ICD542 IoT Cloud and Digital Infrastructure Protection Report 2 Sample

 ICD542 IoT Cloud and Digital Infrastructure Protection

Assessment Task

In groups of 3-4 students, produce a 1000-word report that investigates the potential cybersecurity issues of an organisation's proposed digital infrastructure. Please refer to the Instructions section below for details on how to complete this assessment task.

Instructions

To complete this assessment task, you will need to apply your existing knowledge of IoT and cloud technologies to assess the cybersecurity concerns associated with the network and digital infrastructure of an organisation.

To complete this assessment task successfully, you must follow the steps outlined below:

1. Form and register a group.

• Form a group of 3-4 students. Send a registration email to the learning facilitator before the registration deadline. Note: the deadline for team registration is
11:45 pm AEST Friday, end of Module 6. Please contact the learning facilitator immediately if you are unable to find a group.

• The registration email must be sent by a group member with the subject line “[ICD542] Team Registration”. In the body of that email, please list all the group members’ names and student ID numbers.

• After the registration deadline, those students who are not in a group will be allocated to groups by the learning facilitator.

• Please refer to the Assessment task 2 and 3 Group Formation Guidelines in the Assessment Section on Blackboard for more information.

2. Review the Case Study.

• Access the case study from the learning facilitator in Module 6.

• Carefully review the case study to understand the context and requirements related to potential security concerns for the organisation's digital infrastructure.

3. Complete a group report (1000 words)

Based on the provided case study, analyse and present findings on the cybersecurity concerns of a specific organisation's digital infrastructure. You must also cite at least three (3) sources using APA referencing 7th edition guidelines to support your responses. The sources cited must be included in your reference list.

The Report must contain the following parts:

a) Introduction (approx. 200 words):

- Define the objectives and structure of your report, outlining its purpose and structure.

- Describe the risks, threats and vulnerabilities faced by the digital infrastructure related to the case study.

- Explain how these potential risks, threats and vulnerabilities might impact the digital infrastructure for this case study.

- Rationalise the importance of protecting IoT, cloud, and digital infrastructures.

- Research any recent IoT and cloud cybersecurity attacks and defences on a similar organisation and the required responses with statistical support for their response efforts.

b) Body (approx. 600 words):

- Investigate the efficacy of various security requirements in protecting an IoT and cloud environment for this case study.

- Evaluate the various cybersecurity tools and methodologies available to protect the organisation’s network and digital infrastructure regarding IoT and cloud technologies.

- Articulate the importance of taking adequate security measures in IoT and cloud environments, such as using AI protection systems, implementing zero trust solutions, protecting against cloud malware attacks and providing educational and awareness programs.

- Determine best practices for mitigating security risks in IoT and cloud environments to guard against future external threats, such as:

I. IoT Device Security: Address the significance of maintaining IoT devices by updating security patches, implementing strong authentication mechanisms, and conducting regular security audits.

II. Cloud Security Measures: Define the importance of secure authentication, encryption and access control mechanisms within cloud platforms.

III. Monitoring and Detection: Examine the importance of intrusion detection systems to quickly detect security breaches in IoT and cloud environments.

c) Conclusion (approx. 200 words):

- Summarise your findings and proposed solutions.

d) Reference List:

- Include all sources cited using the APA style guidelines.

Solution

Introduction

The aim of this report is to identify the possible cybersecurity threats that could occur within the planned digital backbone of urban healthcare facility and propose a total security framework that would address these risks. The report introduces the weak points, risks and threats involved to the digital infrastructure and clarifies how they could affect the healthcare provider’s functions and information security of the patients.

Risks, Threats and Vulnerabilities Faced by Healthcare Provider

The digital infrastructure of a healthcare provider is likely to face several risks such as unauthorized access, data interception, and system compromise. These weaknesses, when exploited, may cause data breaches, compromised security, and the wrong settings of environmental control, hence, IoT, cloud and digital infrastructures protection is vital to maintain integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and critical systems.

Impact of Risks

Recent cybersecurity attacks demonstrating the growing complexity of cyber threat landscape on IoT and cloud infrastructures in healthcare organizations prove that security in the healthcare sector has become a more serious issue that demands increasingly higher attention from healthcare organizations. The key impact involves data breach, compromised physical security, inaccurate environmental control, and operational disruptions. This is an evidence of why there should be proper cybersecurity solutions and procedures when necessary for strong and timely safety measures of cyberinfrastructure.
IoT and cloud cybersecurity attacks and defences on a similar organisation

Given the rapid expansion of the global IoT in healthcare market, with market projections indicating growth to an outstanding USD 190 billion by 2028, the healthcare provider’s digital infrastructure is exposed to expanding security threats presented by IoT devices. Therefore, implementing advanced security measures tailored exclusively for IoT, cloud, and digital infrastructures is crucial to mitigate the evolving cybersecurity risks effectively.

