Everything you need to know about the Internet of Things - Identity Management for the Internet of Things

As the latest major revolution in the technology market, the Internet of Things provides a way to wirelessly connect devices to the network and transmit data without the need for human-to-human or human-machine interaction.

Over the past few years, the technology market has been focused on launching the latest technology, the Internet of Things (IoT). As a concept, IoT provides a way to wirelessly connect devices to a network and transfer data without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

Among practical applications of the Internet of Things, the ability to remotely control devices has become popular with consumers. Today, security systems, thermostats, cars, electronic devices, speakers, and more will be able to provide IoT services.

Beyond the home, businesses can also use connected devices in their workflows to build market-specific products and services. In fact, according to a report by statistics portal Statista, there will be more than 75 billion connected devices worldwide by 2025.

Unprecedented growth in the number of connected devices will significantly impact security, cost and identity. This is because traditional authentication systems are designed for human identities, whereas IoT devices and objects only use unique identifiers.

Identity and access management and their importance to the Internet of Things

The role of identity access and management (IAM) in the Internet of Things is expanding at an unprecedented rate. IAM focuses on identifying people and managing access to different data types such as sensitive data, non-sensitive data or device data. IAM can also help identify devices while managing user access to data, preventing intrusions and malicious activity.

In the age of the Internet of Things, the issue is not about effortless access to connected things, but the potential risks that come with accessing them and therefore must be protected.

So, what are the main challenges of IoT identity management?

Digital identity management is one of the shortcomings of the Internet of Things. One major reason is that security issues can lead to catastrophic consequences such as financial losses, confidentiality breaches, and data tampering.

When integrating IoT identity management, be aware of the following challenges that may arise:

1. Credential abuse

Credential abuse is the deliberate use of stolen credentials, such as usernames and passwords, to access sensitive data. In the workplace, this can happen when an employee unknowingly shares their password with a co-worker. They may be doing this to help colleagues avoid possible IT delays when updating passwords.

In most cases, illegal intent is the main reason for credential misuse. The lack of a proper IAM or CIAM solution creates opportunities for hackers to gain access.

A report published by BeyondTrust found that 64% respondents suffered direct or indirect breaches due to employees abusing access rights.

As with IoT, not most connected devices have strong password management systems to protect data at the corporate level. A study by ABI Research analysts points out that the lack of such services means that intruders will take advantage of them.

2. Risks of default passwords

A major problem with IAM and IoT devices is that many devices have default passwords. Although users are told to modify it later, not everyone is responsible.

However, those who change their default passwords often use common, easy-to-guess username/password pairs, which is a dangerous habit.

To address this growing problem, California lawmakers passed the CCPA (effective January 1, 2020). The bill provides that if connected IoT devices are manufactured or sold in California, unique passwords must be encrypted.

This seems like the right step toward protecting privacy, but it also has a downside.

When everyone in the organization knows the password, some people have access that they shouldn't and often don't need.

3. Virtual eavesdropping

Most IoT devices are connected to virtual personal assistants, which are always listening and gathering information. But not many companies know how they use this information. So it's always understandable to worry about a personal assistant leaking company secrets.

To truly address these challenges, enterprises can design purpose-built solutions that leverage several key security capabilities:

• End-to-end encryption to protect data between the endpoint and everywhere else.
• Provides a complete priority and authorization management system for users to control the IoT ecosystem.
• Context-controlled adaptive authentication and data access rules.

Identity Management in the Internet of Things Era

In the past, employee-based identity and access management (IAM) or customer identity and access management (CIAM) platforms were designed for user devices such as smartphones and computers. Today, the concept has evolved dramatically to include every smart device, object, and service available in the IT ecosystem.

When integrating IoT with access management tools, you should consider the following steps:

• Create a flexible identity lifecycle for IoT devices.
• Determine the registration process for IoT devices.
• Set up security measures.
• Outline our policy for protecting personally identifiable information (PII).
• Establish the company's access control procedures.
• Create well-defined authentication and authorization processes for connected devices.

epilogue

IoT devices open access to vast amounts of valuable data. Therefore, the role of identity management in IoT architecture must include a robust data protection strategy. To protect your company's security, you will need to focus on integrating IoT with CIAM and IAM platforms.

Original author: Rakesh Soni

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