What is Enterprise IoT Security?

The growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in enterprise environments has resulted in a new set of security challenges that organizations need to address. Every device that a business connects to its networks, like smart sensors, industrial equipment, building systems, and wearable technology, increases the attack surface and represents an opportunity for criminals to enter an organization’s network.

In this blog, we will discuss the basics of enterprise IoT security, from common challenges to security best practices. We will also explore security solutions such as SentinelOne that can assist enterprises in implementing end-to-end coverage for their connected devices as well as networks.

What is Enterprise IoT Security?

Enterprise IoT security is the combination of practices, technologies, and strategies to protect internet-connected devices and the networks they are connected to in enterprise environments. The goal of such security measures is to restrict access, data breaches, and service disruptions at all levels of the organization’s IoT ecosystem.

IoT systems are made up of several important components, all of which need to be considered when implementing security. Different sensors and equipment attached at the edge gather data from the environment, including temperature measurements, motion sensors, performance metrics for machines, or user entries.

These are connected to the gateways, which act as an intermediary for processing the data and communication between the devices and the larger networks. Networking infrastructure is used for the secure transport of data, while cloud platforms are used for data storage, analytics, and remote management capabilities.

Need for enterprise IoT security

Enterprises are still adopting IoT technologies in their operations, and increasingly, they are fulfilling their needs for higher efficiency and automation with data-driven decision-making. Such smart organizations typically incorporate IoT sensors to keep track of how well their equipment is functioning and whether or not they require maintenance as well.

Connected systems are used to control and manage things such as energy consumption, access control, and environmental conditions in an office building. IoT helps retailers in tracking inventories and analyzing customer behavior.

In an IoT environment, every security breach involves not just data theft but a security event with severe consequences. IoT device penetration allows the attack to create disruption in the operations by switching equipment off and on, modifying system parameter settings, or blocking legitimate access. This raises serious doubts about the integrity of the data being gathered and sent by these devices, which can translate to erroneous business decisions or compliance failures.

Benefits of Enterprise IoT Security

The benefits of IoT security go much beyond simple protection, which is why it is essential to have it in place. If organizations prioritize security for their connected devices, they will be in a much stronger business position as well as able to operate much more efficiently and effectively.

Protection against cyber threats

IoT security offers critical security against emerging cyberattacks. Security solutions are capable of identifying malicious attempts to access IoT devices and blocking them so that attackers cannot use these devices as gateways to get into the corporate network. Advanced monitoring tools can detect abnormal behavior on devices that may signal compromise, while encryption keeps traffic (data flowing between devices and systems) secure.

Operational efficiency and system reliability

Securing the Internet of Things, or IoT, is critical to the operational efficiency and reliability of the systems. Devices that function in a secure environment do not face a lot of disturbances, and moreover, performance levels remain stable. Updated security provides regular updates and patches to ensure devices run the most up-to-date versions of all necessary software while maintaining optimal functionality.

Data integrity and protection of sensitive information

Powerful security mechanisms preserve the integrity and privacy of data created by IoT. This enables organizations to ensure that information from sensors and devices is untampered, enabling transparent analytics and decision-making. Access control assures that users without authorization cannot view or edit private information, and data protection shields customer information, intellectual property, and internal information as it travels through the IoT ecosystem.

Cost savings

Security implementations save money in avoided incidents and operational efficiencies. The costs of a security compromise, such as investigation costs, recovery of the system, regulatory penalties, and brand reputation costs, far outweigh any prevention costs. Besides, such IoT deployments are also less prone to downtimes, have fewer emergency fixes, and offer more reliable service that helps save on operational costs and optimize resources.

Increased trust with partners, clients, and regulatory bodies

Possessing strong IoT security capabilities helps build stronger relationships with the wider business ecosystem. Businesses build trust with customers and partners by assuring that all exchanged information sharing and service reliability is preserved. This simplifies the demonstration of regulatory compliance, audits, and potential penalties. This trust can then become a competitive advantage, easier in business processes, and a stronger reputation in the market.

Challenges in Enterprise IoT Security

Security teams face many challenges with enterprise IoT security, making proper protection and, more importantly, preventing security events difficult. This is due to the complexity of both IoT technology and the surrounding environments in which these devices work.

