Security Threats and Mitigation Strategies for IoT Networks

This report provides a comprehensive overview of security issues in the Internet of Things (IoT). It highlights the growing importance of IoT in modern communication and business operations, while also addressing the associated security challenges. The report identifies major security attacks such as malware, DDoS, ransomware, and MITM attacks that threaten IoT networks. A literature review is conducted to examine recent research and findings on these security threats. The study emphasizes the need for businesses to implement robust security measures, including firewalls and encryption, to protect data and secure IoT systems. The conclusion stresses the importance of addressing misconfiguration and unauthorized activities to mitigate risks and ensure the secure use of IoT technologies. The report also references several key studies and surveys to support its findings, underscoring the critical need for proactive security strategies in the rapidly evolving IoT landscape.

Security issues in IoT
April 9, 2020
Abstract
IoT is a leading communication technology that helps to link physical
devices with computing systems and transfer data from one server to an-
other easily.Many companies are using IoT enabled devices due to their
ability to manage communication gaps and enhance business performance
in a reliable manner.Security is a serious problem connected with the
IoT devices due to which the companies are suffering from cyber-crimes
and security vulnerabilities.This paper focuses on the security attacks
linked with the IoT and conduct systematic literature for obtaining ef-
fective points.It is found that malware,DDoS, ransomware and MITM
are major attacks faced by the companies due to IoT networks.So, it is
suggested that business communities should implement firewalland en-
cryption based networks for protecting data and securing IoT systems.
1 Introduction
IoT refers to the IT technology which is capable to interconnect multiple com-
puting devices and networks with each other and exchange data effectively.
Using IoT based systems;companies can implement effective communication
systems and connect physicaldevices with the computing networks.In this
modern era,the uses ofIoT systems are increasing quickly and help to man-
age communication related concerns and lead business performance effectively.
Security is a challenging part of IoT due to which companies are facing cyber-
attacks and security concerns.More than 60 percentage of the companies are
suffering from security attacks due to lack of awareness and presence of unau-
thorized activities (Khan,and Salah,2018). The purpose ofthe paper is to
determine the security issues linked to the IoT technology.In this research a
literature review willbe added for reviewing the findings of recent papers and
examining effective points about IoT security issues.
2 Literature review
It is highlighted that security threats in IoT is a common theme for the inves-
tigation and in recent years various papers were issues that willbe analyzed
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in this chapter.The contribution of the literature review is to adopt effective
points about security risks linked with IoT and address the research gaps of
previous studies.
Razzaq,et al., (2017) reported that IoT is an appropriate technology that
helps companies to develop reliable systems for leading business operations.IoT
uses wireless networks and channels which are less secured and effective where
the hackers perform hacking activities and produce data breach concern .It is
found that the IoT networks used by the companies can lead security threats due
to lack of security and presence of unauthorized signals in the servers.Alrawais,
et al., (2017) determined that security is a major limitation of IoT networks due
to which the sensitive data ofthe companies can be breached by transferring
the malware signals to the computing network.
There are numerous kinds of cyber-attacks occur in the IoT technology in-
cluding malware,DDoS, ransomware,phishing and many more.The presence
of such attacks can help the criminals to obtain login credentials ofthe com-
puting devices and access allreliable data easily.It is found that major three
risk factors leading security threats in the IoT including lack of awareness, mis-
configuration of networks and unauthorized access.In which misconfiguration
of communication network is a major concern where the hackers can send the
malicious codes and obtain the accessibility ofdata and companies can suffer
from the data breach problems?
Kharchenko,et al., (2016) supported this point and highlighted that most
of the hackers utilizes malicious programs which are capable to develop larger
unwanted networks or links and transfer to the communication networks linked
with IoT systems for perform hacking activities.More than 67 percentage of
the companies worldwide were suffered from malware and DDoS attacks recently
due to utilization of IoT enabled systems.So, it is highlighted that the uses of
IoT networks are beneficialfor the companies but also lead the security risks
and concerns in the businesse.
