Why Is IoT Security Important for Your Business?
Overview: IoT Connected Devices
IoT (Internet of Things) connected devices are revolutionary inventions that are sure to surprise us further within the coming years. Already IoT devices, sensors, and systems exist in the consumer, commercial and industrial spaces. From agriculture to your thermometer, IoT is becoming a key factor for many products and large-scale operations; novel or otherwise.
Data from Juniper Research has revealed that the total number of IoT connected devices is set to pass 50 billion by 2022, a significant increase from the estimated 21 billion in 2018. With more devices and sensors than humans on the planet, it is appropriate then that we cover the significant security concerns connected with this ever-expanding industry.
The purpose of this post is not to be alarmist or create panic, but rather to explain why IoT security is so important for all businesses (and individuals), big or small.
IoT Devices Increase the Number of Endpoints
The main security issue caused by IoT devices is the increased number of endpoints for your virtual environment. In Avast’s blog “What Risks do IoT Security Issues pose to Business?” they defined an endpoint as any device in a network that is connected to the internet, with each offering a point of entry to bad actors.
If you’ll recall that in our previous blogs concerning cybersecurity, we have been keen to mention the necessity of monitoring endpoints. A key to maintaining a secure network is having full visibility and awareness of all the gaps.
Take a city for instance, in the times of siege warfare before modern weaponry the defenders had to be aware of all the entry points and weak spots of their city. What places in the walls are the weakest? Where do the enemy troops become invisible to our towers? Is there an ancient sewer that leads directly to our command center?! (You get the idea)
The same can be said about your business’ network. With the advent of IoT devices, the number of endpoints jumps considerably, forcing you to be aware of many more possible entry points into your business’ network.
Traditional Endpoints Are Still A Security Issue
A huge problem of adding new endpoints into the equation is that they are just stacking on top of old endpoints. Lots of businesses still have a difficult time monitoring traditional endpoints, with infected laptops and smartphones remaining a common pathway for hostile players to enter into a business’ virtual environment. Even for those who have taken precautions against spam and malware for their employees’ phones and computers, IoT devices are a new frontier in many regards (how do you prevent your company’s refrigerator from hacking into your virtual environment?)
Manufactures Don’t Prioritize Security
Other security issues you should be aware of when it comes to IoT devices are that the manufactures of these devices don’t prioritize security. They are primarily concerned with getting their new product to market as quickly as possible. While there is security built into these IoT connected products, the security is not always that sophisticated, and it certainly is not a core element for many of these products’ designs.
Intellectsoft covers some of the crazy security flaws in many IoT connected products in their blog “Top 10 Biggest IoT Security Issues.” They write that “…most fitness trackers with Bluetooth remain visible after the first pairing, a smart refrigerator can expose Gmail login credentials, and a smart fingerprint padlock can be accessed with a Bluetooth key that has the same MAC address as the padlock device.”
Additionally, as of now, there are no security standards for manufactures who create devices that utilize and are connected to IoT.
Other Security Issues: Updates and Awareness
Another security issue with IoT devices is that they are not made for consistent updates. Whereas smartphones and computers are consistently updated with things like bug fixes and security improvements, some IoT connected devices are not designed this way. They remain stagnant and can easily be surpassed by the millions of ever-evolving cyber threats.
The last issue of IoT connected devices that we will cover here is the lack of awareness amongst most purchasers of these products. Most people buying these devices simply don’t understand the whole scope of their functionality. Who can blame them? Most people aren’t expecting their car, printer or household appliances to try and steal their valuable information.
Why Could This Affect Your Business?
These latter security issues connect back to your business because of, again, endpoints. Infected laptops and smartphones remain common entry points for cyber attackers to enter into your business’ network. Adding more IoT devices into the mix opens up even more entry points for hostile players to piggyback from one device to the next, till eventually, they are inside your network.
Therefore, you must have full knowledge of where the gaps are. Visibility and awareness are key to an effective and reactive defense.
Some Final Thoughts on IoT
IoT connected devices will most likely take the same path as smartphones and computers; security will eventually become a primary concern and selling factor. Already Apple has made strides to put security first for IoT devices and many other companies will follow suit. Even when that time comes, it will still be beneficial to prioritize cybersecurity for your business.
Have more questions concerning cybersecurity? Please feel free to contact Conectrix, we can find the most optimal solution to meet your personal needs.
https://blog.avast.com/iot-security-business-risk
https://www.intellectsoft.net/blog/biggest-iot-security-issues/