Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia Senior Director of Digital Economy, Technology, & Innovation, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
McGrath Area VP & Country General Manager, Optiv Canada
As organizations continue to digitally transform, Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as cell phones, tablets, watches, refrigerators, medical devices, vehicles and many more, are becoming critical components to enable companies to act quickly on information to increase competitive advantages and operational efficiencies.
The addition of these devices to IT environments allows for improved data utilization to better manage technology, increase output and reduce costs and downtime. However, the effort to utilize these new data sources significantly alters an organization’s threat landscape, opening up vulnerabilities that previously couldn’t be exploited. In many instances, network security is unable to detect IoT connections or provide visibility into the extent of an organization’s expanded threat landscape.
Organizational goals are often focused on accelerating time to market. As such, much of the attention and celebration goes to the developers and pioneers who create these IoT tools. In the rush to market, many companies’ security programs are not optimized or utilized at all.
In conversation with Cheryl McGrath, Area VP & Country General Manager at Optiv, Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director of Digital Economy, of Technology & Innovation at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, takes a closer look at some of the key concerns around IoT security. As the discussion demonstrates, the importance of this issue is pressing, as the trail of technological innovation, especially over the last five years, has also served as a pathway for threat actors to target what they should go after next.
The term IoT is increasingly being used, and yet, the risks of its real use
and application aren’t necessarily well understood. How can this discrepancy be explained?
Companies are looking to unlock data from the next asset class to consume and monetize — and that’s IoT.
The physical interface to digital systems is changing along with everything else. Developers have unlocked tools and gadgets for a wide range of applications — machines that don’t run off of regular user laptops or standard servers. Keyboards and mice are being replaced with voice commands and VR. And that is just the beginning. The development of this is still in its infancy and is guaranteed to create vast issues for security teams during this evolution.
For critical infrastructure, let’s face it — IoT devices control most of the physical world. Everything from the gas in the pumps to our cars, medical devices, the temperature in food processing plants and nuclear facilities. Devices that operate without standard operating procedures are everywhere.
You can’t secure what you can’t see and most organizations don’t have complete visibility to all of the devices on their networks. If threat actors exploit these IoT vulnerabilities, it can be disastrous. Look at Log4j.
How will security be knitted into these new environments?
These devices are becoming integrated into many new forms of data. For example, consider modern distribution centers, where product is moved from one side of a factory to another via conveyer belt. Once these facilities had just a few sensors used for measurements for the whole facility. Now, more than a hundred sensors are used — per foot. We’re livestreaming terabytes of data regarding destination, package shape and
The physical interface to digital systems is changing along with everything else.
weight and much more, but not securing the system any differently. Some security teams are still assuming that one external firewall will secure the facility. Contrast this with the cathedrals of defense implemented on the IT side. The rate of data creation is outstripping our ability to use and secure it.
What can companies do to mitigate IoT risks?
To be proactive, businesses can:
1. Tap into their production networks to identify all IoT connected devices and identify the most vulnerable assets. Then assess devices for vulnerabilities and mitigate outstanding security issues.
2. Understand security in relation to new IoT devices that an organization is looking to purchase and how they may affect their network. Companies may want to hire a trusted security provider with IoT labs to test devices before they're implemented on company networks. This is done in order to ensure third party devices aren’t erroneously capturing private data via back door portals and to test integrations with their other technologies end-to-end.
3. Adopt a policy-driven, risk framework based on the organization’s business needs. These policies should include a baseline platform for development of automated vulnerability management and incident response solutions for IoT.
Cheryl
5G Is the Foundation for Realizing the Full Potential of IoT
What is the Internet of Things?
In simple terms, IoT refers to physical objects that are connected to the internet and exchange data with other connected objects or systems. Your mobile device is a connected “thing”, but so are weather sensors, security systems, automobiles, asset tracking devices, factory machines, and so on. It's estimated that there are over 12 billion IoT connections globally, with over 2 billion being cellular connections. These numbers are expected to more than double in the next five years.
Why is 5G important for the Internet of Things?
Most people think of 5G as just an update to existing wireless networks, but it's really a whole new telecommunications system.
While 4G networks focus primarily on data transmission (i.e. throughput), 5G is designed not only to provide faster speeds, it's also designed to provide more widespread coverage, handle more connected devices and traffic types, and provide the specific combinations of speed, bandwidth, and quality of service that particular services or systems require. In this way, 5G
The Internet of Things (IoT) was a movement ahead of its time. The technology and the understanding needed decades to catch up. Now, it has.
networks will become smart networks that respond to the needs of the end-user, and connect infrastructure, vehicles, sensors, buildings, machinery, and people in ways not previously possible.
What benefits will we see from 5G and IoT?
