Industrial IoT, IoT Security
Article | July 12, 2023
Building resilient IoT networks: Exploring the top technologies for enhancing IoT security and protecting as well as safeguarding against evolving cyber threats in the interconnected era of Industry 4.0.
Contents
1. What is Network Resilience and Why is it Needed?
1.1 Continuous Operation
1.2 Mitigating Security Threats
1.3 Data Protection
1.4 System Availability
1.5 Risk Management
1.6 Regulatory Compliance
2. Factors to Consider for Network Resilience
3. Top Trends in IoT Security
3.1 Zero Trust and AI
3.2 Supply Chain Security
3.3 Network Segmentation and Segregation
3.4 Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates
3.5 Device Authentication and Authorization
3.6 Software-defined Networking (SDN) Security
3.7 Identity and Access Management (IAM)
4. Conclusion
1. What is Network Resilience and Why is it Needed?
Network resilience refers to the ability of an IoT network to withstand and recover from disruptions, attacks, or failures while maintaining its essential functions. It involves implementing measures to ensure the network remains available, reliable, and secure, even during security threats or unexpected events.
Ensuring network resilience is a critical aspect of IoT network security. Network resilience refers to the ability of an IoT network to withstand and recover from disruptions, attacks, or failures while maintaining its essential functions. Ensuring network resilience in IoT network security is crucial for the following reasons:
1.1 Continuous Operation
IoT networks often support critical applications and services that require uninterrupted operation. Network resilience ensures that these applications can continue functioning even during disruptions, such as network failures or security incidents. It minimizes downtime and ensures business continuity.
1.2 Mitigating Security Threats
IoT networks are susceptible to various cybersecurity threats, including malware, unauthorized access, or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Network resilience measures help mitigate these threats by implementing security controls, monitoring network traffic, and enabling prompt detection and response to security incidents.
1.3 Data Protection
IoT devices generate and transmit vast amounts of sensitive data. Network resilience safeguards data integrity, confidentiality, and availability by implementing secure communication protocols, encryption mechanisms, and access controls. It ensures that data remains protected even during network disruptions or security breaches.
1.4 System Availability
IoT systems often rely on real-time data processing and communication. Network resilience ensures that data flows seamlessly, allowing IoT devices to exchange information and execute tasks without interruptions. It supports critical functions such as monitoring, control, and decision-making processes.
1.5 Risk Management
Building network resilience helps organizations effectively manage risks associated with IoT deployments. By identifying vulnerabilities, implementing protective measures, and having response plans in place, organizations can minimize the impact of security incidents, reduce financial losses, and maintain the trust of stakeholders.
1.6 Regulatory Compliance
Many industries have specific regulations and standards governing the security and resilience of IoT networks. By ensuring network resilience, organizations can demonstrate compliance with these requirements, avoiding penalties, legal issues, and reputational damage.
2. Factors to Consider for Network Resilience
Implementing redundancy and failover mechanisms within the network infrastructure helps mitigate the impact of single points of failure. This involves deploying backup systems, redundant network paths, and failover mechanisms to ensure continuous operation despite a failure or attack. Traffic Monitoring and Anomaly Detection for Continuous network traffic monitoring helps identify abnormal patterns or behaviours that may indicate security threats or attacks. By leveraging intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) and traffic analysis tools, organizations can promptly detect and respond to network anomalies, safeguarding network resilience. Moreover, segmentation and Isolation: Dividing the IoT network into segments or zones and isolating critical devices or systems from less secure ones enhances network resilience. Implementing proper network segmentation, VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks), or software-defined networking (SDN) enables effective control, containment, and mitigation of security incidents.
