IoT security issues & how to protect yourself

The best thing you can do to keep your staff on top of IoT security issues is to train them well. They should know how the IoT devices they use function, how they could potentially be exploited, and what they need to do to avoid those issues.

A one-time training on IoT security can be helpful. But if you really want to keep this topic at the top of your team’s mind, the best way to do that is by retraining them on a semi-regular basis.

It may make sense to do a more frequent training refresher on IoT security if your office uses a lot of these devices. Or you may be okay with just doing one training session per year.

That being said, more training is always better from a security standpoint. So don’t be afraid to do a little more than you think is necessary just to be safe if budget and time allow you to.

When a security issue is discovered with an IoT device, the manufacturer typically rushes out an update to plug the vulnerability. This is why it’s really important to software update your IoT devices as soon as new ones are available.

You can make sure this happens by being communicative about the importance of updating IoT devices to your team. Use automatic updates where possible, to save time and to be secure in the knowledge devices are up to date then you may also want to enable automatic software updates for IoT devices.

Many people don’t update software if it doesn’t change the functionality. It is critical that if an update is available, especially on things like remote security or video cameras, that it is done ASAP and even more so when the device is of critical importance, like with medical devices.

If you really want to be safe, try to include some scam education in your IoT training sessions. You could teach your employees about the ways that scammers exploit these systems through human engineering, phishing, and other strategies.

Major governmental systems have been taken down by a single employee inserting a hacked thumb drive into the wrong computer. Your workers will be much less likely to make a similar mistake if they’re aware of what they look like in advance and maintaining these security standards will keep you protected.