What are the security solutions for IoT data?
Introduction
‘Internet of Things’ is a network of smart devices to collect and exchange data. It includes interrelated communicating devices to support a wide range of industrial applications. It also helps the factories to connect machines and objects with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to unlimited knowledge. The connected devices in the network comes with in-built sensors. The sensors help to collect data from their environment automatically which is to conduct analytics and make valuable decisions. Such IoT platforms can pinpoint useful information and detect information patterns and problems before their occurrence. The picked information by the devices’ network helps to make data-driven smart decisions in real-time. It can also automate certain tasks to address the probable issue. For instance, a smart home deployed with motion detectors can sniff the entrance of intruders in the home, and inform the dwellers on their smartphones about this intrusion in an automated manner. It helps to avoid incidents such as property theft.
Application area of IoT
The application area of IoT deals with highly sensitive data of the connected users within a home, office, or city network. The data exchange is continuously moving on such unified networks which allures the attackers to gain money as well as non-monetary benefits. Moreover, in the era of rapid industrialization under Industry 4.0 and 5.0, IoT is at peak utilization. Thus, it became important for IoT to include high-tech security solutions for gaining and retaining user trust in the technology.
IoT security
To protect connected devices and moving data from attacks, IoT security is imperative. It may include tools, techniques, and strategies for network and data protection. There are a variety of methodologies that fall under the term IoT security. To combat cybercrime in vulnerable IoT devices, API security, PKI authentication, and network security are a few methods. It helps to address the cyber threats such as:
Excessive data exposure
It takes place when an application expose more information than necessary for a user to perform a specific action.
Function-Level Authorization
It refers to permission where a regular user can carry out an administrator-level task.
Security Misconfiguration
It includes security controls that in configured inaccurately and putting systems or data at risk.
Improper Asset Management
It doesn’t only specify coding flaws but a management problem that allows older APIs to remain in place long after they should have been replaced by newer secure versions.
XSS attack
XSS attacks enable attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users.
CSRF attack
It forces authenticated users to submit a request to a Web application against which they are currently authenticated.
XXE attack
It occurs when an XML input containing references to an external entity is processed by a weakly configured XML parser.
LFI attack
It is used by attackers to trick a web application into exposing files on a web server.
IoT-Data security solutions
To ensure the IoT data security, market is available with a wide range of security solutions, while some of them are:
- API security
It includes the practices and products to prevent malicious attacks and enable access to sensitive software functions and data. It is a key component of modern web application security. The IoT network software may have vulnerabilities such as code injection, authentication, and authorization.
2. Data encryption
The IoT data must come with an encryption, and protected in an alignment with compliance standards. Such encryption helps to ensure that an attacker cannot make use of the API server. IoT data can be accessed by the authorized users. In contrast to it, only authorized user shall be allowed to perform data encryption.
3. Throttling
DoS attacks can affect network performance, data availability and security. However, Throttling ensures prevention of DoS attacks by setting limits on API calls’ frequency and method. Furthermore, it helps to protect peak traffic. The limitations on rate can also balance access and availability to regulate user connections.
4. Blockchain
Integration of Blockchain in IoT can help to introduce reliable security while data selection, management, customization, analysis, and sharing amongst permissioned users. It also helps in streamline processes to create new business value across the ecosystem by drawing supplied data from IoT sensors, and devices.
Conclusion
IoT delivers extending networks composed of finite devices. These devices are acting in an automated manner to generate and manage sensitive data. Technologies like blockchain can protect the exchange of data between IoT devices. It might help to protect data from unauthorized access throughout the network and ensure high accessibility, transparency, compliance, and efficiency.
