The Internet of Things (IoT) has completely changed our lives as we are now able to interact with other people, and our own things, wherever we are and whenever we want to. The Internet of Things has arisen naturally as we have smartphones that have apps that can then control our lights and TVs.
We have cars with Wi-Fi hotspots inside of them and satellite navigation that is always connected. There are, as a matter of fact, very few places that are not embedded in internet technologies. Even the most organic and natural coffee bar has Wi-Fi and a Square for business transactions.
This has made our daily lives much easier and simpler as we often only need our phones to conduct a full day of business. The side effect, however, is that we are now more susceptible to cyberattacks than ever before as our private data is no longer private and our devices are interconnected on all fronts.
New Technology, New Risks
The cost of plunging headfirst into the future is that risk will increase exponentially and in kind. The risk, however, is not only foreseeable but a known hazard.
Companies like Symantec and AVG are always developing new firewalls and protection methods to keep your devices out of the hands of criminals. However, these specialized developments are fighting to keep up the pace with the rapid change that the technologies industries are going through right now.
The modern age is seeing something else altogether, an interconnected world that can be used to collect all of our data at any time.
Cybersecurity Must Evolve to Deal With Threats
This means, in simple terms, that cybersecurity will come down to a constantly evolving defense strategy that prevents hackers from controlling your everyday tasks. Our collective reliance on technology is not a bad thing, but, is highly exploitable.
We must remember to always be smart about how we store our passwords and how loosely we share our data with companies. Diligence is half of the cybersecurity and the other half is welcoming incoming technologies that will assist us in protecting data and developing software. There is no shortage of malware out there.
We must always remember that persistence is key and that innovation unlocks change. IoT has created a world in which every part of our lives can be accessed illegally. While this is seen as a frightening prospect to many, the truth is that exploits are typically thwarted by keen eyes.
However, in recent times, we have had massive successful hacking endeavors such as the Equifax hack and the Target hack.
These brought cybersecurity to the forefront of our minds as we panicked about the future of our information and what constant interconnectivity truly means. We must not let this dissuade us from our collective efforts and should by no means stall our progress in the name of false safety. In truth, large corporations are the biggest targets and many individuals are often spared in such attacks.
Cybersecurity and IoT Companies Will Have to Work Together
Cybersecurity, however, will have to evolve to meet the new security demands brought on by IoT. Now a company must account for interconnected camera systems, telephones, automobiles and even refrigerators.
Full faith can be granted to these cybersecurity companies if we not only use practical common sense but have a continuous goal of safety as a whole. Having a phone that can control our house or a personal assistant that can schedule our meetings has made life much easier and should never be thrown away due to fear.
Conclusion
Security companies have quite a lot on their plate as the IoT and cybersecurity technologies continuously advance. In the parallels are hackers who are constantly creating new bugs and exploits to crash systems and steal data.
The difficulty then, for cybersecurity companies, is creating tools that will protect all of the different devices that are now integral to an individual's life. There are no more households with just one computer or a person with just one internet connected device.
We must protect the millions upon millions of devices that are used every second of the day and that job alone is both awesome and tremendous. For cybersecurity Professionals everywhere the task may seem daunting but it is manageable and will be controlled one day. Cybersecurity companies do a phenomenal job and we should never be controlled by fear.
Anthony Coggine is a HR professional turned business analyst.
