IoT security: Are we finally turning the corner?

As October draws to a close, so does Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we can all sit back and congratulate each other on a job well done and forget about the need to think about cybersecurity for another year. If only it was that simple! The need to proactively consider security every day has never been greater, especially given that the number of connected devices is predicted to grow at unprecedented levels from approximately 20 billion today to anywhere between 50 billion through to 75 billion by 2025, depending on whose estimate you believe. The broad range is probably a good indication that experts have no true prediction on how quickly people, industry and infrastructure will adopt new technology.

This growth, in part, can be attributed to increased availability of bandwidth and new generations of mobile connectivity. The implementation of 5G networks provides superior reliability with negligible latency and will extend and empower a new wave of opportunity and innovation for connected devices. The impact is likely to be witnessed in every industry: healthcare, agriculture, logistics, transportation, you name it… in fact, it’s difficult to think of an industry that will not benefit from the advanced communication that 5G offers.

Internet and Things

Today though, take a walk down the street; the growth of consumer connected devices is there to see, connected doorbells, home-security systems, connected cars and people jogging past with their smart watches and fitness trackers, through to solar panels with real-time energy efficiency monitors. It is not only consumers automating and adopting technology for convenience though; the cities we live in are also turning to technology to offer services, bike and scooter rental stations, automated visitor kiosks and such like.

Industry and infrastructure are also on board. Industrial washing machines, pumps, carts, traffic monitoring and pollution sensors demonstrate that devices…