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Security and Iot

Tim's Thoughts

If you own a business - I pose a question: Would your executive team be happy to discuss a merger in a meeting room equipped with smart speakers and cameras? Would you feel secure to discuss confidential information openly?

The World of Security and Iot

A bit of background about me, in the morning I like to sit at my local café and sip on a short black with one sugar. It’s a good time to catch up on local news and people watch before I start the day. It comes to no surprise that humans are creatures of habit - same people, every morning, same orders and same routine. It made me wonder if security camera’s saw what I was observing, routine after routine, day after day.

Who is on the other side of that camera watching? I wonder what they’re like? What their routine is? What they’re looking for, or what they notice around me that I don’t notice? How secure is that line as it transmits from camera to screen? For all I know the gentlemen with the Fedora two tables down hammering away on his laptop is logging into his internet banking as we speak? Are his keystrokes being watched? I pondered over this while I finished off my coffee, left my table and didn’t give it a second thought until today.

Security is one of the biggest issues that IT managers face when it comes to the big bold world of the Internet of Things (IoT). For those of you who aren’t familiar with IoT, it’s the communication between all of the technology around us, think of it like an ecosystem of devices that all talk to one another.

Something like that video system set up in the café is constantly collecting data - and in many cases, this data can be sensitive. As that Gentlemen tapped away his internet banking details, he’d surely want this data to be kept secure but what I’ve noticed thus far is that IoT’s security track record has been somewhat abysmal. Too many quick-connect video devices give little thought to security such as, encrypting data, and even some of the higher quality systems lack capabilities. Imagine if the guy in the purple t-shirt who was sitting in the far corner had hacked into that video feed and watched as Fedora entered his details. The café likely wouldn’t know and neither would Fedora himself.

This got me thinking about our own systems at Aten, for example our VE8952; and all the things our IT managers do to keep our lines secure. It’s only fitting that governments and corporations have growing concerns about the risks presented in the IoT security space. Many governments have published their own guidelines around the security of Video connected IoT devices. Some organisations have taken precautionary measures, such as requiring unique passwords, encryption and regular updates on Video IoT devices, while others now have dedicated teams to provide a point of contact so anyone can report a vulnerability.

IoT connects the digital world and the physical world, allowing hacking into devices which can have real-world consequences of a significant nature. That’s why investing in good quality KVM and AV products that have the right level of security and encryption is paramount, so that as data passes through from camera to screen, it remains secure.

If you own a business - I pose a question: would your executive team be happy to discuss a merger in a meeting room equipped with smart speakers and cameras? Would you feel secure to discuss confidential information openly?