4 Ways to Secure Your IoT (Internet of Things) Devices

Love it or hate it, internet connectivity in everyday devices is here to stay. Whether you’re a staunch believer that “smart” devices are unnecessary or if you are just waiting for the day when the 1999 Disney movie “Smart House” becomes a reality (minus the over reactive AI of course) – chances are you have some devices in your home or office that are connected to the internet just like your laptop or desktop computer is and that means they need to be managed in almost the same way from a cyber threat perspective.

You might be thinking, there’s no way my smart fridge has the same capacity as my laptop for being a cyber security threat vector, it’s not powerful enough? Unfortunately, you would be wrong in that assertion. Even if you turn off the “smart” functionality in your devices they’re still internet facing and should be secured or maintained.

Here are our 4 tips for securing your IoT (Internet of Things) Devices:

1. Create Network Segmentation: This sounds complicated, but all this just means creating groups within your router for your various devices (most routers have a guide for doing this).
2. Update Firmware: IoTs devices also need regular updates (and as with computers a lot of these updates are security related). If you connect to the device through your phone updates can usually be managed in their app.
3. Utilize MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication): While the IoT device itself may not have the option of MFA, your phone or computer that you use to interact with it will for many of the sites you use. This will make it a little safer to continue using those devices to interact with the IoT device.
4. Consider Whether You Need the Internet Connectivity: Many ordinary devices come with internet connected features these days, but if you want your fridge to be a fridge and not a smart fridge we recommend just disabling them.

Even in offices, smart devices are becoming a more common place in the form of lighting, thermostats and sensors. Securing these devices in an office setting is even more important and you may need expert help in making sure all IoTs devices are accounted for and secured properly.

Valley Techlogic can assist in your networking and cybersecurity goals, learn more with a consultation today.

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