Connection.
It is something we all crave as humans, and it is something that increasingly more of our everyday devices need to function efficiently.

From smart wearables, business software, smart home devices, mobiles phones, to autonomous vehicles – there is a network of distributed devices, sensors, and software that connect to the internet to share information globally.
This Internet of Things (IoT) trend in technology is on the rise and shaping the way we talk, engage and work.
How many do you think that you interact with on a daily basis?

According to Statista there are already around 21.5billion connected devices in the world. It was also predicted that Google Home would have the largest consumer IoT market share at 48% at end of 2021.

It is not just our everyday consumer products that are connected, but IoT devices are integral to civil and industrial infrastructure.
Manufacturing machines in factories, warehouses, robotic systems, and logistics are already intelligent. Working smarter and faster, reducing costs, and lowering human error.

Highways, street furniture (traffic lights, sensors, cameras, signals, etc), and smart buildings are all part of city infrastructure that will become increasingly interconnected.

Additionally, soon to be common sight on these roads will be autonomous vehicles, which work by mapping surroundings based on sensors in and outside the vehicle and connected to roadside networks known as V2I (vehicle to infrastructure). We are talking about personal transportation, as well as commercial fleets.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have recently funded the Secure Connected Transport Challenge which is working towards moving the UK to a more connected commercial vehicle future, and CyberHive are a key partner in this project.

Looking at the undeniable fact that our lives are, and will continue to be, ever meshed with connected devices, we need to be absolutely sure that these devices are secure. As well as the sensitive and critical data they send, whether that be location data showing where we are (or for potential criminals when we’re not at home), or even control data that has the potential to cause physical damage if an autonomous vehicle is compromised.
This is a colossal problem as hackers have already been able to breach smart devices, turn gadgets into spy cameras, and even play havoc with our utilities, like the recent cyber attacks which have disrupted fuel distribution.

Cyber security can take a backseat in the design process of connected devices in the rush for innovation and hackers then take advantage of any vulnerabilities that they can. The penalties are clear and potentially costly.

The growing concern about the safety of these devices have sparked the Government to look at provisions for the security and infrastructure of interconnectable products – The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.

Whilst we are waiting for this Bill to be passed, is there anything we can do to protect our IoT?
Is there a solution on the market that will help improve the security of these connected devices?

CyberHive Connect is a new connectivity solution that provides post-quantum encryption, bringing a whole new level of cybersecurity, future proofing the protection of sensitive data. The technology is lightweight and easy to deploy, roll out can be achieved in minutes via any location using an app, reducing administrative burden.
It can even be tied to an individual application, thus providing some of the benefits of the much more expensive and complex ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) approach without the need to deploy it on every single application across an entire organisation.

By using point-to-point connectivity, it eliminates infrastructure bottlenecks that can cause frustrating slow-down of critical applications at peak times.
Another huge advantage is that in the event of an internet connection drop, Connect automatically re-joins within milliseconds minimising any disruption.

For more info on CyberHive Connect, and how it could protect your businesses devices, contact [email protected]