IoT devices have made our lives a lot easier. We can use these smart devices for all our tasks, no matter how mundane or critical. You can use a smart coffee-maker and treat yourself to an effortless cup of coffee, or you can use IIoT devices for making your industrial operations smooth.
Now, as long as you have an internet connection, you don’t even have to get out of bed to make yourself a cup of hot brew. You can simply command Alexa, and she will make you the best coffee in no time. And with the widespread availability of Internet services from ISPs like Spectrum, anyone can take advantage of a super-fast and affordable connection. Simply contact Spectrum Customer Service, and you can get yourself an amazingly fast, secure, and reliable Internet plan.
But is IoT that perfect? The sad answer is, No. Like every other technology, IoT is no short of security concerns. From your smart security cameras to your smart printers, all IoT devices are vulnerable to getting hacked. Here are the top 5 security concerns with IoT.
Vulnerability to Hacking
Since IoT devices are connected to the internet, there is a high risk of these devices being hacked. According to the “Global Print Security Landscape 2019” report by Quocirca, around 60% of the businesses in developed countries like the US, France, and Germany had to face a loss of data worth about US$ 400,000.
Hackers use tools like Hackers anonymous payment, DDOS, and others to hack IoT devices and create a bot army of several hacked IoT devices, leaving the whole system vulnerable. IoT devices remain connected 24/7 and aren’t continuously monitored. Moreover, the passwords used to keep these devices aren’t also strong enough for pro hackers. IoT hacking doesn’t just mean vulnerability of our everyday devices like smartphones and security devices, but it can lead to major attacks like hacking off a whole nuclear plant.
Larger Area for Attack
The diversity of applications of IoT devices makes them scalable and adaptable. While this offers an advantage of the explosive growth of the Internet of Things, it also makes IoT devices’ attack area larger; The more services a device offers, the larger will be its attack area.
Moreover, a building employing multiple IoT devices for different tasks is more vulnerable to cyberattacks. That is because all the IoT devices, from smart toilets to smart printers, are connected over the same server. And so, any security threat to seemingly harmless IoT devices such as smart toilets can lead to a major concern.
Lack of Encryption
A team of researchers from Veracode, an application security firm, found a lack of encryption in five out of six IoT devices they checked. The main reason they found was the competitive nature of the IoT market- Producers are more focused on getting the finished product over the shelf and less on actually making it secure.
Incomplete encryption is also a security issue with IoT devices- Despite the data being encrypted, if the encryption is incomplete, it will pose threat by introducing vulnerabilities. An incompletely encrypted device might be unable to verify and authenticate the other party and get attacked by a Man-in-the-Middle attacker.
Lack of Physical Security
Like most devices, IoT devices are vulnerable to physical attacks by nefarious people. A physical attack may happen in more than one way- The attacker may either directly open the device, attach a lead to it, or use other forms of contactless technology like fluctuating the power supply, applying electromagnetic radiation, using high/low-frequency sounds, etc.
Although the interconnectivity of several IoT devices makes this threat less common, still it remains one of the security concerns with the Internet of Things.
Lack of a Trusted Execution Environment
A TEE, short for Trusted Execution Environment, is a dedicated area on the main processor of a device, isolated from the core OS. It makes sure that data is recorded, processed, and secured in an environment free from any breaches.
Many IoT devices have general-purpose hardware capable of running specific software. This makes it possible for a hacker to install his own software with functionalities that are not a part of the normal functioning of the IoT device. The software installed by the hacker may have the ability to perform a DDoS attack, limiting the authority of the device to the hands of the hacker only.
The Bottom Line:
Despite the many benefits of IoT, there are some major concerns when it comes to the security of IoT devices. The lack of encryption, physical security, TTE, and a larger area of attack make IoT devices vulnerable to many different forms of cyberattacks. Thus, it is important to purchase all your smart devices from trusted sources and monitor them regularly for any potential threat.
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