Fitness-tracking bracelets. Smart refrigerators. Internet-accessible home security cameras. These devices--which are not traditional computers but yet communicate via the Internet--are all examples of the rapidly expanding "Internet of Things (IoT)."

While the IoT has brought us cool, life-improving technology that might have been considered science fiction just a few years ago, it also introduces various security and privacy concerns.

On Monday I attended the National Cyber Security Alliance's (NCSA's) Cybersecurity Summit at the NASDAQ in New York City, at which various experts discussed securing the IoT.

Here are some interesting, and important, takeaways:

The IoT is growing rapidly
50-billion
IoT is highly personal
People are realizing that IoT devices create security concerns
IoT is industrial, not just consumer facing
Communications create serious security concerns
Security of IoT devices degrades with time
Consumers will ultimately demand better security
IoT devices are often easy to impersonate,
We are way behind
We have the opportunity to get IoT security right

Please feel free to discuss this article with me. I'm on Twitter at @JosephSteinberg.

 

Published on: Oct 26, 2015
Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you'll never miss a post.