Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers
In that triumphant moment of getting your connected project up and running, it’s easy to forget how vulnerable IoT projects can be without taking basic security precautions. You might wonder why someone would bother taking control of you house lights, but unprotected entries to your network can provide a treasure trove of information for hackers.
Protect yourself and your projects with these easy-to-implement tips.For Raspberry Pi/Linux Boards
1. Change the default user password
All Raspbian OS installs use the same password for the default pi user. Attackers will try common and default passwords to access a system before they move on to more sophisticated attacks. Stop them by using the passwd command to change yours to a new unique and strong value.
See the Raspberry Pi user documentation for details on the passwd command that changes a user’s password. Also check out advice on creating a strong password that will be very difficult for an attacker to guess or ‘brute-force’ attack.
2. Disable password login with SSH
Even a good password is still at risk for a determined attacker to guess its value and access the machine remotely with SSH. Prevent this by using security keys to login to your board instead. These keys grant access only from other allowed computers, and they use sophisticated cryptography that’s extremely difficult to guess or break. Even better, once you set up key-based login you don’t have to remember passwords!
See the Using Key-Based Authentication section of the Raspberry Pi security documentation for more details on how to configure SSH for key-based login.
3. Keep the OS up to date
No software is perfect; inevitably, vulnerabilities or bugs will be found that could allow an attacker to access your board. Diligently use the apt-get upgrade command to keep your board’s operating system up to date with the latest security patches and fixes.
See the Raspberry Pi updating and upgrading documentation for details on how to get the latest software with the apt-get upgrade command.
4. Set up a firewall
Your IoT gadget likely doesn’t use all the services that the Pi operating system provides, such as web server, email server, and more. Use a firewall to close off access to unused services. This helps prevent an attacker from accessing your board through…
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