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The recent COVID-19 pandemic and remote working situations have dramatically increased the number of devices connected across a network. The connected devices can range from smartphones and laptops to IoT devices such as medical equipment and even industrial machinery. Since these devices are interconnected on a network, when one device is infiltrated by malware, it can spread to thousands of other devices on the same network. This threat can be extremely dangerous as it can bring down a fully functioning industry in a matter of few seconds. Also, previous privacy conflicts have proved that vulnerabilities in the communication network can enable the tracking of surveillance cameras and other crucial devices. Therefore, it is essential that not just enterprises, but even government agencies have to leverage efficient IoT security in order to prevent cyberattacks.
What is IoT Cybersecurity?
As more devices and systems in our day-to-day lives are becoming embedded with network connectivity, Hazim Gaber says it is more than essential to ensure that these devices are completely secure. Not just enterprises, but even healthcare sectors and government agencies have adopted IoT devices. Healthcare sectors especially during the COVID-19 crisis have seen tremendous potential with smart connected devices, such as thermal scanners, sensors and AI-based facial recognition cameras and developing healthcare websites. All these IoT devices transfer tons of personal data every day between other devices and applications. Therefore, if this data falls into the wrong hands, it can be extremely challenging for not just the enterprise but even an entire nation. IoT security drastically enhances the resilience of devices on a network by implementing cybersecurity solutions. It facilitates secure data connectivity layer by layer across the IoT architecture. Starting from the perception layer of devices to the functionality of various applications in the Application layer, every layer will be efficiently encrypted. Due to this probable security flaws can be identified, fixed and monitored before IoT deployment.
How can enterprises protect devices against cyber threats?
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a resource before it is given access to the network. The resource to be authenticated could either be a human or a device. Authentication is the first phase in providing access control, and can determine the exact identity of the accessing resource to establish a trust in the system.
In several cases, authentication is provided between a device and the network by entering their verified credentials that have been provided during the initial verification process. However, in this scenario, the access-seeking resource does not have an assurance regarding the identity of the access granting resource. To overcome this issue, mutual authentication should be provided between the resources. This can be done by verifying the identity of the access granting resource with the involvement of a TTP, such as a Certificate Authority (CA).
CA’s are globally recognized institutions that are responsible for issuing and maintaining secure digital certificates of web entities registered under them. These certificates are crucial for the execution of all modern-day authentication protocols such as HTTPS, SSL/TLS and IPSec.
Authorization
Authorization is the method of implementing restrictions and allowing privileges to the verified resource. Normally, an administrator is monitoring the authorization database for providing access and preferences to system resources. Each resource is provided with different access capabilities such as view, alter and execute. Based on these access rights, authorization is set by the administrator to each of the users and they can only perform tasks that they can access.
Conclusion
IoT services and their security is the most discussed paradigm among enterprises nowadays. The integration of various technologies and devices with different architectures is one major cause of vulnerability in IoT architecture. Authentication and Authorization will simplify the connection processes, enhancing network performance due to the limited use of IoT products and services. Security will have to be inbuilt so that IoT can withstand a chance against the threats that technological advancements will bring along. See how ELK alerting from the security platform Logit.io can help secure your IoT focused business.
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