Interviews

Cyber view

by Mark Rowe

In the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Risks Report, cyber threats have been labelled as one of the key threats to worldwide economic stability. Despite this, too many businesses are still adopting an attitude of intransigence when it comes to maintaining adequate cybersecurity, according to an IT security firm.

According to the WEF report, the danger of massive incidents of data fraud or theft ranks amongst the top five most prominent global risks in terms of likelihood for 2017. Although the IoT and mobile are growing at a rapid pace, adequate steps are not being taken by enough companies to cover the accompanying risks, especially when it comes to defending mobile-based apps.

Tom Lysemose Hansen, founder and CTO of Promon, said: “The WEF’s report should be effective in bringing cybersecurity to the top of the agenda for more businesses and governments. However, our work with the Tesla project [car, pictured] has highlighted a tendency for businesses to pass the buck, especially when it comes to app security.

Promon says that with research showing that 60 per cent of UK retailers have now adopted mobile channels, and with over 30 per cent of UK e-commerce traffic now being conducted on mobile devices, hackers have a broader attack surface on which to conduct their activities. With the growth of IoT devices frequently controlled through mobile apps and an ever-increasing number of smartphones infected with malware, a data breach could have disastrous consequences.

Hansen added: “Allowing personal customer data to be compromised in the age of IoT and mobile can lead to myriad problems: these can range from the theft of personal information, to putting consumers’ physical safety at risk through the hacking of devices such as house alarms or electronic locks.”

Hansen urges IoT-focused businesses to take the initiative when securing their apps and devices, rather than seeking to lay the blame elsewhere. He added: “It is high time that companies and app developers woke up to the problem, and that businesses moved away from shifting the blame onto device manufacturers and operating systems. The WEF report should serve as a warning: the intransigent approach is the wrong one. Instead, embracing proactivity and self-responsibility is a step in the right direction.”

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