The internet of things (IoT) has transformed the way we live and work by affording us new levels of convenience. Smart fridges and Alexas can order our food, smart watches can track our health, and our cars can stream the latest media. While this convenience has opened up a world of possibilities, it also comes with a host of security concerns.
Chief amongst these are the concerns about privacy. These devices often gather sensitive information about their users, such as health data, location, age, marital status, and personal habits. The breach of personal privacy can lead to identity theft, harassment, and other harmful consequences. Proper IoT security measures help protect the privacy of individuals by encrypting data and implementing robust access controls.
The integrity of this data is also of paramount importance. The data generated and collected by IoT devices is valuable, and any compromise of its integrity can have significant consequences. Malicious actors may manipulate data to create false readings, compromise sensor accuracy, sabotage critical safety systems, or carry out data breaches. For example, in the context of healthcare, tampering with data from medical devices can lead to life-threatening situations. IoT security ensures data integrity by implementing encryption, secure data transmission, and measures to detect and prevent data tampering.
Unauthorised access to IoT devices can also result in a wide range of problems, including industrial espionage, intellectual property theft, and even the takeover of critical infrastructure. Not only have we seen factories rely more on remote monitoring, but manufacturers are also expected to spend around £34 billion this year on industrial internet equipment such as smart sensors and automated control systems, according to the ARC Group. We have also seen threat actors shift into highly targeted attacks that are crossing more moral boundaries than ever, with attacks such as the Triton malware. The Triton malware was designed with a singular focus: to infiltrate safety instrumented systems. These crucial systems serve as the ultimate safeguard against catastrophic events that could endanger lives. Their primary role is to swiftly respond when they identify hazardous conditions, taking immediate action to restore processes to a safe state or, in critical situations, initiating actions such as closing off valves and activating pressure-release mechanisms to prevent disasters. To prevent these scenarios, robust authentication mechanisms, secure communication protocols, and regular security updates are crucial to keep unauthorized individuals or entities at bay.
The IoT attack surface is also enormous. Around 8.4 billion IoT devices were forecast to be connected in 2017. This is expected to rise to 20.4 billion by 2020, according to Gartner. Hundreds of millions of these devices are vulnerable to the Ripple20 TCP/IP issues, and 45% of medical devices are vulnerable to BlueKeep. All of these devices as well as processing data, use a wide range of technologies and protocols to communicate. A single device may communicate using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular communication. This gives an attacker many possible avenues of attack, and therefore makes them an attractive option. Unfortunately, these devices are not often segregated from the main network so compromise of an IoT device usually leads to further exploitation of the remaining devices on the network.
The Internet of Things has opened doors to a world of innovation, but it has also exposed us to a new world of vulnerabilities. IoT security isn’t just a recommendation; it’s an absolute necessity to protect individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. As our reliance on IoT continues to grow, investing in robust IoT security is not a choice; it’s a mandate to preserve the digital frontiers we’ve come to depend on. That is why here at the Cyber Scheme we are working to educate more testers about the specificities of testing in the IoT/OT space.
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