You Are Number Six! I Am Not A Number! | The Importance Of Identity In The Connected World

While some people may look at their mobile phone and think that it is more than just a phone … that it actually has a persona. Some may even give it a name. Or, naturally, they use the name given to the personal assistant that resides “in” the phone as they call for it … “Hey!”

The same goes for the digital personal assistant devices taking over many homes. Similar commands and conversations are taking place with these named “things.” Many of these devices are finding their way into the workplace as well. Sure—why not?

For those fortunate enough to get to play with robots, there are likely units that get proper names—even if only a code name for the project—and therefore, these robots have an identity. One could argue they have a persona as well.

But, what about the rest of the connected “things” that we use in our homes to make us more efficient? And at work to help us do our jobs? And in our hospitals to deliver better patient care? And in our cities to help streamline traffic and the overall flow of stuff throughout the neighborhood? What about our scooters bikes, cars, trucks, planes, trains, and boats? And what about all of the sensors that collect data from—and feed data to—all of these other things so they can operate properly?

Do these things have personas?
Do they have identities?

What happens in a world where these things don’t actually have an identity and there is no way for anyone (or any machine) to identify these things and to tell them apart from the rest of the devices? What happens when they do have an identity, but the means with which they have been assigned that identity is flawed? Ultimately, how does the existence or non -existence of an identity for every device connected to the Internet change the way we deploy, use, and manage all this stuff?

Can we survive in a massively-connected world if we don’t get the identity angle of all this correct?

How can you be sure?

As I connect with Emily, Dean, and Ted, we look at the current state of security in IT, OT, IoT, and ICS — and the connections between these different environments.

Together, we explore how identity plays a critical role in ensuring a safe environment that can be traced to specific sensors, devices networks, and people. And, with the massive numbers of things hitting the market—and our society—we attempt to answer the question surrounding our ability (or lack thereof) to scale the controls and protections to minimize—or perhaps even eliminate—excessive exposure to risk introduced by these things.

Finally, we also look at the relationships formed within this ecosystem. What relationships do people build with their devices? What relationship do these devices have with the networks to which they connect? What relationship gets established between the devices—both on a 1:1 perspective and a 1:many or many:many perspective?

Listen in to learn more … just as I did as we began to dig into this topic.

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