Internet Of Things – is it safe after the hack?
“Daddy, can you unlock the iPad?” my son asked.
Internet of Things
Photo by marklittlewood1
After watching me do it three times, my 8-year-old son had figured out my code and was hacking his way into my iPad.
After a few times of watching my son, my daughter also figured out my code and was able to do the same.
Like many parents today, I dole out “screen time” for chores, schoolwork and good behavior.
And like children from previous generations, my kids are always trying to figure out how to hack my systems … whether it be my password or what they get rewarded for.
But this doesn’t worry me…
I did the same thing as a kid — of course, back then, I was fiddling with the TV and a VCR or messing with the stereo wires.
Hacking into what’s new and different is in our genes. Every generation does it to the technology that’s being introduced as a rite of passage.
Last week, you probably heard about a massive attack on the Internet by hackers. According to news reports, hackers used Internet-connected devices such as printers, scanners and cameras to mount an attack on the Internet infrastructure. And the hackers were successful … for a few hours.
You might have noticed that for about half a day, you couldn’t get into Facebook, Amazon or Netflix.
However, that was it. Half a day. And then everything went back to normal.
I don’t mean to sound blasé about it. However, the truth is that every new technology through time has been hacked in some way.
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, used to hack into telephone networks using blue boxes that could trick the phone companies … and let him call anywhere in the world for free.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, hacked student records at the age of 19 to build his first application.
If you go back and look, there aren’t any major technological innovations that didn’t get hacked.
People even today steal electricity by hacking into the grid in places like India where it is not available to everyone. In other countries, people hack into water pipes.
Internet Of Things Security: The Birth of a New Sector
The big picture to keep in mind is that despite people worrying about the security of the Internet of Things (IoT), it’s not going to stop this incredible innovation from advancing.
In fact, these attacks are going to create another big opportunity for people and companies who can stop these attacks. IoT security is, for now, just an extension of the computer-security business. However, IoT security is not the same as computer security, and it is going to become its own specialized high-value field.
Smart, skilled entrepreneurs are already creating products and services that they are hoping to sell to companies that want their IoT machines, devices and objects secured from attacks.
That’s exactly what happened in the computer business where companies like Symantec and Norton AntiVirus went from startups to become multibillion-dollar successes.
You can be sure that the IoT is going to generate its own set of security-based multibillion-dollar successes. And when these companies come up as IPOs (initial public offerings), they will be among those that I’m going to recommend in a new service that my publisher is preparing to release in the next couple of months.
If you’re OK with a bit more risk in exchange for a chance at huge returns, you’ll want to look out for our announcement about this service.
The IoT super trend is well underway and beginning to generate huge winners in the stock market. I’ve told you about the incredible gains in IoT IPOs such as Nutanix and Impinj — both stocks generated triple-digit returns in a few months for early investors.
If you’re interested in the issue of security, you should definitely read my colleague Ted Bauman’s take on IoT security. Ted is an expert in privacy and asset protection, and someone whose opinion and understanding of the issue is one that I consider when I look to protect my cyber and personal assets.
