Три ключевых вопроса для операторов сетей для защиты IoT-развертываний

COVID-19 пандемия выдвинула надежность и безопасность коммуникационных сетей в spotlight, когда миллионы сдвинулись к remote work, care и learning, говорит Стив Бак, SVP Product and Operations в Mobileum's Security Business Unit.

Наблюдатели отмечают, что, driven by necessity, digital transformation по многочисленным секторам ускорилась на pace never seen в recent years.

Healthcare exemplifies этот тренд, с telehealth adoption surging dramatically. Интернет вещей (IoT) further accelerated этот сдвиг, enabling digital diagnostics. Digital thermometers, трекающие flu spread в real time, увидели heightened usage в пик пандемии в United States. В April, Livongo Health — провайдер remote IoT monitoring для chronic diseases — raised its quarterly guidance, reflecting increased demand для его сервисов driven by COVID-19.

Time to reassess security

Быстрое принятие IoT представляет both opportunities и challenges. По мере роста IoT приложений вроде health monitoring, network operators must critically evaluate security implications этих устройств.

Securing IoT networks inherently complex. Operators must manage wide array of hardware, firmware, operating systems и communication protocols spanning 3G, 4G/LTE и 5G. Attack surface ballooned — now roughly 100 times larger than a few years ago — due to influx of millions of IoT devices, many of which run on outdated или weak security firmware. Эти уязвимости уже exploited.

Например, vulnerability в Zigbee low-power IoT protocol — used by Philips Hue smart lights и numerous other devices — была discovered в 2017. Astonishingly, the same flaw remains exploitable three years later. Each time you turn off your lights at night, you may be leaving a potential vector for a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that could disrupt the network.

Moreover, IoT devices can be autonomous, roam across networks, и operate within network slices — each with distinct security needs tied to industry use cases. These layers of complexity demonstrate that legacy security models insufficient для modern IoT environments.

Три вопроса, которые нужно задать себе

Вместо этого, три critical questions должны быть asked для определения, как secure ваша сеть против IoT vulnerabilities:

• Как вы safeguard on-network, inbound и outbound IoT roamers от signalling attacks?
• Можете ли вы confirm, что IoT устройства операют как intended?
• Способны ли вы detect, whether a rogue device is isolated или part of a broader attack?

Эти вопросы illuminate key vulnerabilities и help detect malicious IoT behavior. Будь то subscriber operating autonomous vehicle on your network или device roaming elsewhere, protection essential. Multi-protocol signalling firewalls critical для securing traffic across 3G, 4G и 5G и для steering roaming devices toward trusted partner networks.

Identify a rogue device

Понимание identity устройства и communication context позволяет вам detect behavioral anomalies или changes в его eSIM/SIM card. Sudden traffic spikes, например, могут signal botnet takeover.

Detecting такие anomalies lets you capture rogue device's signature, enabling you to locate other devices sharing that fingerprint и block them. Analyzing connectivity data further reveals whether rogue device operates solo или as part of a coordinated attack.

IoT adoption remains в его early stages, но associated risks будут только расти в complexity и scale. Cisco projects that IoT traffic will comprise 50% — roughly 14.7 billion — of all networked connections by 2023.

Consequently, operators must deploy robust security mechanisms that identify every IoT device on their network, understand its expected behavior, и rapidly discern whether an anomaly is isolated или indicative of a larger threat.

Стив Бак приносит более 30 лет mobile telecom experience across engineering и marketing для equipment manufacturers и operators. Его expertise spans fraud, identity и risk solutions для enterprises в banking, retail, public sector и other verticals.

Он joined Evolved Intelligence as COO в 2015, leading roaming и security initiatives. После Evolved Intelligence's acquisition by Mobileum в 2018, Стив теперь heads Mobileum's Security Business Unit.

Автор — Стивен Бак, chief of Security Business Unit at Mobileum.