Intelligent CIO Europe Issue13 | Page 29

INFOGRAPHIC • • • • • Monetary damages Lost productivity Legal/compliance penalties Lost reputation Stock price Meanwhile, although the top tier enterprises experienced some security missteps, an overwhelming majority reported no costs associated with those missteps. Top tier enterprises attributed their security successes to these practices: • • • • • Encrypting sensitive data Ensuring integrity of data in transit Scaling security measures Securing over-the-air updates Securing software-based encryption key storage “ SECURITY AND PRIVACY TOPPED THE LIST OF CONCERNS FOR IOT PROJECTS, WITH 82% OF RESPONDENTS STATING THEY WERE SOMEWHAT TO EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT SECURITY CHALLENGES. www.intelligentcio.com “When it comes to accelerating implementations of IoT, it’s vital for companies to strike a balance between gaining efficiencies and maintaining security and privacy,” Nelson said. “This study shows that enterprises implementing security best practices have less exposure to the risks and resulting damages from attacks on connected devices. Meanwhile, it appears these IoT security best practices such as authentication and identity, encryption and integrity, are on the rise and companies are beginning to realise what’s at stake.” Recommendations The survey points to five best practices to help companies pursuing IoT realise the same success as the top tier performing enterprises: • Review risk: Perform penetration testing to assess the risk of connected devices. Evaluate the risk and build a priority list for addressing primary security concerns, such as authentication and encryption. A strong risk assessment will help ensure you do not leave any gaps in your connected security landscape • Encrypt everything: As you evaluate use cases for your connected devices, make sure that all data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Make end-to-end encryption a product requirement to ensure this key security feature is implemented in all of your IoT projects • Authenticate always: Review all of the connections being made to your device, including devices and users, to ensure authentication schemes only allow trusted connections to your IoT device. Using digital certificates helps to provide seamless authentication with bound identities that are tied to cryptographic protocols • Instil integrity: Account for the basics of device and data integrity to include secure boot every time the device starts up, secure over the air updates and the use of code signing to ensure the integrity of any code being run on the device • Strategise for scale: Make sure that you have a scalable security framework and architecture ready to support your IoT deployments. Plan accordingly and work with third parties that have the scale and focus to help you reach your goals so that you can focus on your company’s core competency n INTELLIGENTCIO 29