K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
After years of Internet of Things (IoT) deployments, the technology has both proven its inherent value and emphasized the need for better IoT security. Due to the current weak state of IoT security, we have seen a series of attacks on IoT systems that seriously damaged privacy. Some recent examples include attacking baby webcams; critical infrastructure, as seen through the Colonial Pipeline; and banking systems, as seen through Mirai.
Accomplishing the needed level of IoT security will require all players—politicians, tech titans, IoT innovators and consumers—to come together in an unofficial coalition. Such a coalition is essential right now, because the IoT has become rather like the Wild West, a lawless world where only the toughest survive.
The Current Patchwork of IoT Security Standards The current weak state of IoT security is not due to a lack of trying. Politicians, leaders and industry experts alike know that security is needed everywhere, especially in the IoT. Unfortunately, we have seen a patchwork of different standards and regulations emerge instead of the global set required for practical security. Because of this patchwork, it is a nightmare to develop products that work globally.
Now we have an innovator problem, because the best ideas will not get to market without security. IoT innovators face the challenge of building products that comply with this array of ever-changing standards. Meeting this challenge is possible when you have tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to devote to your implementation. For smaller IoT innovators, it's impossible.
Tech titans like Amazon, Apple, and Google rely on IoT innovators to create the countless number of products that make the IoT ecosystem robust and versatile. These tech titans create the platforms that enable the innovators to do what they do best: innovate. Until now, there has been a lack of interoperability between the tech titans, who share no standard platform, communications protocols or security requirements. This makes building IoT products even more of a headache for IoT innovators, since they must account for the requirements not just for one platform, but for several.
Uniting the IoT Industry To clean up this mess, the tech titans and IoT innovators have come together for the benefit of all by creating the new "Matter" standard (see Alliance for IoT Brand Matter Focuses on Standards). As Albert Einstein predicted, creating Matter required a tremendous amount of energy, but it was worth it. The Matter standard, under the Connectivity Standards Alliance, is expected to be released late 2021 or early 2022. With the Matter standard, all IoT products can use a single set of standard protocols to communicate. Security requirements for Matter are uniform and easy for both users and for innovators. The standard works in harmony with the worldwide effort to establish requirements for IoT security and privacy through legislation or regulation.
This standardization will provide IoT innovators, who do not have the capacity to fill the role of security expert, with a better way to implement long-term security without sacrificing time to market. They need a solid and well-secured platform to build upon, including hardware and pre-integrated software. IoT innovators also often need overall guidance on security, which Matter can provide.
Additionally, standardization will set IoT innovators up for the future, as it allows for patches and updates of devices to be done securely over the air. Further, it helps device makers to build in thorough IoT security from the get-go. In this way, they are preparing themselves as much as possible for changes to laws and regulations in the future, so they do not have to revise their products or be excluded from certain regions.
Continue reading: https://www.rfidjournal.com/teaming-up-to-secure-the-iot
Accomplishing the needed level of IoT security will require all players—politicians, tech titans, IoT innovators and consumers—to come together in an unofficial coalition. Such a coalition is essential right now, because the IoT has become rather like the Wild West, a lawless world where only the toughest survive.
The Current Patchwork of IoT Security Standards The current weak state of IoT security is not due to a lack of trying. Politicians, leaders and industry experts alike know that security is needed everywhere, especially in the IoT. Unfortunately, we have seen a patchwork of different standards and regulations emerge instead of the global set required for practical security. Because of this patchwork, it is a nightmare to develop products that work globally.
Now we have an innovator problem, because the best ideas will not get to market without security. IoT innovators face the challenge of building products that comply with this array of ever-changing standards. Meeting this challenge is possible when you have tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to devote to your implementation. For smaller IoT innovators, it's impossible.
Tech titans like Amazon, Apple, and Google rely on IoT innovators to create the countless number of products that make the IoT ecosystem robust and versatile. These tech titans create the platforms that enable the innovators to do what they do best: innovate. Until now, there has been a lack of interoperability between the tech titans, who share no standard platform, communications protocols or security requirements. This makes building IoT products even more of a headache for IoT innovators, since they must account for the requirements not just for one platform, but for several.
Uniting the IoT Industry To clean up this mess, the tech titans and IoT innovators have come together for the benefit of all by creating the new "Matter" standard (see Alliance for IoT Brand Matter Focuses on Standards). As Albert Einstein predicted, creating Matter required a tremendous amount of energy, but it was worth it. The Matter standard, under the Connectivity Standards Alliance, is expected to be released late 2021 or early 2022. With the Matter standard, all IoT products can use a single set of standard protocols to communicate. Security requirements for Matter are uniform and easy for both users and for innovators. The standard works in harmony with the worldwide effort to establish requirements for IoT security and privacy through legislation or regulation.
This standardization will provide IoT innovators, who do not have the capacity to fill the role of security expert, with a better way to implement long-term security without sacrificing time to market. They need a solid and well-secured platform to build upon, including hardware and pre-integrated software. IoT innovators also often need overall guidance on security, which Matter can provide.
Additionally, standardization will set IoT innovators up for the future, as it allows for patches and updates of devices to be done securely over the air. Further, it helps device makers to build in thorough IoT security from the get-go. In this way, they are preparing themselves as much as possible for changes to laws and regulations in the future, so they do not have to revise their products or be excluded from certain regions.
Continue reading: https://www.rfidjournal.com/teaming-up-to-secure-the-iot
