Cyberscurity Threats and Defense Mechanisms in IoT network

TL;DR

This paper tackles the growing cybersecurity challenges in the IoT landscape by offering a holistic, cross-layer analysis that integrates network and application-layer security for real-time monitoring and decision-making. It advances a five-layer IoT model (Perception, Network, Support, Application, Business) to structure vulnerability assessment, threat taxonomy, and defense mechanisms, while incorporating emerging technologies such as AI-based anomaly detection, blockchain-based trust, and Zero Trust Architecture. The study analyzes threats across physical, network, and application layers, including multi-layer attacks exemplified by Mirai and evolving risks from AI, quantum computing, and supply chains, and it evaluates defense options ranging from lightweight cryptography (Ascon) to Federated Learning and secure boot with TEEs. The work provides practical deployment insights, trade-offs between security and performance, and concrete future directions (6G, quantum-safe IoT, edge security) that are essential for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers aiming to build secure, scalable, and privacy-preserving IoT ecosystems.

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, projected to exceed 30 billion interconnected devices by 2030, has significantly escalated the complexity of cybersecurity challenges. This survey aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of vulnerabilities, threats, and defense mechanisms, specifically focusing on the integration of network and application layers within real-time monitoring and decision-making systems. Employing an integrative review methodology, 59 scholarly articles published between 2009 and 2024 were selected from databases such as IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, utilizing keywords related to IoT vulnerabilities and security attacks. Key findings identify critical threat categories, including sensor vulnerabilities, Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, and public cloud insecurity. Conversely, the study highlights advanced defense approaches leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for anomaly detection, Blockchain for decentralized trust, and Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) for continuous verification. This paper contributes a novel five-layer IoT model and outlines future research directions involving quantum computing and 6G networks to bolster IoT ecosystem resilience.