“Is cybersecurity important?”
“Why do we need cybersecurity?”
If you pose these questions to 10 different Internet of Things (IoT) manufacturers, you would probably get 10 yes answers to the first question and 20 different responses to the latter. It is no doubt that the IoT industry understands the need for cybersecurity. And yet, there have been numerous reports suggesting otherwise, with incidents affecting various products from smart security cameras to smart home gadgets.
Despite good intentions from the manufacturing community to improve security, the decision of whether and how security is implemented always comes down to economics. So far, the result has not been comforting. With IoT becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives in the not-too-distant future, are we heading for a cyberapocalypse?
While part of me will remain cautious to the development, a larger part of me is seeing a brighter future. I believe there are three economic forces in play to drive better security. In my recent Journal article, I explain that good cybersecurity helps IoT manufacturers in the following ways:
- Prevents counterfeits; defends against cloning of devices or software; mitigates the risk from data tampering, theft or misuse
- Helps manufacturers and service-providers attain regulatory compliances (such as the proposed US Senate Bill “S. 734: Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019” and data privacy regulations), thereby building confidence in consumers’ minds
- Ensures a recurring revenue to manufacturers, software developers and service providers through continual product support and updates
What we will be witnessing is a shift in business models. Because users are expecting to have secure and sustainable operation on their products and services, IoT manufacturers will now be obliged to continue to enhance the security of their products while being rewarded for it. This is like how the Tesla that you buy now will become a more intelligent Tesla next year, thanks to the constant upgrades. In the end, everyone is happy.
The technology and infrastructure for this secure operation is available to us now. Let us leverage it and make our world a better place to work and live.
Editor’s note: For further insights on this topic, read Welland Chu’s recent Journal article, “Security for Internet of Things Device Manufacturers,”, ISACA Journal, volume 3, 2020.