8 Critical IoT Security Technologies
A recent report by Gartner predicts that there will be 20.4 billion connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices by 2020, with 5.5 million new things getting connected every day. Furthermore, more than half of major new business processes and systems will include an IoT component by 2020.
These numbers are staggering and suggest that standard PC security and anti-virus solutions will not be able to counter future cybersecurity threats on connected IoT devices.
The need for more robust measures to secure IoT embedded devices was confirmed by recent Forrester’s TechRadar research that defined the use cases, business value, and outlook for the 13 most relevant and important IoT security technologies. This included core technologies, such as IoT authentication and IoT encryption, in addition to emerging IoT security technologies like IoT threat detection, IoT blockchain, and IoT security analytics (Fig. 1).
1. Forrester Research highlights the outlook for the 13 most relevant and important IoT security technologies (Copyright © 2017, Forrester Research Inc.)
Growing Security Threat
In the last few years, many well-publicized cyberattacks have demonstrated the risks of inadequate IoT security. Perhaps the best known was the “Stuxnet” attack, which targeted industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in an Iranian uranium enrichment facility. Experts believe that Stuxnet destroyed up to 1,000 centrifuges connected via wide-area networks (WANs) to PLC devices running the Windows operating system on standard PC platforms.
Even if you utilize reasonable IoT security measures, your connected gadgets may well be compromised by criminals. Last fall, Dyn—an internet DSN provider—came under an attack that disrupted access to popular websites. The attackers were able to take control of large numbers of internet-connected devices, such as DVRs and cameras. These devices then helped in the attack. Read more…