When it comes to the internet and data security, your work is never done. As technology gets more connected and complex, there will be new hacking techniques discovered. We want to stress that security is not a one-and-done step of your product, but a philosophy that you’ll need to keep in mind from prototype and deployment to long term support. IoT inherits many of the security problems networked computers have had for years, so it’s important for us as hardware engineers to learn from our fellow software and network engineers.

As designers of IoT devices, you must use modern best practices in delivering secure products to end users. The reverse is also true - investigate the market you’re entering to see what security practices your competition practices or ignores. Keep tabs on the latest hacking announcements to make sure your products are not similarly exposed. Re-evaluate security on a periodic basis to review threats and revise software, access codes, and architecture.

Being transparent and open about security practices before, during, and after an issue will also demonstrate your commitment to security, and fixing things when needed, and it WILL HAPPEN.

We hope that, during this episode, you have realized how important it is to secure your IoT project, some of the best ways to go about it, and what to keep in mind when purchasing IoT devices. We hope you’ve enjoyed this video series on the growing world of the Internet of Things. When you’re ready to start getting some hands-on experience please check out all of the IoT products from Digi-Key and Adafruit, and check back for the final video in this series where we design a device with Digi-Key’s IoT Studio.