Module 5

IoT Attacks and Security Challenges

Lack of encryption
Although encryption is a great way to prevent hackers from
accessing data, it is also one of the leading IoT security
challenges.

These drives like the storage and processing capabilities that

would be found on a traditional computer.
The result is an increase in attacks where hackers can easily
manipulate the algorithms that were designed for protection.
Insufficient testing and updating –

• With the increase in the number of IoT(internet of things)

devices, IoT manufacturers are more eager to produce and
deliver their device as fast as they can without giving security
too much of although.
• Most of these devices and IoT products do not get enough
testing and updates and are prone to hackers and other
security issues.
Brute forcing attack : Risk of default
passwords – (Ex: 1234 or date of birth etc..)
• Weak credentials and login details leave nearly all IoT devices
vulnerable to password hacking and brute force.
•
Any company that uses factory default credentials on their
devices is placing both their business and its assets and the
customer and their valuable information at risk of being
susceptible to a brute force attack.
Unsecured data transmission:
• Unsecured data transmission refers to the transfer of data over a
network or the internet without adequate protection. This can leave
the data vulnerable to interception, tampering, or theft by malicious
actors. Unsecured data transmission can occur when data is
transmitted over an unencrypted network connection or when
insecure protocols are used.
• To protect sensitive data during transmission, it is important to use
secure protocols such as SSL/TLS or VPN, and to encrypt the data
before sending it. This can help to ensure the confidentiality and
integrity of the data, even if it is intercepted during transmission. IoT
devices often transmit sensitive data, which may be vulnerable to
eavesdropping or tampering if not properly secured
 Cyberattacks
1. Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. IoT devices have limited processing power, which makes
them highly vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks. During a DoS attack, a device’s ability to
respond to legitimate requests is compromised due to a flood of fake traffic.
2. Denial-of-sleep (DoSL) attacks. Sensors connected to a wireless network should
continuously monitor the environment, so they’re often powered by batteries that don’t
require frequent charging. Battery power is preserved by keeping the device in sleep mode
most of the time. Sleep and awake modes are controlled according to the communication
needs of different protocols, such as medium access control (MAC). Attackers may exploit
vulnerabilities of the MAC protocol to carry out a DoSL attack. This type of attack drains
battery power and thus disables the sensor.
3. Device spoofing. This attack is possible when a device has improperly implemented digital
signatures and encryption. For instance, a poor public key infrastructure (PKI) may be
exploited by hackers to “spoof” a network device and disrupt IoT deployments.
4. Physical intrusion. Though most attacks are performed remotely, physical intrusion of a
device is also possible if it’s stolen. Attackers can tamper with device components to make
them operate in an unintended way.
5. Application-based attacks. These types of attacks are possible when there are security
vulnerabilities in device firmware or software used on embedded systems or weaknesses
in cloud servers or backend applications.
• Open-source code vulnerabilities. Firmware developed for IoT devices often includes open-
source software, which is prone to bugs and vulnerabilities.
Mitigating Threats to IoT Systems
Secure devices
• Ensure tamper-resistant hardware. IoT devices may be stolen by attackers in order to tamper
with them or access sensitive data. To secure device data, it’s necessary to make your product
tamper-proof. You can ensure physical security by using port locks or camera covers as well as
by applying strong boot-level passwords or taking other approaches that will disable the
product in case of tampering.
• Provide patches and updates. Ongoing device maintenance entails additional costs. However,
proper product security can be ensured only with constant updates and patches. It’s best to
establish automatic and mandatory security updates that require no actions from end users.
Inform consumers about the timespan during which you’ll support the product and tell users
what they should do after the end of this period. Once your system is released, make sure to
keep an eye on upcoming vulnerabilities and develop updates accordingly.
• Run thorough testing. Penetration testing is your main tool for finding vulnerabilities in IoT
firmware and software and reducing the attack surface as much as possible. You can use static
code analysis to find the most obvious flaws, and you can use dynamic testing to dig up well-
hidden vulnerabilities.
• Implement device data protections. IoT devices should ensure the security of data both during
and after exploitation. Make sure that cryptographic keys are stored in nonvolatile device
memory. Additionally, you can offer to dispose of used products or provide a way to discard
them without exposing sensitive data.
• Meet component performance requirements IoT hardware should use little power but offer
high processing capabilities. Moreover, devices must ensure robust authorization, data
encryption, and wireless connections. It’s also preferable for your IoT solution to work even if
its connection to the internet is temporarily disrupted.
Secure networks

