As more and more IoT devices emerge in people's lives, they have unknowingly brought a significant security concern to the normal operation of enterprise networks. As recent research showed, the ransomware attacks on Android devices increased in 2015, and according to the report, IoT devices such as smart cars will become the new targets of these attacks.

The rapid development of IoT devices

Although most of the IoT devices we encounter now are small and delicate, they are composed of hardware and operating systems just like traditional computers. Therefore, they are also susceptible to the threats of traditional vulnerabilities and attacks. Additionally, because IoT devices often take on various forms, many people underestimate their potential threats.

However, with the rapid popularization of IoT devices, it is estimated that there will be 20.8 billion IoT devices by 2020, according to Gartner. Therefore, network attacks based on these IoT devices will become increasingly prominent.

In 2015, a security company found a malware called the Conficker worm inside a connected camera. This malware allowed hackers not only to collect personal information and guide downloads of more malicious programs, but also to manipulate its variant to create a huge zombie network. This indicates that IoT manufacturers are unaware of their own systems when producing and selling their products. Thus, the potential dangers for users are clear.

At the same time, in order to further reduce operating costs, enterprises are gradually adopting large numbers of IoT devices to improve work efficiency. However, once IoT devices have vulnerabilities, widespread data leaks may occur.

Which security strategies should enterprises use for the increasing number of IoT devices?

Comprehensive protection

Ensure data security through encrypted data centers, cloud measures, and intermediate measures. In addition, endpoint security, network security, identity and verification management also need to be considered.

Device research

Understand IoT devices, their data collection and transmission sources and destinations, who requests the data, vulnerability assessments, and device authentication.

Network auditing

Conduct an audit before installing devices. This can better understand the impact of devices on network traffic and evaluate what effects will occur after devices are installed, and ensure that any changes are within controlled levels.

Network segmentation

If these IoT devices cannot be fully trusted, it is best to place them in separate network segments, such as VLAN segmentation. This prevents them from accessing or interfering with enterprise critical data.

Team training

As IoT continues to develop, this point is critical. Ensure that the enterprise security and network team is updated on the latest devices, standards, and issues.

Currently, as IoT device manufacturers have not integrated more security configurations into IoT devices, many enterprises can only strengthen their network security awareness and further monitor the network access layer to prevent problems from the outset.