As we progress into the Age of the “Internet of Things” seemingly everything from baby monitors to the US electric grid is vulnerable to hackers who are able to exploit lax security and wreak havoc on businesses and individuals.
Beyond the thoughts of a major catastrophic attack against the power grid which would negatively impact the flow of electrical power, disrupts travel and health facilities, causing damage and even death.
Future business disruptions will be unavoidable with malware that can disable systems; such as the Oct. attack that took down Twitter, PayPal and other major sites for hours after a hacker hijacked millions of cheap Chinese-made webcams and other devices to flood sites with crippling traffic.
Without proper cyber safety protocols in place more businesses will need to pay ransoms to hackers to restore web service and keep their data secret. Some IT departments believe that there are ways to prevent the loss of data.
Manufacturers of devices susceptible to hackers face few consequences. Many items are made in China or other places where the cost of adding Wi-Fi and chips is low and regulation is spotty.
Lawsuits against sellers of hacked gear rarely succeed. Most products are designed by firms with no security expertise and are sold with generic easy-to-guess passwords, no security updates and long shelf life. Consumers are often oblivious of the security risks, wanting inexpensive devices.
As security and privacy concern increase as well as liability increases, equipment makers will have to build more protections into devices that connect televisions, wearables, virtual reality goggles, speakers, lights, etc. Assuming that there is a real demand for the increased security on devices occurs. Millennials currently are not as concerned with privacy as prior generations, so we will see.