loMT Cybersecurity A Systems Perspective

Abstract

The rapid expansion of Internet connected devices and cyber physical systems has undoubtedly increased the complexity of modern cybersecurity environments. Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, particularly those involving Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices introduce heterogeneous architectures that expand the attack surface and expose systems to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, spoofing, and network intrusion. Traditional security models often concentrate on isolated vulnerabilities rather than the systemic interactions that allow attacks to proliferate across interconnected infrastructures. This study delves into cybersecurity vulnerabilities from a systems perspective by analyzing attack behaviors across Wi-Fi enabled IoMT devices and simulated MQTT environments. Network traffic was captured using controlled laboratory experiments and analyzed through packet capture PCAP datasets to identify patterns of DDoS reconnaissance and spoofing attacks. The results highlight how device-level weaknesses, such as weak authentication and unpatched firmware, interact with network-level vulnerabilities including poor segmentation and insecure protocols to amplify systemic cyber risk. The study contributes to classification of IoT and cyber physical system vulnerabilities and provides defensive mitigation strategies including identity management cryptographic controls network segmentation and continuous risk assessment for complex IoT environments. These discoveries provide insights into securing cybersecurity architecture across smart infrastructures of both healthcare systems and critical cyber physical environments.