The technology has been continuously evolving throughout history. COVID-19 has increased the pace of this evolution to a whole new level. With the fast-paced growth, we have seen many new trends that came up to the surface. IoT or Internet of Things is one of the emerging trends in the world of technology. IoT helps in managing every device and situation you wish.
But how do IoT works?
An IoT system consists of sensors that communicate or send signals to the cloud through some kind of connectivity. When the data reaches the cloud, then the software processes it and accordingly may decide to act like send an alert message or automatically adjust the sensors/devices, etc., without the need of the user. IoT is such an amazing tool but is it secured enough for us to use?
Well, in research done by HP, it was found out that about 70% of IoT devices are prone to attack! To see security come at last in this new age of digitalisation is not a happy sight. Every personal or professional information your devices hold is in a continuous threat.
What are these IoT issues that we need to handle in order to make our devices secured?
- Data Encryption: In this “new age” of technology, every transmission of data that is sent will be encoded, which can be retrieved by the receiver. Hackers are always on a lookout to find new ways and techniques to hack the data that can be useful to them. In the blink of an eye, your data can be hacked at any given moment. There are some ways which might somewhat ensure the safety of your data;
- Secure Sockets Layer Protocol (SSL) can be used whenever dealing with online data is involved. The majority of the websites do use SSL certification for encryption and protection of data.
- With inbuilt encryption, it is always advisable to make use of the wireless protocol.
- Firewalls are best when using web apps.
- Data Authentication: After data encryption, there is still a threat to your device. Hackers are always on a hunt of small oversights that they can use for their benefits. They can hinder data that might be useful to you. To avoid this, you can use protocols that provide these;
- Customer anonymity
- Secure session key establishment
- Mutual authentication
- And most important is that you always think before you buy any IoT device.
- IoT Hardware Issues: IoT has made the tech giants like Intel focus more on security amendments in their smart devices. The new trend of IoT attracted many, which led to security issues. The number of smart devices increased and this caused vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Hardware issues have created many questions among IoT enthusiasts.
This has led to a rise in manufacturing costs in the IoT devices. It has resulted in IoT being an elite technology. But in time, this can change for IoT technology if safe and secured hardware with cost-efficient solutions is introduced.
- Hardware testing is inevitable: Smart IoT devices are usually tested before they undergo the manufacturing process. This is a good way to try to eliminate the IoT security challenges from the start. But is this all that we need to rely on the IoT devices? Surely not! We can check for ourselves as well.
We can self-assess certain things before buying an IoT device like device range, or the memory capacity of IoT device, scalability, reconfigurability, and latency of the device must be tested upon, etc. There are several online content-like videos available, through which you can do your DIY testing. Have fun testing!
- Managing Updates: Let’s be real; updates are important for every product. It is not possible for an IoT device to have an over-the-air update or updates without downtime. There are situations where data might need to be pulled out temporarily in order to conduct updates. Some devices may not support updates; this is mostly the case in older devices. There are several other instances like these where keeping track of updates is not possible. In this situation, the device manager is useful to keep track of versions on each device.
- Safe Storage: Data storage is easier than before. Zillions of bytes of data can be stored on online facilities. So, it is clear that storing data is not a huge challenge but what is more important than that is backing them up. The source you use for backing up the data may not be secure or safe enough for the job. Anyone could forge the data or might even steal it. Proper safety measures are to be established to avoid such issues.
There are other ways as well to improve security over IoT and to avoid any IoT Mishaps like being careful while buying an IoT device. Also, ensure your data and the source you are accessing your data are safe and secure.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Deepa Jatania works as a Marketing Specialist at vTech Solution, Inc., a managed IT services firm based out of Washington D.C. A writer by day and a reader by night, Deepa has spent the last few years reading and writing tech-related blogs with the sole aim to keep her readers informed of the latest updates, tricks, and tips.