IoT is Easing Life these days But is it even Secure to Rely on it

It is no secret that this is the age of automation, artificial intelligence, and the IoT (Internet of Things). Enterprises have changed the way they used to do business and are equipped to take the ride of digital transformation. COVID-19 pandemic further pushed businesses to adopt digitization. This journey of digital transformation has opened the doors for IoT devices and their big-scale adoption. The value of the IoT market size was $115billion in 2016 and is expected to rise up to $197 billion by 2023, increasing at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2017 to 2023.

The increasing pattern of IoT devices has evolved how businesses gather, exchange, examine and conclude large amounts of information. It is used to get insights from customer behaviour and enhance business efficiencies to mitigate operational costs and improve workplace security. Undoubtedly, the internet of things has made our lives more effective and easy. As they have found a place in our lives, it is imperative to be aware of the security threats and risks of cyberattacks they bring with them. The fact that IoT devices do not have any inbuilt security further makes them ideal for hackers. As many IoT devices are interconnected, it compromises the safety of many of them if hackers succeed in controlling one of them.

Why is IoT (Internet of Things) Security Essential?

Let’s suppose that you purchase a smartphone that gathers information about you and the way you live your life. As mobile phones store data of your personal life, therefore, the security of your information is the thing you should be worried about in the first place. Unfortunately, we can only estimate that devices work as advertised and therefore secure your personal information.

Digital transformation has led the way for personal information to be stored on multiple devices and kinds of hardware. Individuals have been encouraged to take responsibility for the security of their personal data and become active participants in the matter. Nonetheless, in the majority of cases, the link between customers and cybersecurity specifically relates to computers. Contrary to conventional cyber technology in which issues revolve around software, IoT safety affairs emerge when the digital and the physical worlds congregate. These solutions can only be safeguarded if the devices themselves are protected.

IoT is a joined network of devices, appliances, and other things that have software to connect them to the internet. It means that it is not just smartphones and computers that can reveal your personal data to cybercriminals but any device, vehicle, and system that interacts digitally have the ability to expose your personal information. Not just financial data, but cybercriminals may access linked vehicles to deactivate security features. So, it is right to say that the greater the number of devices connected, the more opportunities hackers have to take control of your security.

Internet of Things — Security Practices

From appliances to smartwatches, almost every tech device can connect to other devices and the internet. IoT security reflects a wide range of methods, planning, tools, and security measures that aspire to safeguard network-based and internet-connected devices from being manipulated and thus counter possible cyberattacks.

Security professionals encourage best practices on the individual level to safeguard personal information; however, it is not sufficient to entirely rely on them. Instead, it is suggested to focus on strengthening the technology, enhancing the user interface, and other things on the part of the tech side to secure the IoT things.

There are multiple verification methods that IoT developers can utilize to build trust into their devices:

• Birth certificate

Developers can establish a special identifier into every device, such as a key or serial number (a cryptographic code employed in advanced online operations).

• Challenge-response

The device must be taught to respond in a specific way to a request. For instance, an accepted private key is provided when implied with a public key.

• Device fingerprinting

Deploy the identified operation of the device to build a behavioural signature and verify against the predicted consequences.

• Environmental checks

Measures the working environment of the device against prospects (time, IP address).

• One-time trust occasion

Observe trust at a specific point in the device lifecycle and sustain it for a longer period of time as conditions remain the same. For instance, if the device is started in a safe environment and is still connected to the internet, then it is trusted.

With identity verification for individuals, the best way is not to just depend on a single method. Instead, employing various ways together delivers the perfect security model. Moreover, advanced strategies to mitigate risk rely on the associated threats. A nuclear power plant does not work on the same security as a smart tv module. Developers are needed to think about the costs and risk factors to identify what level of security is required.

Summing it up

As the trend of IoT devices keeps on rising, our surroundings will be full of smart devices that are becoming a potential target for hackers. There is only one way to protect the personal information stored in smart appliances and that is to secure the IoT devices in the first place. There are multiple ways such as device fingerprinting, challenge-response and one-time events, and more that can be utilized together to safeguard the IoT devices.