IoT is bringing a host of benefits to communities and organizations worldwide, but it’s plagued by serious concerns about security vulnerabilities. This ebook is an excerpt from IoT security: A guide for IT leaders, published on our premium sister site, TechRepublic Premium. You can download the full PDF by signing up for a free trial.

From the ebook:

Among the biggest challenges with the Internet of Things (IoT) are the security headaches that come with it. This issue is exacerbated in the enterprise, where connected devices often control large, dangerous machines or send and receive sensitive data.

While the IoT can bring data and helpful insights, it also introduces new vulnerabilities into your organization. As such, it’s critical that enterprises consider the security implications of an IoT deployment before moving forward.

Here are 10 best practices for businesses, schools, factories, and other organizations looking to improve their IoT security.

Understand your endpoints
Each new IoT endpoint introduced into a network brings a potential entry point for cybercriminals that must be addressed.

“IoT devices are likely to be built by numerous manufacturers, on multiple open source and proprietary operating systems, and have various levels of computing power, storage, and network throughput,” wrote John Pironti, president and chief information risk strategist at IP Architects, in a paper published by ISACA. “Each IoT endpoint will need to be identified and profiled, added to an asset inventory, and monitored for their health and safety.”

Track and manage your devices
Although it may sound simple, a good starting point with an IoT project is understanding exactly what connected devices are in the organization and what they do, said Gartner research vice president Earl Perkins. However, it can be difficult to keep up with them all manually, so Perkins recommends rolling out an asset discovery, tracking, and management solution at the beginning of an IoT project.