Security concerns to think about in IoT

According to Evans Data’s recent Internet of Things Development survey, at least 31% of the software developers engaged in creating applications for IoT devices cite serious security concerns in the software that will run devices.

Security has always remained of paramount importance in the data driven environment. However, in the IoT stream, security concerns weigh manifold times than traditional desktop or mobile devices.

The extent of damage that will be incurred in the cause of a security breach in the IoT environment is far more serious and impactful than in other scenarios.

In addition to loss of personal data, the security breach may also potentially cause serious safety concerns since home appliances are also forming part of the IoT environment.

What causes the difference in security between IoT and other mediums?

Traditional devices like desktops, mobiles, hybrid devices, etc. are programmed to thwart hacking attempts or unauthorized infiltrations using perimeter defense networks.

However, when it comes to protecting user privacy and data confidentiality in IoT devices, these perimeter network defense systems are acutely inadequate.

In the IoT realm, hackers can attempt to break into private networks even through the Radio Frequency medium.

Which means, any device that is activated with 2G, 3G or 4G networks, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or NFC will be susceptible for third party hacking.

IoT will create a trillion and more open-to-attack data points

Every single IoT device can be counted as hack-prone. There is no way that manufacturers of these devices can confirm that the data collected and streamed are secure at all times. The present lack of a standard security IoT protocol only establishes this fact.

In case of a security breach, the ultimate security challenge will be to contain the data loss to a single or short range of devices without letting it spread to the whole set of interconnected devices.

The below mentioned chart depicts how much severe certain areas of privacy and user information are in IoT.

How can security risks in IoT be mitigated?

Aligning vendors to a common security protocol

Secondly, vendors of IoT devices should coordinate their efforts to plug possible security issues right at the manufacturing stage. IoT typically contains multiple vendors. Too many appliance and device manufacturers will be aligning their devices together to work in conjunction on short-distance networks like BLE, RFID, NFC, etc. This potentially gives hackers multiple entry points to target and launch a breach action.

“Gartner Says 6.4 Billion Connected "Things" Will Be in Use in 2016 and more than 5.5 million new things will get connected every day.”

Hence, it is too late to roll out a common security protocol for all devices. However, it is still plausible to standardize the security protocols which will stave off possible security concerns in the near future. It will give rise to a new breed of IoT devices which will be hack-proof and adhering to single authority of security protocol.

Training IT security experts

There are several layers to dealing with the security concerns in IoT. However, broadly it originates with the training and development of system security officers who are working in the IoT environment.

Developers must be trained in coding software and firmware for IoT devices using various control measures including: context-aware access control, real-time security analytics, endpoint threat detection, cloud access security, etc.

Creating awareness amidst end users

In every crisis and threat prone situation, the maximum coverage can be done only at the end point, which in IoT is the end user.

Users must be enlightened about the possible security threats like Ransomware, DDoS attacks, Spyware, etc. which can possibly attack not only their computer systems, but in the near IoT enabled future, even their home appliances.

The extent of damage that can be caused as a result of security breach and privacy invasion must also be made aware to the end users.