What is the IoT? In simple terms, the Internet of Things (IoT) relates to the concept of connecting anything and everything to the Internet, provided it has an on and off switch. IoT devices can include Phones, Computers, Coffee Makers, Smart Watches, Washing Machines, Smart Bulbs or Hospital Machines. Any device that has capabilities to connect to the internet is considered an IoT.
What’s the risk? With Broadband internet becoming more accessible, connecting quickly to the internet is getting cheaper and the number of everyday devices with internet connected systems is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the number of IoT devices will be well in the billions. The overwhelming number of IoT devices is creating the perfect breeding ground for cyber attacks.
Hackers are using the IoT devices as a way of gaining entry into networks as well as a means of covertly moving data between systems. Because many IoT devices do not do much besides collecting and processing data (aside from their intended purpose), they are tailored to minimal specifications and as such do not have their own built in security system to protect against security vulnerabilities. Various IoT technologies, for example wearable devices, are not capable of encrypting data, which makes them more susceptible to potential intrusions.
Protecting your Network IoT devices can be used by hackers to infect systems via their respective network; steal customer data and takeover access in order to tamper with the physical environment, or even turn the device into a bot and perform denial of service (DoS) attacks. Think of a hospital monitor machine to understand the potential consequences of an IoT device being compromised. Typical Wi-Fi systems unfortunately do not provide the relevant protection to monitor and control your network adequately. Modern security systems such as the advanced Firewall, which is included in the Cloudsis Network Security Solution, can provide the visibility you need to identify and protect all devices connecting to the network. Security and Cloud providers can implement solutions to constant monitor systems and ensure these devices are behaving as expected, the result is greater control within a complex, ever expanding IoT environment.
Cloud users
If you are already in one of the Cloudsis Cloud Solutions you can rest assured that the data and applications hosted in the Cloud are protected by your Cloud provider with the latest technology which includes advanced firewall, anti-malware, virus-blocker, phish-blocker and spam-bloker among others . You can check how we secure your data here, however your local infrastructure and all the IoT devices connected to Internet may still be at risk. That is why it is vital to protect them and analyse the behaviour of all the connected devices to detect possible anomalies and vulnerabilities.