Efficacy of Security Requirements in Protecting an IoT and Cloud Environment

• Advanced Access Control Systems: Robust authentication process supported by multiple factor authentication (MFA) is one of the effective options for reducing the access to unauthorized data and systems, study suggests that 80% of breaches involving hacking are compromised/weak credentials, which underscores the need for sound data access control measures (Butpheng et al., 2020).

• Advanced Surveillance and Encryption: With the help of encryption protocols like this that are protected by the cameras, access or tampering with the camera feed becomes impossible. Encryption is the key basic measure used to secure all data confidentiality and integrity for MBA assignment expert.

• Network Monitoring and Firewalls: An effective security team should be able to monitor the network continuously and update the firewall rules to be able to detect the unauthorized access to the network and malware infiltration (Karunarathe et al., 2021).

• Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDPS) and Antivirus Software: Continuously keeping IDPS signatures, configurations, and antivirus up to date is essential in order to quickly detect and stop any attempts of intrusions and infections by malware.

Cybersecurity Tools and Methodologies

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): MFA or multi-factor authentication for instance, is one of the most proven IAM tools for reliable and secure control of access to IoT devices and cloud services, with only authorized users owning their data and system (Ghaffari et al., 2022).

• Encryption: End to end encryption of data in transit and at rest must be employed to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of data, to thereby impede data violation and breach of data integrity.

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM systems are tools that can offer security analysts with alerts in real time, on different devices and systems, thus are great means for efficient incident detection and response (Coppolino et al., 2022).

Importance of Taking Adequate Security Measures in IoT and Cloud Environments

Security for IoT and cloud environment is a must in order to protect the personal information, ensure operability and to preserve image of healthcare provider in the patient trust eye. Adoption of AI-based protecting systems can boost threat detection and response conditions many aspects, facilitating Real-Time Detection and Mitigation of strong and resilient cyber threats (Becher, 2019). Adapting zero trust practices which include identity verification and continuous authentication processes enables us to limit access to only authorized users and it as well reduces the risk of data breaches. Additionally, equipping all the employees with training and awareness material fosters a cyber-security aware culture and therefore strengthens the overall cybersecurity posture through which human error-related risks are reduced (Evans, 2024).

Best Practices for Mitigating Security Risks in IoT and Cloud Environments

Table 1: Best Practices for Mitigating Security Risks in IoT and Cloud Environments

Conclusion

Securing both IoT and cloud environments is vital as healthcare companies hold critical data and their infrastructure integrity becomes their reputation. Adhering to the best practice guidelines as exemplified in updating obsolete IoT devices, securing cloud platforms, and installation of advanced monitoring and detection systems is indispensable in the fight against security risk. Implementing AI firewalls, using zero trust security architectures, protecting against cloud malware attacks, and offering educational and informative programs will all contribute to the formulation of a robust cybersecurity strategy. By implementing these practices and improving the organization’s security posture over time, healthcare providers can significantly lower the probability of cyber threats and curb the scope of external penetration for their digital infrastructure. 

References

Becher, B. (2019). IoT Security: What It Is and Why It’s Important. Built In. https://builtin.com/articles/iot-security

Butpheng, C., Yeh, K. H., & Xiong, H. (2020). Security and privacy in IoT-cloud-based e-health systems—A comprehensive review. Symmetry, 12(7), 1191. 10.3390/sym12071191

Chinnasamy, V. (2021, May 6). 5 Top Cloud Security Threats and Tips to Mitigate Them. Indusface. https://www.indusface.com/blog/5-top-cloud-security-threats-and-tips-to-mitigate-them/

Coppolino, L., Sgaglione, L., D’Antonio, S., Magliulo, M., Romano, L., & Pacelli, R. (2022). Risk assessment driven use of advanced SIEM technology for cyber protection of critical e-health processes. SN Computer Science, 3, 1-13. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s42979-021-00858-4.pdf

Evans, I. (2024, March). The Importance of Cloud Security in IoT: Protecting Your Connected Devices | dig8ital. Dig8ital | Dig8ital Cyber Security Services & Consulting Germany UK Australia Global. https://dig8ital.com/post/iot-cloud-security/#:~:text=Cloud%20security%20is%20crucial%20in,data%20breaches%20and%20cyber%20attacks.

Ghaffari, F., Gilani, K., Bertin, E., & Crespi, N. (2022). Identity and access management using distributed ledger technology: A survey. International Journal of Network Management, 32(2), e2180. https://hal.science/hal-03315497/file/Identity%20and%20access%20management%20%282%29.pdf

IBM. (2024). What is an Intrusion Detection System (IDS)? | IBM. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/topics/intrusion-detection-system

Karunarathne, S. M., Saxena, N., & Khan, M. K. (2021). Security and privacy in IoT smart healthcare. IEEE Internet Computing, 25(4), 37-48. https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/137612/1/IC-2020-05-0041.R2_Saxena.pdf

Kaspersky. (2024, January 18). Internet of Things security challenges and best practices. Www.kaspersky.com. https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/best-practices-for-iot-security