As we continue our predictions, it’s time to take a deep dive into security. It dominated many of the IoT headlines in 2015, and it doesn’t look like our experts expect any change in the next year.
Read on.
Tom Pendergast, Chief Strategist, Security, Privacy and Compliance, MediaPro
“2016 is the year of the human-based threat. The widening cyber skills gap will force companies to rely more heavily on employees to protect their most critical assets. Phishing and other social-engineering attacks will increase in sophistication, making employees more vulnerable than ever. User behavior analytics will become more central to long-term security training and awareness strategies. Privacy concerns will remain a top priority (but may not get resolved) due to the demise of Safe Harbor and the Paris attacks. Adaptive architectures will become the gold standard of security awareness strategies, giving companies more flexibility to customize their programs to their specific company needs.”
Tim Mester, Principal Engineer, Advanced Technology, FreeWave Technologies
“A major security breach will propel government regulations in IoT. As IoT/IIoT data and control becomes more sensitive and critical, there will be a growing concern regarding the robustness these devices will have on our lives as we become increasingly dependent on them. Therefore, there will be a surge of government regulations that mandate the levels of security and reliability for IoT and IIoT devices.”
Tyler Cohen Wood, Former DIA Senior Intelligence Officer and Cyber Deputy Division Chief, current Cyber Security Advisor, Inspired eLearning
“Connected Cars—Connected cars are prone to zero day exploits, an automaker’s nightmare that gives hackers wireless control to any of thousands of vehicles. With this access, a hacker can control any function of the car wirelessly—including killing the accelerator.
Medical Devices— Hospital equipment, including imaging and patient files, and personal medication dispensers have already seen hacks and are expected to rise. Medical files are highly coveted on the black market.
Internet of Things Systems—From FitBits to Smart TVs to smart alarms, the Internet of Things includes anything that connects wirelessly to a home or corporate network and will be a major cyber risk for 2016. Your TV that allows you to wirelessly stream Netflix is a hackers dream for accessing your home network, and if you use a smart TV at work, your corporation is opening its doors to hackers.”