Identifying the Mainstream IoT Security Challenges/ Some Prominent Challenges in the IoT Security Space
In today’s technologically progressive world, the internet has a huge role to play and is almost indispensable. Just think of the inconvenience you have to face when your Wi-Fi isn’t working, that’s the level of our dependence on the internet. As we move towards creating a robust digital platform for things, the connectivity and interdependence further increase. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an interesting term that defines all the macro interconnection between technological devices used regularly.
The internet of things is not just limited to some electronic devices connected; it’s more like an ecosystem in which the humans and their smart devices are connected to solve the challenges of traditional systems. It gives the devices that ability to exchange and transfer data over secured networks without any exclusive human intervention. The IoT has spread its roots and evolved to become more integrated with our daily living but some major concerns loom around this technology. Let’s delve deeper to understand it better.
Major IoT security concerns
Some of the major IoT security-related concerns are mentioned below.
- Data Encryption
One of the major security challenges in the IoT segment is related to data encryption technology. In the case of digital transmission, the data transferred to the other party is usually encoded. Now, at times there are chances that the data could be hacked by professional hackers who are looking to steal valuable information. The information is stored on multiple devices and that makes it more prone to cyber theft. Using wireless protocol with inbuilt encryption helps to avoid these thefts. Also, websites using SSL certification can manage to protect their data easily.
- Data Authentication
Let’s say that we have followed the required protocols and encrypted our valuable data. This seems the ideal way to protect it but it is not always the case. Even if your data is encrypted the device could be hacked and important information could be stolen. Using proper security protocols that can cover important security aspects such as customer anonymity, mutual authentication, secure session key establishment, etc. is recommended. Also, checking for the legality of certificates provided to an IoT device will help you save a lot of trouble.
- IoT Hardware
You must’ve heard about smart devices malfunctioning if you haven’t you are very lucky with your purchase. It’s far common than your think and these malfunctioning in IoT devices can cause major security challenges for the user. Smart devices have become prone to cyber-attacks over time. One of the major problems is related to hardware design and functioning. Currently, some trusted manufacturers use high-tech chips to ensure the safety of these devices but that’s not economical for every device and thus it’s limited to certain important IoT devices.
Conclusion
This article aims to educate the reader on some of the mainstream challenges that are looming in the IoT segment. It highlights three major pain points related to data authentication, data encryption and hardware design.