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Over 45 billion IoT devices are expected to be connected by 2021, while the cumulative cost of data breaches between 2017 and 2022 is expected to hit $ 8 trillion
January
7, 2019
4 minutes of reading
Opinions expressed by Business owner the contributors are theirs
The Internet of Things (IoT) era is upon us and is influencing our lives. Today technology has spread to almost all walks of life and constant innovation has made it almost impossible to remain disconnected. However, with all the convenience offered by connected devices, the risk of cyber threats that can paralyze networks and IoT infrastructure and cause considerable economic and personal harm to users also increases.
According to a report by Juniper Research, it is planned to connect up to 46 billion IoT devices by 2021, while the cumulative cost of data breaches between 2017 and 2022 should hit $ 8 trillion. Securing IoT would require the adoption of a flexible, highly scalable, cybersecurity strategy for the future: a significant shift from current reactive approaches used by companies that address the discovery of discovered vulnerabilities and adding new solutions without performing a full evaluation.
IoT allows you to connect devices and devices previously closed to the Internet and allows users to control their operations remotely. However, as more closed systems are made accessible online, they also become more vulnerable to cyber attacks and cyber attacks. From smart homes to offices, connected cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous trucks and even critical infrastructures such as industrial control systems as part of the Industrial of Things (IIoT) industry – all existing IoT networks and emerging companies run a very high risk of cyber threats.
Cybersecurity driven by blockchain
An emerging technology alongside the IoT offering many promises to help secure connected devices is blockchain technology. While blockchain technology originally took over the fintech world by introducing the digital payments revolution, this technology behind the success and increased cryptocurrencies could play an important role in cyber security, especially in IoT space.
A blockchain-based cybersecurity platform can protect connected devices using digital signatures to identify and authenticate them, adding them as authorized participants to the blockchain network and ring-fencing critical infrastructure making them invisible to unauthorized access attempts. Every authenticated device that unites the blockchain-based secure IoT network is treated as a participating entity, just like in a conventional blockchain network. All communications between these verified participants (IoT devices) are cryptographically secure and are stored in tamper-proof registers.
Each new device added to the network is registered by assigning a unique digital ID on the blockchain network and the platform provides secure channels for communication between devices and offers all connected devices also secure access to systems or the main infrastructure . A blockchain-based IT security solution can also leverage Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture and use a Zero-Trust model to make all authenticated devices invisible to attack. This means that only verified devices can "see" or know the existence of other connected devices, adding an additional layer of security to the IoT infrastructure.
Benefits and the way forward
A blockchain-powered platform uses decentralized set-up, further denying cyber hackers a single point of failure to hit to bring down such a network. Consensus-based control distributes the responsibility for security between nodes within a blockchain network, making it impossible for hackers to break into that network and protect IoT networks from attacks through DDoS attacks. Decentralization also makes this solution highly scalable, one of the major concerns for the implementation of information security on a growing network, as in the case of connected devices. With each new device added / removed, the change is immediately communicated to all participants, allowing the system to be adaptable and flexible to expand and evolve over time without significant updates to the platform.
This system can be used to protect smart homes, connected autonomous vehicles, critical IIoT infrastructures and even entire smart cities. An IT security solution based on enhanced blockchain technology using SDP architecture provides a future-proof, future-proof way to protect IoT devices, networks and communications, not just from current vulnerabilities and cyber risks, but remains the same effective in anticipating emerging vulnerabilities and offering protection against them.
Both blockchain and IoT are emerging technologies, with most of the innovations in these areas that are in nascent stages, proof of concept. However, blending the strengths of blockchain technology with IoT's potential can quickly and effectively push entire sectors, cities and nations into the "smart" space, facilitating the task of protecting an ever-expanding perimeter of unconventional devices and critical infrastructure without hindering the rate of innovation.
