Is Security An Afterthought In The Cyber World?

I recently read an interesting article in Engineering and Technology Magazine, entitled ‘Immature’ Internet of Things Hackable with Primitive Methods. What caught my eye was the opening paragraph that stated: “The emerging Internet of Things lags massively behind conventional computers in terms of cyber security with manufacturers failing to implement basic security practices, one researcher has demonstrated.”

That researcher was James Lyne, Global Head of Security at Sophos, who spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. During his talk, he demonstrated how to gain access to Internet-connected CCTV cameras using a simple brute force attack. The article went on to summarize many additional examples about the unsecure nature of IoT devices.

Part of the problem, Lyne said, “is the fact the market is driven by innovation and focused on marketable features instead of security and privacy concerns.” And this point, I believe, hits the nail right on the head. Our customers are very bright software engineers who are focused on developing innovative desktop applications, mobile apps, or the embedded systems that are at the core of IoT devices. While they understand the need to protect their software and IP against piracy and reverse engineering, implement a secure licensing strategy, and protect embedded systems against malicious tampering, they also recognize that they are not experienced in these areas. This is why they turn to security experts like Wibu-Systems for help. Jay Grenier of Faceware Technologies, one of our customers using our CodeMeter software protection and secure licensing platform, put it this way:

“With CodeMeter, I rest easy knowing that our technology is completely secure from hackers and reverse-engineering. With this weight lifted off my team, it allows us to focus on what’s most important in software development: creating great products.” (read the case study)

With all of the highly publicized security breaches occurring in the past few years as well as the rapid evolution of the IoT, it’s time to elevate the importance of software security. A sound security strategy should be designed into the product from the start, not as an afterthought.

View our customer case studies and see how easy it is to protect software and IP, secure embedded systems and connected devices, and securely manage licensing.