Security and Privacy in IoT

Have you ever left for the store and realized you forgot to turn off the air conditioner, fan, or light? If so, did you ever feel helpless because you couldn't get back home to turn it off? IoT enters the picture at this point. It may help you remember the important duties that you frequently overlook. You may also access your Internet of Things (IoT)-connected home appliances via the mobile application from any location in the world.

What is IoT and How does it work?

Well, IoT is.....

Jokes apart... Here goes the actual definition...

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing or mechanical devices, objects, people and even animals that are provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human interaction. A Thing can be a person with heart monitor implant or an automobile with in-built sensors that can be assigned with an Internet Protocol address to transfer data over the network. Here the ‘Things’ are represented as nodes on the massive network called the Internet. Over the past two decades, IoT has gained significant momentum in facilitating human-to-human and human-to-machine communication as it has the ability to access information from anywhere at any time on any device alongside providing improved communication between connected electronic devices. Although IoT shall become one of the pillars of future technology, lets hope the future doesn’t end this way.😂

Privacy and protection in IoT and why it is important:

With how important IoT is in the current world as well as the future, privacy of one’s information and security of one’s confidential data is crucial. Let’s explore the possible security measures to secure data and information in the domain of IoT.

Well, certainly not like this. 👀

But before actually going into the 'How' part, lets look into the 'Why' part. IoT is starting to become mainstream with companies like Google, IBM, Intel and other leading revolutionary organizations. Essentially it is the backbone of the Internet. We have already seen that IoT devices are interconnected, which means that, if a hacker is able to hack one object, then the whole system is under threat. This is why security in IoT is of much importance.

Here are 5 general precautions to protect IoT devices from threats:

1. Never assume that an IoT device is incapable of being hacked
2. Use a different password for each device/service and never stick with the default password.
3. Keep your connected devices up to date with the latest firmware and software.
4. Turn off WiFi or Bluetooth if or when the connectivity features are not needed.
5. Put IoT devices on their own network separate from your most important systems. You can go one step further and group devices to have more than one IoT device network based on a security profile.

 Although the above precautions are helpful in some way, we need another approach where security is in-built from the beginning as there is a myriad of Internet-connected devices vulnerable to remote hacking. The ultimate solution is Security by design. This approach is efficient as it is easier if we stop something from happening rather than repairing the damage that has been done.