IoT security often seems risky and harsh. Human lives are endangered whenever there is a security breach because hackers can gain control over their products. Worst, IoT products give cybercriminals a new point of attack, which can be a physical device. However, there are various ways product developers can ensure their IoT products stay secure across all the stack layers.
Protection Against Physical Tampering
With the internet of things, today's generation can install millions of devices within reach of their hand, and this has opened up an opportunity for cyber bullies to tamper with their connected devices and take control over their system and network. A real-world scenario is when a healthcare facility invests millions of dollars in keeping intruders at bay. However, to its surprise, a Trojan horse could pop up in a network shortly after the revamp of the security completes. The IT department could even not figure out where the weak point was since all the possible entry points were secured and sealed. Perhaps firewalls were in place, passwords were enforced, and servers were patched. As such, a health professional might wonder how the attacker got into their system or network. The attacker could have found a way when an unsuspecting nurse decided to undertake an activity such as web scraping or transfer files using the USB port of the hospital's network. The phone could have had a virus that found its way into the system of the health practice. Every time you walk into a hospital, retail business, or airport, it's surprising to see the number of access ports that intruders can leverage to gain full control of secured networks.
Physical tampering can be in many ways ranging from removing parts, interrupting the power of the device, and connecting secured devices to exposed ports. As such, product managers should come up with an analysis of how intruders could tamper with their devices. Managers might need to consider what could happen if an intruder gain access to their gadgets as well as the nature of damage that might hit them. Hackers can use that access as a backdoor to access your customer's network or system. However, measures such as ensuring that products aren't exposed to connectors or ports can make a difference. Product managers might also consider implementing locks or other ways to keep unauthorized people off their products and network. Try to install a product in areas such as a tall ceiling or secure room to prevent normal reach.
Security Analysis
Securing a product or network can be tedious, so it's hard for a product developer to know where to start. However, the inclusion of security in your IoT decision framework can further enhance your product security. Evaluation of product security at each IoT stack layer will make it easier to plan an actionable roadmap and have a more focused view than before. Product developers have two security sectors to protect based on their IoT technology stack. The first vector is the security breach across all their connected devices and physical tampering at the layer of their devices.
Cybersecurity Attacks Protection
Security practices apply to all IoT stack layers ranging from embedded software to their applications. As such, the role of a product manager is to secure all their stack since different engineering teams are developed at different layers of the stack. Product managers have to consider a lot of things ranging from identity management to authorization, encryption, and authentication. However, product managers can team up with their teams to evaluate vulnerabilities and risks in each stack layer . After that, outline the steps that might help protect each stack layer. The role of a product manager is not to be the expert in the security subject matter. Instead, their responsibility is to ensure the security of their products is encountered at each IoT stack layer by addressing vulnerabilities and physical tampering. Product managers can also use IoT decision framework to create a strategy to secure their network and devices and identify areas of weaknesses.