Securing Your Peripherals: Cybersecurity Must-Dos
By Tom Seest
What Is the Role Of Peripherals In Cybersecurity?
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In cybersecurity, a peripheral is an input or output device that sends and receives data to or from a computer. Peripherals can pose significant risks to organizations as they expose sensitive information to cyber attacks.
Many wireless peripherals and computer accessories are vulnerable to attack, so organizations should evaluate the security of these devices carefully and select nonvulnerable alternatives instead.
What Is the Role Of Peripherals In Cybersecurity?
Table Of Contents
Unlocking the Secrets of Peripherals in Cybersecurity
A peripheral is any hardware device attached to a computer system but not considered part of its core components. These auxiliary devices may be external or internal and provide extra functions for the operating system.
Peripheral devices enable you to interact with your computer in ways that would not be possible without them. They may serve as input devices that send data directly to the system or output devices that send information back from the computer to the user.
Common input and output devices include mice, keyboards, monitors, and speakers. They may also serve as storage media such as USB or external hard drives.
Utilizing the appropriate input and output devices can help protect your computer more securely, preventing malware from invading it. This is especially pertinent if you’re using a tablet or smartphone as it’s easier to install malicious software on them.
To protect your devices, regularly updating and debugging software (including firmware) is the best practice. Additionally, changing default passwords on these devices to something complex is recommended for extra protection.
You may be familiar with the concept of DMA attacks, which allow malicious actors to gain control of a system and perform malicious tasks on it. They read and overwrite memory on your system in order to steal data or carry out other undesirable activities.
DMA (Deep Memory Access) is a technique widely employed by cyber threats such as ransomware and cryptojacking. This enables malicious actors to circumvent your operating system’s security protocols and gain access to your files, programs, and network communications without authorization.
These attacks can be performed on peripheral devices like network cards and graphics processing units (GPUs). But researchers at Cambridge University have discovered that many other computer peripherals, including printers, thumb drives, and video-output cables are vulnerable to attack as well.
Cambridge’s research is alarming, revealing that many computers running Windows, macOS and Linux are vulnerable to these attacks. It emphasizes the fact that peripherals attached to your machine that have never received security updates can serve as a gateway into your network.
Unlocking the Secrets of Peripherals in Cybersecurity
Uncovering the Mystery of Peripheral Devices in Cybersecurity
Peripheral hardware refers to hardware devices connected to a computer or other digital device, but aren’t considered essential components of its functions. These auxiliary units may offer extra features like mouses and keyboards as well as printers.
Peripherals are frequently utilized by end users to enhance their computer or mobile device experience. Unfortunately, they can also present a security risk for an organization’s networks and systems.
Devices classified as peripherals include input, output and storage components. Input peripherals transmit data to a computer by sending text, sound, images and button presses; while output peripherals receive data from the computer and format it for human-readable usage.
Input and output peripherals can be connected to your computer through various interfaces, such as USB ports, HDMI ports or other cables. They may also be wirelessly linked through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology.
Some peripherals support direct memory access (DMA), which enables devices to read and write computer memory without the need for software operating systems to do so. This enables faster, more efficient information transfers and is essential in supporting high-performance peripherals like network cards or GPUs.
However, this poses a significant security risk as it allows malware and other threats to gain unauthorized access to the computer’s memory. This could lead to system compromise and potentially catastrophic damage.
To protect against DMA attacks, some systems employ input-output memory management units (IOMMUs). Unfortunately, these mechanisms are often disabled by default and leave systems vulnerable to attack.
Furthermore, many peripheral manufacturers do not verify the firmware installed on their products comes from a reliable source. This poses an extensive vulnerability for both Windows and Linux machines alike; firmware flaws enable malicious actors to install stealthy malware, access sensitive information, and take control of a computer without needing special privileges.
Uncovering the Mystery of Peripheral Devices in Cybersecurity
What is a Wireless Peripheral Device’s Role in Cybersecurity?
Peripherals offer convenience and can enhance user experience, but they may also be exploited by malicious actors to compromise your networks, systems and information. By understanding the types of peripherals used and how information flows between them, you can prioritize security controls that protect your organization.
Peripherials fall into two categories: internal devices built-into computers and mobile devices, as well as external ones connected via cable (such as USB and Thunderbolt) or wireless connections like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Each category contains input/output and storage components that transfer information back and forth.
Input peripherals include keyboards, mice, and trackpads. These devices enable us to interact with computers or mobile devices and create a means of communication with other users.
Unfortunately, some wireless peripherals can be vulnerable to cyberattacks if not properly secured. For example, keyboards and mice connected to a laptop or desktop can be exploited using an attack known as “MouseJack.” This vulnerability affects wireless keyboards and mice that use the 2.4 GHz radio frequency for communications.
MouseJack security vulnerabilities can be addressed through firmware updates and a patch. Furthermore, affected devices can be swapped out for nonvulnerable alternatives like wired keyboards and mice.
To help ensure security, it’s essential to review the firmware of peripherals issued to your employees. This includes not only system firmware but also firmware on peripherals like network adapters and USB devices.
If a device has a default password, be sure to change it before using it. Make sure the password is at least 4 words long and contains at least 15 characters.
Additionally, having separate passwords for all peripherals that are paired with a device is recommended. Doing so ensures only authorized users can access the paired peripherals and prevents threat actors from using your paired peripherals without your approval.
Finally, it’s essential to implement a robust authentication protocol for any peripheral that connects via Bluetooth. This could be as straightforward as changing the device’s password or more complex like using a passphrase.
What is a Wireless Peripheral Device’s Role in Cybersecurity?
What Are the Benefits of Networked Peripheral Devices?
Networked peripheral devices are computer hardware that can connect to either a local area network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN). It’s essential to comprehend what these devices do and how they function, in order to protect yourself from security risks and ensure they have been securely configured and integrated into your network infrastructure.
Peripherals are devices you can connect to a computer or mobile device in order to provide additional functions or features, such as a mouse and keyboard. These may be internal or external to the host device.
Internal peripherals, such as video and sound cards, internal modems, and hard disk drives, are typically integrated into a computer or mobile device by the manufacturer.
Some networked peripheral devices are directly connected to a computer system via internal or external USB, display port, Thunderbolt or wireless connection. These gadgets possess various functions like printing, copying and faxing.
These devices may present a security risk because they could open your university up to threats outside its LAN and WAN. This allows unauthorized access to systems and networks, giving attackers the ability to gather information that could lead to compromise of your organization’s network security as well as sensitive data.
Multifunction printers, for instance, may pose a security risk since they can scan and copy documents while transmitting them to an external network. This presents an attack surface for malicious actors who could potentially capture confidential or restricted data such as employee personal information, credit card data, intellectual property rights and more through these machines.
That is why it is essential to monitor the use of all networked devices and make sure they are securely configured and integrated into your corporate network. This can be accomplished through various methods, such as software updates or manual configuration changes.
To protect these devices, the most effective method is to configure them with secure passwords and make sure the software level and configuration settings are regularly updated. Doing this will guarantee any vulnerabilities are patched before the devices go live, decreasing the amount of time spent managing these units.
What Are the Benefits of Networked Peripheral Devices?
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