Editor's Note: As we look into this story further, it may or may not have actually occurred as there's no official record of this attack taking place. However, the smart toothbrush brand as well as the company that was attacked may be keeping all of the details close to the chest as they work to patch any vulnerabilities. Regardless of whether or not millions of smart toothbrushes were actually used in a large-scale DDoS attack, this story still highlights the dangers posed by smart home devices.
It seems like every day there’s a story about PCs falling victim to malware or malicious apps infecting smartphones. However, the best smart home devices are just as vulnerable to attacks and maybe even more so.
As many smart devices don’t have the same level of protection built into computers and phones, hackers can exploit any vulnerabilities they may have and then use them to launch cyberattacks. Just this week for instance, it was discovered that 3 million smart toothbrushes were compromised and then used to launch a distributed denial of service or DDoS attack against a company in Switzerland.
