The Internet of Things is one of the latest innovations in the digital transformation era, linking everything to the Internet. It’s the fundamental technology behind smart houses, self-driving vehicles, smart energy meters, and smart cities. According to IoT experts, there will be more than 26 billion connected devices worldwide by 2021, up from just 6 billion in 2016. But there are some security challenges for the future of the Internet of Things. In this article, we look at significant IoT Cybersecurity challenges and their solutions.
Learning of the Blog
- What is IoT Cybersecurity?
- Major Challenges
- Solutions
- EndNote
Let us learn more about IoT and potential challenges you can come across.
What is IoT Cybersecurity?
IoT is the concept of connecting objects and devices of all kinds to the web. There is also a crucial need to protect the Internet of Things devices and the networks to which they are connected. For business environments, IoT devices include production equipment, smart grids, building automation, and other personal IoT devices workers carry to work.
Major Challenges
IoT systems have not been designed with protection in mind. Let us look at the significant challenges of IoT cybersecurity.
Outdated Hardware and Software
As IoT devices are increasingly being used, the manufacturers of these devices focus on building new ones and not paying enough attention to safety. Most of these devices don’t get enough updates, while some never get a single one, these items are safe at the time of purchase. Still, they are vulnerable to attacks when hackers find any vulnerabilities or security issues. Not having updates can lead to a breach of data not only on the part of customers but also on the companies that manufacture them.
Data Privacy Threat
In this digital environment, data security has become very complicated as it can be shared within a few seconds between different devices. One moment, it’s stored on the mobile, the next minute it’s stored on the web, and then on the cloud. All of these data are transferred or transmitted over the Internet, which may lead to data leakage. When the data is leaked, hackers will sell it to other organizations that breach data privacy and protection rights. This could also lead to security incidents.
Usage of Automated Data Management Systems
From the data collection and networking point of view, the amount of data generated from the connected devices is too high to handle. For this, IoT managers and network experts would need to set new guidelines such that traffic patterns can be easily identified. However, the use of these devices can be a little dangerous, since even the slightest mistake when configuring can cause an outage.
Predicting and Preventing Attacks
Cybercriminals are preemptively discovering new techniques for security threats. In such a situation, there is a need not only to recognize and fix vulnerabilities when they arise but also to learn how to anticipate and avoid new threats. New cloud services use threat intelligence to predict security issues. Other such techniques include AI-powered monitoring and analytical tools. Nonetheless, it isn’t easy to implement these strategies in IoT since the connected devices need to process the data immediately.
Challenging to Figure Out if the System is Being Affected
Although it’s impossible to guarantee 100% security from security threats and breaches, the IoT device thing is that most users don’t know if their device is hacked. When there is a massive range of IoT devices, it becomes difficult for service providers to monitor them. It’s because an IoT system requires connectivity software, infrastructure, and protocols.
As a result, many apps tend to run without users realizing that they have been compromised.
Solutions
Here are some solutions that you may implement to increase the security of your IoT devices
IoT Security Analysis
IoT-related vulnerabilities and protection problems can be significantly minimized by introducing data analytics. This includes gathering, correlating, and analyzing data from various sources to help IoT protection providers recognize possible threats and stop these threats in the bud. Malicious and suspicious irregularities can then be identified by correlated data from a wide range of domains. It helps security experts to fix these anomalies and avoid them from having a detrimental effect on the connected devices.
Public Key Infrastructure
The PKI is a collection of policies, software/hardware, and procedures necessary for the development, management, and distribution of digital certificates. Over the years, this security process has proven to be an effective solution to IoT security issues. PKI guarantees data encryption by both asymmetric and symmetric encryption methods, raising the chances of data theft to a bare minimum. Cryptographic key and X509 digital certificates are two of the IoT PKI authentication mechanisms that can be used and public or private key management, distribution, and revocation.
Securing Network
IoT devices are attached to back-end systems that are previously linked to the Internet via an IoT network. To ensure its smooth operation, the IoT network needs to be protected and secured. Using certain endpoint protection features such as anti-malware, anti-virus, intrusion prevention, and firewalls, you can effectively secure the network and defend it from attacks.
Ensuring Communication Protection
The IoT concept is based on the interaction between the associated devices. But, when communication is compromised, there will be a communication malfunction that can make the devices useless. Many people don’t know that communication should always be encrypted to ensure smooth communication. The same idea applies to communication between connected devices and interfaces, such as web apps and smartphone apps. IoT developers recommend that many notable ciphers be implemented: AES 256, HTTP, AES 128, and a host of others. This layer of protection makes the interface impregnable for potential hackers.
EndNote
IoT optimizes processes, improves service quality, reduces costs, and enhances customer experience. While businesses may not be able to eliminate all IoT attacks from occurring, they can put proactive processes that mitigate threats to valuable systems and data. Emerging technologies such as blockchain, for example, may be used to protect and decentralize IoT devices. Become an asset to your company by being a Certified Internet of Things Expert. Register for an IoT training certification today!