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The Internet of Things Is Growing Rapidly

The Internet of Things, or IoT, will continue growing. In fact,  Gartner predicts that 26 billion devices will be installed and communicating with each other by the year 2020.  As a result, the ever-growing IoT ecosystem will continue to increase the risk of cybercrime and the need for robust network security practices.

FBI Issues Warning on IoT Security Risks

The FBI recently issued a public service announcement highlighting this risk and the need to maintain sound security practices. In this PSA, the FBI states that the primary risks are the lack of sufficient security capabilities, difficulty patching vulnerabilities in the devices themselves, and the lack of security awareness by the users. The risks outlined in the PSA are:

  • Cyber criminals are exploiting the Universal Plug and Play protocol to gain access, potentially enabling the devices to harvest sensitive information or conduct attacks against homes and businesses, or engage in digital eavesdropping;
  • An exploitation of default passwords to send malicious and spam e-mails, or steal personally identifiable or credit card information;
  • Compromising the IoT device to cause physical harm;
  • Overloading the devices to render the device inoperable;
  • Interfering with business transactions.

Security Awareness Is Critical

Given these risks,  people maintaining these devices must know how to properly secure them on their networks. It's also important to remember that the range of devices is diverse and includes fitness trackers, thermostats, HVAC systems, medical devices, security systems, and many more.

Balancing Innovation and Security

The IoT offers many exciting business innovations, but the security implications must be addressed. For more information about how we can help secure your network for the IoT, contact us today.

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