IoT devices are becoming mainstream as people are trying to make their lives easier. It is estimated that by 2020, there will be up to 21 billion connected devices on the internet. IoT has become a huge part of how we communicate with everyday objects. The more the IoT devices, the more the homes become smarter, the more the home become smarted the cities will become smarted just like smart traffic lights which collect data on the traffic and then syncs the lights accordingly during peak traffic hours. This improves the overall efficiency and saves a lot of money, as everything can be remotely managed.
How do we keep all these devices secure
There are millions and billions of IoT devices which are constantly connected on the internet and how can you keep them secure
- Encryption
This solves a lot of problems when it comes to IoT. Encryptions such as TLS/ SSL protocols do not cut it for encryption and processing. They are not optimal is because of the point to point solution and not end to end solution is provided which will have to go through many different points on the chains and you will have to account for different security protocols and devices. A security solution like AES provides end to end security, which encrypts the messages all the way through as only encryption key can decrypt the encrypted data.
- Publish-subscribe paradigm
Publish-subscribe paradigm is a solution to many of the problems. This allows sending pieces of information through MQTT, Websockets or stream HTTP where the connections are secure. In case of large scale protections, many of the protocols fail or have issues.
Future scope of IoT
IoT has made it easier for the people to connect with friends, society due to which this convenience will become more critical. People have already started to keep the information about their loved ones in these devices.
- No unplugging
Unplugging in difficult even today, and by 2015, there will be no term such as unplugging. Even with all the threat alerts and distrust, people will not be able to disconnect themselves from the online platform.
- Increase in internet practices
The smart TVs, Smartphones, voice searches will become an essential requirement. If, people try to disconnect almost double the people will join the platform.
- Risk mitigation and human ability will make IoT safer
The ingenuity of human will make them a genuine user, which will result in mitigation will decrease and become more reliable of its user.
- Increased DDoS attack
With the increase in IoT devices, cybercrimes are bound to increase facilitating DDoS attack. In 2016, there was a malware which infected already connected devices such as DVRs, security cameras, and more. This malware got access to the devices with default passwords and user names. This later turned them into a botnet which facilitates DDoS attacks. The aim is to overwhelm the website with internet traffic.