Growing Reach, Improving Protection: Bitdefender IoT Security is Now Available for prplOS Routers

We’re used to smart home devices that make people’s lives easier and more automated, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be hacked. These attacks come in many forms: a baby monitor that cybercriminals have taken over, a smart lock that isn’t as safe as you thought it was, or a smart TV that has gone rogue.

Some of these scenarios are more likely than you would think, especially since we have more connected devices in our homes than ever (about 21 on average) and official IoT Security labeling is still being worked on.

Weak passwords, outdated firmware, manufacturer vulnerabilities, and unencrypted communication channels can quickly expose IoT devices to cybercriminals. What’s even more concerning is that traditional antivirus solutions, on which we rely so heavily, are unable to protect these devices.

Here’s where Bitdefender IoT Security comes into play. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions, it’s an agent that runs directly on Wi-Fi routers, which means it addresses two major issues right away. First and foremost, it protects all connected devices, including smart home devices, from threats. Second, it’s completely automated, so you can sit back and relax, while our solution protects your home network against cyberattacks.

That’s not all: Because we have made it our mission to protect consumers from attackers and to make life and work more secure, we are constantly striving to improve our portfolio, including the Bitdefender IoT Security Agent. Our colleagues recently attended the prpl Summit 2023 in Paris on the 23rd of October and demonstrated the IoT Security Agent running in a prplOS environment for the first time. This integration was completed in less than three months and is a significant milestone for Bitdefender, which has only recently started collaborating with the prpl Foundation.

“The open source prplOS philosophy resonates with our own vision”, said George Trif, Bitdefender’s Director of Software Engineering, B2B2C. “In a world where cyberattacks are growing in complexity and intelligence, we believe it’s imperative to focus our efforts on developing new and innovative technologies to combat these threats, rather than spending valuable time integrating diverse vendor solutions within an ecosystem.”

Why is this integration important? The prplOS environment is a rapidly growing open-source CPE ecosystem developed by the prpl Foundation - a diverse community of Service Providers, OEMs, Silicon Vendors, ISVs, and open-source developers committed to open-source software and open APIs. Because of its growing popularity, it’s expected it will soon reach a large number of consumer households.

Bitdefender IoT Security is already a well-established, trusted solution that is installed on millions of CPEs worldwide and is compatible with over 80 different types of routers. By integrating with prplOS, our security solutions can reach and protect more people than ever before. It also demonstrates our commitment and contribution to shaping the future of security within the prpl Foundation, and that we’re looking forward to leveraging our extensive cybersecurity expertise adding an additional layer of protection to the open-source ecosystem.

Want to find out more about Bitdefender IoT Security, visit our Subscriber Protection Platform.