Cisco: Internet of Things Tips Scales In Favor Of Bad Guys?

A week from this Wednesday, the Security Ledger is hosting The Security of Things Forum: a day-long event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that will explore the challenges of securing a global network of hundreds of billions of Internet connected devices.

[Register here for The Security of Things Forum – Security and Internet of Things: May 7, Cambridge, MA]

Blackmer said a profusion of new endpoints in enterprises will upset the balance between attackers and defenders, tipping the scales in favor of cyber criminals and other would-be attackers.
Blackmer said a profusion of new endpoints in enterprises will upset the balance between attackers and defenders, tipping the scales in favor of cyber criminals and other would-be attackers.

One of the big issues that we’ll be tackling is how the Internet of Things (or IoT) changes the security paradigm for enterprises and other large, IT-dependent organizations. Needless to say: the corporate network environment of 2020 won’t bear much resemblance to the network of 2000. But what kinds of tools and technologies will be needed to secure that environment and identify threats to the data stored on it? What security tools and strategies will go the way of the typewriter? What areas will require more investment?

So far, the focus of discussions about IoT and security has been on sensational notions – the spamming refrigerator, for example. (We’ve already weighed in on the spamming ‘fridge controversy here.) But such conversations obscure the real challenge that the Internet of Things will pose to existing IT protection paradigms. To help us sort out what the future for IT and IT security might look like, we invited Marc Blackmer of Cisco Systems into the Security Ledger studios for a chat. Marc is one of the featured speakers at The Security of Things Forum. He told us that one of the immediate challenges of the IoT is that the profusion of intelligent and IP-enabled devices is upsetting the power balance between attackers and defenders. Hear Marc’s thoughts on IoT and security using the links below!

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