A better option is to play hardball, being prepared for hackers while mapping out a strategy that leverages the power of IoT technology to drive ideal business outcomes. Hoping hackers won't target you is a strategy doomed to fail. "If someone is targeting you, they are getting in," says Michael Patterson, CEO of security firm Plixer. To prepare for cybercriminals, enterprises should closely monitor network traffic so that when the bad guys do get in, you can determine how and when it happened, and take steps to get them off the network as soon as possible.

Hold Tech Vendors Accountable

Of course, all of the responsibility shouldn't lie with the companies deploying IoT technology. IoT device makers should “take responsibility” by designing security into their products, recommends the analyst firm Juniper Research. The industry needs big-name vendors like Amazon, Google, and Samsung to help develop best practices for the entire industry, Juniper Research adds.

Plixer also suggests that ISPs get more involved in fighting DDoS attacks by following standards outlined in BCP38, a standard designed to prevent the spoofing of Internet traffic first described in 2000. The problem that a series of coordinated DDoS attacks could take down the Internet remains a possibility. Meanwhile, many ISPs eschew responsibility, Patterson says. “They are saying: ‘look, we aren’t the target of the DDoS attacks; we’re just hosting the machines that are participating in them.’”

Understand How Hackers Think

In one sense, hackers are like ordinary people. They get thrills out of finding a creative solution to a challenge. But unlike most ordinary people, they enjoy breaking the law.

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