Cybersecurity and the Value of Verification

Value of verification

By Charles Parker, II

In early February of this year, there was a published story of millions of smart toothbrushes being compromised and infected with malware. These were then used in an orchestrated attack against a Swiss company. The infection was a bot coded to perform the DDoS attack. As a result, as reported, the company was taken offline. To finish off the “report”, “…weaponization of the cloud…” was noted, furthering the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt).

This story certainly appeared sensational. After all, it’s not every day an army of connected toothbrushes tried to take over the known world. Imagine these internal bots reaching out into the vast void of the internet seeking their targets.

As the story reached a critical mass of readership, cracks began to appear. People in the industry began to openly question the account. The doubt grew faster than snowfall in December (for those in the Midwest).

Well, it turns out the story was a work of fiction. This is well-documented, unlike the original story. For any story, the veracity of the underlying data and information should be vetted at some level. A reasonable news source should act responsibly prior to publishing drama and labelling it as facts. False/fake stories like this are not published regularly. The last significant story like this was from a few years ago when an attack on a resort locked all the guests out. This didn’t happen but received short-lived attention in the press. Please don’t believe everything you read