SECURITY • Internet of Things :

IoT or the “Internet of Things” is quickly becoming a key area of security concerns as each year brings a new array of smart, connected devices into the corporate network environment. Whether it be IP cameras, access points or thermostats, allowing these gizmos to connect to the internet opens up serious vulnerabilities in the absence of proper protection.

Barely on the radar just a few years ago, a recent survey from 451 Research shows that IoT is now the top priority for more than 55% of IT security professionals.

The threat is not limited to within the walls of the network, as compromised smart home devices can be used for concentrated attacks. It was determined that an extremely damaging botnet from December of 2013 included a large number of cameras, smart TVs, baby monitors and household appliances.

IoT Problems

  • Security is typically not a top priority when these products are designed
  • Cost and time to market are driving forces
  • No industry standards, guidelines or acknowledged design framework exists today
  • Limited hardware resources do not allow for embedding security applications
  • Shipped with hardcoded or default passwords that remain unchanged
  • Often remain in place for 3+ years without firmware upgrades or patches

The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that most of the devices are left powered on 24×7 and the needed data will reside at the edge of network.

Firewalls

Many IT professions mistakenly believe that the acceptable solution for IoT security is a strong perimeter firewall.

Traditional firewalls can prove helpful, but they are not equipped to address the problem.

During the first half of 2019, Kaspersky security analysts detected more than 105 million attacks from over 276,000 unique IP addresses. The attack plane is just too wide and diverse for any firewall to handle by arbitrarily blocking sources.

Software

Security software cannot be deployed directly onto these fragmented devices, so there is no option to identify or protect the units from compromise at the source.

Until the problem is managed, IoT devices can easily lead to a complete lack of environmental awareness.

The Solution

The products we offer address the problem in multiple ways:

Identity management – every device with a unique identifier / fingerprint / profile
Inventory – carefully tracking every instance and address on the network
Anomaly Detection – sensing any & all anomalous behavior
Brute Force Protection – isolating any repeated failed login attempts
Hunt Rogue Devices – flag any unknown device

Sophisticated AI is used to monitor and control access to every IoT device. By utilizing all PC and Servers on the network as “sensors”, machines are provided the ability to discover and protect each other. They work as a team, environmentally aware and able to protect the entire network from IoT threats.

This is all accomplished autonomously, without requiring a person to sift through copious logs, or run manual scans.