In the Industry 4.0 era, everyone is connected to the cloud. Smartphones and smartwatches travel everywhere with us, providing a constant flow of information. Wearable fitness trackers provide easily accessible health information. Bluetooth wirelessly connects devices for easy transfer of information. However, with so much information constantly flowing, there are also possibilities for that information to fall into the wrong hands.
IoT products are susceptible to system shutdowns and cyberattacks that expose private data and information. When these attacks happen, customers lose trust in companies, harming their reputation and finances as consumers flock to competitors.
Having proper cybersecurity protections in place is essential to maintaining customers’ trust.
Types of Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is an integral part of communication system design. As IoT products become more complex, many types of protections work to prevent disruptions and attacks from happening.
Application Security
Security measures built into your product’s software are called application security. This includes authentication and authorization, which prevent other people from easily accessing your account information. I’m sure by now, everyone is inundated with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) where the user must provide at least 2 verification methods to prove they are who they say they are. More complex measures include digital locks and encryption that protect your information from hackers.
There are multiple tools available to test application security. Static application security testing, dynamic application security testing, and interactive application security testing are just some of the processes that exist to test the strength of application security systems.
Cloud Security
Companies use cloud systems to organize information and collaborate across teams. As the hub for all of a company’s information, it is important that these systems can withstand cyber threats. Cloud security also extends to cloud-connected products.
Cloud security is based on the same principles as application security, except cloud security is based on a shared responsibility model, where the cloud provider secures the operating system infrastructure and the user secures their own information they put in the cloud. For example, the provider will implement firewalls to protect the network, and the user will control data and access management, like MFA.
Identity and Data Security
Verifying who is accessing your information plays a vital role in cybersecurity. Hackers can break into closed networks, and at the same time, more people are working remotely and need to access servers from outside the company network. Identity security validates the identity of people and non-human entities accessing a program, while data security protects sensitive information from unauthorized access once it’s stored or shared.
Mobile Security
Mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, are increasingly being used for business purposes. As such, they have access to company data that must be protected. Like similar products, mobile devices have to be secured against hackers, viruses, and malware. However, mobile devices also face the risks of theft, loss, and jailbreaking, which require additional contingencies.
Network Security
Companies use network security to protect against disruptions and attacks that occur over a network. There are various forms of network security. One of the methods that Pivot International uses is transport layer security (TLS), which encrypts communications sent between applications on a network so that our partners can be confident in the security of their products.
Disaster Recovery Security
Disaster recovery security (DRS) keeps systems running during and after incidents such as cyberattacks, power outages, and natural disasters. DRS is an integral part of building cyber resilience in modern products. Having a disaster recovery plan prepares systems to recover from unexpected events.
Different Types of Cyberattacks
We’ve discussed some of the many ways to protect your products from cyberattacks, but it’s also important to know exactly what you are protecting against. While not exhaustive, these are some common types of cyberattacks.
- Phishing: Attackers pose as reputable companies to get people to click on a link and input sensitive information, like passwords or credit card details, into a fraudulent website. These attacks usually occur over email or text messages and have become quite sophisticated looking. They can include company logos and other nice imagery that allude to a legitimate company.
- Spoofing: A means to make phishing attacks more believable. Attackers using spoofing may take the time to make email addresses or caller IDs appear as if they are coming from a trusted source, which not all phishing attacks take the time to do.
- Malware: A virus unknowingly released on devices when users click on infected files or links. Often times, these can be included in phishing or spoofing emails.
- Ransomware: A type of malware that encrypts a user’s files and demands a ransom in return for their data, sometimes under threat of data destruction.
- Spyware: Spyware steals information stored on people’s devices. A type of malware, spyware can go undetected or slow down devices by generating many pop-up ads.
- Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack: A coordinated overloading of a system to disrupt functions or render the system unresponsive.
- Code Injection Attack: A category of attacks where attackers exploit sites with poor data validation by injecting their code and having the applications run it. Tamper detection software identifies injected code or unauthorized modifications, helping prevent the program from running compromised code.
- SQL Injection: Harmful code is entered into web applications that can alter or destroy data when not detected by security software.
- Cross-site Scripting (XSS): Sites without strong cybersecurity are susceptible to XSS, where an attacker can inject code and act as if they are another user, with all of that user’s access.
- Supply Chain Attack: Targets software involved in supply chain management. These attacks usually target suppliers for large companies that have strong cybersecurity protections in place, as they can then access the entire network.
- Password Attack: One of the most common types of cyberattacks, password attacks can be conducted through various means, including phishing emails posing as a password reset or brute force attacks where programs run through possible variations.
Securing Your Product
Everyone wants to have a quick time-to-market. However, it’s important not to sacrifice the security of your customer and your product. Spending time and money to create a secure product can be the “make-or-break” for success in the market. Widespread security issues in products would not only cause a loss of customer trust; they could also cost a significant amount of money when the company must remedy a problem.
Cybersecurity is now an essential part of software development for all IoT products. Knowledge of and implementation of these security measures into your IoT product is vital but can also be daunting. Pivot International works with our partners to design software resilient enough to withstand cyberthreats. To learn more about our global teams and how they can work with you, contact us today.