Diverse range of IoT devices

Enterprise networks can have thousands of connected devices from different manufacturers with their own operating systems, communication protocols, and security capabilities. This variety adds complications to applying consistent security controls or a reminder of the entire visible device inventory. Security teams have to create policies that take into consideration the different types of devices yet provide the same level of protection across the entire network.

Device heterogeneity and integration of legacy systems

This variability in device type becomes especially an issue while integrating legacy systems with the modern IoT infrastructure. Most systems were designed decades ago without security considerations and have virtually no protections, such as authentication or encryption. Older systems typically use proprietary protocols that do not easily integrate with commercially embedded security tools.

Scalability issues

Automated device onboarding, credential management, monitoring, and updates have become essential to scale and securely manage hundreds or thousands of devices. This leads to IoT devices not being addressed at all, as traditional security approaches that work for limited endpoints can not be scaled to massive networks of connected devices. However, monitoring for security events is also a challenge due to the sheer volume of data these devices will create, meaning security teams need to filter device communications for more actionable security events.

Common vulnerabilities and attack vectors

While IoT devices have similar vulnerabilities and attack vectors to IT assets, they also have their own set of challenges. Some IoT devices in circulation are shipped with default credentials, unpatched software, or unnecessary open ports that attackers use. Given their constrained compute footprint, powerful encryption or intricate security agents can seldom be employed. Specialized malware, DDoS bots, or man-in-the-middle (MITM) methods that intercept communications of the devices also target these vulnerabilities.

Consistent security policies and timely patch management

Persistent operation challenges include maintaining uniform security policies and applying timely patches to mitigate vulnerabilities across IoT environments. For numerous devices, an automated update mechanism does not exist, and they require manual action to be performed to install the patches. Update operations may spoil mission-critical processes and delay core security updates in organizations. Different devices support different configuration options and possess different security capabilities, complicating the creation and enforcement of unified security policies.

Enterprise IoT Security Best Practices

Connected devices require a systematic approach to ensure IoT deployments are secure. By implementing established best security practices at various stages of the device lifecycle, organizations can greatly minimize their risk exposure.

Network segmentation and access control

Isolating IoT devices in their own network segments limits lateral movement in the event a device is breached. Isolating IoT systems into separate segments from critical business networks reduces the risk of exposure as affected devices are limited to only the IoT segment. Employ access mitigation controls based on the principle of least privilege as far as possible. Network monitoring tools should monitor all inter-segment communication to prevent unauthorized access attempts and unusual traffic patterns.

Device authentication and identity management

Device authentication is the basis of IoT security. The unique identity of each and every device in the network needs a unique identity, which organizations can verify with some strong authentication methods such as digital certificates or multi-factor authentication. Centralized identity management systems allow teams to track all devices, their credentials, and access permissions. Change default passwords before anything gets deployed, and rotate credentials frequently to mitigate the effects of a breach if one occurs.

Encryption and secure communication

Encryption allows data protection as information travels between devices and backend systems. Organizations should use modern encryption standards that protect data in transit and at rest for all forms of device communications, ideally end-to-end edge encryption. Additionally, implementing secure communication protocols (such as TLS/SSL) will create secure channels for data transmission, while certificate-based authentication ensures that the identities of system participants are verified, protecting against man-in-the-middle attacks.

Regular updates and patch management

Known vulnerabilities across all IoT devices are reduced by keeping the software and firmware up to date. Organizations need to be able to identify, test, and apply patches in a systematic way through the entire IoT environment. Automated update mechanisms can aid in managing this at scale; critical systems may need well-planned maintenance windows to avoid operational disruption.

Continuous monitoring and threat detection

Monitoring can be set up with baselines for typical behavior for the device, and that will alert whenever there is a major deviation from the baseline. Advanced threat detection tools are able to spot some known attack patterns against IoT systems, and security information and event management (SIEM) platforms correlate events across the environment to find potential threats. Regularized security scans for devices that have been misconfigured, weak credentials, or vulnerabilities that have just been identified.

