Top IoT Services Respond to a Global Security Crisis

IoT -the Internet of Things is considered the "next big thing" in technology and has proven to be the most rapidly expanding sector. However, it is also considered the least secure.

Ask yourself would you protect your home, business, industry with simple security fixes? Or would you turn to pros?

Online tech “security” reports usually recommend users on IoT safety with simple advice like creating strong passwords or making sure their IoT devices are up to date. While these are advice are well given and well intended they may not hold in face of new hacking trends and cyber attacks.

The risks with IoT is the large number of devices connected. Paradoxically every IoT is a network in itself. IoT devices can also be “stringed” to be used in a single cyberattack.

Cyber-IoT-attack trends show risks to be; IoT device damages, access to sensitive information, sabotage, botnet attacks and hacker ransom attacks, among others.

Security Today reported that 31 billion IoT devices were estimated to be installed in 2020. Another 35 billion are estimated to be installed in 2021. By 2025 IoT devices will exceed 75 billion. The market represents over 1 trillion USD and is expanding rapidly.

IoT devices go far beyond the smart doorbell or smart oven. There are five types of IoT applications; Consumer -which include domestic gadgets, Comercial -which compromise healthcare and transports systems, Industrial IIoT, Infrastructure IoT and Military Things IoMT.

So who stands out when it comes to Professional IoT Security Services?

Avast Smart Life

Avast Smart Life the company's solution for IoT Security is driven by Artificial Intelligence. Its Smart Home Security version is designed for homes and families.

Smart Life is programmed to be aware at all times which devices are connected to the network. Its AI will learn how these devices function normally. This way it will be able to detect unusual behavior rapidly and shut down in real-time.

The launch of Avast Smart Life is imminent. Avast is asking all interested clients to submit their emails so they can be the first to run the system once it is launched.

Verizon Security Credential

Verizon Security Credential is a IoT Security software designed for commercial developments to keep productive and protected. It brings to the table long years of real IoT Security operation.

It is designed in three layers of protection; security for devices and apps, data encryption and trusted users and device authentication.

Verizon has been using the system to opèrate IoT Security for its 4G LTE network which is the US largest 4G LTE network. For years Verizon has been prefectioning the service. It has encountered over 200 thousand security incidents around the globe.

The program limits and checks employee credentials, sets resources level access, keeps tracks of wireless connections and data apps and encrypted data and privacy. This way it detects “outsiders” and prevents botnets, N-GO, EGO, organized and social hacker attacks.

ThingWorx IIOT Platform

PTC ThingWorx IIOT Platform is designed specifically for the Industrial sector.

The company explains that industries today are faced with a double-edged sword dilemma. On the one hand they are being pressed by global developments to face challenges which can only be solved through IIoT solutions and on the other hand they face the complex management of IIoT.

PTC differentiates from other services with ThingWorx IIoT platform by offering an integral approach to IIoT systems. From efficiency to optimization, to revenue maximization and accelerating innovation as well as reducing costs in a safe environment.

Google Cloud IoT Solutions

Google Cloud IoT Solutions like PTC takes on a holistic approach for IoT Solutions incorporating security as well as an integral management. It is designed to improve and monitor Businesses.

Google Cloud uses layer security applications -granting permissions, setting roles and encrypting data and information. Google Cloud IoT Solutions knows when a device has been compromised because it keeps track of its behaviour and its identity. It also keeps tabs on secure information storage and rotates security keys to reduce attackers opportunities.

The company also brings in AI to the table. Google's Cloud AI Team assures that artificial intelligence can double a company's cash flow by 2030 by assisting its operation.

IBM Cloud Internet of Things

IBM tech giant has not just one IoT Solution but offers diverse solutions and products to meet the most demanding clients, the IBM Cloud of Internet of Things.

Among these products the IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management ELM is oriented for software development and complex products.

IBM Tririga is designed to keep workspace safe, flexible and increase employee engagement and operation efficiency.

The Watson IoT Platform focuses on cloud and chips providing rich developer resources with leading industry security while managing risk and security.

The IBM Maximo Application Suite is IBM's IoT unified solution. It provides “intelligent asset management, monitoring, predictive maintenance, computer vision, safety and reliability in a single platform unify operations and maintain business continuity, even under rapidly changing or disruptive conditions,” the company explains.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.