Why hardware configurations could be the downfall of the IoT

Why hardware configurations could be the
downfall of the IoT

The Internet of Things
is opening up new opportunities for businesses as well as introducing
a new era of convenience for consumers. And it’s happening sooner rather
than later: More than 24 billion IoT devices will connect
to each other and the internet by 2020, according to Business
Insider, and that’s a conservative estimate. The Motley Fool noted that other
tech giants are predicting anywhere from 50 billion to 200
billion IoT devices within the next three years.

One thing is clear:
The IoT is going to be big, and require a lot of management. After all,
handling devices the wrong way could leave security gaps in your network.
Hardware configurations could be the downfall of IoT, and it’s important for
you to enable your systems appropriately.

Systems at risk

Most devices,
including routers and printers, come with preset, easy passwords and
inactivated security capabilities. A number of organizations may simply install
this hardware without changing the standard authorizations, leaving significant
holes that attackers can exploit. This type of situation is only magnified by
the number of active IoT devices. After all, who wants to configure every
sensor or create a firewall for their coffee maker? However, you must do
exactly that to enable IoT without compromising security.

Unsecured internet-connected devices can
introduce network vulnerabilities.

IoT technology is
still developing, and you must ask critical questions to understand how these
devices handle your sensitive information. The Global Privacy Enforcement
Network Privacy Sweep found that it wasn’t clear how IoT devices collected,
used and disclosed information. Many companies also neglect to
explain how user data would be secured or how to delete personal information.
With so many entry points to your network, your system could be at risk if you
don’t have definitive answers concerning their requirements and capabilities.

“If you think your IoT
devices aren’t at risk, you’re wrong.”

Sitting targets for
malicious attacks

Unsecured IoT devices
are gateways for hackers to stroll into your critical business systems and
execute attacks on a larger scale. In fact, major internet services including
Twitter, Spotify and Netflix were disrupted when an attacker leveraged IoT
devices to deliver a series of massive DDoS attacks to Dyn. According to Fast
Company, the hacker leveraged the digital traffic from
internet-enabled hardware and sent the noise to the domain name
service provider, disrupting its ability to translate addresses into IP networks.
Hundreds of thousands of cameras, routers, DVRs and other household appliances
were used to carry out this attack. Security experts had warned that such a
situation could occur, serving as a reminder why hardware configurations are
critical for business and user security.

If you think your IoT
devices aren’t at risk, you’re wrong. Attackers can use tools like Shodan to
easily search for exposed cyber assets. Trend Micro noted this system can show a hacker any connected
device’s IP address, application and firmware versions as well as
other critical information to make it easier to compromise. This research also
found web servers, webcams, wireless access points and routers were the most
unsecured cyber assets in the top 10 most populous U.S. cities.

Protecting your IoT
devices

Security capabilities
across IoT devices will only continue to improve, but in the meantime,
organizations must take steps to protect this hardware. The first step is to
configure your equipment correctly to your business and set passwords that will
be difficult for a hacker to guess. You should also leverage data breach
systems to detect unusual behavior within your network as it occurs. This
solution will help catch malicious access to your IoT devices, enabling you to
act quickly to reinstate and improve security.