IoT has enormous potential to change everyday life and the workplace. Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the nexus of the digital and physical worlds, with a wide range of devices leveraging interconnectivity to offer seamless experiences for businesses and consumers.

However, the Internet of Things is currently at a turning point. Will it unlock enormous potential as a fully integrated IoT ecosystem, or will it continue to offer additional benefits within fragmented clusters? The transition to a fully integrated IoT network within and across industry verticals is necessary to “unlock” that and, consequently, answer that query.

To create such a network, it is necessary to face fundamental challenges. The most significant of these is cybersecurity risk, which prevents the trust needed to integrate IoT networks and applications. IoT and cybersecurity convergence—bringing together any technical, functional, or business aspect of IoT and cybersecurity to create a new, cohesive whole—is the answer. The importance of this discovery for important applications (such as automobiles, healthcare and smart cities) should not be underestimated.

The Cybersecurity and Internet of Things Landscape

Technology experts often ask: What are the main obstacles preventing the widespread adoption of IoT today? We explored the IoT landscape to better understand the barriers to widespread IoT adoption and potential solutions, motivated by our belief that the intersection of IoT and cybersecurity can generate a tremendous amount of new value.

IoT applications are growing in all industry sectors and there has been a shift from isolated clusters of IoT devices to interconnected IoT environments. This is particularly evident in environments such as cars and industrial floors.

But so far, the Internet of Things has not grown as quickly as expected, and the industry has not developed a seamless experience where devices enter and exit physical spaces and are recognized, trusted and controlled without the need for additional (and occasionally manual) verification procedures.

Opportunities for various actors in the value chain are created by the growth of connected devices and the complexity of IoT use cases (such as autonomous systems and transportation). However, it also raises the possibility of weaknesses that could have disastrous results.

Given IoT’s control over physical processes, many IoT systems have a higher risk profile than enterprise IT. Therefore, a foundation of digital trust, a functional convergence of cybersecurity and the Internet of Things, and an early integration of cybersecurity in the architecture design and pilot phase are necessary for a smooth IoT experience.

The sector could benefit greatly if it can successfully integrate cyber security with the Internet of Things. Under the baseline scenario, the market for IoT vendors is projected to grow to almost zero500 billion dollars by 2030. Executives would increase IoT spending by an average of 20 to 40 percent if cybersecurity concerns were fully addressed. Furthermore, new and evolving use cases can unlock an additional five to ten percentage points of value for IoT service providers. This suggests that the total addressable market value (TAM) for IoT vendors across all industries could be between $625 billion and $750 billion.

What are the security risks in IoT?

Threats to your IoT system can vary depending on your industry, security laws, and connected devices.

The following are typical cyber threats and security issues:

1. Absence of encryption

All data sent between IoT devices is still vulnerable to eavesdropping as many of them do not encrypt data by default. Data exposure can be catastrophic if your IoT network is sending sensitive data, which is the situation in many industrial, critical infrastructure and healthcare contexts.

2. Ecosystems that lack security

Devices are still vulnerable to malware and other intrusions if the interface is insecure and the company has not implemented physical hardening to limit access. It is crucial to implement digital and physical security measures for IoT devices. Data security and device management are examples of controls.

3. Authentication problems

Attackers can exploit weak authentication, such as using weak passwords or not using multi-factor authentication. Hackers and botnets can gain access to the Internet of Things network by brute force setting simple and default passwords.

4. Ransomware

Ransomware attacks prevent users from accessing the system. This attack can disrupt the overall functionality of your operating systems and network if your IoT devices are required for critical use cases.

5. Attacks known as denial of service

The operation of the device is disrupted by a denial of service (DoS) attack, which is also known as a distributed denial of service attack or DDoS attack. Cybercriminals can use botnets to override your system by crashing IoT devices if your IoT network is unprotected and can receive traffic from anywhere.

How do you increase the security of your IoT network?

The following security steps will help you create a more secure IoT network, whether you need to harden it due to regulatory changes or just to prevent would-be attackers from snooping around.

1. Assess the dangers associated with IoT

It is important to know the potential risks when adding new hardware and software to your network. In a corporate environment, procurement staff can work with the security team to ensure that any new software and devices that join your supply chain are thoroughly assessed for risk. Your third-party risk management policy should outline the recommended practices for this initial review and any subsequent assessments agreed as part of the contract with the third-party IoT service provider.

2. Create an IoT network map

Monitor the network map of your IoT-connected devices, especially if your company employs them to share data for predictive maintenance. Ensuring that no IoT device goes untracked or unmonitored, device visibility and management tools help you keep an eye on your entire threat.

You can monitor data packets and any unusual activity if you are familiar with each device on the network and how they communicate with each other. Any anomalies in data or power consumption should be immediately assessed for industrial IoT ecosystems.

3. Segment the IoT network

Consider segmenting the network for your IoT devices. By creating a separate network just forIoT development technologyyou can monitor behavior across all connected devices and prevent any threats your IoT toolchain might pose. Because you can only give an IoT network the resources and permissions it needs, separating your IoT-connected devices can also improve data privacy and overall network functionality.

4. Authentication is necessary to access IoT networks

Establish access control procedures for the IoT network once it has been partitioned. Access control protocols ensure device security across your IoT footprint and secure data storage for information shared by your IoT devices, preventing hackers from gaining unwanted network access. Network access controls determine the validation procedures required to connect to the network and who can access data.

5. Set up alerts on your IoT network

Real-time alerting notifies you of any unexpected activity happening on your networks. You can also configure specific alert triggers just for your IoT network if you keep it isolated from the rest of your infrastructure. Numerous integration options are available to ensure that information reaches your communication channels immediately, and numerous automation solutions are available to alert your organization. In order for your notification system to prioritize alerts, a continuous monitoring security solution monitors security threats and activities.

Conclusion

Organizations using IoT technology have significant cybersecurity challenges; safety should be given the highest priority. Businesses with IoT security in place will be able to return their attention to the main goals of IoT, which include optimizing processes, increasing customer satisfaction, improving service quality and reducing costs.

We will continue to live with IoT and ICS/OT devices for some time to come. Cybersecurity professionals are responsible for ensuring that these gadgets continue to help us in our lives and businesses, rather than becoming a nuisance.

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