Future scope of cybersecurity in the field of IOT
According to Forrester’s Future Scope of IOT Cybersecurity, 20 percent of all IoT-related security incidents in 2016 were due to “a lack of monitoring and management”; 20 percent of enterprises anticipate owning no cybersecurity products and services in 2017, and 40 percent expect to invest in cybersecurity products and services by 2020.
Cybersecurity adoption will also accelerate as many organizations move from digital business models to hybrid ones; as companies augment their operations with cloud services; and as companies leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics.
Future scope of cybersecurity in the field of IoT
Furthermore, the final phase of adoption, wherein organizations accelerate cybersecurity investment to a critical mass, is also likely to extend to cloud environments. Recent attacks show that the vulnerabilities associated with cloud environments are growing and the inability to secure cloud environments has led to enterprises facing a serious risk of internal, external, and public attacks.
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| Future scope of cybersecurity in the field of IOT |
At the same time, companies with a hybrid and embedded approach to IT are facing an existential threat from a number of malicious insiders who are using the power of the cloud to attack enterprise networks and systems. To understand the global cybersecurity landscape, Forrester surveyed 10,000 executives. This research revealed that 38 percent of organizations are aware of cloud-based attacks such as ransomware and data exfiltration, but 37 percent of organizations also have fallen victim to internal cyberattacks. Despite the increasing risks, cybersecurity policies are not preventing internal breaches. Also, most organizations are not currently utilizing cybersecurity tools to thwart insider threats. According to Forrester’s report, 38 percent of executives have been the target of internal attacks within the last year.
As cyberattacks become more widespread, we will continue to see cyberattacks targeting the whole lifecycle of the product, service, and platform, with the goal of isolating a critical part of the product or service, rendering it unusable. This will make it impossible for a company’s employees or customers to trust or purchase a particular product, whether through product purchases or services, and will make it nearly impossible for a company’s internal network to function as it should. This will be an escalation of the cybersecurity arms race and may enable all companies to overcome many obstacles and make the transition to a hybrid and embedded approach to the products, services, and systems they build.
Top cybersecurity events from 2016
To help you understand the many challenges facing the cybersecurity industry, we’ve highlighted a few of the major cybersecurity events from 2016, some of which focused on topics relevant to the IoT:
DHS publishes report on cyber defense initiatives for the IoT
On January 9, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published Cybersecurity in the IoT: A Guide to Defenses, Strategies, and Excellence for Enhanced Business Productivity. The report recommends that organizations should adopt security and risk management strategies across all aspects of the IoT, including all of its use cases, associated network devices, and applications.
Cybersecurity in the IoT:
A Guide to Defenses, Strategies, and Excellence for Enhanced Business Productivity - By DHS. Recommendations include cybersecurity products and services, processes, and systems; implementing security controls for the critical components of the IoT and the policies and processes that protect these components from threats; developing multi-factor authentication capabilities for IoT devices and platforms; and implementing network and information security controls for IoT use cases.
Cybersecurity incident raises concerns about IoT and national security
On December 8, 2016, news broke that hackers had managed to breach the security of the manufacturer of the cameras installed in the network of the United States military base at Guantanamo Bay.
According to the New York Times, after the military detected the breach of the military network in August, it became clear that the camera surveillance network is vulnerable to hacking due to the poor quality of its wireless components. This is a warning for organizations that have been working on deploying IoT devices in their respective networks, as poor quality wireless components could pose a significant threat to their security.
1,800 devices infected with ransomware. On August 24, 2016, 900 routers were infected with ransomware, according to CNN. The attack is believed to be the largest instance of a large-scale cyber attack against routers in the world. According to the company Kryptos Logic, the ransomware attack, named SamSam, took place at the end of August and was one of the biggest ransomware attacks ever recorded. Kryptos Logic’s forensic team also managed to recover thousands of devices from their targets.
Ransomware attacks take top cybersecurity priority
In an internet-connected world, even the smallest event can trigger cyber attacks. A ransomware attack is malicious software, often called a malicious program, that encrypts data stored on computers or other devices. In most cases, when a victim receives an email containing a malicious attachment or when they visit a malicious website, they become vulnerable to ransomware attacks.
Since these attacks can easily spread to any type of devices, such as the IoT devices that are not isolated in a proper network or external security measures, this has become a top priority for companies that are looking to deploy their products in the market.
In addition, this type of cybersecurity incident may also give a negative message to consumers, who are concerned about their privacy, security, and general security. Many consumers have started researching and paying for smart homes, even though such devices could make them vulnerable to a greater cybersecurity threat.
The term “cybersecurity” has gotten significantly more popular and is often used loosely by companies to suggest any kind of effort on their part to protect their customers from any kind of malicious attacks or hacking. There is, of course, more to it than that. As the internet has made its way into our homes and cars, we’ve become a lot more dependent on the infrastructure of the internet as well as the protection of the web infrastructure. It would be a massive injustice if all we could hope for was stronger protections in the firewall that protects our security through our smartphones and smart TVs and smart cars, only to find out later that the threat we faced was a bit more nuanced.
A cybersecurity company, Veracode, analyzed hundreds of thousands of security incidents involving the internet of things (IoT). The devices and applications from the internet are adding a whole new category of possible problems that we have to worry about. Not only are these devices a direct threat to our privacy through what they can be used for (such as sharing our personal data or secretly recording what we’re saying), but they’re also introducing new dangers by virtue of their very existence.
