Security and IoT – what you need to know!

Security and IoT – what you need to know!

Cities worldwide are becoming more connected, and alongside the rise of City 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT), come new challenges in keeping our data and privacy safe. How is it that IoT possesses such greater potential and problems? Read on to find out.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionising the way we live and work, connecting devices, systems, and appliances to the internet, making our lives more convenient and efficient. It is believed that by 2025, there will be 75.4 billion IoT connected devices installed worldwide (Acumen Research and Consulting), and this number is projected to reach 125 billion by 2030. This poses a significant challenge for cyber security, as each device represents a potential attack vector. (IoT Analytics) Thus, as more devices are connected to the internet, the threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches increases.

The IoT devices we use every day, such as smart homes, wearable devices, and smart cars, collect and transmit vast amounts of personal and sensitive data. This data is valuable to cyber criminals and hackers who can use it for malicious purposes such as identity theft, financial fraud, and even cyber-physical attacks.

To combat these threats, it is crucial that we have a secure and reliable infrastructure in place that can protect our personal information and the critical systems and devices that we rely on. This requires a deep understanding of cyber security and the ability to design, implement, and maintain secure connected devices.

“Cyber Security professionals have to work with these, oftentimes, Legacy systems,” says Professor Iqbal Gondal, Associate Dean of RMIT Melbourne’s Cloud Systems and Security Discipline. “Systems such as these have had few updates to keep pace with modern society, thus they are inherently vulnerable. Attacks happen at the boundary nodes, with the purpose to reach an internal database and server. IoT devices can be easy targets for bad actors.”

Headshot photo of a middle-aged man with glasses and mustache and wearing a suit Professor Iqbal Gondal, Associate Dean of RMIT Melbourne’s Cloud Systems and Security Discipline

Professor Gondal goes on to state that cyber security experts must first get a complete picture of the connected systems, to understand the overall architecture, followed by a vulnerability modelling and applying a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). Where there are weak links and based on the CVSS score (from least to highest severity), professionals will apply security patches, thus attempting to apply enough mitigation to make it difficult for an attacker to penetrate the system.

“It’s highly important that professionals are trained with CVSS standards, and it is one of the areas that we teach in the Master of Cyber Security,” Professor Gondal notes. “As a part of my job, I identify what the current trends of industry and government are, and which capabilities are needed to undertake those roles. I make sure to design RMIT’s courses based on that. Graduates thus are prepared to be a cyber security architect or, for example, to look at an attack analysis as an incident responder much more successfully.”

Although the hype surrounding IoT is palpable, there are many challenges associated with this upgrade to our cities and lives. However, for those in tech, and especially in cyber security, there also lays tremendous potential. Learn how you can help lead companies and individuals to a safer future with our Master of Cyber Security.

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