Towards an Internet of Secure Things

September 18, 2020

TU/e hosts international conference on the cyber security of Internet-of-Things.

Many call it a perfect storm: the billions of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that are increasingly connecting our cyber and physical worlds. While the IoT-revolution brings enormous benefits to our society and economy, our dependency on this infrastructure also creates serious security threats. To chart the challenges ahead and to explore possible solutions, on 14 and 15 October Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) will host #INTERSCT20, the 2020 edition of the INTERSCT. Conference on Cyber Security of Internet-of-Things. The conference marks the official launch of the INTERSCT. research institute.

“You can secure only what you understand”, says Sandro Etalle, head of the Security group at TU/e and one of the driving forces behind INTERSCT. “The challenge of the Internet-of-Things is understanding what is happening. Through this conference and through the INTERSCT. research institute, we want to contribute to this understanding. I invite everyone from industry, government, academia and civil society who is interested in cyber security to join us for this important and inspiring event.”

Sandro Etalle
Sandro Etalle

Program

INTERSCT20 includes inspirational keynote speeches from leading experts in the field, panels and parallel sessions. The virtual event will be opened by TU/e president Robert-Jan Smits. Moderator of the event is independent researcher, writer and presenter Chris van 't Hof. Registration is free of charge. Highlights include:

Alan Friedman, director of Cybersecurity Initiatives in the US Department of Commerce, will talk about the ‘software bill of materials that provides transparency about software components used to build modern, software-based devices.

Maarten Bodlaender, General Manager Philips Security, will explain  some of the challenges that arise from the need to secure heavily regulated environments like healthcare, and how INTERSCT may contribute to address these challenges.

Mireille Hildebrandt, professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and Radboud University Nijmegen, will address upcoming developments regarding private law liability in Internet-of-Things settings.

Kees van der Klauw, manager of the Netherlands AI Coalition, will talk about the need for IoT companies to build trust with end-users, by integrating non-functional aspects such as privacy, security, upgradability, portability into the design process of their products.

Nelly Ghaoui, senior policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Economic, will go into the Dutch national Roadmap on hard- and software security, which contains a broad mix measures to increase cyber security.

Click here for the full program.

INTERSCT.

INTERSCT. (say: intersect) is an NWO-funded virtual research institute that brings together research on Cyber Security for the Internet-of-Things from across the world. In it, more than 40 partners from academia, industry, government and civil society work together on a novel multidisciplinary approach to security for Internet-of-Things.

“The huge increase in smart devices and the lightning fast developments related to the IoT are forcing us to look at cybersecurity in a different way”, says professor Etalle. “This isn’t a problem we can lay wholly at the consumer’s door. There are already some twenty billion smart devices coupled to the IoT and this number is increasing rapidly. A system like this is very complex and dynamic, and we are now seeing that little control is being exercised over how it develops. This has consequences for security and privacy issues. With the INTERSCT. institute, we want to keep the IoT manageable and secure.”

To secure something we cannot manage, INTERSCT. believes we need to re-think the security paradigm. This means delegating part of the security management to the system, that autonomously adapts to the changing environment, while remaining under human supervision. This is the only way we can enable the birth and growth of an Internet of Secure Things.

More info and registration

More information can be found on the event webpage. Click here for an interview with Sandro Etalle.

For registration please go to Eventbrite.

 

Media contact

Henk van Appeven
(Communications Adviser)