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 the layer where mobile devices attach to the operator's infrastructure. Attacks in this layer include IMSI catching, rogue base stations, downgrade attacks and jamming, and defenses hinge 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 and lawful-interception abuse. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling. SS7 and Diameter were designed for a closed operator community that no longer exists.

To place IoT in the wider telecom-security picture, review RF, ISP, Cybersecurity, IRSF, CPE and CVE.

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