The Epoch of Giving IoT Devices Equal Status to the Employee Workforce!

By CIOReview | Monday, June 24, 2019

The world is rising towards fantasy with billions of devices talking to each other every day. With so many developments for IoT to take place, it is reasonable to say IoT has begun to transform the business landscape.

FREMONT, CA: It is expected to be more than 64B IoT devices worldwide by 2025 says TechJury statistics. This amplification in connectivity brings innovation in the way business relate and use these devices. In this evolving IoT marketplace, the services associated with those connected things help reap more value for them. Hence, industry pioneers realize the importance of treating them as their employee workforce to obtain its full potential and thereby enhance productivity.

• Give devices an identity

Embracing a different mindset can help achieve this. View IoT devices not as part of technology, but rather as privileged users who also have access to sensitive information. By provisioning a device identity and assigning them appropriately, their activity can be monitored and managed throughout their life cycle on the network.

• Apply Device Governance

Once each IoT device is given an identity, policy-based authentication and access control should be applied. It is easy to deploy an IoT device and consider the job done, but that these devices are a conduit between the internet and work environment, making them an easy attack vector for unauthorized users to gain access to critical corporate information. Device authentication and access should be governed and regularly revisited— through software updates, bug fixes, new firmware, routine maintenance, and diagnostic improvements —during the full device lifecycle.

• Employ the Principle of Least Privilege

Just as a company would only give an employee the minimum access to data and systems they need to do their jobs, firms need to limit the access of their IoT devices too. Employing firewalls and permissions to safeguard against unauthorized devices obtaining access.

• Manage Device Passwords

Similar to employees, IoT devices contain passwords that grant them authentication to systems, files, and data. Best practices for managing user passwords, including routine resets and multifactor authentication also apply to IoT passwords. These passwords must be updated at regular intervals and carefully managed to protect the vital information they store.

• Monitor the Device

Devices should be monitored round the clock to identify unusual activities, check for necessary patch updates, and confirm each device is still in the right network segment. Without the proper monitoring processes in place, the abnormalities in functioning can go undetected, and thereby, potential threats can harm the system.

IoT has touched the pinnacle of expectations of emerging technologies. Businesses that are accepting these changes will see a higher growth graph than the ones who are still skeptical about these ideas.