What Is IoT Security?
IoT devices are everywhere these days – in offices, industrial settings, and even in healthcare. Because these devices wirelessly connect to your main network and lack substantial security features, though, they can represent a significant security risk. IoT security aims to circumvent the inherent vulnerabilities of these devices, allowing your business to take advantage of their many benefits, with minimal risk. Through proper risk analysis and policy enforcement, IoT security increases operational flexibility without opening yourself up to threats.
Know Your IoT
IoT devices are so popular today that you may not realize how central they are to your business. For example, while most people know that devices like Nest Thermostats, Ring Doorbells, and even Fitbits are part of the IoT universe, it can be harder to make sense of this breakdown when it comes to specialty devices. Depending on your industry, then, you may encounter some of the following:
- Healthcare IoT includes a wide range of devices that help diagnose patients, monitor them, and keep them healthy during inpatient care. These include CT and MRI scanners, infusion pumps, and remote patient monitoring devices. These devices can act as an entry point for hackers attempting to access medical records.
- Industrial IoT includes various client servers, generators, and many new systems used to diagnose potential problems with machinery or to monitor the whereabouts of equipment or vehicles.
- Office IoT are the sorts of devices you encounter everyday – fax machines and copiers that connect to your computer, smart locks, and many amenities of the modern office, like coffee machines and smart TVs. Your office may also take advantage of various types of enterprise IoT, like RFID tracking systems and other asset management tools.
Tips For Securing Your IoT Devices
Given the prevalence of IoT devices in today’s workplaces, securing them should clearly be a top priority, but how do you go about this? Check Point offers high quality IoT security tools that can easily be adapted to any industry. If you’re interested in giving your company’s wireless devices a critical security boost, you’ll need to take several key steps.
The first step to reducing IoT-related risks is performing a thorough risk assessment. Check Point’s free firmware assessment is designed to evaluate the underlying risks inherent in your choice of IoT devices. Beyond that initial assessment, a strong IoT security system will provide real-time intelligence, which helps defend against emerging attacks.
Another key part of protecting your business’s network is segmenting devices to ensure that they only run authorized protocols. Most of these devices really have a very limited set of functions, so establishing basic restrictions won’t impact productivity.
Did you know that IoT devices sometimes require patching? Yes, as with more conventional software, experts regularly uncover weaknesses in IoT devices. These can quickly circulate among bad actors who devise ways to exploit them and gain entry to your network. That’s why Check Point’s IoT security platform includes virtual patching capabilities – it’s another part of keeping hackers out.
Finally, protecting your network means staying abreast of trends in the field. Pay attention to reports on your devices, emerging trends, and tune in to educational webinars to learn more advanced protection strategies. While these IoT devices often seem harmless, you should never ignore anything that connects to your company’s network because none of them are immune to attack.
IoT security is poised to become an even more significant area of concern in coming years as new devices come to market and businesses implement more of these tools. Though these new devices will, of course, also benefit businesses by providing new, high value data streams, it’s important for your business to consistently balance those benefits against the risks presented by each new point of entry into your network.