In a report, Veracode cited the internet of things as a space where a significant amount of attacks have taken place and claimed it is becoming a new risk to the internet. The report claimed that the Internet of Things will lead to a surge in the number of cyberattacks in the future, and as a result, all security solutions will need to be tailored accordingly. This leads us to wonder if the cybersecurity companies and the companies that produce these devices and applications, will adapt to this rapidly growing market and focus on this rapidly growing market or keep focusing their efforts on products that have a slightly broader scope and range of potential problems?
Internet of things could take over security
Veracode showed the potential in the internet of things to be extremely vast, but at the same time it could take over many security practices that we now use with our current devices and networks. Even if you manage to separate the internet of things from your personal computer (this has only been a problem in the past when new computers or devices needed to be physically plugged into a router and Internet infrastructure, however now, we use smartphones, smart TVs, and smart cars without worrying about who can connect to our network), they’re still subject to certain risks.
And cyber threats are so prevalent that it leads to us reaching the inevitable conclusion of the internet of things taking over the security of our personal lives in our homes. Some people, however, like Rick Singer, say that we shouldn’t worry too much about the threat the internet of things presents. Not only can we protect ourselves against these cyberattacks, but it is also easier to do this by using encryption and strong security practices on both our computers and devices. Not only would it make our lives less complicated in terms of how we protect our security, but it would also make our lives less convenient, too. Instead of worrying about entering into the internet of things to secure things and access things, we could do all that on the computer or through the digital interface that is able to do all the work for us. This means, that our entire computer would be extremely secure by default.
Of course, there are ways in which the internet of things could help protect our personal security. For example, a few internet-connected devices could log our security credentials and security information on their own networks. This would mean we would have to enter that information, or any other type of personal information that we send through the internet, on our own devices, not our laptops and smartphones. The internet could handle the rest. Or, at the very least, it could notify us through our devices whenever there is any kind of unusual activity.
Another possible solution to the security issues in the internet of things is by using AI. AI is already a widely used technology, but as more and more things get connected to the internet, it could become a huge threat to our privacy and security. Artificial intelligence technology that can watch, listen, and log what we’re doing in our home or other private spaces is a massive threat to our privacy. However, AI might make a big difference by being able to monitor and prevent the problems that happen out of the control of the people creating the Internet of Things. The AI might monitor our internet activity in order to prevent things like a password from being stolen and used by hackers or people who can’t wait for us to change the password before they do anything. Artificial intelligence can also be used to log personal information that is entered into websites, which would then be stored on the computers or smartphones of the users (on purpose or on accident). However, this doesn’t mean we should be extremely concerned about the security of our personal computers or smartphones, because it is still theoretically possible to encrypt all our personal information on our computers.
These are only some of the things that could happen with the internet of things. This is a technology that’s still very new, and it is going to be extremely difficult to predict exactly what is going to happen with the internet of things. So, despite some challenges that we have been facing in terms of protecting our privacy, the internet of things still has a chance to become a good solution for securing the security of our digital lives.
Walmart, Target, and Home Depot all allow their customers to use a virtual shopping cart to make purchases, after signing in to a retailer’s online app. This is a secure, safe system. Since you would be using a secure system, there wouldn’t be much concern about your personal information being hacked and misused. While you might still have concerns about your personal information being hacked by your internet provider or even by the government or your internet provider (and even about other people getting into your personal information by reading your emails on your home computer or tablet), the virtual shopping cart would take care of all of this for you. The virtual shopping cart doesn’t require you to log in, enter any personal information, or input any sensitive personal information. Only your purchases that you would make online would be registered, and this would be stored on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. It is also worth mentioning that if the internet of things becomes popular, some government agencies may decide to take advantage of it. If a government agency or private company decides that they want to monitor people more closely, they would probably want to get access to as much information as possible.
So, if we are to use the internet of things to help us secure our security, there are some things that we have to think about:
» The internet can only be secure if people use the internet safely.
» Even though we have a virtual shopping cart that will take care of all our information for us, the internet itself can still become a target for hackers or other people who want to do harm to us and our data.
» We need to think about how much information we want to make public about ourselves.
» People can use the internet for good things, and some people even have the ability to use the internet for great things, but there are also people out there who aren’t interested in doing any of those things, and that is a big threat to everyone’s security.
» Although many internet users use the internet for good things, there are many people out there who are using the internet for bad things. Some people will want to use the internet for the purpose of sending spam or phishing scams. They would want to get into people’s personal data and use it for their own advantage, or they might want to steal your information and use it for their own good or bad purposes.
» The internet of things has the potential to be used for cyberbullying and for cyberstalking.
» The internet of things has the potential to become even more complicated.
» People could get their personal information stolen by hackers through things like hacking into someone’s computer or smartphone or other devices.
These are the things that we need to think about when we use the internet of things. We have to protect our privacy and security, and we have to think carefully about what we want to use the internet for and what kind of things we would want to do with our personal information and other sensitive personal information.
We can never totally remove the risk of cyber attacks or privacy breaches, but the internet of things could help us better protect ourselves. Some internet users will never be able to use the internet safely. We can’t fully protect our privacy and security.
But we can use the internet of things to make the internet safer and more secure for everyone.
» Limit the amount of information you give away.
» Make sure that you have privacy and security settings set up on your social media and other websites so that you can prevent hackers from accessing your personal information.
» Never use public Wi-Fi at restaurants or other places that don’t have secure Wi-Fi.
» Keep your personal information private when using the internet of things.
» If someone steals your personal information or your computer and your internet provider gets into your personal information, you will need to deal with the consequences.