5G and IoT will enable businesses and organizations to gain real-time insights from the data that is streamed from connected sensors and devices. These insights will not only improve decision-making and operations, they can also improve the safety and standard of living of individuals. For example, data from remote sensors can warn of natural disasters or increase situational awareness when working in hazardous conditions. IoT can improve efficiencies in farming, increase crop yields, and help address food insecurity. 5G and IoT will also help organizations become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint.
What is the status of 5G in Canada?
While still in the early days of 5G rollout, Canada’s mobile wireless operators have
already invested billions of dollars in expand 5G services across the country. This includes the nearly $9 billion paid to the federal government for the right use radiofrequencies in the 3500 MHz spectrum band for 5G services. The next few years will see the deployment of this and additional spectrum, continued investment in expanding 5G coverage, and new products and service offerings that utilize the increased capabilities of 5G.
The combination of 5G with technologies like artificial intelligence will transform the way organizations do business and deliver services.
What should organizations be doing to take advantage of 5G and IoT?
While many organizations are already using 4G (or 3G/2G) and IoT in some fashion, the combination of 5G with technologies like artificial intelligence will transform the way organizations do business and deliver services. If they're not already doing so, organizations should be exploring the capabilities of 5G and IoT with their technology and wireless service providers.
The Nationwide Wireless Network That Makes Our Devices Smarter
The Internet of Things was one of the boldest ideas in the early heady days of the Information Age. Before the modern Internet was even born, computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon and Cambridge were connecting vending machines and coffee pots to precursors like ARPANET, and, while the implications of a world full of connected autonomous devices were as yet unexplored, those on the cutting edge knew it was going to be revolutionary. And then, for a long time, that idea simmered. The Internet of Things (IoT) was a movement ahead of its time. The technology and the understanding needed decades to catch up. Now, it has.
“The Internet of Things as a concept was very early, but the practicality of it and the technical capabilities of the technology were limiting,” says Kent Rawlings, President of Sigfox Canada, pioneer of Canada’s "0G" IoT communications network. “It just wasn’t developed to the point where you could actually generate a return on investment for a customer, and if it doesn’t generate an ROI, it’s not worth implementing.”
The cheaper IoT gets, the more opportunities it opens
Just five years ago, the average cost of connecting a device to the Internet was a couple hundred dollars, and so you really needed to have a very clear case for value proposition. But, as prices have dropped to tens of dollars and then to single digits, and as improvements in energy efficiency and communications technology have made operation seamless and almost free, the horizons of positive ROI for IoT have been blown wide open.
“We’ve got technology now to maximize battery life so that you can get a deployed battery in the field that'll last three, five, ten years, depending on how many messages
you're sending per day,” says Rawlings. “Sigfox devices power-on and send their message and then power down. There's no two-way communication between the device, so it becomes very, very efficient.”
More efficient systems are more sustainable systems
The opportunities and applications of this technology range from agriculture to logistics, from manufacturing to healthcare. In Ontario, there are over 3,500 people who have been in hospitals for two years or longer, at a cost of thousands of dollars per day. For some of them, there’s a direct and urgent need to be close to the facilities and care, but for many others it's actually data that is physically tethering them to the hospital. IoT technology is actively helping move those people out of the hospitals and into their own homes, improving quality of life while freeing up hospital beds and maintaining quality of care by essentially extending the "information hospital" beyond the walls of the building.
The key that frees these devices from the bonds of technologies like WiFi, 5G, and Bluetooth is Sigfox’s low-cost low-power 0G network, though this tech does still interoperate with all those standards. “The right technology for a given IoT application shows a better picture once you start drilling into what the application is.” says Rawlings. “Sometimes you really do need to push massive amounts of data with 5G, but a lot of the time you would rather move small amounts of data long distances in a power-efficient way. That’s where Sigfox plays and that’s why 0G is so powerful.”
In every industry, the value proposition of IoT has gotten a lot clearer. Thanks to innovators like Sigfox the technology and the cost has finally caught up with the vision of the early IoT dreamers. It’s still cool tech, but now it’s practical and profitable too.
From the Smart Home to the Smart Village: Truly Connected Urban Living
Technology can transform our homes and our communities. But it takes smart people to turn smart homes into intelligent communities.
D.F. McCourt
or decades we’ve been bombarded with visions and promises of how technology would change not just our lives, but our homes. From the robotic maids of the Jetsons to the breathless magazine spreads about home automation, we were all so sure our humble abodes would transform into science fiction palaces of convenience. But rarely were these fantasies blessed with insight into what actually makes a home a home. Today, with so many technological advancements at our fingertips, and with so many more people living in dense urban environments, it's time to rethink the “smart” in smart home.
