Vacation-Proof Your IoT with Memory-Safe Code

Imagine you’re lounging on a beach somewhere, margarita in hand, disconnected from Slack notifications when your phone buzzes: “Urgent: Production is down. A memory corruption bug in our vendor’s software crashed the entire system, and we need you online now.” There goes your vacation.

Don’t let memory bugs ruin your summer plans. Select vendors who use memory-safe code to prevent crashes and reduce security vulnerabilities.

What is memory-safe code?
Memory-safe code automatically stops your program from accessing data it shouldn’t, using old invalid data, or executing code that was never meant to run. Languages like Rust, Go, Python, Java and C# do this checking for you automatically.

Traditional C/C++ code is like leaving your house keys scattered around your coffee table. Memory-safe languages are like having a smart home system that puts everything exactly where it belongs.

As ZeroTier’s founder Adam Ierymenko explained in an article on Builtin.com, these memory vulnerabilities happen constantly, even though we know how to prevent them. Microsoft revealed 90 vulnerabilities in August 2024 alone, including one that could have given attackers full control of any Windows system. Remember CrowdStrike crashing millions of machines and costing Fortune 500 companies $5.4 billion? That was a memory bug in C/C++ code.

Your summer memory-safe code checklist
Here’s where things get urgent. AI is getting scary good at finding bugs in code. What used to take security researchers weeks, AI can now do in minutes. If your system uses memory-unsafe languages, you’re leaving the door wide open.

Audit your systems now, and list everything customer-facing or internet-connected. If it’s written in C/C++, it goes on your priority list. Then, check your vendors. Are they using memory-safe languages? Planning to migrate? If they have no plans to move away from C/C++, start shopping for alternatives.

Why ZeroTier is switching to Rust
Memory-safe code won’t solve every security problem, but it eliminates an entire class of bugs that have been ruining developers’ vacations for decades. Choose infrastructure that’s built for the future.

ZeroTier isn’t just easy to use, it’s engineered for long-term security and stability. By integrating memory-safe languages like Rust into its core architecture, ZeroTier is helping eliminate entire classes of low-level vulnerabilities before they ever become a problem. That means fewer bugs, fewer emergency patches, and far less risk in the systems that keep your IoT networks running. Make sure the only thing crashing this summer during your vacation is the waves on the shore.

Interested in learning more about ZeroTier? Request a demo today.