A Shift in IoT Security?
Has the earth shifted a little and I missed it? I’ve just seen the promotions for HP's new LaserJet printers. https://www8.hp.com/us/en/business-solutions/security/secure-printing.html?jumpid=va_g5ud2rj7a6
HP is trying to convince us to buy their printers because they have security features. Lets ignore for a minute any discussion of the merits of the methods they are using to secure the devices. To me the significant thing is that they are promoting security features.
This is big. They must feel that these features will help them sell printers. And given the stat from the ad – that 53% of IT managers realize printers are vulnerable to cyber crime - I can see why they think so. The proof will be if buying decisions actually get made based on these features. If so, it will force other manufactures to respond by building in security to their devices. We may, just may, see some security sanity come to the IoT space. I sure hope so.
If it doesn’t, we’ll continue down this road where no one bothers to build security into IoT devices. And things will not look pretty. So it’s nice to have hope.
Any other IoT manufactures promoting security features in their devices that I may have missed?
The Airman who became a Sailor
9 年It's a start, for sure. Time will tell if there is an increased commitment to security in IoT devices or if this is simply a marketing gimmick. Let's hope security doesn't become the new oat bran.
Kevin - i agree that we are seeing the leading edge of a change in how security is viewed. Indeed "Secure by Design" is going to be an imperative across all kinds of devices. The devil will of course be in the details. Note that the security push for IoT is actually beginning with the chip makers - INEDA SYSTEMS, Atmel Corporation and Freescale Semiconductor all tout their security capabilities. I believe though that we have to go beyond that and begin addressing security from a system-wide perspective. But its a good start. The hard task is now convincing embedded application developers and product architects to have a "security first" approach.
VP Marketing
9 年Kevin, I agree that the tide is turning. I see 2016 as the year when IoT manufacturers move from asking "why security" to asking "how do I protect my devices". At INSIDE Secure we published the Dummies guide to IoT Security to help them on their journey: https://www.insidesecure.com/IoT-Security-for-Dummies-guide
RETIRED. Former Industry Analyst; Director of IoT & Embedded Technology at VDC Research; former CISSP
9 年An even bigger shift will be when consumer product vendors start touting their security features. But I'm not holding my breath for that to happen any time soon.
At Optiv, we manage cyber risk so you can secure your full potential.
9 年Kevin Haley: it is the lack of security on IoT and SCADA devices that Attivo Networks, Inc. decided to fast-track support for these devices on our BotSink deception platform. Very exciting to provide to our customers one platform that can protect a company’s intellectual and networked physical assets!