“The internet of everything is happening and you can’t escape it!”

That was the message from Martin Lee, a security analyst at Cisco who spoke at IFSEC International 2014 in London ExCeL (download the full presentation here).

Lee explored the theme of smart buildings and the emergence of sensor-based systems that would control different aspects of a building’s operation.

“Smart buildings are profitable buildings,” said Lee before adding that if you weren’t prepared to adapt and change, then others would – and soon eclipse you.

Lee further extolled the virtue of how smart buildings would help reduce carbon footprint and surmount other environmental challenges. “If we are going to reduce energy costs we are going to need more than just stickers.”

During off-peak times sensors and ‘smart’ applications would reduce energy outputs and thus conserve energy and reduce wear and tear.

 

“Ask the question: how secure is it?”

Lee’s talk then progressed to the potential pitfalls of smarter buildings in the context of cyber security.

The huge capacity of processors means that bugs can be exploited readily. “More space capacity is enlarging our cyber security perimeter”, said Lee.

Recent incidents have already demonstrated the vulnerabilities created by the ‘internet of everything’.

Israeli students, for example, managed to hack a GPS app to create fake traffic jams, leaving a road clear for their sojourn. Even more serious, a computer glitch caused cell doors open on two occasions at a Florida prison.

A 16-hour outage of Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail and some SkyDrive services, meanwhile, was caused by the an overheating Microsoft data centre.

In light of these examples Lee sounded a note of caution: “suddenly the internet of things doesn’t seem a great idea.”

The speaker was prompted to look into his crystal ball by host Doug Cook who pointed out that “realistically, people are not going to do this [take precautions], so what’s coming?”

Lee raised the spectre of ransom attacks similar to those threatened against online bookmakers, who were warned by hackers of an intention to disrupt major sports events like the Grand National.

Lee’s tips

• Model your risk
• Ask questions and specify requirements
• Test, test and test again

Takeaway lessons

• The internet of things is happening
• Smart buildings are profitable buildings
• Poorly serviced systems will be compromised

Download the full presentation here.