The more heavily we rely on embedded devices and objects with some sort of connection to the Internet, the more we need to guarantee security and stability. If your smart refrigerator doesn’t automatically adjust its temperature based on the volume of produce inside, you might end up with some spoiled milk or bad eggs.
However, if you don’t properly test or secure a pacemaker with ties to the Internet, the consequences are much, much more significant.
And that’s the game we’re playing at this point when it comes to the Internet of Things and embedded devices—we’ve become so advanced in our technology that we can benefit some people’s quality of life with devices never thought possible before. We just need to understand our processes and security.
Tom Stiehm, the CTO of Coveros, spoke at STARWEST about how security is growing more and more important as we lean more heavily on software. In his provided example, proper testing means the difference between a working and non-working heart.
“One of the customers we work with actually had a heart pump that was put into people and would help them stay alive while they needed some intervention with their heart. The initial way that they handled that was it had no internet access, no network access at all,” he explained. “Now they're starting to see it would be beneficial to have some internet access so that they could have their people in the help desk have quicker access to what's going on so if there's a problem they can react quicker.”
It’s astounding what we can do with IoT and embedded devices these days, but one of the big concerns (especially when it comes to a heart) is security and preventing people from misusing access to pacemakers.
Again, it’s important to note how beneficial these devices can be—for medical reasons and beyond. But risk management is always something you should consider when it comes to the Internet of Things, and Stiehm encourages software professionals to understand their processes in order to assure better quality.
“Understand your process. What you have to go from to build your software and your hardware, map that out, map out where you need to test and what you need to test, understand what's important for you to test, how your embedded device or your IoT device is going to be used, and what the potential risks might be,” Stiehm continued. “Plan on, do your regular software, hardware, and system planning with those things in mind.”
Software is becoming more and more integrated with our world, and sometimes even our actual bodies. Know what you’re up against, understand your process, and build in security that puts your team and users at ease.
