Page 38 - Cyber Warnings

Lack of antivirus protection:
IoT devices without anti-virus program will make smart devices vulnerable to all forms of virus
attacks. Without anti-virus protection, these devices cannot prevent, detect or remove malicious
software such as trojans, worms and adware. IoT users must endeavor to install antivirus
software on their devices and keep up with the antivirus company’s definition file updates in
order to keep their devices current and secure. Companies such as Norton, McAfee, Kespersky,
Webroot and others offer antivirus products for several IoT devices at an affordable price.

Conclusion
There are many security and privacy issues to take into consideration when using IoT devices.
As stated previously, some of the security risks include not keeping up with patch updates, not
installing current antivirus software and not encrypting personal and other data, leaves the
device vulnerable to attackers. Often times end users fall short when it comes to implementing
effective security to keep their IoT devices safe and secure.

References

Armurding, T. (2014, Apr). The Internet of Things: An exploding security minefield. CSO
Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.csoonline.com/article/2142722/data-protection/the-
internet-of-things-an-exploding-security-minefield.html

Lu, X., Qu, Z., Li, Q., and Hui, P. (2016). Privacy information security classification for internet of
things based on internet data. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks,
2015, 1-8. DOI: 10.1155/2015/932941

Maras, M.H. (2015). Internet of things: Security and privacy implications. International Data
Privacy Law, 5(2), 99-104. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/idpl/ipv004

NIST SP 800-30 standard for technical risk assessment: An evaluation. (2011) NIST. Retrieved
from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.in/tip/NIST-SP-800-30-standard-for-technical-risk-
assessment-An-evaluation

About The Author

Dr. Daniel Osafo. Harrison, D.C.S, Security+
Dr. Daniel Harrison is a Doctor of Computer Science in Information
Assurance, Lead Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) for Industrial
Control Systems and Laboratory Information Systems at Bechtel Nuclear
Security & Environment. Dr. Harrison is also a member of the Cyber
Security Team at Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant for the
Department of the Army. Dr. Harrison functioned across the enterprise as a
lead technical liaison between governance and information assurance, regulatory compliance
and implemented and managed cyber-security solutions. Dr. Harrison can be reached at
[email protected], http://docharrison.org and at the company website
http://www.bechtel.com/

38 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine January 2017 Edition
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