Rahul Tyagi, CEO and Founder of SECQAI discussed the security risks and need for stringent cybersecurity in connected devices ecosystems on the latest episode of IoT Unplugged.
Tyagi’s position in a company that develops memory-safe semiconductor devices incorporating post-quantum cryptography lent his expertise well to the conversation of cybersecurity, which may be a more discussed topic now, but there remain challenges: as Tyagi revealed on the episode, 2024 marked one of the worst years for attempted cyber attacks.
“One of the big challenges we’ve faced in 2024 more so than an other year is that we’re seeing a lot of geopolitical tension around the globe,” said Tyagi. “The other big challenge we’ve started to see is because of this interconnected world, there’s a lot of dependency between one place and another. If we have a software provider in one part of the world providing services to someone else, if that provider goes idown it can have a widespread impact.”
One infamous example of this occured last year, when Crowdstrike’s attempt to push through an update on its platform resulted in a worldwide IT outage – and banks, media outlets, and airlines, to name a few, ground to a halt.
A common misconception is that cyber attacks only target large enterprises, but Tyagi stressed that small businesses and IoT manufacturers often understimate their risk exposure. Cyber criminals exploit IoT devices not necessarily for direct infiltration purposes, but to use them as tools for large-scale attacks, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
The growing number of unsecured devices, including household appliances like smart fridges and kettles, also presents a significant security risk. Manufacturers of these devices, focused primarily on product functionality, can neglect robust security measures, unlike large financial institutions that are well aware of their attack vectors.
Tyagi concluded by emphasising the need for proactive security measures across the entire IoT industry – not just at consumer level. Government initiatives such as the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act are steps in the right direction, but an industry-wide commitment is essential.
To hear Tyagi’s insights into cybersecurity in connected ecosystems, listen into the full podcast episode, which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and at the link below.
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