IoT Cyber Security: Protecting Your Connected World (2024)

Today’s digital world keeps us connected through networked devices, as we use them in our everyday lives. The rise of Internet of Things (IoT) has created an opportunity for cybercriminals to capitalise on the growth of these technologies and explore new ways of obtaining private information. This increased risk of cyberattacks through IoT has increased the need for stronger cybersecurity measures.

Cyberattacks on smartphones, tablets and similar devices can have severe consequences that range from privacy breaches and private data theft. This can lead to a loss of money, assets to information that can be used against an individual. Cyber security developers have had to explore different protective measures for IoT to keep connected devices safe from hackers to scams.

There needs to be an active effort from cybersecurity developers and connected device users to work against cyber attacks and prevent them from happening. In this guide, we will help you understand how you can keep your IoT assets safe.

This is a hacking technique that tries to break down walls to access encryption keys, passwords, and login credentials through trial and error. The main method of this hacking technique is to systematically try every possible combination of usernames and passwords by looking at past insert history.

Brute force hacking is typically done for three reasons: to stealing personal data, spreading malware and hijacking systems for malicious activity. To prevent hackers from gaining access to these, you can do some of the following:

• Create stronger passwords
• Avoid common password phrases
• Change your password for each account
• Use password managers
• Install two-step authentication

Making it as difficult as possible for cybercriminals to access your IoT devices can deter them from trying to do so again.

Manipulation techniques are a favourite approach of scammers because they are one of the most effective ways to obtain personal information. Users of IoT devices are glued to their screens, which serves as a central hub for hackers to engage in social media interactions and gain the trust of potential victims. Let’s examine a few common forms of social engineering fraud:

• Phishing Attacks: Fraudulent emails are sent by scammers, disguising themselves as legitimate communications from IoT device manufacturers or service providers. These can contain harmless links that attempt to convince you to log in.
• Pretexting: Convincing scenarios are created by cybercriminals to gain trust and extract information. They could pose as technical support representatives to obtain remote access to a smart home system.
• Victim Baiting: Offerings like free downloads or software updates are sent to users' emails that actually contain malware or backdoors.
• Quid Pro Quo: Cybercriminals will attempt to get personal information by offering something valuable in exchange, such as the latest technology.

When a normally operating service is suddenly unavailable, it could be a DoS attack. Although there are many possible causes for unavailability, it typically refers to infrastructure that is overwhelmed by capacity. A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is when multiple malicious computers target one networked device. This is sometimes achieved by means of a botnet, wherein numerous devices are set up to request services concurrently and without the owner’s awareness.

While DoS assaults are less likely to attempt information theft or compromise security than brute force or phishing email attacks, the damage to the targeted company’s reputation can be costly in terms of time and money. This is especially true for local businesses, as agencies that deal with SEO in Manchester will have to install specific cybersecurity to keep them and their clients protected.

Being aware of some of the common IoT cyberattacks is one thing, but understanding why IoT is so vulnerable to these attacks can help you to prevent them. There are some common vulnerabilities that you should be able to solve.

Having weak passwords on your connected devices will lead to an increased chance of cyber attacks. Smart devices that make up the IoT usually come with fragile and easy-to-guess passwords that need to be managed and improved to prevent hacking attempts. Unsecure network services can also risk the safety and privacy of IoT devices, as well as stop them from working entirely. There are now more password security measures than ever before to help prevent cyberattacks.

Poor update practices are another major IoT security issue. Many IoT devices lack a reliable means of securely updating. This is because newer devices require a lot of memory to proceed with an update, meaning that a lot of older IoT devices are unable to update and are left with outdated software. This can make them easy targets for hackers if they aren’t updated properly.

Users should ensure that their connected devices are updated regularly and if their old device is no longer able to update, they should seek newer alternatives, new IoT technologies also have more cybersecurity measures in place to help protect private information.