On the other side of the internet (there is a person)

I’m not alone. Research from Gartner in 2017 suggested there will be an astonishing 20.4 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2020.

"I love the incredible opportunity the internet brings… but I’m also very conscious of [the risk].” 

Global spending on IoT devices and services was estimated to be $US2 trillion in 2017. There were 5.2 billion consumer devices connected to the internet in in 2017, along with 3.1 billion business devices. 

I love the incredible opportunity the internet brings. I love the fact I've got a smartwatch which can access all sorts of things and provide targeted services wherever I am - but I'm also very conscious of the fact there's more of my data out there with a whole lot of different companies and applications.

With all the benefits these devices bring, they also bring risks – and it’s up to everyone to ensure the internet, no matter how we are connected, remains a safe place for all. 

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Comfortable

Most of the more-pressing internet safety concerns we've been concerned about for a while now; indeed, it’s complacency which is the real problem.

As people get more comfortable with using the internet in everything they do, including the Internet of Things, the risks of them not using a sufficient level of caution, or something going wrong rises.

The devices you have with you every day or which you have in your home constantly connected to the internet. They are sharing your location and your data in a manner which often means you have no easy way to check how secure it is. That’s the emerging risk.

For organisations like ANZ, the level of connectivity and the amount of data we have is something we are really conscious of. As a bank we work very hard to ensure customer privacy and to ensure our customers are protected – as well as helping them protect themselves from undue risk. 

This is something we must all think about. Organisations which collect data have an obligation to only gather what they absolutely need in order to provide a product or service and as a result they must be in a position to protect the data.

As consumers, we should all think twice about the information we provide, question what is really necessary and elect to turn off options (e.g. location settings where they are not warranted), or not provide information which is beyond the scope of a service.

Mandatory data breach reporting takes effect in Australia later in February, providing additional emphasis on data protection.

Cost

The cost of global cybercrime is expected to reach $US6 trillion a year by 2021 – representing the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history.

For business, the lesson is anyone who develops an application or a system needs to ensure they put in place safeguards to protect the people who use it - and provide those people with the option to decide what they want to share and how they want to do it.

That's a really important part of the roles of technology and software developers or security professionals. Good companies do that really well and put a lot of time and effort into protections.

Good products have security built into the design process– but it’s not something that is consistent across the board.

It helps if people are cautious and well-researched. When choosing services, software or applications, it’s important to make sure it comes from a reputable organisation that takes security seriously.

There is a lot we can all do to ensure we are more secure online and to make the internet a safer place for everyone who uses it.

Safer Internet Day is about making the internet a safer place for everyone - including by making sure we think about respect in our online activity in the same way we've always done in our offline activity. It is really important people across the community have trust in the internet and are safe when they do business or socialise online.

Lynwen Connick is Chief Information Security Officer, ANZ.

For more information about Safer Internet Day and the great work that the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.  ANZ also provides useful advice on steps to take to ensure you remain safe online.