Seven cybersecurity and privacy forecasts for 2020
Seven cybersecurity and privacy forecasts for 2020
IT Data Solutions
The developments in the area of cybersecurity are alarming. As the number of smart devices in private households increases, so do the opportunities for cyber criminals to attack, TÜV Rheinland reveals.
Uncontrolled access to personal data undermines confidence in the digital society. The logistics industry and private vehicles are increasingly being targeted by hackers.
“From our point of view, it is particularly serious that cybercrime is increasingly affecting our personal security and the stability of society as a whole,” explains Petr Láhner, Business Executive Vice President for the business stream Industry Service & Cybersecurity at TÜV Rheinland.
“One of the reasons for this is that digital systems are finding their way into more and more areas of our daily lives. Digitalization offers many advantages – but it is important that these systems and thus the people are safe from attacks.”
Uncontrolled access to personal data could destabilize the digital society
In 2017, Frenchwoman Judith Duportail asked a dating app company to send her any personal information they had about her. In response, she received an 800-page document containing her Facebook likes and dislikes, the age of the men she had expressed interest in, and every single online conversation she had had with all 870 matching contacts since 2013.
The fact that Judith Duportail received so much personal data after several years of using a single app underscores the fact that data protection is now very challenging. In addition, this example shows how little transparency there is about securing and processing data that can be used to gain an accurate picture of an individual’s interests and behavior.
Smart consumer devices are spreading faster than they can be secured
Smart speakers, fitness trackers, smart watches, thermostats, energy meters, smart home security cameras, smart locks and lights are the best-known examples of the seemingly unstoppable democratization of the “Internet of many Things”.
Smart devices are no longer just toys or technological innovations. The number and performance of individual “smart” devices is increasing every year, as these types of devices are quickly becoming an integral part of everyday life.
It is easy to see a future in which the economy and society will become dependent on them, making them a very attractive target for cyber criminals. Until now, the challenge for cybersecurity has been to protect one billion servers and PCs. With the proliferation of smart devices, the attack surface could quickly increase hundreds or thousands of times.
