Security Courts the Internet of Things

As more physical devices connect to the internet, I wondered about the responsibility IoT manufacturers have in building strong security systems within devices they create. There’s nothing like a lapse in security that could potentially halt the growth of a business or bring more cybersecurity awareness to a board.

I discussed these matters with this week’s Inside Out Security Show panel – Cindy Ng, Forrest Temple, Kilian Englert and Mike Buckbee.

First in line to be discussed was the shocking revelation that while car manufacturers enabled users to control their vehicles with an app, they never thought through what happens when it’s sold. What’s the harm? In the words of the car owner, “If I were a criminal, I could’ve stolen the car.”

In another alarming article, a security researcher recently discovered that anyone can connect and control a cuddly CloudPets via Bluetooth, recording private conversations with the built-in microphone. If you’re a parent who finds this IoT toy a cute way to leave messages with your child, your privacy may be at stake.

Additional recent news articles we discussed include:

AWS North Virginia facility outage
Speedy data transfer via the blink of its hard drive LED light indicator

Tool of the week: Chaos Monkey is a resiliency tool that helps applications tolerate random instance failures.