Malware Threat on Edge/Fog Computing Environments From Internet of Things Devices Perspective

Abstract

Developing a secured information processing environment highly depends on securing all of the layers and devices in the environment. Edge/Fog computing environments are not an exception in this case, and the security of those environments highly depends on securing the Internet of Things (IoT) devices which are the most vulnerable devices through the environment. The adoption of Edge/Fog computing paradigms by new emerging technologies stimulated malware development for IoT platforms. Recent attacks initiated by IoT malware show that these attacks make a tremendous impact on compromised systems in terms of Quality of Service because of the number of infected IoT devices. In the light of these developments, there is an enormous need for efficient solutions. However, defense capability against these new malware types is highly constrained by the limited understanding of these new emerging paradigms and the lack of access to malware samples. This paper mainly focuses on IoT malware to understand the behaviors of malware on the most vulnerable layer of the Edge/Fog computing environments. Mainly, 64 IoT malware families are located from 2008 when the first known IoT malware emerged to October 2022. These malware families are systematically characterized from various aspects, including target architecture, target device, delivery methods, attack vectors, persistence techniques, and their evolution from existing malware. During this characterization process, two different investigation frameworks, "Cyber Kill Chain" and "Mitre ATT&CK for ICS," have been adopted in different investigation layers. This paper aims to bring light to future researches with presented features of the IoT malware.

A Review of State-of-the-Art Malware Attack Trends and Defense Mechanisms

“…Unlike traditional networks, which send data to a centralized location for processing, edge networks process data at the edge of the network, either on a device or in a nearby router or switch. This approach speeds up data processing and reduces latency, making it ideal for the IoT, self-driving cars, and smart cities [17], [111]. Like other computer networks, edge networks are susceptible to malware.…”

“…Common attack trends in edge networks include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, data breaches, and man-in-the-middle attacks. These attacks aim to disrupt network operations, compromise sensitive data, or intercept communication between users and edge devices [17].…”

“…Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are highly complex, target-specific, persistent, and remain undetected until the target is compromised [13], [14]. In addition, cryptojacking [4], mobile malware [15], Internet of Things (IoT) [4], cloud attacks [16], and attack trends in edge networks [17] have become increasingly frequent and complex. Exploring these modern attack trends forms a primary focus of this review, as understanding the 'enemy' is the first step in building a robust defense.…”

A Novel Cuckoo Search-Based Optimized Deep CNN Model for Phishing Attack Detection in IoT Environment

“…Another important aspect of the IoT environment is the threat of malware. Studies have characterized 64 IoT malware families, analyzing their behaviors, target architecture, target devices, delivery methods, attack vectors, persistence techniques, and evolution [13,14,15]. Finally, the emergence of Narrowband of Internet of Things (NB-IoT) has significantly contributed to the evolution of IoT towards intelligence, convenience, low power consumption, large connectivity, and wide coverage [?,16].…”

Understanding and Classifying Permanent Denial-of-Service Attacks

“…Another gap in the current academic literature is the lack of consistent methodology for studying PDoS attacks. Individual studies are often constrained by their own scope, which may be limited to specific types or categories of attacks, and only mention the possibility of PDoS [13,14].…”