Last week I had the opportunity to attend ISC West billed at the “largest security industry trade show in the U.S.” Held annually at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas the show features over 1000 exhibitors and is attended by over 28000 security professionals.
IoT Vendors at Connected Security 2016
Make no mistake ISC West is largely a physical security conference. The sheer number of cameras, access control solutions, retractable electronic bollards, electrified fencing and oddly skin care vendors was staggering.
For the first time the show included the Connected Security Expo a cybersecurity conference within the larger conference. A recognition that many of the aforementioned vendors now manufacture internet connected devices that need to be secured (with the probable exception of the skin care vendors).
I was pleasantly surprised at both the execution and content of the expo. A successful conference for me is largely defined by what I learned. My thoughts about the conference based on my multiple personalities, err personas…
As a Technologist – Very Cool. As a corporation you can actually buy a drone fleet and patrol your perimeter, then deploy a robot to investigate and intercept violators. All remotely controlled and monitored.
As a CISO – Abject Fear. Very few of these IoT device manufacturers appear to have any expertise in cybersecurity. I’ve probably spent more time thinking about their supply chain and secure software practices than they have.
As a Security Entrepreneur – Unlimited business opportunities abound. See CISO thoughts above.
We can expect 200 billion new devices to come online by 2020 according to Matthew Rosenquist of Intel. Many of these devices will impact life and safety. Vehicle control systems and medical devices are examples. The bad news is that a significant amount of blood will be spilled in the next few years. Innovation has always outpaced cybersecurity but now the consequences of failure include the likelihood that people will die.
Are we ready for this connected future? We had better be. There is no other choice.