Can a Strictly Defined Security Configuration for IoT Devices Mitigate the Risk of Exploitation by Botnet Malware?

The internet that we know and use every day is the internet of people, a collection of knowledge and data that can be accessed anywhere is the world anytime from many devices. The internet of the future is the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is a collection of automated technology that is designed to be run autonomously, but on devices designed for humans to use. In 2016 the Mirai malware has shown there are underlying vulnerabilities in devices connected to the internet of things. Mirai is specifically designed to recognise and exploit IoT devices and it has been used in record breaking attacks since 2016. The overall aim of the research is to explore the Mirai malware and it\u27s security impact on IoT devices to research if there are security controls that can mitigate against it. The final purpose is to create a set of security controls based on best practice and industry standards. These controls will then be applied to the devices to see if the malware is as effective when the controls are in place. The study presents an experiment and research as a theoretical framework for understanding how Mirai and the IoT devices are structured. Furthermore, an experiment will be performed exposing the devices to the malware to define the attack vectors used as well as designing security controls to mitigate the effect of the malware and then repeated when the controls have been implemented on the devices to comprehend their validity