LIST: Lightweight Solutions for Securing IoT Devices against Mirai Malware Attack

Abstract

Recently, the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has increased significantly, as they have become affordable to most people. This spread has highlighted a critical security threat, namely the increasing number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. As these resource-constrained IoT devices are built to be cost-efficient, their security measures are limited. Moreover, most users are not aware of the security measures that they must apply. Nowadays, almost every IoT device (e.g., fridge, air conditioner, thermostat, toaster) is able to connect to the internet, and this allows the user to access and control it with its own smartphone application. The lack of security measures in these devices was highlighted in September 2016, when a large-scale DDoS attack was launched using a botnet of compromised IoT devices. This type of attack has been since used in different forms and has been classified as Mirai DDoS Botnet Attack. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the Mirai attack and of the source code of the Mirai malware, reports on the implementation of the attack in a controlled environment, and proposes possible solutions that could help in mitigating the attack.