Page 71 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for September 2020

homeowners, who want the latest smart app-controlled lighting and heating system or interactive media
device, the opportunity for suppliers to create new revenue streams is huge.

However, the challenge with this automation is that it creates a huge wealth of sensitive data, which is
then being shared amongst more people. Even the FBI has put out warnings about the risks, highlighting
to people that hackers can “use those innocent devices to do a ‘virtual ‘drive by’ of your digital life.”
Businesses are also being targeted through IoT devices as an entry point, with Microsoft and other tech
giants highlighting attacks where access to secure networks has been gained via printers and VoIP
systems amongst other connected devices.

The business challenges

As networks become increasingly complex and the growth of the Internet of Things shows no signs of
slowing, the challenge of keeping businesses cyber secure and minimising risk is greater than ever.

Spanning the public and private sector from smart cities and transport initiatives to healthcare and smart
home/consumer applications, yet with no central standards in place, the onus is very much on those in
the IoT ecosystem to work together to create as secure an environment as possible for the time being.

While there is some sector-led collaboration taking place, many organisations are looking to those in
technology, media and telecommunications to take the reins and lead the way. Like many large
organisations, in the past, businesses in these sectors may have implemented different cyber risk
strategies appropriate to a particular department, country or product. With the increased threat from the
IoT and new ways in which data is being used and connections to networks made, many are now revising
cyber strategies to sit at a corporate, organisation wide level. They are also paying more attention to
preventative strategies, trying to predict IoT cyber threats before they happen, minimising attacks that do
take place and continuity planning for how they will restore services as soon as possible.

The way forward

Despite the very real cyber security threat posed by the IoT and the complexity of the networks and
parties involved, there is concern that too much control over data could stifle innovation. Many pioneers
in the cyber security sector are suggesting the answer lies in the development of more secure devices
and improvements in internet security to go alongside this.

Speaking on this issue, Philip Reitinger, President of the not for profit, Global Cyber Alliance neatly
summarised the issue: “We must move from the Internet of Things to the ‘Secure Internet of Secure
Things’. First, we must build (more) Secure Things – devices, software and services with few
vulnerabilities, that are securely configured and automatically updated. Of critical importance, cloud
services must come with security embedded and not as an up-sell.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2020 Edition 71
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