Regulatory and Compliance Considerations for IoT Security

As IoT solutions are being deployed, organizations face a daunting and rapidly evolving regulatory environment intended to maintain security and privacy standards.

Industry-specific regulations

Each industry has specific regulatory boundaries when it comes to IoT security. When healthcare organizations use connected medical devices that collect or transmit patient data, it is imperative that they comply with HIPAA regulations. However, there are also challenges, especially for the financial sector, as financial regulations such as PCI DSS scrutinize this interaction for IoT solutions that fill the payment value chain.

Data protection and privacy laws

Internet of Things (IoT) deployments that use any form of personal data are subject to massive global privacy regulations. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) places a number of requirements on organizations that process personal information collected by IoT devices, such as consent mechanisms or data minimization practices.

Security standards and frameworks

A number of security frameworks offer systematic methodologies for securing the implementation of IoT. The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has detailed guidelines on IoT security, including essential IoT device security capabilities listed in the NISTIR 8259 publications. Standards like ISO 27001, from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for information security management, include guidance relevant to IoT environments. Domain/use-case-specific frameworks like Industrial Internet Consortium Security Framework provide guidance for specific cases. These frameworks can help organizations to construct an end-to-end security program taking care of the well-known threats & best practices.

Case Studies: IoT Security Breaches and Success Stories

Experiencing security incidents of IoT devices has taught organizations lessons about how to create their protection. The following case is a perfect example of security failures and success stories where strong IoT security practices were applied to mitigate them.

Mirai Botnet attack on Dyn DNS

Throughout the day on October 21, 2016, users in North America and Europe experienced extensive disruptions to many of the Internet services they used as a result of a DDoS attack that had targeted Dyn, a major DNS provider. The attack (based on the Mirai botnet), which enlisted more than 100,000 IoT devices, targeted such devices as security cameras, DVRs, and home routers. The targets for these devices were ones where a default or weak password was used, and minimal security controls were in place.

The attack made it impossible for several hours for major websites and services, including Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, and Amazon, to remain inaccessible. Affected companies incurred losses exceeding $110 million, according to financial estimates. The incident raised awareness for changing default passwords, using an appropriate authentication mechanism, and patching IoT software regularly. It showed that devices with very little individual value could be weaponized to create large disruptions at scale.

How SentinelOne Can Help with Enterprise IoT Security

The unified security platform from SentinelOne provides enterprise-class protection from cyber threats targeting IoT environments. Organizations can enjoy complete connectivity discovery, classification, and full monitoring of all devices connected to the network with this solution that offers visibility across distributed IoT deployments.

By providing visibility, security teams can identify rogue or vulnerable devices, analyze communication patterns, and detect behavioral anomalies that could represent a compromise. SentinelOne delivers autonomous detection capabilities powered by AI that specifically analyze IoT device-related threats without needing manual human monitoring.

SentinelOne provides protection via a series of preventative controls and active threat response. By using patterns instead of only known signatures, its behavioral AI identifies unknown threats and zero-day exploits targeting IoT devices.

SentinelOne provides automated response capabilities that can isolate infected devices, stop lateral movement, and remediate compromised devices when a threat is detected. It’s a way for organizations to address the scalability challenges of IoT security by reducing the manual intervention required and facilitating the speed of IoT security response across distributed environments.

Conclusion

As businesses continue to deploy more connected devices across their entire enterprise, enterprise IoT security has become a high-priority concern. While IoT undoubtedly offers considerable operational advantages, the other side of that coin is a range of new security challenges that need to be countered with robust protection solutions.

Organizations struggle with obstacles relating to IoT security, from device type and legacy system integration to scalability issues and changing attack vectors. Implementing best practices like network segmentation, strong authentication, encryption, regular updates, and continuous monitoring can minimize risk exposure while ensuring business continuity.

With the regulatory landscape being ever-changing, the need for organizations to remain compliant with their industry-specific regulations, data protection laws, and security standards is persistent. In practice, security incidents illustrate the risks of insufficient security, while implementations show how strong security mechanisms can protect business processes and sensitive information. With the right suite of security technologies, policies, and practices deployed, organizations can safely deploy IoT-enabled solutions that are not only valuable to the business but also well-protected against evolving threats.