What is an IoT?
Have you ever heard this phrase on the news before?
“IoTs are dangerous, they have been used in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks”
Then you ask yourself, are they talking about some type of venereal disease? Well, just so you know, IoT devices do suffer from viruses and they are definitely being used by criminals to disrupt others. Internet of Things (IoT) is the name used for non-computerized devices in your home that connects to your network and intermingles with all the other data traversing it. Examples of these types of devices are smart TVs, Nest Thermostat, Amazon Echo (Alexa), smart home devices, etc.
The biggest problem with these devices is that they communicate to the outside world using the same network where all your personal information is moving. Not only they have a trusted relationship with all the devices in your home, they can be accessed from outside by others and use that created trust to interact with everything connected to your network.
Imagine you are sitting in a public restroom stall, on the phone and the guy on the other stall is listening to everything you are telling your wife and posting your most private thoughts on Twitter. You (The Laptop/Computer) and the other guy (The IoT) are on different stalls but in the same bathroom (Network). Just like the IoT devices in your home network, they are in their own stall but in the same bathroom.
It is up to “You” the user, to make sure the IoT device is configured correctly
Reset the device’s default passwords
Why? because for a bad guy to find your device’s default passwords and usernames is as simple as doing a google search “Default password for [device]”. The search result will include websites like routerpassword.com whereby, entering the device manufacturer, a list with all default user access information is found. The device manufacturer webpage is another place where you are able to get the default settings for any device.
Update and upgrade device firmware and security as soon as it becomes available
Why? Because manufacturer’s updates and upgrades are patches for identified holes in the device’s set of instructions (Software/Firmware).
By applying the simple techniques mentioned in the paragraph before, as a minimum, you can reduce the chance of your devices being used against you by unauthorized users. There are many other technics to keep your network protected that take a little more knowledge and research. Some of them are:
- Demilitarized Zones (DMZ)/Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) – Using this technic you create a private area in your network where the IoT devices can be separated from the rest of the devices in your network.
- Encrypt folders or files where important private information are stored
Remember, IoTs are very important in our lives because they are becoming an essential part of the comfort, convenience, and security of our homes’ networks. The responsibility to keep your internal network is yours and you need to recognize that these devices should be secured just like any other computerized device in your network.
