# What is IoT Security?

> Internet of Things (IoT) security is the discipline of protecting connected devices, their data, communications, physical interactions, applications, services, and lifecycle processes.

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## Content

Responsibility spans manufacturers, integrators, service providers, owners, administrators, and users because a device’s security depends on capabilities and decisions distributed across the product ecosystem.

Requirements should follow purpose, exposure, data, physical effects, environment, support lifetime, and consequences of failure. Consumer baselines are starting points; industrial, medical, transport, or safety-related systems may need sector-specific engineering and assurance.

### Key points

- **Build securable products:** Provide device identity, controlled configuration, protected data and credentials, secure communications, minimized interfaces, software integrity, feasible logging, secure defaults, and safe reset or deletion.
- **Support the lifecycle:** Maintain component knowledge, publish a support period, deliver authenticated updates, receive and act on vulnerability reports, communicate changes and risks, and enable secure transfer and decommissioning.
- **Deploy defensibly:** Inventory devices and dependencies, change unsafe defaults, restrict access, segment by consequence, monitor behavior, preserve recovery options, and test changes against safety needs.
- **Important limitation:** A baseline, label, firewall, or segmented network cannot compensate for every weak device or abandoned service. Constrained hardware, unavailable updates, shared credentials, cloud dependency, and physical access may leave residual risk; untested containment or updates can create unsafe effects.

### Related terms

[Internet of Things (IoT)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/internet-of-things/>) · [Cyber-physical system (CPS)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cyber-physical-system/>) · [Endpoint security](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/endpoint-security/>) · [Network segmentation](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/network-segmentation/>) · [Supply-chain security](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/supply-chain-security/>)

### Sources

[NIST IR 8259 Rev. 1, Foundational Cybersecurity Activities for IoT Product Manufacturers](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8259/r1/final) · [NIST IR 8259A, IoT Device Cybersecurity Capability Core Baseline](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8259/a/final) · [ETSI EN 303 645 V3.1.3, Cyber Security for Consumer Internet of Things: Baseline Requirements](https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/303600_303699/303645/03.01.03_60/en_303645v030103p.pdf)

## Attribution and scope

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