Certainly, our homes have become more high-tech. We have doorbells that will text us photos of the people on our front steps. We have voice-activated devices with cute names that will tell us the weather or play us a song. We have autonomous vacuums that will traumatize our cats. But are these the biggest problems to be solved in our modern urban homes?
The
biggest
“Within the four walls of a home, there are obviously some great smart technologies and Internet of Things gadgets that can make people's lives easier” says Joseph Nakhla, CEO of Tribe Property Technologies. “But the potential of property technology is significantly larger than that. The biggest opportunity is in moving the connection of the resident outside of those four walls.”
The soul of the machine: smart urban villages
“We think of the condo communities we are delivering now as vertical villages, with hundreds of homes literally stacked on top of one another," says Nakhla. "Technology is a tool for unlocking the noble concept of the village that’s currently dormant in a building, and we see that spirit manifesting on our platform all the time.”
Whether it’s a resident offering music lessons to children in the building, or a parent advertising their teenager’s babysitting services, or someone with mobility limitations getting help with their groceries, this interconnection enriches everyone. And, on the very practical side, it also makes so many of the traditionally difficult and tedious aspects of urban community living easy and painless. The platform, in other words, is making the very dumbest bits of home life a bit more intelligent, and people are noticing.
problems arise when the simplest of solutions are ignored.
Tribe Property Technologies bills itself as a holistic tech-first one-stop-shop for property and community management. With their comprehensive platform that touches every technological need of residents, developers, community councils, and property managers, they're expanding the idea of the smart home out into the community-at-large, and that makes all the difference.
“This kind of tech used to be the last thing a developer would think about,” says Nakhla. “But today, home buyers and renters are expecting their homes to mimic the new conveniences they experience in the rest of their lives. People can get a car to their door at the click of a button. They can get any kind of food they want delivered in 30 minutes at any hour through their phone. Why on Earth would they accept that booking amenities in their own building or scheduling maintenance requests for their home or paying their fees requires them to send a fax, or to text or call four different people? Why do they need to attend a full meeting if a digital solution exists to conduct a council vote? If they're renting, why do they have to fill out papers and send in a cheque rather than apply and pay their deposit online? People’s expectations are getting
There are more than 2 million Canadians living in condos, and more than 4 million living in rental communities. These living environments often resemble mini-cities, particularly with newer masterplan developments that can consist of 500, 1000 or even more homes. As multi-family startups continue to grow in size and complexity, Tribe Property Technologies looks at the key areas in which technology is playing a role in building, maintaining and protecting community living.
higher, and I think they have a right to do so. Real estate developers and property investors thankfully, are becoming aware of that. They’re asking the right questions, seeking out the tools, creating budgets, and applying our data science to building and maintaining communities and their assets.”
Not just smart homes, but wise ones
When smart technology is deployed thoughtfully, it makes home living easier and more enjoyable, it makes communities richer and more interconnected, and it makes properties more resilient and more secure. When every aspect of the home, the building, and the community is collected in a single trusted platform, not only does it work together seamlessly, it also provides protection and longevity. After all, Nakhla says, history and continuity of the building are key, “What if I can take comfort in knowing that everything about my home is in one place, and if I am unclear about anything, there are people I can reach out to literally at my fingertips.”
We have the solutions; we just need to choose them. With the technology we have available, there's no reason we should accept the same complaints about our homes, the same complaints about our property management experiences, as we did 30 years ago. The “smart” in the promise of smart homes, however, was never about the technology being intelligent. It was about us using it intelligently.
If we do that, then the future is here. And we can live in it.
Joseph Nakhla CEO, Tribe Property Technologies TSXV: TRBE
Accelerating IoT in Alberta and Beyond
Whether an established business integrating IoT, or a small solution provider looking to scale, the path to growth should not be a solo mission.
Amy Scullion
Alberta continues to make headlines in the tech sector, and for a good reason. According to Alberta Enterprise, over 2,800 tech companies exist in the province, a 203 percent increase from 2012. Many of these companies are scaling, with 38 percent reporting annual revenues greater than $1 million.1
How can the province and broader tech ecosystem support the remaining 62 percent to reach the next level of growth? How do we ensure the 38 percent continue scaling?
The most common reasons for small business failure include access to capital or funding, finding and retaining talent, business model flaws, and inadequate marketing initiatives.2 In response to these common failures, business accelerators and boot camps have become prominent in the province to support businesses at every stage. Alberta IoT developed the Fast Track Program to specifically support scale-up businesses with a vested interest in IoT and emerging technology through access to resources, mentorship, and a community willing to collaborate.
