IoT devices have not only made our life easier, but with each passing day, they are becoming more and more common. With their so much involvement in our life, we have to ask ourselves the inevitable question – Should we start applying to refine security to ensure that our collected data is kept safe?
Nowadays, we can remotely control everything. From the lights in our houses to even the thermostat temperature is controlled from our phones. You can now give commands to your devices without even touching their remote controls. The same goes for our smartphones and their ability to record, geolocate and broadcast you.
Many people might miss that all of the data collected about us is very much specific to us. Also, this data may not be well protected.
We do not imply that the manufacturers aren’t putting enough effort into it. It’s just that ensuring sufficient data security is not that easy. Even if your phone or other devices are protected by a password, your data can still be accessible quite easily.
In fact, to keep your data protected, you also need to add an additional layer of security to your devices. So, how can you ensure that? Well, this kind of added security can be easily provided by online security tools, the Best option is VPN and for a safe and best experience check Top VPNs recommended by VPNRanks.
Information is power. Imagine these devices storing that information about health, shopping habits, location, banking details, and movie preferences. At the same time, someone is hacking into the system due to some loophole and stealing it.
So in today’s blog, we will discuss in detail why you should be connecting your IoT devices to a virtual private network.
Military-Grade Encryption
IoT devices use internet connections to connect to their destination for their optimal performance. The problem arises when someone intercepts the data and uses it for their purposes.
A virtual private network resolves this problem by simply encrypting your data traffic, usually with military-grade encryption. Using this method, your data is scrambled so that it can’t be intercepted or retrieved without the proper network authentication keys.
This is also why many organizations instruct their remotely working employees to connect to the organization’s network via VPN. When you are connected to a VPN, the sensitive and crucial data uses a secure and encrypted tunnel for traveling.
Not only does a virtual private network encrypt your complete data traffic, but it also helps in hiding its source. If anyone is out there trying to intercept your data, they won’t be able to do that. Also, they can’t tell your source location or IP address. It is like you and the stuff you are trading online are wearing a cloak of invisibility.
This method makes your IoT devices unmeaningful to hackers. Since no one knows your actual location or the traffic you transmit, Botnet and DDOS attacks become useless.
The best way to use this technology is to set it up on the router to secure and encrypt all your devices connected to the same network, including your IoT devices.
Mask Your IP Address
By using a virtual private network, you can easily mask your data from the prying eyes of snoopers.
Various third-party advertisers, government agencies, trackers, and even your internet service provider may well be interested in your data.
But since you have acquired a completely different IP address, it becomes impossible to link your online activities to the IP address provided by your internet service provider.
While the ability to change your actual IP address may cause you some problems when accessing geo-blocked applications, it is also one of the best solutions to bypass them.
You can easily get past various geographical restrictions set up by websites and streaming services with just a single click.
A Few Things To Consider
One of the main purposes of using a virtual private network is to secure your online internet traffic. It would be a good idea to spend a little time finding a reliable, reputable, and effective virtual private network.
There are thousands of VPN providers in the market, so finding the best one for yourself after some homework shouldn’t be an issue.
For ultimate security, privacy, and data protection, your virtual private network should possess military-grade AES-256-Bit encryption, zero log policy, and several advanced security features such as internet kill switch, double VPN, obfuscated servers, DNS/IP leak protection, and more.
You’d also want a virtual private network that is completely reliable. If your complete data traffic is routed through the VPN tunnel, then it is obvious you’d want something to work 10 out of 10 times.
The best way to get an idea about a VPN’s reliability is to check its user reviews. Also, virtual private networks come at a reasonable price, but some may be expensive.
You’ll also have to ensure that your selected virtual private network doesn’t come with any data or bandwidth restrictions, as IoT devices are known to consume a lot of bandwidth.
Final Thoughts
A virtual private network is a great option for securing your home or business network’s IoT devices.
It is a great way to secure your personal data being received and sent by the variety of devices that are known as IoT. When you apply a VPN across all of your IoT networks, you make these networks way more secure and robust. Thus, any internet device can use a VPN to become a part of the private network.
If there’s no security for IoT, any of the connected objects, from manufacturing bots to refrigerators, can be hacked. Once hackers gain access and control, they can easily usurp the functionality of the object and steal the digital data of the user.
Nowadays, virtual private networks can easily be set up within a few minutes, and they bring an additional level of security to IoT devices.
