The top 10 strategies to secure your IoT devices

Ohio-based Cyber Security Services has released a list of its top 10 strategies for organisations to secure their vulnerable IoT devices.

The company argues that millions of IoT devices lack adequate security controls and are therefore exposed to cyberattacks. Security fears are paramount in both enterprise and consumer minds; a study from Metova in June found that while 85% of consumers polled would like to monitor utility usage in real-time through IoT devices, full understanding of the term was still required.

The top 10 security strategies are:

1. Changing or updating default passwords over a period of time.
   
2. Maintaining separate corporate network from vendor-managed and unmanaged IoT devices
   
3. Preventing IoT devices from communicating outside the organisation unless it is extremely important.
   
4. Businesses can put control to limit the number of vendors that are being granted remote access to IoT devices.
   
5. Implementing a NAC solution to improve IoT security by detecting maximum devices and identifying suspicious connections to the network.
   
6. Implementing vulnerability scanners provided by commercial vendors help identify the types of devices connected to a network.
   
7. Running an IDS and IPS on the network to detect malicious network traffic, which saves an IoT device from being compromised.
   
8. Appropriate device management to make sure that the remotely managed devices are catalogued with records in place detailing registration, configuration, authentication, and other pertinent device data.
   
9. Restriction on internal and external port communication that should be allowed only when needed.
   
10. Removal of incompatible OS, applications, and devices from the network for increased safety.

A recent study from Irdeto found healthcare organisations lack necessary measures to counter cyber-attacks despite being aware of the areas that are vulnerable and needs protection. In a survey of 232 healthcare security decision-makers, 50% of the respondents cited IT network as the most prominent vulnerable spot within healthcare organisations, followed by 45% of the mobile devices and accompanying apps and 42% IoT devices.