7 Wild & Little Known Facts About IoT & OT Security

1. Fish Tank Hacked a Casino

A smart fish tank thermometer in a Las Vegas casino was hacked and used to exfiltrate sensitive data from the network. Yup! a fish tank.

2. Your Lightbulb Could Be a Spy

Some smart lights communicate via unencrypted Zigbee or Bluetooth, attackers can hijack them to pivot into networks. So… don’t trust your chandelier.

3. Stuxnet Was Just the Beginning

Stuxnet wasn’t just malware, it was the first digital weapon to cause real-world destruction (Iranian centrifuges). Many OT attacks today mimic its design.

4. Some IoT Devices Still Use Default Passwords Like “admin/admin”

It’s 2025, and yes, many industrial devices still ship with default logins. Some even get deployed that way fully exposed on the internet!

5. Shodan: The Search Engine for Hackers

Shodan indexes every open IoT/OT device on the internet. You can literally search “PLC in Germany” and find them (if they’re exposed).

6. Robots Can Be Hijacked for Physical Attacks

Industrial robots can be remotely reprogrammed to move erratically, crash, or even damage products turning them into cyber-physical weapons.

7. Air-Gapped? Still Not Safe

Some malware (like “BadBIOS”) can use sound waves, USB firmware, or RF signals to bridge air-gapped systems. Yes, it's real, and yes, it's terrifying.

Final Thought

IoT and OT security isn’t just a technical puzzle — it’s a cyber-thriller in real life. The more you dig, the weirder it gets.