Europol-ENISA IoT Security Conference: A multi-stakeholder approach

News item | 25-10-2017

On 18 and 19 October Europol and ENISA jointly organized a conference on the security implications of the Internet of Things (IoT). While it is expected to have over 20 billion IoT devices by 2020, ranging from smart meters to entire smart cities, it is not widely known how to address the security demands that come with this emerging technology. Experts from cybercrime units, CSIRTs, private industry, international organizations, regulatory agencies and academia attended the conference shared their experiences and knowledge on IoT. Please read a short summary of the conference below.

IoT threats are real

The first day of the conference focused on the IoT threat landscape and defence. Rob Wainwright, Executive Director of Europol, and Evangelos Ouzounis, Head of Unit Secure Infrastructure and Services ENISA, opened the day by outlining some of the main challenges in IoT security. The fragmentation of good practices and standards on IoT was named, it is of utter importance to share knowledge and practices and avoid duplication. Next, presentations of the German Federal Criminal Police Office, Symantec, Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab and Avast illustrated the vulnerabilities and complexity of IoT security. There is a wide array of IoT user communities, concerns about IoT security are raised for consumers, companies and government.

The way forward

During the second day of the conference, the audience discussed how to move forward in ensuring a secure IoT ecosystem. Presentations of the Alliance of Internet of Things Innovation,  Cicso, Microsoft, Cybercrime Research Institute, RIPE NCC and Trend Micro discussed how to mitigate the IoT security threats. All experts agreed that there is a strong need for collaboration in the IoT domain. Moreover, the importance of an inclusive and integral approach between stakeholders is emphasized.