IoT Security Trends and Predictions for 2019
More than half of consumers expected to spend money on technology products during this past holiday season, according to a recent survey from Arm. Even though consumers are embracing technology broadly in their professional and personal lives, they said they would buy even more technology products if their security and privacy concerns were assuaged. Security risk remains a worry not only for consumers, but for enterprise buyers of IoT devices as well. Meanwhile, the threats that will come from quantum computers in five to ten years stir up concerns at the national level. Read on for these stories and more in this month’s IoT security news roundup.
Arm Predicts IoT Trends for the New Year; Surveys Consumers
Arm recently released its 2019 IoT predictions, packaged with the results of a global consumer survey conducted by the research firm Northstar. The report highlights consumers’ enthusiasm for technology as well as their security worries: “More than half of consumers expect to spend, spend, spend on tech products this holiday season, and they’d be willing to spend even more on devices that are secure.” Indeed, Arm’s report notes that 70% of respondents want to see efforts toward privacy and security increase in the future. Alongside the consumer survey results, the report shares Arm’s own experts’ predictions across mobile computing, 5G, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Download the 2019 Technology Survey and Predications PDF here.
Congress Debating Bill to Conduct IoT Assessment Study
The United States Congress is currently evaluating the need to develop a yearlong study on the current state of connected devices in the U.S. If passed as written, the resolution would direct the United States Secretary of Commerce to review standards for the IoT, jurisdictional issues, and security requirements going forward. Read more here. This effort in Congress comes on the heels of an effort in 2017, led by four United States senators, to pass the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act, which would require minimum security standards for connected devices sold to the federal government.
Report Finds Enterprise Customers Wary of IoT Security Risks
A report issued by the global management consultancy Bain & Company notes the major role that security concerns play in the buying decisions of enterprise customers. Bain reveals that enterprise customers say they would spend more – on average, at least 70% more – on IoT devices if their concerns about cybersecurity risks were addressed. The report further notes that consumers would pay 22% more for IoT devices if they could be assured that those devices would be secure. Read the full Bain report here.
New York Times Shines Spotlight on Quantum Computer Threat
The New York Times recently ran a story on something we at SecureRF have been talking about for a long time, namely the threat of quantum computers, which, in the near future, will break current security methods at the heart of many of the communication and payment processes we use today. The article stresses that, although no one has created a large-enough quantum computer yet, companies like Google and Alibaba in China are trying. Others are focused on quantum-resistant security in response. Read the New York Times article here.
Consumer Electronics Show, January 8-11, Las Vegas, NV: SecureRF executives attended CES to discuss how our fast, ultra-low-power and small footprint methods address the security challenges faced by the automotive and consumer electronics markets today.
Embedded World Conference 2019, February 26-28, Nuremberg, Germany: Clients, prospects, partners and the press are invited to meet SecureRF to learn about our fast, quantum-resistant, ultra-low-power and small footprint methods. In addition, SecureRF’s CTO, Derek Atkins, will be presenting a technical paper on February 28th at 12:00 p.m. titled “A Future-proof Performance Enhancement for Secure MCUboot” on how our quantum-resistant WalnutDSA offers faster run-times and a lower ROM/RAM footprint than RSA and ECC.
Not attending either of the events listed above? Please contact us for information or a free consultation.