Making IoT Secure – Gwentech Embedded

The Internet of Things (IoT) makes some fascinating promises of capability, competence and efficiency, which have left most of the industry starry-eyed. Not without good reason. However, it can’t be denied that IoT also brings a host of unprecedented risks and threats as well. Now, the scenario is such that anything with a footprint on the Web is susceptible to being hacked. And recent attacks on a number of blue-chip companies is proof that no one is secure – not even the industry giants like Target and Samsung.

So when it comes to IoT systems today, the question is not so much ‘why’, as it is ‘how’. How can organizations make IoT secure? And the answer is – encryption, data integrity, confidentiality and authentication, authorization, accounting. At the very foundation of IoT security sits secure data transmission from one embedded network or device to another. One small, yet effective way businesses can prevent or intercept breaches timely, is by mastering the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of sending massive volumes of collected data securely from embedded sensors to IoT-enabled devices.

First, they should ensure the confidentiality of collected data. Apart from the embedded sensors and servers in question, no other systems should have access to the collected data. Next, the data must be authenticated, checked for integrity (checked that they haven’t been altered), and only then should it be sent forward to other devices or analytics. Techniques such as signcryption should be leveraged for effective authorization and accounting. Only then will businesses be able to make IoT secure.