A new report published by Research and Markets projects that the Internet of Things (IoT) security market will increase from $6.89 billion in 2015 to $28.90 billion by 2020.
“With the technological advancement and increasing application of networking, the concern for security has become a global phenomenon and its intensity is increasing every day,” the researchers explained in a report summary.
“Prior to the emergence of IoT, the adverse effect of threats was limited to theft of money and intellectual properties. Now, the effect can lead to loss of human life, hacking of critical infrastructures like electricity and nuclear power grids, organizational productivity, and even national intelligence.”
The researchers also noted that mandatory government regulations pertaining to data protection has augmented investment in IoT security.
“This has acted as a major driving force for the IoT security market,” the report summary continued. “Additionally, the growth of social media and diverse reach of IoT has contributed towards the growth of market. However, the lack of awareness regarding security and the complexity of security infrastructure are holding the growth of the IoT security market.”
As we’ve previously discussed on Rambus Press, the current security paradigm associated with the mobile and PC world is undeniably flawed. Indeed, serious or even critical vulnerabilities disclosed on an almost daily basis are patched with hurriedly coded software and firmware updates.
Simon Blake-Wilson, a VP at Rambus’ Cryptography Research Division, emphasizes that while a ‘good enough’ approach may have been tolerated for smartphones and tablets, the industry cannot afford to relegate security to a tertiary concern for an IoT that may very well ultimately affect every aspect of our daily lives.
“A new paradigm, designed from the ground up to provide secure foundations for connected devices, is clearly long overdue,” he concluded. “Devices need to be secured throughout their lifecycle from chip manufacture, to day-to-day deployment, to decommissioning.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Ted Harrington, a partner at Independent Security Evaluators and organizer of the annual DEFCON hacker conference, recently said he was not at all optimistic about a secure IoT, at least in the short-term. As Harrington tells Inverse, IoT security “will get worse, potentially a lot worse, before it gets better.”
According to Harrington, new technology typically follows three predictable steps: Innovation, (similar) products that hit the marketplace without proper security, and pressure from the community to tighten up security.
“We are at the very, very, very front edge of that second phase,” Harrington opined. “We have a long way to go before we get to the third phase.”
To be sure, he says, the current trust model for the IoT is broken.
“Meaning, connected devices inherently trust each other, when in fact they should inherently distrust each other,” he added. “Don’t get lost in the hype with how exciting IoT is without balancing it with the risk that comes along with IoT.”
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