Customers don't realize the risk of connected devices: Onvif

With the internet of things bringing in a range of devices that are interconnected, the security risks associated with them are at an all-time high. However, according to Onvif, customers don’t really realize the level of vulnerability that they are exposed to with the advent of this new era in technology.
 
Speaking at a webinar organized by the research firm Memoori, Per Bjorkdahl, Chairman of Onvif, indicated that there is a dire need for the customers to be educated at this stage. 
 
“In the security area, you really need to know what state your devices are in and development in the security industry through IP-connected devices have been really rapid,” Bjorkdahl said. “Customers are not cyber mature. They don’t see these problems really, they don’t realize the risk.”
 
He added that the tricky thing, and the interesting thing, is that the very smart people that are out there, that have a vicious purpose, will sort of somehow try to get a finger into the gut somewhere. They will plant some sort of malicious code that will open up something.
 
“So customers need to be educated about this,” he said.
 
The internet of things, by its very name, implies that everything is connected somehow. If things are connected to the internet, they would be exposed. So we are looking at things like availability vs protection – if you want to make your product or your device available, you have to somehow compromise this, Bjorkdahl pointed out.
 
Earlier if security professionals wanted to secure a device, they would seek to isolate it. But things have changed and the priority is to keep them connected.
 
“We also have IoT vendors where they look at the big number of features and benefits that are brought to us with the IoT-type of systems,” Bjorkdahl continued, adding that they often forget about the real problems behind it. To people dealing with it, security is a process, not a product.