This is what happened in London recently, over 30 companies—BT, Vodafone, Intel, and Broadcom to name a few—came together to form the Internet of Things Security Foundation (ITSF). Tired of their industry taking the blame for security breaches, this group of companies has set out to take action and do something about it.
They want their industry to examine the devices they plan to design for vulnerabilities, which could lead to someone easily hacking into your mobile phone, for instance, and seeing things they or anyone for that matter should not see. In fact, it seems as if most hackers have made it a hobby to hack into people’s personal e-mails and pictures and release them on the internet.
This is exactly what the Internet of Things Security Foundation plans to stop. They want to spread alertness amongst their fellow colleagues about designing internet-connected gadgets and devices, keeping in mind the potential security risks it may be vulnerable to.
The problem of stealing personal data from internet-connected devices has become so prevalent that even celebrities and politicians with added security measures aren’t spared. Do you remember the mass hack of celebrity pictures that went viral?
Stars such as Jennifer Lawrence, Lena Dunham of the TV show Girls, Kristen Dunst, and Lea Michele from Glee were just a handful of the few stars whose privacy was invaded. Presidential nominee Hilary Clinton came under fire for using a private email address than a government sponsored one when her emails became public knowledge when a hacker compromised her account.
Anyhow, the point is that this newly formed foundation plans to educate and encourage the industry to take measures to secure hardware or walk into a problem inadvertently. With the advent of consumer products offering access to the internet, it has become critical for the industry collectively to take a step to strengthen security of their devices.
John Moor, from the NMI industry, is one of the industry participants behind the idea. He explains how easy it is for hackers to use the simplest tools that people would never think of to hackand steal data. In this instance, baby monitors and cars. Do consumers have to be afraid of every device they own now?
If all goes as planned not under the ITSFs watch, as they plan to change the focus of members in their industry by coming up with solutions, as he puts it, “to make it safe to connect.” The foundation will educate its members about how they can make it harder for hackers to get into the smart devices. They will discuss solutions on how they can do that effectively.
Currently, there is a pool of consumers, even if small, that is not fully ready to adopt products that connect to the internet, as they deem them unsafe.
What will the outcome be? Will the Internet of Things Security Foundation succeed in their aim? Only time will tell!
Be the first to comment on "Will the Launch of Internet of Things Security Foundation Put a Stop to Security Breaches?"