How Cybersecurity Will Accelerate the Growth of IoT
As millions of devices gain Internet capabilities, they are also gaining the ability to drive the creation of everything from autonomous cars to healthcare advances. However, 98 percent of these devices are unencrypted. In order for the Internet of Things (IoT) to succeed, cybersecurity must protect these devices.
Hacking of connected devices is already on the rise. Researchers discovered a weakness in smart speaker Alexa that could allow hackers to listen in on users' conversations. In 2019, decoy servers created by cybersecurity firms detected a year-over-year increase in attack traffic of 446 percent. Even health connected devices, such as pacemakers, have been recalled over security concerns.
In light of these facts, it is clear that cybersecurity must focus on strengthening these devices' ability to resist attacks. Cybersecurity firms focus on endpoints, such as the IoT devices themselves, user interaction with the devices, and related cloud storage. They also focus on protecting the networks over which IoT devices work.
Artificial intelligence (AI) also plays a role both in securing IoT devices and in the hacking of these devices. AI, for example, can customize cybersecurity to the wide array of IoT devices that require protecting, while hackers can use AI to "data poison" devices to interfere with their ability to handle data.
As the IoT advances, so does cybersecurity. Investing in cybersecurity can help investors to support this vibrant, growing, and critical industry.