DDoS attacks significantly threaten network resilience by overwhelming the network's resources and causing service disruption. Deploying robust DDoS protection measures, such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, and traffic diversion, helps mitigate the impact of such attacks and ensures network availability. Incident Response and Establishing comprehensive incident response and recovery plans specific to IoT network security incidents is crucial. These plans should outline clear procedures, roles, and responsibilities to efficiently respond to and recover from security breaches or disruptions, minimizing downtime and maintaining network resilience. In addition, regular penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and network audits help identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the IoT network infrastructure. Promptly addressing these issues through patches, updates, and security configuration adjustments strengthens network resilience by proactively addressing potential security risks.
By implementing these measures, organizations can enhance the resilience of their IoT networks, ensuring continuous operation, prompt threat detection, and effective response to security incidents. Network resilience plays a vital role in maintaining IoT systems' integrity, availability, and reliability in the face of evolving security challenges.
3. Top Trends in IoT Security
3.1 Zero Trust and AI
Zero Trust is an emerging security concept that assumes no implicit trust towards devices or users, even if they are already inside the network perimeter. Implementing Zero Trust principles in IoT networks can help mitigate the risks associated with compromised devices and unauthorized access for IoT security. In order to bolster cybersecurity measures, adopting a zero trust approach. Effectively addressing cybersecurity challenges entails not merely technological solutions but a comprehensive organizational strategy rooted in cultural and policy frameworks. Emphasizing the zero trust concept underscores the importance of policy implementation throughout the entire organization, complementing technological measures.
3.2 Supply Chain Security
The complex and interconnected nature of IoT supply chains introduces security risks. The supply chain for IoT devices involves multiple stages, including device manufacturing, software development, distribution, and deployment. Each stage presents potential security risks that can compromise the integrity and security of the IoT network. This includes adopting secure supply chain management practices, such as verifying the security practices of suppliers and manufacturers, and establishing clear security requirements and standards for the entire supply chain. Conducting third-party risk assessments helps evaluate the security posture of suppliers and vendors to identify any potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses.
3.3 Network Segmentation and Segregation
In IoT security, minimizing the potential impact of a compromised IoT device is crucial, and network segmentation and segregation play a vital role in achieving this goal. Network segmentation involves dividing the network into separate zones or segments, based on factors such as device type, functionality, or security requirements. The containment strategy helps minimize the impact of a security breach by isolating compromised devices and preventing lateral movement within the network.
3.4 Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates
Software updates play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and security of IoT devices. IoT devices frequently require updates to address software bugs, patch vulnerabilities, or introduce new features. Over-the-Air (OTA) update mechanisms are being enhanced with robust security measures to ensure the secure delivery and installation of updates. Code signing is a prevalent practice where updates are digitally signed with cryptographic keys to verify the authenticity and integrity of the software. Secure boot is another important mechanism that establishes a chain of trust during the device boot-up process, ensuring that only authorized and tamper-free software is loaded onto the device.
3.5 Device Authentication and Authorization
The increasing number of IoT devices poses a significant challenge in ensuring secure and trusted authentication and authorization. Two-factor authentication (2FA), for example, adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users or devices to provide two separate forms of authentication, such as a password and a unique code sent to a mobile device. Digital certificates, on the other hand, enable secure and trusted device authentication by leveraging public key infrastructure (PKI) technology. Each IoT device is issued a unique digital certificate, which serves as a digital identity, allowing for secure communication and verification of device authenticity.
3.6 Software-defined Networking (SDN) Security
Securing Software-defined Networking (SDN) environments is paramount to protect IoT deployments. SDN offers centralized control and management of network resources, providing flexibility and scalability. This ensures that only authorized entities can access and make changes to the SDN infrastructure, preventing unauthorized access and configuration changes. Additionally, continuous traffic monitoring and analysis enable the detection of suspicious activities and potential security breaches. Encryption IoT standards and protocols should be employed to secure communication between the SDN controller, switches, and IoT devices, safeguarding data privacy and integrity. Network segmentation within the SDN environment helps limit the impact of security breaches, reducing the attack surface.
