Taking Security by Design to the Next Level

The Internet of Things (IoT) is driving innovation and efficiency like never before. Because the purpose of IoT solutions is to share and transfer data across various channels, and security is naturally a primary concern. As many as 97% of organisations implementing IoT report being concerned about security - as protecting connected devices and IoT networks from unauthorised access is a top priority and doesn’t have to be prohibitive to success. 

Any business implementing IoT solutions cannot afford to treat security as an afterthought. Companies deploying IoT without a security-first approach are not only doing themselves a disservice, but they are putting themselves, their customers, and stakeholders at risk. Security by design is a proven framework when applied to IoT puts security mechanisms into an application prior to starting development. The overall goal being to identify and mitigate threats before production. 

Beyond simply adopting this security by design approach, it’s important for businesses to build their security framework so that it can be scaled consistently, avoiding anomalies that can lead to security breaches. This is how companies can take security by design to the next level, ensuring that consistency is maintained as they build more applications. 

Threat Modelling

One of the ways to assess the security of an IoT ecosystem is through a method known as STRIDE threat modelling. This covers six categories of security threats, including Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, and Elevation of privilege. By grouping threats into these categories, businesses can understand and classify an incredibly thorough list of threats and discover what can go wrong with their IoT solutions, and create a framework to avoid it. 

Keeping IoT Devices Secure

To keep IoT solutions secure for the long term, businesses should implement vulnerability scanning across all properties identified in threat modelling. Continuous assessment should be done by internal security teams as well as third parties. Over-the-air updates should be included to remotely send a patch to devices where threats have been detected. Additionally, monitoring device behaviour for anomalies such as a communication pattern inconsistency is crucial to mitigating threats. 

In order to secure IoT solutions, it’s necessary to have a granular view of device behaviour. KORE offers visibility that not only helps you keep a close eye on IoT traffic, but also makes it easier to manage devices so they perform at their full potential. SecurityPro provides the network visibility and actionable intelligence that connected organisations need to protect their IoT devices and the data they transmit from potential anomalies, reducing costs, and mitigating security risks.

KORE SecurityPro was recently awarded a 2020 IoT Evolution Product of the Year Award from IoT Evolution World, the leading website covering IoT technologies. The award honours the best and most innovative products and solutions powering the Internet of Things, as judged by the editors of IoT Evolution World magazine. 

Download the eBook, "A Guide to Security by Design for the Internet of Things" to learn how to implement security by design from concept stage to management.