Here’s How We Answer IoT’s 3 Biggest Concerns
The Internet of Things is providing companies with a wealth of new information every day, but it’s also injecting thousands of new touchpoints and interaction times that can generate vulnerabilities. Companies need to protect themselves on several new levels, because IoT can scale incredibly quickly. Addressing scale and proper implementation can be tricky. Here are three of the biggest concerns you face.
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Session Length Consideration
One hallmark of IoT is that sessions can range from a few seconds to a multi-day flow of data. Long-term connections require a new approach to security, because IT traditionally built security based on either a permanent connection to a network or a session that would last minutes at the most. Using this infrastructure, IoT devices are often submitting the same session data and encryption elements throughout the day. Hackers can track this information and use it as part of their injection tactics to bypass existing security. Protecting against these exploits requires a system that is constantly looking for intrusion and planning for long session times. This can include limitations to privilege over time, such as our LDAP Proxy Firewall that limits applications’ access and provides better management of data for monitoring and reactions, compared to Active Directory alone.
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Creating Proper Identification
The explosion of IoT devices can also overwhelm traditional identification structure. Current IDs tend to designate a device, and we often see the same ID repeated on different networks, but they don’t provide us with information about the device in the ID name. A unique ID paradigm should be applied to IoT devices so that a network administrator could understand what device a request is coming from, and perhaps more information about the user behind it. Pairing device ID with a personal ID — or marrying the two in the same ID with a robust library backing — could be a potential way to solve ID problems as IoT expands. The requirement should look to today’s identification and access management platforms currently available. Some of their current best practices can also operate in other ID and classification systems. We apply today’s leading ID management best practices in our Virtual Identity Server. Classification and monitoring across multiple AD forests and domains allows us to generate a single, real-time view of identity data from any source. It’s all about creating the best virtual data trail and supporting top authentication protocols to ensure that your data is properly secured behind your firewalls.
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IoT Device Capabilities
Most smartphones on the market today are unable to run advanced virus protection and identification on their own. Can we really expect shipping containers, vehicle/fleet management systems or refrigerators to do more than a smartphone? IoT ecosystems require a cloud solution that centralizes data monitoring and protection that can work on the application end of things as much as on the device itself. Some brands are creating physical products that connect to networks and process all traffic — this solution is typically aimed at the consumer’s home. For larger networks or more complex deployments, the cloud itself needs to power the security system. Pairing network IDs with a single sign-on platform ensures a smooth adoption of Identity as a Service (IDaaS) because it allows for quicker multi-factor authentication. Cloud systems also ensure the support for multiple standards, so that devices themselves don’t need to be restricted. Optimal IdM offers The service to bring these and other cloud-based best practices to any network. By managing the cloud services and how they can be accessed, we’re able to alleviate many traditional IT concerns right away, freeing up your team to be more productive. We’ve created federation connections to hundreds of applications and customized connections all along the way, ensuring that every URL request is proper and device data stream is approved before it reaches your servers. Optimal IdM performs the application management and can be configured to your needs, including all of the debugging, allowing your team to find the right IoT devices for your system.
Why Embrace the Cloud?
Protection is the biggest boon when using IDaaS. Downtime of systems can cost you millions of dollars each year. If you’re managing all of these devices, you can experience downtime due to bad device requests, poor coding, failed onboarding of new devices when personal devices try to access your network, and more. Don’t let ID management and application downtime harm your bottom line or dig deeply into your IT budget. Turn to a trusted partner to ensure you can access the benefits of IoT with minimal downsides.
