Firewall Chats, Ep. 4: The Internet of Things
Today, our fourth episode of Firewall Chats is live! In this special edition, we put the spotlight on CSID’s own Chief Innovation Officer, Adam Tyler.
Tyler’s expertise spans far across the ever-changing security landscape. He speaks frequently around the globe on identity protection and fraud detection, cybersecurity trends, and evolving hacking and attack methods. Additionally, Tyler is a passionate expert on the Internet of Things…or rather, the security of the things.
According to Cisco, there are already 10 billion things that can connect to the Internet. This number is expected to grow substantially within the next few short years. It’s predicted that by 2020, the number of devices connected to the Internet will exceed 50 billion.
“The Internet of Things is an incredible concept,” Tyler said. “It’s about accessibility. It’s about making the whole of our homes connected and manageable remotely.”
With each new device, our lives have the ability to become more convenient, more efficient. We recently wrote about how music festivals are using smart technology to make the concert-going experience more seamless. New coffee makers and household appliances can learn your preferences. Our cars are quickly evolving to contain multiple in-vehicle services, and many may soon become driverless. Our wearable devices monitor our vital signs and share how we can eat better and sleep sounder.
While these advances are exciting, the convenience of these products brings great risk to the security of our information.
“The problem is these devices are being designed with functionality first and not security,” said Tyler. “Any device that we’re connecting to the Internet and making available to the outside world can be accessed, can be pinged, can be targeted by malicious acts.”
While our smart fridge may not hold any data, the connection it shares with other devices and the Internet can jeopardize our information. Tyler is passionate about making sure listeners are aware and wary of how their data is being collected and used within this rapidly evolving world.
In this episode, Tyler helps us separate IoT fact and fiction, discusses how hackers have already interfered with smart cars, and shares tips so we can protect our information today…and tomorrow. To hear it all, listen on www.CSID.com/FirewallChats, and reach out to us on Twitter and Facebook to let us know what you think.
Save the Date: Our last episode in our pilot series will air on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and feature Encap Security’s Adam Dolby on the topics of scams, malware, and phishing attempts.
Every day we click, like, post, tag, and swipe our lives across our favorite social media channels. The big players, like Facebook and Twitter, provide a life-sharing platform for billions and billions of users. But new channels are constantly competing for our attention and information.
With all the excitement and hype surrounding podcasts like “Serial” and “This American Life,” we finally decided it was time we hosted an ear-bud friendly conversation of our own.