IoT (Internet of Things)

The Internet of Things refers to the very large population of connected devices, sensors, meters, vehicles, appliances, industrial equipment, that communicate over networks, often via cellular (Cat-M, NB-IoT), LPWAN (LoRaWAN, Sigfox), or short-range radios. IoT security challenges include weak default credentials, infrequent patching, and the resulting suitability of compromised devices for botnets.

Categories: Radio Access NetworkThreats and AttacksInternet and Routing

IoT in context

The radio access network is where mobile devices attach to the operator's infrastructure. Attacks in this layer include IMSI catching, rogue base stations and downgrade attacks; defenses rest on mutual authentication, integrity-protected signaling and Open RAN supply-chain hygiene.

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling protocols.

To place IoT in the wider telecom-security picture, review CVE, Cybersecurity, RF, A5/0, A5/2 and A5/3 — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.