As the Internet of Things encroaches on the enterprise, companies need to revamp their data protection strategy because old methods aren’t going to cut it, not in a world where there will be 25 billion or more Internet-connected IoT devices.
“Data protection is more complicated because the vast majority of these devices and the networks they use to communicate are not under the control of your company’s IT department. This is so because IoT devices are usually associated with operational technologies (OT), such as machines, aircraft engines, inside cars, etc., and continuously generate information about different parameters of the environment and the device (temperature, pressure, torque, etc.). ” .
This implies another challenge: “The most important change brought about by the current wave of the Internet of Things is a greater awareness of the existence (often isolated) of operating technology systems. This new awareness often sparks the desire to integrate these systems with the company’s existing software, in order to achieve the greater transparency, more efficient work processes and innovative business approaches made possible by these new integration bridges,” says Clemens Vasters , Principal Architect for Azure IoT at Microsoft.
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So What Should Companies Do To Prepare For The IoT?
Develop a strategy
When addressing IoT for businesses that don’t have a data protection strategy, Microsoft’s Vasters recommends creating one that defines the principles and rules for how to handle, protect, and safeguard data against loss, even in catastrophic circumstances.
The company does not need to own or have immediate control over all the places where the data is, but it must know who stores that data and if the operator’s policies are compatible, as well as make sure that there are clear rules of responsibility in case of breach.
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Assess the risks
If I were sitting down with someone, I think that’s the first piece of advice I’d give them,” suggests Marc Blackmer, director of product marketing for Industry Solutions, Security Business Group, Cisco. Blackmer also recommends developing a resource catalog. He also advises understanding the data flow model both within and between applications, apart from all external integrations.
“Part of the complexity that we’re talking about is the fact that there are thousands of third parties talking to each other,” explains Blackmer. “That’s unruly and makes companies desperate.”
The human factor
Mark Hammond, senior director of security practices at Cisco, recommends that companies take several steps, including conducting a risk assessment, understanding and cataloging data, minimizing sensitive data, and then following data sanitization best practices and Security control.
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