Lisa Spencer, Global Head of Marketing, Irdeto, gave her insights on privacy and security prior to the Parks Associates’ CONNECTIONS Summit at CES.

Lisa will participate on the expert panel Privacy and Security: Protecting Consumers on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 10:00 am. Panelists who will join her on this session include:

• Marcio Avillez, SVP of Business Development, CUJO AI
• Anurag Gupta, Director Business Development, PSA Certified, ARM
• Paul Palmer, Director, Business Development, Consumer Business Unit, F-Secure Inc.
• Moti Shkolnik, Co-Founder and CEO, Firedome
• Razvan Todor, Director, Connected Home Security, Bitdefender

As the number of connected devices in the home increases year-over-year, how can technology providers ease consumer concerns associated with data security and privacy?

Since there are so many device manufacturers, service providers have an opportunity to offer consumers a solution for the whole home, and technology providers can be integral to this. In fact, there’s a good deal of research which shows that consumers are willing to pay to protect their privacy and data – research from Blackberry earlier this year found that 58% of consumers would be willing to pay more for connected devices, if they know their data and privacy is protected. By providing a security and Wi-Fi management service that consumers really want, technology providers can enable CSPs (communication service providers) to increase ARPU and decrease key costs.

In addition to the increase in security vulnerabilities brought about by the proliferation of IoT devices, there are challenges for CSPs and consumers alike around control of the smart home. When subscribers encounter a security or connectivity issue, they turn to their broadband provider for help, but the CSP doesn’t have visibility and device intel beyond the gateway to tackle these concerns. CSPs therefore require the tools to address connectivity and security problems more efficiently while offering value added services to consumers and this is where technology providers come in.

How will artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and/or 5G technologies impact the smart home, IoT, and connected entertainment landscapes in 2019 and beyond? What will be the impact for consumers?

All technological developments which increase connectivity speed and choice are only going to facilitate an increase in consumer adoption and in-turn amplify the need for proper security. Artificial Intelligence actually has an important role to play in security in the smart home as itcan be a crucial tool in detecting threats and behavioral anomalies in the smart home in real-time. Irdeto recently launched Trusted Home, which applies proprietary fingerprinting technology enabling the recognition of behavior patterns across a multitude of device types. Through this automated recognition and anomaly detection, the solution highlights known vulnerabilities, suggests actions against threats, and even addresses connectivity issues.

What emerging technologies could tip the smart home scale from early adopter to mass market adoption?

The enormous scope of opportunities provided by connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) are still being explored. However, Gartner has predicted that there will be more than 20 billion connected devices in existence by 2020. As a result, smart home technology is already becoming mass market and consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on the convenience and customization allowed by connectivity today. However, on the flipside, the proliferation of IoT devices in the smart home has provided hackers with an unprecedented attack surface, if these devices are not properly secured.

It may also be noted that even if a home does not have “smart” devices, almost all homes are connected with many types of devices, further increasing the risk of an attack.