IoT security: Don’t leave your front door wide open

It could just take a connected coffee machine for hackers to sneak into an entire home or corporate network, putting businesses and reputations at risk.

The promise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is fast approaching. According to forecasts from various analysts, there will soon be billions of connected objects in use, producing immense volumes of data. While this is paving the way for unmatched business opportunities, it also opens the door to new security threats.

An unsecured IoT object is just like an unlocked front door. Attackers would only need to hack into a simple device like a connected coffee machine or a Wi-Fi printer to access an entire network, potentially leading to revenue loss, lawsuits and damage to a company's reputation.

That’s why IoT security is key, to ensure that only authorised people and devices can access the connected objects and data they generate.

As a global leader in cybersecurity, Thales has developed solutions that protect the integrity and privacy of data, as well as ensuring IoT infrastructure remains resilient to cyberattacks. 

There are three main areas that need to be addressed to ensure a network is attack-proof. A resilient security system has to secure devices, the cloud they are connected to and the channel between the cloud and the devices.

However, IoT security is not a one-off thing, but a constantly moving target. The cost of hacking is falling, while the hackers themselves are becoming more sophisticated. This means corporate network security needs to be constantly upgraded. 

As a result, security in IoT should not be retrofitted; it needs to be built in from the start, at the core of the network design. Security also means combining best practices with the best technology, to make solutions attack proof.