Why IoT Security is Critical for its Mainstream Adoption?

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Why IoT Security is Critical for its Mainstream
Adoption?
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• While almost anything and everything can be
  connected to the internet today, stealing
  sensitive information such as passwords or bank
  details isnt the purview of thriller movies
  anymore. You are not taken aback, right! Because
  news of Internet of Things (IoT) breaches often
  keep hitting headlines these days.
• In this post we would discuss why Internet of
  Things security concerns are increasing and how
  to address them.

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• What is IoT Security and why so much emphasis on
  it?
• Why IoT security has become an issue of high
  concern?
• What are the challenges to achieving a secure
  IoT?
• Reasons behind the importance of IoT security
• Multiple entry points for cybercriminals
• Presence of data predators in the IoT ecosystem
• Third parties can be data predators or potential
  preys
• You are under watch, beware!
• IoT hardware manufacturers lack security
  expertise
• Security of enterprise IoT is a greater concern

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• Safeguard measures to make IoT systems safe and
  secureSecurity by design
• Securing the gateways that connect IoT devices
• Ensuring that data repositories are secure
• Keeping your softwares up-to-date
• Appoint a dedicated person
• Government regulations for IoT security
• Be the IoT security evangelist
• Deploying AI and machine learning to stay ahead
  of security threats
• Lets take a dive into the connected world and
  make an attempt in understanding IoT security
  issues and ways to address them.

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What is IoT Security and why so much emphasis on
it?

• IoT security is the realm of endeavour which
  deals with protecting connected networks and
  devices in the Internet of Things.
• According to cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier,
  your security on the Internet depends on the
  security of millions of Internet-enabled devices,
  designed and sold by companies you have never
  heard of, and the worst part is that many of
  these devices dont even have a way to be patched.

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• More than tens of millions of devices are getting
  computerized and connected to the Internet of
  Things globally and every aspect of our lives are
  going to get affected by these devices. This is
  because those Things are nothing but fitness
  trackers, home appliances, medical devices,
  thermostats, light bulbs, cars, smart
  streetlights, etc.

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Why IoT security has become an issue of high
concern?

• According to Gartner report, more than 25 percent
  of identified attacks in enterprises will involve
  IoT by 2020.
• The massive IoT-based DDoS attack against the DNS
  provider Dyn in October 2016 had disrupted access
  to popular websites including Reddit, Spotify,
  Twitter and the PlayStation Network. Dyn
  confirmed that the Mirai botnet was the primary
  weapon which exploited the vulnerability in IoT
  devices like webcams and digital video recorders.

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Reasons behind the importance of IoT security

• Lets take a look at why IoT has become an
  attractive target for cyber attackers and why its
  security is of paramount importance

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Multiple entry points for cybercriminals

• Hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities and
  security loopholes present in IoT solutions for
  carrying out malicious activities like changing
  device settings, authorizing other users to
  control devices remotely and also monitor live
  feeds.
• For instance, in an Internet-connected car
  hackers can unlock the doors remotely and even
  shut it down while the car is in motion.

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• As the number of IoT devices in our lives
  increase, hackers will be able to break into our
  lives through multiple doors. The hacking of
  medical devices to steal health data gathered
  from health tracker devices or from smartwatch
  apps could pose serious consequences on a
  patients health.

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Presence of data predators in the IoT ecosystem
Are you really up with your fitness regimen? Then
health fitness watch on your wrist must be
encouraging you to stay fit by providing you with
real-time health and fitness statistics.
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• What if this critical health data generated by
  your fitness watch becomes a target of a
  malicious entity? Scary, isnt it!
• IoT devices not only generate data but they also
  intercommunicate with other devices and transfer
  a plethora of information.
• Therefore, enterprises having hundreds of
  internet-enabled devices need to be extra
  cautious regarding their security measures as the
  colossal amount of data gets generated and
  transferred among the devices.

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Third parties can be data predators or potential
preys

• In case you are wondering how your data can get
  misused, then you must know that there are
  multiple possibilities.
• The company that gathers data might have foul
  intent and choose to misuse the data. Instead
  they might sell the data to someone with
  malicious intent.
• Another instance could be that the company that
  collects the data for authorized reasons might
  get hacked and the hacker abuses the data.
• In near future we can expect the government to
  introduce protocols for data collection and
  storage to evade the fear of data misuse.

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You Are Under Watch, Beware!

• If IoT devices get hacked then you are at risk of
  getting spied because IoT monitoring is for real.
  Moreover, businesses need to be extra careful and
  well aware of the risks IoT brings along because
  enterprise IoT adoption is on the rise.
  Similarly, manufacturers should also know that if
  they fail to manage the security of the devices
  designed by them then they could pose serious
  threat on their customers privacy.

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You Are Under Watch, Beware!
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• The data collected by the devices could get
  leaked exposing the sensitive information of
  their customers. This in turn would lead to
  customer dissatisfaction and translate into fewer
  sales in future.
• Furthermore, companies are more focused on fast
  shipping their products as there is manifold
  increase in competition and customer expectations
  as well. This in turn leaves loopholes in the
  products shipped leading to compromised data
  security.

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IoT hardware manufacturers lack security expertise

• IoT hardware manufacturers are still not equipped
  enough to integrate the best possible security
  protocols into their IoT devices. They are also
  equally responsible for compromising IoT security
  as their software counterparts because they are
  also part of the IoT ecosystem.

