All about Internet of Things - IOT

All about Internet of Things - IOT

What Is the Internet of Things?

•        The Internetof Things (IOT) is the network of physical objects—devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity—that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.

•        The Internet of Things is the intelligent connectivity of physical devices driving massive gains in efficiency, business growth, and quality of life.”

IoT is a conceptual framework

It’s about enabling connectivity and embedded intelligence in devices

Some of these devices are connected today, but MANY are not…

Not strictly machine-to-machine (M2M) – also machine-to-people, people-to-machine, machine-to-objects, people-to-objects

Creates the ability to collect data from a broad range of devices

Data  can be accessed via the cloud and analyzed using “big data” techniques

IoT can be used to provide unique value propositions and create complex information systems which are greater than the sum  of the individual components.

Various Names,  One Concept

•        M2M (Machine to Machine)

•        “Internet of Everything” (Cisco Systems)

•        “World Size Web” (Bruce Schneier)

•        “Skynet” (Terminator movie)

How are you reading this post right now? It might be on desktop, on mobile, maybe a tablet, but whatever device you’re using, it’s most definitely connected to the internet.

An internet connection is a wonderful thing, it give us all sorts of benefits that just weren’t possible before. If you’re old enough, think of your cell phone before it was a smartphone. You could call and you could text sure, but now you can read any book, watch any movie, or listen to any song all in the palm of your hand. And that’s just to name a few of the incredible things your smartphone can do.

The Internet of Things is actually a pretty simple concept, it means taking all the things in the world and connecting them to the internet.

Why IoT Matters

When something is connected to the internet, that means that it can send information or receive information, or both. This ability to send and/or receive information makes things smart, and smart is good.

Let’s use smartphones (smartphones) again as an example. Right now you can listen to just about any song in the world, but it’s not because your phone actually has every song in the world stored on it. It’s because every song in the world is stored somewhere else, but your phone can send information (asking for that song) and then receive information (streaming that song on your phone).

To be smart, a thing doesn’t need to have super storage or a super computer inside of it. All a thing has to do is connect to super storage or to a super computer. Being connected is awesome.

In the Internet of Things, all the things that are being connected to the internet can be put into three categories:

1.      Things that collect information and then send it.

2.      Things that receive information and then act on it.

3.      Things that do both.

And all three of these have enormous benefits that feed on each other.

Why be concerned about IoT?

•        It’s just another computer, right? 

•        All of the same issues we have with access control, vulnerability management, patching, monitoring, etc.  

•        Imagine your network with 1,000,000 more devices

•        Any compromised device is a foothold on the network

Does IOT add additional risk?

•        Are highly portable devices captured during vulnerability scans? 

•        Where is your network perimeter? 

•        Are consumer devices being used in areas – like health care – where reliability is critical?

•        Do users install device management software on other computers? Is that another attack vector?

Attacking IoT

•        Default, weak, and hardcoded credentials

•        Difficult to update firmware and OS

•        Lack of vendor support for repairing vulnerabilities

•        Vulnerable web interfaces (SQL injection, XSS)

•        Coding errors (buffer overflow)

•        Clear text protocols and unnecessary open ports

•        DoS / DDoS

•        Physical theft and tampering

Plan for IoT growth:

◦        Additional types of logging, log storage: Can you find the needle in the haystack?

◦        Increased network traffic: will your firewall / IDS / IPS be compatible and keep up?

◦        Increased demand for IP addresses both IPv4 and IPv6

◦        Increased network complexity – should these devices be isolated or segmented?

Threat vs. Opportunity

          If misunderstood and misconfigured, IoT poses risk to our data, privacy, and safety

          If understood and secured, IoT will enhance communications, lifestyle, and delivery of services.

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