Along with the breakthrough integration of 5G, AI, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies, IoT is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Whether it is used for home security, air conditioning control, or doors and windows, IoT makes our life and work easier.
IoT is becoming more and more important in our lives, but at the same time, IoT security is becoming more challenging.
IoT is a collection of devices connected to the Internet. If a hacker invades, maybe your unprotected device doesn’t matter, but the hacker can get into any device in the IoT through that device and steal your personal information or even monitor your life.
Therefore, securing the IoT is not just about protecting specific IoT devices, but about protecting all IoT devices.
Below are the 10 tips to protect the IoT security.
Turn on the security settings of IoT devices and keep them up-to-date to protect the IoT security
Many IoT devices on the market come with security settings, but not all of them are valid and available. Before using a new device, we need to ensure that the security settings of the device are opened, but also need to verify that the security settings of the device have no automatic update function, if not, we need to regularly check the device and update the security software in a timely manner.
Understand the device
As a user of IoT devices, you must understand each device in the IoT, know what types of devices connected to your network, and all connected IoT devices in detail including the manufacturer, model, serial number, software, and firmware version of the device and so on.
Use strong passwords to protect the IoT security
After purchasing a new IoT device, you need to change the default user name and password of the device in time, and use a different strong password for each device connected to the IoT. Enterprises can use public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates to provide a secure foundation for device identity and trust and ensure trusted connections.
Use end-to-end encryption to protect the IoT security
Devices in the IoT are able to communicate with each other, and when they do, data is transferred from one point to another, often without encryption. To make the IoT more secure, devices should have encrypted data transmission options to prevent packet sniffing (a common form of attack).
Use the latest firmware and system to protect the IoT security
Keep the firmware completely updated to avoid cyber attacks and hacking. Although the firmware and system of the device are up-to-date at the time of purchase, if the device cannot update the system and firmware automatically during a long period of use, it will give hackers the opportunity to attack, therefore, the devices in IoT should use the latest firmware and system.
Disable the unwanted functions to protect the IoT security
A good step to protect your device is to disable any features or functions that you don’t need. This includes open TCP/UDP ports, open serial ports, open password prompts, unencrypted communications, unsecured radio connections, or any place where code injection can take places, such as web servers or databases.
Avoid using public Wi-Fi to protect the IoT security
Even if public Wi-Fi requires a password to log in, this does not necessarily mean that the network connection is secure. The ultimate goal of a hacker is to connect to a network that is already connected to multiple users to obtain targets in public Wi-Fi. If you must use public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network to connect to the network.
Create a guest network to protect the IoT security
Create a separate network for your visitors and guests so they can access your network without having to access shared files or networked devices. This is one of the excellent ways to keep your IoT network private and secure so that even if any of your devices can be hacked, the others are still in safe mode.
Do not connect unused devices to the network to protect the IoT security
Once hackers have broken through the security of the device and gained access, they will try to damage and steal data. Therefore, it is best to connect only used devices in IoT, and unused devices do not have to be added to the IoT to avoid hackers’ attacks.
Active monitoring of IoT devices to protect the IoT security
The most important point to protect good IoT security is that we need to actively monitor IoT devices. Through real-time continuous monitoring of IoT devices, we can see the security reports of the devices and also be able to get the first security alert, which is essential to manage IoT.
Today, all devices are a security risk, so when we use the IoT, we need to take greater precautions to ward off hackers and ensure that information does not fall into the wrong hands.
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