If you’ve been paying any attention at all to recent tech news, you’ve definitely heard the terms Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and Cybersecurity. These are undoubtedly the hottest topics in the tech and business world and moving into 2020, they seem to be at a boiling point. Both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have simply exploded, transforming every aspect of modern life: Go to work and AI filters your spam email, walk down the street and a smart car zooms past, Google something and AI auto-completes your query, come home and your digital voice assistant controls your lights ” essentially, there is no escaping this tech.
AI and the IoT are growing at exponential rates, and one of the major side-effects of the same is compromised cybersecurity. Cybersecurity professionals are in a constant state of keeping up with these developments and figuring out appropriate ways to secure our connected devices of today. At the same time, cybercriminals are quickly doing their own catching up and finding new and more advanced ways to break into systems. Both opponents have access to the same technology, making this race to the finish line an even more complicated one. This year is set to be the year when AI, IoT, and cybersecurity collide head-on, and many experts have varied predictions about what this means for the digital world.
IoT Cybersecurity Concerns
Business is currently booming in the IoT world. Consumers love the incredible level of efficiency that the IoT provides. Its demand is thus skyrocketing, with manufacturers struggling to keep up. Innovation in the IoT sphere seems never-ending, with new devices being introduced to the market on an almost daily basis. However, these innovations come with a dark side.
Every new IoT device brings with it a new port of entry, and thus, a new opportunity for cybercriminals to do damage. And with each device having its own unique function, the different ways in which cybercriminals can work continue to increase. The security vulnerabilities which the IoT introduces to a network are vast. According to the Open Web Application Security Project, the following are among the most frequent weaknesses in IoT data security:
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Insecure web interface
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insufficient authentication
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Insecure network services
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Lack of transport encryption
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Privacy concerns
As developers and consumers of the IoT, it is our responsibility to ensure that we don’t let our innovations come back to bite us. This can only be achieved by remaining aware of the nature of the threats posed by cybercriminals, as well as implementing ways to combat the same. Experts at Trusted Tech Team recommend specific ways to protect your IoT devices such as reading and understanding the terms of agreement for a particular device, segmenting your network, keeping firmware updates, avoiding public Wi-Fi and turning off IoT devices when they are not being used.
AI and the Cybersecurity Conundrum
The turnover time in regards to developments in AI and their implementation is very short. In an article on Dark Reading, Ericka Chickowski writes, heading into 2020, business and technology analysts expect to see solid applications of AI and ML accelerate. This AI boom will have a major effect on cybersecurity concerns. AI technology will make better and faster security measures for systems such as IoT networks possible. This incredible technology, however, can be used for the exact opposite purpose if it were to fall into the wrong hands. AI can be used by both camps when it comes to the battle between cybercriminals and cybersecurity experts.
On the positive side AI has made and point protection possible. As defined by Syrenna Kononovitch for Masters in Data Science, An endpoint protection program limits the paths of access from a security threat through an administrator who has control over what type of external websites and internal data a server or device has access to.
Cybersecurity professionals are luckily going into this year armed with new AI technologies such as authentication mechanisms that use facial recognition, differential privacy systems, and technology that can detect security breaches faster than any human analysts have occurred. Unfortunately, it looks like this extra ammunition will be necessary as cybercriminals are also expected to increasingly exploit the powers of AI in the coming year. These AI-powered cyberattacks include new types of malware, deep fakes, AI data-poisoning and AI powered-malware evasion.
Vigilance is Vital
While we can never be fully sure of what the future holds, we can be fairly certain that cybercriminals will continue to work hard to find new ways to exploit recent technological innovations. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the cybersecurity concerns of today, but being aware of the game, and staying observant and diligent, are crucial first steps towards safeguarding our data and devices. Thus, as we move into 2020, vigilance in the realm of technology is more vital than ever.
