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, security is naturally a primary concern. But even though protecting connected devices and IoT networks from unauthorized access is a top concern—as many as 97% of organizations implementing IoT report being concerned about security—it 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. The proactive approach to IoT security is generally referred to as security by design—putting security mechanisms into an application prior to starting development. It entails identifying and mitigating threats before production. 

Threat Modeling

One of the ways to accomplish this is through a method known as STRIDE threat modeling. This covers six categories of security threats, including Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, and Elevation of privilege. This type of threat modeling should result in an incredibly thorough list of threats if done properly and will help businesses understand what can go wrong in their IoT solutions, helping to create a framework to avoid it. 

Ensuring Consistency 

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 and more applications. 

Keeping IoT Devices Secure

To keep IoT solutions secure for the long haul, businesses should implement vulnerability scanning across all properties identified in threat modeling. 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 behavior 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 behavior. 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 organizations 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 Web site covering IoT technologies. The award honors 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.