Lessons from High-Profile Breaches: Critical IoT Vulnerabilities

I’ll be honest—I love IoT. The convenience, the automation, the fact I can yell at a speaker to turn off the lights instead of wandering through my apartment half-asleep. But from a security perspective? A nightmare.

As someone who has worked in cybersecurity since the early 2000s, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to address preventable breaches due to insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Now it is worse — no standards, manufacturers trade on ease of deployment, and enterprises buy and deploy IoT without considering how to secure it. And when it goes wrong, it goes really wrong.

Let us discuss some of the most significant IoT breaches in recent times and the stern lessons that followed.

Quick Take

• IoT remains a security dumpster fire, because most devices ship insecure by default.
• Great recent breach news and fun fact: Hackers aren’t just going after consumers: They’re going after industrial IoT (IIoT).
• Mistakes are repeat: weak passwords, outdated firmware, forgotten over network segmentation.
• IoT security in enterprises is no longer a buzzword, but a necessity — Zero-trust architecture.
• Attackers aren’t using advanced tools — more often, they are taking advantage of simple misconfigurations.

Recent High-Profile IoT Breaches

The Casino Aquarium Hack

Yes, this actually happened. An internet-connected sensor in a high-end casino’s fish tank was used to track water temperature and food levels. What they didn’t account for? The IoT device was directly connected to their internal network — and its default credentials were still active. Attackers breached the sensor, then pivoted into the casino’s internal systems and exfiltrated 10GB of high-roller data.

Lesson: Segment your IoT device properly if it lives inside your network.

The Jeep Cherokee Attack (Still one of my favorites)

Back in 2015, two security researchers remotely hijacked a Jeep Cherokee while it was on the road, killed the engine, and disabled the brakes, all through vulnerabilities in the vehicle’s infotainment system. Fast forward to today, and car makers continue to battle for connected cars. The attack vector? An open telnet port (no, seriously).

Lesson: If you are going to deploy connected devices in sensitive areas, make sure remote access is locked down.

The Verkada Camera Breach

A group of hackers hacked into 150,000 security cameras, including those in hospitals, jails, and Tesla factories. How? Stolen admin credentials. Once they had that, everything was on the table.

Lesson: A single set of compromised credentials should not grant attackers complete access. Always apply role-based access.

Root Causes of These Breaches

Now, come on — these breaches did not come at the hands of hyper-advanced, billion-dollar nation-state cyber weapons. They occurred as a result of weak security fundamentals.

Here’s a big part of why these IoT failings keep happening:

• Default credentials not changed (Admin:admin. Seriously?)
• Lack of network segmentation (core business systems should never be accessible from IoT devices)
• Unpatched firmware (Manufacturers push updates but very few people apply it)
• Open ports & exposed services (Who on earth needs an open telnet port for their smart fridge?)
• Missing device monitoring & logging (Without monitoring IoT, you won’t detect when anything goes wrong)

Businesses will need to shift mindsets from viewing IoT devices as plug-and-forget tech. They require security surveillance around the clock.

IoT Security Best Practices

Enterprises are not good at securing IoT. Not because they don’t care — but because modern IoT just isn’t built with security in mind. That calls for security teams to be more proactive.

Here is what I tell my clients — especially after responding to numerous compromised networks over the decades:

1. Default Credentials? Change Them. That is so basic, yet I am still finding devices with usernames and passwords like `admin` / `password`. Change them. Make them long. And for the love of security, don’t use the same password on multiple devices.
2. Segment IoT from Critical Networks. If an attacker hacks your smart thermostat, they should not be able to pivot into your enterprise network. Use VLANs (virtual LANs), apply strict firewall rules, and limit IoT traffic.
3. Patch. Patch. Patch. You’re not given a choice about firmware updates. Many IoT vendors suck when it comes to communicating critical security patches, so make it a practice to check on devices regularly. If a device stops getting security updates? Replace it.
4. Disable Unnecessary Services. Turn off SSH, telnet, or whatever other open ports if the IoT device does not require remote access. The fewer exposed services, the fewer attack vectors.
5. Implement Zero-Trust for IoT. Authentication must be applied to devices, and devices must be monitored continuously — assume that every IoT device has the potential to be an attack vector.

What Businesses Should Do Next

IoT cybersecurity is not a checklist — it’s a process. If you have upgraded these devices anywhere in your infrastructure, here’s what you need to do now:

• Audit your IoT environment. Scan every device and know where it’s connected to and what data it touches.
• Follow the principle of least privilege access. Zero IoT System should have blanket admin rights unless it is absolutely imperative.
• Use strong network security measures. A robust firewall, live monitoring, and strong segmentation are essential.
• Take the IoT threat detection plunge. The types of devices that need protection are going to be diverse.
• Demand vendor transparency. If you are acquiring IoT for commercial use, ask pointed questions about how vendors manage security updates, encrypt data, and apply patches.

Final Thoughts

Every year I attend DefCon I’m struck by how fragile IoT security is. The hardware hacking village was especially mind-blowing this year — I mean, seeing researchers hack a bunch of smart locks open with nothing more than a Raspberry Pi is equal parts awesome and horrific.

IoT isn’t going away, and companies need to stop treating it as second best. It’s one of those things you either secure now or suffer the consequences later — because the attackers are already ahead of you.

And if you’re not convinced yet? Just consider this: the next hack could come from a coffee machine. You laugh, but it’s happened before.