The incursion of the Internet of Things (IoT) into every facet of our life has proven itself as both an amazing innovation and a security problem. A large number of the connected device in one single system presents several points of entry for wicked purposes.
With the Internet of things, the whole world has become one integrated information system to improve the quality of life and driving innovative business models. This infers that growing of corporate and personal information exists in the cloud where it interchanges with a multitude of devices. One weak point in the chain can lead to rogue elements with a susceptibility to exploit and enjoy unlimited access to data.
As a technology that is based on Internet-of-Things have somewhat recent origins, manufacturers do not consider connection security while manufacturing devices. Consequently, the increase of the use of functional but susceptible objects continues to grow. The IoT system may face several attack vectors from the use of insecure interfaces for both the cloud and the network. Among various security challenges, the following are the few ones:
Unauthorized access: It can create a difference in the functioning of the devices to damage the internal systems, or even to the physical structure of the company.
Data theft: This involves the gathering of important information from both the organization and the customers, for misuse.
The rapid explosion of threats: An attack on any device and the interconnection will enable quick infection of the other interconnected objects.
The IoT Security measures depend on your IoT application and your location in the IoT ecosystem. To help you prevent from vulnerabilities associated with the Internet of Things, Here we bring 8 essential security points for your Internet of Things to ensure the protection of interconnected devices in your organization.
- Know what’s connected
To secure your devices, you should have a good understanding of what is vulnerable to an attack. Generally, at home, there are five connected devices, excluding smartphones, tablets, and computers. You home connected devices includes game consoles media players, and anything with a camera or microphone and verify what information each has access to.
- Password Protect All Devices and Accounts
The device you use through an Internet-based account must be secured with a resilient username and password that incorporate numbers, letters, and symbols. Use different passwords for different accounts otherwise, if one get manages to get in, he will have wider access to your devices.
- Penetration testing
For every configuration change and code change, you must perform penetration testing. Ensure that all your IoT components bare down to the viable feature set to diminish attack surface. The ports and portals which are not in use should be disabled, needless software should be uninstalled. Track and update third-party components regularly. Audit every line of code provided by third parties.
- Use multifactor authentication for APIs
Make sure that security points are equivalent across interfaces in the ecosystem. Hackers will try to find the weakest point and exploit the weakness. Hidden API’s, mobile interfaces or resource-constrained environments must implement security in the form of feature-rich interfaces. Using an authentication factor for a web interface is useless if mobile Apps enable access to the same API with a 4 digit PIN.
- Install a Firewall
A firewall helps stop hackers, viruses, and worms to reach your connected devices over the net by rejecting unauthorized traffic. Some computer systems already have a firewall, which is enough for many users. For an additional protection layer, install a firewall that provides various security functions that exactly meets your requirements, or configure a hardware firewall to provide wider network defense
- Plan for the worst
IoT systems are not very strong. They have several nodes even with minimal computing. IoT devices must have the abilities to quickly respond to hostile participants, compromises, malware and other adversities. There should be features in place to exclude participants, re-issue credentials, and distribute security patches and updates, well before they are ever required.
- Avoid Using Insecure Internet Connections
When you use your smart devices from your tablet or smartphone, avoid using any Wi-Fi that isn’t password enabled. Insecure connections can lead your device vulnerable to hacking. To improve your network security, create robust passwords for your Wi-Fi connections and router, and also update them on regular basis.
- Data in aggregate is unpredictable
IoT systems can collect a huge amount of data that may seem safe at first sight, but complex data analysis often reveals complex patterns and hidden information. Always track data and have checks in place to oversee which data gets allocated to whom
The Internet of Things helps you to improve your home and ease your living. As you are including all your favorite features, dedicate time to enhance the security of your devices as well. By taking early precautions, you can prevent malicious attacks when it really needs. Always remember that high-tech security solutions ensure you the full protection of your systems. Select the best one that fulfills the requirement of your organization with the help of experts.
