FortiGuard Labs: Vulnerabilities ranging from passwords hard-coded into firmware that can be easily exploited are only half the problem. Most of these devices dont run on normal operating systems, so patching or updating their software is difficult if not impossible. Future generations of this malware should be able to recognize virtually any device it encounters, search for the appropriate exploit for it, and then develop a custom exploit. As emerging technologies like swarm intelligence begin to be integrated into botnet configurations, evolving them into something we call Hivenets, a single intelligent system.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3237728/reaper-the-next-evolution-of-iot-botnets.html