The most significant challenge for the internet of things (IoT) is device security. Without question, devices represent the weakest link in the IoT technology stack, the industry reckons.
“This is because devices are constrained in battery and computing power,” notes Carlos Carazo, director of IoT technology at Telefónica. “Not all security measures can be deployed.” In industrial terms, the great promise of IoT to usher in a fourth industrial revolution, is in the balance, and device makers are in the dock, charged with chasing quick bucks, instead of longer-term economic gain.
Ill-conceived gadgetry is lighting up across the global internet. “Every one of these devices is like a time bomb for enterprises,” says Lance Holloway, director of vertical security at Stanley Security.