McAfee has outlined its strategy for enabling the secure Internet of Things.
Companies of all sizes are linking objects as diverse as smartphones, cars and household appliances to industrial sensors. The installed base of the Internet of Things will be approximately 212 billion "things" globally by the end of 2020, according to IDC. This equates to approximately 27 things for every person on Earth that will need to be secured and managed.
McAfee’s objective is to maintain the trust of these devices while allowing them to perform as intended but with a richer experience.
The company is addressing the challenges of securing the IoT by providing long-term assured functionality and other core security capabilities for the vast array of current and future IoT use cases. To effectively secure these IP connected devices requires that security be designed in and not an afterthought.
According to McAfee, a comprehensive IoT strategy includes:
- A secure and holistic solution for information rich environments across multiple environments and devices
- Assurance that devices are operating as intended by the manufacturer and have not been corrupted
- Life cycle security across the device, network, and data center
- Support for industry standards and device interoperability
- Ability to solve Information Technology/Cloud services challenges in connecting legacy and new systems to new and future services
- Provide technology to assure individual privacy
McAfee disclosed it is working closely with the broader Intel and Wind River companies to provide security solutions to ensure connected devices, systems, applications, and data are protected, freeing companies to concentrate on their business.