IoT Security: Basics & Security Practices

Internet is the part of every office, home, institute and every place in the present world. There is hardly any area of work, study, and entertainment, which is not depending on it. It won’t be wrong to say that the whole human life, even their love life revolves around the internet.

However, this dependence on the internet has also made this world more vulnerable to privacy breaches and data loss issues. The innovative gadgets are making you susceptible to hacking and many other cyber crimes.

Of course, there are ways to prevent the problem to a great stretch, but not everyone knows about it. In fact, a lot of internet user doesn’t even know about IoT.

So, in this article, we will let you you about this critical aspect of the online world. It will tell you about IoT, its importance, and the best practices for ensuring your security.

What is IoT?

IoT or Internet Of Thing is computing concept of connecting all the physical objects to the online databases. The idea behind this concept is to establish a connection between different object and let them represent themselves. This way, each object will have a value in the physical world and will have the ability to understand their surroundings.

Majorities of the gadget these days are working on this concept and have established it to be highly beneficial. For instance, self-driving cars are working on this concept. They detect the environment around them, use their sensors to communicate with objects, and find a safe passage for the driver. Another excellent example of the gadget using IoT technology will be Amazon Alexa. The device connects with all smart gadgets in your home and adjusts them for your needs.

Apart from these two, there are smart televisions, wash machine, smartphone, and a lot of other gadgets that work on IoT concept.

Why Is IoT Security Important?

For implementing IoT technology, you have to equip the gadget with a variety of sensors and software to detect everything around them. The device will also need access to the World Wide Web to refresh its database and interact with its main servers. It is essential to ensure their functioning and performance.

However, this combination of technology also makes the gadgets a risk for your private life. For instance, the smartphone has a camera and internet, which means if someone hacks into its software, they can use it to record voice or video without your permission. The hacker will also get access to sensitive data like essential documents and password on your system.

At the commercial level, these IoT attacks can have even more adverse effects. The best example for the scale of risk is the 2009 Iran centrifugal attack. The cybercriminal used a virus named Stuxnet to target the Microsoft Windows operating system in industries and gain access to their PLCs. They took over the SCADA based system of the Iran industries and caused substantial damage to their nuclear program. It was one of the first known attack and the first instance when the companies realized the risk of poor IoT security.

They realized that the IoT devices needed the hardware and software that can detect and prevent unauthorized access. These security setups can prevent the hackers from entering your devices and also warn you about the breaching attempts.

Further, some IoT security software also helps you to retain information on the attempt and facilitate the cyber police to find the cyber criminals.

Overall, they are the shield that can prevent you from the risk of online crime, and that’s precisely why you should always use them.

Best Practices For IoT Security

Now that you know about the risk that comes with IoT and understands the importance of IoT security, let’s get down with implementing the security measures.

The following are some of the best practices that you have to imply for securing your devices. Have a look:

Install Protective Softwares

The simplest thing that you can do for IoT security is to install antivirus, anti-malware, or defender software. These programs contain a database of all the known types of codes that can harm your computer and can help you to deal with them. They can scan your system in real -time, detect the malicious programs, and then contain them.

Just make sure that you check the source of the software you are installing and keep it up to date. Moreover, audit the system regularly and run manual scans if you ever see any problems.

Pay Attention To Authenticity

Often the users try to secure their system using a password or encryption key. It’s a great initiative but doesn’t always work the way you want it to work.

Akram Artoul, CEO of WebEagle and his team, revealed that large amounts of internet users are still using ‘1234’ and ‘Qwerty’ as their passwords. It is one of the reasons they are becoming a target of the IoT attacks.

So, if you are setting passwords, make sure that it’s a strong one. The best idea would be to randomly mix upper case, lower case, numeric, and special character. Another thing that you should ensure is that the password should never contain any part of your name or an important date. They are the first guess of a cybercriminal as people often use them to make the password easy to remember.

Check Your Hardware

IoT attack often targets the software part of the system and then use it to control hardware. So, most users will pay all their attention to the software, and that is where it will go wrong. The cyber attacks depend on the equipment as much as they rely on the software.

Like if you are using a router with no inbuilt security, the criminals can access it. As the router will be connected to your device uploading a virus will make you vulnerable. Moreover, the open ports of a device can also make you prone to damages. Like in case of the Iran attack, the virus entered into the system through a USB port.

Therefore, make sure to use a secure internet hub or manager and take measures for securing the physical ports like the USB and RJ45.

The Final Words

It’s not necessary that the malicious program that enters your system will come from a targeting source; sometimes, it is random. The system can get infected through a website or third party software.

Therefore, make it a point to never download any program from a shady website, use non-genuine software, and most of, use a crack. Remember, IoT is an asset for the world; it’s your own negligence and lack of security measures that make it a liability. You can even turn to WebEagle as they alert you, if your network is prone to any risks or cyber attacks.