‘Internet of Things’ brings new security problems
The rise of the internet of things is the greatest emerging threat in cyber security, according to world-renowned industry expert Mikko Hypponen.
Mr Hypponen said it’s much harder to protect household appliances because you can’t install a security product like Norton Anti-Virus on them.
“If something is described as ‘smart’ what you should be hearing is ‘vulnerable’. A smart phone is a vulnerable phone and a smart watch is a vulnerable watch,” he told the Irish Independent at Dublin Information Sec 2018, a cybersecurity conference organised by Independent News & Media.
“If people are thinking: ‘Why would somebody hack my connected fridge or microwave oven or coffee machine?’, the motive typically isn’t to gain access to the device, it’s to gain access to the network. The weakest link in networks typically isn’t our computers – it’s our connected devices.
Also speaking at the event was ‘People Hacker’ and star of Channel 4’s ‘Hunted’ Jenny Radcliffe.
She is an expert in how human beings can be the biggest vulnerability in a company’s cybersecurity defences and said most hackers use some element of “social engineering” in their schemes – trying to deceive or manipulate people into handing over the information the hacker is seeking.
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