IoT: Insecurity of Things or Internet of Threats?

Security leaders call for device manufacturers to buckle down on device security as the Internet of Things evolves.

CYBERSEC EUROPEAN CYBERSECURITY FORUM - Kraków, Poland - If cybersecurity was a health issue, we would call it a pandemic, Sir Julian King, European commissioner for the UK Security Union said in his opening keynote remarks here this week.
Europeans were subject to two billion data breaches last year, and the threat is poised to escalate, he said.
The Internet of Things is pushing billions of connected devices online, he noted. Last years Mirai malware attack, which mobilizes hundreds of thousands of devices as bots, highlighted the vulnerability of the Internet of Things and served as an example of what could go wrong.
Today, connectivity isnt just about phones and laptops, its about homes and hospitals, governments and electricity grids, he noted, adding that products in industrial control systems often rely on uncertified, off-the-shelf software.
Manufacturers forget security or dont give it enough profile or importance, he said. Update policies are often unclear, encryption isnt being used, and unnecessary ports, hardware, and code make attack surfaces larger than they need to be.
We need to move to a world in which there are no default passwords on connected devices, where connected devices and software are updatable for their entire lifespan, he urged.
Melissa Hathaway, president of Hathaway Global Strategies and former cybersecurity advisor for the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, called for higher software standards and said manufacturers should prioritize both security by design and safety by design.
The need to patch a product suggests it wasnt securely designed to begin with, she continued. We dont patch drugs when something is wrong; we recall them. The same goes for automobiles. Why not recall connected devices when a dangerous vulnerability is found?
The IoT is either the insecurity of things, or the Internet of threats. Its an unbelievable risk we have to manage, Hathaway said during a panel entitled Internet & Things: Will They Live Happily Ever After?
She referred to the medical device industry as an example. Products like pacemakers and insulin pumps were never designed with the idea someone would cause harm. Now theyre wireless devices that must be updated, and people have died, she added.
At some point, we need to get to a more responsible discussion about responsible disclosure and corporate responsibility, said Hathaway. We have to actually fix these problems.
Alastair Teare, CEO at Deloitte in central Europe, said the danger of the IoT is both a security and governance issue. Companies are ill-equipped to put governance around IoT security, and the government needs to engage with businesses to ensure proper frameworks are in place.
The problem is playing catchup, and were not doing very well, in my opinion, he said. Huge problems need to be addressed and we need to get on with it, because its going to get worse.
Allan Friedman, director of cybersecurity initiatives at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the US Department of Commerce, said if were going to expect manufacturers to be more secure, were going to have to be as explicit as possible.
However, he said, there is a problem with creating standards for devices connected to the IoT.
Creating standards involves using standards for static risks, he explains. However, software doesnt have static risks, and were going to end up with unknown states. Focusing on an adaptive model for risks is one of the paths forward as the IoT continues to evolve.
Perfect security is not something you can expect, Friedman said. The challenge with any certification is its a snapshot; its a moment in time. Were predicting based on certain values, and thats really hard. Most things were thought secure at one point.
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