Three Key Questions Network Operators Must Ask to Secure IoT Deployments

The COVID‑19 pandemic thrust the reliability and security of communication networks into the spotlight, as millions shifted to remote work, care, and learning, says Steve Buck, SVP of Product and Operations in Mobileum’s Security Business Unit.

Observers note that, driven by necessity, digital transformation across numerous sectors accelerated at a pace never seen in recent years.

Healthcare exemplifies this trend, with telehealth adoption surging dramatically. The Internet of Things (IoT) further accelerated this shift by enabling digital diagnostics. Digital thermometers that track flu spread in real time saw heightened usage during the pandemic’s peak in the United States. In April, Livongo Health—a provider of remote IoT monitoring for chronic diseases—raised its quarterly guidance, reflecting the increased demand for its services driven by COVID‑19.

Time to reassess security

The rapid uptake of IoT presents both opportunities and challenges. As IoT applications such as health monitoring grow, network operators must critically evaluate the security implications of these devices.

Securing IoT networks is inherently complex. Operators must manage a wide array of hardware, firmware, operating systems, and communication protocols spanning 3G, 4G/LTE, and 5G. The attack surface has ballooned—now roughly 100 times larger than a few years ago—due to the influx of millions of IoT devices, many of which run on outdated or weak security firmware. These vulnerabilities are already being exploited.

For instance, a vulnerability in the Zigbee low‑power IoT protocol—used by Philips Hue smart lights and numerous other devices—was discovered in 2017. Astonishingly, the same flaw remains exploitable three years later. Each time you turn off your lights at night, you may be leaving a potential vector for a distributed denial‑of‑service (DDoS) attack that could disrupt the network.

Moreover, IoT devices can be autonomous, roam across networks, and operate within network slices—each with distinct security needs tied to industry use cases. These layers of complexity demonstrate that legacy security models are insufficient for modern IoT environments.

Three questions to ask yourself

Instead, three critical questions should be asked to determine how secure your network is against IoT vulnerabilities:

• How do you safeguard on‑network, inbound, and outbound IoT roamers from signalling attacks?
• Can you confirm that IoT devices are operating as intended?
• Are you able to detect whether a rogue device is isolated or part of a broader attack?

These questions illuminate key vulnerabilities and help detect malicious IoT behavior. Whether a subscriber is operating an autonomous vehicle on your network or a device is roaming elsewhere, protection is essential. Multi‑protocol signalling firewalls are critical for securing traffic across 3G, 4G, and 5G and for steering roaming devices toward trusted partner networks.

Identify a rogue device

Understanding a device’s identity and communication context allows you to detect behavioral anomalies or changes in its eSIM/SIM card. Sudden traffic spikes, for instance, can signal botnet takeover.

Detecting such anomalies lets you capture a rogue device’s signature, enabling you to locate other devices sharing that fingerprint and block them. Analyzing the connectivity data further reveals whether the rogue device operates solo or as part of a coordinated attack.

IoT adoption remains in its early stages, but the associated risks will only grow in complexity and scale. Cisco projects that IoT traffic will comprise 50%—roughly 14.7 billion—of all networked connections by 2023.

Consequently, operators must deploy robust security mechanisms that identify every IoT device on their network, understand its expected behavior, and rapidly discern whether an anomaly is isolated or indicative of a larger threat.

Steve Buck brings more than 30 years of mobile telecom experience across engineering and marketing for equipment manufacturers and operators. His expertise spans fraud, identity, and risk solutions for enterprises in banking, retail, public sector, and other verticals.

He joined Evolved Intelligence as COO in 2015, leading roaming and security initiatives. After Evolved Intelligence’s acquisition by Mobileum in 2018, Steve now heads Mobileum’s Security Business Unit.

The author is Stephen Buck, chief of Security Business Unit at Mobileum.