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Security of enterprise IoT is a greater concern

• However, we expect to see more investment coming
  in as the global IoT market matures, driving IoT
  security standards and improvement in IoT
  security solutions.
• Security team experts at Helios believe that from
  a security perspective, the enterprise Internet
  of Things is at a greater risk than your smart
  wristbands, toasters or refrigerators.
• Especially, industries such as insurance,
  finance, entertainment, media and healthcare
  could have security breaches that are
  unthinkable. Hence, they must consider the
  potential risks before installing connected
  devices and should not ignore carrying out proper
  research.

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What are the challenges to achieving a secure IoT?
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• According to Forrester, four key challenges
  hindering the way to a safer IoT are as follows
• Lack of basic security requirements for many IoT
  devices
• Plethora of IoT standards and protocols creating
  security blind spots
• Lack of clarity of responsibility regarding
  privacy and security
• Scale and scope of IoT deployments hindering
  visibility into security incidents.

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Safeguard measures to make IoT systems safe and
secure

• Security by design
• Our team of software development experts suggests
  that you must consider integrating security at
  the design phase in order to minimize
  disruptions. Moreover, each phase of the software
  development process must include security
  analysis.
• This approach also helps to evade the much
  complicated and costly attempt of adding security
  to IoT softwares once development and deployment
  is complete.

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Securing the gateways that connect IoT devices

• To ensure security of Internet-enabled devices
  you would need to secure the gateways that
  connect IoT devices to your company network.
• IoT devices go through a one-time authentication
  process only and as they are always connected to
  Internet, they are more prone to hacking and
  serve as the source of infiltration to the
  companys network.
• Therefore, securing these gateways would ensure
  safety and security of the overall system.

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Ensuring that data repositories are secure

• IoT devices often generate large amounts of data
  that are stored in huge databases. Those data
  repositories with colossal amount of data often
  attract corporate hackers who leverage big data
  to make profits.
• Considering the fact that data theft cases and
  massive data breaches are have increased over the
  years, it is of utmost importance to put more
  efforts towards securing these data repositories.
  Moreover, companies must have robust data backup
  strategy and the security team should know how to
  restore data after a security breach.

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Keeping your softwares up-to-date

• Companies need softwares for their computer
  networks, laptops, desktops, wireless routers,
  network switches and other devices. They must
  keep them up-to-date with latest and authentic
  manufacturer security updates. This would help
  them to protect their devices against any
  security breaches.
• You might be interested to read about the Role of
  Open Source technology in IoT Security.

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Appointing a dedicated person

• Taking into account the importance of IoT
  security, you should consider appointing a
  dedicated team or person to create and maintain
  security measures. It has been observed that most
  of the security breaches that have taken place
  are the result of human errors.

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• Someone in your company might get careless and
  unsystematic causing an error which in turn can
  pave the way for major security breaches.
• You should also train your team or security
  person to act promptly in order to immediately
  address any loopholes as and when they are found.

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Government regulations for IoT security

• Security researchers have shown that
  Internet-enabled cars can be taken under control
  remotely. They have also unveiled vulnerabilities
  in implanted medical devices and showed that home
  thermostats are vulnerable to ransomware.
• Since the risks are too high and computers are
  capable of affecting our world in a direct as
  well as physical manner, cybersecurity expert
  Bruce Schneider asserts that government must get
  involved in the IoT security by imposing
  stringent security regulations.

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• Schneier suggests that government could at least
  impose minimum security standards on IoT hardware
  and software manufacturers. This would force them
  to make their devices secure even if their
  customers do not care. Besides, manufacturers
  must be liable to punishment if their devices are
  used in any attacks.

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Be The IoT Security Evangelist

• Being an end consumer of devices you can become a
  security evangelist by making sure that you
  purchase devices which have security by design or
  rather say built-in security. You can also let
  the manufacturers of products lacking security
  know why you have not bought them. This would
  create awareness among the companies and
  consumers too.

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• Moreover, remember to secure the devices that you
  have purchased by changing the default username
  and password. Also enable their security
  features, and keep in mind that the devices
  should include the ability for encryption.
• Being a professional software development
  company we make sure that our software
  development experts also play the role of
  security evangelist by following security by
  design! They use secure development practices,
  secure operating systems, and hardware security
  to ensure that the IoT solutions have built-in
  security.

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Deploying AI and machine learning to stay ahead
of security threats

• While IoT security is posing a great challenge
  for companies, CEO of Nemertes Research, Johna
  Till Johnson confirmed that AI and machine
  learning are making a significant difference in
  how fast companies can respond to threats.
• She said if low-performing companies take days to
  weeks for threat detection then fast-performing
  companies do this within 10 minutes.
  High-performing companies are so fast because of
  machine learning and analytics.

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• AI adapts and learns about threats in real-time
  by analyzing large data sets which are often
  fragmented and overlapped with one another. It
  can also predict behaviour based on the current
  data sets and make your IoT infrastructure to
  prepare for a potential data breach.

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Conclusion

• Today the market is aflood with
  Internet-connected home appliances which not only
  offer you convenience but cost-savings too.
  However, security researches fear that
  vulnerabilities in these connected appliances
  could lead to crimes that are quite harder to
  detect or trace.
• Likewise, IoT devices in organizations can serve
  as open doors for hackers to walk in if proper
  security measures are not in place.

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• IoT home security solutions could help consumers
  harness the full power of networked appliances
  and reap its benefits.

If you are interested in IoT app development
then collaborate with our software development
experts and move forward in your IoT journey. All
the best!
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