How secure is the Internet of Things?
Traditionally we have been used to M
alware protection and Anti-Virus on our PC’s, then moving to laptops and other devices. Now on phones and slowly moving towards
the Internet of Things. One article in the news today caught my eye where it is reported that Malware is being found pre-installed on devices, in this case Mobile Phones. G Data Report
It would seem that the hackers are trying to get the jump on the industry well before the devices are falling into the hands of the consumer. This is not the first time such incidents have been reported.
The race for Internet of Things sensors, devices and “Things” is growing fast, however with these incidents of Malware being found, how long will it be before code is appearing on chips on sensors that shouldn’t be there.
There are lots of Operating Systems available for the IOT. These can be classed as the mainstream ones that appear in the news and everyone knows such as Microsoft, Raspberry Pi, Linux etc, to the less know ones that are used on chipsets such as Contiki, TinyOS, Nano-RK. (See https://maxhemingway.com/2015/04/14/iot-operating-systems/).
There are a number of challenges for the IoT industry, businesses and consumers (this list is not exhaustive);
- Authentication
- Data Capture
- Encryption
- Intrusion – Application, Network and Physical
- Location tracking
- Malware/Anti-Virus
- Service disruption
- Taking control of devices
These threats will drive the Internet of Security to protect the Internet of Things.
Cisco is looking to tackle some of these by running a Security Grand Challenge to offer prizes to the best security solutions.
More competitions and challenges will probably emerge as the industries try to understand and protect against the risks and use a crowd source model to help protect the IoT.
Max Hemingway 