• Ensure strong authentication. This can be achieved using unique

default credentials. When naming or addressing your products, use
the latest protocols to ensure their functionality for a long time. If
possible, provide your product with multi-factor authentication.
• Enable encryption and secure communication
protocols. Communication between devices also requires security
protection. However, cryptographic algorithms should be adapted to
the limited capacities of IoT devices. For these purposes, you can
apply Transport Layer Security or Lightweight Cryptography.
• Network security with optimized protocols such as IPsec and Secure
Sockets Layer.
 Secure networks …
• Minimize device bandwidth. Limit network traffic to the amount
necessary for the functioning of the IoT device. If possible, program the
device to limit hardware and kernel-level bandwidth and reveal suspicious
traffic. This will protect your product from possible DoS attacks.
• The product should also be programmed to reboot and clear code in case
malware is detected, as malware can be used to hijack the device and use
it as part of a botnet to perform distributed DoS attacks.
• Divide networks into segments. Implement next-generation firewall
security by separating big networks into several smaller ones. For this
purpose, use ranges of IP addresses or VLANs. For secure internet
connections, implement a VPN in your IoT system.
Secure data

• Protect sensitive information. Install unique default passwords for each product
or require immediate password updates on the first use of a device.
• Apply robust authentication to ensure that only valid users have access to data.
To go the extra mile for better privacy protection,
• Implement a reset mechanism to allow the deletion of sensitive data and
clearing of configuration settings if the user decides to return or resell the
product.
• Collect only necessary data. Ensure that your IoT product collects only data
necessary for its operation. This will reduce the risk of data leakage, protect
consumers’ privacy, and eliminate risks of non-compliance with various data
protection regulations, standards, and laws.
• Moreover, use encryption methods optimized to the needs of IoT systems, such
as the Advanced Encryption Standard, Triple DES, RSA, and Digital Signature
Algorithm.
Access control
IoT Access control System

• Access control is a system that allows an authority to control access to zones and resources of a given
installation.

• It ensures confidentiality in such a way as to ensure that information is only accessible to those authorized
Mandatory Access Control (MAC) model the administrator of the system give permissions for subject to
access object. The model assigns security labels to subjects and objects, and it is independent of the user
operations, only the administrator can modify object security labels. MAC models are difficult and
expensive to implement and maintain, its usage is usually limited to military applications, and this is why
MAC models are not used as access control system.

In the Discretionary Access Control (DAC) models :the access to resources is maintained by users, which
can
grant permissions to their resources by being included in Access Control Lists (ACL). Each entry in the
access
control list gives users (or group of subjects) permissions to access resources. The permissions are usually
stored by objects. Unlike in MAC, where permissions are given in predefined policies by the
administrator, in DAC,
permissions are given by users which decide the access rights to the resources they belong. DAC is adopted by
current operation systems based on UNIX, FreeBSD, and Windows.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model3 : users are
assigned to roles, and the security policies
grant rights to roles rather than to users. Since the users are
associated to roles. RBAC allows creating hierarchies of
permissions and inheritance. Nonetheless, RBAC has some
problems since the administrative issues of large
systems where memberships make administration potentially
cumbersome.
Centralized approach

❖ In a centralized approach6,7 , all access control logic is externalized into a central entity responsible for filtering access requests based
on their authorization policies. The end devices (sensors …) play a limited role as information providers.

❖ This centralized approach does not take into consideration constraints of resources, because the access control logic is located in an
entity without constraints of resources.

❖ This approach is expressed by a scenario where a server receives a request from the mobile user who wants to access the end-device,
so it generates a token containing the authorization or the refusal and sends it to the mobile user.

❖ However, this approach has major problems. Firstly, the end-device is not taken into consideration in access control decisions.
Secondly, the access control logic is located in one entity, so any vulnerability might compromise all the system because it becomes
a single point of failure.
Distributed approach
In the distributed architectures6 , the end-device is a smart thing that is enable to obtain
process and send information to other services and devices.
The devices are able to take authorizations decisions without the need of central entities.
Light weight cryptography
Light weight cryptography

• Lightweight cryptography is a cryptographic algorithm

or protocol tailored for implementation in resource
constrained environments including IoT, RFID tags,
sensors, contactless smart cards, health-care devices
Classification of Lightweight Cryptography Algorithms

Reference: Towards Light Weight Cryptography Schemes for Resource Constraint Devices in IoT
Symmetric encryption

❖ Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption of data. This
method of encryption is secure and relatively faster.

❖ The major drawback of symmetric key encryption is the sharing of the key between the two
communicating parties. An attacker can decrypt the data if he has access to the key.

❖ Symmetric key algorithms assure the confidentiality and integrity of data but do not guarantee
authentication.

❖ This type of encryption uses three types of algorithms based on hashing, stream and block
ciphers.
Asymmetric encryption

❖ Asymmetric cryptography is a cryptographic system that utilizes two types of keys; public keys that may be distributed widely
and private keys which are known only to the owner.

❖ The generation of the public keys depends on cryptographic algorithms based on one way mathematical functions.

❖ Thus the public key can be openly distributed without compromising security as for achieving effective of security the
requirement is keeping the private key private [35].

❖ In such this type of systems, any person can encrypt a message using the receiver’s public key, but the encrypted message can
only be decrypted with the receiver’s private key.

❖ Asymmetric lightweight cryptography algorithms are highly recommended for devices with resource limitations.

Reference: Towards Light Weight Cryptography Schemes for Resource Constraint Devices in IoT
Thank you