3 million smart toothbrushes cause millions in damage due to DDoS attack (2025)

Update February 8, 2024: Following criticism of the authenticity of the information provided by Fortinet, the cybersecurity company has published a statement clarifying that the DDoS attack was merely a "hypothetical scenario" and that no attack had actually taken place in this form.

To clarify, the topic of toothbrushes being used for DDoS attacks was presented during an interview as an illustration of a given type of attack, and it is not based on research from Fortinet or FortiGuard Labs. It appears that due to translations the narrative on this topic has been stretched to the point where hypothetical and actual scenarios are blurred.

Original story:

While computers and smartphones are supplied with security patches almost every week, such updates for smart gadgets such as scales, washing machines or toothbrushes remain the exception rather than the rule.

As reported by Swiss German-language newspaper Aargauer Zeitung,the lack of security on smart toothbrushes has now resulted in millions of euros in damage after more than three million infected toothbrushes simultaneously accessed the website of a Swiss company, causing the servers to collapse and the website to be unavailable for four hours. The report cites data from cyber security company Fortinet, which subsequently wrote in a statement that any device connected to the internet is a potential target and can be misused for such attacks.

This applies in particular to smart home cameras, webcams and baby monitors, which can allow attackers to access sensitive data, but also to apparently less critical gadgets. For a minimum level of protection, users should, if possible, enable automatic updates for all internet-connected devices, provided the manufacturer provides patches at all.

Otherwise, the only other option is to either cut devices off from the internet completely via your own Wi-Fi router or at least keep an eye on upload and download rates: disproportionately large data transfers, especially outside the usual usage period, can be an indication that a device has been infected with malware, as recently shown in the case of a washing machine with around 3.6 GB of data transfers per day.

Source(s)

Editor of the original article: Hannes Brecher - Senior Tech Writer - 17664 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018

Since 2009 I have written for different publications with a focus on consumer electronics. I joined the Notebookcheck news team in 2018 and have combined my many years of experience with laptops and smartphones with my lifelong passion for technology to create informative content for our readers about new developments in this sphere. In addition, my design background as an art director at an ad agency has allowed me to have deeper insights into the peculiarities of this industry.

Translator: Jacob Fisher - Translator - 1646 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.