5. Physical attacks and their consequences

5.1 Hardware attacks: is it really a risk?

The issue of hardware-related IoT vulnerabilities is often debated. Access to the hardware components making up the target object required to carry out the attacks means that, by their very nature, they are unitary and not massive. A shortcut might therefore be to say that they are not serious when compared to vulnerabilities in wireless communications protocols or in applications exchanging data over IP links. Nevertheless, as any security expert knows, the compromise of a system often involves a chain of vulnerabilities. A local attack can enable an attacker to discover other vulnerabilities that can be exploited remotely.

Let's take a concrete example: let's imagine a curious hacker who has a camera in his home....