could allow an attacker to obtain sensitive customer information
or access devices without authentication. These services also contained common management console
vulnerabilities, including those listed in OWASP’s List of the Top Ten Web Vulnerabilities. While observing
network traffic for 15 applications, we found and reported ten vulnerabilities related to cross-site scripting
(XSS), path traversal, unrestricted file uploading (remote code execution), and SQL injection. One of the tested
cloud console was for smart locks, so this vulnerability could have allowed anyone to remotely open the locks.
For example, we found that one cloud management console was susceptible to a blind SQL injection attack. This
allows an attacker to read the console’s database, which contained the login credentials for other users. Once
the attackers obtains the credentials, they could use them as part of a simple script that sends requests to turn
off connected devices or delete entire accounts altogether. We informed the vendor and the issue has now been
patched. The most concerning part is that these web management platforms are accessible to everyone over the
internet. Attackers could gain unauthorized access to these services without needing local access to the home
network. Our research in this area has only scratched the surface, the relevant cloud service vendors would need
to conduct full web application tests in order to find all of the potential issues in their devices and services.
Malware
Malicious software installed on any device connected to the home network could have the ability to interact with
smart home devices and let the attacker perform the attacks as previously described. Most likely, a compromised
smartphone or computer could be used to attack other devices. One of the biggest concerns is that an infected
IoT device would remain compromised for a very long time, as there is currently no integrated security software
that could detect it and no user interface that could inform the user of any issues.
Fortunately, as of now, we have not seen widespread malware attacks against IoT devices. The news report about
spam-sending fridges turned out to be untrue, but technically, it is possible. Proof-of-concept malware has been

developed for IoT devices, such as smart TVs. Furthermore, we have seen malware attacking routers, NAS, and
similar devices for a while now.
It is just a matter of time until attackers find a way to profit from attacking IoT devices. This may lead to
connected toasters that mine cryptocurrencies or smart TVs that are held ransom by malware. Unfortunately,
the current state of IoT security does not make it difficult for attackers to compromise these devices once they
see the benefit of doing so.
Mitigation
Unfortunately, it is difficult for a user to secure their IoT devices themselves, as most devices do not provide a
secure mode of operation. Nonetheless, users should adhere to the following advice to ensure that they reduce
the risk of these attacks:
• Use strong passwords for device accounts and Wi-Fi networks
• Change default passwords
• Use a stronger encryption method when setting up Wi-Fi networks such as WPA2
• Disable or protect remote access to IoT devices when not needed
• Use wired connections instead of wireless where possible
• Be careful when buying used IoT devices, as they could have been tampered with
• Research the vendor’s device security measures
• Modify the privacy and security settings of the device to your needs
• Disable features that are not being used
• Install updates when they become available
• Use devices on separate home network when possible
• Ensure that an outage, for example due to jamming or a network failure, does not result in a unsecure state of
the installation
• Verify if the smart features are really required or if a normal device would be sufficient
Manufacturers of smart home devices should ensure that they implement basic security standards at the very
least:
• Use SSL/TLS-encrypted connections for communication
• Mutually check the SSL certificate and the certificate revocation list
• Allow and encourage the use of strong passwords
• Require the user to change default passwords
• Do not use hard-coded passwords
• Provide a simple and secure update process with a chain of trust
• Provide a standalone option that works without internet and cloud connections
• Prevent brute-force attacks at the login stage through account lockout measures
• Secure any web interface and API from bugs listed in the OWASP List of Top Ten Web vulnerabilities
• Implement a smart fail-safe mechanism when connection or power is lost or jammed
• Where possible, lock the devices down to prevent attacks from succeeding
• Remove unused tools and use whitelisting to only allow trusted applications to run
• Use secure boot chain to verify all software that is executed on the device
• Where applicable, security analytics features should be provided in the device management strategy

Any code that is
run on a smart
device, be it
the firmware
or application,
should be verified
through a chain of
trust.
CONCLUSION

Conclusion
Our analysis of 50 smart home devices painted a disturbing picture. Despite an almost constant stream of
media reports of cyberattacks and hacking incidents, there are still many devices that do not use encrypted
communications or proper authentication. It is crucial that smart home devices, or any IoT devices for that
matter, use mutual authentication and encryption. IoT devices often have less memory and slower CPUs, so they
may be unable to use the same encryption methods as a traditional computer does, but that is no excuse for the
lack of strong encryption. There are efficient cryptographic methods designed for small scale devices, such as
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which can be used.
Concepts such as roots of trust and secure boot are important to ensure the integrity of the device. Any code
that is run on a smart device, be it the firmware or application, should be verified through a chain of trust.
Protecting the code and securing the device creates a trusted baseline.Vendors should provide a simple and
automated way for users to update their device in order to ensure that common security issues can be fixed
quickly and efficiently. IoT devices should only accept signed firmware as standard. Where applicable, security
analytics features should be provided in the overall device management strategy.
Cloud control interfaces present another weak point of many IoT. Users should not be forced to use cloud
setups if all they want to do is to do basic tasks such as turning on the lights in their homes. Vendors need to
allow strong, complex passwords to be used. Restricting authentication to simple four-digit PIN codes does not
sufficiently protect the device, especially if this issue is combined with the lack of any brute-force protection
mechanism. Even when strong passwords are use, we found that common web application vulnerabilities, such
as SQL injection or remote file inclusion, are often present in these cloud control portals as well. Vendors need to
ensure that their services are not vulnerable to the OWASP’s top ten web application vulnerabilities.
For IoT devices such as smoke alarms, it is also crucial that the vendor has considered what happens when there
is a power outage or the network gets jammed. Will the user be notified or will the malfunctioning safety device
go unnoticed?
In the near future, a lot of people could have a variety of devices connected to their home networks. This will lead
to smarter smart hubs that allow commands based on logical conditions, such as “if this, then that”. This adds
to the complexity of the problem, as now a problem in one device can trigger the shutdown of another. There are
already applications available which allow you to do exactly this. In order to perform the actions, the application
needs to be authorized to access the smart devices. This makes the smart hub an ideal central point of attack, as
changing such rules could have a catastrophic effect on all devices connected to the network.
With all of these issues affecting the devices on different levels, it is currently not easy to deploy multiple
smart devices in a secure fashion at home. Fortunately, there are ways to improve the overall security, as we
highlighted above. Symantec hopes that the security of smart devices will increase in the near future, allowing
anyone to conveniently use this technology to automate tasks at home.

