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IoT Protection
supported by their manufacturer, it
creates a big security challenge. This is
one of the IoT security challenges that
the information security industry is
well aware of. In such circumstance, an
external, multilayer network security
device can be of service so that you
can continue to block attacks and keep
the device functional.
Even when updates are available, the
user may opt out of applying an
update. As part of your device
management, you need to keep a track
of the versions and which devices
should be withdrawn after updates are
no longer available.
IoT Hardware
As the IoT market grows and as
hardware matures, we will see more
investment and improved security.
Several IoT devices have restricted
amounts of storage, memory, and
processing capabilities and are often
operated on lower power. Security
approaches that rely heavily on
encryption are not a good fit for these
constrained devices as they are not
capable of performing complex
encryption and decryption quickly to
be able to transmit data securely in
real-time. IoT systems should make
use of multiple layers of defense,
separating devices onto distinct
networks and using firewalls, to
compensate for the device limitations.
Safe and Secure Communication
In the initial days of internet, you
probably worried about protecting your
computers against viruses or malwares.
If you were concerned about
information you were sending online,
you would use encryption on your
emails. For most people, that was the
extent of information security. Today,
you have to not only be concerned
about the data stored in the cloud, but
also the physical devices and their
communications.
December|2017
Several IoT devices do not encrypt
messages before sending them over the
network. However, the best practice to
use is transport encryption, and to
adopt standards like Transport Layer
Security. Using distinct networks to
separate devices also help in
establishing secure and private
communications, so that transmitted
data remains confidential.
Detecting Vulnerabilities
In spite of utilizing the best efforts,
security vulnerabilities and breaches
are unavoidable. Determining whether
the IoT system has been compromised
is not an easy feat. On a large scale IoT
system, the complexity in terms of the
number of devices connected and the
variety of devices, apps, services, and
communication protocols involved, can
make it difficult to identify when a
breach has occurred.
Tactics for detecting susceptibilities
and breaches include monitoring
network communications and activity
logs for irregularities, engaging in
penetration testing and ethical hacking
to expose vulnerabilities. Moreover,
applying security intelligence and
analytics can aid in identifying and
notifying when incidents occur.
signatures to ensure data has not been
modified. Blockcha in, as a
decentralized distributed ledger for IoT
data, offers an accessible and robust
approach for ensuring the integrity of
IoT data.
Authorize and Authenticate Devices
Addition of multiple devices to the
network offers potential points of
failure with an IoT system thus,
making authentication and
authorization a vital criterion for
securing IoT systems. Devices should
be able to establish their identity before
they can access gateways and upstream
services. However there are many
devices that fail in device
authentication. Implementing an IoT
platform that provides security by
default will help in resolving these
issues by enabling two factor
authentications and enforcing the use
of stronger passwords and certificates.
IoT promises opportunity, but the
security risks cannot be ignored
whether it is from hackers or
corporations. The best remedy is to
consider the potential risks of installing
connected devices and doing your
research.
Data Privacy and Integrity
It is important to securely store and
process data after it has been
transmitted across the network.
Implementing data privacy includes
classification and disguising sensitive
data before it is stored and using data
separation to decouple identifiable
information from IoT data payloads.
Data that is no longer required should
be disposed of securely and if stored,
should be maintained with legal and
regulatory compliance, which is also
an important challenge.
Ensuring data integrity, involves
employing checksums or digital
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