The Emergence of a New Wild West in Cyberspace
Bubble 2.0
In the Bubble 2.0 scenario the business models for monetizing the internet will once again implode, very much like the dot-com crash in the years 1997-2000. Here the security threat perceived by CLTC is the huge amount of data accrued by internet companies. Today, data is considered one of the biggest assets of these companies. When the bubble bursts, business owners and shareholders will scramble to quickly sell off those datasets to recuperate some of the losses. In the ensuing chaos, no one will be able to control what happens to that data, according to the report. "There will simply be too many datasets of uncertain quality and unclear source flooding a poorly organized market all at once - almost the definition of a fire sale. [...] This would present a major challenge for legal authorities trying to 'regulate' as best they could the raucous fire sale. Exactly who is buying the data will be difficult to determine."
Intentional Internet of Things
Scenario 4 assumes massive adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT). In our present day, there are already so many concerns about the security of the IoT that some have dubbed it the IoV, the Internet of Vulnerabilities. The threats are plentiful: IoT devices often leave the factory without proper security because manufacturers pay too little attention to it, customers don't ask for it and governments don't regulate it. Another vulnerability is the sheer volume. If the IoT takes off, billions of devices will newly come online. All in need security maintenance such as frequent firmware updates and patches. To organize that at the scale of billions will prove to be a daunting task. Moreover, replacing legacy devices that are no longer supported with software updates, is quite the logistical challenge when they are as ubiquitous as sand on the beach.
In the Bubble 2.0 scenario the business models for monetizing the internet will once again implode, very much like the dot-com crash in the years 1997-2000. Here the security threat perceived by CLTC is the huge amount of data accrued by internet companies. Today, data is considered one of the biggest assets of these companies. When the bubble bursts, business owners and shareholders will scramble to quickly sell off those datasets to recuperate some of the losses. In the ensuing chaos, no one will be able to control what happens to that data, according to the report. "There will simply be too many datasets of uncertain quality and unclear source flooding a poorly organized market all at once - almost the definition of a fire sale. [...] This would present a major challenge for legal authorities trying to 'regulate' as best they could the raucous fire sale. Exactly who is buying the data will be difficult to determine."
Intentional Internet of Things
Scenario 4 assumes massive adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT). In our present day, there are already so many concerns about the security of the IoT that some have dubbed it the IoV, the Internet of Vulnerabilities. The threats are plentiful: IoT devices often leave the factory without proper security because manufacturers pay too little attention to it, customers don't ask for it and governments don't regulate it. Another vulnerability is the sheer volume. If the IoT takes off, billions of devices will newly come online. All in need security maintenance such as frequent firmware updates and patches. To organize that at the scale of billions will prove to be a daunting task. Moreover, replacing legacy devices that are no longer supported with software updates, is quite the logistical challenge when they are as ubiquitous as sand on the beach.
Read full article
Hide full article
Discussion (1 comment)