3.7 Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Implementing IAM solutions, such as role-based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA), within IoT networks significantly enhances network security. IAM ensures that only authorized individuals can access and interact with IoT devices and systems. RBAC enables administrators to assign specific access privileges based on user roles and responsibilities, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Additionally, incorporating MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of authentication, such as a password and a unique token or biometric verification. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access even if a user's credentials are compromised.
4. Conclusion
The technologies discussed in this article play a crucial role in enhancing IoT network security and resilience. By leveraging these technologies, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with IoT deployments, protect against cyber threats, and ensure the reliability and continuity of their IoT networks. As the IoT landscape evolves, staying up-to-date with these top technologies will be essential for organizations to maintain a robust and secure IoT infrastructure.
The transformative landscape of Industry 4.0 demands strong network security in IoT environments. The top technologies discussed in this article empower organizations to enhance network resilience, protect against cyber threats, and ensure the uninterrupted functioning of IoT networks. Embracing these technologies and staying ahead of emerging threats, helps organizations build a secure foundation for their IoT deployments and capitalize on the vast opportunities offered by the IoT ecosystem.
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Industrial IoT, IoT Security
Article | July 11, 2023
Manufacturing industry or the Industrial Internet of Things has been one of the driving verticals for development of 5G technologies. Wide 5G deployement for Industrial IoT has long been in the pipeline but we might expect it to be a reality very soon.
The true success of 5G depends on the verticals as trends suggest that that Industrial IoT alone will triple the number of needed base stations globally. And many verticals will need efficient wireless connectivity to become successful. 5G has features that are specifically designed to address the needs of vertical sectors, such as network slicing and URLLC. The ultra-reliable low latency communications and massive machine type communications required by the IIoT will soon be realized.
Table of Contents:
How Will 5G Impact Industrial IoT?
5G Accelerations for IIoT
Industrial 5G
How Will 5G Benefit Industrial IoT?
IoT is a B2B application and users just want to get actionable data from their sensors and not worry about whether it’s old data or unreliable data. I think 5G changes this dynamic significantly over the long term by standardizing and simplifying the experience and interactions, and possibly engaging more of the industry to help solve IoT’s problems but also improve the total experience.
- Anshel Sag, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy
• Data-Transfer Speeds
Any IoT is said to be commercially successful depending on how fast it can set up communications with other IoT devices, software based websites or applications, phones, and tablets. 5G promises exactly all of this with significant increase in transfer speeds.
5G is 10x faster than its LTE counterparts and allows IoT devices to communicate and share data faster than ever. All IoT devices will benefit from the faster speed of 5G with reduced lag and improved sending and receiving of data and notifications between connected devices.
• Greater Network Reliability
5G networks also offer more reliable and stable connection which is extremely important for any IoT including devices like locks, security cameras and monitoring systems that depend on real-time updates.
With reliable connectivity consumers will be the greater beneficiary.
It is however, imperative for manufactures to trust and invest in 5G compatible devices to reap the benefits of high-speed connectivity, very low latency, and a greater coverage that will arrive with the next generation network.
READ MORE:How Will the Emergence of 5G Affect Federated Learning?
5G Accelerations for IIoT
• Diversity in Industrial IoT
The opportunities that industrial IoT bring with is varied and its used cases span the spectrum from indoor to outdoor, less demanding to mission-critical, data rate from dozens of bps to gbps, device motion from fixed to mobility, and power source from button battery to high voltage.
Predictive maintenance, smart metering, asset tracking, and fleet management are some of the commonly known opportunities for IIoT, which be extended further by 5G through continued diversity and expansion.
• 5G Inspires Untapped Frontiers
Industrial IoT application areas such as mobile robot control in production automation and autonomous vehicles in open pit mining require wide mobility, low latency and mission-critical reliability. They rely on wireless access at 50ms to 1ms latency and service reliability from 5 nines to 6 nines.
Though 4G/LTE has attempted to address these areas of IIoT application it has failed due to unsatisfactory performance. With ultra-reliable and low latency connection, 5G will take industrial IoT to unconquered spaces.
