Securing the IoS – the Internet of Sensors

The Internet of Things is talking loud and clear and nearly anyone can listen. Sensors are on almost everything from cars, refrigerators and wearables, to a town’s streetlights, water supply systems and air quality tracking devices. People’s lives are made easier and more efficient with the delivery of helpful data and information in seconds. The same holds true for businesses in almost any industry.

Many of us share the idea that while some of our personal items with sensors need safeguarding, many do not. Unfortunately, many businesses allow the same lack of security on their products or services. And that idea, in itself, is one of the biggest security flaws in the IoT business.

Chief Technology Officer, Derek Atkins, here at SecureRF says, Most IoT devices have no security, or very minimal security. Many assume that nobody would bother to hack their devices, and thus leave their firmware unprotected by using minimal (if any) encryption or access to control their technologies.

Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich, during the company’s CES 2016 keynote, recently showcased a number of different initiatives all with the goal of embedding sensors in as many places as possible including clothing, sporting gear, and drones.

While a hacker retrieving in-depth performance data from a consumer product may not immediately appear to impact a business, if consumers feel sufficiently violated, a product recall and lost sales could end up costing the company millions of dollars.

Analysts at Gartner estimate that by 2019, the sensors on objects will be a $2.6 trillion business, an increase of 250 percent.*

Think of it as one, enormous conversation in which machines gather information, learn and change based on that information and it’s done through the telephone game if not secured. Like any information system, the extent of damage done by altering the information is endless.

The new mantra to business is: Be sure to practice safe sensors.

To learn more about our secure sensors and anti-counterfeiting solutions contact us at info@securerf.com or call 203-227-3151.

* http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/technology/looking-beyond-the-internet-of-things.html