IoT technology is growing rapidly with time. It is not a new technology however it is the most popular technology in 2020. IoT simply refers to devices that can be connected to the internet. You can connect your smartphones, Fitbits, refrigerators, and even your LED lights with the internet.

According to a recent report, more than 86% of organizations are going to increase their IoT spending in 2021. They are trying to unleash the full potential of these devices. The IoT market is going to be $520 billion by 2021. It was only $235 billion in 2017. Thus, you can understand the popularity of these IoT devices.

IoT devices are offering a lot of opportunities to companies. However, many people don’t know about the security risks of IoT devices. Attackers can easily find target these IoT devices. If an attacker got access to your devices, then they can use them for attacking your network. In this article, we are going to share some tips that will help you in securing your Internet of Things devices.

Improve Visibility

You should work on improving your network visibility. Try to check all the IoT devices that are connected. Also, you should always keep an up-to-date inventory of the IoT devices.

You can use an IoT security tool for ensuring that all the IoT devices are identified. It will help you in collecting the versions, OS, and configurations of your IoT devices. This will help you in determining the risk profile of every device that is connected to your network. These risk profiles will help you in dividing your IoT devices. Also, you should create an asset map.

Use Network Segmentation

Network segmentation will help you in reducing the attack surface. You can divide your network into multiple smaller subsections. Most networks are using this method for reducing the chance of network breaches. If you are using an unsegmented network, then you will have a large number of endpoints in your network. Thus, even one IoT device is enough to compromise your entire network.

If your network is segmented, then it will become difficult to target your entire network. Businesses are using next-gen firewalls and VLAN configurations for protecting their network. These policies will help you in segmenting your network into multiple sub-networks. Thus, you can keep your critical IT assets separate from the IoT devices.

Good Password practices

Most companies and users to forget their IoT device default username and password. Thus, attackers can hack these devices without doing any work. You should maintain a strong password policy if you want to protect your IoT devices. Most IoT devices come with passwords that can be easily cracked. You should first reset these passwords. If you are using a strong password, then attackers can’t use simple brute force attacks for attacking your devices.

Update your devices

Most IT systems can automatically update themselves. Thus, you don’t need to worry about these IT systems. However, most IoT devices don’t have this function. You need to update your IoT device manually. Due to this, there might be vulnerabilities present in your IoT devices. You should ensure that your IoT devices are regularly patched. Your IoT devices vendor can help you in establishing a patch management strategy. If you want to avoid data loss, then you should also add web threat prevention and IoT-aware file. These things will help you in protecting your IoT devices from data loss.

Monitor your IoT devices

You should actively monitor all the IoT devices that are connected to your network. Real-time monitoring, alerting, and reporting will help you in managing IoT risks. However, you can’t use normal endpoint security tools for protecting your IoT devices. These tools are not compatible with IoT devices. Thus, you should try to implement a monitoring solution. It will help you in monitoring your network. Thus, you can quickly detect malicious activity in your network. You can implement it with existing security solutions.

Don’t enable UPnP

Every device comes with UPnP or Universal Plug and Play feature. This feature is very useful for companies as you don’t need to configure every device separately. It will ensure that all your devices can communicate with your network. However, UPnP actually uses local networks for connecting with the network. Thus, these protocols are vulnerable to nature. In case of an attack, attackers can use UPnP functionality for gaining access to other devices. Thus, you should consider turning off the UPnP feature in your IoT devices.

Avoid Risky IoT devices

There are some IoT devices that need 24/7 internet access. You can’t operate these devices until you have access to the internet. There are also various IoT devices that are not important for your office. For example, you don’t need a smart microwave for your office. Thus, you should always evaluate the usefulness of these IoT devices. If you think that these devices are not adding any value to your employee’s life, then you can remove them. Also, if you think that some IoT device is risky for your network, then you can remove it from the network. There are various single IoT devices that can do multitasking. Thus, these IoT devices can replace multiple IoT devices. You should consider investing your money into these IoT devices. This will ensure that you have access to a smaller number of IoT devices.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to manage new IoT devices. However, these devices are only going to increase with time. You need to ensure that these devices are protected from attackers. If attackers got access to these devices, then they can compromise your entire network. You should consider working with a good MSSP for protecting your network. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire can help you in creating a security strategy. They will help you in protecting your IoT devices. Also, they can help you in protecting your cloud applications from attackers. If you need more information regarding IT security services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.