The Internet of Things Expo (IoT Expo) in Dubai looked all fun, but cybersecurity concerns are growing as we become more connected worldwide, with our devices increasingly being linked up to the web and sharing data.
The IoT Expo, which wrapped up on Tuesday, offered an insight into the Middle East's growing technology scene. According to the International Data Corporation, the IoT market in the Middle East and Africa is set to grow by 20 percent this year, to total 7.8 billion US dollars.
IoT seems unstoppable. However, there was a dark cloud over the expo and the wider industry – just how secure will all of this data be.
The WannaCry ransomware virus that swept around the globe earlier this month brought security concerns into the spotlight. It has so far infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries and regions.
And it's just a drop in the ocean in this digital era.
"There are many attacks that people don't see and I think, WannaCry was a great example, almost like a wake-up call for a lot of enterprises, old enterprises, that security is still a big risk," said Clinton O'Leary, who works in the business development for Yvolv, a cloud computing solutions firm.
"We'll never get completely ahead of the hackers, but I do think that what we can do for critical assets is to build systems more securely, test them more reliably. And then, have continuous monitoring, continuous evolution of innovation in security," said Eddie Schwartz, Executive Vice President of Cyber Services for cybersecurity firm Darkmatter.
