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Key Takeaways Vulnerabilities in connected products can lead to physical harm, not just data leaks. Security must be designed into products from the start.
Connected devices should process and store as little data as is required for them to perform their key functions. This ensures your business and your customers’ data are protected.
Attacks and accidents will happen despite your best efforts, so you must have a strategy in place that will help you bounce back after a disaster.
When it comes to making connected products, conversations about safety and security features have changed. Your ability to contain threats no longer depends on the corporate firewall. Everything is vulnerable to some degree, from your smart appliances to vehicles on the road and industrial machinery. The lines between data security and physical safety are also now blurred than they have ever been.
We live in an era of convergence. Traditionally, IT security systems had a focus on protecting data centers and enterprise networks. Operational Technology (OT) is different in that it works in the Industrial IOT (IIoT) landscape and works with the physical world, including machinery, environment and industry. When these two areas are combined, there is a more complex possibility for attacks, and the digital vulnerabilities can be catastrophic if not managed properly.
In other words, exposures of vulnerabilities are now longer just amounting to leaked data. There is a possibility of physical harm through harming systems, cars and pharmaceutical equipment.
Related: Your Company’s Security Strategy Has a Glaring Hole. Here’s What’s Causing It — and How to Fix It.
Strategic phase 1: Securing the product lifestyle (design to decommission)
Security is no longer something that is just optional. It is something that you clearly need for the long- and short-term survival of your business. Security by design is something that is becoming especially important today. It involves moving around security testing towards the left as you complete your development pipelines.
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