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Know how to Secure IoT Devices from cyber attack

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how to Secure IoT Devices from cyber attack

The IoT technology is not only taking over the industry, but it is taking over households, too. The number of IoT devices is rapidly increasing every day — all with the intent to control everything at the touch of a button.

This is where we should start talking about security one of the most imperative modern world problems. The thing is that if we really want to take full advantage of the amazing opportunities that IoT is able to bring us, we must learn how to secure devices.

Securing the IoT at home or office can seem like a daunting task. However, with the right tools and plans of action, one can make their IoT devices and the data they hold safe. The first step is awareness. Know where your data is vulnerable and what you want to protect.

Below are the some of the best ways to secure IoT devices:

The Security Measures to avoid a breach

  • Passwords: – The key when it comes to this step is to set some passwords that are definitely not easy to guess. One could try using a phrase as the password, or even better, can use a password manager. The best passwords are the one that contains uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. The longer it is the better.
  • Secured connections: – One thing is for sure that if anyone wants to get the most out of the IoT devices, they will need to connect them to the Internet. However, the trick is not to connect the entire Internet to them, and that is why people should use a virtual private network (VPN). This isn’t enough, however.  For more safety, there is a need of VPN suitable for the particular device. For example, while accessing the internet with a MacBook, one should use the best VPN for Mac. This is one of the most effective ways to securely connect the device to the Internet.
  • Updates: – No manufacturer ever will assure that the device that they are selling is one hundred percent secure. That’s why they always work on improving their products and regularly release updates. Moreover, it is our job to install those updates as soon as possible.
  • Access:- Connect IoT devices in a limited home network
  • UPnP: – The UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) can make some devices, like printers, cameras or routers, very vulnerable to attack from cybercriminals. It does help in setting up devices, but from the security perspective, it would be better to turn off the UPnP.
  • Cloud services: – A good part of IoT devices rely on cloud services and that is not so great, given the fact that one has to be connected to the Internet at all times in order to access the cloud. In addition, that brings the problem mentioned above, about the secured connections and limiting access.

The Security Measures after a breach

After experiencing a breach in security, however, below are few steps that can be taken to cushion the attack and prevent a future breach.

  • Guard the critical data: – In every system, some data are bound to be more critical than others. Some of such data may include a business’ financial records, consumers’ passwords, and credit card details and so on. It’s important to reach for such data first, before trying to regain control of the whole system.
  • Retain the attack: – If a particular section gets breached within a system, it’s advisable to separate that section from the rest. This can be done by changing the password of the secure sections and activating two-factor authentication as well.
  • Notify everyone affected: – In a case where others were also affected by a security breach, it’s important to notify the parties involved as soon as possible so that they can take security measures on their part. A good example is the LinkedIn security breach, where all users were advised to change their password on LinkedIn, and everywhere else where they used the same password.
  • Learn from the breach: – From every breach, review the attack and learn what sectors of your security system is vulnerable, and what your security team is doing wrong. Then work to fix it.

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