- Network Access Control (NAC) In the Era of IoT and Remote Work
IoT Security Overview
Beyond smartphones and computers, the IoT (Internet of Things) has quickly become part of everyday life—from the smart sensors in modern kitchen appliances, as well as the heating, cooling, and security systems of smart homes, to our smart TVs, and self-driving cars.
IoT has revolutionized the way we work, live, and play, capturing vast amounts of data including our location, how we shop, the content we see, and our network environments. All the data IoT collects is stored, parsed, and transmitted over an ever-expanding global network. This treasure trove feeds artificial intelligence, data analytics, and supply chain operations that impact everything from global commerce to our daily lives.
As you might expect, the attack surface also has expanded with IoT. This is why it is critical to develop and follow IoT security best practices to protect your devices, users, and network from cyber threats.
IoT security begins with best practices to safeguard devices, then the network environment. Once an IoT device is secured and becomes part of the network, protection is coordinated holistically with other network elements. This includes providing secure connectivity between devices, data storage, and IT environments, whether on premises or in the cloud. Then, IoT security becomes a matter of policy enforcement.
The following section provides specific recommendations for IoT security best practices starting with how to develop an effective IoT security strategy.
Why It Matters to Develop IoT Best Practices
Unlike the traditional cybersecurity approach, which typically involves securing hardware or software, IoT sees the cyber and physical spaces converge. Many IoT devices are not big enough to include the compute, memory, or storage capabilities required to directly implement the necessary level of security. Furthermore, many IoT devices are configured to "phone home,’" which increases the risk of a cyberattack, and collect more data than they need to.
Therefore, protecting IoT devices from hackers relies on safeguarding the devices themselves and providing secure connectivity between devices, data storage, and IT environments like the cloud. Manufacturers must consider security at every stage of their software development process by following the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), which ensures security is addressed at each of the seven phases of software development:
- Training phase:Introduces concepts for developing secure software, from secure coding and design to testing and threat modeling
- Requirements phase:Maps out the privacy and security issues of a project, such as regulatory requirements
- Design phase:Ensures security layers are established around all software features
- Implementation phase:Ensures the organization uses approved tools, removes unsafe functions, and performs the appropriate analysis
- Verification phase:Ensures the organization’s code meets its privacy and security requirements
- Release phase:Enables the organization to monitor for and quickly respond to security incidents
- Respond phase:Ensures the organization can quickly and effectively execute an incident response plan in the event of an attack orbreach
What Works Best for IoT Security?
Following IoT device security best practices is critical to keeping users, devices, and data secure at all times. IoT security begins with creating and documenting a strategy that integrates with an organization’s general IT strategy and overall business plan. It should cover every business area that uses the organization’s IoT network.
An effective IoT securitystrategy must set out the security measures that need to be implemented and how these will be monitored or reviewed over time. It must also offer in-depth visibility into the organization’s IT architecture and endpoints to ensure the entire business is covered against IoT threats.
6 Key Recommendations for IoT Security Best practices
Best practices for IoT security include:
1. IoT Endpoint Protection
A critical step to securing IoT devices is hardening them through IoT endpoint protection. Hardening endpoints involves plugging vulnerabilities in high-risk ports, such asTransmission Control Protocol (TCP)andUser Datagram Protocol (UDP),wireless connections, and unencrypted communications. It is also vital to protect devices from malicious code injection.
Endpoint protectionenables organizations to safeguard their networks against advanced attacks, such as the latestmalwareandransomwarestrains. It also secures devices at the network edge, allowing security teams to gain complete visibility of their network, obtain real-time insight into which devices are connected to it, and reduce theirattack surface.
2. IoT Gateway Security
Enterprises can also protect their IoT devices using IoT gateway security, which enforces internet access policies and prevents unwanted software, such asmalware, from accessing user connections.
ASecure Web Gateway (SWG)includes vital features like application control, deep Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) and secure sockets layer (SSL) inspection,remote browser isolation, andUniform Resource Locator (URL) filtering. This is crucial as organizations migrate to the cloud and enable remote connections. It helps to prevent security risks for web-based traffic and protects IoT devices from external and internal cyberattacks.
Connections can also be secured by threat monitoring solutions thatprevent data leaksandvirtual private networks (VPNs), which encrypt browsing data and prevent users’ internet activity from being snooped upon by hackers.
3. Securing Cloud API
Cloud application programming interfaces (APIs) enable IoT applications and systems to communicate and integrate. They play a significant role in connecting services and transferring data. This means a broken or hacked API could result in a massive data breach. It is therefore vital to secure cloud APIs through the use ofauthentication,encryption, tokens, and API gateways.
For example, webAPI securitysecures data as it is transferred across the internet, and REST APIs encrypt data and internet connections to secure data shared between servers and devices.
4. Developing a Secure Network
Developing a secure network connection ensures adequateaccess controlis in place. This guarantees only secure, authenticated, or verified devices are allowed to connect to the network.
Network securitybegins with setting up a secure firewall. It is then essential to deploy security tools and practices likemulti-factor authentication (MFA)that secure devices every time users attempt to connect to the network. It is also crucial to keep authentication keys safe, install updatedantivirusandantimalware software, andcontinuously monitor network activity to keep devices and users secure.
5. Up-to-date Data Encryption
Encryption is critical to securing data in motion when it is transferred between devices or onto the internet. IoT encryption is typically through asymmetric and symmetric encryption methods. Symmetric encryption uses a single cryptographic key to encrypt and decrypt data, while asymmetric encryption uses public and private keys and offers an enhanced level of security.
6. Protected Data Storage
IoT devices and sensors are creating ever-increasing volumes of sensitive data, from financial and personal information to biometric data, stored on cloud-based or hardware storage solutions. So it is crucial to have security in place to ensure this information is secure when being stored or transferred.
Protecting data storage includes effective, updated antivirus solutions and monitoring and scanning tools that cover the network against real-time IoT threats. It is important to have features like flexible reporting and scanning alongside notification systems, antimalware, and a centralized management console that provides deep visibility into network activity.
Frequently Asked Questions about IoT Security Best Practices
1. Why is it important to implement IoT Security Best Practices?
It is important for businesses to implement and follow IoT security best practices to keep their devices and users secure.
2. Why is it important to protect IoT devices?
Protecting IoT devices from hackers relies on safeguarding the devices themselves and providing secure connectivity between devices, data storage, and IT environments like the cloud.
3. Best practices for IoT security include what?
- IoT Endpoint Protection
- IoT Gateway Security
- Securing Cloud API
- Developing a Secure Network
- Up-to-date Data Encryption
- Protected Data Storage
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