Appendix
In this section, we assess the security of some of the common IoT technologies. For the purpose of this
assessment, we assume that the attacker is within range of the device’s wireless transmission and can interact
with it. These attacks can be achieved from outside of the building, for example in a parking lot, with an
antenna. Some of the attacks require the attacker to be on the same local wireless network. All of the following
technologies mentioned are potentially prone to radio jamming, allowing an attacker to disrupt connectivity to
the device.
Wi-Fi networks (802.11)
Getting access to the home’s Wi-Fi network allows an attacker to perform attacks against any connected device.
The Wi-Fi standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is considered to be insecure and should not be used. Even
though Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) encryption is widely adapted, attackers can still brute-force weak
passwords with a dictionary attack and get access to the network. Some broadband providers do not allow the
user to change the Wi-Fi password, potentially helping attackers to brute-force accounts. Some vendors use Wi-
Fi Protected Setup (WPS), which has long been found to be vulnerable to WPS PIN brute-forcing.
Some manufacturers implemented client isolation security mode for Wi-Fi access points, but internet providers
don’t usually enable this option in home routers to allow devices to interoperate within a home network. As a
result, devices connected to the network can typically access each other, not just the gateway, which is a good
and desired layout.
Z-Wave protocol
The Z-Wave protocol itself is considered to be secure. However, researchers have previously found
implementation flaws affecting specific manufacturers that allowed them to take full control of devices in
Z-Wave networks.
“This vulnerability was not due to a flaw in the Z-Wave protocol specification, but because of an implementation
error in disabling the use of temporary key after initial network key exchange during inclusion of a node to the
network,” stated the research paper’s authors Behrang Fouladi and Sahand Ghanoun.
Similar implementation pitfalls may affect other smart home device manufacturers.
ZigBee
Similarly to Z-Wave, the ZigBee protocol is considered secure from its ZigBee PRO version onwards. There have
been some security concerns regarding support for plain text over-the-air (OTA) key exchange in certain profiles,
which is meant to be used by manufacturers when provisioning units for the first time. Researchers have found
that certain manufacturers have misused this feature.
Another security concern lies in the protocol’s shared network key. By stealing one of the nodes of a ZigBee
network, an attacker could dump the node’s internal memory and retrieve this network key, giving them access
to the network. Such a scenario may be particularly dangerous in certain configurations used for home networks
that have sensors deployed outside of the house, such as an external lamp.
The ZigBee network may be vulnerable to the following attacks:
• Sniffing network traffic
• Injection
• Tampering/forging
• Jamming
• Exhaustion of battery
• Collision and Unfairness (link layer)
• Greed, homing, misdirection, black holes (network layer)
• Flooding, desynchronization (transport layer)

Powerline
The two main home automation protocols that make use of Powerline are:
• X10 (also supported over RF)
• Insteon (A hybrid of RF and Powerline)
One of the main concerns around these Powerline protocols is that signals can easily bleed over to the the next
connected networks, allowing people near the network, such as neighbors, to spy on these communications. In
order to counter this, these protocols and other Powerline-based systems typically support encryption.
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as Bluetooth Smart, is often used for smart home devices that do not require
an internet connection, such as door locks or light bulbs. Users can typically control these devices using a mobile
phone and a dedicated app.
The Bluetooth Smart standard is quite flexible and leaves space open for faulty implementations that could
allow attackers to remotely control these devices. For example, recently, the Bluetooth LE implementation of a
wearable fitness bracelet had been completely reverse-engineered, allowing exposing the device to attack.
Other RF protocols
Some vendors have implemented their own radio protocol for their devices. This may result in protocols that
are vulnerable to similar attacks, as with the previously described standards. For example, LightwaveRF is
considered to be vulnerable to replay attacks.

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Authors
About Symantec
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) is an information
protection expert that helps people, businesses and
governments seeking the freedom to unlock the opportunities
technology brings -- anytime, anywhere. Founded in April
1982, Symantec, a Fortune 500 company, operating one of
the largest global data-intelligence networks, has provided
leading security, backup and availability solutions for where
vital information is stored, accessed and shared. The company’s
more than 20,000 employees reside in more than 50 countries.
Ninety-nine percent of Fortune 500 companies are Symantec
customers. In fiscal 2014, it recorded revenues of $6.7 billion.
To learn more go to www.symantec.com or connect with
Symantec at: go.symantec.com/social/.
Mario Ballano Barcena
Sr Threat Analysis Engineer
Candid Wueest
Principal Software Engineer

WHITE PAPER▶ Insecurity in the Internet of Things

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WHITE PAPER▶ Insecurity in the Internet of Things