As we know, IoT devices are exponentially increasing, meaning there is also an exponential increase in data sent over a cloud. In a recent report, Zscaler, a global cloud-based information security company, mentions the concerns that arise with this increase:
“The volume of legitimate enterprise IoT traffic is rising, but an analysis of the IoT data stream hitting the Zscaler™ cloud has also uncovered a troubling surge in the amount of unauthorized IoT traffic, or shadow IoT. “
Although connections are increasing, they have to be managed and securitized. Otherwise, they pose enterprise security risks. In fact:
“…roughly 83% of IoT-based transactions are happening over plain text channels, whereas only 17% are using SSL.”
Plain text channels are risky because if intercepted, they can be easily viewed, whereas those that are transferred over a secure SSL channel need to be decrypted.
“The use of plain text is risky, opening traffic to sniffing (for passwords and other data), eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks, and other exploits, which is why it is no longer used for the vast majority of web and application traffic.”
For IoT payments, security is a crucial area because sensitive personal data is transferred, automating payments. With the amount of IoT connections increasing, the threat of malware or creative exploits to intercept information also increases, and is something vendors that make IoT payments possible need to pay particular attention to.
To learn more about IoT payments, visit IoT Payments: How the Internet of Things Is Influencing Payments.
Overview by David Nelyubin, Research Analyst at Mercator Advisory Group