• Managing the Enterprise 5G Network
Typically, enterprise IT is responding to the business demand from Operational Technology (OT) and mandates security, integration, visibility, control, and compatibility. In this scenario, 5G is not about “what,” but about “how”. IT needs to consider the right approach to bring 5G to the enterprise and decide whether to co-manage with the service provider (SP) or self-manage. The experience of IT in managing Industrial Ethernet and Wi-Fi may not hold when it comes to 5G. IT will likely require OT’s partnership to address complexity, security, integration, and other new challenges that 5G presents.
Industrial 5G
The potential for industrial 5G huge as it enables whole new business models.
Industrial IoT has a core requirement of the ability to connect sensors, devices, software applications, production process, workers and consumers. The connectivity requires to be seamless vertical and horizontal integrations of all layers of automation pyramids that increases operational efficiency of the plant floor and the supply chain by optimal use of data, information and analytics. This can be improved by five key elements:
• Improved Connectivity
• Availability
• Low Latency
• Flexibility
• Speed
Industrial 5G will impact these areas of the manufacturing industry to guide the success of Industrial IoT.
Industrial 5G will play a key role in helping industrial users achieve the goals of Industrial IoT. 5G offers wireless communications services with reduced latency, increased connection density, and improved flexibility compared to the current 4G generation. 5G technology has a theoretical downlink peak speed of 20 Gbps (gigabits per second), which is about 20 times faster than the current generation.
The key is to start building IoT devices with broadly adopted operating systems, built-in security all the way down to the silicon, verifiable and updatable firmware, and mainstream application development tooling.
- Anshel Sag, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy
The push and pull in achieving 5G success in IoT will be there until technology providers and end users work together to set up a consensus on standardization. The success will also depend on best-of-breed approach allowing the introduction of new technology over the lifecycle. Software and system integration will also be important attributes to a successful 5G deployment.
READ MORE:How Will IoT Revolutionize Pharmaceutical Manufacturing?
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IoT Security
Article | October 11, 2023
5G trends are shaping the future of various technologies, from the Internet of Things to virtual reality. Learn more about the top trends in 5G to stay ahead of the competition in this sector.
Contents
1 The Current State of IoT Data Security
2 Top Trends in IoT Data Security in 2023
2.1 Emergence of AI-powered Security Solutions
2.2 Potential of Blockchain Technology
2.3 Growing Use of Zero-trust Security Frameworks
2.4 Greater Emphasis on End-to-end Encryption
2.5 Industry and Government Collaboration
3 Conclusion
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to rapidly expand, data security has become a critical concern for businesses and consumers alike. With recent high-profile breaches and cyberattacks, the latest trends in IoT data security focus on implementing stronger encryption and authentication protocols, as well as enhancing device-level security measures to protect sensitive data from potential threats.
1 The Current State of IoT Data Security
The growing adoption of IoT has led to a digital transformation in the way businesses operate. IoT technology has enabled organizations to collect and analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, allowing for improved decision-making, increased operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experiences. Despite these benefits, organizations are currently facing significant IoT data security challenges that must be addressed to fully realize the potential of this technology.
Companies recognize unauthorized access (43%), data privacy (38%), and data integrity (31%) as top IoT security challenges.
(Source: Statista)
Businesses are actively addressing these security challenges by investing in IoT and data security solutions. The global market for IoT data security continues to grow, and companies are increasingly investing in strategies for data security in the IoT. To secure access to mission-critical connected devices and sensitive data, it is imperative for businesses to keep track of IoT trends in data security.
2 Top Trends in IoT Data Security in 2023
2.1 Emergence of AI-powered Security Solutions
AI-powered security systems can rapidly detect and respond to attacks, reducing the likelihood of significant damage to IoT devices or networks. In particular, its ability to analyze vast amounts of data in real-time and identify anomalies or potential security threats makes AI a vital component of an IoT data security strategy.
