10 Security Aspects of IoT – Check out now!
Smart gadgets are making a way in your life to make your life more efficient. When you hear IoT (Internet of Things), the first thing comes in your mind is Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. But, IoT is not limited to that only. There are many more use cases for IoT that can literally make your life easier. Innovation and IoT are walking hand in hand to make our life more efficient and smarter.
The market of IoT (Internet of Things) is getting bigger day by day. In Europe alone, it is estimated to cross €242,222 million till 2020. It will be exciting to see where it will bring the world in 10 years. But the same Internet of things can become a route for hackers to get into your life. The rise in IoT devices leads to security concerns and challenges. Most of the network is connecting through wireless networks, which arise the risk of being hacked.
How to be secure?
Check out following IoT security aspects to be safe.
1. Create a strong and unique password for your Wi-Fi and other IoT devices. A strong password is a combination of alphabets, numbers, and symbols. Make sure to pick a different password for different devices. Also, make sure to avoid storing any critical information like passwords, bank details, etc. in your IoT devices.
2. Check out the settings of your IoT devices. Many IoT devices come with default privacy settings, which sometimes provide more benefits to the manufacturer than you.
3. Change your router name. Do not keep the default name given by the manufacturers. Change it and give some unusual name which is unique and not associated with your name or family details.
4. We see many advertisements and notifications of third party software. Do not install any such software without verifying. If needed, install software from trustworthy and genuine websites only.
5. Turn off Wi-Fi and hotspot in your mobile phones when you don’t need them. It is because there are some applications in your smartphone, which may leak the passwords and other details easily over public networks.
6. For your home Wi-Fi network, set up a guest network. You can create multiple networks on your Wi-Fi according to your choice. Make your Wi-Fi account private. If needed, let the friends, relatives, or visitors log into a separate network that doesn’t tie into your IoT gadgets.
7. Never ignore the update notification in your mobile. Many times we receive update notifications on our smartphones, do it right away. The update may have added security features.
8. Make sure to go through two-factor authentication. It is an additional security layer over the password. A proper two-factor authentication can stop the bad guys from logins in your IoT devices.
9. You might want to manage your IoT devices while roaming in a mall. But public networks are not that safe, so managing IoT devices using the public network is not a good idea. If it’s urgent, use VPN. It offers a number of privacy and security features for both private and public networks.
10. Disable the extra feature from your IoT devices which you don’t need. By default, IoT devices come with many features like remote access. If you don’t need it, disable it.
As the world becomes more advanced, we’re going to experience a world where IoT touches every aspect of our lives. But even then nobody’s going to manage security aspects for you. As everything comes with a price, this is the price you pay for convenience and benefits from IoT devices.
Are your IoT devices safe? Do the security check now!