New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Get Security Right in 2016
BBC Business News recently reported that cybersecurity will be the main issue of global business in 2016. Another top trend this year? IoT and "the development of the hyper-connected world."
The fact that these two trends go hand in hand should be no surprise to anybody, especially those of us involved in the connected device industry. We've already blogged about the software problem that allowed hackers to commandeer a Jeep Cherokee while it was being driven. And recent news stories about glitches in products like the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Ring Video Doorbell are having are creating a resistance among the buying public worldwide.
EE Times, reporting on the findings of the 2016 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey, explains that "consumers' … concerns over IoT devices are much more prominent, compared to 12 months ago." Nearly 70 percent of survey respondents were aware of recent hacker attacks against IoT devices, and 42 percent said that this awareness will impact their use and purchase decisions. Close to 20 percent of respondents were adamant about avoiding IoT devices completely, at least until their safety can be guaranteed.
The IoT has a huge potential to improve lives, but if we don’t get security right the admirable goals of our industry will never be realized. As one of the six key attributes of Intelligent Systems, security must be given the priority it deserves, and companies facing breaches against their IoT products and services must rush to fix the problems.
