{"id":71484,"date":"2017-04-12T10:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=71484"},"modified":"2025-08-14T07:10:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:10:43","slug":"connected-homes-mirais-new-best-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/connected-homes-mirais-new-best-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Connected Homes Mirai\u2019s New Best Friend?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whenever someone wonders why a strong password is so important, there\u2019s one thing you can remind them of: Dyn. Ring any bells? Here\u2019s a quick refresher: last fall, a good deal of the east coast was taken offline<\/a> because of an attack on Dyn, a major service provider for big-name websites. That attack occurred because of two reasons: default passwords and Mirai malware, which infected IoT devices that still used these factory-set passwords to create an army of botnets.<\/p>\n

Low and behold, that army took down Dyn and created the highest volume of DDoS traffic ever recorded in the process. That, in turn, rendered popular websites like Netflix, Twitter, Spotify, and PayPal, to name a few, dormant. Although this was last fall, remember that the Mirai code is out in the open, which means it\u2019s a threat that\u2019s may be even more relevant today than it was before.<\/p>\n

With the rise in popularity of the Internet of Things, we\u2019re using connected devices now more than ever\u2014they\u2019ve just become part of our lifestyle<\/a>. More specifically, part of our homes.<\/p>\n

So how exactly could Mirai capitalize on the connected home<\/a>? Mirai takes advantage of the fact that consumers rarely change the default passwords set by the manufacturer on their connected devices. That means any device in a connected home that\u2019s unsecured could potentially join the ranks of a botnet army. As consumers bring more and more devices into their homes, there\u2019s just that many more soldiers Mirai can use for its next DDoS attack<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tips to Protect You and Your Family<\/h2>\n

So, as we continue to bring more and more IoT devices into our homes, Mirai needs to remain top of mind as we think about how to stay safe while staying connected. Not to mention, McAfee Labs estimates<\/a> that 2.5 million IoT devices have already been infected by Mirai by the end of 2016. So, to make sure your IoT devices aren\u2019t enslaved next, here are a few tips to protect you and your family:<\/p>\n