This festive season, if you’ve been nice, you may just find Santa has gifted you a shiny new Internet of Things (IoT) device.
Whether it be for entertainment, fitness or even a kitchen gadget, it’s important to be aware of the security problems many of these fancy IoT devices present.
The web is full of stories poor device design and one of our favourites is the “security” camera, with the cheery feature of allowing anyone with a search engine to see inside your living room. [1] While the idea of a fancy new device might be at the top of your Christmas list, ensuring you are armed with the correct security is essential to protect yourself and your data from cyber crime.
Here are some IoT related tips to consider this Christmas:
- Buy from a reputable manufacturer – Consider that they may have made a poorly secured product. Will they be asking for users’ personal information?
- Update software and/or firmware – The US has recently passed a bill where IoT makers must make devices updatable going forward and release product updates when vulnerabilities are discovered. Bear in mind that the onus is on the users to update them usually, so you should be aware of requirements before you purchase or set up your device.
- Use smart usernames and passwords – Many devices are shipped with default credentials that need to be changed, choose strong passwords to ensure optimum protection.
- Disable UPnP – When home routers have UPnP enabled rogue services can easily ‘phone home’. Experts recommend disabling this feature and instead use customised firewall settings.
- Don’t connect your devices to the Internet unless you need to – This is simple advice but possibly the best. The benefits of connecting new hardware to your private network may not be worth the security risk.
Spare a thought for those less fortunate who have been caught out by these gimmicky gizmos. Please take some care with your IT security at home this Christmas to ensure you are practising the highest level of online security that ensures you and your data are protected from cyber crime.
For further assitance in managing the risk of IoT devices that may be used within your organisation as well as all other cybersecurity concerns please do not hesitate to contact Agilient.
The Agilient Team
References: 1- https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/NBC-6-Investigation-Security-Cameras-Not-So-Secure-283429931.html