GSMA issues first Internet of Things security guidelines

On Tuesday the organisation representing the world's mobile operators, the GSMA, published its first Internet of Things security guidelines.

Developed in association with and supported by the entire industry, the guidelines have been created to ensure best practice when it comes to cyberthreats, data protection and other potential security issues surrounding the emerging consumer technology.

"As billions of devices become connected in the Internet of Things, offering innovative and interconnected new services, the possibility of potential vulnerabilities increases," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. "These can be overcome if the end-to-end security of an IoT service is carefully considered by the service provider when designing their service and an appropriate mitigating technology is deployed. A proven and robust approach to security will create trusted, reliable services that scale as the market grows."

As well as make devices and services safer, the guidelines will also help accelerate the development of further services and therefore the speed at which consumers and businesses embrace the technology.

According to Gartner, by the end of 2016 there will already be 6.4 billion ‘things' connected to the internet and that by the end of the decade, that number will have jumped to 20.8 billion.