INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The rise of connected devices doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon and while there are currently around 7bn IoT devices worldwide,
experts estimate that this number could be as high as 40bn by 2025.However, this rapid increase in IoT devices has some worried and
was first developed, asbestos was a great innovation that looked like a miracle material
It was widely used in construction during the 1960s and 1970s but only later did we learn that it caused cancer.In much the same way that
asbestos needed to be removed from older buildings, IoT devices with poor security could potentially lead to a lot of problems in the
around us, I guess would be characterised as IT asbestos
We are currently in the early stages of this revolution, but eventually anything that uses electricity will be online
So this is going to happen, whether we like it or not
an excellent point as smart device manufacturers are so quick to rush their products to market that they often forget to secure them before
For instance, many IoT devices use default passwords which are easily hackable or manufacturers fail to employ encryption to protect the
data sent to and from their devices.Once connectivity becomes cheaper and cheaper, many home appliances such as toasters, which don't
necessarily need to be connected to the internet, are getting a smart upgrade in order to better appeal to consumers
In the short run this could be beneficial to those that want to use an app to make toast but what happens years from now when every device
in a consumer's home is connected to the internet and vulnerable to cyberattacks?Before the IoT expands any further, device manufacturers
need to ensure they put proper security protections in place or just like asbestos, we could spend years removing them from our homes just
to protect ourselves online.Via Verdict