Detecting an IoT security breach in progress is possible with AI security systems, which identifies unusual behavior by analyzing data patterns from IoT devices. AI can also be used to diagnose potential vulnerabilities in IoT devices and networks, allowing organizations to take proactive measures to address them before they are exploited.
The pattern recognition capabilities of AI also help secure IoT technology through predictive analytics. By analyzing past data breaches and attacks, AI systems detect potential cyberattacks and develop predictive models to detect and respond to them proactively.
AI-driven security systems have the potential to streamline incident response by lessening the load on cybersecurity teams and reducing response time. The ability to adapt and learn from a previous cyberattack allows machine learning (ML) algorithms to create novel strategies that prevent similar attacks in the future.
AI represents a significant development in addressing IoT security concerns since it provides sophisticated capabilities to protect IoT networks and devices that conventional security measures cannot provide. AI-enabled security systems deliver immediate identification, reaction, and deterrence of possible threats, which is why they will be critical in ensuring data security in the IoT.
2.2 Potential of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain's unique features, such as decentralization, immutability, and cryptographic security, provide a robust framework for secure communication and data sharing among IoT devices. By leveraging blockchain technology, businesses can ensure their IoT data's integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity.
One of the key advantages of using blockchain for IoT data security is its decentralized nature. Blockchain networks are distributed and run on a peer-to-peer basis, making it difficult for attackers to compromise the network. This also makes it an ideal solution for recording and securing data from multiple access points, such as IIoT systems.
Additionally, blockchain networks are designed to be immutable, making them an ideal solution for IoT data security and providing a tamper-proof and transparent ledger for recording data flow. This can help enterprises identify and mitigate security threats more quickly and efficiently, reducing the risk of cybersecurity incidents. A research paper published in Wireless Networks highlights the advantage of using a Blowfish Blockchain Model to enable IoT data sharing security, particularly for multimedia content.
Blockchain technology is a promising solution for securing IoT data. Its unique features, including decentralization, immutability, and cryptographic security, make it an ideal candidate for many IoT use cases. This technology can potentially transform data security for IoT devices by offering the IoT sector the solution it requires.
2.3 Growing Use of Zero-trust Security Frameworks
Zero-trust frameworks ensure that only authorized devices and users can access sensitive data and systems, protecting against insider threats and external attacks. This is especially important in IoT environments, where devices may lack traditional security measures like firewalls and antivirus software.
Device identity management is a critical component of zero-trust security for IoT data. Only recognized devices are allowed access to a network or data by leveraging processes and technologies that authenticate device identity. With Zero Trust, any connected device must be authorized before accessing any resources, including data.
By closely monitoring and managing access, businesses can maintain the security of the IoT. This protects against threats that exploit weak device identity management. Overall, zero-trust security frameworks are essential for safeguarding IoT data from malicious actors and protecting the integrity of IoT ecosystems.
2.4 Greater Emphasis on End-to-end Encryption
IoT poses a threat to data security when users do not take proper measures to protect the data generated. End-to-end encryption provides a strong layer of protection against unauthorized access, interception, and other cyber threats by encrypting data at the source, during transmission, and at rest.
IoT devices collect and process a wide range of sensitive data, from personal information and financial data to critical infrastructure and medical records. This data is often transmitted over networks and shared with cloud services, and the risk of cyberattacks during transmission cannot be ignored.
End-to-end encryption can provide a strong layer of protection by encrypting data at the source, working to improve the limited data security of the IoT. As the use of IoT devices continues to grow, implementing end-to-end encryption will become increasingly important for ensuring the security and privacy of sensitive IoT data.
2.5 Industry and Government Collaboration
In late 2021, the UK and Singapore governments became the first to announce obligatory security requirements for specific categories of IoT devices. Due to IoT data security risks, other countries have also defined guidelines, best practices, certifications, or labeling efforts for IoT devices. However, adoption among IoT device makers and vendors has been slow.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been working on establishing cybersecurity guidelines for IoT devices. In June 2022, NIST incorporated consumer IoT cybersecurity criteria into its family of IoT cybersecurity guidance. NIST is also working with the IoT industry to design, standardize, and test solutions for IoT security controls.
