A fully connected world isn’t as far off as you might think. Gartner says 5.5 million new “things” are being connected every day, and by 2020, there will be 21 billion connected devices in the market.
Connectivity has its perks, but it also has risks. Automated data sharing on an “Internet of Everything” scale is an invitation to hackers, especially when security isn’t built into every connected device.
As ZDNet writer Danny Palmer explains, even your connected teapot is at risk. But it’s not really about hacking your teapot – it’s about using your teapot as a way into your network and right to your financial data, health records, identity information, and whatever else hackers deem profitable. And the risk doesn’t stop at data—physical safety is also at risk. There have already been reports of connected car hacks.
There is no room to be lax in securing data and IoT devices. As the number of connected devices grows, so does the potential threat for a massive IoT breach. Palmer’s conclusion is a call to action—the industry as a whole needs to make security a priority, which is something the Smart Card Alliance’s Internet of Things Security Council is doing.
The council brings together stakeholders from different industries and backgrounds to work together to solve the privacy and security problems facing IoT. If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Smart Card Alliance, you can find membership information here.