A total of 32 companies graduated from the program in March of 2022, and another 36 are actively participating. By focusing first on the underlying business model, marketing, sales, financial and HR strategies, the program encourages strong foundations for growth. Facilitators then focus on expansion through grant and funding strategies, digital marketing, IP & patents, and international markets.
Subject matter experts become coaches for one-on-one mentorship, working through challenges specific to each business.
“The value of the Alberta IoT Fast-Track program for our business has been the ability to step back and consider all the broad elements that come together in a scale-up entity,” commented Peter Solymos, Co-Founder and CTO of Analythium.io. “It forces you to think
about the business through a different lens focused on growth. It's not, however, just about knowledge sharing. It's about connecting to the right people to make that knowledge actionable.”
While the Fast Track Program supports the growth of IoT and emerging tech companies, the impact goes beyond. Organizations in traditional industries, including oil and gas, construction, or agriculture, are realizing the value of IoT, and broader digital transformation, in their businesses.
As shared by Executive Director of Alberta IoT, Brenda Beckedorf, “it has been incredibly rewarding to see organizations commit to adoption of IoT, and even more rewarding to understand the impact it's having in their business and the province, Jobs are being created. Revenue generated. New markets accessed. That’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of.”
For the 2,800 technology companies in Alberta, or more traditional firms looking to accelerate growth through technology, consider this a reminder that scaling up is not a solo journey.
About Alberta Iot Association
Alberta IoT is a non-profit member-based association on a mission to position Alberta as the worldwide Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT) and emerging technologies. The member companies collaborate to provide a common voice to advance the knowledge, adoption, and growth of the IoT industry within Alberta and throughout the world.
It has been incredibly rewarding to see organizations commit to adoption of IoT, and even more rewarding to understand the impact it's having in their business and the province.
It Starts with Hyper-Accurate Spatial Intelligence
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) — the use of interconnected sensors and instruments to enhance manufacturing and industrial processes — has been around for a while and has the promise of driving intelligent solutions for all kinds of businesses. However, it has long fallen short, according to Matthew Lowe, CEO and Co-founder of ZeroKey.
Closing the IIoT utility gap
ZeroKey is a spatial intelligence company that helps businesses digitally transform their processes via its hyper-accurate IoT sensor technology — a large-scale 3D real-time location system (RTLS) that digitizes physical location.
“Our IoT technology is the best in the world within our class,” says Lowe. “It allows us to locate assets and personnel and track processes with 1.5-millimetre accuracy. I describe it as stepping into the Matrix because we often digitize industrial environments by bringing processes and people into a digital twin of sorts, and then we drive digital solutions and artificial intelligence based on that data.”
Unlike traditional IIoT, which is unable to provide a comprehensive view of physical operations because it only captures myopic 1D data points from existing equipment and systems, ZeroKey’s technology goes a
step further by integrating spatial context.
Data is framed across both time and 3D spatial location, closing the gap between the digital representation of an operation and its physical reality.
Total business intelligence through spatial intelligence
Providing the added spatial information layer adds context to dynamic environments with complex process interactions, especially those involving human-centric processes where analysis would otherwise be impossible. Whether it’s tracking a lost package or analyzing the efficiency of an assembly line and identifying bottlenecks, spatial intelligence empowers businesses to move beyond the one-off optimization of individual processes to the continuous real-time optimization, automation, and integration of entire facilities and organizations.
ZeroKey’s hyper-accurate IoT sensor technology, Quantum RTLS, relies on several proprietary and patented innovations. “At the core, the underlying technology is ultrasound-based,” says Lowe. “Our technology relies on inaudible acoustic signals, similar to how bats use echolocation to navigate in the dark.”
Ultrasonics require only low-cost measurement electronics since the speed of sound is relatively slow – a benefit in the case of
location technology, Lowe explains. They also enable ZeroKey to get that impressive 1.5-millimetre accuracy, which is a hundredfold better than its closest competitors.
Delivering on the promise of Industry 4.0
“There are many benefits to this technology,” says Lowe. “One of the key benefits is simply the ability to gather highly actionable information about a physical environment that you didn’t have before. This allows you to make better decisions about the most critical aspects of any business that handles physical products, and to make those decisions more rapidly. It also enables new workflows, and there’s a lot of process optimization information that can be derived from our analytics too.”
ZeroKey’s 4D analytics are provided through their Spatial Intelligence Platform, a highly interoperable software platform that takes all the rich, hyper-accurate 3D sensor data and analyzes it over the fourth dimension of time. This is how the information gets distilled into actionable business-level insights.
“Every type of environment where you have a physical, manual process can benefit from our technology,” says Lowe. And best of all, set-up is quick and easy. ZeroKey’s auto calibration technology allows customers to self-deploy the system in minutes.
