The Internet of Things, or IoT, has become central to our everyday life. Whether it’s at home or at work, IoT helps us complete tasks quicker and take on repetitive tasks, making things easier. However, as these devices are connected to the internet, you need to be aware of the risks that are out there. Here’s what you need to be aware of, and how you can secure your IoT devices.
- Ensure You Have Robust Authentication
Your IoT devices aren’t going to be secure if it’s easy to get hold of the passwords. If you have the option of setting a password, you need to ensure you do so. Many devices often come with a manufacturer set password, and some people never think to change it. That can allow anyone to get into your device and have access to all kinds of information.
Usually, you should be able to simply go in and change the password yourself. When you do, ensure you pick a robust one that will be hard to guess. Some devices may have hard coded passwords, that will need software tools to change. You’ll need to find out if that’s the case for your device.
- Check Everything
No matter what kind of IoT device you have, you’ll need to assume that it needs to be protected against malicious access attempts. That may sound kind of ridiculous, especially if you’ve just bought something such as a smart cat litter box.
“However, remember that no matter what the device is, it’s still connected to your network. Any hacker could get in through a smart cat litter box and gain access to much more. No matter what the device is, ensure you’re securing it before you use it” says Michelle Yamada, a technical writer at Subjecto and Dissertation writing service.
- Always Do Updates
If your device requires an update, make sure that you run it as soon as possible. You’ll often see that updates are needed on devices when you first take them out of the box. Companies will create updates that help secure your device against threats, so set up auto updates if possible to ensure it’s always well protected.
You’ll also want to change the name and password of your router, to ensure that it’s harder to get into those too. Avoid putting a name or business name on the router, as that can put you at more risk.
- Disable Unneeded Features
On any IoT device, there may be some features that you just don’t need. That could be anything from open serial ports to unencrypted communications and unsecured radio connections. These are all a security risk, and something that you want to avoid.
To lessen the risk with your device, disable any of the features that you’re not using. There should be ways to do this on your device, so follow the instruction to disable them and ensure that no one else can use them.
- Create A Separate Network
One very good way of ensuring your IoT devices aren’t compromised is to create a separate network for them. That way, if the worst happens and you are the victim of an attack, the damage is limited just to that network.
Ensure that all IoT devices are attached to this network, and keep any other personal devices or data off it. Creating this segmentation will keep your data safer.
- Never Use Public WiFi
One of the benefits of IoT devices is that you can check up on them, no matter where you are. That’s a great feature, but if you’re going to do that, never do it over a public WiFi connection. It’s tempting to do so as it saves you using your data, but it’s more dangerous than you’d think.
A public connection is more likely to be out of date, haven’t had recent upgrades, and can leave you more susceptible to attacks. As such, avoid using it when you’re checking on IoT devices to keep yourself safe.
With these tips, you can make your IoT devices more secure, and ensure that you can use them without threat of attack. Put them to use right now, and you can protect your devices as soon as possible from any threats that are out there.
Rebecca Leigh is a writer and marketing strategist for Best assignment writing services AU and Rated writing. She contributes to online blogs and magazines, like Writing populist, takes part in marketing conferences and acts as a consultant to businesses.
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