The IoT and Physical Security
The phrase "Internet of Things" (IoT) conjures up thoughts of I, Robot or Cyberdyne Systems and other misconceptions. For good reason; as yet, standards are still being determined and even the components of a basic definition (machines communicating to other machines with varying degrees of autonomy) are largely undefined.
Nevertheless, one thing is clear, an evolution is occurring in this information age, which, when overlaid with continued advancements in processing and storage capabilities, telecommunications (5G testing has begun) and logic platforms, means that human management of technology environments is quickly overwhelmed.
The IoT represents a seed change in that humans are increasingly removed from the control process of technologies that surround us. On the flip side of this coin is the possibility of someone controlling a great concentration or category of "things" through a seemingly innocuous penetration.
To whatever degree the concern ultimately manifests, businesses cannot mistake it as one that is purely technical in nature; this isn't just a problem for the IT department. The time is now upon us when an individual working alone or in concert with others can gain not only access to information, but also to surveillance and imaging, and physically hijack control of machinery, dispensers, vehicles, doorways, notification systems and many other "things" that may be interconnected in different ways.
Such access would no longer be the work of a hacker seeking account numbers. Rather, it will be a proficient young techie seeking to joy ride your manufacturing systems, a disgruntled employee wanting to use the cafeteria to cause mass gastric sabotage, or a sales competitor feeding false data to your shipping system.
It will no longer have to happen over the main computer systems that are frequent targets and readily hardened. Instead, it will trickle through an unassuming and trivial connection like your smart tv, vehicle tracking, or the cell phone hotspot. Maybe the commissary refrigerator talks to your supply system for automatic ordering.
Irrespective of how, it won't likely be an obvious and dramatic intrusion; these will be subtle, technical sleeper cells. You may not even be the direct target. Your business may service your clients' fleet or warehouse their products or assemble parts as a VAR. Your "things" communications to their "things" will be used as Trojan horses.
At 5G telecom and next gen wireless speeds, these intrusions through the IoT will happen faster than can be managed by human administrators. Thus creating the need for even more automated controls.. maybe Skynet isn't so impossible after all.
The point is: as the human management of technical systems is soon overwhelmed, the need for human watchfulness of the physical environment increases exponentially. While a system administrator may only know of an intrusion after the fact, a human that personally knows who belongs, understands points of vulnerability, and is aware of the physical environment can more effectively intercede while the machine simply does what it's been programmed to do. Imagine the camera system that displays an all clear image edited in real time while motion detectors read false negatives and your warehouse door opens.. oh, and you have a fleet of self-driving vehicles.
The time is now to prepare your physical security, train your people, update procedures, and begin to inculcate a culture that is vigilant for things that may not be obvious. How? Like all change, awareness that it's coming is the first step.
Want to learn more? Contact me and we'll communicate the way humans do.