Partnerships forging IoT and digital commerce path

A single company or service provider cannot provide the entire end-to-end ecosystem required to roll out machine-to-machine (M2M), Internet of Things (IoT) and digital commerce systems, but partnerships between various companies – often in separate industries – are making initial digital mobility services possible.

A key requirement of a mobility, IoT and digital commerce eco- system is that security be included at every stage of design and in every element that constitutes the ecosystem, says digital security company Gemalto Telecommunication Solutions Middle East and Africa senior VP Sherry Zameer.

“An IoT ecosystem is inherently open, and securing it requires a different paradigm from that of securing one company or network. Breaches must be expected, vulnerabilities actively addressed and data secured so that it is not compromised in the event of a breach.”

Device hardware, software, network gateways, wide area networks and cloud systems must all be secure, and the data must be encrypted on the devices, in storage (including in the cloud) and in transit, he says.

“Data stored on any form factor, whether a wearable or mobile device, or any other device or interface, must be encrypted to prevent data being compromised even if the device is lost or stolen.”

All elements of an IoT and digital commerce ecosystem can adopt standards and best practices from existing industries, as well as security elements and standards for use in IoT and digital commerce systems, he notes.

“Transaction security in the financial services and banking industry is robust and is used to secure digital payments. “Similarly, the elements used for these transactions – bank cards, chips, one-time personal identity numbers, active verification (usually through a mobile device), secure communications channels and embedded security – can all be adopted and adapted to secure other use cases in M2M, IoT and digital commerce processes.”