By discussing IoT device security concepts and establishing guidelines in collaboration, the industry and the government can foster adoption of general methods to protect IoT devices from cybersecurity breaches. Such cooperation can be crucial in ensuring that IoT devices are secure from cyber threats and that IoT device makers and vendors adopt best practices for IoT device security.
3 Conclusion
The trends in IoT data security showcase several proactive measures that can be taken to protect sensitive data in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. In addition, organizations are moving towards a more comprehensive approach to IoT data security with the emergence of AI-powered security solutions, blockchain technology, and the shift to zero-trust security frameworks.
As IoT devices continue to proliferate, organizations must prioritize security and data protection to prevent data breaches and cyberattacks. This emphasizes the need for collaboration between industry and government to strengthen security measures and improve IoT device security by building with a ‘secure by design’ approach.
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Enterprise Iot
Article | August 3, 2022
The evolution of internet-based market models has changed the way businesses operate. Present-day businesses know that data visualization in business intelligence is integral to competitive success. Therefore, businesses are now expanding their data and intelligence retrieval capacities. As a result, IoT (Internet of Things) data visualization is gaining popularity among industrialists and researchers across various disciplines.
In corporate finance, IoT-based efficient data visualization analyses data from multiple sources with the help of corporate analytics management tools and manages data quality for business intelligence to reduce the risk of leaks.
Impact of IoT Data Visualization on Corporate Finance BI
Data is everywhere— right from a customer's first visit to your company’s website until he signs out, all the behavioral patterns and data are tracked. All this data becomes useless unless it is utilized for a particular purpose.
Analyzing this data to predict future trends is one of the significant benefits of smart data visualization tools and technologies. It helps to slice and dice the data gained from different sources of different complexity levels to the minute granular level. Business intelligence utilizes these insights and the existing database to run risk analysis.
It gives an overview of your financial performance and the risks and exposures it faces. And if you switch the KPIs at the center of any dashboard, your entire team can instantly access the most important and relevant data.
IoT data visualization can measure big data on customers more efficiently, allowing organizations to add value to their customers. Customized tools will analyze your customers’ data and produce reports according to specific customer needs to help you get a deeper insight. Corporations can also utilize this data to better understand their competitors’ benchmarks.
Customizable IoT Data to Store Millions of Data Points in One Place
IoT collects millions of data from various complex sources. The data visualization dashboard contains multiple widgets that convert this data into various forms, such as line graphs, geographical maps, bar charts, pie charts, gauges, heat maps, etc.
This information, transmitted into multiple visualizations, helps organizations to unlock every piece of data into a valuable asset.
The Benefits of Using IoT Data Visualization
Businesses can collect, analyze and monitor a variety of data using IoT, such as internet usage data, video surveillance data, mobile app usage, and social media. It helps businesses to design products and provide personalized value-added services to drive better consumer engagement. Here are some key benefits IoT data visualization offers:
Unlock multiple insights across various verticals
Addressing important financial concerns proactively
Combination of multiple data sources into a single insightful dashboard
Multi-layered visual data.
Combines new data with the existing data to analyze new business opportunities.
Better performance on IoT data flow.
Analyze multiple data correlations in real-time
Improved Collaboration
Well-coordinated and efficient performance.
Cost reduction
Accurate data interpretation
Mitigate risk factor
Better decision making
Conclusion
Hands down, IoT data visualization intelligence in a company’s business operations will lead to better decision-making. But, before you choose an IoT data visualization tool for your business, you should know what kind of data you need to analyze and if you need any additional historical data. Because IoT services offer data visualization tools and techniques to analyze and monitor the data accordingly to predict future trends. So, it’s important to identify the goals before selecting a tool for your organization.
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