Internet of Things (or IoT for short) is a collective term for a network of interconnected devices that communicate with each other and exchange data over the internet. It is no exaggeration to say that the rapid advancement of IoT has completely revolutionized many aspects of our lives, from wearable devices to smart homes, healthcare, industrial automation, and more, impacting both commercial and personal activities.
With the explosion in connectivity comes an increase in cyber threats such as spear phishing, ransomware, and more personal online extortion and sextortion. To combat these threats, a detailed understanding of them is essential, which leads to a better understanding of how to prevent and respond to them with the help of advanced digital forensics.
Understanding IoT-specific threats
Device Vulnerabilities
IoT devices often have limited memory and processing power, and lack security features, making them attractive targets for hackers who exploit weak passwords and outdated firmware. Once compromised, devices can be used to harvest large amounts of sensitive information.
Lack of standardization
The IoT ecosystem includes many different devices from different manufacturers, each with their own set of security protocols and standards. The lack of standardization across this spectrum creates many inconsistencies in security measures that attackers can exploit.
Data Privacy Concerns
IoT devices inherently collect and transmit large amounts of data, which can be personal or sensitive, especially in the case of consumer IoT and smart home devices. If this data is intercepted by an unauthorized third party, it can be used for purposes such as sextortion and blackmail, as is the case in the areas of wearable health devices and smart cameras.
Network Security Gaps
IoT devices are typically connected to much larger networks, and a compromise of even one device in a network can provide attackers with access to a much larger area.
Prevention measures
So how can you mitigate the above risks that are highly associated with IoT devices? There are several steps you can take to best secure your devices/network:
Enhance device security
First of all, ensure that all IoT devices are regularly updated to the latest firmware versions, including relevant security patches. While manufacturers strive to provide timely updates, these updates are only effective if users apply them as soon as they are available. Additionally, it is always recommended to create strong, unique passwords for your devices and use multi-factor authentication. Default, “easy” passwords should be avoided at all costs.
Implementing enhanced network security
Using network segmentation protocols to isolate IoT devices from critical networks can be extremely helpful, limiting the potential impact if one device is compromised, preventing access to a lot of sensitive information.
Conduct comprehensive monitoring
We highly recommend using an Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (known as an IDPS) to continuously monitor your IoT network to detect anomalous activity – the sooner anomalies are detected, the faster you can respond and mitigate potential damage.
Implement strong data privacy measures
Smart users can adopt data minimization practices by only collecting the most necessary amount of data and avoid storing sensitive information unnecessarily on their IoT devices. Using device access controls to customize settings and commands ensures that all data stored on IoT devices is protected and encrypted, making it much harder to exploit in the event of an attack.
