Threats and Security Measures for IoT
May 02, 2021
These days everyone is interested in operating things remotely without being in contact with them and many times we want to automate the things without our interaction. There comes the devices smart bulbs, smart doors, IP cameras, smart TV, automated cars, smart medical devices and Industrial automation etc. All these devices come with sensors built on embedded systems and perform the task assigned to that. What will they do? These devices basically connected to the internet. The sensors in the devices collect the information from their surroundings and communicate with the other device in the network to make it possible for the device to remotely monitor and control each and every kind of data. These devices are called IoT (Internet of Things). Any smart device connected to the internet will come under IoT.
The IoT devices are handy and come in a small, compact design. These IoT are used in a wide variety of applications from home devices to Industrial equipment. Let's see major areas where IoT devices are used.
- At Home people are using smart speakers like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri etc., if we ask them questions they process the data and give us the related results to make it easy for us to not go into the internet and search. Likewise smart bulbs, smart doors, smart refrigerators, IP cameras etc.., all these devices gather information using the sensors they have and are connected to the internet making it easy for us to operate them from anywhere.
- Healthcare industries are also getting benefit from using IoT. sensors and microcomputers fitted in the human body track the medical condition and intimate the necessary precautions to take if needed. Personal information that could tell about individual medical history and also about potential diseases. Highly automated devices could help to increase critical treatments efficiency. Here are some other examples of IoT in Healthcare are Remote patient monitoring (RPM), drug effectiveness trackers etc.
- In Agriculture also IoT devices are used to get better results. Soil sensors measure the crucial components of soil and different nutrients present in the soil using this information whatever the essentials required for the crop will be supplied through fertilizers or soil conditioners. In water management using IoT we can supply water when needed and just the right quantity. In livestock farms also by fitting sensors to the livestock, can monitor their health condition with their body temperature. If any livestock with abnormal temperature is found can be quarantined and provided medical care to avoid the outbreak of the disease to other livestock.
- IoT in the Education system is also playing a major role. Institutions moving towards smart virtual classes, these will provide interactive smartboard, recording and create interest in students to learn things in an easy and fun manner. IoT can automate attendance tracking, digital ID cards for students, monitoring and controlling temperature and lighting. Several educational institutions implement IoT applications that follow lockdown procedures and shut all door locks wirelessly in the event of a threat or crisis, outside and surrounding the school. And also provide student journeys, to and from the school, to their parents to live track their children.
- Industries using IoT devices to improve their production rate and quality. Many automation industries are using machine learning and smart sensors in their manufacturing process and are using IoT devices to optimize their manufacturing processes. In the automobile industry, self-driving cars using GPS are the best example of using IoT. in mining, To detect presence of toxic gases inside mines and to monitor health and safety of workers, IoT devices will be used. And in Oil and Gas industry, to maintain pressure levels properly, to detect any leakages and to provide better safety precautions IoT devices will be used.
Like that IoT devices have so many applications in present days and will have many more in future.
As IoT devices are used in different areas for different purposes, they will be major targets for hackers to take control over anything connected to the IoT. Recently also hackers used IoT devices as a way to breach corporate networks. In 2018, Kaspersky honeypots identified 105 million attacks targeting smart devices. So what are the security measures we need to take to mitigate the attacks.
- While interacting with home appliances people will give their personal information, if that device is compromised, it will eavesdrop and share every piece of information you talk not only with the device. If your personal information is felt in wrong hands you may be threatened.
- Let's think in your home you are using a smart kitchen, smart doors, smart thermostat etc., if they got compromised, think about how easy for hackers to torcher you in some annoying way.
- What if a person fitted with an insulin pump, someone took control of it and managed to show low insulin levels. What if the home baby monitor is hacked, and the attacker showing the false information, the doctor may not know the patient is experiencing a medical emergency until it’s too late. If medical devices are hacked, it's a matter of life and death.
- What if industrial automation devices are infected with some malware and attackers are controlling the machineries remotely and they wanted to perform some dangerous accident in the plant.
- What if a self-driving car is hacked, attackers can remotely control car speed, engine performance, can apply brakes and can cause severe accidents that kill people.
- There are cases where hackers hacked the Oil and gas industry systems and made gas leakages, these may lead to the death of so many people.
- IoT devices are small and compact in design, so they can fit anywhere. Majority of the time people install the IoT device for particular activity and leave it afterwards they don’t care about the security, so these devices will be physically available to anyone. If a hacker comes in contact with a device it is a threat.
- Another common issue is IoT devices come with resource-constrained and do not contain computing resources to implement strong security measures. For example, the Sensors which can monitor temperature or humidity can never hold security measures and advanced encryption.
- In agriculture also what if soil sensors and water management devices hacked and made people use more fertilizers on the crop lands and able to supply large quantity of water to lands. It is so bad for cultivation.
In the same way different fields have different vulnerabilities with IoT devices installation and usage. To overcome these vulnerabilities and to keep us and our information safe from hackers, we have to take certain security measures.
- Don’t operate these devices in an unsecure network and don’t use the default passwords that come with the devices. Use strong passwords for each device. Don’t follow the same password or same pattern of passwords to set up, and use strong passwords.
- These IoT devices collect information and store that information on cloud servers in the form of text, images or videos. So if the cloud server is compromised, all our information will be leaked out. So cloud security is also important as it handles sensitive personal information.
- In the field we place and forget IoT devices until it gives some undesired output. IoT devices rarely get updates and patches. If the devices are not up to date the known vulnerabilities present in the software may be exploitable and it is dangerous for industries or organizations if it is directly connected to the main server.
- IoT developers should implement security in the manufacturing phase of IoT devices. Enabling security by default is important and also should provide the latest operating systems and using secure hardware.
- IoT devices should be tamper-proof or tamper-evident, where these are used in harsh environments that we may not be able to monitor physically.
- Strong encryption is crucial in implementing secure communications. Data at rest or in transit should be encrypted using strong cryptographic algorithms.
- Protecting the IoT network by checking the open ports and port forwarding rules, and closing the ports which are not needed. Install anti-malware, intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems and disable unauthorized IP addresses and make sure devices are patched and up to date.
- Consumers must be aware of the dangers of IoT devices and should know necessary precautions to take for creating a secure environment.
Conclusion:
As seen above IoT devices have so many applications in real life and will have more. The more the technology becomes the integral part of our lives the more chance of being vulnerable to cyber attacks. The devices are not secure unless the user is aware of security threats and proper implementation of security measures, Apart from how many security measures will be taken and provided by the device manufactures and governments. Keep devices in protected environments, use strong passwords, keep your devices patched and up to date, use secure communication and use strong cryptographic algorithms to store data.
References:
