SAN FRANCISCO – Everyone knows that all these smart devices plugging into today’s homes – part of the exploding Internet of Things – also provide black hats with a golden opportunity to hack computer networks. On Wednesday, Samsung and Thales e-Security announced a new system for smart devices that manufacturers can plug into a refrigerator to give it computer smarts and also thwart the bad guys.
The new secure code is part of the Artik platform announced at the Samsung user conference. Now for the details about the secret code.
Using a complex math formula, Artik gives all the software running on your Internet-connected refrigerator a “birth certificate,” as Jon Geater, CTO of Thales, describes it. This shows that the software came from a legitimate source. Hackers can’t get permission for their software to run on the system, because they can’t duplicate that digital identity.
The system will allow “a new generation of IoT products and applications to enter the market with enhanced privacy and security features critical for the broad array of products and services,” Curtis Sasaki, vice president of ecosystems at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.
That could prevent all kinds of hacking headaches, from the mayhem of your connected audio system getting turned up to eleven to the theft of your credit card data from a connected laundry machine designed to order more laundry detergent when you’re running out. It could also stop hackers from using an unsecured smart device to crawl into your home computer network and tampering with the settings on your smart Samsung refrigerator. No spoiled milk in this brave new world.
This story was published by CNET.Com.
