The world of IoT currently has a huge security problem. Devices are being pushed out with lax security, which opens the doors to vast IoT botnets that can cripple IT infrastructures.
Due to IoT’s relatively new status in the computing world, there haven’t been many rules that people have to abide by. This then creates a lot of security holes which hackers can abuse.
Thankfully, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is planning to change this. They recently announced their plans to establish several global councils that will decide how the future of IoT will pan out. The plan is to bring calm to this somewhat wild area of technology and restore trust in IoT.
What Councils Are Being Created?
There are six councils in total designated to manage what’s being called the “fourth industrial revolution.” These councils manage six separate areas of emerging technology that form this revolution.
The six areas that councils are being formed around are Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous and Urban Mobility, the Blockchain, Drones and Aerial Mobility, the Internet of Things, and Precision Medicine.
You’ll notice that all of these technologies are related to the Internet of things (including one which mentions it directly), which shows just how much the world of smart devices currently requires a governing body to regulate what goes on within the space.
What Will the Councils Do?
The council’s job will be researching the gap between where technology is going and where businesses and lawmakers believe technology currently is. If people believe that technology is more advanced than it actually is, they may make outrageous demands and laws to combat a non-existent threat; if they believe it’s less advanced, they may be blind to potential social issues as these new technologies are rolled out.
As such, the council’s job is to do the research of where these technologies are going, then create policies that balance progress with safety. They then aim to distribute these policies across countries so everyone around the world is on the same page.
“Companies and governments are not moving fast enough to anticipate social expectations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Richard Samans, the managing director and head of policies in the World Economic Forum.
“We believe that that this bottom-up, societally-focused approach can help to build and maintain public trust in the technologies while strengthening the evidence base on which policy decisions are made by governments and companies. This is the first place where this kind of high-level, strategic dialogue on the governance of these technologies will take place across stakeholders and regions on an ongoing basis.”
What Does this Mean for the Future?
With the councils being created, the public should feel that the world of IoT will be a safer place with their decisions. No longer will standards be set at the whim of the businesses producing the devices; now everyone worldwide will have to follow the same standards and protocols to ensure the consumer is kept safe.
Hopefully, this will mean major strides in cleaning up the huge security issues that have plagued the IoT for a while. If they’re successful, we should see the public regain confidence with IoT devices, knowing that every potential problem has been heavily scrutinised.
Seeking Council
IoT is in bad shape for security. Thankfully, the WEF are setting up six councils to tackle six different areas of IoT. Hopefully, these councils will be of great use for helping society adopt this rapidly-developing niche.
Does this make you more confident in the world of IoT? Let us know below.
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