Tewari, and Gupta, (2018) reported that DDoS is a leading security attack
that has the ability to reduce security of IoT networks and obtain login details
of the computing devices easily.In which the hackers uses malware tools and
transfer traffic signals to the IoT networks that helps to reduce confidentiality
and availability of data easily.Business communities are not able to detect traffic
signals from the communication systems due to which they are suffering from
the data loss issues.From previous literature, it is determined that ransomware
is a kind of cyber-attack that occur in the IoT networks used by the companies.
It is a part of malware attack in which the hackers uses malicious networks
and access the login credentials ofthe computing devices.After this process,
the criminals encrypt allreliable information and demand ransom from the
companies and victims which may lead ethicalconcerns and financialissues.
So, it is reported that the presence of security threats in IoT can lead illegal,
ethical and financial concerns in the business communities that may negatively
impact on the private data and productivity.
Yu, et al., (2018) conducted a survey and highlighted that more than 60
percentage of the participants agreed that presence of unauthorized access can
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help the attackers to perform cyber-crimes and gather all sensitive data in less
time.The utilization of less secured communication networks can produce prob-
lems for the companies and face the data loss related concerns easily.Most of
the companies are now focusing on security and implementing effective secu-
rity standards and practices while using IT networks and IoT devices in the
business.The previous studies provided briefinformation about IoT security
concerns that produced research gaps but the current literature review provides
depth analysis about research topic.
Frustaci, et al., (2017) determined that security vulnerabilities like malware
signals,misconfiguration of networks and unauthorized activities require to be
addressed in order to protect IoT networks and sensitive data from the hackers
and enhance security ofdata. It is found that wireless IoT networks can be
hacked by radio jamming process which is mainly used by the criminals and ac-
cess the communication channels used by the organizations.The major concern
behind security threat is that the companies do not provide complete training to
the employees that directly impact on the communication networks and produce
the cyber-attacks easily.
So, it is highlighted that the business communities should provide complete
training to the members and address the fraud signals transferred by the crim-
inals. Hossain,Fotouhi,and Hasan,(2015) determined that main in the mid-
dle is another major attack that helps the criminals to communicate with the
computing devices through malicious codes and lead the cyber-crimes in the
business communities.Criminals can attack IoT networks in order to obtain
personal information of the companies and users in an appropriate manner.So,
the companies should focus on the security while implementing IoT networks
and develop effective security frameworks for addressing the security risks and
vulnerabilities.
Yang, et al., (2017) reported that encryption is a significant technique that
may be adopted by the organizations where the criminals are not capable to
detect the signals transferred by the users.Moreover,the users should aware
about cyber-attacks and reduce the unwanted and unauthorized signals from the
systems.The previous literature determined that hacker uses botnet systems
for reducing privacy of IoT networks which are linked to the computing devices
of the communities (Mahmoud, et al., 2015).
Amazon, Uber, Ebay, and facebook all these are major examples that faced
malware and DDoS attacks recently due to uses of IoT enabled devices.There-
fore, the security is a major problem that needs to be managed by implementing
the security standards and policies in the workplace.It is determined that the
companies do not include firewall based protocols while developing IoT systems
for which the developers should implement firewall tools in order to detect and
address malware signals easily.This literature review identified numerous secu-
rity attacks occurred in the IoT technology and the previous studies provided
less effective information that produced gaps which are addressed in this paper.
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3 Conclusion
From above research, it may be concluded that security is a challenging task for
the IoT where the companies need to focus on the misconfiguration and unautho-
rized activities.This report determined the security threats linked with the IoT
enabled devices and the conducted literature reviewed the recent papers effec-
tively.It is found that malware, ransomware and DDoS are major attacks faced
by the companies while performing data communication through IoT networks.
It is suggested that companies must ensure that the adopted communication
protocols are effective configured with the IoT networks and users should access
personaldetails within secured server.Moreover,the presence of firewalland
encruption based networks can help the communities to detect malicious codes
and traffics from the IoT devices and secure the communication channels easily.
So, using such techniques and tools can help to lead security of data while using
IoT networks and manage the cyber-crimes and risks effectively.
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