IoT: Is privacy a priority or an afterthought?

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Securing the hardware is essential if we are to secure the whole IoT, writes Majid Bemanian of Imagination Technologies.

By EW Staff Electronic Weekly, Oct. 04, 2017 – 

Security and privacy are two critical concerns in the IoT. Most people assume that their devices are safe and their privacy protected - on PCs and mobile devices there is a major industry effort to ensure this.

However, the IoT presents a new challenge. Most IoT devices are not built with security as a priority from the outset. Designers of smart home products may have plenty of expertise in appliance design, but little or no experience with connectivity or security. Often security is addressed through software patches as vulnerabilities appear, which leaves users exposed to attacks. Manufacturers and service providers must quickly change their approach.

So where do they start? It's important that OEMs and system integrators consider the environment in which their products will operate. Based on that, they can ascertain the threat model and determine the recommended security measures. Designing for specific threats and potential attack vectors is an important consideration since implementation costs vary.

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