A number of British universities have been awarded a grant to explore the security issues surrounding Internet of Things (IoT) and smart home devices, as well as to determine ways to warn consumers of the risks.
Announced on July 13, the ‘PrivIoT’ project, led by Dr James Nicholson, a lecturer at Northumbria University’s Computer and Information Sciences department, will also involve academics from Royal Holloway, Manchester, and Nottingham universities.
The grant was awarded by the PETRAS National Centre of Excellence, an organization focused on the social and technical aspects of deploying IoT into the consumer sphere.
In total, £3.6 million has been awarded to 18 projects, including digital twin frameworks, bias in female-oriented technologies, and securing IoT in the utilities sector.
The project
PrivIoT is consumer focused, with an emphasis on understanding the privacy and security implications of IoT, smart home, and smart energy devices offered to consumers, as well as the potential creation of an interface or other means to give users more control over their personal security.
In an interview with The Daily Swig, Nicholson, together with Dr David Buil-Gil, a lecturer in Quantitative Criminology at the Department of Criminology of the University of Manchester, said the 18-month project will focus on understanding what the potential harms of IoT in the home.
There are three ‘strands’ to the project – the initial area of study will be understanding potential risks associated with what could be considered “future” technologies that, while in existence, have not yet been fully developed, implemented, or rolled out nationwide.
Led by Buil-Gil and Manchester University, this aspect will include analysis of studies already conducted on IoT and the potential creation of classification standards, as well as an examination of which technologies could act as a counterbalance for risks to privacy or security.
Buil-Gil said risk factors vary but may include blackmail, the theft of private data, such as audio recordings or images harvested from a smart home by compromising an intelligent device, ransomware, and other forms of cyber-attacks.
Energy devices are also of interest to the researchers and whether or not the “trade-off” between saving money and being more energy efficient while potentially sacrificing security is worth it.
There are three ‘strands’ to the project – the initial area of study will be understanding potential risks associated with what could be considered “future” technologies that, while in existence, have not yet been fully developed, implemented, or rolled out nationwide.
Led by Buil-Gil and Manchester University, this aspect will include analysis of studies already conducted on IoT and the potential creation of classification standards, as well as an examination of which technologies could act as a counterbalance for risks to privacy or security.
Buil-Gil said risk factors vary but may include blackmail, the theft of private data, such as audio recordings or images harvested from a smart home by compromising an intelligent device, ransomware, and other forms of cyber-attacks.
Energy devices are also of interest to the researchers and whether or not the “trade-off” between saving money and being more energy efficient while potentially sacrificing security is worth it.
Source: https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/uk-universities-awarded-funding-for-research-into-iot-smart-home-security
