Business transformation is augmenting, with IoT devices helping lead the way in transformation innovation. How can businesses ensure overall network security?
Being connected to everything, all the time, is the biggest technological demand these days. Users seek out the latest in smart devices promising work productivity and entertainment connectivity 24/7. On the work side, business transformation has exploded over the recent years, with Internet of Things (IoT) devices helping lead the way in transformation innovation.
However, despite their popularity, IoT devices introduce significant security weaknesses, leaving organizations exposed to new cyber threats on a constant basis. On top of this, emerging enabling technology such as 5G has further enhanced IoT devices’ popularity functionality, but has also resulted in IoT devices being even more exposed to threats, such as zero-day exploits and software tampering.
As a result, as IoT usage explodes, the attack surface expands significantly, and as security becomes that much more complex organizations need to consider new ways to protect themselves against these oncoming attacks.
IoT Devices Introduce New Threats
Ericsson estimates that this year there will be nearly 1.5 billion IoT devices with cellular connections. Massive usage is no surprise since IoT devices are critical for ongoing business transformation. Their ability to make infrastructure “smarter” and collect vast amounts of data for further developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence is invaluable. However, the security issue with IoT devices is that they are not designed with security in mind, and security is not a key operation of the device. IoT devices often lack crucial security functions, such as authentication controls. And as businesses expand their IoT use, the attack surface grows, making networks that much harder to secure. With ransomware top of mind these days, organizations must ensure that any device added to their infrastructure has airtight security before it crosses the threshold of connectivity and access to resources.
IoT overall is not a well-researched or standardized area of technology, and history shows that significant threats can emerge from the unknown if left unexplored.This lack of knowledge is of critical concern, however, when the scale of the IoT market is considered. Since so many devices are designed with unlimited connectivity, it is extremely difficult for researchers to check and categorise each one.
It is common practice for attackers to examine a business from top to bottom looking for a weak point and opportunity for entry. Enterprise on-premises networks are of course locked down with advanced and elaborate security tools and policies, making them far more difficult to infiltrate. IoT devices lacking the same security measures and operating outside of the secure LAN, are opportune targets. Once breached, they provide threat actors with an entry point to launch their attack and move laterally through the organization.
The Effects of 5G on Security
5G networking has become a natural enabler for IoT devices, despite being deployed globally for just a short time. 5G offers IoT devices a substantial boost in capacity and speed to help address massive performance requirements. It helps facilitate 24/7 connectivity, and has the ability to meet the scaling needs for all IoT devices. 5G is a key requirement to help transform business networking and the interconnection of clouds, infrastructure environments, and IoT devices.
However, software vulnerabilities are inevitable, especially in the software supply chain we see in the headlines, and similar to the IoT market 5G has not undergone enough research for experts to understand its level of security and all the threats it can introduce. Zero-day attacks, for example, are considered one massive possible threat to IoT and 5G applications. Since 5G is not a private network, it significantly expands the attack surface of connected IoT devices, leaving them vulnerable to threats such as lateral movement.
Addressing Both Security and Network Performance Requirements
Naturally, security and network performance are not a guarantee within any organization, and often they are at odds with each other. If too much attention is paid to one, the other will often suffer, leading to a detrimental impact on operations and user experience. There are countless mission critical applications that are required for network performance, but that doesn’t mean that security should be an afterthought.
The key for achieving a balance of tight security and optimal network performance is a targeted approach. Simply throwing a variety of security products at the problem is an ineffective method which will result in wasted money and time, not to mention an insecure operation. Organizations must strategize to address the specific problems introduced by IoT, and up front select the approach that will provide the right levels of security and performance for their unique needs.
Secure access service edge (SASE) has proven to be a valuable tool to help compensate for the security features that IoT devices lack. SASE delivers a tighter integration between security and network performance, ensuring vulnerabilities are addressed with the latest in security functions, but while also keeping the network running and performance high. With SASE, organizations can ensure that all endpoints in an IoT network – no matter the location or size – are equipped with consistent security coverage, policy and management capabilities. In addition to enabling controls on data access and using sandboxing to isolate and analyze suspicious connections, SASE helps improve bandwidth speeds and reduces latency to improve performance. Data no longer needs to pass through multiple devices or virtual network functions (VNFs) thanks to the integrated single software stack offered by advanced SASE solutions.
IoT is critical for business transformation and resiliency, so protecting IoT ecosystems should be of utmost importance. This means investing in security from the start, not treating it as an add-on option that can be duct taped on at the end. While security doesn’t naturally flow through every IoT device, businesses should evaluate SASE and the latest approaches to ensure their overall network is secure.
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