Securing the Internet of Things: Exploring MQTT Vulnerabilities and Threats in Pakistan's IoT Landscape

In the rapidly advancing realm of the Internet of Things (IoT), where interconnected devices form the backbone of modern ecosystems, ensuring robust security measures is paramount. As the adoption of IoT technologies proliferates across diverse sectors, understanding and addressing the vulnerabilities within specific protocols, such as MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), becomes crucial. This research meticulously investigates the vulnerabilities within MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) brokers, particularly in Pakistan's IoT ecosystem. Unveiling a notable prevalence of unauthenticated MQTT brokers on default ports, the study underscores the potential threats to confidentiality, integrity, and privacy and discusses the sensitive information that is being leaked online. The study reveals the widespread usage of old broker versions, underscoring the urgency for updates to mitigate vulnerabilities. Findings also indicate the ease with which adversaries could access and manipulate critical parameters and modify sensor and critical data, emphasizing broader implications for the integrity of interconnected systems. This study contributes crucial insights to fortify MQTT deployments and IoT networks, especially in the context of Pakistan, urging continuous efforts to secure the dynamic IoT landscape.