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SECURITY:
INTERNET
OF THINGS
A Quintessential Aspect of the
O
ver the years, there have been
multiple predictions that there
will be at least tens of billions
of connected devices by 2020. And
everyday objects like tires and baby
monitors could all become a part of
this interconnected world. The Internet
of Things (IoT) makes life a lot more
convenient, easy and fun. You can
check locks through mobile devices
and never have to rush home dreading
that someone has broken inside while
you were away.
While all these things are very
convenient, currently, IoT is facing
major security challenges that are
posing new problems for individuals,
businesses, and security professionals
alike. Whenever you connect a new
device to your existing network, you
add a new endpoint behind your
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network's firewall. If the software is
even slightly buggy and not very
secure, you could have possible just
created a backdoor into your network
for hackers.
Similarly, a recent research has found
that many IoT based baby monitors can
be easily hacked and used to remotely
view live feeds and control the
monitor. Also, motion sensors
embedded in smart watches can be
used to steal information. For
enterprises, these security gaps are an
enormous risk.
Although, you should not be punished
for a device that isn’t secure. You
should be able to secure your network
with any number of smart devices
connected to it. So far, the key seems
to be stronger inbound and outbound
firewall and better detection and
blocking of attacks.
While IoT's progress will not be
stopped anytime soon, here are some
of the biggest security issues and how
to overcome them:
Updates, Updates and Updates!
The reason computers have automatic
updates is because most users are too
lazy to perform even the most basic
steps needed to keep their computers
safe. And when you consider
protecting the many IoT devices, this
problem gets even worse.
When the developers and manufactures
of the devices do not include the ability
to automatically update the device, or
updates might not be available for the
device or the devices are no longer
December|2017