The Internet of Things: Why Should I Care?
During a session at the 2017 RIMS annual conference, Brent Reith and Lora Figgat explore the internet of things and its potential impact on governments, businesses and the property and casualty insurance industry. Brent is SVP Team Leader Professional Risk at Aon Solutions and Lora is Risk Manager – Liability at Avaya, Inc.
Here are some statistics regarding IoT growth rates:
10 billion devices were connected to the internet in 2015
34 billion devices connected to internet by 2020
$6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next 5 years
Risks associated with IoT are security, failure to understand complexity, downstream impacts of DDOS, system compromise, data privacy concerns, unexpected uses of data heightened security, product failure, malfunction, and product liability.
The internet of things drives the need for ERM. The integrated risk philosophy is no longer optional. There needs to be balance of all departments including HR Wellness programs, Marketing, Maintenance, Security, Fleet/Inventory management, legal and IT to make sure the company works as a cohesive group.
The problems that keep us from masking cyberspace more secure will slow the process in IoT security. Some IoT best practices are to discover and classify IoT devices the instant they connect to the network, establish a baseline of normal in your organization, enforce security updates and end-of life plans, security standards for vendors, and recognize IoT as a long term strategy worth investing in. These practices will mitigate the risk associated with IoT.
Companies should create a comprehensive incident response plan. This plan should include the following:
Scenario planning to make sure what could possibly happen to us. We need to focus on our customer.
Manage reputation risk and make sure to manage the communication around the event. Be honest and open.
Continue operations is important.
Failure is nearly guaranteed, so work on being resilient.
This plan must be developed and practices.
The internet of things might seem scary but actually it can be used to benefit companies as long as it is used correctly. There are so many devices connected the internet collecting data at all times. To correctly use this information collected and to not have this information reach the hands of the wrong people, you need to have the right people in the right places and all departments in your company working together.