The rise of ransomware and emerging security challenges in the Internet of Things

With the increasing miniaturization of smartphones, computers, and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, strengthening the security and preventing ransomware attacks have become key concerns. Traditional security mechanisms are no longer applicable because of the involvement of resource-constrained devices, which require more computation power and resources. This paper presents the ransomware attacks and security concerns in IoT. We initially discuss the rise of ransomware attacks and outline the associated challenges. Then, we investigate, report, and highlight the state-of-the-art research efforts directed at IoT from a security perspective. A taxonomy is devised by classifying and categorizing the literature based on important parameters (e.g., threats, requirements, IEEE standards, deployment level, and technologies). Furthermore, a few credible case studies are outlined to alert people regarding how seriously IoT devices are vulnerable to threats. We enumerate the requirements that need to be met for securing IoT. Several indispensable open research challenges (e.g., data integrity, lightweight security mechanisms, lack of security software’s upgradability and patchability features, physical protection of trillions of devices, privacy, and trust) are identified and discussed. Several prominent future research directions are provided.