Security and privacy of Edge computing

Due to the sensitive nature of the data, privacy and security have become the top priorities for all the organizations. Methods that have been used so far for securing the sensitive information are not enough. In this era, where the organizations are making a shift towards wide-scale adoption of Edge computing, it will be interesting to discuss some important steps that should be taken for security and privacy of Edge computing ecosystem.

Security and privacy of Edge computing

Before we introduce some methods to secure the Edge computing, we need to understand the types of possible attacks that could happen. Here are some typical attacks that should be controlled in any system.

Worm Attacks:

Worm attacks spread on their own in the system and are generated by downloading a malicious file, visiting infected website or by plugging insecure external data storage device.

Malware Attacks:

Malicious software is created to harm the systems and applications. They can spy or hijack the complete application.

Web Attacks:

Services like database and web applications can be attacked and hacked to perform malicious tasks.

Denial of Service Attacks:

Denial of service (Dos) attacks is used to put a load on the application so that it does not respond and even crash in some cases due to high load.

Brute-Force Attacks:

Brute force attacks are used to penetrate the system by discovering the sensitive passwords of the application.

These attacks should be tackled at the basic level for any application. Traditional data centers are actively monitored and controlled for security, whereas Edge computing lacks such robust security feature. Hence, in Edge computing, we need to ensure that we have some extra security measures taken and properly deployed. Following are some steps necessary to secure Edge computing and Internet of Things.

Steps for security and privacy of Edge computing

Limit connectivity:

Because Edge computing is not located within secure data centers, we need to make sure that the connectivity is limited using virtual private networks and secure tunnels.

Monitoring of devices:

Different companies deploy great systems for scanning mobile and wireless devices for threats. That is a good step for better security, but we also need to monitor the devices and their behavior. If a sudden deviation for a suspicious duration is observed in the usual performance of some devices, there is an issue that needs to be checked and secured.

Change passwords frequently:

Needless to mention, the default passwords of all the devices should be immediately changed when they are brought into the system. Such default passwords can be easily hacked and guessed by hackers. To avoid Brute-force attacks the passwords should be frequently changed. Those passwords should be secure and difficult for machines used for Brute-force attacks to guess. Only authorized person should be allowed to have password information. The password should have extra layers of security such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Encryption for everything:

Encryption is one of the most important requirements for ensuring data security and privacy. We must ensure that even if the system is hacked, the hacker could not decipher the data and make any sense out of it.

Threat detection:

Edge computing is not centralized computing. We need to deploy threat detection technologies to detect and inform about the security issue well in advance. It is very important to be proactive and build a strong safety net much before the attack happens.

Automated Patching:

A patch is typically a set of code that is used to update, fix or improve the existing program. A patch can be used for many reasons like fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs that could occur in the system. Edge computing involves many distributed devices that have different behaviors and functions. Whenever we release a patch, we need to make sure it is correctly implemented. This entire process should be automated for the perfect security.

These were some of the security measures which can be taken for the best performance of Edge computing. The easiest solution to all the problems is to find and fix the vulnerability as quickly as possible before it is exploited.

Are you worried about the security and privacy of your Edge computing infrastructure? CONTACT US