Some key risks that affect IIoT projects and applications

Nov 12 2022

Some key risks that affect IIoT projects and applications

The Internet of Things (IoT) has evolved drastically over the last decade and increasingly pervaded domestic and industrial spaces. However, there are security risks also associated, arising out of this proliferation of IoT applications, particularly in Industrial IoT (IIoT).

IIoT refers to industrial devices connected to network via the cloud platform, belonging to various equipment in a manufacturing plant, or individual machines, or down to small sensors at various sites. These sensors form the edge of the IoT platform, which collect data on various parameters for performance or efficiency, or any other requirement, which is then sent to a centralised source.

As IIoT applications work through the internet, it is subject to risks attributed to the internet, such as cyber security compromise, hacking, outage, etc. Here we can look at some of the key risks associated with the IIoT system.

Device hijacking

This risk can happen when the endpoint or sensor is hijacked by hackers. Depending on the intelligence of the sensor and its numbers, it can suffer data breaches caused by hacking. This can be prevented by updating hardware and software components, or by using a VPN solution.

Data siphoning

Hackers can evesdrop on your network traffic by attacking the endpoint devices. If they gain access they can siphon off protected information or sensitive data. Adopting a security policy to ensure all transmitted data is encrypted sufficiently is advisable.

Denial of Service attacks

When the network is flooded with traffic the endpoint devices cannot handle the overload. This kind of risk is called denial-of-service attack. One way to avoid this kind of risk is to protect your connection with a firewall.

Data breaches

With increased IIoT deployment across industries, and also sharing the same internet connection, the chances for cyber attacker to find cracks to breach the system is increasing. The lack of network segmentation can be disastrous. Additionally, the presence of insecure technologies of legacy systems, help hackers to breach the network of larger corporates, by attacking from this point. It is important to secure the devices with hardware based VPN connection with continuous rea-time monitoring and analysis of the system.

Physical theft of devices

If sensitive information is stored in in the endpoint devices, in the event of the device being stolen physically, it becomes a security risk for any organisation. Arrangement should be made to ensure devices are protected and not allowed to store sensitive data on endpoint devices, owing to increasing cyberattacks. To minimise the risk of theft, critical data should be transmitted and stored on secured cloud-based infra in real-time.

Device spoofing

A spoofing attack is when the hacker disguises as a trusted device in the network and sends information between the endpoint device and to centralised network. They can send wrong or false information or data to alter or compromise a process. It should be addressed using a security solution that is hardware based.

Trinetra offers such secured remote monitoring system and other customised IoT solutions for clients. Trinetra T-sense possesses the expertise and experience, gained by IIoT projects delivered. Kindly browse our site for more details regarding our tech-driven solutions. You can also fill and submit the enquiry form online, or just email a request and our executives will contact you.