The fact that we can turn on the heater or washing machine before we get home, or adjust the lights by using our smartphones will soon not surprise us any more. We live in the Internet of Things (IoT) era where digitally connected devices are invading on every aspect of our lives, including our offices, cars, homes and even our own bodies. Researchers estimate that by 2020 the number of active wireless connected devices will exceed 40 billion!
Although the above-mentioned new technologies all sound really positive as it makes your life easier every day there is a downside to the Internet of Things concept as well. Namely, that the concept is attracting an increasingly amount of cybercriminals. The more online connected devices, the more possibilities for cybercriminals to hack.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem the Internet of Things Security concept is getting more and more important (even at government-level). The entire global tech community must address this concept via active participation.
Some of the points that can be done to improve Internet of Things Security from the developer’s point of view are:
- Put security on nr. 1.
Think about the importance of security from the moment you start to think of a new IoT technology. - No rush.
Don’t rush to bring new products and services to the market but focus on long-term security. - Access control
Implement a secure device authentication, which lives up to the needs of IoT technologies. - Know your enemies
Take a close look at possible hackers before tackling your IoT Security issues. - Look out for the invasion
Always be prepared for an invasion of hackers. Make sure you have a plan to securely transfer important data for example.
As you can read, there are a lot of difficulties to overcome before an Internet of Things technology can grow into something big. Hopefully we will find our way in the security of this revolutionary concept and make it into the ‘Internet of Everything’.
What do you think of Internet of Things Security? Will we find a way to overcome these risks and make sure the Internet of Things can evolve in the right way?
Hi Sara,
I think the benefits of using internet is so big, that everyone is willing to take the risk. Your blog made me think about the importance of having internet and its benefits around me. I can’t imagine a life without smartphones, laptops or any other technical device. In my perception it is not the internet of things anymore, but more likely the internet of everything. It’s so interesting that something so usefull could also be so risky. But then I read about the risks internet technology creates like cybercrimes, Unfortunately you didn’t write alot about the darkweb, I would have like to read more about that. Nevertheless, you gave me some inspiration to do some research and maybe write a blog about the Dark Web.
Thank you for your blog!
Hajar Azrioual
Your second point for improving IoT security from the developers point of view, no rush, is a very tricky one in todays rapidly changing business environment. While a certain IoT solution can be of great competitive advantage if it is implemented rapidly, this might not be the case if it has to be postponed. Security, in my opinion, is of great importance and I do believe that there should and will be more focus on this subject, but this should not hinder the implementation date of IoT related applications.
The point with IoT is that you it should make life easier and not more complicated. There are already a lot of appliances that are getting ruined by putting ‘the internet’ in it. Someone is actually collecting all these on his twitter account: https://twitter.com/internetofshit 😉
The problems you mention in your post with IoT don’t stop there. Because those appliances are weakly secured ánd connected to the internet, they can be used to create one massive DDoS attack. (Distributed Denial of Service, setting up so many connections to a webserver it cannot handle the traffic to regular users anymore.)
http://www.networkworld.com/article/3123672/security/largest-ddos-attack-ever-delivered-by-botnet-of-hijacked-iot-devices.html
Some shitty uses of IoT:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/31/11337444/juicero-wifi-connected-smart-juicer-is-ridiculous
https://www.amazon.com/Quirky-Egg-Minder-Enabled-Smart/dp/B00GN92KQ4/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pura-a-smart-water-fountain-for-cats#/updates
https://www.wezzoo.com/oombrella